Chapter 11 #2
I sense the beach before I see it. It’s windy today and the breeze brings both salt and sand. White waves roll in, hence the kids’ delighted screams. I watch them play in the water for a moment before I continue out on the pier.
The lighthouse at its end is absolutely beautiful, and so is the view from here.
I’m alone out here and close my eyes as the sun and wind brush my face.
For once, Cactus is following me without demanding bribes.
Maybe she used to walk here with Liz, or maybe she enjoys the salty wind and the sun as much as I do.
On the outer side of the lighthouse is a bench, facing the open sea. It’s even windier out here, and a strand of hair escapes my ponytail and flutters in the wind. I let it be. For once, I let a messy thing be instead of fixing it.
I sit on the bench, and Cactus sits at my feet, the wind making her fur fly in all directions.
Wow, it looks fluffy and soft. Without really understanding what I’m doing, I reach out my hand to touch her.
She notices what I’m about to do, and we both watch my hand in the air, like neither of us can believe what’s about to happen.
I’m an inch away when another dog flashes into view, followed by a human. And not just any human, but the very Benjamin Reyes. What are the odds?
He looks surprised to find me here, his eyes trailing over me before they zero in on mine. “Collins. What a lovely surprise.”
“Wish I could say the same.” I shoot him my warmest smile and ignore the way the weight of his gaze feels on me.
The two dogs, on the other hand, seem very happy to have found each other. If I were a dog-person, I’d almost call their encounter cute. They make little playful jumps and start chasing each other around.
“This seat taken?” he asks, not waiting for my answer. The bench is small, which makes it impossible to ignore the fresh, clean, and manly smell of him as he sits down next to me.
“Yes,” I say and glare at him. I refuse to move because I was here first, but I make sure I’m not touching him.
“You seem to be everywhere I go, Collins. Sure you’re not stalking me?”
I sigh. “I thought stalkers followed their victims, and if I’m not wrong, I was here first.”
Is that a smile on his lips? Definitely amusement in his eyes. Eyes that glitter in the sunlight. “True. But maybe you knew this is where I usually walk.”
“I don’t care where you walk.”
Now it most certainly is a smile. He leans forward as Cactus comes up to him. “Hey, girl,” he whispers, and something low in my belly heats. He cuddles her with big hands, and Cactus looks unabashedly pleased. Judas.
I close my eyes and pretend he’s not there because I won’t let him ruin my moment when my phone starts vibrating in my pocket. My heart leaps—maybe it’s Lydia!
But it isn’t Lydia. It’s Clara, and my leaping heart is replaced by a familiar worry instead, as it always is when Clara calls me. A worry that something has happened.
I answer the call despite the fact that Benjamin Reyes is sitting right next to me, but I don’t have time to say anything before I hear Clara’s voice. Before everyone and their mother hears Clara’s voice.
“Juujuuu.”
I turn away from Benjamin and try to lower the phone’s volume.
“Clara, are you okay?” I hear the alarming concern in my own voice.
“Of course, I’m okay. I’m drunk and it’s lovely. Or underbart, as they say here.”
Relief makes me slump back against the bench. “Sounds perfect but are you at home?”
“Yeah. A handsome sailor gave me a ride. Not the sailor but this one was gorgeous, too,” she sings.
I blow out a breath. “Okay, good.”
“I wanted to kiss him, but I ate some weird fish dish earlier and now I taste like . . . fish. Too bad, though. He had really good lips.”
I tip my head back and laugh.
“Oh, I’ve missed your laugh. It’s the best laugh in the whole world.”
My brows knit together. I laugh a lot, don’t I?
“But. Enough about me. Have you kissed anyone, or do you have a fishy breath, too?”
I lower my voice. “No kissing.”
Clara boos. “Not good, Juju. Not good.”
I chuckle. “You should sleep.”
“Yeah, I really should. I’m so tired. Good night, Juju.”
“Good night, Clara.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Forever and ever and ever.”
I chuckle again. “Forever and ever and ever.”
I turn and flinch when I find Benjamin watching me with new interest. I lift my eyebrows in a daring What? but just as he’s about to reply—probably to mock me for something I said—two furry flashes fly past us and through the open door of the lighthouse.
Benjamin stands up abruptly. “Audrey, no!”
I look at him in disbelief. “You named your dog after your girlfriend?” But then it dawns on me. “Audrey is not your girlfriend.”
“No, I believe it’s pretty illegal to date your dog, Collins.”
“Like that would’ve stopped you.” I follow him through the lighthouse door where a long spiral staircase winds its way up to the top. The sound of paws echoes several feet above us. Stupid dog. I start my way up. I’m done with this. “You lied to me,” I say as I hear his footsteps right behind me.
“It was hardly a lie. You assumed things.”
“I assumed things?”
“Yeah, you’re very interested in my love life, Collins.”
“I don’t give a damn about your love life. The game was your stupid idea. I don’t even care for answers from you. There’s nothing about you that interests me.”
I hear the teasing in his voice when he says, “Sure,” and I want to kill him. That smug son of a bitch.
I hurry my steps. How tall is this lighthouse really? The sound of our rushed footsteps echoes in the silence between the walls. For many blissful seconds, that’s all I hear until . . .
“And it wasn’t like you were completely honest either.”
“Excuse me?” I stop and turn around, making him almost run into me. Standing like this, me a couple of steps above him, makes us almost the same height.
