Chapter 16 #2
But it wasn’t. It was new and exciting, and I couldn’t wait to do it again.
He smiled. “Neither did I.”
He rolled onto his side, pulling me with him until I was tucked against his chest, my leg tangled with his. His hand rested on my hip, thumb moving in slow, thoughtful caresses that made me feel warm and strangely safe.
We were woken up by a forceful knock on the door. My heart raced for a second, slowing down when I saw Colin throw a pillow over his head. I was waking up next to a very naked Colin.
He shouted, “I’m not going fishing!”
“Meet you downstairs in half an hour, ready to go,” said a deep male voice from the other side of the door.
“Is that your dad?” I asked Colin.
He groaned. After a moment, he removed the pillow, leaned on his side to face me, and grinned. “Now this is how I should have woken up—with your lovely face as the first thing my eyes see, your voice the first thing my ears hear.”
My heart soared. “That’s so sweet, Colin.
I’m very happy to wake up next to you this morning.
I actually got a good night’s sleep! I haven’t slept so long in ages.
” Maybe it was a little silly vocalizing my every mushy thought, but I figured that if he was doing it, it was only fair that I reciprocate.
I wasn’t used to this, but with the way the endorphins were coursing through my body and brain, it would be easy to get used to it.
“I’ll simply text my father and tell him I won’t be going, and that’s that,” he said, reaching for the phone on the nightstand. His back was facing me, the muscles stretching and growing as he moved. I reached out and ran my hand along his back.
“I don’t want you to miss out on precious time with your dad,” I said. “We can hang out when you get back.”
With one swift motion, he reached back, grabbed my hand, pulled me over him, and suddenly I was on top of him, straddling him.
“I’ll go on one condition,” he said. He put both hands on my thighs and slid them upward, his thumbs getting dangerously close to my panties, before moving back up my thighs.
“What’s that?” I asked, closing my eyes while he did it again, this time not stopping when he reached between my legs. Both thumbs slid under my panties and roamed in various achingly wonderful ways.
“You’ll come with me,” he said.
“Oh, I’m definitely going to come if you keep at this,” I said.
A groan escaped his lips, and in a blur, I was on my back, the lace of my panties ripped, and Colin was poised above me.
“I can make you come in many ways. If you’ll let me.” His eyes danced with mischief and promised untold delights.
I nodded, biting my lip eagerly.
He entered me with a quick and forceful motion.
I cried out (I hope no one heard) and bit my lip again, trying not to scream each time he thrust inside me with that perfect, punishing rhythm. He grunted my name against my skin and pushed me closer to the edge.
“Kate,” he said again, holding my breasts as if they were his only anchor to reality…
We rushed to get ready. I had no idea what clothes were appropriate for going fishing.
I had brought a pair of jean shorts, and I paired that with a loose lavender T-shirt.
Colin similarly wore khaki shorts and a white T-shirt, though I’m pretty sure that he made that decision when he saw my choices of clothing were limited.
I picked up my phone on the way out, glancing at the many notifications I’d missed throughout last night’s ordeal.
Several texts from my mother and a video she said was of her singing karaoke (I’d watch that later).
Work emails that never stopped. Memes from Angie, along with questions about what Brightwater Island was like.
And two missed calls from Grant.
I put my phone away when Charles Gordon appeared at the doorway to the dining area.
He said nothing before walking back out, but I assumed his presence meant that he was waiting outside because Colin grabbed the bagel from his plate and stood up.
I did the same, and soon we were outside with Stephen, Landon, Martin Flame, another board member (Ron?) and two other guys I recognized as groomsmen.
I was relieved when I saw that another woman was part of the group as well, and since she was standing closest to Ron, I assumed she was his wife.
She had rich, dark brown hair and a large sunhat that matched her oversized straw-colored bag. Her sunglasses dwarfed her face, but her big smile was visible underneath when she saw me. She took two enormous steps in my direction.
“Another woman!” she exclaimed. “I’m so relieved.
All of this testosterone on the boat was making me nervous.
But I told Ron—I told him, ‘You can’t go on a boat without me.
