Her legs find their way around me, and I pull her in until we’re face to face. Her hair is swept cleanly off her face, and her skin glistens as the ocean glosses her every inch. Serena is a queen, and she doesn’t even know it.
My heart breaks at the thought of her wanting to give away a very special part of her to just anyone, just me. Another part of me, a far greedier, stronger part, is fully willing to accept it. I’m safe. She can trust me. I want her to. The irony being, I’m not sure she should. I don’t trust myself with her. Serena is the first girl who has made me quake in my proverbial boots, and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.
“Fair warning”—I take in the feel of her warm, soft flesh adhering to mine—“I’m going to kiss you,” I say it like a fact. Her lips part in anticipation, and her eyes widen just a notch. As feisty as Serena can be, she sure as hell has the innocent act nailed down—and as fate would have it, it’s not an act. “Three, two”—I move in a notch, and a giggle bounces from her—“one.” And just like that, my mouth is on hers. Serena. Soft. Sweet. Delicious. I’m in her, moving slowly in that hot, beautiful place I’d love to linger all day. There is something inherently sweet about this kiss, darkly delicious. For a fearful moment last night, I was afraid I would never again get to do just this. It terrified me. My entire body grieved the thought. But her sister, my brother, they were impotent in turning her against me.
Serena latches onto me with a fierce determination. Her fingers press hard into my back. Her kisses take on a feral appeal, hungry, deeper, stronger than any we’ve shared. We’re speaking to one another through our actions, the driving lust between us ready to detonate. Serena wants me—I can feel it. She’s making this undeniable in every single way. The good guy in me sayscut her loose.Do the both of you the favor. And yet the asshole in me saysthis girl is mine.This summer doesn’t end until I swallow down every last sugary inch of her.Serena and I kiss for what feels like hours, for what feels like days, and it’s the best damn time I’ve ever had at the beach—anywhere for that matter.
Someone from the shoreline shouts, “Get a room,” and we part ways in haste like a couple of teenagers.
I glance back to the beach and spot an entire herd of families ready to enjoy a wholesome afternoon by the sea.
“Come on.” I tick my head toward the sandbar as I set her free in the water. “I’ll race you just the way we used to way back when. But I’m not letting you win this time. No mercy. Prison rules.”
“Ha!” She bobs up next to me, missing my face by an inch. “You don’t need to let me win this time, Collins. But your ego will wish I wasn’t cruel enough to beat you so bad.” She dives under and swims out with the speed and determination of a shark.
My ego’s not the only thing begging for mercy. I swim out after her, and Serena wins by a mile. She called it. My ego is bruised as predicted. But those gentle kisses she doles out once I arrive make it all better.
Serena and I spend the rest of the day catching some rays and catching up on each other. We watch the sun go down as the sky turns into a pink and orange marble, until we’re alone again on the white powdered sand with me holding her in my arms as if I were allowed to do this out in the free world.
“Hey”—she runs her fingers through my hair, those long, thick lashes moving up and down as she takes me in—“you said last one into the water gets punished. I was last, Professor Collins. I do believe you owe me a punishment.”
“You’re quite astute.” I tick my head back and consider the possibilities. “All right, you have two choices. A: I leave you here and let you walk home.”
She swats me on the arm with a mean look in her eyes. “Hollow Brook is an hour from here at an elevation of about a million miles. I’d never be able to walk up that mountain. I’ll probably get picked up by some randy trucker, and seeing that I’m in a like-minded state, I might just go with A”—her tongue does a quick revolution around her lips—“that is, of course, unless option B shows a heck of a lot more sexual promise.”
“Duly noted.” I moan at the thought of making her mine. Every last cell in my body screamsdo it now. “Option B: Wait another week and I’ll surprise you with your punishment.” The smile drips from my face as the moment grows serious.
Her mouth rounds out. Serena never takes those bright eyes off mine. “Why do we have to wait a week?”
“Because that gives me time to talk myself out of what I’m about to do to you.”
