Page 77 of Rival Hearts

His lips brushed my cheek, and I turned to meet his mouth, kissing him.

“You’re incredible,” he gasped.

He slid out of me, and we lay down on the tarp. Alex pulled me tightly against him, arms wrapped around me, our legs tangled together.

I rested my head on his chest, my hair spread over his skin. My fingers traced over the ink at his collarbones, following the bold lines as they curved beneath my touch.

The storm raged on outside, thunder and lightning crashing all around us, but in here, we were safe, and were warm.

And we were together.

22

ALEX

When I opened my eyes, I blinked against the silvery light that fell through the windows on the far side of the room. It took me a moment to figure out where I was.

Charlotte’s naked body curled against me as she stretched in her sleep, and with a contented sigh, she melted against me again.

Her honey hair was spread over my arm around her shoulders, and her skin was soft and warm against me.

Last night came rushing back. The storm, the boat, the lighthouse. Our bodies pressed against each other, two becoming one as I lost myself in her over and over again.

God, Charlotte was everything I’d never thought I needed in my life.

She fluttered her eyes open and lifted her head, her body tensing up as she came back to reality from whatever dream she’d been lost in.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

Our phones were in the bag she’d brought with her, and I wasn’t sure they worked anymore—they’d both gotten wet in the storm last night. We’d just made sure we kept everything together, worrying about replacing things later.

Being safe had been more important.

Charlotte sat up and rubbed her eyes. Her hair was a wild mess, and she was adorable.

She stretched her body out again, and I let my gaze fall to her breasts.

“God, you’re a beautiful woman.”

She blushed lightly and lowered her arms, but she didn’t move to cover up. I loved that she was so comfortable around me, that there was nothing between us.

In the back of my mind, a little voice reminded me this wasn’t how it would always be—it was because here, the rest of the world didn’t exist. As soon as we went back to reality, everything would change. We would go back to a world where we weren’t this connected, where we were people with different lives, different duties to fulfill, different people to please.

I didn’t want this to end.

I wanted more of this. I wanted as much of Charlotte as I could get. I’d never felt this alive and this at home with someone before, and I was addicted to the feeling. Just thinking about going back to the mainland, the lives we’d created for ourselves, made my heart sink because it meant going back to a life without her.

Charlotte stood and walked to the railing where we’d hung our clothes. She was a naked vision as she touched the different fabrics.

“Did you know that you can’t actually feel wetness on your skin?” she asked.

“What?”

“Hmm. Okay, I’m saying it wrong. Your skin can’t actually feel something wet. You feel the wind that blows on the wetness, or the cold that comes with the wetness, or the heat…” She shook her head. “I’m not saying it right.” She chuckled at herself.

“I get what you’re saying. And I didn’t know that.”