Reverie

by Shain Rose

  Brey smiled and rested her head on Jax’s shoulder. “He seemed thrilled to see you.”

  "And he sounded sincere when he said he wished he could have made it right?"

  Brey nodded.

  I went back to typing and cut their conversation short. "Is this ride ever going to end?"

  My tone must have come off rude because Jaydon kicked my chair from behind. “Loosen up, you prick. We’re not working.”

  “You’re not working,” I grumbled.

  The conversation in the van went on without me. Rome, another one of the newlywed’s friends who’d flown in for the wedding, bothered Katie by continually calling her Kate-Bait. Jaydon complained that he should have been able to invite a few girls. Jax kept telling him to fuck off while Brey kept my two brothers from coming to blows.

  I worked.

  At one point, Vick leaned right over my lap to take a picture of the view. “You want to trade seats since you’re so intent on capturing every damn thing on your phone?” I asked quietly so we were the only ones privy to our conversation.

  “We’ll never get a better view than this,” she whisper-shouted back at me.

  “Then put your phone down and look at it.”

  She glared at me, but clicked off her phone’s camera. “Fine. Trade seats with me.”

  I slid my laptop into the case at my feet and unbuckled my belt. She started to stand but there was enough space for me to just grab her by the hips and lift her. I held her as I slid into her seat and set her in mine. Her eyes widened and stayed on me the whole time.

  “What?”

  “Don’t grab me like that in front of everyone,” she whispered so discreetly I could barely hear her.

  “Why?”

  “Because it looks like you … we’ve … well, you know.”

  I smirked. “Maybe I don’t. Care to enlighten me?”

  She rolled her eyes and looked out the window. “Don’t be a jerk and don’t grab me like you know my body intimately.”

  I looked her up and down. Then I reached past her to pull her seatbelt down across her chest. I took my time, and I felt her chest heave in a breath, hold it. A little bubble, one I didn’t want to exist formed around us. I snapped the seatbelt into place and popped our moment. “But I do know your body just that way, Victoria.”

  She scoffed, “No one knows about our night, and I want it to stay that way.”

  “Why?”

  “Because!” she said loudly and some of her friends looked over. I was finding she had a hard time keeping her voice down.

  “Are you ashamed, Pix?”

  She smiled at everyone and they lost interest quickly. “I’m not ashamed. I just don’t think it was memorable enough to share.”

  I hummed low. “Okay. I’ll let you have that one.”

  She pursed her lips like she wanted to say more but knew it wasn’t in her best interest. Her honey-colored eyes followed my movements as I reached back into my bag to grab my laptop.

  “What are you working on that is so much better than all this, anyway?” She leaned in a little as I opened my laptop, and her blonde hair slid from her shoulder onto mine.

  She was so damn close I could have turned and bit the bottom lip I’d spent so much time nibbling the other night. It tasted like a sweet strawberry, and I could smell that she was probably wearing that same lip gloss.

  My body reacted, and I was surprised to find I could barely focus on the email I pulled up. “Just business as always. I may need to research that little company of Mr. Stevie’s too. Huh?”

  She recoiled. “His name’s Steven. Or Mr. Samson. And I highly doubt Steven will think your company buying out ours is a good idea, not after our conversation about you not giving a damn about employees.”

  Her defensive tone tempted me to push her more. “Honey, for the right price, every man thinks my ideas are fan-fucking-tastic.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Not Steven.”

  The bus driver announced that we’d arrived and everyone cheered.

  I let Vick’s comment go. She could live in her bubble forever. She probably would too, because I wouldn’t pay an arm and a leg for a company that wasn’t willing to bend to my will. If Mr. Stevie wanted to keep Samson and Sons, he could.

  We paddle boarded on the private beach for much longer than I would have liked to. Fortunately, Rome was also one of the clients I personally invested for. We discussed how his clubs and bars were doing and where we could put extra money. It was close enough to a business meeting that I didn’t feel I’d completely wasted my day.