’ What would I do by myself at the hotel?
The pool is under renovation, can you believe it?
If I’d known, I would have picked another hotel.
Can you imagine? I was upset, but I didn’t let on to the worker at the front desk.
It wasn’t her fault, of course. We should have been informed some other way before, though. It’s only right, isn’t it?”
“It doesn’t seem fair not to give notice,” I agreed when I found she’d stopped speaking.
She began again, her southern accent unfamiliar, yet endearing.
“I’m Pam, by the way. Not short for Pamela.
It’s really Patricia, but, my momma loves to tell the story of how I couldn’t say my T’s when I was little, so instead of Patty I’d say Pammy, and everyone started calling me Pammy as a little joke, but it stuck.
And then that got shortened further to Pam. ”
I was smiling throughout all of this, fascinated by anyone who was able to talk so much and so quickly, but I tried to stifle my laughter when she got closer and whispered, “Ron loves my name. When he gets the urge, he comes up behind me—you know men—and says to me, ‘Can I have a little Pam, Pam, thank you ma’am?’ We heard that somewhere once, and he cannot get enough of it. ”
“Well, my name’s Katelynn, but my nickname Kate is as boring as it gets,” I said in reply.
“Pam’s nothing special on its own. But we give our names their specialness, don’t we?”
“That’s right,” I agreed, if only to be friendly. Special? Me? I looked around and saw that Colin was watching me with an easy grin.
“What is it?” I asked, sidling up next to him as we began our walk to the dock.
“I can’t take my eyes off you,” he said. “That’s all. I like to admire you, even from afar.”
I’d been keeping an eye on him as well. Even when he wasn’t in my direct line of sight, I sensed his presence.
It was as if we had a thin string attaching us to each other, pulling at me every few seconds, demanding I identify where he is and what he’s doing.
I observed his interactions and was fascinated by his reactions.
He was much more casual here at his summer house, but whenever he was around his father or the board members, he stood a little taller. Sounded more like “work Colin.”
I wanted to validate him, to tell him I, too, admired him. That I couldn’t think of anything or anyone else, really. But we were shortly interrupted by Colin’s brothers, who roped Colin into reminiscing about their past fishing competitions.
“I’ve always been the best fisherman, and don’t pretend that’s not common knowledge,” Landon declared.
“You’ve always been the luckiest,” Stephen scoffed.
Colin nodded. “In fishing and beyond.”
We were boarding, going in one-by-one, and Pam took me by the arm, insisting we have some girl talk and let the men do “their fishing thing.”
The men inspected the fishing rods and bait that had been pre-assembled on the boat (or should I say yacht?), and I kept catching Colin’s eye.
I tried to keep up with Pam’s conversation, but that was mostly me agreeing or answering a couple of words while she rattled on.
A wink here and there from Colin showed me I was forefront on his mind as well.
When the boat began to move, Colin walked over and excused us from Pam for a few moments. He took me inside, where there was a small seating area and another door.
“I figured you might need a break,” he said. We sat down, and he put his arm around me.
“You’re very perceptive,” I said.
“I want you to be comfortable. And happy.”
My heart swelled at the words.
“That’s so nice to hear,” I said.
“It’s the truth. Last night was amazing. This morning was the cherry on top. You’re so beautiful and sensual. Touching you, feeling you, wanting you. It’s all I can think about, honestly. I’d take you into the bedroom there right now if it wasn’t rude to disappear for an hour or so.”
His voice was husky. It was casting a spell on me, and I closed my eyes to answer.
“I’m not the best at communicating my feelings. It’s easier for me to tell you I would love to have you rip off my shorts right here, right now. But I do want to tell you this is about a lot more than sex for me.”
He smiled in a way that I hadn’t seen before. Was it—hope?
“The way you look at me—like you actually see me, not my last name or what I run—I don’t get that often.
And it scares the hell out of me because this is so much more than sex for me too,” he responded before passing a finger along my jaw and drawing our faces together.
I’d never had a sweeter kiss before, ending with our foreheads resting against each other and nervous, soft laughter.