“Then why are you rubbing against me like this?” she asks, breathless.
I look between us and feel the burn in my biceps from the way I’m moving her up and down my body. Her legs are squeezed tight around me in approval while I drag her against my cock, connecting us in a way I’ve never dared do before.
“Fuck. Push me away.”
She tries to shake her head, but I’m pulling her hair too tightly. “No.”
“Tilly,” I hiss, my hand shifting beneath the red lace on her ass.
“Kiss me.”
Her lips are suddenly right there. Her breath tastes like the fruit snacks she hid in my truck earlier, and I butt my nose against hers, not caring how rough I’m being.
“I can’t,” I say on a groan.
Blazing green eyes are the last things I see before she fixes the problem, kissingme.
23
TILLY
I’m lost.Utterly and completely gone for the man who still hasn’t released me. The same one whose lips taste like missed opportunities and wasted time.
The burn at my scalp fades when he kisses me back, slamming his mouth against mine like he’s as angry as he sounded a breath ago. Warm and just rough enough to intensify the throb between my legs, his lips slide across mine before parting.
I claw his shoulder and bring him closer, letting myself be greedy with him the way I’ve wanted since I was a teenager. Back then, he was just beginning to grow into himself, still stumbling a bit over the choices he was making. The version of himself holding me with huge, strong hands right now is the same, but different. I think he always thought too hard when it came to me, but after all the years we’ve been apart, it’s easier to push him where I want him. Like maybe I wasn’t as alone in what I was feeling as I’d convinced myself I was.
He blows a breath into my mouth before burying his face in my neck. Teeth tease the goose-bumped skin there beforedigging in just enough to make me cry out. Pleasure blooms from my belly up to where my throat must be darkening with a mark.
“When did you leave him?”
“Rowe . . .” I swallow heavily and roll my head to the side, making it easier for him to kiss my neck. His lips are stuck in one place despite my movements. “Don’t talk about him right now.”
The way he nips beneath my jaw is rough, angry. “Tell me.”
“Months ago.”
He licks the sting from his teeth and sucks softly. “Why?”
“Why what?”
I slide my hand up to his dark hair and scrape my nails over it. It’s impossible to pull it the same way he’s been handling mine, so I make do. His eyes are dark with possession when they meet mine. I’m as confused as I am enthralled.
“What did he do to have you coming back here?” Each word is punched out.
I shake my head, pushing myself up his body until, for once, I have to look down to maintain eye contact. His steady grip on me doesn’t waver, not for a second.
“I don’t want to talk about Ethan. Not right now,” I murmur, dropping my forehead to his.
Water drips from my hair down my neck and chest. His jaw rolls as he watches the droplets slip down my skin and splatter against his. My chest is exposed as I cling to his body, keeping my top half from sinking back beneath the lake. It’s almost too much when he shifts his focus to where my boobs spill over the lace cups of my bra. The two piercings I got after the separation are impossible to miss in this position. The rough noise that crawls up his throat tells me he approves.
Lowering my voice, I urge, “Just kiss me again.”
His hand digs angrily into my ass before disappearing. My hair cascades down my back, and suddenly, I’m gasping as thecold water hits my collarbones. Rowe’s moving away from me. The shock of having to stand on my own is too much, and I wobble, toes curling in the thick sand beneath us.
“What the fuck?” I snap, splashing a hand through the water.
Rowe’s walking back to shore, his wide shoulders straight, wet muscles rippling. There’s no chance of me catching up to him before he gets there, but I still try. I push through the water, clenching my teeth so they don’t start chattering.
