A Lot Like Love

by Jennifer Snow

  His gaze met hers, and her heart pounded even more viciously than it had while the ride was throwing them around like rag dolls. Adrenaline was coursing through her, and the near-death experience only enhanced the sexual tension thick on the air around them.

  “You okay?” Wes asked.

  She nodded, not trusting her voice.

  “Arms up,” the kid attendant said, arriving at their cart.

  Sarah looked away and raised her arms as the bar lifted and they were free. Wes climbed out and extended a hand to her. Hers shook slightly as she placed it in his, heat radiating through her arm all the way to her core, and climbed out on trembling legs.

  “Well…that was fun,” Wes said as they made their way to the exit where Lia and Marissa were waiting.

  “That was terrifying.” In more ways than one. Her feelings were growing for Wes…or maybe just returning from a place where she’d kept them buried for years. They were back with a terrifying intensity now.

  “That was so amazing,” Marissa said, her cheeks flushed from exhilaration.

  “Yeah, amazing,” Wes mumbled.

  “What’s next?” Lia asked, looking even more excited than the kid and not at all concerned that her hair was messy and windblown.

  Who was this woman? And how did Wes and Marissa bring out this side of her?

  Sarah shook her head. “I’m definitely done with the rides.” Her vision was still struggling to focus, and her stomach wasn’t surviving another one of those experiences.

  Wes nodded his agreement. “Yeah, these are all yours,” he said, handing the ride tickets to Marissa.

  “Well, there’s really no point in you two standing in all these lines with us,” Lia said casually, but there was a hint of mischief in her eyes. “Marissa and I will just go, and you two can hang out…”

  Marissa smiled. “Great idea.”

  Wes stared at her as though waiting for her to respond. “Um…okay,” she said.

  “Sounds good,” he said. Then to Marissa, “You sure?”

  “Absolutely,” she said, taking Lia’s hand and rushing off toward the next ride.

  “Don’t feel like you have to stick around,” Lia called out, walking backward through the crowded fairway. “Just text me if you leave and we’ll Uber it back to your place later.”

  Yep, they’d definitely been set up.

  And Sarah had never been so grateful for Lia Jameson’s interference in her entire life.

  Wes turned to her and shrugged. “Well, we’ve been ditched.”

  “Looks that way.” She shifted from one foot to the other, looking everywhere but at him.

  “Walk on the beach?” he asked.

  Her surprise had to be reflected on her face, but she nodded. “Sure.” A walk on the beach with the man who’d always held her heart seemed like a much better way to spend the evening than surviving more amusement rides.

  Though she suspected her emotions were about to go on a ride of their own.

  …

  The sand was still warm from the heat of that day’s sun as they walked barefoot down the beach. Everyone had abandoned it for the fairgrounds, and the farther they moved away from the bright lights and noise, the more alone they were. Walking along in silence, the waves rolling up on the shore was the only sound.

  Wes reached across and took Sarah’s sandals from her, carrying them in one hand with his.

  “Thank you,” she said, sounding suddenly shy.

  He hadn’t anticipated how intimate this would feel. The two of them alone, just the glow of the moon reflecting off the water…

  “So is everything ready for the reunion?” he asked, immediately regretting the casual, non-intimate question. Slipping back into friend territory wasn’t the objective, but he wasn’t sure how to do this. It had been years since he’d dated, and this wasn’t just some woman—this was Sarah.

  They had a shared history, and they knew each other really well, even better since she’d been back in town…it was different with her. And after the kiss fiasco, he suspected he might only have one more shot at this. He wanted to get it right.

  “Yes, I think so,” she said. “Everything’s booked, guests are confirmed, the B&B is ready…thanks to you.”

  “Are you looking forward to heading back to L.A. once it’s over?” He didn’t know why her answer mattered so much all of a sudden. He knew she was going back, but a small part of him hoped she was at least a little bit sad about leaving.

  “Not as much as I thought I’d be,” she said, looking at him.

  Their eyes caught and held. She was so incredibly beautiful, he couldn’t look away. Especially the way the moonlight caught in her eyes. Her dark hair blowing around her bare shoulders and the curve of her gorgeous body had his body betraying his common sense to take things slow.

  “We will be sad to see you leave,” he said. “I’ll be sad to see you leave.”

  She looked as torn as he felt as they stopped walking. He turned toward her and dropped their shoes into the sand, taking her hands in his and moving several inches closer. He heard a heart beating and he couldn’t be sure if it was hers or his.

  “Sarah…I don’t know what’s happening the last few weeks, but I want you to know how grateful I am for everything you’ve done for Marissa.”

  She nodded, looking slightly disappointed. “Grateful.”

  “More than grateful.” He released one of her hands and touched her cheek. “I’ve also liked spending time with you…even if I didn’t always agree with the choices you were making regarding the upgrades.”

  She laughed, and the sound warmed him to his core. “I’ve enjoyed spending time with you, too,” she said. She stared up at him, and the questioning look in her gaze was one he had no answers to. All he did know was that he wanted a do-over on that kiss.

