Chapter 17
Seventeen
Josh’s hands lingered on my bare skin the entire time we were on the boat.
As he steered, he kept one hand on my waist, his fingers teasing the gap between my top and bottom.
When he anchored us out on the water, he held my hand or slung his arm over my shoulders.
We all jumped into the water to cool off from the warm summer sun.
The lake was refreshing. Then Josh’s hands were on me again, and I warmed right back up.
“Hey,” he said softly, our legs tangling as we kicked to stay afloat.
“Hey.”
“Are you having fun?”
I chuckled. “Yes. I told you that a dozen times.”
“I just want to make sure. Are we okay?”
“Yes, I told you that, too.”
He nodded. “You don’t have to spend the night with me tonight.”
“You don’t want me to?”
“I definitely do, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to say yes.”
“Do you think Christy is going to be okay?”
He looked over to his best friend. Christy was laughing at something Ashlyn said, the two of them looking like they’d been friends forever.
A tiny pang of jealousy hit me square in the chest. This was Ashlyn’s life. She was going to do this again. She was going to spend more time with Josh and Christy, and everyone else in Amethyst Bay. I was happy she found a place where she fit. I hoped I had, too.
And that I could stay.
“I think she’s going to have good days and bad, but I think she’ll be okay eventually.” Josh’s voice was low so I was the only one who heard him.
“I don’t want her to be alone if she needs someone. Or if she doesn’t want to spend the night at home again.”
Josh shook his head. “She won’t tell me. She didn’t ask for help, even when Coach was getting worse and it was taking a toll on her. I doubt she’ll come over again.”
“Because of me?”
Josh looked over at Christy, and I could see he was trying to figure out how to answer without blaming me.
“I don’t want to come between you and your friends. If she needs you, you should be there.”
Josh swam closer, stopping when he was inches from me. His hands cupped my jaw. “You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.” He kissed me slowly, his feet kicking hard to keep him above water.
I wanted to touch him, but I needed my arms to stay afloat. I was at his mercy through the kiss, loving how he controlled our kiss and my body’s reaction to him.
He pulled back and licked his lips. “I’ll talk to her.”
“Who?”
He chuckled.
My brain finally caught up. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I like being able to kiss you senseless.”
I laughed with him. “I could lie, but yeah, you did.”
He swooped in quickly, kissing me hard, then turned and swam back to the boat. He grabbed the top rung of the ladder and pulled himself up, his entire body on full display for me to stare at.
Water sluiced off him, rushing down his back and legs as he emerged from the lake. At the top of the ladder, he paused, flipping his head to get his hair out of his eyes. He grabbed a towel and slid it down his chest, then turned halfway toward me.
His erection was fully visible in his wet swim trunks. He adjusted himself with his gaze lingering on me, then covered himself with his towel. It didn’t completely hide his dick, but it disguised the bulge in his shorts.
My nipples hardened at the sight of him, knowing I was the one who had that effect on him. I wanted that man. I wanted him for his body, but also for who he was.
I was falling for him. Hard and fast. It was crazy.
We barely knew each other. It had been just over a month since we met, but I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.
I wanted to be around him and listen to him laugh and get to know his friends.
I didn’t want to drive back across the mountains and return to a place that no longer fit me.
I wanted to stay in Amethyst Bay. With Josh. With Ashlyn. With the other friends I’d met in the last few weeks.
I wasn’t just falling for Josh. I was falling for Amethyst Bay. I was falling for the version of me that smiled and took time off and enjoyed life.
“Quit ogling the man,” Ashlyn teased me, her words loud enough for everyone to hear.
I glared at her, unable to keep a smile from softening the look.
Ashlyn laughed, and Christy joined her.
I swam to the boat, reaching for the ladder and climbing onto the boat.
“You didn’t have to get out of the water,” Josh said.
I shrugged. “You’re up here.”
He smiled at me like he understood what I wasn’t saying. He tugged me against him, his hands settling on the strings decorating the back of my bottoms. His lips were a breath away from mine. “I can’t wait to slide this off of you.”
“Oh, yeah? And what are you going to do then?”
He inhaled me, nudging my jaw with his nose. He licked a trail behind my ear. His teeth closed over my earlobe. “I’m going to taste every inch of your body. Lick you until you come on my tongue. Fuck you until you can’t walk away and then do it all again. All night long.”
