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He wastes no time, his mouth on mine, hands running down my body.
A beam of light pierces the ceiling to fall on us in this private sanctuary. The smells of the ocean, green growth, and salty air fill my senses.
I untie his swim trunks and push them down. He steps out of them and flings them into the canoe.
He’s hard and pressed between us. I feel on fire after stripping for him on the boat. I’m high again, every inch of my body hypersensitive and ready to be overcome.
Gabe grasps my waist to lift me against his chest. Water rolls down my knees and calves as he shifts my body over him.
Then I slide down, and he’s inside me. I wrap my arms around his neck, drawing in a long, filling breath as my body opens for him.
His muscles tighten and flex as he lifts me and brings me back down in long, even strokes. I’m already keyed up from the canoe ride, the nakedness, and our seclusion in paradise.
I lock my ankles around him and work with him, sliding in and out of the light as we move.
He groans, his hands grasping my butt, driving me down on him.
Water splashes where my feet hit it, making the light sparkle on its surface. My body starts to tighten around Gabe, and my breath speeds up, drawing in the pure, natural air.
Then I clench hard, a long, low shriek coming out of me. Gabe moves faster, puffs of air blowing my hair off my face.
Then I feel the rush of him inside me, warm and good. I hold on tightly, letting my body sink into this moment, him pulsing inside me, me convulsing around him. I feel exhilarated, like I’ve taken a shot of pure adrenaline.
I realize my eyes are shut tight and I force them open. The sky is above, visible in the gap of the rock. Another day with Gabe. Another act of pure passion. Another stolen moment.
A new feeling creeps in, not just heat or sex. Something deeper, something scarier, something that floods through me in a tidal wave.
I clutch him, burying my face against his neck. I’m not feeling this. No. I can’t. It’s been nine days. It’s not possible. I’m confused.
I cannot be falling in love.
No.
It’s only the magic of the moment. The sex. The beauty around us.
I’m Tillie James, damn it. I kick jerks out of my bar for fun. Men are awful, by and large. Look at Lila. I won’t fall for the miracle, even if it looks like Ensley got it.
I get control of my thoughts again, holding on to Gabe’s shoulders.
He walks us to the cave wall. “There’s a rock shelf here,” he whispers against my ear. He turns his back to it, shifts my legs, and sits down.
The water settles around us, even and still. In the distance, I hear birds and the occasional splash of some creature diving into the sea.
Gabe wraps his arms around my back. I don’t know if he has guessed where my thoughts have gone, the battle inside me. But he says, “Just be here. Just be now.”
He’s right. I’m where I need to be. Cocooned with him. Safe with him.
This is the place where we can forget anything else exists. Even time.
Chapter 24
GABE
I work the bar alone that night. Tillie is off with her family. It’s the last night before Ensley and Drew head back to Georgia, so they’re having dinner.
I could have closed the bar and gone along. Tillie asked if I wanted to.
But it’s a Saturday, a night a bar should be open, and Tillie told me that Ensley has been playing serious big sister and warning her about getting her heart broken with an island fling. I’m not sure I’m charming enough to win her over.
