Page 146 of Blackwood

ELLIE:Yeah.Surface happy. But not real happy. Not the kind of happy she was when it was you and her. Not the kind of happy where she would get that stupid sparkle in her eyes every time you walked into the room. Sure, she is really into Lex. But she loves you, you idiot.

ME:I don’t want to ruin her night.

ELLIE:Then come down here and make it better.

ME:What if it’s too late?

ELLIE:It’s not. Not if you would stop watching her from the balcony like a Nicholas Sparks character and actually go to her.

ME:You’ve been waiting to use that line, haven’t you?

ELLIE:For years.

I glance back up from my phone and look toward the cabanas. His hands are all over—her waist, her thighs, her ass, her ribs. Bella arches into him, one hand gripping his jaw, the other buried in his hair. Her heel slides off. She doesn’t even notice.

She’s not thinking about me. She’s not thinking about anything. Just him. Just Lex. My stomach lurches. I should be in there.

He pulls her leg around his waist. Grinds into her like he owns her. Her lips are parted, head tilted back as he moves toher neck, biting, licking, marking her like he wants every fucker at this party to know:Mine.

I flinch. My chest cracks wide open, raw, stupid, and aching. I should look away, but I can’t. I should’ve held on longer. I should’ve stayed. Should’ve told her I could love the darkness in her the same way I learned to love it in him.

Instead, I’m up here.

Alone.

Watching the two people I want more than anything fall deeper in love without me.

Chapter 46

LEX

The Cabana at The Row - finally about to fuck my girl…

659 Days Since Zeke’s Death

Her nails dig into my bare shoulder as I press her deeper into the shadows. She tore my shirt off the second we stepped into this damn cabana, like she needed to feel me.

Skin to skin.

No space.

No air.

Just us.

Her thighs are locked tight around my hips, her lips swollen from my kiss. That thin red bikini is doing fuck all to hide the way her nipples are begging for my mouth. Her pulse’s thudding against my lips, and I swear to God, I can feel it. I can fucking taste it.

My girl needs me. And I need her worse. One more second and I’ll be inside her. One more second and I’m not stopping.

“Lex,” she breathes. “Lex… baby, stop.” Her voice cuts through the haze.

Fuck.

I slow. My grip softens. She’s panting now, forehead to mine, eyes fluttering open.

“We are not having sex for the first time at the damn Row,” she whispers like it’s a rule she made up to keep us from going completely off the rails.

I blink, still trying to catch my breath. Still rock fucking hard for her. “Seriously?” I manage, voice shredded.