With each footstep, my heart grew heavier as the reality of what I needed to do sank in. It would be kinder for me, and for her, to pull the plug now and not make her do it in three to six months.
We reached an abandoned lifeguard station, and Holly strode up to it, wrapping her hands on either side of the ladder that led up into the tower. Without a word, she climbed, and every last whisper of breath left my body as I watched her shapely legs and the way her ass cheeks peeked out from the edge of her tiny cutoff shorts.
When she reached the top, she looked over the edge and smiled down at me. “Come on up. The view is pretty great.”
She had no idea how nice the view had been from where I stood.
I shimmied up the ladder, two rungs at a time, and joined her at the edge of the tower, where she leaned on her elbows against the railing, staring out at the moonlit ocean. “It’s so peaceful out here.”
I nodded and leaned over beside her, our elbows meeting with a buzz of shared heat. Her eyes flashed to mine at the brief moment of contact, and I knew she’d felt it too. “Holly, there’s something I want to ask you,” I started, my words formulating as I spoke them, suddenly unsure about the destination I’d been turning over during the walk down the beach.
She waited, her lips parted just a touch, making them more kissable than normal. I tore my eyes away from them and forced myself to keep my eyes locked with hers. “What is it, Jack? Is something wrong?”
“No, no. I just wanted to know if you’re free tomorrow?”
The moon cast a gentle light over her cheeks and added a glow to her eyes as she thought about my question. After a long agonizing moment, she leaned over and pressed her lips to mine. I swept her into my arms, holding her against me, our bodies blending together as our kiss deepened. Her breasts pressed against my chest and I couldn’t hide my excitement from her.
Holly shivered as I parted her lips with the tip of my tongue, wanting to taste every inch of her velvety smooth mouth. She tasted like wine and lemon and smelled like salty sea air and lingering hints of sandalwood from the candle. Her body felt even better than I’d imagined, and I carefully smoothed my hands over as much of her as I could reach, without breaking away from her passionate kisses.
I broke away from her sweet lips and trailed down the soft line of her jaw, licking, kissing, and sucking until I reached her earlobe. She shuddered as I tugged at the soft flesh with my teeth and her legs buckled. My hand slid down her back, and into the waist of her tiny shorts. My fingers dipped lower and lower, and my mouth returned to hers, hungry for more. Her skin was hot, despite the chill in the air. She moaned and pushed her hips against me, begging for more.
I slid a hand up the front of her shirt, lingering over every soft inch, until I reached her bra. I palmed her breast, growling into her ear when her nipples went stiff through the thin fabric, straining for more of my touch.
“Jack,” she breathed, her voice an angst-filled whisper.
My thumb found the delicate swell of skin above the bra and traced the lines of her cleavage, before slipping around the back to locate the hooks.
“Jack, Jack, wait,” she pulled away, her voice stronger, more lucid.
I released her and she backed up a step from where we’d just been forged together. Her breasts heaved as she panted, sucking in breath after breath, while she raked handfuls of her long hair away from her face.
“What’s wrong?”
She flicked her eyes away from me, looking back over the rail, to the ocean. After her breathing slowed, her eyes shifted back to me. “I just don’t want to rush…this…” she said, gesturing between us.
“Okay,” I replied, putting up my hands. My body was still running at searing temperatures, but was cooling quickly without her in my arms, grinding against me.
I ached for more but was consoled by the small glimmer of hope that had inserted itself into the situation. Just maybe, she would be different.
We would be different.
14
Jack
“Oh, look who decided to be social.” Aaron looked up from the tablet in his hands as he stood to the side of the front counter of the museum. Princess trotted ahead and went to Aaron’s side. He set the tablet down on the counter and leaned over to scratch her ears. When he looked back at me, his eyebrows were raised. “Where the hell have you been, man?”
I rubbed the back of my neck and smirked.