Page 79 of Yours to Keep

He slid an arm under my head and I rested it against his shoulder, both of us just watching the waves roll in. Finally, I glanced over at him again, my gaze raking across the light stubble on his strong jaw.

“I don’t feel like I have to fight you here,” I murmured.

Those eyes crinkled at the corners. “That’s probably because you don’t.”

I tilted my face up, searching his. “What happens when we go back?”

He brushed a strand of windblown hair from my cheek, taking a beat to think it over. “Like I said, we’ll figure it out, Bree.”

“That’s not a plan,” I said softly, my heart already aching when I thought about the fact that we were flying home tomorrow.

“It’s not, but it’s the only honest answer I’ve got.” He bent over to press a lingering kiss to my forehead. “Do you have a plan?”

“Nope, and that’s terrifying.”

“Most worthwhile things are.”

“So we’ll keep thinking?”

“We’ll keep thinking.” He leaned down and kissed me again, slow, sun-warm, and tasting faintly of salt and citrus.

Everything about us this weekend had started feeling dangerously like possibility, but I was determined not to overthink it. Instead, I just leaned into his touch until eventually we broke apart when a waiter cleared his throat behind us.

“Dinner will be served shortly,” he said, gone by the time I managed to wrench my mouth away from Sullivan’s.

We were both flushed, and I laughed when he groaned and rolled onto his stomach, glancing up at me with a slight grin on his lips. “I’m going to need a minute before I get up.”

I collapsed beside him on my back, pressing my hand to my chest and taking in deep gulps of air. “Same. I can’t believe it’s already time to eat again. I’m still so full.”

“It’s their personal mission to have to roll us back onto the plane,” he said somberly, then winked. “I would say we could skip it, but we already know your feelings about the food here.”

“True. Maybe I’ll feel better after a glass of wine,” I mused out loud, finally sitting up and watching the water while we both wrestled our bodies back under control.

A little while later, we walked down the beach hand in hand. A hostess showed us to our table under strings of light in a quiet alcove near the pool. The sun was dipping low on the horizon. A band played live, upbeat music near the buffet.

We danced, we drank, and somehow, we even managed to eat again. After a nighttime swim in the most gorgeous pool, we finally made our way back to our room and the door hadn’t even fully shut behind us before I reached for his hand and pulled him to me.

“I really like you,” I whispered against his lips, looking up at him in the soft glow of the ambient lighting shining in from outside.

Our bungalow was shielded from view from the outside by luscious, thick greenery, our walls glass on two sides, and yet, no one could see us right now. There was only him and me, and I’d never needed it to be that way as much as I did right now.

My heart was reaching for him as much as my body, and as always, he seemed to know exactly what I needed even if I hadn’t known it myself. He brought his forehead down to mine and took my face in his hands, kissing me deeply and slowly, like the kiss itself was as much of a promise as his next words.

“I really like you too, Bree,” he murmured. “As long as we’re on the same page about wanting to figure this out, we’ll get there eventually.”

“Okay,” I said softly, and in that moment, I truly believed it.

Sullivan reached for the ties of my bikini and tugged them free. His eyes searched mine like he was asking for permission even as he was doing it. I nodded, reaching for the waistband of his swim trunks and slowly pushing them off in turn.

Our swimwear was still soaked from our swim on our way back to the bungalow, and it landed with wet thuds on the floor, but neither of us moved to hang anything up. We just crashed together once we were naked, our skin not damp anymore, but sticky and sun-warmed after the day we’d had.

He walked me slowly back toward the bed, tumbling onto it with me when the mattress brushed against my knees. My arms hooked around his neck and he didn’t hesitate, sealing his lips over mine for a kiss that stole my breath—and maybe even a little part of my heart.

One of his hands knotted into my hair, holding me still so he could devour my mouth while his free hand dropped to my thigh, his strong fingers digging into my flesh.

He kissed me deeply and fervently, our tongues clashing, stroking, and caressing. My body came alive under his touch. It didn’t matter how often we’d done this. It was somehow still just getting better, every one of my nerve endings suddenly humming with need as he kissed me.

My hips started rocking against him of their own accord, my clit aching too much to wait any longer. Against me, I felt his need matching my own, his shaft rock hard as it slid between my folds.