  When Katie, Brey, and Vick approached us, I figured I could succumb to a little play. They all goaded Rome into going out to paddleboard. Katie and Brey didn’t bother with me, as if they knew my answer would be a withering look.

  They practically dragged Rome out, but Vick lingered behind, eyeing me in my black swim trunks. “You dressed to get into the ocean. Are you planning to?”

  I looked at the bikini she filled out. “I don’t think you’re dressed for paddleboarding at all.”

  She crossed her arms. “Jett, I’m wearing a swimsuit. Of course, I dressed for it.”

  “You barely kept it on with that last fall.”

  “So, your attention wasn’t just on your work this whole time,” she remarked, hands falling to her hips.

  “If you're insinuating that I was paying attention to you, I can admit to that. Every guy is paying attention to you. The paddleboard instructor can’t look away. He’s too damn nervous he’ll miss when the strings you call a bikini top inevitably come loose.” I wasn’t kidding either. He was still staring at her even while she talked to me.

  I understood though. Vick drew eyes wherever she went, I was starting to realize. She dressed for attention and she got it. She had chosen to wear a bubblegum-pink bikini top and thong today and the color popped against her tan. Her blonde hair was down and slicked back by the ocean water. With her long legs and loud personality, she drew every eye on that private beach.

  She put her hands on her hips and leaned in closer. “Jett Stonewood, stop trying to insult me and get your workaholic ass into that beautiful water. No one should be sitting here working, not even you.”

  I stared at her for maybe a moment too long. She surprised me by not fighting back when I insulted her. Most everyone would have been defensive, would have retaliated in some way. She, instead, wanted me to have an enjoyable time.

  Before I realized what I was doing, my laptop was back in its case and I was standing up. She backed up a step, and her eyes widened as I loomed up to her. She didn’t shrink away. Instead, she blatantly looked when I took my shirt off.

  “Careful, Pix, someone might think you had an unmemorable night with me.”

  5

  Vick

  That man could sit on a laptop all day, and somehow, I would still salivate over him. When he took his top off, I wasn't going to look away for anyone. I didn't care if everyone in the world knew I’d slept with him right then.

  Kauai somehow made everything more vivid, colors more saturated, life more vibrant. And under that sun, Jett became a man I wanted more and more. His arms looked bigger, his chest wider, his abs more defined. His skin already looked bronze even though I was sure he didn’t spend extra time tanning.

  I didn't respond to him, knowing that's what he probably wanted. I just met his gaze and held it.

  He cocked his head as if assessing me. "Paddleboarding won't make me enjoy this trip."

  "Have you ever paddle boarded before?"

  He grunted and then walked past me to grab a board. "Of course."

  I rolled my eyes. "Not everyone has done it. It isn’t just common practice, Jett."

  I grabbed mine and followed him out.

  "Have you not?" he asked the question like he knew the answer.

  "I just learned on this trip."

  As he waded into the water, I followed. When he veered around a large rock that blocked the others from view, I di
d too.

  "So, you just suntanned when you went to the beach before?"

  I let the cool blue water lap at me while the sun warmed my skin. I breathed in the humid air and felt the breeze in my hair before I answered. "My family only went to the beach when I was young. I haven't been to one since high school. This is my first time."

  Before he jumped onto the paddleboard, he asked, "Why?"

  I shrugged. "Life sometimes gives you lemons and you make lemonade. Other times, you can’t make anything."

  It wasn't an answer. We both knew it. I waited to see if he'd pry, but he jumped up on the paddleboard instead.

  I got to my feet, the board shaking beneath me, and steadied myself. Jett paddled ahead with confident strokes. When I stuck my paddle in the water, I overbalanced and belly flopped in with a splash.

  Jett looked back and laughed. I managed to right myself and paddle a few strokes after him, but it wasn’t long before I fell again. Each time I fell, he laughed harder.

  Under the sun and in the sparkling water, I could swear Jett was finally enjoying himself.

