Page 13 of Sweet as Puck

I breathed deep, trying to force a calm I didn’t feel. I set down my bottle and stepped closer, ready to reach out for her as soon as Zali let her go—though the last thing she needed was some guy going caveman on her.

“Better late than never,” I murmured. Even I could hear the reverence in my voice.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. My heart was racing, and my mouth was dry. I slicked my bottom lip with my tongue, imagining what it would be like to taste her sweet lips.

I swiped my sweaty palms down my shorts and held my hand out to her.

“Monroe Stevens. I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you before.”

“Cara Delaware,” she breathed. A flush stained her cheeks, and her giggle was nervous as she slotted her hand into my outstretched one. Our gazes met and held. I closed my fingers around hers, and the zing that ran through my body was electric. I could get lost in those cognac eyes.

Someone cleared their throat, and the world around me snapped back into focus. Reluctantly, I pulled my hand away, the ghost of her touch lingering on my palm. Cara smiled at me with another quick uptilt of her lips up before Zali wrapped her arm around her friend and guided her to the refrigerator stocked full of drinks.

I swallowed and watched her walk away, her luscious ass filling my vision.

“Wow,” I murmured.

Tristan leaned in and whispered, “She’s smart, sweet, and the sincerest person I’ve met in a long time.”

“She’s also my daughter’s best friend.”

“So? Ezra is yours, and he’s proven it can work.”

I brushed aside the comment, but it played on a loop in my mind for hours. I was distracted, only partly participating in the conversation. I hovered, watching over Cara as she sat quietly with Zali.

They’d been talking for a good hour while I watched, and Cara looked stressed. Her hands were shaking, and she was rubbing her temples as if she had a headache. She’d wiped her tears away more than once. I was antsy. I couldn’t sit still. I needed to check on her and make sure she was okay.

I also needed to check myself. I was turning into a creepy stalker watching her every move.

But that was a problem for future me.

Zali’s and Cara’s drinks were close enough to being empty that I snagged two bottles of chilled water and took them over. My heart was dancing in my chest, my hands shaking with nervous energy as I spoke. “Thought you might need these.”

Cara took a bottle out of my hand and smiled sweetly at me, though her expression was a little sad too. She took my breath away. Just that scrap of attention had me drowning in a sea of desire.

After placing it gently on the table, she stood up and said, “Excuse me. I’ll just use the ladies’.”

We watched her walk away, and I swallowed hard as her hips swayed with each step she took. I wanted to slide my hand up her thigh, to touch the soft skin there, to taste her. I could imagine her splayed out on my bed, breathing hard after she’d screamed my name. My dick was ready to get in on the action, too, obscenely tenting my shorts. I discreetly adjusted myself, hoping that no one saw.

“I’m worried about her, Dad. She’s got a lot going on, and not all of it is good.”

“What can I do to help?” I asked, my voice sounding like I’d swallowed sandpaper. I cleared my throat and hoped for thesecond time in less than a minute that Zali didn’t notice my reaction to her friend.

“I don’t know.” She sighed, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her to me as I tried to reassure her.

We sat quietly for a moment, but I couldn’t sit still. I couldn’t relax. I excused myself, too, and made my way inside. I needed a moment as well. I loved spending time here. The estate had a calmness about it that washed over me whenever I came. Maybe it was the outlook. The Coomera River was at its widest, forming a delta as it flowed into the Broadwater. We were surrounded by a bend in the river and dense clusters of mangrove-covered islands on one side and forest on the other. It was the kind of peaceful you only obtained through buying a multi-million-dollar compound off the beaten track. The sheer scale of this property meant that there were no visible neighbours, and the expansive water views were a soothing balm.

I loved it here, but I was tired too. My emotions had been on a rollercoaster all day. The low that had hit me this morning followed by the high from meeting Cara had played havoc with my body. It sent my mind careening down the cratering drop before spiralling through loop-de-loops.

I went into the living room and looked at the coffee table books stacked haphazardly on the lamp table. They were random titles—myths of Atlantis, shark species, and a cookbook. They were Ry’s, no doubt, as his interests were eclectic and varied.

It was pure coincidence that Cara had headed this way too.

Or at least I’d keep telling myself that.

The door behind me closed, and the warmth of her stare lit me up inside. I watched her reflection on the darkened television as her gaze lingered on my ass.

When I turned, she startled, and any self-satisfaction I got from her ogling fled.