Take Me To The Beach

by K. L. Grayson, Karina Halle, A. L. Jackson, Marni Mann, Monica Murphy, Devney Perry, Kristen Proby, Rachel Van Dyken

  A throaty chuckle seeped into the room, and Christian shook his head as he placed his hands on my hips. “No, Elizabeth, I haven’t forgotten. That night has been ingrained in my mind as one of the best and worst nights of my life . . . the night I first kissed you and was foolish enough to lose you in the same heartbeat.”

  All pretenses fell from his face, and his hands tightened their hold. “I promise you—that will never happen again.”

  I believed it—I wouldn’t accept him any other way.

  Something like distress darkened his eyes. “I mean it, Elizabeth. This is it for me.”

  My fingers came up to coax his worry lines away from his brow. “I know, Christian.” My palm slid down his cheek to rest on the steady tick of his pulse in his neck. I wet my lips and made my own promise. “I trust you.”

  Relief flooded him, loosening his tense muscles and chasing the storm from his eyes, my words the cure for whatever vestiges of doubt that still remained.

  Taking one step back, he grabbed my hand and brought the back to his lips. The heavy moment was gone. In its place, I sensed his thrill. It spilled over onto me.

  “Come on.” He hauled me toward the door. “I want to take you out. You denied me this before, you know.”

  A smirk arched his brow, this playful ease coming over us, one we’d shared so many times, but with our barriers still set firmly in place.

  This was liberating.

  I squeezed his hand and worked to keep up as I followed him out the door. “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.” He tossed a grin back at me, and I pulled the door shut behind us.

  He led me out and down the hall, didn’t let go as he dragged me into the stairwell. As always, it was dim, the walls seemingly compressed, the air instantly tight. Just being in its confines, alone with him, escalated my heart rate.

  I gasped when Christian abruptly turned and pushed me up against the wall. His mouth crashed into mine as he covered me with his body.

  This kiss was hot, demanding, filled with every ounce of the desire we’d kept restrained for far too long.

  My fingers dug into his neck as his fingers dug into my backside.

  And I loved it.

  Every second.

  God, I loved him.

  When he pulled away, much too soon, he was panting, his blue eyes wild and his mouth dancing with a smug, satisfied smile. “Do you have any idea how many times I wanted to do that? This fucking stairwell has been the bane of my existence for the last four months.”

  A strained laugh fluttered from my mouth, doing nothing to disguise the intense need that tightened my voice. “You felt that, too, huh?”

  He laughed and shook his head, his posture softening as he drew me closer and completely wrapped me up in his secure arms. “You don’t even understand, Elizabeth. You’ve pretty much made me think I was losing my mind since the moment I met you.”

  My head dropped to his chest, my fingers playing along the buttons of his coat as I averted my gaze. I loved hearing him voice it, to touch me and tell me he had felt the same way I did. “I’m pretty sure I do.”

  I risked peeking up at him. God, he was beautiful. Every inch, angle, and curve.

  “How did we manage to stay away from each other for this long?”

  My hands fisted in his jacket. “Honestly, I have no clue.”

  Grabbing my hand again, he guided me down the rest of the steps and out into the cold. The sun had set a couple hours earlier and the city had come alive. Cars and taxis filled the streets, the lights glowing overhead in the frosty air.

  I shivered, and Christian wrapped an arm around my waist. I cuddled into the warmth of his side. He planted a kiss on my temple.

  I exhaled and snuggled closer.

  This was nothing short of perfection.

  We walked down to the intersection where it was easier to find a cab. I hopped in the first we could find, Christian laughing as he climbed in behind me. He pulled me right to his side, sloppily kissing me under my jaw.

  Everything soared, a sensation of weightlessness washing me in joy.

  “Where to?” the cabbie asked.

  Wide eyed and teasing, I jerked my head to face him. “Yeah, where to?”

  Christian rambled off the address as he draped his arm over my shoulder.

  Downtown.

