“Don’t leave. Don’t leave.” I felt the safety in her arms, the softness, the tenderness.
“Blake, you broke my heart today.” She sat forward, studying my face.
“I know I did.” I only wanted her lips again, the feel of her body sliding against mine. Things were right when we were connected. The pressure was gone. The only responsibility I had was to keep her in the fortress of my arms.
“I will make things right for Bridget. I swear I will.” I looked into her eyes. The tinges of hazel and amber that drove me crazy the first day I saw her at the Cove danced together.
“It doesn’t fix everything.” She drew X’s over my heart with her finger.
“No, it doesn’t.” I sat forward on my elbows. “But I learned something today.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t matter to me that we haven’t known each other long, or that we’ve burned through this relationship hotter and faster than we should have. When I had to fly home without you, I knew why I was so crazy. I knew what had happened.”
“What happened, Blake?”
Her hair fell loosely on her shoulders. Her long eyelashes were damp with tears. All I could think about was kissing her. Hanging on to every touch.
“I fell in love with you.”
“Oh my God.” She stared at me. “I-I this is really happening.”
I nodded. “I hope so. I’m completely in love with you. Every part of you.”
She kissed me, dragging her soft lips against my mouth. “I love you. I mean really love you. So much that I think my heart might pound out of my chest, or that you can see it on my face in the morning. I’ve been scared to tell you. I wanted to tell you, but it’s too fast, right? Too soon?”
“No, baby.” I reached for the remote. The room faded to black. “You and me. I want all of it. All of you. I want to love you like you’ve never been loved. Your body. Your heart. The way your mind runs a million miles a minute.” I threaded my fingers through hers, carrying her hands over her head. “No more running. No more games. I’m not going to let you go tonight or any other night.”
“Ohh,” she sighed.
“I think I told you the first night we were together I wouldn’t stop until you begged me too.” I felt her squirm under me. “Well, not true. You can’t make me stop loving you.”
I nipped under her ear, feeling her come alive beneath me.
“Don’t stop loving me and I won’t stop loving you,” she breathed.
I kissed below her neck. “This is the best part.” I smiled.
“The makeup sex?” she suggested. Her hands had slipped free and she was running them up my back.
“Yes. Makeup sex. And then after that comes the ‘I love you’ sex.”
I had more to tell her. We could talk in the morning over coffee. Or in the shower. Or when we tried to figure out what in the hell we were going to do about the trailer park.
I’d tell her I was trying to track down Kendal. I would also have to let her know I was headed to Europe in two weeks for a look at a champagne vineyard. But I didn’t feel like I had to rush it. We had time. She was going to wake up in my arms. Nothing else mattered.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Alyson
I didn’t know how to get off the roller coaster, only that with Blake it was worth the struggle. It was worth the fight. Worth the tears to have him next to me again. Because from now on, we would work together. We would fight for each other.
He loved me. And through this craziness I had fallen in love with him too. It was the reason I ran. The reason I felt every emotion so strongly.
His smoldering eyes landed on mine and I inhaled slowly.
“Make up sex, baby.” He grinned.
“Yes,” I purred as he pulled the clothes from my body.
I loved being naked with him. I loved how he possessed me. How he filled me. How he fucking loved me like I was his and no one else’s.
I watched him pile our shirts on the floor, followed by underwear.
He nudged my leg to the side, settling his thick cock against my heat. I groaned feeling how hard and solid he was.
He kissed my lips, dragging my bottom one with his teeth. He pinched my nipples.
“Ohh,” I moaned. He twisted them harder and I rocked into his hands.
He licked the hard nub, flicking his tongue wickedly. An electric current ran from my nipples to my core. He always had a way of unleashing the lightning inside my body.
“I need to fuck you deep,” he groaned. “So deep inside you.”
I nodded, knowing what he meant. We had to reconnect. Promise each other our bodies.
I rolled to my stomach, lifting my hips in the air.
“More,” he growled, dragging me to the edge of the bed, where my feet touched the floor. He spread my legs as he soaked his cock in my honey.
I panted, waiting to feel him thrust inside me. I need it. I need him to fuck me like this. To feel his strength and power consume me.
“Oh God, please, Blake.”
“Please, what?” he teased, pushing against my entrance then withdrawing, letting the cold air hit me.
“Fuck me,” I begged. “I need you inside me.”
I heard him inhale before he gripped my hips. I clung to the sheets as he pushed inside me, the first slice going to new depths.
“Ohh,” I hissed. It was a beautiful reunion as he began to pump in and out. Our skin gliding against each other with rough hot friction.
“You feel so fucking good,” he groaned. His fingers curling into my waist.
I tried to match his thrusts, throwing my backside into him.
We were on a course that couldn’t be derailed. Our fire was burning out of control. We picked up the pace. Rocking. Panting. Sweating. And fucking into sweet oblivion.
“You’re mine, Aly. Always,” Blake grunted as he spread my legs with a new angle.
I gulped, gasping for air. “Yes, yours,” I moaned. “Only yours.”
