Page 129 of Undertow

“No one is above The Family,” my father adds. “You will do this. You will do everything you’re told to do.” He leavesan ominous pause. “Two days. Your new assignment starts in three.”

The line goes dead.

I stare in numb silence at the surrounding wilderness for a long time. Birds sing and flutter through a thick canopy of leaves. A squirrel scurries up a trunk just a few yards away. A gentle breeze ruffles my hair and caresses my skin. Without that phone call, this would be a completely different scene. It’s hard to accept that this moment can exist in the same world as the horror of what’s coming.

“Everything okay?” Gramps asks from behind me.

I flinch and force down the terror spreading through my veins. He can’t know the truth. It would kill him, literally, and he’s the only thing in this world that matters.

He’s struggling to stay upright when I turn, and I rush to steady him. He feels like a frail ghost in my hands.

“Fine,” I lie. “What are you doing out of your chair?”

25

BURIED ECHOES

My breath catches at Julia’s smile as she returns from her morning shower wearing nothing but a towel and an enchanting grin. Despite the miles of exposed skin, it’s the gentle curve of her lips that’s lodged in my awareness. I can’t look away as it pokes at some of the deepest, oldest cracks inside me.

“You okay?” she asks, climbing into bed beside me.

It’s been a week since we left the island. I’m still not comfortable drifting alone in the vast ocean, but I’m more than comfortable sharing this king-sized bed with the most incredible woman this world has to offer.

“You look… pensive,” she says. I warm at her precise adjective. She knows how much I adore those.

“I am. I was stunned by your smile.”

The smile I love returns with full radiance. “Yeah?”

She leans in so I can taste it. The scent of citrus from her wet hair mixes with the pleasing bite of mint. I drag her in for a deeper hit.

The towel falls open, allowing her naked body to dissolve against mine. Her fingers slide into my hair in a bold demand. Her warm curves are satin against my enflamed skin as shegrinds in slow passes against me. I lose track of them as the hunger takes over.

“Jonah,” she breathes out.

Jonah.

Our lips slide together with sudden urgency, searching for the perfect angle to consume. But it’s a futile effort. There is no relief from this craving, and my tongue plunges into her mouth, sweeping over hers until she’s panting and straining for more.

I roll her to her back, bracing over her as our lips, tongues, and hands claw and explore. My hips drag over hers, eliciting the sweetest moan as she arches to meet my hard heat.

“You’re feeling okay?” she gasps out. It’s a fair question since my injuries have kept us apart for so long.

“Not until I’m inside you,” I reply.

Her grin tastes incredible as I devour that too.

Her eager hand slips between us, and soon our words become harmonic pants. Our movements become volcanic collisions—building, climbing, sparking—until the surges of pleasure flare from anticipation to desperation.

Her head drops back with her cry. Her body rigid and hot as it pulses around me. Time stops. Space transforms into the most beautiful image, captioned by the most mesmerizing sound. I commit every detail to memory, because this moment will have a place in both our scavenged collections.

As we come down from the high, there’s no place for words. We don’t need them. Our eyes lock and speak the poetry of our hearts.

I reach out and trace her cheek, her chin, her lips that are now tipped up in a sated arc. I love this smile too. I love them all now that they’re genuine.

I lean in and brush a gentle kiss over her mouth, lingering so our bodies can stay connected for a few more precious seconds.

“My love for you is infinite,” I whisper. “It will never be defined.”