  The ride was short, and I was laughing outright by the time Christian was pulling me from the cab and running us in the direction of The Rink at Rockefeller Center.

  “We’re going ice skating? Are you serious?” I yelled at the back of his gorgeous head as he twisted us through the crowd, his hand firm on mine, never letting go.

  He looked back at me, so carefree.

  My best friend.

  His hands were in my hair, pressed to the sides of my head when he whirled around to kiss me in the middle of the roving crowd. “Where else would I take my girl except where she wants to go?”

  He paid for our tickets and skates, both of us fumbling, cracking up as we put on our skates and tentatively ventured out onto the ice.

  His hands were never far, his mouth at my neck, at my ear, and at my mouth. Our words were flirty, easy, exactly what I wanted us to be.

  My best friend.

  He kissed me against the railing, when I fell and he helped me up, when we returned our skates and wandered hand-in-hand back out into the city.

  He stopped in front of a large window at a little pizza place. Candles glowed from each round table crammed into the small space. “How’s this?”

  “Looks good.”

  We were seated toward the back. It was quaint inside, nothing fancy, just the two of us and a natural flow of conversation. Effortless.

  We ordered a pizza to share, neither of us hesitating to dig in as soon as it was served.

  Under the table, his hand rested on my knee, his thumb a constant caress.

  He took a bite of pizza and glanced up at me with affection swimming in his eyes.

  Never had I imagined ending up with someone like him. What I had pictured, I wasn’t quite sure.

  Safe, I supposed.

  Simple and plain.

  Someone who worked hard and loved just because he should. Someone who wanted a family and an easy life. Someone who I’d meet years in the future.

  But Christian was none of those things. He was complicated, both selfish and kind, thoughtful and mindless, generous with a tendency toward greed.

  And he was anything but plain. This beautiful man stole my breath with a simple look and had me shaking with the mere brush of his hand.

  Once, Christian had been a mistake I couldn’t afford. Now, he’d become someone I didn’t want to live without. My pulse stuttered as I looked at him.

  He looked so much like the type of guy I’d sworn never to give myself to. My heart recognized the risk. He could so easily crush me, but Christian had become my welcomed complication.

  Black hair brushed over his forehead as he cocked his head to the side in a silent question, obviously wondering where my thoughts had wandered.

  “It’s nothing,” I mumbled low, dragging a napkin over my mouth to cover the emotion building there.

  Crinkles lighted at the corners of his eyes as he mildly frowned, and he only squeezed my knee.

  Christian chatted on as if we’d been together for years. Plans for our future were made without thought, where he would take me and the different things he wanted us to experience together. How different school would be now that we didn’t have to pretend, how our lives seemed fated as they had finally aligned.

  The waitress brought our check and Christian set a credit card on the tray. After he paid, he silently rose and extended his hand.

  My chair squeaked on the tile floor as I pushed back from the table and accepted Christian’s waiting hand. He said nothing as he helped me back into my coat and wrapped my scarf around my neck, the gesture quietly intimate.

  All traces of the light mood from earlier had evapor
ated, a charge igniting the air.

  “Ready?”

  Swallowing, I intertwined my fingers with his. “Yes.”

  In silence, we snaked between the tiny tables filling the dark restaurant. Christian held the door open for me, and I stepped out.

  Cold had increased its hold on the city.

  A chill slid down my spine, and I hugged my arms across my chest.

  From behind, Christian cocooned himself around me. Covering my hands with his, he drew me tight against him and hooked his jaw over my shoulder.

  His breath washed over me, so thick and warm—sweet and kind—his nose nuzzling behind my ear, his lips sending shivers down the sensitive skin.

  Then he pressed his cheek against mine.

  “I love you, Elizabeth.”

  It was said so easily, bled so naturally. I harbored no questions of its truth.

  “I love you, Christian, so much.” The words filtered out ahead of us and mingled with the night air.

  Christian had stolen my heart and held it in his hand.

  Without letting go, he edged us forward, said nothing as he lifted his hand to hail a cab. He opened the door and gently eased me down into the back seat. Soundlessly, he slipped in and wrapped me back in his arms.

