Page 18 of Fragile Hearts (Hibiscus Hearts #3)

Sloane and I spend the next hour or so checking out the rest of the hotel. It really is beautiful, probably one of my favorites, to be honest, and I am so glad I get to share this with her.

Just as we are heading down to the pool area to grab some lunch and take a swim, we run into my parents.

“Owen, Sloane!” my mom shouts, waving at us as she walks over, Dad trailing behind her.

“How are you enjoying the hotel? Is your room nice? We gave you one of the suites. Do you need anything?” Her words are coming out at a million miles an hour, and I swear it feels like she’s more invested in impressing Sloane than I am.

Laughing, I give her a quick hug as I say, “Ma, it’s great, seriously. The whole place is beautiful, definitely your best yet.”

Mom beams at my compliment before turning to Sloane. “What do you think? Want to transfer from Maui?”

Sloane laughs, glancing over at me before turning back to my mom. “Very tempting, but I’m pretty happy where I am. Plus, I have school.”

“And you’re all settled, living with Owen too, right?” Mom asks, making Sloane blush.

With a laugh, I pull her close, my arm around her shoulders as I drop a kiss to the top of her head. “Ma, leave her alone.”

Mom waves my comment away as Dad laughs from behind her. I roll my eyes at him as Mom turns back to Sloane. “You let us know if you need anything, okay?” she says, taking Sloane’s hand in hers, squeezing it once before letting go. “Anything at all.”

“Honestly, everything is perfect, Sally,” Sloane replies. “Thank you so much for inviting me this weekend.” Her gaze moves to my dad, who nods in acknowledgment.

“Of course,” Mom replies, smiling as she shoots me a quick look.

Chuckling, I shake my head at her as I say, “K, we’re gonna go get some lunch by the pool. See you at dinner tomorrow?”

“Perfect,” Mom says with a smile before we say our goodbyes and Sloane and I make our way down to the pool.

The whole area is like a secluded tropical paradise, the large pool surrounded by cabanas and lounge chairs, all discreetly placed to offer privacy. There’s a waterfall cascading down a wall of rocks into the pool at one end and a swim-up bar at the other.

After we find a cabana, Sloane and I strip down to our swimsuits, Sloane wearing a mouthwatering black string bikini that looks spectacular.

“Fuck,” I murmur as she spreads her towel out on the lounge chair.

“What?” she asks, lifting her gaze.

“You, that bikini,” I say, my eyes raking over her body.

Sloane looks down at herself before lifting her eyes back to me, that blush I love so much once again coloring her cheeks. “You’ve seen me in a bikini before,” she says.

“I know,” I say with a nod.

She laughs now, shaking her head as she lies back on her lounge chair, and one of the newly appointed waitstaff appears. After we place our order, I lie down on the lounge beside Sloane, reaching over to thread our fingers together.

“You think Mochi is missing us?” I ask, and she immediately bursts out laughing.

“I doubt it,” she says. “He’s probably having the time of his life with Nate and Sage.”

Chuckling, I roll over, stretching across the small space between us to give her a quick kiss. “Wonder if he’ll try cockblocking them too.”

“Maybe,” she says, smiling. “He’s not here to do that to us this weekend.”

“No, he isn’t,” I say, our words loaded with so much more than just our missing dog. “But that doesn’t mean anything has to happen,” I quickly add, wanting her to know that this is not what this weekend is about.

Not going to lie, sex with Sloane is something I have thought about. A lot. But I meant it when I told her I would wait until she’s ready. I’ve waited almost a year for her to just try dating me, so I can wait a bit longer for the rest.

“I know,” she says, smiling at me.

I lean in again, kissing her softly as my hand moves to cup her jaw. Sloane lets out a low moan as she rolls toward me, deepening the kiss, her tongue teasing mine.

“Sloane,” I growl against her mouth.

She giggles. “What?”

“You are making this really hard, you know.”

