Page 118 of Mercenary

“Okay.” She stands up and brushes the sand off her legs.

I roll my fingers into a fist and release them. Roll and release. Roll and release. My fucking heart beats out in double time, racing along with my thoughts. I can’t get a read on her. Is she upset? Does she understand? Is this . . . it?

Before I can second-guess myself, I jump to my feet, sweep her off her own, and tackle her back down into the sand.

“Gosh, you are a stubborn man.” She stares up at me from where I pinned her to the sand beneath me. “Are you done running yet?”

“Show me, baby. Teach me how to make love.”

“It’s simple biology, Declan, that begins right here.” She frees an arm and places her hand on my chest, right over my heart.

She frees her other hands. I feel her fingers brush against my abdomen as she unbuttons my pants. My erection springs free as I raise myself up so she can work the material down over my hips.

“Madelyn,” I say her name gruffly, my heart pounding.

“Shhh. Let me make love to you.”

I swiftly grab hold of her and roll us onto our sides. She winds her fingers firmly around my shaft and slides them across my rigid length. I grit my teeth as my erection swells to life from her touch.

“Are all cocks this beautiful?” she asks.

“You’ll never find out,” I choke out.

She laughs. “I love how you’re so possessive.”

With a growl, I roll her onto her back and tug off her shorts, before pressing myself up against her entrance until my tip dips inside her warmth. I’ve got to slip inside her fast. Take everything, and more.

“Show me, Declan. Show me how you love me.”

I capture her lips with my own. I kiss her as I thrust into her, steal her gasp with my tongue as I flex my hips and gentle my movements. She wraps her legs around my hips and her arms around my shoulders. I kiss her like it’s the last time, yet for the first time truly committing to the fact that this is just the beginning for us.

I lift my head, ready to gift her with the three words I’ve carried around with me since the day I saw her. Her eyes flash wide, with anticipation.

I open my mouth, just as a rogue wave rolls in and hits me in the face, giving me a mouthful of salt water.

Madelyn.

In a mad rush, I tug her up and into me. And immediately feel the whole length of her body vibrating against me.

“Goddamn it,” I say, but she’s laughing too hard to hear me.

The wave recedes but her laughter continues. And like the warm rays of sunlight shining down on us, I give into the sound of it.

We laugh until a second wave hits us.

We laugh until sand covers our thighs.

Madelyn is the first to stop. “Making love on the beach seems so romantic in the movies.”

I pull out of her, my cock still semierect. But the sun’s up, and it’s about time we head home.

We dress quickly and, hand in hand, head toward my pickup.

But before we head out, my girl has one more thing to say to me. “Make me another promise.”

“Whatever you want.”

“You should wait to hear what it is first,” she tells me, repeating the same warning I gave to her so long ago. “Promise me that was the last time you think to protect me from yourself.”