  He murmured my address into the darkened cab.

  The driver pulled into traffic.

  Turned to the side, I rested my cheek over the beat of his heart. One of his arms held me close, his fingers playing in my hair, his other hand gripping mine on his lap.

  I could feel it, the strained ripples of need coursing between us, this new uncertainty, another question.

  Tension ricocheted between us. His hand tightened in mine, and he turned to whisper in my ear. “Come home with me, Elizabeth. I don’t want to take you home.”

  “I never said I wanted you to.”

  The gust of air he released from his nose rustled through my hair at the top of my head. The sound reflected the moment, relief and tension and building anticipation.

  Christian shifted me so he could lean forward.

  “Excuse me. We’ve had a change of plans.” Christian gave him his address. The driver nodded and turned down the next street in the direction of Christian’s apartment.

  We settled back into silence.

  Waiting.

  Wanting.

  The short ride felt too long. Christian paid the fare and climbed from the backseat, never once losing the hold he had on me.

  He glanced back over his shoulder as he lightly tugged at my hand.

  Slowly, he led us inside his building and up the three long flights of stairs.

  Expectation swelled between us, echoed in our footsteps and in the heavy breaths we forced in and out of our lungs.

  I clung to him, my hand tight in his, the other wrapped around his wrist as he walked a step ahead of me.

  I was nervous.

  Excited.

  Terrified.

  Not of this, but of what I didn’t know, of all my inadequacies and deficiencies.

  He stopped at his door and fumbled through his pockets to withdraw his keys. Metal scraped as the key was inserted in the keyhole, the sound piercing in the hush of the hall.

  Christian pushed the door open wide, pulled me in behind him, and spun to close it in the same movement he edged me up against it.

  Cold fingertips brushed over my cheeks and down my jaw. He began to slowly unwind the scarf from my neck.

  Christian’s eyes were all ablaze, smoldering as he stared me down.

  Cherishing.

  He slipped the scarf from my neck and dropped it to the floor. He palmed the heated flesh there, sent chills flying through my system.

  “You’re shaking,” he said.

  My tongue darted out to wet my lips, and I looked up at him and answered him with all the honesty I had. “I’m a little nervous.”

  Okay.

  Maybe not completely honest.

  I was really nervous, so out of my element. My body quaked uncontrollably, these long rolls of trembles that I couldn’t stop no matter how hard I tried. They vibrated between us. Palpable. Clear.

  Sex had left a rancid taste in my mouth. A bitter mark on my soul.

  But I wanted this. I had for so long. I wanted to explore what Christian had created in me.

  The arc of his mouth was tender. “Elizabeth, whatever happens tonight is totally up to you. I’m not going to lie. I’ve been dying to make love to you since the first time I met you, and whenever you let me, I will cherish it. But I don’t want it until you’re ready.”

  “It’s not that.” My gaze dropped for a beat. “I . . . I just don’t want to disappoint you.”

  “God, Elizabeth.” He blinked hard, and his hold intensified on either side of my neck. Raging blue eyes opened to me. “You couldn’t. It’s not even possible. Is that really what you’re worried about?”

  Chewing on the inside of my lip, I nodded.

  This anxious sound seeped from the back of his throat, and he dropped his arms. “I’ve never been so nervous in my life.”

  “What? Why?” The words tripped from my mouth as one.

  “Because it’s you, and I don’t want to mess this up. When I touch you”—he reached up to trace a straight line from my chin to the hollow at the base of my neck—“I don’t want to leave behind any question of how much I love you.”

  His low laugh was almost pained. “And what I want most is to wipe the memory of anyone else touching you from your mind.”

  Again, our distinct differences made us the same.

  “All I want is you, Christian.” With my gaze pinned on him, I fumbled to let the first button of his coat free. “For us to forget everything and everyone else, because none of that matters anymore.”

  I was still shaking as I worked through the rest of his buttons. Christian just stood there, watching me. When I finally released them, I pressed my palms to his chest and ran them up to push his coat off his shoulders.

