Page 29

She hears the slide of the glass doors open and turns to smile at me. “That was fast.” This time she approaches me and initiates the kiss, and I take a moment to savor it. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted some wine or something to snack on or…”

“I wouldn’t say no to a glass of wine.”

This clearly pleases her because she practically skips over to one of the low tables by the lounges and holds up two glasses. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

We take our glasses and carefully climb into the hot tub, and I have to admit, it feels fantastic.

“Did you hear from anyone?” she asks, and I tell her about my texts with Mike. “You called it.”

“I know my friends,” she tells me. “I was hoping to be wrong, though.”

“Yeah, I was kind of hoping that too. No offense.”

She scoots close to me as we sink a little lower under the water. “None taken. In a perfect world, everyone would have their time-outs and come back so we can all have dinner together. I’m not holding out hope on that one. We already know Mike and Loren won’t be here, so…”

“Should we call Vanessa and Zayne and just check in?”

Resting her head on my shoulder, she whispers, “No. Not yet. I want to just enjoy this time when it’s just the two of us. We haven’t had a whole lot of that since the first night when we were both up in the middle of the night.”

“That’s not necessarily true. We’re alone in my room.”

“It’s not the same as this. The room is private, and I get that, but we still got interrupted by the dogs.”

“True.”

“This right here is total privacy.”

“Unless you count the neighbors who can probably see and hear everything we do out on the deck.”

“Sebastian…” she whines, but there’s amusement there too. “Why are you like this?”

“Okay, fine. You’re right. This right here is total privacy from our friends.” I kiss the top of her head. “But maybe we should call Vanessa so we have at least a rough idea about how long this privacy is going to last. I’d hate for us to get to the good stuff and get caught with our pants down.”

Her soft giggle is her only response before she shifts away and then turns to straddle my lap. “And we do not want to get caught with our pants down.”

“I know I don’t,” I murmur, nuzzling her neck. She smells a little like chlorine, but there’s still a hint of the strawberry shampoo she uses. I’m perfectly content sitting here with my hands braced on her hips as she slowly grinds against me.

“If most of our bodies are under the water, no one would be able to tell that our pants are down,” she whispers hotly in my ear, and I am all for it.

“Have I mentioned how much I love the way you think?” I tug her bathing suit straps down her arms, exposing her breasts before lifting her slightly so I can take one puckered nipple into my mouth.

Olivia moans softly, like she’s afraid someone will hear her.

With her hands braced on my shoulders and her head thrown back, she’s so damn sexy.

Reluctantly, I tear my mouth away and force her back down onto my lap because… yeah, I miss the friction.

She pants my name as she tries to reach between us to tug on the drawstring of my shorts, but I’m not ready to put the kind of distance between us that would allow her to follow through.

“Not yet,” I murmur against her throat. “Stay like this…” I’m hard as granite and know I’m just seconds away from losing control. I’m almost ready to let her have her way when…

Her phone rings.

Followed by mine.

We freeze and stare at each other in wide-eyed shock before I carefully lift her off of me. “That can’t be good.”

Olivia scrambles away first to dry her hands before picking up her phone. “Hello? Van? Where are you?”

I follow suit and see that Zayne’s calling me—which seems odd since he’s with Vanessa.

“Hey, man. What’s going on?”

“Dude, you are not even going to believe what is happening right now,” he says wearily.

“That doesn’t sound good. I’m guessing you caught up with Roxie?”

“Yup. About forty miles from the house, we spotted her car at a McDonald’s. I was driving along and Vanessa started screaming for me to stop, so I turned around and pulled in next to her car. She was walking the dogs, and we got out to talk to her.”

“And? What happened?”

“Roxie just started crying and…” He sighs. “I’m glad we caught up with her because the thought of her driving home in that state…it wouldn’t have ended well.”

“Damn. Are you guys bringing her back?”

“Um…that’s what I’m calling about. She really wants to go home. At least for a few days. But, like I said, we knew she can’t drive while being that upset.”

“Right…”

“So Vanessa’s driving Roxie’s car and I’m following them back to Raleigh.”

“Holy crap. That’s a lot to drive all the way there and then turn around and come back.”

“Yeah, so that’s why I’m calling. We’re just going to crash at home tonight and then drive back tomorrow. Tell everyone we’re sorry, but this is just for the best.”

