Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
RHYS
“Looks like I’m cooking dinner.”
Dani squints at the tangled undergrowth lit up with my phone’s flashlight. Four sets of eyes glow red. A pack of opportunistic raccoons, busted. Waterlogged crusts hang from their claws, the remnants of our two ransacked pizzas lying mangled in front of them.
“What a bunch of scavengers!” Dani exclaims. “Look at them, all smug.”
The beasts of the wild are indeed radiating vibes of give ‘em a reason to stare.
Our laughter seems to run up and down the lake.
We don our clothing, reclaim the wine, towels, and soggy pizza boxes, and head out. Ten minutes later, lungs ablaze from the steps, we slink past Dani’s villa, both of us walking quickly, head down, the pulse of blood blushing my cheeks, darkness our safe harbor.
I doubt Evelyn runs around this late, but Nicole mentioned she has the sleep schedule of a coked-up vampire and regularly wanders the moonlit vineyards. After I braved my nerves and asked Dani to come back to my place, her yes became my new mission.
No chance encounters to slow us down, please.
Only an embarrassing fumble for my key card that the underside of the welcome mat seems to have swallowed. My hand finds its way to the small of Dani’s back, guiding her inside. I flick on the lights, dimming them into a less attacking glare. The silence of the villa stretches my nerves tight. It feels strange that everything looks the same, that nothing has changed except me. I feel like a different person entirely.
Dani looks over, and the emotion rushing through me has no name. I’ve never quite mastered the game of ushering a woman straight into my bedroom, so I stand there waiting for her to say something.
“I’m not super hungry,” she admits, her long lashes fluttering against flushed cheeks.
Oh, right, the dinner I promised. Already forgotten.
No surprise, really. Not after how she destroyed me on the raft.
I crossed galaxies and event horizons and crashed into nothingness before Dani worked me into the finale, and I slowly floated back to earth a spent husk, the minutes behind me fogging into nothing.
I am weak for her.
How it feels to want to touch and to be touched.
The heat and prickle of it, the fire.
“I do a mean charcuterie board,” I say. “Why don’t you jump in the shower, and I’ll get busy?”
Dani stares blank-faced at the darkened bedroom I’m pointing at. I take in her expression. Nerves, maybe, entering my personal domain.
“I have nothing to hide,” I assure her, mentally cataloging the toilet seat left down, towels neatly hung, and my La Mer toiletries lined up like soldiers on the counter. (I’m not an animal, even if she makes me feel like one.) “And feel free to use my body wash,” I add. “You can rock Alpine Apex.”
Her mouth quirks into a smile. “Then we’ll both smell terrific.”
“ Wild and untamed ,” I quote the brand tagline, adopting an over-the-top announcer's voice as I strike a macho adventurer pose.
Dani follows up with her version of posturing. “ Powerful as an avalanche .”
I feel a surge of pure connection, so intense it wobbles my kneecaps. In a single, unbroken gesture, I pull Dani close and rock us back and forth. The same current that hummed between us in her kitchen kicks in. Bolder and more powerful.
“You should be writing their ad copy, Miss Pink Pearl.”
“One day,” she says. “I’ll have my own agency.”
“Is that your dream?”
She hesitates a moment. Then, “One of them.”
“Based solely on your crisis management skills, I’d bet a small fortune on your success. You slayed during the model fiasco. You shit-kicked those fangirls outta here, and never once lost your cool. You were polite. You were bloody determined. ”
She laughs a little, like my assessment of her was the upshot she needs. “Thanks for the props. But I’m not Wonder Woman.”
“Says who? You proved clutch in the tough times. And look at how creative you are. People like you move mountains, given the chance.” I capture her chin with my thumb and forefinger and lever those beautiful strange irises back to mine. For some unknown reason, the tagline of Are they real, or are they Maybelline? fills my head. “What would it take to open your own agency?”
“Money. And moxie.” She looks away for a beat and then back to me. “Mostly the latter. The belief in myself.”
“You do not lack gumption,” I say. “Not from what I’ve seen.”
She’s the type to embrace fear, unafraid to make a decision, a head full of ideas. This can only mean a jerk like Brett probably shredded her self-confidence—to the point where she’s second-guessing herself. Suddenly, an idea pops into my head.
The how-to that eluded me.
“Maybe I can help you.”
Her forehead crinkles with confusion. “What do you mean?”
Did not expect us to land here. Funny how it all crystalizes into this actual thing. But before I can explain what I’m thinking, my phone vibrates in the beach bag.
“Hold on,” I tell her. “I need to turn that damn thing off.”
Instead of blindly shutting it down, I skim the message first.
MT: Hi Rhys. Any news??? Love you. Mom.
Tension climbs my spine, both shoulders square, and my eyes dart briefly to Dani. We’re both quiet, but the air doesn’t feel empty.
“If you need to text or talk, go right ahead,” she says. “I can hang out in the bedroom.”
A shallow breath escapes my lips, and I keep my voice steady. “It’s cool. Nothing pressing.”
Nothing, unless you count the guilt weighing down on me. I owe Mom. I know that much. My disappearing act messed her up, and she’s been begging for a visit since I got back, texting me every day. Dad weaponized his authority by denying Mom the chance to visit me in Greece, proof positive that he and I are more alike than I realized. Two goats, stubborn as hell. The fact that we have anything in common is a miracle, though that has no bearing on the real issue: this is still my mess to fix.
But it's like needing a root canal, and you procrastinate scheduling it for months.
Then you wonder why your teeth rot and fall out.
