A smile curved her lips. “Just Lea. We went out yesterday at sunrise.”
“How was it for you?”
“Scary. Hard. Until it wasn’t. And then I caught a wave and ... it wasn’t as if the memory fell away.” Her voice turned thoughtful. “It was like everything melded together—the past and present—making it all okay. I get to choose now. To surf for myself or not. To try or not. And God, it feels good.”
He leaned over and kissed her, savoring the soft warmth of her mouth and sweet taste. “You humble me, Rowan. I’ve never met a woman like you. You make me want—”
“What?” she whispered.
“More. More of you and this. More of us.” He thought of Wolfe’s advice, and how it felt to be with her during a business dinner and at the office, like she fit.
“So do I. I guess we both suck at rules,” she said with a small laugh. “I guess I never expected to fall in love with you.” He stilled as the words fell softly around him, like a whisper instead of a rush. “But I did. It’s inconvenient and freaks me out. I wasn’t going to say anything, but tonight, something happened. I didn’t want to lie. To either of us.”
A rush of emotion coursed through his body. His hands shook as he cupped her cheeks, pressing his forehead to hers, staring deep into her eyes. “I’m glad you did. Because God help me, I love you, too, Rowan Delaney.”
He swallowed her little gasp with his mouth and kissed her deep; tongue thrusting and relishing her taste, falling into the spell. She reached for more and then the kiss turned into something bigger, something Everett could no longer control.
He yanked her onto his lap and their mouths drank hungrily as he shoved her dress up to her hips. His blood was on fire and his dick throbbed painfully, crazed to have her naked; to fuck and worship and claim. She became just as frantic, ripping open his shirt and clawing at his back with a ferocity that seared his soul.
The words had been quiet and humbling.
But this was a primitive marking that couldn’t be tamed. She ripped her mouth away, panting, lips wet and swollen. “Now.” Her green eyes glittered with lust and need.
“Condom—”
“On the pill.”
“I’ve been tested.”
“Now,” she said again, pulling his hair. “Please.”
“Yes.” He lifted her up and tore at her tiny panties. She yanked down his zipper and took him out, her fingers hot on his pulsing erection, and then he was inside her.
“Everett!”
“I got you, sweetheart. God, yes. You’re perfect,” he groaned, arching up to bury deeper into her wet, tight heat. He pulled her bodice down to feast on her breasts, biting and licking her nipples as they moved together, until she was moaning and begging for more. His head buzzed but even though he was inside her, it wasn’t enough. Not now. Not tonight.
Everett stood up from the chair, still buried deep, and her legs fastened tightly around his waist. Heading back inside, he realized he couldn’t make it to the bedroom without exploding. He pressed her down on the smooth wood of the table, lifted her legs onto his shoulders, and slid deeper.
She cried his name. He gritted out hers.
“Hold on,” he commanded, stretching her arms over her head, where she grasped the edge of the table. His gaze devoured her curves, wild hair, and pleading gaze as she hovered on the sharp edges of pleasure. His body shook with a need that swallowed him whole, and then he began to move and everything fell away but Rowan.
Each powerful thrust took them higher. Each cry bonded them together. It was a wild, raw ride of sex and love and a desperation that made everything blur. Then she was coming, squeezing his dick, and he memorized her face as she let go, still clutching the table’s edge.
Everett squeezed her thighs and pounded deep and followed her over, hips jerking, the brutal pleasure ripping through him in waves. After, he pressed kisses to her sweat-dampened skin and carried her to the bedroom. Gently arranging her on the covers, he lay beside her, naked; sated; wrecked.
Her voice was a whisper; face pressed into his chest. “What are we going to do?”
The image rolled past his vision. He could almost imagine it, if he squinted. Less schedule. Ocean and sand. The three of them surfing. A more complicated definition of home. He didn’t know what it looked like yet, but he wanted to. He could be different. He could be better.
With Rowan.
But he had a demanding job and Kelsey had a new school and he’d built a life in New York.
“We’ll come up with a solution,” he said. “I can’t let you go. Not when I finally found you.”
She nodded and snuggled against him, and Everett swore he’d fix the problem like he always did.