“Sure. Yeah. I get it.”

“Did Mike and Loren come back?”

I tell him about that whole situation.

“Wait, so…then you and Olivia are like…stranded, and have the entire house to yourselves?” he asks with amusement. “Damn, you lucky son of a bitch.”

I’m trying hard not to preen, but yeah. I’m feeling pretty damn lucky right about now.

“What time do you think you’ll be back tomorrow?”

“We haven’t had time to talk about it, but I’m guessing mid-afternoon. You know I hate getting up early when I’m on vacation.”

I laugh. “Yes, I’m familiar with that rule.”

“I know I made light of it, but…are you sure you and Liv are going to be okay? We all essentially abandoned you.”

“Yeah, it’s a real hardship having this giant beach house to ourselves,” I deadpan.

He laughs with me. “Hey, I had to ask. Not that I can do anything about it. I’m stuck driving back to Raleigh, and I’m pretty sure Vanessa’s going to stay with Roxie tonight. So now I’m all alone when I’m supposed to be hanging out with my closest friends.”

“I get it, but you’re doing a good thing. Did Vanessa tell you all the details of what happened here?”

“Oh, all of it,” he tells me. “And I reminded her this never would have happened if we hadn’t gotten booted out for the day.”

“Maybe. I just feel bad for Roxie.”

“We do too, but Van’s also worried about Olivia.”

“Really? Why?”

“Because this is the sort of thing that’s going to make her retreat again and possibly leave earlier than she planned.

There’s nothing really keeping her here for the month.

I mean…I guess you are, but…how is that even going to work with the two of you once we all leave next week? Have you guys talked about it?”

I glance over at where Olivia is leaning against the side of the hot tub with her back to me.

She hasn’t pulled her bathing suit back up and even though it’s not what I should be focusing on at the moment, I can’t help but be entranced.

Have I ever admired someone’s back before?

Definitely not. But now, I can’t seem to tear my gaze away, even though Zayne is droning on and on about how bummed he is about being alone tonight.

I watch as Olivia shifts slightly and the play of shadows and light on her back is like a canvas of quiet sensuality—elegant in its curves, evocative in its softness.

There’s a delicate strength to her; the gentle slope of her shoulders giving way to the graceful dip of her spine, a path that begs to be traced by curious fingertips.

I remember kissing my way down that path last night.

Swallowing hard, I think about how there’s something undeniably intimate about the way Olivia—well, Olivia’s back—responds to my touch.

The way she shivered under the whisper of my breath, how her muscles tensed and relaxed beneath my slow caresses.

She shifts again, tilting her head to the side, and I swear the hollows at the base of her neck are begging to be kissed right now.

“Ash? Dude, are you listening?”

“Um…yeah. Sure. Sorry. Liv’s on the phone with Vanessa and I guess I just sort of latched on to their conversation for a minute. So you’re bummed about being alone tonight, huh?”

His response is to laugh, and I know I’ve been caught not paying attention.

“Alright, go and enjoy having the place to yourselves tonight. I’ll text you tomorrow when we get on the road.”

“Thanks, Zayne. Drive safe and please tell Roxie we’re thinking about her and hope she comes back.”

“Will do. Tell Liv we said hey. Talk to you tomorrow.”

I hang up, tossing my phone safely away from the water before I settle in again to watch Olivia.

She’s still talking, but I can’t hear anything she’s saying over the sound of the jets.

I’m just enjoying this moment of being able to look at her without her noticing.

I’m memorizing the curves and gentle lines, the way her hair is a dozen shades of blonde up in its messy bun.

I want to tug it free and watch it cascade over her shoulders.

I want to make love with her, but not here in the hot tub.

This is community property and no matter how sensual it might be, I don’t think now that the lust fog has lifted that I could go through with it. But when I glance to my left and look at the massive house, I know we have so many options.

And I plan to explore some of them while we have the place to ourselves.

She turns slightly and I hear her say, “Please tell her we love her, and we all want her to come back with you.” She pauses. “Okay. Sounds good. Drive safe. Bye.” When she looks at me, I can almost feel her sadness, and I float over to her and take her in my arms the minute she puts her phone down.

“You okay?”