I shut the phone off, swallow past the knot in my throat, and tell Dani I’m not hungry either—not for food. She studies me, sensing there’s something, but recognizing now is not the time to lean in. And while I like to spend my Friday nights marinating in family drama as much as the next guy, my thoughts have drifted to her tanned legs poking through the artfully frayed denim and how they would feel wrapped around my face.
She smiles. I smile back. Vibing without words.
Needless to say, I tug her across the villa into my bedroom.
No limp dicks here.
Not anymore.
Dani can love me with her mouth all night, and it would almost be enough.
But this… Damn.
We’re making out under the downpour of the rain shower, and I have her pressed against the wall, gripping her ass, lost in the rush. We move in a synchronized dirty rhythm just like I plan to do when I flex inside her pussy.
“Oh, Jesus, Rhys,” she mutters into my mouth. “You feel so good.”
Sweet, sweet Dani. My name on her lips is the hottest thing I’ve heard. And talk about feeling it. She’s taken me to the edge of orgasm and backed off. Slowed down only to speed back up again. Now I’m grinding her double time, and I can feel the pulse beat of my throat, hammering like hers.
“If you don’t fuck me now,” she pants, “I will personally fire you.”
The urgency in her voice, her demand, the threat . What has happened to buttoned-up Dani?
I press another groaning kiss to her mouth. “Oh, I plan to, but remember the bed?”
“Oh yeah.” She giggles, eyes hooded and sexy. “Time to get our money’s worth.”
We towel each other off, me rubbing circles on her ass with the thick terry. She slaps my bare butt, then her hands are everywhere, making my temperature skyrocket in every place that needs attention. We stagger out of the bathroom and topple backward onto the bed in a tangle of limbs. I cage her in with my body, pinning her with a bruising kiss.Every contact with her tongue is like a shot of euphoria in my veins. My heart feels ready to burst.
Somehow, I find the wherewithal to disentangle myself and reach for my discarded shorts on the floor. I hold up the dull silver packet as evidence of the dusty relic it is.
“Do I get the honors?” she asks with a mischievous smile.
“Sure, but be careful. I only have one. Rookie move,” I add, owning it. “Unless you have a stash?”
She throws me a look. “Osoyoos isn’t exactly the epicenter of dating.”
“Then this guy will be first in line at the drugstore tomorrow morning,” I assure her.
“I think the plan is neither of us gets up early.”
Her eyes fall to my smooth naked flesh, brutally swollen. She gestures for the goods and, hot damn, she rips the package open with her teeth. I sound like a man on the edge of defeat when she grips me, rolling on the condom. I’ve never felt this desire to consume someone, to dig in and never let go.
“Let’s try and go slow, okay?” My voice is a pathetic plea.
“I don’t care if you’re fast.”
“But I care. This is our first time.”
She gazes up at me with a forlorn, bewildered expression. “That’s such a sweet thing to say.”
“Lie back,” I whisper. “This will be anything but sweet.”
Her head sinks into the puffy pillows, and I kiss her again—deep and searching—before sitting back on my haunches to admire the view. She wets a finger and draws slow circles over her hardware, her clit. My breathing turns ragged, all that glistening pink flesh ready and waiting.
“You're the first to see this,” she confesses, toying with the barbell. “I got the piercing a week before I started here.”
My hands move along her legs, seeking skin and softness. Lord knows, I become that guy—possessive and selfish. A need to claim my territory.
“I want to be the only person to see it.”
I hoist her legs, yanking her flush against me as a squeal of surprise escapes her lips. I position an ankle on either side of my shoulders, and when her eyes meet mine, she swallows hard.
“I, I thought you said slow.”
“I changed my mind.”
“What are you going to do?” It comes out slight, husky, and possibly nervous.
I could torture her pussy with soft suction and send her careening to the edge.Drill her like a blunt instrument with my tongue until she begged for mercy. Maybe later, when I’m not powerless to her pull.
And there is no answer, none that will satisfy her like I plan to.
I angle myself onto her wetness, dip my crown in, and the adrenaline spike bathes my brain in an endless sea of light. She’s molten, and I’m teetering on the edge, unable to tolerate the feeling in my heart. How will I ever get this right?
“Rhys,” Dani calls out, soft as a song, her voice a million miles away.
There’s only one remedy here.
In one wild and violent thrust, we’re joined and consummated.
She gasps at the uncertainty. The unknown. And maybe, the size of me. The shifting of her hips to absorb me transforms my longing into a staggering shock of lust.
This is what I’ve been aching for.
Dani looks up at me with wide, unblinking, soft eyes. We’re on the threshold. Our connection is blossoming, taking shape in our minds. With my gaze on her face, hands holding her hips tight, I fuck her deep and hard, stoking her impossible deep spot. She fists the sheets, face agonized, her rising moans releasing my own. The lust flows beyond my capacity to rein it in. It’s sitting at the end of everything building between us, me thinking, Christ, how will I ever recover from the wonders of her body because nothing has ever felt like this?
“Please,” Dani whimpers.
“Please what?” I dictate her moans with every thrust.
“Please don’t let this end.”
It feels like hours pass because we don’t hurry but tease each other to the razor-sharp edge of bliss and pain. Chasing the fire before we succumb to it. Suddenly, I’m aware of how fast my breaths are coming, the painful squeeze in my heart. Dani tips closer to the abyss, and I plunge deeper and deeper until she peaks. Then I fuck her through the shudders with ferocious strokes, and she wails, “Oh, shiiit,” her nails scratching up and down my back, digging into the taut muscles of my ass. My blood is burning inside me, and I feel my control slipping out of my grip.
Somehow, I knew it would be like this.
Earth-shattering mayhem.
And then I’m coming undone, one agonized molecule at a time.