  He tangled his hand into her hair and slowly lowered his head to hers. She smelled like the salty sea air around them, and the nervous way her eyes flitted between his eyes and lips had him wanting to kiss her even more.

  “I want to try that kiss again,” he said.

  He saw her gulp. “You know you don’t deserve another shot at it, right?” she asked, but her tone belied the words. It was full of longing and desire.

  “I do know that, but I’m hoping you’d be willing to forgive and forget?”

  She swallowed hard as she nodded.

  He lowered his head even closer, and she stood on tiptoes to close the gap between them. Her mouth was warm, soft…and this time, he was prepared.

  He grabbed her hips and pulled her closer, their feet sinking into the sand. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she deepened the kiss, savoring his mouth. The flavors of mint and vanilla mingled together—his gum, her lip gloss…and they tasted good together. They felt good together, the way their bodies molded into each other, the perfectly in-sync rhythm of the kiss. It wasn’t just chemistry or lust…it was something deeper. Something a lot like love.

  Which had him absolutely terrified but all in. He’d always been intimidated by her. She was so far out of his league. Still was, but right now he didn’t care…he just wanted her.

  Picking her up into his arms, he knelt on the sand and carefully lowered her onto it. Lying on his side, he rested her head in his hand as he continued to kiss her more desperately. He felt his entire body come alive. It had been so long since a woman had him feeling this way.

  Breathless, he pulled back to look at her. “Sarah, I…”

  “Me too,” she said, reading his thoughts.

  He wanted her, right there on the beach. There was no one around, but anyone could walk by. Thickening in the front of his shorts was begging for him to think of something, and the look of pleading desire in Sarah’s expression just added that much more pressure.

  “I bet the ocean’s warm,” she whispered agai
nst his lips.

  Holy hell…could they actually do it? He studied her expression to see if she was serious, and she grinned. “Unless, of course, you’re not up for it.”

  “Oh, I’m up for it,” he said, getting to his feet. He unbuttoned and removed his shirt. Sarah’s appreciative gaze made him feel that much more confident. She obviously liked what she saw. He’d caught her checking him out over the last few weeks.

  “Your turn,” he said. He wasn’t going all in alone. He extended a hand to her and pulled her to her feet.

  She didn’t even hesitate as she removed her tank top, slowly lifting it up over her body and tossing it to the sand. Her body was amazing—smooth, toned, soft-looking. It took all his effort not to reach out and touch her.

  “You’re up,” she said.

  He undid his shorts and removed them, standing there in only his boxers. He hoped the darkness helped to hide the bulge in the front of his underwear. He motioned for her to continue disrobing.

  She hesitated only a fraction of a second before sliding the flowy skirt down over her hips and wiggling out of it.

  He swallowed hard at the sight of the lacy white thong she wore. Low across her stomach and cut high on her hips, elongating her stomach and illuminating the hourglass shape. Damn, she was smart and sexy.

  “I didn’t think geniuses wore sexy undergarments,” he teased, because otherwise he was going to grab her and take her right there on the sand. He didn’t care who was watching.

  “Common misconception,” she said, nodding toward the underwear. “Off.”

  He hesitated slightly. “Maybe we should move into the water first.”

  “You afraid you might disappoint?” she asked, the teasing glint in her eye driving him wild.

  “Yes,” he said with a laugh, taking her hands and walking backward toward the ocean. The first cool waves hit the back of his legs, and his breath caught. “It’s cold… You sure about this?”

  She released his hands and ran farther into the waves before diving into them.

  “Holy shit.” She was all in. No backing out now.

  He took a deep breath and dove in after her. The cool saltwater chilled his body, but as he resurfaced next to her, he was immediately hot again. Her long, dark hair wet, pushed back away from her face and hanging down her back, was sexy as hell. The fabric of the white bra, now wet, was virtually see-through, and the shape of her breasts and the peak of her hardened nipples were on full display.

  Her inhibitions, her confidence was seducing as hell.

  He moved toward her and wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her into him as the ocean waves cascaded around them. He kissed her hard, and her arms encircled his neck. His cock throbbed as she pressed her body even closer, wrapping her legs around his waist.

  “Sarah, you are so hot,” he said, his hands caressing her waist, over her rib cage, down along her hips and ass.

  “You sound surprised,” she said.

  “It’s not just this body, which is amazing; it’s everything about you—your confidence, your strength, your kindness…”

  She reached behind her body and unclasped the bra. She slowly lowered the straps down over her arms and tossed it onto the shore.

  His hands gently massaged her breasts, and she moaned as his thumbs rolled over her nipples. He lowered his head to the crook of her neck and tasted the salt on her skin. So delicious. So tempting. He hardened even more, and she reached below the water to grip his cock.

  He groaned and bit her neck gently as she stroked up and down. “You’re killing me.”

  She removed her hand and ground her hips against him, rubbing up and down the length of him. Her breathing grew labored as she increased the speed and intensity.

  “It’s been a long time…” He wasn’t sure why he was warning her.

  “Me too,” she said. She kissed him as the ocean waves splashed up around them and he gripped her thighs as he felt himself getting close to the edge. His five-year celibacy combined with the weeks of sexual tension mounting between them had him on the verge of coming far too fast. He closed his eyes, and a second later, she was gone.

