32. Kingston
KINGSTON
Katherine and I surface next to my sailboat just as the sun meets the horizon. Treading water, I shake my head like a wet dog. Beside me, Wildfire smoothes her hair back, grinning.
Perfect water, colorful sunset, my dream girl at my side. Yep. This is paradise. And as dates go, I couldn’t think of a better one than this.
We’re two days into our visit to Greece, and we’ve already gone through almost an entire bottle of sunscreen.
No way am I letting my Wildfire get crispy. So if that means running my hands all over her body several times a day, I’ll do it. It’s obviously an incredible hardship.
“This is perfection,” she says, treading water.
“Sure is.”
Years ago, we went for a sunset swim, and I remember looking at her just like now.
Heart in my throat.
Emotions overflowing.
Tongue-tied and frustrated with our timing.
Miraculously, we’re past all that.
“I love you,” I tell her.
The words fall so freely and easily from my lips now. It feels like I’ve been reborn. Like a weight has been lifted from my chest. I can’t stop giving voice to the things rattling around in my head. Practice makes perfect and all that.
She shoots me a serene smile that reaches her eyes.
“I love you too.” Glancing back at the vivid sunset, the red, orange and pink glow paints her skin.
Bittersweet relief fills me. I’d worried that she wouldn’t be able to stomach being on a boat again after the trauma she’d experienced at her mother’s hand.
Aside from an occasional double-take at the ocean, she’s rallied.
That’s really the story of Katherine Montgomery.
When all is said and done and the story of her life is written, the overarching theme will be how she routinely overcame any adversity in her path.
Everyone has their own struggles, mountains to climb, I guess.
But I’ve always been impressed with how she’s kept her chin up when the hits kept coming.
Grabbing her hand, I tug her toward my sailboat. “Hungry?”
“Mhmm.”
Even though the day is winding down, I feel refreshed, invigorated even, and at the same time, famished.
She rests her hands on my shoulders as I hold on to the ladder, keeping us afloat. Behind us, a boat built for offense and speed sits idle, full of bodyguards with binoculars. Watching. Waiting. That was Alex’s requirement, and what helps him breathe easier, surprisingly, does the same for me, too.
We’re tucked just off the beaten path, close enough to enjoy the view of the picturesque little town. Blessedly, no one has recognized us on our trips to shore. The locals only care that we enjoy ourselves and pay our bills.
“We need a bigger boat,” I muse.
“I’d settle for access to my closet.”
With an arm around her waist, I pull her tight to me, trailing kisses down her neck and across her shoulder. “I’m happy to take you shopping.”
She nuzzles my cheek, melting against me, as the salty ocean water laps at our skin. “I know. I just meant… my closet. It feels like I’ve been living out of suitcases for weeks.”
Ahh. She’s being serious, so I sober and wait for her to finish.
“Which I know, how awful for me. Boo-hoo. But it’s like as soon as I start feeling settled, I’m leaving behind another set of clothes and toiletries and—” She pauses, reconsidering her words. “Just ignore me.”
“Never.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “You don’t have to apologize for your feelings. We’re not doing that anymore, remember?”
She pulls back, gaze roaming my face. “I don’t know if I can handle this mature, enlightened version of you.”
“You handle me just fine.”
She smirks, and I retrace my words.
Inside, I chuckle. My god, she’s the most incredible woman I’ve ever met, and I can’t believe that I finally get to hold her like this. Regal, educated, kind when it counts, with a mind dirty as my own. How lucky am I? “Come on. Let’s get something to eat.”
She climbs up the ladder in front of me, and I try not to drool over her ass. I really do. But I’m only so strong.
Onboard, she grabs a towel and wraps it around her torso before heading below.
I feel a hot gaze on my back and glance over my left shoulder.
Paradise is all around, and yet the bodyguard has been a dark cloud since he boarded the plane.
Carpenter, he said his name was. And while he’s not currently doing anything particularly untrustworthy, I’ve got a bad feeling.
If I learned any lesson this week, it’s to trust my gut.
Opening the group text, now labeled ‘ In Bros We Trust ,’ I fire off a note.
Kingston: any movement on Wildfire’s apartment? she’s missing her stuff.
And before I forget, I send a text directly to Alex.
Kingston: what’s the story with Carpenter?
“Pizza or scallops?” she asks when I hit the bottom step.
“Hmm…” I sidle up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. “Well, scallops are yummy, but they require babysitting.”
We tend to get a bit distracted, even when we’re cooking. Plus, fire and boats don’t mix.
She gives an agreeable hum.
Is she thinking about the first time we tried to cook ourselves dinner? Pizza somehow seemed easy-ish and fancy enough.
It looks like a heart , she murmured, staring at the dough we’d massaged within an inch of its life.
Doesn’t bother me , I’d replied, because it honestly didn’t. My masculinity wasn’t affronted because of a romantic symbol.
Needless to say, we burned the pizza and had to order in, which was probably for the best. Given how green we were to cooking and pizza-making, the crust would have been tough.
“Are we going to burn it this time?” she asks.
“If we do, we’ll cook the scallops.”
I step out of her way so she can open the small refrigerator. Because this is the Mediterranean, the cheese is fresh, the tomatoes delicious, and my mouth is watering by the time she gets everything set out.
“I’ll try to stay out of the way,” I say, because let’s face it, there’s not a lot of space in here.
I don’t mind. It just means I have an added excuse to get my hands on her all the time. Smirking to myself, I pour her a glass of Chardonnay, then grab a bottle of water.
