But it seems that my warm embrace catches him off guard because I feel him stiffen against me.
I step back. “Sorry. I was just... really grateful,” I say.
Ethan seems to soften under my gaze, under my attention. He steps toward me and pulls me back into a hug. “Hey, it’s the least I could do. I hate to see you hurting at all. No one deserves that.”
The way he says it makes me think he may know a thing or two about men treating women wrongly. I squeeze my arms around his neck a little tighter, grateful that he is here right now. Looking out for me. I inhale his scent, and he smells like fresh air and strength. He smells like a man who knows how to take care of a woman.
Before I can think it through, I kiss him. He leans into the kiss, our mouths parting and he smells and tastes like the pineapple from the cobbler we just had, sweet and delicious. His hands hold my back so firmly, his strong arms wrapped around me, holding me close. The kiss feels like the start of something.
It’s not until our kiss ends that I remember there are three other men looking at us.
Still, even if my face flushes with embarrassment, I can’t apologize for that kiss. “I couldn’t help it,” I admit.
For a second, I wonder if Mason’s mad that I just kissed his friend, but as I look around the room no one seems angry at all.
They all watch me with a consideration I’ve never seen before. They have a sense of patience and warmth toward me, and I realize it’s more than appealing... It’s the very thing I have always craved.
“Should we go to the living room, maybe relax a little bit?” Noah suggests.
The guys grab drinks and pour me a glass of red wine. Enzo carries the wine to the living room for me, then tells me to sit on the ground between his legs.
I do as he asks and he sits above me on the white leather couch. He begins massaging my shoulders as the guys start talking about what they have going on the next day. No one mentions that a minute ago, in the kitchen, I kissed both Ethan and Mason.
The guys discuss the fact that they need to each do some footage at various places on the island tomorrow and the rest of the week, and I tune them out as Enzo works the tension out of my neck and shoulders. I set my glass of wine down, unable to drink it. Unable to think, as he touches me.
I sigh as his thumbs work the stress away.
The fact that Jordan is down the beach right now is far from my mind as I look lazily about this cozy room. Someone has turned the lights down low, and a fire is on in the gas fireplace. I hear the gentle waves crashing outside on the beach, and the security of these men around me makes me feel as if nothing could ever get through these walls—as if as long as I am within them, nothing bad could happen to me again.
Noah gets up and closes the doors to outside. “I think a rain storm is coming through.”
Mason looks over at me. “Glad you aren’t alone out there, I’d hate to see you caught in the rain.”
The rain starts to fall heavy on the roof. Tropical storms rush in quickly … as quickly as my emotions, it would seem. Just like I didn’t expect a storm tonight, I didn’t expect to feel so safe with men I barely know.
With the rain pounding away outside, I couldn’t be more grateful that these men found me when they did. The red wine warms my belly and I close my eyes, sinking into the thick carpet beneath me.
“Feel better, bellissimo?” Enzo asks, his mouth against my ear, as he leans close to me.
“Much better,” I say turning my head toward his. As I do, I suddenly find myself turning around, kneeling before him, kissing him.
He’s a romantic, giving me a neck massage and red wine and speaking a language of love. He’s a wooer of women, for sure.
And for me, they seem to be having the desired effect.
In this moment, I want to be his lover––which is crazy. He’s a stranger.
But he doesn’t feel like a stranger at all.
He kisses me like a man who knows what a woman needs. His hand cups my face, our kiss passionate and deep. I feel my nipples harden, and my already soaked panties get even wetter.
The rest of the room goes silent. So quiet you could hear a pin drop.
But I don’t feel awkward or ashamed, I feel like what I was wishing for on the beach has come true.