“A swim? But the waves.”
“It’ll be fine,” I insist, pulling her along.
“I’ll drown,” she laughs. “Ash…”
“You’re not going to drown,” I argue as we go deeper.
“You overestimate my ability to swim in the ocean,” she says, and I turn to face her, with only inches between us.
“And you underestimate my ability to keep you safe,” I say. The tension is back, swirling between us and slowing time down. Until her eyes widen and she huddles against me.
“Ash!”
A wave comes barreling at us. It’s not big enough to do much though, and I pick her up. She wraps herself around me, and I turn so that her back is to the wave. It crashes around her back, pressing her into me, but not enough to knock us over.
“You’re crazy,” she laughs.
“I told you I wouldn’t let you drown,” I say. “Here comes another one!”
Harper braces for it, hugging into me and laughing with a shriek as the wave crashes around us. For a while, we keep doing this. She seems to be having fun, and I am enjoying watching her laugh, shriek, and hang onto me as if her life actually depends on it.
Her legs are wrapped around me and her firm ass is in my hands. I swallow hard, trying not to get too excited, but it’s not easy. With each wave, she grinds against me. And with each grind, I grow harder until I’m sure it’s obvious just how turned on I am.
I don’t think I’m the only one. While Harper is still smiling, her gaze on me has grown more intense. With each grind, her cheeks turn a darker shade of pink. Her lips part as she breathes into my mouth, and I can almost hear the faint sound of a moan.
Fuck me…
But suddenly, she hops down from my arms, breaking the contact. “I need to get my shells,” she says. “Before they wash away.”
And with that, the entire moment washes away too.
Chapter 16
Harper
Once you’ve hit second base, can you go back to first?
I don’t really know. All I know is that whatever just happened in the water was a bit much for me. My…you know what…against his…you know what. Rubbing and grinding and making me feel everything all at once. Making me want more.
I can’t want more. I don’t want to cross the line.
It might sound silly, but I am holding my ground on that. I was turned on, and I knew it had to stop before it went any further. I’ve made promises to myself that I intend to keep, and I did not want to do something I might regret.
Still, I don’t want things to be awkward between us.
At dinner, I try to act as normal as possible. I take a shower and slip into a black summer dress. Then I chop vegetables while he cooks rice and andouille sausage. We toss it all together to make a spicy jambalaya that is to die for.
I whip us up some cocktails. A fruity rum, juice and coconut water that I garnish with a flower for me, and a Negroni for him. We take our food and drinks onto the patio to enjoy the view. Neither of us wants to miss a single sunset. Costa Rica truly is heaven on Earth.
Asher looks good, and it’s hard to ignore. He’s wearing a black linen button-down shirt rolled up to the elbows, but he leaves the buttons undone at the top, revealing his chest. His khaki shorts and slicked back hair complete his look for tonight. He looks good, really good, but it’s the way he smells that gets my attention. The way he smells when he’s freshly showered and smells of cedar and a sweet musk is delicious.
“This is good,” I say, taking a bite of the jambalaya so my mouth has something to do besides hang wide open while I stare at him from across the table.
“It is,” he agrees, “and so are these drinks. You really should be behind a bar, you know.”
“Can I ask you a question?” I ask suddenly.
“Sure,” he answers.