  Hearing the splash of water around him, he opened his eyes and frowned. She was swimming back toward the shore. What the…?

  “Sarah?”

  She kept going, suddenly at the speed of an Olympic athlete, until she reached the sand. Then, climbing out, she gathered all their clothes into her arms. “Thanks for a fun night!” she called out to him.

  His mouth dropped. “You’re leaving me stranded out here? Naked?” And stealing his clothes, if appearances could be trusted.

  “I guess now we’re even,” she said as she jogged away down the beach, putting her own clothes back on as she went.

  He bobbed in the waves, watching her disappear as the first of the carnival fireworks exploded across the night sky. Vibrant colors of red, yellow, and orange burst across the dark night sky, the glow reflecting on the ocean around him.

  Now they were even? What the hell did she mean?

  One thing was certain. This new memory of skinny dipping with Sarah Lewis was definitely going to rival the old one.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sarah towel dried her hair an hour later in her bedroom, still grinning over her actions. It had taken all her strength not to give in to Wes in that moment. Her body had come alive from his touch, his kiss, his desire for her… She’d wanted him just as badly as he’d clearly wanted her.

  But he’d totally deserved it.

  Maybe leaving him stranded without his clothes had been a little overkill, but years of repressed feelings mixed with self-preservation revenge fantasies had overshadowed any guilt. She’d needed to set their record straight. He’d rejected her—twice. If he wanted her, really wanted her, he had to work for it.

  A loud banging on the inn door had her heart racing.

  Shit. There was no questioning who that was.

  Heading downstairs, her legs felt slightly unsteady and she stopped on the stairs, seeing him enter, using the key she’d given him during the renovations. The laugh that escaped her at the sight of him in a women’s beach cover-up was uncontrollable, and the look on his face when he turned toward her made her laugh even harder.

  “You think this is funny?” he asked, advancing toward the stairs.

  She nodded, struggling to compose herself. The thin, flowy fabric with the brightly colored flower pattern did little to conceal his body underneath. “Little bit,” she croaked out before another fit of laughter.

  “I had to flag a nice lady down and beg her for her cover-up, then I had to catch a taxi on the boardwalk looking like this, and then I had to agree to fix the understanding driver’s fence for free in exchange for fare because someone stole my wallet,” he said, climbing the stairs. His hair was still damp, and she could smell the salty ocean lingering on his flesh.

  “Well, it serves you right,” she said, crossing her arms across her chest in her thin silk bathrobe. She swallowed hard, but a lump seemed to be stuck in her throat.

  He stopped on the stair below her, and his gaze burned into hers. “What did you mean, now we’re even?”

  She swallowed again, then cleared her throat. “That night in the water…before graduation. You set me up.” She hated admitting that his actions that night had stayed with her over the years, that he’d had that much control over her teenage heart back then, but it was the truth. First heartbreaks were the deepest.

  He frowned. “No I didn’t.”

  “That’s not how I remember it,” she said, her pulse racing. And she’d thought about it to an unhealthy level over the years.

  “Well, your memory must be a lot different from mine,” he said, his voice slightly husky. “Because I remember a moment when I wanted to kiss you.”

  Her mouth gaped. So all this time, she hadn’
t been imagining that connection. That moment. He’d felt it, too. That put her overthinking mind at ease a little, but he wasn’t off the hook. “But then you left.”

  He released a deep sigh. “My friends showed up. What was I supposed to do?”

  “Not leave me bobbing alone, naked in the ocean, to become a joke for your friends?”

  The sting of that humiliation had followed her for the weeks leading up to graduation. She’d felt her peers’ eyes on her, heard the whispers. She didn’t think Wes had perpetuated the gossip or rumors, but he certainly hadn’t been affected by them the way she had. Maybe if it had been someone else, someone she hadn’t been so in love with, she could have laughed it off. But having her hopes dashed in such a public way by him had left a scar.

  He lowered his head, and remorse was apparent in his expression when he looked at her again. “I freaked out, okay? I was super attracted to you that night. Why do you think I dared you to do it in the first place?” He moved up a step until his face was level with hers. “I liked you, Sarah.”

  Her heart raced, and her mouth was dry. “Well, why didn’t you say something? Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you leave?”

  “Because you were this amazing genius, and I was just a dumb jock. You had all these amazing plans, and I had football. We were worlds apart back then. I wasn’t good enough for you.”

  That’s how he saw things? “That’s not what I remember,” she said softly.

  He reached out and cupped her face. “I liked you, Sarah. I still like you,” he said, pulling her face toward his.

  She could barely breathe as she moved toward him. “You do?”

  “Yeah, I really do,” he murmured against her lips. “And I’d really like to finish what we started in the water.”

  Oh my God. She didn’t trust her voice, so she nodded. She desperately wanted that, too.

  In half a heartbeat, he swept her into his arms and headed back upstairs to her bedroom. They fell onto the bed, and Wes rolled them so that she was on top. His lust-filled gaze when he looked at her surprised the hell out of her. No other man had looked at her like this before. Especially not one as hot as Wes.