Bea was still giggling when her phone buzzed in her pocket.
GEORGINA: FYI Hunter’s not coming to your graduation dinner tonight.
BEA: He sick?
GEORGINA: We broke up.
BEA: WHAT?! WHEN?!
GEORGINA: This morning.
BEA: Are you serious? Are you okay???
GEORGINA: He gave me an ultimatum. You know how I feel about those.
GEORGINA: I’m fine. I’ll see you in an hour.
BEA: Are you sure? You don’t have to come. If you need space, we get it.
GEORGINA: The LAST thing I need is to be alone.
GEORGINA: I’ll be there with all my girls. Celebrating you.
BEA: Okay. We won’t make it a thing. Just hang out, eat, love you.
GEORGINA: Don’t you dare make tonight about me.
GEORGINA: And don’t tell anyone yet. I’ll see you at dinner.
Bea held the phone an extra beat before pocketing it. Thankfully, Rafael didn’t ask who it was. He just slid an arm around her again.
“Do you mind if we take some photos before we go to dinner?” she asked.
“Of course not,” Rafael said. “Top ten percenter gets whatever she wants today.”
Claire was already corralling Umma and Papa toward the photo line closest to the St. Ives banners.
Bea moved to follow, bearing her burdens, but Rafael’s hand slid three inches lower, to a point where her breath faltered.
“Tomorrow,” he murmured. “Your next education begins.”
Heat unfurled low in her belly. Her cheeks stayed dignified but the same could not be said about her knees. “Another one?”
“The one asBea Griffin.”
Chapter Eighteen
The moment the tender pulled away, taking with it their crew and bodyguards, the yacht changed. Bea thought they might go up on deck and try to spot a comet. But then she saw Rafael shut the cabin door and start unbuttoning his shirt.
“We’re not stargazing?” she tried, backing up, already knowing the answer. Alarm, arousal, both were present in her voice.
Three days of marriage and she still felt newly issued, still adjusting to the reality that he could touch her whenever he wanted. That she could want him back just as badly.
He reached her just as his shirt hit the floor. He drew the silk down her body like it had no business being on her skin, then everything else, and suddenly there was no hiding from him. He kissed along her neck, down to her collarbone, lingering in the hollow.
“Get on the bed.”
Bea obeyed. Her mouth went dry as he shed the last of his clothing, revealing lean, hard muscle, honed by years of sparring and sweat.
