“I think you know what I’m talking about, West.” Fuck. The way she says my name… Like it’s a secret meant for me alone, and my cock stiffens in my jeans in response.
“You’re gonna have to enlighten me,” I reply, taking another sip of whiskey, though it does nothing to calm the way my body reacts to her being so close to me.
“Theo and I… we weren’t in love.” She pauses, choosing her words carefully. I don’t think she planned to come out here. But she did anyway. And it looks like we’re havingthatconversation. “We weren’t fair to each other, not once. In fact, I’m pretty sure I was avoiding him for most of our relationship.” She lets out a soft sigh, fragile but threaded with an undercurrent of disappointment. I listen intently. “He occupied himself with a smorgasbord of other women, and if I’m being honest, I don’t care.” Her shoulders shift and she wraps her arms around herself. Instinctively, I shrug off my jacket and hold it out to her.
“Here.” She hesitates, glancing at the jacket in my hand, then up to meet my eyes, before finally taking it.
“Thanks,” she says, sliding it over her shoulders, not bothering to put it on. Goddamn. The thought of her in my clothes feeds something wild in me. Something I’m not sure either of us can handle. I can’t look. I turn toward the ocean, letting the shadowed horizon distract me because that’s my safest bet. Every muscle in me is aware of her, so I decide not to say anything for fear of implicating myself.
There’s no question my son is an asshole. I don’t know what it is with him. I’ve tried time and time again to get through to him. To get him to open up. To try to understand him better, but each time he just locks up and goes against me. Knowing the way he treated Jovi… it makes my fucking blood boil. She doesn’t deserve that shit. No one does. And Theo’s lucky I don’t kick his ass for it.
“I thought you were Theo, you know.The handjob…I thought that if I was all the things he said I wasn't that he’d give me another chance. In hindsight, I realize that it wasn't because I cared about saving our relationship as much as it wasabout me. Because deep down, I knew that I was complacent and wanted a chance to do better. His rejection meant that I had failed. And that had never been an option for me.” I listen intently to her confession, understanding all too well what that's like.
“Don't worry about it. It was a mistake. You thought I was Theo. It wasn't, and now you can move on,” I say, like I haven't thought about that night every day since it happened.
“No can do, West.”
“Yeah, and why's that?” I ask, trying my best to sound casual, though my chest is hammering as my mind latches on to her every word.
“Because I can't stop thinking about that night. And how I'm glad that it wasn't him.” Her words hit me like a match to a haystack, and I swallow, trying to process what she's trying to say.
“You—”
“You don't have to say anything. You see, I'm sort of doing this thing where I do the opposite of what I'd normally do. Act on my instincts before I let myself overthink it. Live life on the edge… It's a long story.” Well, that explains a lot. Or maybe it doesn't because I'm still lost here. I raise my glass to my lips, needing to dosomething. “What I'm trying to say is… I'm sorry. The other day, by the pool. What you saw. I got caught up in the moment and what I did wasn't fair to you. I understand how foolish that was, considering you've made it pretty clear to me you're not interested, and I'm just sorry. I didn't act appropriately, and I made shit weird.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I mutter. “If anything, I should be the one apologizing.”
“What on earth do you need to apologize for?”
“For wanting you. For not being able to get you out of my head since the moment you wrapped your hand around mycock.” Her breath hitches and I take another sip, emptying my glass. Fuck. I guess it's out there now. The words hang between us and I swallow hard, trying to push these feelings down. No good will come of this. Her stare is like an inferno, searing the parts of me she might think she wants, but isn't ready for.
“West, I?—”
“Don't, baby. You don't want this, trust me.”
“Yeah? And what if I do? What then?”
“You don't know what you're asking. I'm hanging on by a thread, here, Jovi,” I reply. The moment I say it, my heart kicks up a notch, completely betraying me. Her eyes are wide, glistening in the moonlight, and it's like she can see everything I'm desperate to hold back.
“Tell me more about what I'm feeling.”
“Trouble—”
“No! You don't get to call me that!” She cuts me off, and I blink. She turns her body to face me. She's close. Way too fucking close to me, and I'm barely able to keep myself from reaching out and showing her just how fucking bad of an idea this is.
“You don't get to tell me how I feel. You don't get to act like you know what I want. I want Beau and Haze. I want all of you. Is it stupid? Probably. I wouldn't know a good decision if it hit me in the fucking face but I know that I can't go another day on this island without you knowing. I. Want. You.” Her words slam into me like a tidal wave. Her chest rises and falls, her breathing growing frantic as her eyes search mine in the moonlight.
“You think you want me?”
“I know I do,” she whispers. Before I think better of it, my hands are on her, pulling her down as I roll onto my back in the sand. She straddles me, my jacket sliding off and landingsomewhere,her eyes wider than I've ever seen them as a mix of shock and excitement crashes into her. My body reactsimmediately, the fabric of my jeans growing tighter as her pussy aligns perfectly with my cock.
“Tell me what you want, Jovi,” I growl, moving my hands down to grip her hips, slowly rocking her back and forth against my erection. She places her hands on my chest, the feeling of her touching me driving me wild as I allow myself to give in, just a little, to what has held me captive since she came into my life. “I can’t fuck you, baby. But I can give you this. Just once. Got it?” She nods, her face falling slightly as understanding of what I am and am not willing to give her sinks in. She meets my rhythm, rocking back and forth slowly against me, her expression shifting into a shadowed goddess. “Fuck, you're beautiful,” I say, my voice deep, causing her to grind against me a little harder. “Tell me, baby.”
“I-I want to feel you inside me,” she says, her breathy voice rolling over me as she digs her fingers into my chest.
“Yeah? You want me to fuck you, Jovi? Want to feel my thick, heavy cock in your tight, little pussy?”
“Yesss. Oh God. I need it.Needyou.” I gaze up at her as she moves over me. Her lips part as she bucks, desperate to feel as much as I'll give her. I trail a hand from her hip, up to the strap of her nightie, pulling it down over her shoulder. My thumb caresses her skin there, and she shifts, reaching up to pull the other down, exposing her gorgeous, heavy breasts to me.
