Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
Colt
Date night.
I’m more excited than a teenage boy getting laid for the first time.
Not that I give a shit about sex—Briar and I have plenty of time for that. I just can’t believe we’re going out on an honest-to-goodness date.
How long have I waited for this? Six years? Maybe more?
Back then I was in Afghanistan and she was in college.
She was writing me letters and that’s when it really started.
The letters weren’t just nonsense from a giggling college girl, though there was a little of that too.
Instead, they were filled with hopes and dreams—the kind I started wanting to share with her.
It wasn’t black and white back then. Dash would have had my balls in a vise if I so much as hinted at something with his little sister, but it was there, simmering beneath the surface, threatening to turn into a full-blown inferno.
And the fantasy that came to mind most often was a picnic on the beach—so that’s what I have planned for tonight.
We dropped Frankie off at Royal and Jade’s place, and I’ve just turned Briar’s SUV toward the beach. Supplies are in the back, thanks to Jade, whose help I enlisted since I don’t know where anything is around here.
“Are we going to the beach?” Briar asks as I head south.
“We are.”
“It’ll be chilly once the sun sets.”
“I have blankets.”
“Multiple?” She seems amused.
“One is for us to sit on. The other one is in case you get cold.”
“We could have had a quiet evening at home—with unlimited blankets.” Ever practical, Briar points this out.
“But then we would have been dealing with Frankie, and as crazy as I am about her, this is adult time. We need it.”
“We do.” Her hand slides across the center console, searching for mine. Warm fingers seeking out connection. The bond that’s existed almost since day one.
“It’s funny how I kind of always knew this was our destiny,” I muse, knowing she’ll understand what I’m trying to say.
“Even when I was a bratty teenager?”
“You were never bratty. Dash made it seem like you were because he’s your brother and he didn’t want to think about you as a woman, so he put you in the slot little sisters go in.
It was different for me. Obviously, it took a while for the connection to make sense…
for me to realize it wasn’t about sex or being good friends, you know? ”
“But it was,” she says gently, squeezing my hand. “Because that’s kind of what a relationship is, right? Having a best friend you want to have sex with?”
“I never thought of it that way, but yeah, I suppose so.”
We pull up to a small, secluded beach that’s almost deserted now since it’s late in the day. Jade told me about it, and when I looked it up, it was perfect for what I had in mind for tonight. Nothing fancy—that’s not how either of us roll, at least not often—and somewhere we can be alone.
“I’ve never been here,” Briar says in surprise.
“Jade recommended it.”
She smiles. “Of course she did.”
We get everything out of the back and work together setting up. It’s not cold, but the sun is starting its descent into the horizon and that means it will be soon enough. But that just gives me an excuse to hold her.
“This looks amazing,” she whispers as I set out the food I picked up from the caterer Jade suggested.
They specialize in picnic basket meals for romantic dates, and it’s exactly how I envisioned it.
Wine. The fanciest, most elegantly plated cheese and meat platter I’ve ever seen.
Fresh bread. Chocolate-covered strawberries.
I hope this is the kind of thing Briar likes.
I open the wine while she pulls out plates, napkins, and wine glasses.
The petite sirah is a brand I’ve never heard of, but what do I know? Most military men don’t drink wine while deployed, and there certainly wasn’t any in a Siberian prison. Briar recognizes the name, though.
“Oh, this is from Oak Ridge Vineyards?”
“You sound like you know them.”
“I do. Atlas and Jean-Michel, the owner, are friends.”
Yet another detail I know nothing about.
I must have sighed or had a weird look on my face because she leans over and runs her knuckles across my cheek. “You’ll get up to speed before you know it.”
“I’ll never get back the years I lost,” I whisper gruffly.
“No, but those were out of your control. We can’t go back in time, so we focus on being more present in the future. Like you’ve been doing with Frankie. In a few years, she won’t even remember that you didn’t come into her life until she was four.”
“Four and three-quarters,” I correct solemnly.
She laughs, rolling her eyes. “Yes, let’s never forget the three-quarters.”
We eat and talk, conversation coming easily for once. The new client Atlas has been stringing along because he’s been such a jerk. Frankie deciding she’s ready to learn cursive. And Mandarin since her bestie at school is Chinese.
“Let’s watch the sun set,” I suggest once we’ve done a significant amount of damage to the platters of food.
I put most of it back in the basket, then I spread my legs and hold out my arms. Briar doesn’t hesitate, settling with her back against my chest like we’ve done it a thousand times—even though the truth is that we’ve never done it. Not like this.
So, I wrap my arms around her, pull her close, and we stare out at the setting sun without saying a word.
There’s a cool breeze coming in off the water, waves breaking gently on the shore, and I can’t remember the last time I was this relaxed.
Briar’s head falls back, settling into the hollow of my shoulder, a lock of her hair rising up to tickle my face.
“This is beautiful,” she whispers.
“Not as beautiful as you.” I let my fingers drift to her face, gently turning her head so I can capture her lips with mine. My movements are slow, deliberate, gauging her reaction—I don’t want to rush her like I did last night.