  After about my tenth fall, I stayed in the water and rested my elbows on the board as I stared up at him. "You have to admit this is kind of fun, Jett."

  He paddled up so close, looming over me. Droplets of water glistened on his legs and he smiled down at me like Zeus would at an ungodly soul. "I'm getting my exercise in for the day instead of having to work out when I get back to my place, so that's a plus."

  "Oh, come on," I whined. "You are the epitome of a bad mood. Nothing will make you enjoy this trip, will it?"

  As soon as the words left my mouth, Jett crouched on his paddleboard. His smile disappeared and his brows drew a little closer together. Determination glittered in his eyes.

  I took a small step back in the waist-deep water. He jumped off his board, unhooked himself from it, and came toward me. I backed away and tried to put my board between us. "What are you doing, Jett?"

  "Showing you exactly what will make me enjoy this trip."

  He ducked underwater and suddenly I felt his hands skating around my ankle, removing my board's band. Then, he was back above water, pushing away my board so he could grab me around the waist and bring my body up against his.

  I glanced around quickly. “Are you joking? We can’t …”

  He didn’t shift his eyes away from mine for a single second, not even checking his surroundings to see who might be watching us. He just pulled me closer with his hand on the back of my neck and kissed me.

  Devoured me.

  Branded me with that kiss. He didn’t leave room for me to object or resist or even breathe. No part of me wanted to do any of those things anyway.

  My stomach flipped, and my heart rate picked up. My mind got lost in the illusion of a world where we were lovers, the only people who existed. The waves lapped at my back, cooling it while Jett heated me everywhere else.

  “This bikini top …” he groaned as he kissed down my neck.

  “You love it?”

  “Me and every fucking man on the island.”

  He untied the strings around my neck. “Is that a problem?”

  “You enjoy men looking at you?”

  I smirked and shrugged. “I don’t really care whether they do or not. It’s all about fun, Jett. Enjoying yourself on a vacation. I enjoy feeling sexy, and if men enjoy looking, I guess everyone wins. They’re just looking.”

  He hummed but didn’t say anything else. He let my top slide off of me and drop into the water. The breeze felt liberating against my bare skin. His hands skimmed down my neck to my breasts. “They don’t deserve to see this body, Vick. Not like it’s a piece of meat. It should be a crime.”

  I didn’t answer him, didn’t tell him that his idea of hiding it all away was silly. Because at one time, I’d thought I would never get to display it again or even have a body to display, for that matter.

  I looked down at his hands squeezing me. I rubbed my hands up and down his chest. Then, I did what any woman would with Jett Stonewood in front of them. I hooked my arms behind his neck and jumped up to wrap my legs around his hips. He grabbed my ass with both his hands and hummed low in my ear, “Woman, next time we go to a place you have to wear a swimsuit, wear a damn one piece.”

  I bit his neck. “No fun.”

  “And we all know you’re all about fucking fun.”

  He slid my bikini to the side. When his fingers brushed over me, I should have glanced around to make sure my friends weren’t looking for me, that people weren’t catching me in the act.

  I didn’t though.

  Beep. Beep. Beep.

  This was my moment and the little sound in my head reminded me of that. In the middle of Kauai’s bluest bay, under the brightest sun, with one astonishingly hot guy who wanted me here, and I wanted him.

  I catalogued it, saving it for a future daydream when I’d pull it out of my imaginary Rolodex. I noted the way his blue eyes darkened, the way his jaw tightened when I slid my hand down the front of his swim trunks, how he thrust into me and every one of his muscles rippled under me. I would have taken a freaking picture of his face if I could have, so perfectly symmetrical and angled just right that every woman in the world would probably drop their bikini top for him.

  I didn’t need to record the way his hand moved in me though. He had learned how to work each inch of my body into a frenzy the first night we were together and there in that crystal-blue water, he used every skill he knew to drive me to the edge.

  I writhed against him, wanting to race to my release, but he kept a steady pace. “Jett, stop playing with me.”

  “I thought you liked to play,” he quipped as he walked us into deeper water.