“Am I?” she asks, a playful tone to her voice.

“Y—” I start to say, my word cut off when I feel her hand slide slowly down my stomach to my dick, cupping me through my shorts.

“You’re right,” she whispers, nipping at my bottom lip.

“Fuck,” I groan, pulling away as I fall onto my back on the lounge chair.

Sloane laughs, propping herself up on an elbow as she looks over at me. “Something wrong?” she teases.

I narrow my brow, crooking my finger to beckon her closer. When she moves in, I grab her wrist, pulling her so she’s lying on top of me and can feel the full impact of what kissing her does to me.

“Nothing is wrong,” I whisper, my hands gripping her hips, my mouth brushing against hers. “Everything is fucking perfect.”

She moves slowly on top of me, sort of rolling side to side a little, and my eyes close at the sensation, at the feel of her whole body pressed against mine. “It certainly feels perfect,” she whispers, tracing her tongue along my bottom lip.

I huff out a breath, needing to stop this, no matter how much I want to keep going. “Babe, it’s yours whenever you want it. Just say the word.”

Sloane lets out a breathy laugh as her mouth moves to my ear. “I wa?—”

The rest of whatever she was about to say is cut off when our server suddenly reappears with our drinks and lunch. The poor dude is clearly trying not to look at us as he reels off our order, putting each of the items on the small table to the side of the cabana.

When he finally leaves, Sloane and I burst out laughing as she says, “I guess we have a new cockblocker?”

“You wanna do some hiking tomorrow morning?” I ask as we both lie on our lounge chairs in a post-lunch food coma.

“Hmmm, yeah, that sounds nice,” Sloane mumbles.

Laughing, I turn to her. “You falling asleep on me, gorgeous?”

She smiles, her eyes closed. “Maybe,” she says. “I hardly ever just chill like this. It’s nice.”

“It is nice,” I say, sitting up on the lounge so I’m facing her. “You know what else is nice?”

“What?” she asks, her eyes still closed.

With a grin, I stand, reaching down to pick her up and throw her over my shoulder. Sloane squeals, and I laugh, my hand on her ass as I turn and walk us toward the pool. “A post-lunch dip,” I say before I jump into the pool, taking us both in.

When we surface, Sloane is laughing, her arms wrapping around my neck and her legs around my waist as I hold her in my arms. There is no one else around, the pool is completely empty except for us as I make my way over to where the waterfall cascades down the rocks.

Ducking behind it, I carry Sloane into the small cave that’s hidden in the rock face.

“Oh wow,” she breathes out before I crush my mouth against hers in a hard kiss.

Sloane’s legs tighten around my waist as she kisses me back, our teeth and tongues and lips colliding in a hungry, almost desperate kiss.

“Fuck, you are gorgeous,” I murmur against her mouth.

Sloane smiles at me, unlocking her arms as she drags her hands across my shoulders and down my chest to my stomach. “So are you,” she whispers, her hands moving lower still until she reaches the waistband of my shorts. As her fingers play with the tie, she looks up at me, a question in her eyes.

Grinning, I say, “Whatever you want, Sloane, I’m yours.”

Her smile turns wicked as she licks her lips and tugs on the tie of my boardshorts, pulling them open. I watch as she runs her fingertips slowly down the trail of hair before they disappear inside my shorts.

“Holy shit,” I breathe out as they brush against the head of my cock.

Sloane grins, leaning in to kiss me again as she shuffles her hips a little so she can wrap her hand around me.

“Fuck, Sloane,” I groan, crushing my mouth against hers. “What are you doing?”

She giggles around our kisses as she slowly starts to stroke me. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

I groan again, my hands moving to her ass, my fingers digging into her flesh. “You...you don’t...” I stammer, unable to form words.

“You want me to stop?” she asks, her hand stilling, her grip still tight around my dick.

