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I look at him with a sideways glance. “That made you…cold?”
His smirk is out-of-this-world sexy. “I was hoping we could take this champagne to the beach and make love under the stars.”
My insides quiver. What is it about a handsome, older guy saying the words ‘make love’ that is so, so yummy?
“I know just the one.” I go to the couch and pull a throw off of the back. When I turn, I note he’s been watching my every move. So, to fan those flames, I reach under the bottom hem of my sundress, hook my thumbs around my panties, and lower them until they fall to the floor. Then I step out of them with bare feet. “For easier access.”
“Christ.” He shifts his stance, and I just know he’s already getting hard. “I’m not sure how we’ll ever get to the beach without everyone we pass seeing how turned on I am.”
I pad my way to the back door. “We don’t have to pass anyone. I have my own private stairway down there.”
He grabs the champagne and the glasses and follows me, stopping in his tracks when he sees the moonlit bay below. I’m surprised he didn’t check out the view the second he got here—it’s what everyone usually does.
“Amazing, right?” I ask.
“It sure the hell is.”
But when I look over at him, he’s no longer looking out at the ocean. He’s looking directly at me. And there’s a fire in his eyes I’m not sure I’ve ever seen. He must be really excited to mark this one off his bucket list.
He leaves his shoes by the top of the stairs and follows me down. “Bug would die for this view. She didn’t tell me as much, but I know she was bummed our room doesn’t have one.”
“She seems like a good kid. Not as demanding as most teenagers I know” —I toss him a playful look over my shoulder— “except maybe when it comes toyou. I do hope she has fun this weekend.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this, but she was quite happy earlier when she saw you at the bar with another guy. She made no secret of voicing how she thought he was hot and ‘age appropriate’ for you.”
I stop my descent. “How much do you think she knows? We’ve been good at hiding it when you come to Cal Creek.”
“She’s a smart kid.” He bypasses me and continues down the stairs. “And maybe she still goes through my phone.”
“So change the code.”
He sighs big time. “I want her to trust me.”
“Do you knowhercode?”
“No. I’ve never asked.”
We step onto the soft sand, and I start scoping out a spot. “Seems backwards, Asher, her having access to your phone while you don’t have access to hers.”
“She needs her privacy.”
“So do you.” I spread out the blanket. “But hey, at least if she thinks I’m into someone else, she won’t obsess over keeping us apart.”
“I suppose,” he ponders, admiring the way the moonlight appears to cut the bay in half. “But we shouldn’t have to lie to her.”
“So tell her.”
He sets the bottle and glasses on the blanket and draws me near. “Tell her what exactly?”
I press my forehead against his chest. “Well, shit. I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”
He chuckles. Sixteen months. Fifteen dates. At least three dozen orgasms. And we’ve still never defined what this thing is between us. Now here we are, in decidedly one of the most romantic spots in the universe, about to make love under the stars. By anyone’s standards, this is the perfect time to define our relationship. The ideal setting to tell each other our feelings.
Which is why I feel anxiety eating through my body like cancer.
In an attempt not to spoil the night, I reach between us and cup my hand over his crotch. He quickly hardens under my greedy touch while his eyes shift around skimming our surroundings.
“Allie, are we going to be arrested for public indecency?”