He drags his gaze down to my lips, then raises his fingers to graze them. His touch is defined but soft—so much smoother than I expected.
Then, his fingers stroke my cheek, trailing down to grasp my chin. I break our stare, looking down.
“Look at me.” He lifts my chin gently, pushing his hand back to cradle my jaw. “I can be… eccentric. I know. So, it may be hard to read me sometimes. But the last thing I want is for you to doubt me. I’ll come clean. Will I regret this later? Maybe. However, the truth would’ve come out eventually. I’d rather it comes out while stars and fireflies surround us than while we’re on the run.
“When we’re together, you consume my thoughts. When we’re apart, you consume them twice as much. I’ve been dealing with a lot over the last several weeks, but every time I run away and drift out farther into the sea, you find me and bring me back to the shore. The funny thing is, I’m not even sure where your head is at with all this, and as downright scary as that is, I don’t know if it matters to me anymore.”
Our noses nearly touch.
“I’ll take whatever you give me, Cleo.”
I stop breathing. He may think he means this, but he can’t.
If he does, I’ll end up hurting him, too. It’s inevitable.
“Kai, there’s so much you don’t know. If you knew everything, I’m certain you wouldn’t feel this way.”
“If you think that, then you don’t know me at all,” he murmurs, wrapping his arms around my waist underwater and resting me on his lap so that I’m straddling him as he keeps us afloat. My thighs rest against his as our bodies mold into each other’s. “I’mcertainthat my feelings won’t change over that. I’m also a pretty stubborn person. I told you. You’re stuck with me… Unless this is one-sided.”
One word comes to mind. Complicated.
Things have become so beautifully complicated.
But right now, as I’m staring into his molten gold eyes and holding my breath, all I want is Kai Greene.
For as long as I can have him.
For as long as he will have me.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been very good at pretending,” I whisper, parting my lips and wrapping my arms tighter around his neck. He leans in, his lips grazing my ear as he exhales a breath, making my body shudder.
“I know.” He smiles against my ear and uses his teeth to tug on it gently, immediately sending a rush of shivers down my spine. That felt good.Too good.
How deprived am I?
“You won’t be deprived for much longer.” He trails his lips down to my neck, placing kisses all the way to my collarbone.
Oh my heavens. Did I say thatout loud?
He chuckles into my neck. “No. I’ve just gottenreallygood at reading your thoughts if I do say so myself.”
I exhale a sigh of relief and run my fingers through his hair as his kisses on my neck grow more passionate—hungrier. I lean my head back in pleasure and release the quietest whimper.
“Fuck.I’ve never heard something so sexy.”
My core grows warmer as I feel his length push against my center. I moan again without holding back, this time leading him to drive his hardness into me firmly.
“Now you’re just teasing me.” He smiles in between kisses.
I pause, suddenly feeling apprehension creeping in. “What if they’re watching us up there?”
“Let them watch.”
Then he tightly pulls me into him and teleports us back to the lake house, but this time, we’re in the loft. He sets me down on the edge of the king-size four-poster bed, where I sit upright, and then he locks his eyes on me.
He kneels to the ground, his arousal impossible to miss at this point. Using his hands to frame the curves of my body, he starts at my shoulders, rubbing them intently. Then, as his hands roam lower and approach my breasts, he looks into my eyes—seeking permission.
I simply nod, reveling in how hooded his eyes have grown. He reaches around my back to unclasp my bra and tosses it on the floor. Then, his hands meet my breasts and grasp them tightly. He gazes at them like they’re perfect when they are far from it. I have a full chest, but one boob isdefinitelya teeny bit perkier than the other. So again, they’re objectively not—