My head was spinning. I had lost gravity.
I clenched at his cock. I was going to come. I had no more control over my body. I had given it to him. This time it meant something different. I loved him. And he knew it.
His arms lifted me and the ceiling shifted as he tossed me on my back.
“I have to see you when I tell you I love you. When I’m buried inside you.” He sank into me. “I love you, Alyson. I love you.”
My legs wrapped around his waist. “I love you. I love you.” It was the only thing I could put together as the orgasm hit me with a massive wave starting at my toes.
My body began to shake as Blake made me his with one glorious thrust after another.
He grunted in my ear as he let his release shoot deep in my walls. We stared at each other as our bodies slowed.
He kissed my forehead. “Make up sex,” he breathed.
I giggled. “It was the best.”
“That’s what you think.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“That wasn’t a challenge,” I teased.
“It wasn’t?”
I shook my head. “Oh no. No, no, no.” But it was too late, Blake had already scooped me up and was carrying me to the shower.
He turned on the hot water. “We’re just getting started, darlin’.”
I smiled. I knew in my heart it was true.
Epilogue
Blake
October
The water stung my ankles like tiny needles jabbing around the bone every time the surf rushed over my skin. My feet sloshed through the ripples. My toes sank deeper in the wet sand. I picked up a shell and skipped it across the breakers. It sank twenty feet from where I stood. What was it about this place?
It didn’t matter what I did, where I traveled, or how long I was gone; the island pulled me back like a relentless tide.
A gull swooped over a sandbar, diving head first between two swells.
I shoved my hands in my pockets, wiping the salt water off in the process.
A year ago I arrived here a bitter man. An angry man. I thought I was in control, but I wasn’t. The hurt was. It would be easier if I could label it as pain. But it wasn’t that alone. It was mixed with embarrassment and humiliation. Time had eased parts, but I knew it was a wound that would never truly heal.
I felt closer to him here. Whether that was a good thing, I still hadn’t decided. I finally was getting to know the parts of him I never met. The other life he had tucked away here between the dunes. Caleb. Bonnie. The Dune Escape. This stretch of beach where he used to fish. I moved to the side when a strong wave pushed on shore. My charcoal pants were rolled a few cuffs above my ankles.
I felt the heaviness settle in my chest. The weight of the questions sinking from my head to my lungs. What was here wasn’t enough. I’d never talk to my dad at Buddy’s while we sat at the wooden bar. I’d never understand why he chose to raise Caleb and not me. I’d never know why he left my mom.
Instead I had pieces. Scraps and discarded bits like the shells under my feet. Broken wholes thrown on the beach with only half of their story visible.
I reached for another shell and watched it bounce twice when I threw it. I lowered my eyes to the water rushing around me.
I felt the warmth of delicate arms circle my waist and the heat of her body pressed against my back.
“What are you doing out here?” Her cheek flattened against my shoulder blade.
“Thought I’d take a walk before we leave.”
“I was almost afraid to bother you. You looked intense.”
I shook my head. “Just thinking.”
“Hmm.” She withdrew her arms, positioning herself in front of me. “It could only be one of a hundred possible things going on right now. Want to talk about it before I start guessing?”
I kissed her on the forehead. I loved her for asking. I loved her for loving me so much.
“Thinking about my dad. Letting the beach suck me in when I know better. Nothing is going to change.”
“Do you want to know what I think?” She smiled.
“Of course I do.”
“I don’t think it’s the beach’s fault. I think the trip has you worried.”
“What? No. That’s not it.”
She tilted her to the side, her eyes squinting from the sun. “How could it not? You’re worried what people will think or how you even fit into the equation. They’re going to ask uncomfortable questions. And I know you’re good with awkward—you can charm, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect you.”
I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, but it flew free anyway. It reminded me of the first time I saw her at the Cove. She was irritated and lost, a beautiful woman trying to get her bearings. A woman whose view of the world changed mine almost instantly.
“And then there’s the toast,” she reminded me.
“Yeah, the toast. That one’s really got me up all night.” I laughed at the look in her eye.
“Don’t mock me, Blake. I’m the one person who knows how difficult the wedding is going to be for you.”
“It’s not going to be difficult. I am happy for Lea and Caleb. I am going to dance with the most gorgeous woman there. I am going to give one hell of a toast. And then you and I are going on our mooncation.”
“You don’t have to pretend for me.”
“Darlin’, I’m not pretending.” I looked at my watch. “I think we better head back to the house before the car service beats us.”
She stood on her toes, tugging my neck with her hands. “Ok, but kiss me on the beach. We’re not coming back for awhile.”
I dipped my head, taking her lips, pulling her into my arms. My mouth covered hers hot and urgent. My lust and love for her fired through my body. God, this girl could drive my crazy. My fingers snaked up the back of her shirt, eager to feel the softness of her skin.
“I love you, Aly.”
“Don’t stop,” she whispered.
“Never.” I pecked her check. “Now come on. I don’t want to be late.”
She rolled her eyes. “We have a private car and a chartered plane. Don’t they run on your schedule?”
