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He looks so fucking good sitting there with that smirk on his face. Better than he should to a woman desperately trying to win her husband back, but Beck is hot, and I haven’t had sex in a very long time.Anyonein my shoes would feel the same.
“I loved it.” My voice comes out breathy, high with adrenaline.
He takes the helmet from me. “I knew you would.” There’s something quiet and unhappy in the words.
“If you let me drive us back, I can check it off my bucket list,” I say, following him through the bush-lined path to the beach.
“Not happening. Choose something else off your bucket list.”
He sits on a rock to pull off his boots, and I kick off my sneakers. “Camp at Shelter Cove? It’s hours from here. You might want to just let me drive the bike.”
He glances up with a single brow raised. “Of all the possible things,that’swhat you’d choose?”
It was Mimi who told me about it. I remember the photo she showed me of her and her kids camping there. The little boy in the photo was dead, she’d told me, but that was okay because she had me. I’d really believed I could replace him. Maybe she had too.
I shrug. “It’s just one of those dumb things you hear about as a kid and think is special. I’m sure it’d be disappointing.”
He walks a little ahead and begins to undress. I do the same. Except there’s no swimsuit under his shorts—just boxer briefs, and he promptly removes those too. Not that I’d have expected anything different, but he has an amazing ass. You could eat a bowl of cereal out of that curve coming off his hip. Regrettably, he heads toward the water before I can check out what he’s packing in front. He wades until he’s waist deep, every line and curve in his back delineated as he dives in.
“Why do I have to wear a suit, but you don’t?” I call from the shore as he emerges.
He pushes the hair out of his face. “Because you’re a girl and you don’t care, whereas I’m a guy, and I don’t need to see one of my friend’s wives naked.”
“You’re sure?” I tease, running a finger under the bottom of my bikini top as I wade in. “They’re small but spectacular. You might never get this chance again.”
He won’t agree, but I could spin a whole lot of fantasies out of what might occur if he did.
A muscle flickers in his cheek. “I’ve already heard more than I ever needed to about how you look naked. You went skinny dipping with a bunch of our friends, and Liam continued discussing it for months just to torment Caleb.”
I laugh quietly. “Caleb’s kind of a prude where nudity is concerned.”
His eyes drift over me. I’m not sure he even knows he’s doing it. “If you were my wife, I’d be the same way.” There’s a hint of a growl to his voice, a growl that hits right between my legs. The sudden snap of desire is so intense it’s almost painful.
I want to feel that growl against my neck as I reach below the surface of the water to palm him. I could, too. I could do it so easily.
My eyes flicker to his waist, to that trail of hair leading from his belly button. I sink into the water, drawn toward him unwillingly, and come to a horrified halt, stepping hard into the sand beneath my feet.
What the hell are you doing, Kate?You really think you can fuck Beck without ruining everything? You’d lose every goddamn thing you want from life.
“It’s too cold for me,” I announce abruptly, my heart thudding in my chest.
I turn and walk straight out, ignoring his objections behind me, my breath coming too fast.Jesus, what was I thinking?
I turn away and pull my clothes on.
“Well, that didn’t last long,” he grouses, walking out after me.
I look intently at the moon from under damp lashes, trying to ignore the sound of a zipper behind me as he dresses, waiting until I’m reasonably certain he isn’t naked before I turn. “Sorry. And, uh, thanks. For doing this.”
He pulls his shirt on. The wet fabric clings to muscles I’d be better off not seeing in the first place. “Why were you so hesitant to come, anyway? You were always trying to get Caleb to go night swimming.”
My teeth sink into my lip. “Caleb thought I was too wild, and maybe he was right. Maybe needing something crazier than everyone else does is how I ended up where I did.”
His mouth turns down. “There was nothing wrong with your idea of fun, Kate. The two of you are just different. I like riding a motorcycle. It doesn’t mean I’m going to shoot heroin. You like to skinny dip and play ridiculous pranks. Youshouldlike those things. There’s nothing wrong with them.”
I wrap my arms around myself. “I’m worried that I’m not going to know I’ve gone too far until it’s too late.”
He places his hand on my shoulder. “I’m not going to let you mess up.”
