“So I’ve been told, Ms.Connelly.So I’ve been told.”
It was a glorious day, and the temperature was supposed to reach the mid-eighties by the afternoon.It was still early enough in May that the beach wouldn’t be as manic as it would be come July.
The drive to the beach was filled with loud, vintage 80s hair rock and a whole lot of laughter.They found the rest of the guys close to the water and set up blankets next to theirs.Cujo was already lying prone on a huge beach towel.Eric and Pixie were swimming, and Lia was sitting in a low beach chair reading a steamy paperback novel, if the front cover was anything to go by.
There was a stage area set up farther down the beach and even though it was still reasonably early, a local radio station was broadcasting live, an irritatingly catchy pop song blasting from the speakers.
Trent grabbed Harper’s hand and pulled her toward him for a longer kiss good morning.The feel of her small hands gripping onto his biceps made him groan.
“Hey,” he grumbled as she pushed him away.“I was enjoying that.”
“I’m starting to sizzle,” she said, smiling.
“So was I.”
“No, in a third-degree-burn kind of way.”He watched as she rummaged around in her bag.“Could you put some of this on my back, please?”
Visions of rubbing the warm cream into her soft skin passed through his head, making their way down to his shorts.He read the label on the sunscreen and laughed.
“SPF ninety?Harper, baby.Really?”
“What’s wrong with that?I don’t want skin cancer.”
“Yeah, but you can’t go on looking like a ghost either!You’re the palest person I know,” Trent said, lifting up onto his elbows.“Look around, Harp.Everyone here has some color.”
He did have a point—all she could see were golden tans.
“Here.”Trent dug around in his own bag.“SPF thirty.It’s got all the UVA type stuff in it.You won’t fry.”
“No, I’ll just broil in my own juices.”
Laughing, he squirted some of the cream onto his hand.“Where do you want it?”he said, raising an eyebrow suggestively.
“I can do it myself, you know.I’m not twelve.”Flustered.Just how he liked her.
“And where would the fun be in that?”Taking the initiative, he grabbed her leg as she giggled, smoothing the cream slowly up and down her long limbs.
Bad idea.He was going to be harder than granite within minutes.
He rubbed the cream into her soft, smooth calves, taking his time to massage the firm muscles she had from running.Reaching over her knees and stroking softly around the back of them, he moved up her thighs toward the hem of her shorts.Her perfect skin was warm from the hot sun.
Man, if she got some color on those whiter-than-white legs then she was going to look even more stunning than she already did.
When his fingers brushed gently under the hem, he couldn’t resist.“You leaving these on today, Harper?”he whispered, so close to her mouth that his lips brushed hers as he spoke.
Truth be told, he was desperate to see her without them.One less item of clothing between him and the Promised Land.
A soft blush passed over her dewy skin, tempting him, and he stole a quick kiss.
“Trent,” she whispered, glancing over at Cujo and Lia.She grabbed his hand, which was still moving under the hem.
Loving that he could embarrass her like that, he smiled.
“No one is paying us any mind.”Leaning over her, he kissed her softly.“Let me pull them down for you, darlin’,” he murmured softly against her lips.“You know you want me to.”
Reaching between them, he unbuttoned them and slowly pulled down the zipper, brushing against her stomach with his knuckles as he lowered it.
He groaned as he was hit in the ribs by a perfect football shot from Cujo, who was now sitting up on his towel.“Get a fucking room, dude.”