“When you kiss me…it’s like there’s nothing but you and me.”
“There’s never been anything but the two of us. Not since that night we spent together.”
She twists so she can look at me, and I stare down into her gorgeous green eyes. So much fire in those emerald depths—but also passion, sincerity, and much more. All things I love about her.
I dip my head, kissing her again, this time with more intensity because I can’t seem to help myself.
Her mouth fuses to mine greedily, like she’s been waiting for this.
Lips and tongues tangle deliciously, warmth spreading over me as she presses her torso to mine.
Slowly, because my sore body is protesting this awkward position, we slide down to the blanket.
I reach for the extra throw and pull it over us as we continue to kiss. And kiss. And kiss some more.
She slides a hand under my shirt, pressing it flat against my abdomen before gliding up to my chest. Warm fingers trail along my ribcage, tracing one of the more recent scars that’s still healing.
It feels so good, goose bumps break out on my skin.
But it’s not enough. I need to feel more—I need to feel everything.
Rolling onto my back, I tug her on top of me, mouths still locked. With her sprawled across me, I nudge one knee between her legs. It feels so right to have her lying on me like this, breasts firm against my chest, the heat of her core pressed against my thigh, lips pliable as I pillage her mouth.
Fuck but she feels good.
There’s no way to hide my arousal so I don’t even try, taking her hand and pressing it to my erection. “You feel what you’re doing to me?”
“Believe me—it’s the same for me.”
“Can I touch you, baby?” I take a moment to search her face.
“Please.” Her eyes turn to liquid fire as she caresses my cock through my sweats.
She’s so God damn beautiful—sometimes it hurts to look at her. But I want to do a lot more than look.
My hands drift down to her ass, and I squeeze two incredible handfuls.
She’s curvy in all the right places, and I’m going to enjoy the hell out of exploring every inch of her.
It may not be tonight, but it’s coming and that’s enough for me.
Hell, this alone would be enough for me.
As long as I’m winning her over, keeping her and Frankie in my life, that’s all I need. Anything else is a bonus.
“God, Colt…” Her voice is a breathy whisper filled with need.
I turn us so we’re on our sides facing each other, and she drags my hand to her breast. Fuck, I’m going to embarrass myself if we keep this up but there’s no stopping because this time she’s kissing me, one arm around my neck while the other goes back to exploring beneath my shirt.
And I return the favor.
Her breasts are large and full, bigger than I remember, and I run my thumb back and forth across her nipple. I love the way it feels as it pebbles against my finger, her breath hitching. She arches her chest against my hand, and I squeeze, kneading and caressing as I take possession of her lips.
“You wet for me, baby?”
She moans an affirmative response right into my mouth, and my cock gets even harder.
I let one hand travel south, the feel of her silky skin a poignant reminder of how much I missed her. How badly I want her. How perfect she is.
“I don’t want to rush you…” I whisper.
“Shh.” She pauses to meet my eyes. “Touch. Me.”
That’s all the encouragement I need. My fingers make short work of the button and zipper of her jeans, peeling them apart to give me better access. It’s almost completely dark out and we’re covered with a blanket, but I don’t need to see to feel what’s happening between us.
To hear her moan deep in her chest when I skim across her mound.
To feel her tilt her hips up, making it easier for me to slide my hand along the soft curls inside her panties.
To catch the way she moans, long and deep, the moment I press a finger between her delicate folds.
She’s fucking dripping.
For me.
The slickness between her legs—and on my fingers—is almost too much.
I dip the tip of my finger into her warm, tight entrance and—
“Fuck, Colt…it’s been so long.” She groans, canting her hips so I can slide that finger all the way in.
This time, we moan in unison.
Fucking heaven.
“Oh…Colt!” She cries out softly, so I press a little harder, looking for the spot that will send her over the edge.
She’s so tight and wet, I can’t even imagine what that will feel like on my cock, but it doesn’t matter because she buries her face in my neck as she clamps down around my hand. Her pussy flutters and spasms, each wave of her orgasm making her jerk against me.
That small contact is enough to send me over the edge right after her, and my only regret is that I couldn’t look at her face while she came.
“Holy shit.” She sounds breathless. “That was…well, it’s been a long time.”
“For me too,” I admit, chuckling. “It didn’t take much. I’m sorry if it was too quick.”
“Too quick?” She nestles deeper against me, pressing kisses on my neck even though she’s still got my finger trapped inside her. “That was…perfect.”
“You’re perfect.” I lower my head and kiss her temple.
“I’m sorry I didn’t do anything for you,” she whispers.
“Uh, did you not feel me making a mess in my boxers? You did plenty.”
There’s a moment of silence that I can’t quite decipher and then she starts to snicker.
“What’s funny?” I ask.
“Us. Lying here on the beach, making out like teenagers. It’s not like, you know, we don’t have a whole house where we can be alone or anything…”
I laugh too. “Come on, admit it—this is more fun.”
“It is.”
She lifts her head, and she’s smiling.
Not just a polite smile, or the one she gives her friends when she sees them. Not even the one reserved for Frankie when she does something sweet. No, this smile is different.
This smile is for me—just like her.