“Fuck no,” I breathe out. “You just don’t have to?—”

“Shhhh,” she whispers, kissing me as she once again starts to move her hand in long, slow strokes that have my heart pounding like a motherfucker in my chest. “I want to,” she adds, kissing me again as her grip tightens and she brushes her thumb across the head of my cock.

I want her too because this is something that I have dreamed about for so fucking long. And shit, my dreams have had nothing on the reality of Sloane’s hands on me. Everything she’s doing feels fucking incredible, and I don’t ever want her to stop.

A growl rumbles in my chest as my hands now slip beneath her bikini bottoms, gripping her ass hard as she continues to jerk me off behind the waterfall. It’s probably kind of wrong of us, doing this in the hotel pool before it’s even opened, but right now, I give zero shits about any of that.

“Jesus, you’re gonna make me come,” I murmur around our kisses.

“Good,” she says, smiling against my mouth as her grip tightens even more and she ups the tempo.

“Fuck, Sloane, fuck, fuck,” I growl, my hips now moving in time with her strokes.

She continues kissing me, her hand moving in my shorts, and when she brushes her thumb against the head of my cock again, it’s enough to send me flying over the edge, coming hard in her hand inside my shorts.

“Oh my fucking god,” I breathe out, my head falling to her shoulder as I bury my face against her neck.

Sloane laughs, slowing the movement of her hand as my dick jerks a couple more times before she finally pulls it free. I lift my head, our gazes meeting, and when they do, Sloane smiles at me before leaning in to press the softest of kisses against my lips.

“You, Owen Sinclair, have the most perfect dick.”

I burst out laughing, pulling her close, my shorts still undone and my semi-hard dick now pressed against her pussy. “And you, Sloane Anderson, are a wicked, wicked woman,” I tell her, kissing her again.

“Am I?” she asks, a playful smile on her face.

“Yes,” I reply. “But,” I add, my mouth against hers, “I really fucking love it.”

She smiles against me, kissing me once more, which is probably just as well, considering I’m two seconds away from telling her I love her too. Hell, I’ve been in love with her for ages.

“For the record though,” I add when she pulls back, “I was supposed to do that to you first.”

Sloane’s head tips to the side as a sexy smirk dances on her mouth. “Were you? Says who?”

Grinning, I say, “Me.”

She laughs, shrugging a little as she says, “Oh well, maybe next time.”

With a laugh, I drop my head to her neck, biting and sucking her skin as I say, “Definitely next time,” my heart racing with the prospect of a next time. At the knowledge that Sloane wants more of this.

“Owen,” she says, her voice suddenly serious.

I lift my head, our eyes locking. In this cave, hidden from the world, everything feels possible, more intense and intimate somehow.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you,” she breathes out.

“For what?” I ask, my brow narrowing in confusion.

“For everything,” she says. “Giving me a place to live, bringing me here, being so understanding and patient, all of it.”

I stare at her, wishing I could explain to her why none of that matters, that she never has to thank me for anything because I will do anything for her. That she is everything I have ever wanted, and all I want is for her to feel safe and happy.

But I can’t say this to her yet, because even though things are definitely changing between us and Sloane is fully open to us dating and seeing where things go, I know I still have to take things slow.

She might have initiated what just happened here in this cave, but I don’t want to push her for anything more than she’s willing to give.

So instead, I smile, brushing my thumb across her lips. “You’re very welcome,” I whisper.

She smiles now, leaning in to press a kiss to my lips. “I think you are the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” she whispers against them.

My eyes open, my gaze meeting hers. I drink her in, the way she looks so happy and at peace, at the way she’s looking at me right now, like she’s silently telling me things she’s not quite ready to say out loud yet.

Smiling, I nuzzle my nose against hers as I say, “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me too, Sloane.”

Her smile widens, and she kisses me again before she says, “You wanna swim for a bit?”

“Uh huh,” I reply with a nod. “And how about dinner in our room tonight? We can sit outside and watch the sun set.”

“Sounds perfect,” she says.