Her fingers threaded through mine as we walked along the beach.
“So, you don’t have any pre-wedding jitters about you’re ex?”
I stopped, my feet dragging in the sand. “Who said anything to you about Holly?”
Alyson’s hands went to her hips. “Lea might have mentioned it. It slipped when we were talking about the wedding party lineup.”
My eyes narrowed. “She’s the maid of honor. I’m the best man. I can’t do much about it.”
“I know that. What about seeing her? Have you thought about it?”
“Once or twice, but not like what you’re implying. Our relationship never became serious.” I tried to think of how to phrase it so she would understand. “But it wouldn’t matter if I dated her for five years or five minutes.” I squeezed Alyson’s hand. “There’s only you. You are the girl flying to North Carolina with me. You are the girl I’m taking to the wedding. And you are the only girl I’m going to spend two weeks with in France on an aptly named mooncation.”
She grinned and suddenly I realized she hadn’t been jealous. “I like it when you say things like that.”
“You do, don’t you?”
She nodded. “I like words.”
“I’ll try to remember that.”
I looked up at the condo windows as we crossed over the Escape boardwalk and passed Lea and Caleb’s blue beach shack.
“Do you think our mooncation trend is going to catch on?” She turned slightly as she pressed on the latch, unlocking the gate to our boardwalk.
The wooden slats were chipped and the decking needed a coat of stain, but Alyson wouldn’t let me touch it.
“It’s perfect like this.” She eyed me the day we moved into the house when she caught me making a list of improvements.
She grabbed the pad from my hand. “Old and dated is ok. This place has character. I thought that’s why you bought it.”
I shoved the pen in my pocket. “I bought it because the final condo sold at the Escape, leaving us homeless.” I saw the look in her eye. “And because you fell in love with it the instant the realtor unlocked the door.”
I had given in to the beach house, its crooked shutters, and the steps that creaked every time I climbed them. I chuckled to myself following Alyson up the stairs now.
“Let’s see. We are taking a honeymoon without getting married, but vacation is way too understated for what we’re going to be doing. I think more people will be mooncationing all over the place.” My hands immediately cupped her bottom as she bounded to the last step on the deck.
“I think I hear the doorbell.” She ran into the house before I could I could get my hands around her waist.
I walked inside, surprised when I saw we had guests.
“Blake,” Jennilee squealed before tackling my knees.
“Hey, tiger.” I wrestled her free then tossed her in the air.
“We’re going to sit on your house.”
I looked at her quizzically and laughed.
Bridget walked toward us. “Jennilee, it’s called house-sitting.”
“Oh.” The little girl giggled.
Alyson handed Bridget a pair of keys. “Thanks for looking after the house for us.”
“Not a problem. We’ll come by every day after school and collect the mail.”
I listened while Alyson doled out the instructions for the alarm and told Bridget the watering rotation for the tropical plants on the deck.
I crouched to the floor. “Jennilee, what do you want us to bring you from France?”
She scrunched her face together. “A purple kite. A big one.” Her hands spread wide, demonstrating she didn’t want anything small.
“Ok. I’ll see what I can do.”
Bridget pointed to the glass door. “I think I see the car service in the driveway.”
“Time to go.” I
rolled the suitcases to the porch.
“I want to see those wedding pictures when you get back.” Bridget followed behind us.
“I’ll text some to you.” Alyson gave her a hug.
The driver met us at the top of the stairs and lugged the bags to the trunk. We left Bridget and Jennilee with the keys, standing at the top of the staircase. The girl waved as hard as she could.
My hand clasped Alyson’s as we pulled out of the driveway.
“I didn’t know they were house-sitting.”
“I forgot to mention it. Sorry. It seemed convenient since they only have to walk a few doors down from the Escape.”
“Makes sense to me.” I leaned into the seat. We had a forty-five minute ride to the airport. “You think they’re happy living there? I know they don’t have a yard or anything. And all their neighbors are over sixty-five.”
Alyson touched her finger to my lips.
“They love it. Letting her lease to own one of the condos was the best solution. An amazing solution.” She grinned. “You are brilliant sometimes.”
“Only sometimes?”
“And so humble about it.” She poked me in the ribs.
“Somebody’s gotta be, baby.”
I looked out the window as the car approached the bridge. On the other side was the resort construction site. The foundation was in. I couldn’t see it from the road, but I knew it was there.
We started to climb over the sound, the car carrying us to the other side. I reached in my pocket for my phone, but hesitated.
“Aly, I have something to show you.”
“What is it?” Her head was turned toward the opposite window. I had lost her to the October sun bouncing off the water.
I debated whether I should even mention the information I had, but I had sworn there wouldn’t be any more secrets between us. Even if what I had to tell her would hurt her.
“This came through a few minutes ago when Bridget was at the house.” I handed her my phone.
At first she didn’t react. She studied the file on my phone. She scrolled to the bottom.
Her eyes flashed to mine. “What does it mean? What does James say?”
Sexy Bachelor Page 21