Risking the Crown (The Crown 2)

The only thing I could do now was wait for her.

Wait for the girl I loved to come home.

3

Kaitlyn

I blinked. It didn’t seem possible that after twenty-three hours of driving, I was finally driving over the South Padre bridge. I was almost delirious from the trip. My eyes blurry, my neck and shoulders on fire, my foot falling asleep off and on. But, I was here. I had made it.

I pulled out my phone to call Cole. I gripped the steering wheel with my left hand as I tapped his number on the screen and hit the speaker button. It rang four times before going to voicemail.

I stared at the phone. Sure, it was after two, but I thought he would be up. I dialed again. Voicemail.

I exhaled. At the end of the bridge, I turned left and dialed his number for the third time. He probably just needed a wakeup call. Or maybe he had softened it so he wouldn’t wake Grayson.

The island felt different. It wasn’t the heart of the summer. It was almost deserted. Quiet. I reached Cole’s voicemail again.

I slowed as the lights of the Dune Scape glowed in front of me. The vacancy sign flashed neon red. There was only place to park this huge-ass truck. I debated on how to drive into the parking lot. There was no way I could cram this thing into the tiny beach driveway.

I cut the engine and opened the door. The ocean air hit my nose and whipped over my skin. I could hear the waves pounding on the shore.

I couldn’t do much about this outfit, but I flattened the creases in my tank top and smoothed the top of my shorts.

I climbed the stairs.

I knocked on the door. “Cole. Cole, you there?” Silence.

I stopped when I saw a note taped to the door.

K—

Welcome to Texas, baby. I have a surprise for you.

—C

I peeked in the kitchen window. Where was he?

Suddenly, Cole appeared from a nearby hallway. He rushed to the door and pushed it open.

“Kaitlyn, where in the hell have you been?”

“I—”

He picked me up, his lips smothering mine. I wrapped my heels around his waist as he carried me over the threshold. His hands tangled in my hair and I groaned as his tongue lashed against mine. I wanted to tell him about my flat tire. I wanted to ask why he didn’t answer his damn phone, but all that could wait. I needed this moment with him.

His hands coasted down my sides until they gripped the edge of my tank top. He tugged it upward and tossed it on the floor. Our bodies were starving for one another. The kind of I’m-going-to-rip-every-stitch-of-clothing-off-you starving. It was primal. It was magic.

It was unbelievable being in his arms again. Kissing him, touching him, seeing him in front of me. It was almost too much.

“Grayson?” I whispered.

“Sleeping,” he growled into my neck. “In his room.”

We stumbled along the hall. The lock clicked behind us when we entered the bedroom.

“I want these off. Now,” he urged.

He yanked at my shorts until they slid past my hips.