I watch her for a long time, just breathing her in. The way she relaxes when she’s with me, the way her lips part a little when she’s thinking, the way she fidgets with the edge of the blanket when she’s not sure what to say.
After a while, she cracks one eye open. “What are you staring at?”
“You.”
She smiles. “You’re sappy as hell, you know that?”
I shrug. “Only for you.”
She sits up and pours herself more hot chocolate. “So. Tell me about your rescue missions. You never talk about that stuff.”
I hesitate. I don’t like talking about work, especially not the black ops shit. But she asked, and I’d rather she hear it from me than anyone else.
“It’s mostly retrievals,” I say, keeping it simple. “People get lost, or taken, or sometimes they just run from their consequences. We go in, get them out, bring them home. Sometimes it’s kids, sometimes it’s adults, sometimes it’s…” I stop, not sure how much to say.
She waits, patient.
“Sometimes it’s ugly,” I finish. “But it’s better than leaving themthere.”
“Did you ever get hurt?”
I laugh. “All the fucking time.”
She eyes my chest, where the scar runs from my pec down to my ribs. “Is that one from a rescue?”
I nod. “Yeah. Guy didn’t want to come back. He had a knife, and I let him get close. Stupid move, but it worked.”
She traces the scar with her finger through my shirt, soft and slow. “I like it. Makes you look dangerous.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You like dangerous?”
She grins. “Only when it’s you.”
I lean in, kiss her hard. She tastes like strawberries and chocolate and a little bit like sunshine. She kisses back, hungry and rough, biting my lip just enough to hurt.
I pull her into my lap, wrap my arms around her, and squeeze until she squeaks. “Can I tell you a secret?” I say, mouth against her ear.
She shivers. “Always.”
“I used to come out here and jerk off thinking about you. On this exact fucking beach.”
She laughs, loud and sharp. “You’re disgusting. Wheredidn’tyou jerk off to me?”
“Yeah, I am,” I agree. “But you love it.”
She kisses me again, and this time it’s slow, drawn out. Her hand slides under my shirt, fingers cold on my skin. I let her explore, let her take what she wants.
After a while, I pull back, eyes dark. “I want to fuck you,” I say, voice low.
“Here?”
I nod. “I want to remember this day forever.”
She doesn’t argue. I lay her down on the blanket, kneel between her legs, and strip off her hoodie and shirt in one move. She shivers in the breeze, nipples already hard. I kissdown her neck, over her collarbones, down to her chest. She arches up, hands in my hair, pulling me closer.
I make quick work of her jeans, dragging them down her legs. She kicks them off, shoes and all, and laughs as they land somewhere in the sand.
“You’re going to lose those,” I say, but she doesn’t care.