  Christian’s muscles twitched, jerking at the contact.

  Shrugging the rest of the way out of his coat, Christian tossed it to his couch, turned and slowly unbuttoned mine. He threw it on top of his.

  Then he stepped back and took me in. His gaze slid softly from my face, his eyes flicking to the exposed skin at my shoulder, to my breasts, caressed down my jeans, and back up again.

  He took my hand. “Come here.”

  His room was down the short hall.

  It was dark inside, and I could only make out the subtle silhouette of his bed in the backdrop of night. He pulled me behind him as he went to his desk along the opposite wall. He flicked on the small lamp resting at the far corner of the desk, clicking through to the lowest setting.

  It cast the room in a faint glow, illuminated his beautiful face with subdued light.

  I reached out to trace his face, my fingertips trailing over the sharp angles and the bold lines. I smoothed my touch against his strong brow and played along his soft lips.

  Christian just barely kissed them, his lips parting as I freely explored.

  I felt the smile on my mouth. “You’re so beautiful,” I whispered.

  Christian laughed quietly, as if what I’d spoken was absurd. “Look at you, Elizabeth.” His fingers tickled along my collarbone. “You are perfect.”

  His mouth caressed along mine as one of his hands twisted in the mass of my hair. The other burned into the small of my back.

  I snaked my hands under his shirt. My touch was fevered as I splayed my hands and ran them up his stomach, to his shoulders, and tore his shirt over his head.

  What hid under Christian’s shirt was glorious.

  Lean, taut muscles jumped beneath my hands. Christian sucked in a desperate breath. “One touch, and you’re killing me already, Elizabeth.”

  A smile twitched on his flirty mouth, but his expression spoke of so much more than that. This was a need that had captured us, a love that had left us completely undone.

  His
mouth went to my shoulder. “Do you remember that night?” He tugged my collar farther off my shoulder and pressed his teeth into my skin.

  My breath caught.

  It wasn’t enough to hurt, just enough to weaken my knees.

  I clung to his arms. I knew he wouldn’t let me fall.

  “This right here is what finally threw me over the edge.” He kissed along my flesh, drawing in a shaky breath as his hands made their way under my sweatshirt. Heated palms grazed my sides.

  Slowly he dragged my shirt over my head, his gaze drifting down over the black lace of my strapless bra. With a single finger, he traced over the lace ridges of the cup. His face was painfully close when he reached around with both hands to unclasp its hold.

  It fell away, and goosebumps flashed across my flesh.

  I swallowed the thick knot that formed in my throat when Christian stepped back and brazenly contemplated me in nothing but my jeans, his eyes roaming, memorizing.

  And it wasn’t awkward or any of the things I worried it might be.

  Christian reached out and dragged his knuckles over the bud of my breast. “You are perfect,” he said again.

  One hand slipped to the back of my neck and the other grasped my side, his mouth urgent on mine as our bare chests met.

  I caught fire.

  “Christian,” I begged through a whimper.

  “I know, baby, I know,” he mumbled between kisses, nudging me back toward his bed. He eased me down onto it, and I grasped at him when he didn’t follow.

  He caught my hands, climbed to his knees on the bed as he pinned them over my head, left them there as he traveled down my body and kissed me on my belly as he slowly unbuttoned my jeans.

  I was gasping for air.

  He got back to his feet, pulled them from my legs, and dropped them to the floor.

  He stood at the end of his bed where he’d left me in only my panties, my knees twisted to one side and my arms draped over my head.

  I felt exposed.

  Vulnerable.

  For the first time in my life, I wanted to be.

  He was so beautiful as he stood there soaking up every inch of my body. My eyes wandered and did the same, watching as he slowly released each button on his jeans.

  He pushed them down, stepped out, and kicked them aside.

  Heat flooded my face as I took in Christian in nothing but a pair of tight boxer briefs. My heart beat fast, spurred on by this insane desire to touch him and for him to touch me.