“Where?” I say in a husky whisper.
“Out on the boat.”
I blink up at him. “You have a boat?”
“You remember my dream?” he teases. “Don’t tell me you forgot all about me?”
“Of course, I remember.” I remember everything about Devon. “You wanted to do fishing tours.”
He gives me a funny look.
“What?” I ask defensively.
He just shakes his head, his eyes soften, and the smile he gets makes my stomach flutter wildly.
“Yeah, that dream. I’m doing it, except diving and snorkeling, whale watching in winter. So, come with me. Let me show you my favourite spots.”
This is just for show. They don’t mean it. So, why does it feel real?
“Are you sure?”
He snorts. “Of course, I’m sure.”
“Okay.”
He grins, that disarming and completely adorable smile that had me at hello. Then, he sweeps me up into his arms and carries me out of the water.
I veer off when I see Sebastian stomping our way. I know it’s cowardly, but I don’t want to fight with him right now.
Sebastian and Devon get into an argument that I can’t hear, but I watch my brother throw a fit, right until Cordelia walks between them and stares up at him. He says something. She pokes him in the chest. He snarls. She snarls back. And then, to my utter amazement, my brother backs down.
Devon returns to where I’m sitting and sits beside me, a comforting and distracting presence that has me tongue-tied and unsure of what tonight even means. Mack is on the other side with the other half of my brain doing exactly the same thing. Someone bought food for me, and I’m sitting witha paper plate, sausage and fried potatoes, pushing it around, trying to calm my giddy reactions to their every movement. These alphas are potent.
“This—sausages, potatoes, onions, it all reminds me of summer. Hanging out on the beach, going up to the house and sitting on the swing while the mosquitoes buzz around and the stars take up the entire sky.” I pause. “I haven’t had it since I left.”
Seagulls fight over a sausage. I’ve even missed them.
Devon stares at me, and I can feel Mack lean closer.
I feel…hunted. Deep inside, I quiver with excitement. These alphas are not leaving my side; they are attentive and everything I ever dreamed.
“Enough moping!” Cordie says and grabs my wrist, tugging me up. “Watch the dog.”
“Sure, Cordie,” Devon drawls.
She pulls me into a dance, and, before long, I’m swaying in time to the music, with a whole heap of betas and omegas that have lived in and around Sunshine for years. So many things I haven’t done in years. So many things I’ve missed.
It’s like my heart was slowly shrivelling up like a plant in the sun with no water.
We dance until our legs ache, and the sun has been gone so long the warmth has left the sand. I am constantly aware of Mack and Devon, just at the edge of my vision, but I don’t give in to the temptation to go to them.
Hands slide confidently over my hips. He slips behind me, pressing his front against my back. The sinuous way he moves teases another dance out of me. I lean back into him, panting slightly, aware of all the places where we are touching.
I know this body pressed against mine, not because of the shape, but because of the way he touches me. No one has ever touched me with the sexual reverence that he does.
“Eli,” I moan.
In a move that makes my heart stutter, he leans down and kisses my bare shoulder.
