Chapter 27 #2
“Tell me about that smile,” he says, grabbing my hand and leading me to the sand. It pushes between my toes and is still warm from baking in the sun.
“I’m living in the moment,” I admit.
“Mm. And how is this particular moment?”
I memorize the texture of his hand and how large it is, and feel the breeze against my skin, filing it all away in my mind.
“It’s a fairy tale.”
He laughs, leading me to the shore. “Coming from the queen of romance, that means a lot.”
“The queen? No.”
“It’s cute when you’re modest.”
I feel heat rise to my cheeks. A compliment from him means something because he doesn’t give them haphazardly.
The moonlight reflects across the water as the waves roll in a steady rhythm.
When I turn my head, I notice wood is stacked in a firepit, ready to light.
Butterflies flutter. “You set this up?”
“While you were writing.” He releases my hand and kneels by the wood. He pulls a lighter from his pocket. “There’s something special about having a fire on the beach.”
Special. The word echoes in my head. This man keeps doing things I stopped expecting from a partner. Things I only wrote about, but never lived, until now.
The kindling catches quickly. Small flames lick up the sides of the larger logs. Within minutes, the fire is crackling and throwing orange light across the sand and our faces.
A blanket is folded with firewood placed on top. Ezra spreads it across the ground, then pulls me down beside him. He thought of everything. We lie back on the blanket, and the fabric is soft under my shoulders.
Above us, stars have started to appear. I recognize a few constellations that rise one at a time, like someone is turning on tiny lights.
The ocean crashes in a rhythm that alternates between whooshes and pauses.
My breathing syncs to it, and I feel my entire nervous system let go.
It’s like the stress of my deadline vanishes.
“I wished for this,” I say.
“I did, too.”
I turn my head to look at him. The firelight catches his side profile. I can see the sharp line of his jaw that’s sprinkled with stubble and the dip in his bottom lip.
“Do you think this is destiny?” I can’t stop thinking about how I personalized that book when I signed it for his mother.
Laughter falls from his lips, and I love the sound of it.
When our eyes meet again, I swear I see our entire future flash before my eyes. “It feels like it.”
He gives me that smile I adore.
I want to bottle up those words. I want to save them for days when I doubt myself.
“Are we on the same page?” I ask.
“What page is that?”
“The one where we get our happily ever after?”
Ezra smirks, then leans down and kisses me. “That might be my favorite page.”
As his hand slides into my hair, our tongues swipe together as heat pools between my thighs. When we break apart, my heart is pounding so damn hard. His hands grip my hips. His fingers dig in just enough to make me gasp. “This isn’t casual for me, Scarlett.”
Heat rushes through me. My thighs tighten around him.
“Me either.” I brush my lips against his ear. His hands slide under my shirt, and they’re hot against my skin. They move up my ribcage, and his thumbs brush the underside of my breasts.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” he murmurs against my hair.
“So are you.”
I pull my shirt over my head and toss it aside.
He strips off his shirt, and I watch the firelight play across his chest. The tattoos on his arm seem to move in the flickering light.
My shorts come off next, then his. We are both naked on the blanket with the fire crackling beside us and the ocean crashing behind us.
The night air touches my bare skin. Goose bumps trail across my arms.
Ezra leans me back against the blanket, and he hovers over me. The firelight behind him makes it look like he is glowing. This feels like a dream.
“You are so damn beautiful,” he whispers.
The way he says it—like it’s a fact, not just a compliment—makes my throat tight.
“You make me feel beautiful.”
He kisses down my neck, and I feel the scrape of his stubble. “Because you are.”
His mouth continues its path down my body. He kisses across my collarbone, and when his lips move between my breasts, I revel in being wanted this much. My back arches off the blanket without permission from my brain as he travels lower.
The stars overhead blur together because I can’t focus on anything except the trail of heat his mouth leaves on my skin.
The ocean crashes louder than before, or maybe my awareness has sharpened to the point that I’m noticing everything.
I hear the crackle of the fire and feel his breath hot against my stomach.
He settles between my thighs, and the first stroke of his tongue against me makes my vision go white. My fingers tangle in his hair, and I hold on because I need something to anchor me to earth.
“Ezra.” His name comes out as a gasp, and I swear, I’ve completely left my body.
Ezra lifts his head just enough that our eyes lock. The firelight reflects in his blue eyes, and everything he doesn’t say is written there. It’s hunger, want, and under that, there’s something more protective. Like I matter more than my body. Like this is about more than just physical pleasure.