My knees weakened at the thick desire in his voice. It matched the honey in my veins. Sweet and warm, tightening every inch of my body until I thought I’d combust from his words alone. “You are playing with fire.”
“Who said I’m playing? I’d bend you over this seat right here if I wasn’t worried about someone else seeing how fucking gorgeous you are when you come.” He pressed his hips to mine so I felt his erection firm against my belly.
I drew in a breath and trembled. “Is it bad I want you to?”
He chuckled. He buried his nose in my hair and inhaled deeply. “I love the way you smell right now. Like the water, fresh air, honeysuckle, and desire.”
My fingers tightened on his waist, needing his strength to keep from collapsing. “I kind of hate you right now.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I could come with very little effort right now, but we’re in public and with friends.”
“Same.” He slapped my butt softly, then stepped away from me.
Noise behind me said Ashlyn and Christy were climbing onto the boat. I took a minute to calm my raging hormones and released a shaky breath.
The man was dangerous to my sanity. And my body.
The four of us snacked from the charcuterie tray Ashlyn and I brought. We relaxed in the sun, reminding each other to put on sunscreen every so often. Josh handed me a tube and turned so I could rub sunscreen onto his back.
I squeezed a dollop onto my hand, then rubbed them together. I started at his shoulders and rubbed the cream in, making sure I touched every inch of his exposed skin before I declared him done.
And myself. I was a puddle by the time I finished rubbing him down. Based on the look he shot me, he was feeling the same.
We stayed on the water until the sun began to drop. Ashlyn suggested a cookout, and the four of us agreed to meet outside in an hour. Ashlyn and Christy walked up the hill toward Ashlyn’s house, leaving Josh and I to follow at a distance.
“It looks like that went well,” Josh said.
I nodded. “Christy is great.”
He smiled. “Yeah, she is.”
“So are you.” I nudged him.
“Feeling’s mutual.”
“Are you okay with all of us having dinner?”
He stopped and looked at me. “I am. Is it a problem for you?”
I shook my head. “I’m looking forward to getting to know Christy more. But I will need to shower.”
He grinned and slid closer. “I guess I’ll have to get you out on my boat some other time so I can peel you out of this with my teeth like I said.”
I chuckled. “I wasn’t fishing for another invitation.”
“You don’t have to. I want to spend time with you, Reegan.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Good.”
His hands settled low on my hips before pulling me closer as they slid to my lower back.
He teased the strings there and dipped his fingers beneath the fabric, stroking the top of my crack.
“Getting this little peek of you has been the best kind of torture. I really enjoyed today and seeing you with Ashlyn.”
“She said you two aren’t close.”
Josh shook his head. “We’re not. I never wanted to give Hannah a target. Not once I figured out what she was doing.”
“Thank you for protecting my friend.”
He smiled and lowered his mouth to mine, slipping his tongue between my lips. He kissed me slowly, not in any kind of rush to part ways. He groaned and brought one hand to the center of my back. It dipped under the band of my top, sending tingles through me at his touch.
The urge to cancel dinner and follow him to his bed was strong. Everything about Josh was new and different. A part of me wondered if it was that we were sneaking around, but spending all day with Ashlyn and Christy proved to me that wasn’t it.
It was Josh. It was being around him. It was feeling like he saw me, not the version of me he wanted me to be.
“All right, you two, break it up,” Ashlyn said from behind us.
Josh pulled back and shot Ashlyn a gentle glare. “Did you already shower?”
I looked at my bestie and saw she’d changed and left her wet hair loose around her shoulders.
“I did. You two have been out here making out like teenagers for thirty minutes. Go shower,” Ashlyn chastised us both.
Josh kissed me hard, then winked at me and walked away.
“Damn, girl.” Ashlyn whistled low. “You’re really gone for him, aren’t you?”
I turned to her and nodded. “I never felt like this with Landon. Or anyone else.”
Ashlyn’s eyebrows jumped up. “You’re in love with him?”
I hushed her and glanced back to make sure Josh didn’t hear her. He was already inside, so I grabbed Ashlyn’s arm and tugged her inside. “Announce it to him, why don’t you?”
“Sorry, I was just shocked. I didn’t know… well, I didn’t know anything until a few hours ago, so it’s a surprise. You’ve only been here a few weeks.”
“I know.” I sighed. “I can’t explain it, but I’m definitely falling.”
Ashlyn studied me carefully. “I don’t know him very well. I’ve always heard good things about him, but be careful, Ree.”
“Why? What aren’t you telling me?”