“I wanted to give you this first.”
My mouth falls open at his thoughtfulness. It’s perfect. A gift from Ace means miles more than anything Warren could ever gift me, more than anything I’d ever want from him.
“I love it.” And, I want to add,I love you, too. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Picked it myself.” His cheeks darken a shade. “You deserve about a dozen more.” He adds that last part almost as an apology.
“I don’t need a dozen. You already gave me the most perfect one.” I hike up on the balls of my feet until our lips collide. I swipe my tongue over his, slow at first, then hard and anxious. We exchange explosive kisses until we’re both insanely ready for what comes next.
Ace speeds us over to the boathouse, and I laugh as a light rain pelts us on the way up the porch. He unlocks the door and scoops me up in his arms, carrying me over the threshold. Ace lands his lips over mine, and I giggle through a delirious sea of kisses. Here I am with Ace, of all people, the boy I ran field races with, the boy who pretended to eat my mud pies fresh from the yard. The boy I couldn’t take my eyes off the past five years alone. This is truly panning out to be the best summer of my life.
Ace lands me back on my feet and fiddles with something on the table. Before I know it, the soft glow of candlelight illuminates the darkness. It’s only then I notice the tiny touches that have taken place since last night. A vase full of wild flowers sits on the table, and my heart melts at the sight. Ace handpicked each one of those just for me. He didn’t have his father’s assistant arrange for them to be delivered to my home, nor did he bury a sterileI’m sorrynote among the thorns that would eventually draw blood. I shake Warren and his roses out of my head and take in the rest of the tiny boathouse. An old blanket I recognize from the time I spent at Ace’s house as a child sits folded at the edge of the bed. I remember snuggling with it whenever I spent the night. His mother once told me she bought it at an outdoor market in Mexico way back when, but that was before she tore out his father’s beating heart in front of the family and took off. She tore out Neva’s heart, too, and I’m assuming Ace’s.
“This is amazing.” I brush my hand over his chest. “Candles? Flowers? And—a blanket?”
“I thought you might get cold.” He shrugs off his efforts like they were no big deal when we both know they were—candles, flowers, and bedding aren’t things a typical guy would remember to bring along on a date. Not that what we’re doing classifies as dating.
I run my fingers through his hair in one clean sweep and take in how stunningly gorgeous he is. His chiseled face, those high cut cheeks, the dimples that don’t know when to quit, and his demanding eyes that lay over me like hungry, blue flames.
“Why would I get cold, Ace?” I bat my lashes into him hoping he comes up with the right answer.
“Because”—his dimples go off like a warning—“tonight you’re going to take off all your clothes.”
A dry laugh rumbles quiet in my chest.
Right answer indeed.
Ace
“You ready for this?” I throw in a lopsided grin in the event this was a set up from the beginning. Not that me or my dick want it to be, but a part of me might find it more realistic.
“Ready and willing,” she whispers it so low, I hardly believe her.
“I’m not sure I’m ready.” There, I said it. I fessed up like a pussy, and she can make of it what she wants.
“What?” Her brows pitch as if they were ready to morph into birds and fly right off her forehead. “You can’t back out now.” She bites down on her lip like she might cry. “You’re my special someone, remember?”
“I’m not backing out.” I hook my arm around her waist until her body is pressed tight over mine. If I had it my way, this would be enough. No need for speed because we’d have an entire lifetime to explore one another. I’d trade in a quick and dirty summer for a lifetime of loving Reese every single time. Besides, Reese has been my special someone for as long as I can remember. “With all of my heart, body, and soul I’m on board,” I assure her. “But I’m not going to lie, I’m worried this is going to change things—that you’ll wake up in the morning and hunt me down with a baseball bat once you come to your senses.” I’m only half-kidding. Actually the fantasy involved a hunting knife, and we had mind-bending sex over a bed of pine needles before she hacked my limbs off, starting with the most productive member, the one between my legs.
“Not happening.” Reese doesn’t waver. Those pale eyes of hers spear from the shadows like flashlights. “There is nothing about this I’ll regret in the morning, unless, of course, you bail on me.” She cinches up my T-shirt as if she were about to teach me a lesson. And, God knows, I wouldn’t be opposed to getting knocked around by her—a wrestling match sounds right up my alley. “Besides, there’s no one I’d rather do these things with than you. I mean it. I want this.” Her voice quivers, and if I didn’t know better, I’d swear she meant each word on a whole different level, the level I’m already on, the one I’ve been on for as long as I can remember.
“I want this, too.” My heart slams against my chest like it’s protesting the idea—protesting the fact we’re toying with it, not to mention what we’re about to do to her heart. I pray to God I don’t accidently break it. I’d die before I let that happen.
My fingers work their way down her thighs as I slowly lift the dress right off her body. She holds her hands in the air a moment longer than necessary and lets me inspect her like this, exposing herself to me like a prize.
God.
Reese Westfield has a body that spanks the shit out of any other female I’ve had the privilege to look at. She highlights the best attributes that the female anatomy has to offer and brings glory to her maker all at the same time.
“We’re really doing this?” I ask, giving her the last minute out if she wants it.
“Oh, it’s on.” She gives a dark laugh. “Are you man enough to lead the expedition, or do I need to recruit someone else?” She presses her lips together, but her smile still rides up the sides. Reese never was one to hide the way she feels around me. She wants this, and, for whatever reason, she wants it with me.
“Take off you bra,” I try to say it soft, but it comes out a command. Reese plucks it off, and the girls spring out like a pair of happy melons. Oh fuck. “I’m going to bury my face in those in a few minutes.” I give a wry smile and watch as her mouth opens, and she chokes on her next breath. My gut starts to twist because I’m all through with giving her any more outs. I want this just as bad as she wants me to believe she does. “I think you like it when I talk dirty to you, Reese.” I skim her hip with my finger, and a gasp strangles out of her. That’s what she wants—a dirty, bad boy to ride out the summer with, and I just so happen to fit the bill. Hell, maybe the fact I don’t have two coins to rub together gets her going. But right about now, I’m not into analyzing how my lack of finances might factor into things. I’m simply in, sunk, ready and willing to be whatever the hell she wants me to be, so long as my tongue gets to go where its wanted to go all these years. I’m good with it.
Reese moans out ayes.
“I thought so.” I pump a dry smile. It takes all of my self-control not to move as quick as my body wants. I promised Reese a summer she’d never forget, and I plan on delivering in every fucking way. I’m pretty sure ravaging her on night one isn’t how to go about it. The strategy was to figure out what makes her want to detonate, and judging by the way she’s quivering for me, waiting for my next move, I think I just found the key. “Take off your panties, nice and slow.” I press out an easy grin before letting it dissipate. “I want to watch,” I whisper, twisting a lock of her hair between my fingers. I used to fantasize about touching her dark, smooth hair, pressing my face into it and getting lost, and now, here I am.
