Page 124 of Only Between Us

“Do you not understand the concept of sneaking around, Attwood?” Siena hisses in the dark. “You’re supposed to be quiet.”

She’s long stripped out of her overalls, leaving them somewhere behind as we run for the moonlit ocean.

There’s no reason to hurry, really.

It’s the middle of the night. Siena has dragged us to a deserted, dark patch of beach which she’d apparently frequently visited whenever she’d been out here for her ex, though he’d never joined her. There’s no sound around us but the ocean crashing on shore.

“You’re the one dragging me naked into the goddamn ocean, Siena. You know how I feel about open bodies of water.” Our feet splash into the Pacific. “You’re sure no one will find us?”

“The only living things you need to be concerned about right now are sharks.”

I hit the brakes with the water lapping at our calves. “That’s supposed to help?”

“Yes, actually.” Siena takes my hand, threading our fingers, butshe doesn’t make a move to pull me in. It’s dark enough that I can’t completely make her out—just the perfect outline of her naked body, the shape of her eyes when she moves closer. “Come on, Brooks. Swim with sharks with me.”

My grip on her hand tightens, and with a breath we forge ahead until we reach waist-deep water. There, Siena grips my shoulders, bobbing as she wraps her legs around my hips. If the idea was that I’d forget about tomorrow’s scrimmage, she’s succeeded. “Look at you. Brooks Attwood, with his phobia of open bodies of water, swimming butt naked in the ocean, in the dark, with possible sharks around. You’re fearless, baby.”

“Trust me, the fear is there. I feel the fear.”

“And yet, you’re doing it. Fuck the fear.” Her arms circle my neck. “Fuck the fear right now, in this water. Fuck the fear tomorrow, on that field. Can I tell you something?”

My hands settle under her ass, helping to support her. “Tell me.”

“I’m so proud of you. You’ve worked so hard for this, chasing this dream, and you’ve stayed the best version of yourself the whole way. So kind and loving. Playful. Dependable. Anything I could ask for. Brooks, they’ll be falling over themselves to have you back on the team. And even if they don’t, I’ll be there in the stands. Falling over you myself.”

She presses a kiss to my forehead, and something so damn sweet blooms inside me. I don’t think I’ve ever felt loved like this.

“Thank you for caring this much.”

“I don’t need a thank-you for caring about you, Brooks. It might have been the easiest thing I’ve ever done.” Her lips dust my temple, across my cheekbone, the scar I got in the very last game I played from the helmet that clipped me in the face after mine flew off, a moment before my head hit the turf.

“Can you tell me something else?” With a soaked hand, I tuck her hair behind her ear. “If you close your eyes and picture your dream future, what does it look like?”

Siena’s breath is soft, barely audible over the sounds of the ocean. “It’s with you.”

My heart soars into the pitch-black sky at the words. Sinks to the bottom of the Pacific at the unsaid caveat.

And I know what I have to do. How we get to keep this. How I get to be there when she needs me. Be there even when she doesn’t. When she loves me and when she can’t stand me. She’s where I want to be. There’s just no way I can let her go.

But I push it all aside for now.

I kiss her instead, focusing on the slide of her tongue, the moan she releases in my mouth. Her nails dig into my back, scratching as she shifts her hips, pussy searching for my cock that’s already hard and waiting.

“Thought you said no more rearranging.”

“I changed my mind. Are you complaining?”

“Fuck no.” A breath hisses through my teeth as she rocks her hips, grinding along my cock. She whimpers softly in my ear. “I’m addicted to your body. Since the second I met you, it’s all I think about. You’re all there is.” My grip on her ass tightens and I help her move over me. “You want me to fuck you right here, Siena? Out in the open, where anyone could find us?”

She nods into a kiss.

“You’re trouble, you know that? The very best kind.” I lift her, line up my cock. “My little troublemaker. Little thief. Stealing my common fucking sense. Stealing my heart.”

I release her. Let her slide down my length, luxuriously slow, taking her time with every inch.

“Oh my God,” she mumbles. And then her eyes fly open. “We should get out of the water.”

“No.” With nothing but her to hold on to, I can’t do much more than to punch my hips a little, meeting her rhythm. “We’re busy.”