“You lied to me. About why you’re here.”
“I did no—”
“You know you did. And I know you did. So, my lie—that can hardly count as a lie—wasn’t the only one that night. I never said I had a girlfriend.”
The lighthouse is poorly lit and lacks windows here. We’re standing close, his green eyes so dark here that they can be mistaken for black as they race over my face. The silence is thick and loaded, only interrupted by my ragged breathing.
“You never said you didn’t have a girlfriend.”
“Why do you care if I have a girlfriend?”
I watch him for a moment before I slowly lean closer. “As I said, I don’t care. Nothing about you interests me.” I linger for a moment, reluctantly filling my nose with his scent before I turn and continue up the stairs. He doesn’t follow me immediately.
I reach the top of the lighthouse and come to a halt when I see the view. It’s breathtaking. There are windows in every direction, and all I see is the sky, the water, and the horizon.
The two dogs have curled up together, apparently tired from all the chasing and running. Against my will, I must admit they look kind of cute. They have their tails wrapped together.
I hear steps and soon feel him behind me, his chest almost touching my back. This space is small, and his body is making it feel like a dollhouse.
“It’s been ages since I’ve been up here. I forgot how beautiful it is.” He sounds almost surprised and says it more to himself than to me.
I flinch when I hear his voice again, right next to my ear, his breath tickling my sensitive skin.
“Why are you off work for six weeks?” The sound is deep, vibrating through my body.
I turn around slowly, and something flutters through me when our eyes meet.
His are focused, pinning me to the spot before him, as if he thinks he can see right through me if he just looks long enough.
“I told you,” I say without blinking.
“It was a lie, and you know it.”
I smirk a little. “Why do you care?”
His turn to smirk now. “Why did you lie?”
“Why did you lie about having a girlfriend? Wish you had one?”
“Again, I didn’t lie. And why are you so interested in my love life?”
We’ve somehow drifted closer. I feel his breath against my face. His eyes glint in the sun-drenched room. It’s like looking straight into warm moss. “Again, I’m not.”
His smile is so mischievous now that I clench my fists. “Why all these questions about my girlfriend then?”
“Your imaginary girlfriend, you mean?”
The superior grin gets wider. “Yeah.”
How did we get this close? I feel the window behind me, and Benjamin’s body is inches away from me now. His eyes search my face.
“So, why are you here?”
“Why so interested in me, Reyes?”
A slow shrug in the company of a crooked small smile. “Just curiosity. We both know you’re too high-maintenance and uptight to be here out of free will.”
I press a finger into his chest. “First, you know nothing about me and second, any woman would be too high-maintenance for you. I guess that’s why you have to lie about having one.”
How did we get even closer? His Adam’s apple bobs as his eyes settle on my lips.
“I’m gonna give you a truth for free, Collins.”
I roll my eyes. “Wow, lucky me.”
“I don’t do relationships.”
I sigh. “And why is that? Mommy issues?”
He doesn’t respond, just curling his lips slightly. His eyes meet mine again, and something unwelcome settles between my thighs. I should leave. I want to. But his gaze holds me still.
His chest heaves up and down like he still hasn’t caught his breath. “It’s okay. I’ll wait until you tell me the actual truth about why you’re here.”
I suck in a sharp breath as he moves the lost strand of hair behind my ear. The audacity of him to touch me. Anger waves through me. I grip the collar of his T-shirt with both my hands and pull him closer to my face.
“I’m never telling you anything. You’re an arrogant and complacent dickhead.”
His face is just inches from mine now, and we stare at each other as if we’re the two greatest rivals in a staring contest. My breathing is shallow from anger, and I watch as he wets his stupid, full lips. I hate how I like his scent even more when he’s this close.
“Be careful you don’t hurt my feelings, Collins.” His words brush my lips. His mouth is just above mine now.
“It’s okay, you don’t have any,” I say and demonstratively raise my chin.
The contest is still going on and the air around us suddenly so thick you’d need a knife to cut through it. All I can hear is our breathing, roaring between us.
And before I have time to understand what’s happening, he lowers his head, closing the last remaining distance between us, and our lips suddenly melt together.
His hands cup my jaw and angle me right as I push up on my toes.
It’s a feverish and angry kiss. I hate him.
He presses himself harder against me, pinning me to the window behind me.
I gasp as his tongue finds its way to mine and softly starts playing with it.
My midsection burns as his hands gently but firmly travel down my body.
How come my skin is so sensitive? I explode under his touch.
I arch my breasts, and his fingers are there immediately, brushing my nipples through the delicate lace of my bra.
He’s groaning, and I can’t help but shiver.
He grabs my wrists and pins them above my head before he kisses my mouth, my throat, and my collarbone. His breathing is heavy and warm against my skin. My thong is already wet.
I tilt my head to the side, allowing his lips to explore my neck and causing my skin to erupt in goosebumps. A deep sigh of pleasure leaves him as I moan again.
And then, a hard ringtone echoes between us—bursting the messed-up bubble we’re in. I gasp for air as his lips pull away from mine and his grip on my wrists eases. His phone rings again, and I take this opportunity to glide away from him.
My heart is kicking wildly in my chest when I call for Cactus and head for the stairs. Maybe it’s my determined tone, maybe it’s just a lucky shot, but she follows me after only a brief hesitation.
I run down the stairs without ever looking back. And I don’t stop when I rush out the door and into the wild wind.