Chapter 10 Bare
Chapter ten
Bare
Snow slid out from the sand dunes like frozen fingers clasping the earth.
I ran toward the water, shedding clothes in my wake. Each piece of clothing freed that burning desire to be wild, for once. Embrace this body. Dive past the clinical side of my anatomy.
I might not get another chance—especially not with someone like Angel, who made me feel everything so intensely.
He peeled off his shirt, then his undershirt, his bared skin all the more alluring. So much of him caught these phantom strokes of starlight: the white hair, the arrow piercing, the glint of the button on his slacks as he popped them open.
Oh my gosh.
I was going to see his penis. Maybe even feel it.
He caught me staring and smiled, his breath coming out in a steamy little puff. “Is this as far as it goes?” he asked.
“Huh?” I must’ve gotten distracted, because I was down to my bra, but I’d only unfastened my skirt instead of shimmying out of it. “N-no. We can fully strip. I just want to test the water, first.”
“Go ahead.” He gestured to the dark lake.
Scrubs, this was going to hurt.
I eased out of my non-slip orthopedic shoes, then stuffed my tights into them. The packed sand exfoliated the bottoms of my aching feet with each step. It was almost enjoyable until I dipped my toes into the frothing stream.
“Cold,” I squeaked, my knee shooting up like I was some flustered flamingo.
Angel cackled with laughter. “What’d you expect?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’ll get warmer once I’m in.” I shimmied out of my skirt and tossed it onto my shoes, enjoying the way he admired my newly exposed legs, before I waded out thigh-deep.
I hissed through my teeth as the cold gripped my knees. The discomfort would fade. Just had to get through this initial strain.
“How’s it feeling?” Angel called.
“No worse than a pelvic exam,” I said.
He snorted, shucking off his shoes and pants. “Having regrets?”
“Not yet.” I grinned, eyeing him.
He flexed for my benefit, then sauntered down the beach.
What a ridiculous peacock of a man. How could anyone help but smile at him?
I flicked some water at him to break that strut of his.
He shivered through a laugh. “Ah, pidge. That’s like getting stabbed with a bunch of syringes.”
“It’s not that bad once you get used to it.” My toes were almost numb after a few seconds. I flexed them to resume circulation. Maybe we should dance.
“I’ll join you, but I won’t get naked,” he said, frowning at the water and inhaling sharply as he walked into the wake.
“What? Why not?” This was supposed to be romantic.
“The first time you see my dick, it shouldn’t be shriveled to the size of a walnut,” he said.
I burst out laughing. “That doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does. In normal climates, my dick is magnificent.”
“I know how penises work. And erections. But even if you do have a walnut, I’m sure you can make up for it with your charming personality,” I teased, circling him. “Oh, wait. On second thought, maybe we should wait for warmer weather.”
“You…” He halfheartedly kicked some water at me.
The fine mist speckled my chest.
Shrieking, I backed away, the chill pulling at the tips of my breasts.
“I didn’t mean to,” he said, hands up. He dropped his gaze to my hardened nipples. “But I don’t regret it.”
“You’d better,” I said, shoving a wave at him.
He cackled and turned heel so the water only lapped his backside as he scrambled ashore.
“Coward,” I called, trotting after him.
“Temptress,” he hollered, luring me into a chase along the beach.
I hugged my aching boobs to my chest. “Slow down. This bra isn’t built for running.”
“Best take it off then,” he suggested.
“Angel!”
He turned and slowed. His gaze ran over me with the same delicate exploration as the droplets slipping down my legs.
Excitement pounded through my veins with each step.
I had to catch him. Feel him.
Giggling, I snared him in a hug, splatting the icy water between us. “There.”
He shuddered and wrapped his arms around me. “Fuck, that’s cold.”
“You deserve it,” I said. And so did I for being so reckless.
He traced pretty patterns on my back and rocked us in a gentle slow-dance. “Maybe I do deserve this.”
My smile faltered. How long had he wanted this? Us?
His pulse thundered under my cheek.
If I looked up, he might kiss me.
“My heart’s racing,” I said, my voice quavering as I dared a peek at his pretty smile.
“Mine too.” He played with the band of my bra, warming the flesh underneath.
Oh, gosh. I wanted him.
On a scale of one to ten, I’d be the red-faced, panting emoji in need of immediate care.
It could’ve been the strong drinks or the sparkling sea. But the most enchanting part of the evening was Angel holding me.
His gaze dipped to my mouth. “Maybe you aren’t as sweet as I thought.”
I unstuck my tongue from the roof of my mouth. “How will you know unless you give me a taste?”
He smirked, a flash of teeth, then swept in to kiss me.
I rushed to meet him, this tide of passion. Our lips met in sudden relief.
He was solid but sensual, thorough and hot.
As he plied my lips with affection, any sense of self-preservation fluttered into the wind.
I could fall in love with him, if I hadn’t already. I could go home with him. I could lay with him amid the waves, crashing into each other until dawn cracked over a new day.
