Page 60 of Chasing Clouds

Wrapping my hand around her back, I pull on the string. “You do realize these bikinis are so small, you might as well be naked.”

“What?” She laughs, dropping down so her lips lie just above the surface of the water.

“I mean, come on—you have to know.” I pull off her sunglasses and hat and toss them onto the boat with mine. “It’s only a couple tiny scraps of fabric, and they don’t leave much to the imagination.”

“That’s such a guy thing to say.” She splashes me with water, grinning.

“Yeah, but I can’t help it—look at you.” I drop my gaze slowly down toward her chest and then drag it back up.

She smiles and blinks, drops of water sticking to her lashes. She’s so beautiful, sometimes I feel like I can’t breathe.

“Come here.” I find her arm and pull her closer, warmth from her body layering over me. Her legs automatically wrap around my waist, and her hands slide up my arms and over my shoulders, pushing her flush against me and leaving her mouth only inches away.

She licks her lips and I drop my head forward to lick them too. They taste a little like salt mixed with sunblock; they taste good.

“Reid.”

“Yeah?” I mumble.

“Kiss me.” Her hand slides up my neck to the back of my head and she pulls to eliminate the distance. Her lips crush against mine, open, and I instantly dip my tongue into her mouth. Now she tastes like cherry gummy bears from our lunch.

Time gets lost as we sway with the water and the incoming wake from passing boats. Back and forth we roll into each other and into the boat, and more than once I ask myself how I got so lucky as to be here.

I kiss her, biting the skin of her neck and listening to her moan as she tilts her head back, giving me permission to slide the fabric of her top to the side and suck on her perfect breasts.

Gripping her ass, my fingertips slide under the edge of her bikini bottoms so I’m palming her skin to skin, and I rub her against me up and down.

“You feel so good,” I tell her, staring into the blue of her eyes that matches the cloudless sky.

“You feel even better,” she responds, tightening her legs around my hips.

“I need you.” My heart is hammering in my chest at my admission.

Without hesitation, she says, “So take me.”

No three words could be more perfect for this moment, but not here. There’s no way I’m doing this here where it’s fumbled, quick, and possibly interrupted. I’m going to take my time, explore every inch of her skin, and I desperately need to hear her call out my name.

“How about I take you home?”

She nods and leans forward to kiss me again. Wet lips and wet skin are such an aphrodisiac as my body melts even farther into hers.

I don’t know why we’ve waited as long as we have, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Every shared look, every kiss, and every tender touch has been leading up to this, and I want it more than I’ve ever wanted anything. There’s something about the buildup and the anticipation that’s already made this the best experience I’ve ever had.

EVERYTHING BETWEEN US, since day one, has always been so comfortable and so effortless. Nothing needs to be questioned or said; we already know.

The whole ride back to the house, he keeps his hand on the bare skin of my thigh, his thumb rubbing circles, and I breathe in sync with each swipe.

Neither one of us says a word as he pulls into the driveway and parks the car. We climb out, he meets me on my side, and he reaches for my hand as we walk to the front door. Excitement burns through me, and I feel a blush run up my neck as I think about the things we’re about to do.

The door closes behind us and he walks straight to our bedroom, pulling me behind him. My eyes trace the muscles across his shoulders and back, and I admire how perfect his body is. He works hard for it, and it shows.

“You sure about this?” he asks, looking back at me, not surprising me at all. Besides the fact that he’s been considerate and a complete gentleman our entire time together, he’s asked me what I wanted in everything we’ve done and let me make my own decisions. This makes me feel an array of emotions from powerful to understood. Patrick always made my decisions for me. Granted, I know it was my fault because I wanted to make him happy, I just don’t know when I let him take over so much that my happiness suffered and I lost myself.

Smiling, I take a step closer to Reid as he stops in the entryway to our room, and I look up into his heavily lidded eyes. “I’ve never been more sure in my entire life.”

Reaching for the hem of my dress, I pull the little beach cover-up over my head. Reid blinks then drinks me in as I stand there in my bikini.

“All week I’ve dreamed of untying these four little ties. These here on each hip.” His hands brush against them and my skin, causing every nerve ending to light up and sing out loud. “This one on your back.” He turns me and trails those long fingers up my lower back, causing me to shiver and be covered in goose bumps. “And this one here around your neck.”