Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
RHYS
Build it, and they will come.
Or in my case, draw it into existence.
Either way, here’s hoping this manifestation stuff works.
I snap my journal shut and let the nerves flutter through me. The past two hours were a whirlwind of carnal inspiration. Closing my eyes, the sketches of me and Dani in every possible variation of sin flicker to life in my mind with graphic detail. Dani on all fours in this very bedroom, with me holding on to her hair like reins, buried deep and losing it. On my hammock in Greece, her legs spread wide for me to pray at her altar. And the sensory bits? Vivid to the extreme. The clink of her barbell against my teeth when I suck her clit. What damage her slippery, satin tongue might inflict on my dick.
I lie back on the bed, struggling to process it all. In my world, the quiet stuff, the little things, resonate more than grand displays. After Dani shared the Brett trauma, we relaxed into what felt like a genuine connection. We were speaking the same language—or at least I hope we were—because my mind has already flash-forwarded to heavy trembling sighs and bodies melting together.
And then there’s one other problem.
The operative word being “one.”
Some idiot forgot to check his supplies—or lack thereof. I fished through my travel kit and found a single condom, ragged and forgotten. Expired by well over a year, and now burdened with the task of holding back a mother lode of Trenton DNA. And I missed the boat to ask the taxi driver for a drugstore detour. It's almost eight, and the pizzas are on their way. Is it premature to assume condom usage? Maybe. But JC was right. I need to man up and try because everything about Dani feels fated.
And I knew, one day, no matter what everyone said, I would fall for someone.
I think I know who she is.
And this time, I’m ready.
We charge down the stairs to the beach, Dani juggling towels and wine. I’m carrying two pizzas and enough anxiety to fill the lake twice over. The plan of action solidified earlier in my mind only to now scatter with every jackrabbit beat of my heart.
“What do you think?” I ask. “Do we beat the storm?”
Dani shouts over her shoulder, “Maybe!”
The sprawling gray storm clouds slowly engulf the bright blue sky of this afternoon, the moisture in the air making all the smells more prominent. There’s a distinct earthy scent of pine and sun-baked minerals. The spritz of cologne I added earlier now feels pointless against the fresh, raw scents of nature.
When we spill onto the sand, Dani stares in awe at the chop waiting for us. “Wow! Look at the waves!”
The raft is rollicking, the air heavy and filled with the thick, wet slurping sounds of water sucked up against and released against the oil cans. Not exactly a calm dinner party platform.
No wonder the beach is deserted as far as the eye can see.
“I think we should leave the wine and pizzas here,” I say.
Dani drops her bag into the sand. “But we still swim, right?”
“Are we playing fair this time?”
“How much were the pizzas?” she asks with a smile.
“A million, plus tip.”
She laughs, wriggling out of her cut-offs, her tight body on display in a bright yellow bikini splashed with flowers. I whip off my shirt, dropping it next to our dinner. A towering column of angry cumulus clouds swirls closer, and I can feel the static in the air, the drop of barometric pressure that precedes a howler.
“We better move it before the storm hits,” I say.
But my feet stay planted on the sand. Is this beyond stupid? A lightning strike on water is dangerous. It travels along the surface in all directions. The raft is essentially open season for electrocution. And, yes, JC said no woman wants a limp dick.
But I’d rather have a dick than none at all.
“Are you ready?” Dani’s eyes hold a dangerous glint that promise me my life will never be the same after tonight.
Every molecule in my body tingles hot. If anticipation is catching, I’m running a fever.
“Three, two...” I start.
“Try and catch me!” Dani hollers, crashing into the chop with wild abandon. Childlike. Like the storm has possessed her. No intention of playing fair.
Immediately I know: time to risk life and limb in the pursuit of her.
I’m in the water, then under it, all silence and space, gliding like a fish until my arms and legs kick into high gear, propelling me straight to Dani. My hands clamp around her ankle, and she squeals, thrashing to break free, but I hold tight.
“Are you going to drag me to the raft?” she asks, like she’s daring me to.
Despite being jostled in the waves with the muddy ground untouchable, I feel grounded and brave, alive with determination.
You need to be the aggressor.
“Nope!” I shout over the wind. “I’m dragging you to me.”
Invigorated by a sense of purpose, I tug her closer. I don’t know how it happens—if I divine her arms to wrap around me—but our bodies collide, and the air leaves my lungs in a rush.Then, everything goes still. The seconds tick by. Lake water splashes into my face. The warm sun from three hours ago is like a memory from a distant world.
“Are you okay?” Dani sounds a little nervous. The trill in her laugh wasn’t there before.
“Absolutely.”