He pulled back for a moment, pressing his forehead to mine so we’d stay connected. But I needed more of him: his warmth, his passion. I kissed him again.
I wanted to take, for once. And Angel…well, he gave.
We embraced on the beach, and for a few, wonderful minutes, I wasn’t a med-school dropout or a sheltered little sister. With him, I was free. I might even be sexy.
Exploring that sentiment, I deepened the kiss, my tongue slipping past his lips. Sweet citrus and bitter heaven.
“Tori,” he whispered, gripping me tighter. My bra chafed our chests with a delicious pull, teasing our slick bodies with magnetic tension.
His hands were all over me. I was too hot, too focused on claiming his mouth again to register much beyond my bra straps falling down my shoulders, the pin-prick of his arrow piercing when I mussed his hair, and beams of light swerving over us from the heavens.
Wait—those were car headlights in the distance.
“Ah, shit,” he muttered, surveying the approaching vehicles and the strange rectangles atop their roofs. “We’ve got company.”
Oh no. It was one thing for him to see me in my underwear. But strangers? Police?
I gaped as the cop cars crept under streetlights. Why were they patrolling the beach?
“Come on,” Angel said, grabbing my hand and dashing farther down the beach. “The last thing we need is a citation for trespassing.”
“Trespassing?” I squeaked.
I couldn’t get arrested the first time I got frisky.
We snatched our stuff and scrambled to his car, stifling giggles the whole way.
It wasn’t funny. But the adrenaline just made everything silly.
The sand tripped us up any time we tried to sprint.
We’d grasp one another for balance only to drop an article of clothing and need to grab it again, sharing exasperated smiles and sputtering laughs until we finally tossed ourselves into our respective seats.
“Got everything?” Angel asked, panting and beautiful.
“I think so,” I said, my heart racing.
Water droplets snaked down his chest and slipped under his waistband, caressing the skin I hadn’t dared touch yet.
I bit my lip, squirming with the need to run or jump or scream. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, exactly. Everything was alive. Flowing.
Maybe that was why people loved kissing. I could see the appeal with the right somebody.
“Sorry if I’m getting your seat wet,” I said, trying to limit skin-to-leather contact.
Angel swiped his messy hair back. “I don’t mind, pidge. Hell, you could sit anywhere on me and I’d be thankful for it.”
Anywhere, like his face?
I giggled and eyed his tented lap, my body radiating with curiosity. What would it be like to have him that way?
He licked his lips and twisted the heated air higher. “I like what you’re thinking—but the cops are coming.”
Which meant we couldn’t. At least not immediately.
I rubbed my thighs together to relieve the growing ache. “Right. Let’s…make our getaway.”
He gave me his phone. “Here. Put in your address and your phone number, then get dressed. You got plans tomorrow?”
“Just a closing shift,” I said.
“Want to meet up after?”
“Yes.” My mind snagged on the semantics. “Oh, wait. It’ll be late. I don’t even know what time I’ll get off, and I’m not sure I’ll be the best company if I’m tired. Plus, I can’t drive myself, then, so—”
“I can drive. I’ll bring cake. And coffee.” He slid into his shirt and flashed me a boyish grin.
“That’d be lovely,” I said.
This was the start of a new and wonderful adventure.
I went to text myself on his phone per his instructions, only to be bombarded by unread notifications from various feminine-sounding contacts.
According to the message previews, these ladies wanted to schedule something with him ‘again.’ They missed him.
Wanted him. I quickly finished adding my contact details and texted myself a simple heart emoji.
Would he ghost me too if we slept together?
He said he didn’t want to hurt me—and he knew my sister and her boyfriend might make him pay if he did. So his interest had to be genuine. But he wasn’t into relationships. I didn’t feel like a conquest either. So, what were we doing? Having fun?
I propped the phone up with GPS directions on his console and adjusted my bra strap in agitation.
“Um, Angel, just so I know, what should my expectations be?” I asked, watching for any flashing sirens along the beach.
“What do you mean?” He popped his collar only to smooth it out again.
“Will we be dating? Or is this a…fling?” My chest tightened with anxiety. No wonder people hated defining their relationships.
He tensed, his nostrils flaring, before he sighed and flexed his hand atop the steering wheel, the other arm stretching behind my seat. “You tell me, pidge. What do you want it to be?”
Everything.
But I wasn’t ready for that and wasn’t sure how patient he’d be.
“I-I don’t know,” I said, lowering my gaze to my lap. “I was hoping we could explore things beyond our bodies. Get to know each other, maybe.”
He chuckled, and I shrunk into my seat. Was that too na?ve?
He squeezed my shoulder. “Sounds good to me.”
“Really?” I chanced a glance at his pretty face. “But, um, you’ll have to teach me how to do this relationship thing. And sex, probably.”
Angel brushed the curtain of my hair back. “It’d be my honor, Tori. Who knows? You might teach me a few things.”
Yeah, like how sweet life with me could be.