Chapter 18
Eighteen
Josh
Reegan was quiet. She was engaged and talkative on the boat, but she’d been quiet most of the evening. Since she went to shower. I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but I wasn’t sure if it was my place.
What were we? A summer fling didn’t feel like the right label for us. We were getting to know each other and spending time with each other’s friends. That didn’t mean we needed to tell each other everything, but I felt like we were more than casual.
I tried to pull her into the conversation a few times, but she always went back to her quiet presence after a minute. It was worrying me, but Ashlyn didn’t seem as concerned, so I did my best not to let it bother me.
Christy yawned loudly, stretching her arms above her head. She slumped in her seat, then pushed to her feet. “I need to head home. If I don’t, I might fall asleep on my walk.”
“Do you want me to walk you?” I offered.
She shook her head. “No, but if I wait any longer, I will need you to carry me.” She chuckled, then bent to hug Ashlyn. “It was really good getting to know you today. I hope we can do it again.”
“Me, too,” Ashlyn said. “And please let me know if you need anything. Even if it’s just to not be alone.”
Christy nodded. “Thanks.” She turned to Reegan and hugged her, too. “How long are you in town?”
Reegan avoided my gaze and shrugged. “I’m not sure yet.”
“But a little longer? I don’t want to miss seeing you again.”
“Definitely a little longer. At least a few more weeks.”
“Okay, good. It was good to get to know you, too.”
“Same,” Reegan said with a smile.
Christy offered me her knuckles for a fist-bump. “Bye.”
“No hug for me,” I teased her.
Christy snorted and kept walking. I loved her like a sister, but we’d never felt the need to hug every time we saw each other. Too many people already thought Christy, Oscar, and I were a throuple. We were all affectionate with each other, but not constantly. We really were like siblings.
“She’s pretty great,” Ashlyn said as Christy’s footsteps faded, “and she’s right. I need sleep.” Ashlyn stood. She gathered her blanket and looked closely at Reegan. “Are you staying with Josh tonight?”
Reegan nodded. “Unless he’s changed his mind.”
“I have not,” I said.
“You have a key?” Ashlyn asked.
Reegan patted her pocket. “All set.”
Ashlyn stepped toward her house. “See you tomorrow. Good night.” She waved and disappeared into the darkness outside the light from the dying fire.
When the door closed, I asked Reegan if she was ready to head inside.
Reegan nodded, then stood. “We need to put the fire out, right?”
“Yeah.” I stood with her, moving the embers in the fire pit around to spread them out. Separated, they died out quickly, casting us into darkness within minutes. I reached for her, the moonlight our only guide.
She looked up at me with apprehension in her gaze. I cupped her jaw, wondering what the look was for.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
She nodded, a sad smile lifting her lips. “Yeah. I’m good. Just… Not looking forward to going back to reality in a few weeks.”
I wasn’t thinking about her leaving. I didn’t want to.
If I did, I would have to admit and accept that I was struggling to imagine my life without her in it.
We’d only known each other a few weeks, but I enjoyed talking to her, spending time with her.
Even on the first day we met, I knew she was different.
Special. Someone I would never tire of having a conversation with. Even one that ended with her annoyed.
I brought my lips to hers, taking my time with our kiss. We had all night, and I was not going to rush through it. I wanted to savor every moment we had. To hold on to all the memories I could create with this amazing woman.
She grabbed my shirt, her fingers curling into the fabric and pulling me closer. My dick rose between us, and she pressed against it and moaned.
That sound was one I never wanted to forget. The soft moan that slipped from her wasn’t manipulative or intentional. It was the sound of a woman who was just as turned on as I was. A woman who was desperate for what was to come.
I broke our kiss and pressed my lips to her forehead, clutching her tight while I calmed myself down enough to walk across the yard to my house.
I took her hand and half-dragged her to my house.
I’d left lights on so we wouldn’t be walking into darkness, and those lights allowed me to see the light sunburn on her face and the wild look in her eyes.
She was beautiful. Perfect. She was so much more than I deserved, but she was everything I wanted.
I flipped the lock on the door and led Reegan through the house. I turned off lights as we went, knowing I wouldn’t be out of the bedroom until morning. I kicked my bedroom door closed out of habit and turned the light on, needing to see her.