  I squeezed him hard and quickened my strokes. “I like to have fun.”

  His hand moved in me, and I moaned. “This fun enough?”

  I didn’t answer, just rode his hand and stroked him at the same pace.

  He grunted, “Looks like you’re having a great time, Vick.”

  He slid another finger in, and I bucked against him. “Jett, can you please …”

  “Please what?”

  I moaned, “Please shut up and fuck me here. Please. Please. Please.”

  He laughed at my chanting but didn’t move to take his shorts off. He curled those two fingers in me and rubbed in just the right place.

  He kept strolling deeper into the water. And just as I was about to scream, he submerged us.

  We looked at each other as I pumped him faster and faster, and he fingered me at the same speed. The water clouded my senses, disoriented me with lack of oxygen, and shook me to my core. When I orgasmed, I didn’t see stars or explosions or lights. I saw his blurry figure under the water like a foggy dream taking over my damn mind.

  He owned me, held me where I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t feel air against my skin, or witness any life other than him.

  I felt him spasm right after me, his muscles tightening. I saw his neck go taut and knew he was getting off just as intensely as me.

  We were under the water, in an unfamiliar world made for us alone. I told myself to forget about the fairy tale, to stop living in reverie, but I lost myself to it with him under that water.

  After Jett got me off, he swam away, then reappeared with my swim top. "Here."

  I grabbed it and retied the strings as he front crawled over to where the tide had washed our boards out. When he pushed mine toward me, I said, "Should I go around the rock first or you?"

  "Or we could both go at the same time?"

  I narrowed my eyes at him.

  He laughed. "Vick, no one cares what we're doing."

  "Speak for yourself. My friends are nosy."

  "Are they? Or are you the nosy one and think they'll ask the questions you normally ask them?"

  "Brey knows …"

  "She might know something is up, but that girl would never ask."

  I huffed and straightened my bikini top before I paddled my bo
ard toward the rock. "Whatever. It doesn't matter."

  "I know it doesn't. We're adults. We can do whatever we want in the damn water."

  I ignored him and swam toward Jaydon and Brey who looked like they had resorted to sitting in shallow water looking at seashells.

  "Where did you guys go?" Jaydon asked.

  I looked pointedly at Jett behind me. "There's some beautiful coral reef on the other side of that rock."

  Jett rolled his eyes and walked past all of us without engaging in the conversation.

  "Guess Jett didn't enjoy it?" Jaydon practically yelled after his brother to irritate him.

  Jett turned to respond, catching all of us off guard. "Oh, the reef was exceptional. Under the water, in this light—absolutely exceptional."

  My face heated, my stomach flipped, and my knees went weak enough that I slid down lower into the water to hide my reaction to his words.

  6

  Vick

  Hiding my reaction to him for the rest of the trip proved more difficult. His presence weighed me down at every turn.

  We would go out to eat and he’d sit next to me as if he thought we’d suddenly become friends. When I ordered a helping of the pig roast, he scrunched up his nose as if I offended him. Then he went on to tell the table about the detriment of meat to our health.

  Of course Jett was vegan. His overly practical mind couldn’t fathom eating food for pleasure. Food was fuel and, according to him, meat was like feeding your body unleaded when you could have diesel.

  Nope, he corrected to electric.

  We’d have sundowners on the hotel beach and he’d hover at my elbow like a pesky fly, a very large, very sexy pesky fly.

  We would go for a hike and he’d decide to come with, even though he complained the whole time.

  On a particularly rigorous hike, he critiqued my hiking style the whole way, telling me I needed better shoes and I was going to fall, and then he smiled smugly when I did.

  I didn't give in to the weight of his negativity. Even on that hike, covered in mud from my fall, I made it all the way to the Queen’s Bath. The rocks jutted up against one another as we climbed them along the water’s edge. A steep slope fed into a pool of crystal-blue water. The surf lapped at the rock surrounding it as one wave crashed in and the bath swelled with more water.