“Do you want me to help put her to bed?” Cam calls from across the fire. I can’t help but notice he’s lingered, even though the group he came with has all dissipated.
I glance at Zander, who gives me a curt nod before responding, “No, Weston’s got her. Can you help me carry this ice chest over to my tent, though?”
Cam grumbles an agreement, rising with Zander. I gently unlink mine and Willow’s arms before wrapping one around her back and the other beneath her legs, carrying her toward her tent. She stirs when I shift her weight to one side and bend awkwardly to catch the zipper, rising to open the tent.
“All right, Willow. C’mon.” I duck inside with her still in my arms, squatting to lay her as gently as I can onto the sleeping bag. “Do you have pajamas you want to change into?”
“No.” She rolls onto her stomach, groaning. “Wipe.”
“Um . . . what?”
“My face.” She lifts an arm, pointing at her head. I’m not sure she realizes she’s lying face down. “Makeup. Off.”
“Makeup remover?” I ask in a poor attempt to decipher her slurred words.
She nods into the pillow. “Backpack.”
I glance around, locating a black bag in the corner of the tent. Rummaging through it, I find a small, blue pouch. Tearing it open, I pull out one of the wipes.
“Roll over for me, Wills.”
Thankfully, she complies, and I crouch over her. She keeps her eyes closed as I run the cool cloth over her skin, swiping beneath her eyes and over her cheeks, taking off as much of the makeup as I can manage. “All right. I think that’s good enough.”
She hums, eyes fluttering open as a drunken smile overtakes her beautiful face. She blinks at me, lifting a hand to pat my cheek. “You were written by a woman, methinks.”
I smile, completely mystified by her. I have no idea what that means, but I don’t think it was an insult. I reach down to touch her face, brushing a thumb over her cheek. Her skin is soft and smooth, still damp and chilled.
“Good night, Willow,” I whisper.
“You can stay, Wes,” she whispers back, giving me her signature pout and batting her wild eyes.
“No, baby.” I shake my head. “Ask me again when you’re sober.”
She sighs, nodding, before turning on her side.
I back out of the tent, the only people left on the beach are Zander and Willow’s ex, talking outside his tent. Cam steals a glance in my direction, and a bite of unease pinches at my nerves. I don’t fucking care how well Willow knows him. I don’t care if he’s friends with her cousins. I don’t trust him.
There is no way I’m going back up this cliffside if he’s still at the base of it. No way I’m crawling in my bed while he’s so close to hers. No. Fucking. Way.
I find the piece of wood the twins were sitting on earlier—the same driftwood Willow leans against on peaceful mornings when she paints the sunrise—and drag it through the sand, sliding it in front of her tent’s opening.
I feel Zander and Cam’s gaze burning a hole through my back, but I pay them no mind. I pull my hoodie over my head, cinch the drawstrings, and settle in the sand with my back propped against the wood. Blocking Willow’s tent, I close my eyes, allowing the sound of crashing waves and her heavy breathing from the other side of the nylon lull me to sleep.
A gasped, “Oh fuck,”lurches me into consciousness.
Forcing my eyes open, I’m assaulted by daylight as I blink around, my mind registering my surroundings, remembering I’m still on the beach. As I adjust to the brightness, the first vision to come into focus is the plump crease where Willow’s ass meets her thighs as she lays on the over top of my lap, the shorts she wore yesterday riding high on her hips.
The second thing I notice is that I’m rock fucking hard, and her stomach is making contact with my cock.
“If you stopped staring at my ass, it’d probably go down.”
“Honestly, Willow, it kind of feels like your ass is the one staring at me.”
She rolls over, propping herself onto her elbows, tossing me an eye roll. “Can you help me understand why I tripped over your big ass body leaving my tent this morning?”
“I slept here.” I yawn, stretching my arms over my head.
Her brows knit, and her eyes go soft. “You did? All night?”