That look was still in her eyes. The one that made me think she wasn’t sure about this, about us. I held her jaw and studied her closely, trying to decipher what she wasn’t telling me.
She didn’t give me a chance to ask before she rose on her toes and sealed her lips over mine. She nipped at my lower lip, and I couldn’t hold back a growl. She smiled against my lips and slid her tongue into my mouth.
I followed her retreat toward my bed, not letting her get far enough away to break the kiss. I bent over her when she sat on the bed, then pulled back to yank my shirt off.
Her eyes widened, and her smile brightened at the move. “That is so hot.”
“What is?”
She chuckled. “Men have no idea what it does to a woman when they remove their shirt with one hand. It’s a reminder of how powerful you are with a hint of gentleness that you don’t rip it.”
“It’s your clothes I want to rip off,” I told her, bracketing her knees with mine. I held her in place, trailing my fingers over her throat until she shivered beneath my touch. “You’re so damn beautiful.”
“You sound mad about that.”
I shook my head. “Not mad. Honored that you’re here. A little surprised. The men of your town should be beating down your door.”
She laughed in a way that sounded bitter. “You know how small towns are. Everyone expected me to get back together with my ex. I haven’t really dated since we broke up.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Two years.”
“You’ve been single for two years? The men where you live are nuts. You make me crazy, Reegan. I want you so badly I can barely stand it.”
“Then why are we talking about my ex?”
The challenge in her voice was enough to spur me on.
I reached for the hem of her top and pulled it off slowly, my greedy gaze devouring every inch of her body as I revealed it.
Her breasts were contained in a yellow bra the same color as the honeysuckle in my garden.
I dropped her shirt behind me and lifted her jaw to bring our lips together.
She tasted like my greatest fantasy. Like honey and fresh air and a woman I could love.
A woman I could lose myself in. She made me want things I hadn’t wanted in years.
Things I’d given up wanting. Until I met her.
Until she was on my dock, pushing back and arguing with me about her right to be there.
I slid my hands around to her back and flicked the clasp open to release her breasts. My hands were waiting when the fabric finally slid off her shoulders, taking the weight and rolling her nipples in my fingers.
“Josh,” she whispered against my lips.
I abandoned our kiss and dropped to my knees, lifting one breast to my lips. I held her gaze as I pinched her tender nipple between my teeth.
She gasped, her eyelids fluttering closed before she forced them open to watch me. She licked her lips and brought the lower one between her teeth.
I growled and traded sides, leaving a wet trail between the globes. Her hand slid into my hair, her fingers tightening and pulling my hair when I bit down on her nipple.
She eased her bra all the way off and tossed it to the side. She slid her hands down my back, her touch a caress that set me on fire.
How was I going to let her go?
I pushed her shoulder to get her to lie back. I hooked my fingers in her shorts and panties, sliding both down her curvy legs and past her bare feet. Her hair surrounded her like a halo. My angel. She looked up at me with a look I would have thought was love in any other situation.
Damn, I wanted it to be love.
But we were temporary. And I needed to remember that. I was falling for her, but she had a life to return to. A life I would never be a part of. Because my life was in Amethyst Bay.
I’d never considered leaving before, and as much as I was falling for Reegan, I loved my hometown. It was where my daughter would come back to every summer, where she grew up, where my family was from. It hurt to know I’d have to say goodbye to Reegan, but I would.
Until then, I would show her what she deserved. I would show her what being loved felt like. And then I’d send her home with the hope she’d find love.
Even if it killed me.
I pressed my lips to the honeysuckle below her breast, inhaling the scent of her body.
I wanted to taste every inch of her. My tongue followed the curve of her breast to her sternum, then along the lower curve of her other breast. I nibbled her ribcage and resisted the urge to leave marks all over her body.
I’d never wanted to mark a woman before, but Reegan…
She did things to me. Things no one had ever done.
I pressed her thighs wide to fit my body between them as I tasted her skin. My hands slid up and down her legs, from her knees to her inner thighs. She rocked her hips, twisting to seek out my hands.
I leaned over her, my teeth finding her hip the same moment my fingers thrust inside her.
“Holy fuck,” she cried. Her body sucked my fingers in deeper, the pull making my dick surge. “Josh.”