That look undoes me more than anything else.
He moves up my body and positions himself at my entrance. The pressure of him makes me hold my breath.
“Look at me,” he whispers.
My eyes find his, and there’s no way I could look away, even if I wanted to. Ezra pushes inside slowly, and I feel every inch of him filling me. My body stretches to accommodate him, and the fullness steals my breath.
“You were made for me.” His voice comes out rough.
“Yes,” I confess.
He starts to move, and we find our rhythm together. The firelight casts dancing shadows across his face. Each thrust drives deeper, and I wrap my legs around his waist to pull him closer. I need more of him. All of him.
The pressure builds until I think I might shatter. My nails dig into his shoulders as every muscle in my body tenses.
“I’ve got you,” he whispers against my neck. “Let go for me.”
It’s all the permission I’ve ever needed. The orgasm crashes through me like a tidal wave. My body convulses around him, and I cry out his name into the night sky. He follows seconds later with my name on his lips.
Afterward, we lie tangled together on the blanket, trying to catch our breath. His weight presses me into the sand, and I love the feeling of being surrounded by him.
He rolls us to the side and pulls me against his chest. His fingers trace lazy patterns on my shoulder blade while we catch our breath.
“That was…wow.” I trail off because, for once, I can’t think of any words.
“Yeah.” He presses a kiss to my forehead. “Only way to describe it.”
We lie there, watching the fire burn down to embers. The stars continue their slow wheel across the sky. I breathe in the smell of smoke and salt and him. The sweat cools on my skin, and I want to memorize every detail of this.
As I sigh, Ezra goes completely still beside me.
The shift is immediate.
Every muscle in his body tenses. His breathing stops mid-exhale, and his hand freezes on my shoulder blade.
“What?” I lift my head to look at him. “What is it?”
His eyes are fixed on something in the distance, past the dying fire and dunes. His jaw clenches so hard I can see the muscle jump beneath his skin.
“Do not move.” His voice comes out controlled. Too controlled. “Just stay still for a second.”
My heart rate picks up, and I follow his gaze, but I cannot see anything in the darkness beyond our little circle of firelight.
“What are you looking at?”
“Someone is there.” He nods. “I saw the reflection of a camera lens.”
The words take a second to register, then ice floods my veins.
“No.”
“Yeah.” He sits up and pulls me with him. His body shields mine from view. “Get dressed.”
My hands shake as I reach for my shirt and shorts. I yank them on while Ezra does the same. The romantic haze from moments ago disappears.
Now I just feel exposed.
“How long do you think they were there?” My voice comes out small.
“Not sure. This is a private beach. No one should be here.” He stands and kicks sand over the fire. The flames hiss and die into darkness. “Stay calm. But we need to get inside.”
He grabs the blanket and my hand in one motion. We walk toward the house, and my legs feel shaky from the realization that someone was watching us. Photographing us. During one of the most intimate moments of my life.
“Ezra.” My voice breaks.
“I know.” He squeezes my hand tighter. “I’m so sorry.”
We reach the house and he ushers me inside, then locks the door behind us. He pulls me into his arms and holds me.
“I should’ve paid attention,” he says into my hair. “I got lost in the moment.”
“I did, too.” I try to make my voice sound lighthearted, but it comes out shaky.
He pulls back to look at me. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper. “I won’t know until I see how bad it is.”
He cups my face in his hands. “We’ll figure this out. Together. Okay?”
I nod because I do not trust my voice.
He starts a fire in the bedroom fireplace while I change into something more comfortable.
As he turns and looks at me over his shoulder, he smiles. “Let’s go to bed.”
I climb under the covers, and he slides in beside me, pulling me against his chest. The fire crackles and firelight dances across the walls. It should feel peaceful.
“I hate that people care about my life,” I whisper.
All I can think about is the moment our perfect bubble burst and the real world came crashing back in.
“I’m so sorry,” Ezra whispers into the darkness.
“It is not your fault.”
“It feels like it is.”
“It’s not. I should’ve known better,” I say, letting out a sigh. I pull him closer and rest my head against his chest. He kisses my forehead as I try to convince myself that everything will be okay.
Maybe tomorrow those photos won’t be everywhere.
Or maybe they will, and everything will only be inflamed more than it already is.
Right now, I just want to stay in his arms and pretend for a little while longer that the outside world can’t touch us here.
Even though I know that’s a lie.