“What’s your name, beautiful? I haven’t seen you around here before.” He gets a little too close to her, and she backs away, looking uncomfortable.
“She’s with me, Jonathon, so back off. We were just about to go for a walk.” I hold out my hand, and she hesitates briefly before taking it. Her touch sends bolts of electricity through my body. Her eyes get wide as she looks up at me, letting me know she feels it, too.
“Geez, calm down, Ry.” He sways a bit and spills his drink. “No need to cause any trouble.”
“Just stay away from her, and we shouldn’t have any.” I throw my beer in one of the trash cans set up. Keeping my fingers intertwined with hers, I lead her away from the party and down by the water.
“Sorry about that. He’s pretty harmless but can be a real dick when he wants to be, which is usually most of the time,” I laugh.
We start walking down the beach, and I tighten my hold on her hand, hoping she will keep it there. I relax when it stays in mine as we walk the shoreline.
The moon is full tonight, casting a beautiful light on the water as the waves gently crash on the shore. The sounds of the party slowly drift away, leaving us in our own secludedworld. I have so many questions to ask her. I want to know everything about her. What’s her favorite food? What does she like to do for fun? Has she ever had a boyfriend? Does she feel this connection between us like it’s hard to breathe when were not together?
“You scare me.” She says it so softly that I almost think I imagine it. I stop so I’m facing her.
“Why? I would never do anything to hurt you. You know that, right? We can go back to the party if you want. I didn’t mean to scare you by dragging you away. I swear to you, I just wanted to go on a walk and talk.”
“I’m not scared to be alone with you. I’m…” I can tell she’s nervous to continue.
“You can tell me anything. I want you to be able to trust me with whatever you are feeling.”
Her eyes search mine, and she must see the truth in them. “I’m scared of how you make me feel. I’ve never had a boyfriend before. I mean, I know you’re not my boyfriend…obviously. We just met. This is coming out all wrong,” she nervously laughs.
“I know what you meant,” I smile at her and wait for her to continue.
“I didn’t know I could feel so much so fast. I don’t know if it’s like that for everybody or…”
“No,” I say, cutting her off. “It’s not that way for everybody. I’m feeling the exact same way about you, and it’s something I’ve never felt before. I’m new to this feeling, too, so we can take this as slow as you need to. I just want to get to know you…be around you. I promise you are safe with me. I won’t ever hurt you.” Unable to stop myself, I reach out and touch her hair. It’s as soft as I imagined as I run my fingers through it.
Her breath catches at my touch. “I’ve never kissed a guy either,” she whispers. A deep satisfaction rolls through me that no one has ever had her lips on them. I run my thumb along herbottom lip, and it parts slightly. God, this girl is going to wreck me.
“Do you want me to kiss you?” I search her eyes, and all I see is longing, but I know the fear is there as well. I’m surprised when I see her head nod.
“Yes,” she softly says. “I want to feel what it’s like. If you want to,” she quickly adds.
“I definitely want to. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything more in my life.” I step closer and let go of her hand, capturing the sides of her face with my hands. Her skin is soft and perfect beneath my fingers. “I’m going to kiss you now.” I look into those blues, knowing I’ll never be the same after this.
She slightly nods her head before my lips touch hers. The spark I feel when we connect takes me off guard. I just want to dive in and never come up for air again. I make sure to go slow at first, not wanting to scare her off. When I feel her tongue hesitantly come out to have a taste, a moan escapes me before I can stop it as I dive deep into pure heaven.
I feel her hands fist my shirt as our tongues dance together. I’ve kissed a lot of girls, and nothing has ever felt like this. It’s like everything all at once, and I never want it to end. When I step closer, I hear her gasp at the contact. I know she just felt how hard I am right now. I break the kiss, not wanting to scare her too much all at once.
We both are breathing hard as I rub my thumb over her swollen lips. “I’m sorry if that was too much. I tried to hold back but I seem to lose all control around you. I hope I didn’t ruin your first kiss.”
“It was perfect.” She blushes, and I can’t help but run my finger along the redness.
“You are so beautiful,” I whisper. She blushes even more, and I feel my body respond. I’m going to have to figure out a way to keep myself under control. That kiss alone makes mewant to drop to my knees and beg her to never leave. She has no clue, as I stare into those innocent blue eyes, that she owns me. Every single fucking piece of me is hers to love or destroy.
CHAPTER THREE
EVE
I’ve got to get out of this fucking place. They’ve been controlling me for the past three years, and I’ll be damned if I let my daughter grow up around them. My father’s empire is crumbling, and his threats are going to be no good anymore.
“What are we going to do?” My mother wails at the dinner table. She’s dressed in her perfect tailored suit, and not a hair is out of place on her platinum blonde head because, after all, appearances mean everything. “What am I going to tell all my friends? How could you let this happen, Richard?”
“It was one bad investment, Gayle. Don’t be so overdramatic. We will just have to lay low for a little bit. We can move to another town, and you can tell your friends we are living in Bali for all I fucking care.”
One bad investment? So that’s what you call the feds showing up and taking every single thing you own at your business? I knew my father was shady, and it was only a matter of time before his karma caught up with him.