“I don’t know. I hate that Roxie’s hurting, but I’m glad she’s not alone.” She snuggles close. “Was that Zayne on your phone?”

“Yup. He told me everything.”

“They’re staying in Raleigh tonight, but don’t know if Roxie’s going to come back with them.”

“He told me, but…you never know. Maybe a night away will put things into perspective and she’ll feel better tomorrow.”

“Maybe.”

I move us over so I can sit down and cradle her in my lap. She’s still essentially topless and I try not to fixate on that. The tone is definitely somber, and I don’t want to come off like an insensitive perv.

“This trip is jinxed,” she quietly states.

“I want to disagree, but I can see what you’re saying.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t have planned this fun getaway when we learned that Matt died. Like this is him getting even with us for partying without him.”

I’m not going to comment on that one because it seems a little out there.

She continues, “Maybe getting even isn’t the right word, but maybe this is karma? Like the universe feels like we’re celebrating his death?”

“Liv, come on. I don’t think it has anything to do with Matt. Sometimes things just happen when you have a bunch of distinct personalities in the mix.”

“And I get that, but ever since we showed up here, things have been a little off.”

I try not to take offense at that.

“That’s because so much of it was sprung on you. On us,” I correct, because I wasn’t in on the plans either. “So maybe the lesson here is to be honest from the get-go.”

She lifts her head and studies me like she’s not sure she agrees.

“Think about it. You and I didn’t have any say about what was going to happen here, but Roxie knew and she didn’t speak up.

If she was that uncomfortable with me, Mike, and Zayne coming, she should have said something sooner.

And Vanessa should have told you all the plans and then dealt with it like an adult if you decided you didn’t want to be a part of it.

I’m guessing you still would have come for the funeral, but maybe skipped this vacation. ”

That crease is back, and I want to smooth it away, but I don’t.

“That’s an interesting question. Would I have still flown here for that, or would I have told Mrs. Serrano no?” She pauses. “I’m honestly not sure. And now we’ll never know.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you decided to be here.” I kiss her cheek. “I’m glad I sat next to you on the plane.” Another kiss. “I’m sorry I approached you the way I did at the funeral.” And another. “And I’m really glad I was up getting a drink when you came downstairs that first night here.”

This time when I go to kiss her, Olivia turns toward me so I can press my lips to hers. She reaches up and cups my face with her wet hands like she’s holding me there to let the kiss linger, and it does.

Then it deepens.

And then we’re back to the level of frenzy we had before our phones rang.

Olivia straddles my lap before reaching up and gripping my hair. My hands immediately go to her hips as I haul her close. Tongues tangle, breaths mingle, and it’s seriously insane how much she turns on me on with very little effort.

She whispers my name like a plea when I move away from her lips and turn my attention to her throat. I’m working my way back to her breasts when she says, “I want you so much.”

“I want you too,” I say breathlessly. And then, as of one mind, we pull back and our gazes meet. I’m about to risk ruining the moment, but I can’t help it. “Can we take this inside?”

The enthusiastic nod she gives me tells me she agrees.

After that, we are clumsily spilling out of the hot tub.

She grabs our towels as I grab her hand and practically drag her toward the house.

She yanks the sliding doors open and as soon as we’re inside and the cool air hits us, we shiver, but she’s back in my arms and I’m kissing her, devouring her.

It’s a slow dance as we move across the room and find ourselves in the den.

I don’t know how she has the clarity to get the towels down on the sectional, but she does, and then I’m on my knees in front of her and finally peeling her bathing suit off.

Then I simply fall back slightly on my heels and stare at her in awe. Every curve, every dip, every freckle…I want to take it all in.

But Olivia has other plans.

With her hand back in my hair, she gives me a gentle shake. “Like what you see?”

My throat is dry and all I can do is nod.

“Then take me, Ash. Now. Hard.”

I can’t move fast enough, but I get to my feet and quickly kick off my shorts and let her drag me down onto the sofa. The second we are skin to skin, we both let out sighs of relief.

And then there are more sighs and whispered pleas, the sound of skin against skin, and cries of pleasure echoing throughout the house. I swear we’re both being louder on purpose, but it makes me feel like some kind of god that I can make her feel this way.

And I’m already thinking about which room we’re going to do it in next.