99. Scarlett
Scarlett
T he tequila hit slow.
Then all at once.
Warm in my veins. Heavy in my head.
Laughter crackled around the fire, soft and strange after everything that had happened. Rain droplets tapping the surface of the water. The drizzle made the flames hiss and steam rise off the sand.
Kane passed the bottle around again, Rhett retelling a story I’d already heard twice but was somehow funnier this time. Trace kept stealing glances at me when he thought I wasn’t looking.
Alden hadn’t taken his eyes off me.
I leaned back in the sand, one arm braced behind me, the other toying with a strand of hair. “You staring for a reason?”
His mouth curved. “You keep letting me.”
“Cocky.”
“Curious.”
That earned a tilt from my head. “About what?”
Alden leaned in, voice low. “You’ve always been dangerous.”
I smirked. “Now you’re just trying to get laid.”
A flicker of something dark passed through his eyes. “I’m not trying.”
His answer made me forget I was holding the bottle. It flipped from my hand, landing with a soft thud in the sand.
He stood. Extended a hand, fingers brushing my knee—soft, slow.
The others were still laughing behind us as we slipped down the dark trail, through the trees, towards the far dock. The rain had thickened. My hair stuck to my neck, skin already damp.
“Romantic,” I muttered as we reached the end of the dock. A battered kayak sat half-submerged on the side, covered in sand and moss. “So what’s the plan, captain? Gonna seduce me in a floating death trap?”
Alden laughed. “Only if you’re lucky.”
He dragged it free and climbed in like he’d done it a hundred times. I followed, slipping between his legs, my back against his chest.
“This is the dumbest idea I’ve ever said yes to.”
“You said yes,” he murmured, paddling us out into the dark.
When the paddle dropped, his hands slid tight around my waist. “You cold?” he asked against my neck.
“No,” I whispered. “I’m fucking soaked.”
His hands slid around my waist. “So am I.”
I turned in the narrow space, water sloshing against the edges of the boat. My thighs straddled his hips, barely room to move.
“God,” I breathed, “this is so stupid.”
He kissed me.
His breath hitched as he pulled back. “You sure?” he asked.
“I climbed into a kayak with you in the rain. What do you think?”
He kissed me again—slow at first. Open-mouthed, searching. Rain dripped from our lashes. My hands curled into the damp fabric at his shoulders, pulling him closer.
The kayak rocked beneath us, rain pouring over our skin, and I was already grinding down against him—desperate, shameless.
His fingers skimmed under my shirt, dragging it up inch by inch. When it caught at my ribs, I yanked it over my head and tossed it behind me into the sea.
Alden groaned, his hands slid to my ass, gripping, guiding.
I unfastened my shorts and wriggled them down, baring everything. The air was cool on my thighs, but the heat between us burned.
He touched me—rougher this time. No patience. Just want.
I gasped.
He grinned. “That good?”
I rocked against him in answer.
“We’ll tip it,” he warned, voice rough.
“Then stop teasing.”
I slid down onto him right there in the middle of the dark sea, the kayak swaying dangerously as I fucked him slow and reckless.
Water sloshed beneath us. Rain kept falling, cool against flushed skin.
Every movement made the kayak groan. Every shift brought us closer to tipping.
Which only made it hotter.
He gripped the sides like he was holding onto sanity itself, biting down on a groan when I rolled my hips just right.
“This is insane,” he panted.
“Uh-huh,” I said, breathless, “and you love it.”
Riding him with quiet fury, chasing heat, chasing oblivion. Our bodies were slick, grinding together, the world shrinking down to skin and water and the way his eyes never left mine.
His head fell back. “Scarlett—fuck—”
“Don’t stop,” I gasped.
The kayak tipped—just enough to send water spilling in.
We laughed, breathless.
I held onto his shoulders, biting my lip as the pleasure wound tight. He gripped my hips, letting me take over—desperate to keep balance, more desperate not to stop.
“Harder,” I whispered.
His fingers dug in.
I moved faster, wetter, more frantic. Each roll of my hips pushed us closer to the edge of sanity.
My breath caught. “Alden—”
“I’ve got you,” he growled. “Let go.”
I shattered.
My cry caught against his throat as I clung to him, trembling, wrecked.
He followed with a curse and a snap of his hips that made the boat tilt and nearly toss us both into the ocean.
We held on.
Breathing hard. Laughing.
Soaked and sore and still tangled.
Alden’s hand came up, brushing wet hair from my face, Pressing a kiss against my temple.
“This kayak’s never recovering.”
I grinned against his chest. “Neither are we.”