My arms circle her slim waist, and I soak in how safe and secure I feel holding her, our legs churning beneath the surface to keep us afloat. The wind whistles through the narrow gap between our damp bodies, and it feels like the temperature dropped by ten degrees.Dani clings to me, and I watch the silver in her irises darken into charcoal. Her lips part, and my heart lurches in my chest.
“Do it,” she whispers.
I want to. I really, really do. I’m ninety-nine percent sure I’ll self-destruct if she refuses my kiss, but that awful sense of being adrift is finally gone, and if that’s not the inspiration I need, I don’t know what is.
My mouth crashes against hers, and Dani opens up for me, just as ready. Our first bruising, ravenous kiss, and my pent-up frustration dissolves into a soft, aching groan. She swallows my sounds, twirling her tongue to claim mine. She tastes like cherries and sin. I feel her warmth spreading through me, and then I feel her everywhere. Breasts pushed against my pecs. Fingers digging into my hair. In the greedy blur of roaming mouths and tongues, I barely register the first fat drops of rain splattering onto my skin.
Then a blinding flash of white illuminates the sky.
We tear off each other’s mouths, and I pull Dani tighter against my body as thunder rumbles like a thousand stomping feet above us.
“Holy fuck,” I mutter.
Dani glances skyward at the dome of midnight blue darkening to black. “Let’s get to the raft.”
“It’ll be safer on shore,” I tell her.
She tugs on my hand, her touch blazing through me. “But this is closer.”
I nod, mute. I guess we're doing this.
We swim to the raft, the warm wind slapping water into my eyes. I haul myself up first, offer Dani my hand, and hoist her out of the lake with one sturdy yank. Roiling waves tip the raft at crazy angles.
It feels wild. Electric. Daring and violent. My heart is beating like crazy.
“This is incredible!” Dani shouts, laughing, half-crazed as she twirls on the dock like a kid, arms splayed wide and face tilted to the sky.
I’m caught in a crossfire of too many conflicting emotions . My entire body is still processing our kiss—the heaviness of it.
I need more.
“C’mere,” I say, and seal her in my arms.
Our kiss is dirtier this time, wickedly addictive, fingers buried in each other's hair. We ravage each other without finesse, without game. Lost in the whiplash of the storm and each other, Dani moans, rolling her hips against my erection and devouring my mouth with naked hunger. I want her so bad it feels like nothing else matters.
Nothing exists except us.
And then another bolt of lightning splits the sky, turning it violet as a spike of adrenaline burns a trail of stardust into my lungs. Our kiss fumbles, my breath sharp, ragged bursts, Dani’s body trembling against mine. We are nose to nose, forehead to forehead, no space between us. I’m reeling, feeling almost too much. She pins me with a look that makes my pulse climb a notch.It’s not the look from the photo shoot. This one is a little nutso.
“What are you thinking?” It’s a scary question for any man to ask a woman.
Her long, tanned fingers anchor onto my waist. “I think we ride out the storm on the raft.”
I swallow hard, getting the gist of what she’s saying. But this untamed environment feels wrong. Not for our first time.
“Are you sure?”
That question is out before I realize what a stupid thing it is to ask. Her eyes are fever-bright, no illusions. And the sky opens up before she can answer, rain sleeting down, the thunderclap like a sonic boom. I cradle her protectively against my shoulder, hearts pounding together. She palms my belly and then slides her hand under the band of my shorts.
Waits. Hovers.
My eyes shutter closed.
The heat of her hand so close to there is borderline agony.
“You can touch me,” I whisper into the wet tangle of her hair. “Anywhere.”
Her hand dips, traveling far enough to find me warm and full and brutally ready.
“I was thinking,” she says, her breath warming my skin. “It would be a shame to miss out on that ridiculous bed. How do you feel about a sixty-nine?”
The constricted feeling in my chest tightens into a hard ball of disbelief. As I said, I’m not the numbers guy.
But that one?
I know it.
Every guy knows it.
“Is that a trick question?” I ask, just to be sure. Before I really lose my shit.
The velvety grip of her hand sends my brain spinning, and she lifts her eyes to mine in silent response. The jury’s out whether I self-implode before the storm takes me out.
“Dani,” I mutter. “Jesus.”
“Is that a yes?” she murmurs, voice thick like warm honey.
A wave crashes into the raft, spraying us with a fine mist. I steady her, feeling the tension in her limbs holding on to us. We're exposed out here, taking a risk in more ways than one. But darkness is falling fast. Will anyone notice us? And can we track anything other than the torment about to obliterate us?
Mere trivialities.
The fierce throb of my pulse is the only thing I can hear, the shitstorm of emotions coursing through me nothing short of exhilarating. Never before have I felt so unsure yet completely sure about everything. If I go down going down on her, so be it.
I cannot wait to taste her.
Hang the fuck on.