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We disentangled ourselves, and I slipped into the tiny bathroom to dispose of the condom. I was splashing water on my face when I felt her step in behind me. The bathrooms here were very small. The stand-up showers barely had enough room for one person, much less two.
She nudged me with her hip, and I lifted my head as I reached for the towel and dried my face and hands. She followed suit with rinsing her hands and splashing water on her face, looking bashful when her eyes met mine in the mirror a moment later.
“Are you sure you want to go to sleep?” she asked. “Those bunks are tiny. You could sleep up top.”
“Not a fucking chance,” I murmured as I caught her hand and tugged her out of the bathroom.
It was crowded, but no way was this night ending right now.
ChapterTwenty
QUINN
It should’ve been awkward, super awkward, after all was said and done, and we crossed into best friends having amazing sex. Except it wasn’t.
That detail unsettled me even more. Kenan was just easy to be with. I had fallen asleep on his chest and plastered to his side. He propped the pillows so there was a little bit of a bolster behind him on the outside, declaring there was no way he would let me sleep on the outside. “If anyone falls on the floor, it’s going to be me.”
I cuffed him lightly on the shoulder. “You don’t have to be all manly about it and protect me.”
He grinned and quipped, “Sure, I do.”
He kissed me again. Maybe it would’ve been easier if we had sex again right then, but we didn’t. We fell into a conversation about the winery event. We talked about the couple we met and made bets on what other wildlife we might see on the rest of the ferry trip. He told me we had to plan to go somewhere in Alaska where we could see a polar bear because neither of us had ever seen one.
We’d fallen asleep. I woke up sometime during the night. I wanted to describe what happened in the darkness as sex, but it hadn’t felt like that. It felt much deeper. It felt like making love. Our hands explored each other slowly. I’d woken with him wrapped around me from behind. I was already wet with need. When I instinctively nudged my hips toward him and felt his arousal against my bottom, I had to bite my lip from moaning aloud. He nearly teased me to a climax before filling me from behind. I had a sleepy, intense orgasm that rolled through me in deep waves.
The following morning should’ve felt awkward, but it didn’t.
When the ferry docked, we argued over who would drive. Eventually, Kenan said, “Let’s flip a coin.” He’d waggled his brows.
Another day and hours upon hours later, after the meeting over the land issue, which went smoothly, there was a knock on my door at Wildlands Lodge. Some family members stayed at Archer Cannon’s place, but there wasn’t much space, so most of us stayed here at the lodge. Situated on the shores of a lake in Willow Brook, the picturesque little town in Southcentral Alaska was just far enough outside of Anchorage that it felt like the edge of the wilderness.
I set my hairbrush down and walked to the door, opening it to find Kenan standing there. His shoulder rested inside the door, and he had one hand tucked in his pocket. My belly flipped and heat blazed through me when his eyes met mine.
“Hey,” I said, my voice coming out breathless.
“Hey. Can I come in?”
“Of course.” I opened the door wider, and he brushed past me.
As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, he spun around. I stumbled back instantly, my shoulder blades landing against the door.
He placed both palms on the door beside my shoulders, and his gaze held mine.
“What?” My pulse raced, my breath short and shallow.
“This.” He leaned closer until his lips were but a whisper away from mine.
I felt as if electricity sizzled where our lips met. He took my mouth in a lazy, sensual, and utterly devouring kiss. By the time he lifted his head, my knees were weak. I could feel the slick heat of my arousal at the apex of my thighs.
“You can’t do that,” I whispered a weak, raspy protest.
“I just did,” he pointed out.
I rolled my eyes, placing my palm on his chest. I intended to push him back, but the rapid pounding of his heart against my palm arrested my movement for a few seconds. Maybe it didn’t make sense, but I was relieved that his pulse felt as wildly out of control as mine did.
I pressed just enough that he stepped back. I ducked under his arm and stepped around him. I walked to the windows of my hotel room, curling my arms around my waist as I looked out. The view here was beautiful. Willow Brook, like so much of Alaska, had mountains nearby. With winter on the way, snow already blanketed the peaks.
The lake was frozen. The sunset reflected on the ice, a blurry shimmer of lavender and deep pink.
