Chapter Sixteen Lucy
Chapter Sixteen
Lucy
I scan the deck table, looking at all the shells, cardstock, bits of string, and scissors, then glance back to my creation in front of me.
I’ve arranged my shells on a piece of black card so they form a heart shape.
I don’t know whether it’s the colors of the shells against the unlikely background or the fact that the shells seem to gleam, they’re so shiny, but it looks impressive. I’m practically Martha fucking Stewart.
“I love it, Lucy,” Katherine says. The rest of the girls ohh and ahh in agreement and admire their own creations.
Katherine has made a wind chime with her shells.
Alison has stuck hers on a white background in a circle.
Luna abandoned her project in favor of making everyone their second cocktail of the day.
“Are you going to give it to Hunter?” she asks.
I snap my head around to check I heard her right. “Of course I’m not. I’m going to get a frame and hang it in my apartment. Maybe in the kitchen.”
“Is there room in your kitchen?” Luna asks, setting a tray full of Bellinis on the table.
“Probably not. In the bathroom, then. Or my bedroom.”
“Grab a drink,” Luna says. “Let’s have a toast.”
We all abandon our projects, take one of the tall glasses and stand in a circle, ready to say Cheers.
“Let’s drink,” Luna says. “To Katherine and Ed,” she says, raising a glass.
Katherine beams, and warmth burrows into my stomach. It’s so good to see her happy. This weekend was worth all the planning.
The sound of cars pulling up in the front captures our attention.
“Oh, God,” I say. “They’re all going to smell like fish.”
“I think they showered and changed and then went out for lunch,” Katherine says.
“A little more civilized. Which is surprising.” I roll my eyes, then remember I’m supposed to be dating Hunter rather than convincing myself that he’s gross.
I just hope I don’t get those unfamiliar flutters inside when I see him. I don’t want to have a crush on a guy like that. Especially one I’m sharing a bed with.
The guys’ chatter fills the air. They’re noisy and full of life. Maybe lunch included a couple of beers?
As they round the side of the house and see us, they let up a cheer, and I can’t help but giggle. They’re just being so silly.
Ed runs up the steps to Katherine and lifts her up and out of our circle.
Hunter is next, taking the stairs two at a time and barreling toward me like he’s going to walk right through me. I stumble backward, so he doesn’t knock into me, but he keeps going, and I back away from him and the group.
“Tell me you missed me,” he says, grinning at me like he just won the lottery.
“What?” I say, an answering smile forming on my lips.
“Tell me you’ve been thinking about me all day.” His tone is cocky, and part of me wants to smack it out of him. The other part of me feels my nipples tighten against my shirt.
I narrow my eyes. Is he serious? We’re too far away from the rest of our party for him to be hoping for someone to overhear. “Thinking about you?” I clarify.
I slow down, and he’s as close to me as he can be without touching me. Our feet are toe-to-toe, and he lowers his head so his face is an inch from mine. “Tell me,” he says in challenge.
My heart starts to race, and I can’t catch my breath. His body heat warms me. His smile makes me giddy. His scent of freshly washed skin fills my nose. It’s all so overwhelming.
“Tell me,” he demands.
“You’ve crossed my mind,” I say. “Thinking about how you’ve tortured me by not telling me you had the wigs.”
He grins and slides his hand around my hip to my lower back.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask. “You knew I was mad at you.”
“I think you kinda like being mad at me.”
I roll my eyes. Like anyone enjoys being mad.
“I’ve been thinking about you,” he says. He presses a kiss on my head. Did he hit his head out there on the boat and come back convinced we’re actually dating?
“Are you okay? How many beers have you had?” I ask.
“I want to kiss you,” he says.
“Oh.” I’m too shocked to think of a good answer.
“I’ve been thinking about how you’ll taste. How you’ll feel.”
“Hunter,” I whisper.
“I mean it,” he says. “For real.”
Our eyes lock, and all I can see is a man who knows what he wants. Determined. Sure and sexy as hell.
I give him a small nod. It’s all he needs.
He pushes his hand into my hair and glances down at my lips before leaning in and pressing his soft mouth against mine.
My hand tentatively slides up his shirt, and then I almost groan as my palm hits his warm skin.
I open my mouth a little, and his tongue slides between my lips, urgent. Pressing. Possessive.
I feel it in my knees, at the base of my spine, between my legs—a low buzz of something. Desire. Yearning. Need.
It’s the best kiss I’ve ever had.
But I want more.
He must feel the same because he pulls me closer. There’s no space between us. Our bodies press together tightly as we explore each other. His hand presses on my ass, pushing me closer to him as his other grips my hair.
My thoughts start to blur, and the sound of our friends’ chatter ebbs away. It’s as if someone’s lowering the volume on everything that’s not the sensation of Hunter’s body against mine. And he’s getting louder and louder and louder.
Wow. This guy takes his kissing seriously.
A squeal from behind Hunter interrupts us, and we jump apart.
Hunter spins around, and Katherine comes into view, grinning like she’s the happiest bride ever to go on a bachelorette.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she says, before pulling Ed back around the corner to the others.
We both watch them leave, and I go to speak, but before I can get my words out, Hunter steps his leg between mine and cups my face. Like the first kiss wasn’t enough—like he needs more.
The stubble on his face grazes against my skin, and it’s like I’m a match rubbing against the lighting strip on a box. I’m going to combust if he keeps going.
My nipples pinch against the lace of my bra, our breaths mingle, and his mouth is on mine again.
He groans, and the sound skirts over my body, calling every hair to stand to attention.
His hands shift, sliding down my body, mapping the edge of my breast, the curve of my waist. I want our clothes to dissolve, everyone to disappear, and to be left with his heat, this kiss, and the sound of the waves.
Eventually he pulls back and rests his forehead against mine.
“I’ve been wanting to do that all day.” He sighs. “Well, since last night, actually.”
I bite back a smile. “Well, now you’ve kissed me,” I say.
“And now you’ve kissed me back.”
I laugh at our push and pull, fiddling with the neck of his T-shirt.
“You know what I wish?” he asks.
“I couldn’t fathom. You’ve already surprised me today.”
He pulls back a bit, resting his arm on the porch post behind me so he’s still leaning into me. “Really? You weren’t thinking that—”
“Get back to the bit where you were wishing for something,” I say to him.
He chuckles. “I wish it was just you and me here. Just for the night. We could hang out on the porch. Watch the waves roll in. You could give me hell for being . . . I don’t know—me. I could take no notice. And then I’d pull you onto my lap and kiss you into next week.”
I have to look away and over to the ocean. The picture he’s painting is far too vivid. Far too tempting for me to look at him as he describes it.
I snake my hand under his shirt and hook my fingers into his waistband.
“Huh,” I say, mulling over the idea. It’s not like I haven’t thought about Hunter in this way.
In fact, I’ve thought about him in exactly this way a lot in the past twenty-four hours.
I just didn’t expect this. So soon. So public.
And although it feels good to be . . . connected, I’m scared. “Sounds . . . good.”
He smiles and takes a step back. “Right. Bachelor and bachelorette duties must take precedence.”
I really want Katherine to have the best weekend of her life. But right at this moment, I wish we could press pause on The Katherine and Ed Show and maybe disappear, just the two of us, to see if we could act out the exact evening Hunter just described.