Rennie stepped forward and placed her hands on his chest. His flesh was on fire, and she could only imagine it was because he felt the same way. She pushed her hands over his shoulders, taking his shirt with her as her hands trailed down his arms. She worked the buttons at his wrist, and finally the shirt fell to the floor.
She stood in front of him, her fingers caressing his face. “I’ve wanted this since I walked into the Whale Spout over the summer. I should’ve never let Brooklyn dictate my life in this way, and I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For giving up on us all those years ago. As soon as I moved back to Seattle, I should’ve come to see you. We’ve missed so much time.” Rennie was on the cusp of telling him she loved him, but now was not the time. She had a lot to prove to him. She knew he had reservations about her ex.
Graham closed the distance between them and crushed his lips to hers. His hands bunched her dress into his fist. She lifted her arms, and he pulled her dress away from her body. With deft fingers, he removed her bra next.
Rennie stepped back and stood in front of Graham with only her panties and those ridiculous socks on. She brought each foot up and took each sock off and stepped out of her underwear.
“I liked those,” he quipped. Graham swallowed hard but made no move to take off his jeans.
Fear and doubt coursed through her. “Do you not want me?”
“I do. I’m pinching myself to make sure this is all real.”
“It’s very real, Graham.”
With much haste, he freed himself from the rest of his clothes and moved lightning fast toward Rennie. She squealed when he picked her up. His lips were upon hers again, but this time there was an urgency, a need. Graham set her down on the bed. He followed and blazed a trail of kisses down her throat and neck and to her chest.
His hands explored the soft lines of her back, her waist, and her hips while his mouth moved over her heated flesh. It had been years since she’d been aroused this way, needy of a man’s attention. One simple touch, and she was ready for him. Her body responded to Graham. It was like her body hadn’t forgotten what they used to share and rejoiced when their flesh met.
She matched his necessity with her own lusty, unsated needs. Her hands roamed over the planes of his stomach, his back, and to his rear, where she gripped him hard, pushing him to where she desired him the most.
Graham lowered his body over hers and peered into her eyes. He didn’t need words to tell her what he thought. She already knew, and she wanted the same from him.
Forever.
She welcomed him into her body, arching off the bed and into his embrace. They made love, different from what they had done in the past, and it meant something to them, a turning point in their lives. There was no turning back now. She could feel it. They were different.
They were a tangled mess when the sun rose, both lying on their sides, looking at each other. Her body happily ached, and her lips were raw from being kissed all night. They barely spoke throughout the night, and when they did, it was words of pleasure, voiced needs, and wants. Rennie’s fingers brushed through Graham’s hair while his inched along her side, tickling her skin. They had made love a couple of times and only left his bedroom to get sustenance, neither willing to be away from the other for very long.
Now, the sun had risen, and the water was a bit choppier than it had been. The ferry was active, transporting people from the island to the mainland for their last day of freedom before returning to the workforce. She would have to go back to Seattle—Graham, back to the bar. Their days of being hidden had come to an end.
TWENTY-SIX
Graham returned from vacation with more pep in his step and a plastered smile on his face, and he walked along to whatever song he played in his head. He didn’t even care that he had a list of things to contend with from Krista and that it would take him days to go over the inventory and get everything restocked, because he was happy.
When they returned from Friday Harbor in the afternoon of New Year’s Day, Graham expected everything to go back to the way things were or revert to their long-ago status of friends with benefits. Much to his surprise, when Graham went to kiss Rennie, she kissed him back, and they made love again in his room before both fell under a heavy sleep.
When they woke, Rennie took Graham up on his offer and borrowed his phone. She went out to the patio to call Brooklyn, and when they were done talking, Rennie came in and told Graham that Bowie needed to speak with him.