A low growl comes from her as it morphs into a dark laugh. “Oh, honey, the things you’re going to do to me will pale in comparison to the things I’m going to do to you.” Her cheeks burn bright as flames, but Serena’s gaze never backs down from mine. “It sounds as if I’d better clear my calendar next weekend. I work on Friday, but I’ll be off at six. Get ready for a three-day spectacular. If I were you, I’d spend the next five days doing nothing but cardio. Trust me, your heart will thank you for preparing it for what comes next.” Her eyes spring wide. “I might be a virgin, Shep. But I promise, I will pistol-whip you with my body. And I definitely promise you a weekend you will never forget.”
A crooked grin rides high on my cheek. “I’m already looking forward to it.”
Serena and I share another kiss, and I can taste her confidence, her cocksure determination to make those words she just spewed a reality. I’ve known Serena long enough to realize that once she puts her mind to something, it might as well be a reality at that point in time. Never has a person held more determination, never has a person held so much of me and, dare I say, my heart. Yes, Serena and I are about to set Hollow Brook on fire—all of North Carolina will feel the burn from the fire building inside us. The best part is that she’s not some random girl I picked up at a bar. Serena isn’t some nameless, faceless, one-night stand hanging around just long enough to scratch an itch. Serena is special. The best part of all is that I care about her. I deeply, deeply do.
I have one week to back out and spare us any more pain that might come out of this. One week to talk myself out of it.
Worst-case scenario, I do just that.
Best-case scenario, I punish the hell out of her while she pistol-whips me with that glorious body.
Friday can’t get here soon enough.
Drop-Dead Delicious
Serena
Days drag on like a body through a marsh. It’s never been more excruciating trying to make it to the weekend. I went to class on Monday and sat mesmerized by Shep’s every move, hung onto his every word. It’s a wonder I’ve spent so much of my time pretending to dismiss everything he has to say. If anything, that was a telltale sign of my budding insanity for him. After he ditched my fourteen-year-old self and shredded my ego, I vowed that Shepherd Collins would never get the best of me again. Boy, am I ever sorry I went there. First of all, I abhor breaking promises to myself. Secondly, I should have heeded Emilia’s second kernel of advice all those years ago. Sure, she told me to all but brush it off—but, after that, she suggested that Shep probably didn’t want to kiss me because I was far too beautiful and he might accidentally fall in love. She went as far as suggesting I forgive him and play nice, that he’d come around eventually. And was she ever right—about the coming around part—not quite the part about falling in love. But I didn’t exactly heed the rest of her advice and forgive him. I’ve always been a zero to hero kind of a girl. Get me mad and I’m furious in less than a second flat. Show me a puppy and I’m cooing away in tears before I can take my next breath. I blame my fiery Irish genes for my hasty hormonal tendencies.
I step into Hallowed Grounds and take in the thick scent of fresh roasted beans. The aroma of coffee is so lush and rich I want to dive into one of those overgrown silos behind the counter and immerse myself in their mocha java goodness. Lex texted this morning and asked me to meet her here this afternoon. It’s merely Wednesday—Wednesday. A slow drip of a day itself. It’s dizzying to understand that I once thought time was set on fast-forward. Not anymore. If it gets any slower, we will literally be going back in time. It’s incomprehensible to understand that the more I will time to move along, the slower it slogs on just to spite me. Further proof the universe is out to get me.
I pick up an iced caramel latte before giving the place a quick scan. Lex is rarely early, but my eyes snag on a cackling foursome in the back and I’m surprised to see Lex seated with Harley, Teagan, and Colby.
I head over in stealth mode, completely incensed that the four of them are having a good time without me. I swear, if that laugh they shared was on my behalf, I will not in any way be amused. I’ve been called a poor sport before, but only when it’s true.
Colby and Teagan are seated across from my sister and Harley, and judging by their agog expressions, they’re riveted by whatever it is Harley is telling them. My God, she had better not be regaling my emotionally unstable sister with tales from the dark side of Anonymous.
