Page 121 of Off Plan
With the last dregs of my adrenaline rush, I rolled off the ladder, taking Fenn with me. The two of us landed in a puddle on the ground—well, more me than him, really, since he was on top of me, braced on his forearms.
I stared up at him, at his shadowed eyes and his concerned expression, and my brain finally computed that I wasokay—thatwewere okay—and maybe evenmorethan okay, because Fenn had once again called mebaby. Then my arms were around him for reasons that had nothing to do with being rescued and everything to do with the man who’d rescued me.
Who’d rescued mein so many ways.
“You came! You came, you came, you came.” I ran my hands through Fenn’s hair, tugging him closer, and kissed him over and over.
“Mason,” he breathed. “I willalwayscome for you, okay? Always,always. And if you doubted that for a second, I—”
Because this wasmylife, of course I startedcryingat that point, hot tears mixing with the cold rain, one tear for every second that I’d beenso fucking scarednot just after the accident, but earlier, too. I draped my arm over my eyes and let it happen with no shame.
“Mason? It’s okay! Fuck. Are you hurt?” He lifted his torso up just enough to pry my arm away from my eyes and peer down at me, running the beam of his phone light over my face just to be sure… and blinding me in the process.
“Ack! I’m okay! Shut it off, Fenn! Shut it off!” I closed my eyes and wriggled beneath him…
And just like that, I felt like I was back in the stupid bathtub at the motel the first night we’d met: soaking wet and inappropriately aroused, with eyes only for the man above me. Unlike that night, thoughI knewexactlywhat I wanted from Fenn Reardon now. So I lifted my hips slightly, deliberately rubbing myself against him.
I wasn’t quite insane enough to behardunder these circumstances, but still, Fenn froze, and I could almost feel his mind tracking backward, replaying the memory of the last time we’d been like this, under circumstances that were totally different and incredibly similar at the same time. We’d fought it for a minute, the two of us, but he and I had always been inevitable.
I sniffled a little and ran a hand over my wet face. “Fenn Reardon,” I said. “We havegotto stop meeting like this.”
Fenn shook his head, shocked and amused and vaguely disapproving. “I’m not taking an ounce of responsibility. I’ll have you know,nothinglike this happened to me until you wandered into my life, Mason Bloom.”
“Wandered?”
“Flew, then.” He settled against me more firmly. “Slid off a building and—”
“Crash-landed?” We both snorted and stared at each other, giddy with adrenaline and relief andlove.
I bit my lip. “I wrecked your car.”
He huffed out a startled laugh. “You did. I’m going to be very annoyed about that.”
“Are you?”
“Definitely.” He dropped a kiss on my nose. “As soon as I stop being really fucking grateful you’re okay.” He kissed me deeply, then pulled back. “Okay, done.” He pretended to move off me, but I locked my arms and legs around his back to hold him exactly where he was.
“Are you guys having sex in the rain right now?” Beale demanded, reminding me that we weren’t alone.
“Beale, stop perving on the idiots! Crawl over here and check this out!” Rafe yelled. “What’s that by the front wheel—”
Fenn and I ignored both of them.
“Gloria’s in the hospital,” I told him. “She’s gonna befine, but your uncle’s staying—”
“I know,” he cut me off. “Beale gave Rafe the rundown when he called to say you’d been in an accident. I have never been so scared in my entire life.”
“Me neither.” My hands tightened on the back of his neck. “It was fucking dark, and I was so scared… and then you called my name and being grumpy at me.” I licked my lips, tasting the rain and Fenn. “That’s how I knew it was really you.”
Fenn snorted. “Giving me shit in the middle of the street, in a tropical downpour? Really?”
I nodded. “Always. That’s howyouknow it’s reallyme.”
Fenn braced on his forearms and leaned over me. “I love you, Mason Bloom. I don’t care if you wanna live here or New York or… wherever. I just wanna live with you. With no walls between us.”
It was probably the sappiest thing Fenn Reardon had ever said or ever would say. And sometime when weweren’tlying in the road in a tropical downpour, I was going to tease him about it mercilessly. But in that moment, all I wanted was to kiss him, so I lifted my neck and did just that. “I love you, too. And I don’t think I knew what that meant before. Which is why we’re staying on Whispering Key.”
“Yeah?” Fenn grinned broadly, then pressed his smiling lips to mine, the taste and texture and hard reality of him reminding me that beauty could be found in the weirdest,wettestplaces.