“You could help.”
“Yeah?” I press up against her, my heart settling because I’m finally right where I’m meant to be.
She wiggles her hips against my crotch as she sprinkles flour across the small section of countertop. Things are tight on my little sailboat, which, as far as I’m concerned, just means we have to get cozy. Up close and personal.
I skim my hands down over her hips, so tempted to flick the annoying-but-sexy bikini bottoms out of the way. We’re inside now. She doesn’t need to wear clothes.
I swear we’re sharing a brain because she widens her stance. I don’t think it has anything to do with keeping her footing as the boat bobs in the water.
Ghosting my fingertips up her thighs, I absorb her shudder, then sink the fingers of my right hand beneath the elastic and spandex.
Moaning as my fingers graze her clit, she gives up all pretense of making dinner and splays messy hands against the countertop.
“Like that?”
I know she does. Her skin is on fire. She drops her head back against my shoulder, and all the while, I just keep teasing her. Already, she’s so fucking wet I could easily shove my dick into her.
“Mhmm.” She gives a needy whimper, chasing my fingers with her hips.
I nip the skin between her neck and shoulder. “Hold still, Wildfire. Let me make you feel good.”
“So good.”
“You’re going to feel good all over my fingers, aren’t you? My pretty girl. So needy.”
She reaches back, threading her flour-coated fingers through my wet hair. I don’t care that I’m basically going to have rock-hard school paste to rinse out later. The only thing that matters is making her come.
Her slick eases my way, and I slide the middle digit as deep as I can. The stretchy material of her suit holds me hostage.
“Shoulda taken this off when I had the chance.”
Her hands immediately go to her hips.
“That’s it. Be a good girl and help me out.”
She shoves the wet material down, and it lands against the floor with a plop.
Then she adjusts her stance again, welcoming my touch.
I grind my cock against her ass, needing some relief.
It’s a good thing I didn’t know what a horny little thing she was all those years ago. I wouldn’t have been able to stay away.
Her most tender flesh clenches around my middle finger. “King?—”
“What is it, Wildfire?”
I pump her harder, rocking her up onto her tiptoes.
“Need you…” She’s breathless. So damn close.
“Do you need something bigger to fill you up?”
“Yes.”
Fuck.
That word hits me hard. Straight to the heart but also wraps around my aching cock like a lover’s lips.
Carefully, I spin her to the open section of counter space to our left, pulling my hand from between her thighs. I let go long enough to shove my swim trunks down. My muscles are so tight with the need to come, I’m worried I’m gonna cramp. And the heat… is it possible for skin to melt right off?
It feels like it.
Cock in one hand, I use the other to pull her hips back. He knows the way, burrowing between her soft cheeks to her wet haven. A long groan rumbles from my chest at the first hint of her juices coating the head of my cock.
“I need it too,” I say, pressing into her. “You’re an addiction.”
She lifts onto the balls of her feet, pressing that velvet heat back onto my shaft.
“Look at you impaling yourself. Can’t help yourself, can you?” What a dream. An absolute dream.
She shakes her head, wordless. What a fucking treat to have her all to myself. Not that I don’t enjoy Gabe and Alex and their assistance. It’s the best sex ever. Hands down. Zero doubts.
But this.
Fucking her so deep that she can’t even speak? Priceless.
Folded over the counter, she takes every thrust with a throaty purr of pleasure. What will it take to make her scream? Not gonna lie, I’d crow like a rooster if the guys on the other boat came to check on us because she screamed the roof down.
“Harder,” she pants.
What my lady wants, my lady gets. Planting my hands on the edge of the counter, I pull my hips back and slam them forward. She cries out.
“More.” The hoarse cry tears from her lips.
I press kisses along her spine and then give another hard thrust. She curls over the countertop, back arching, her pussy a tight vice around my cock.
Every time I slam my hips home, driving her against the polished oak cabinet, her hot little cunt grips me like it’ll never let me go.
The breathless sighs and moans urge me on, making me feel like, well, a king.
I’ve never enjoyed working up a sweat as much as I do at this moment.
“So close.”
“Me too.” Pulling back a fraction, I drop a hand between her thighs and set a faster, but just as deep, pace. Our flesh slaps together in a desperate rhythm. A handful of firm circles against the hood of her clit later, and she shatters, collapsing in on herself, her relieved cry echoing around us.
I’m right there with her, pleasure exploding through me. The orgasm tears at me like a powerful tidal wave, tightening my muscles, making me twitch. My groan comes out more like a growl as I shove the tiniest bit deeper, letting her have every last bit of my cum.
We’re both breathing hard, fighting gravity and the head rush of bliss. She starts to melt right off the counter, so I tighten my grip as I guide us to the tiny square footage of floor.
“Mmm.” It’s many minutes later before either of us rouses. How can we when we’re both fighting to fill our lungs with as much oxygen as possible?
I love being in a heap like this with her, but I quickly realize how long it’s been since I cleaned the floor. It’s okay, though. She’s firmly in my lap, away from the sand and grime.
“We didn’t make the pizza,” she murmurs, sounding sleepy.
“I’ll finish it while you take a shower.”
She sits up a little straighter, running a finger down the center of my chest. “You could join me.”
“We’re not gonna fit.” Maybe she’s forgotten how tight everything on this boat is.
“That’s half the fun,” she purrs and presses a kiss to the corner of my mouth.
A few bruises and a lot of laughs later, we finally get the pizza in the oven and surprise of all surprises, it comes out heart-shaped. But at least it’s not burned to a crisp.