Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 102185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
The paddling stops. His eyes latch onto mine like he might lose sight if he looks away. His mouth just barely opens, his tongue dipping out and sliding back and forth along the center of his lower lip.
Dropping my head, I close my eyes in disbelief that I screwed up like this. Screwed up big time. At this point, remaining silent might be my best alibi.
When I look up, a slow smile glides onto his face. It’s not anger or confusion, indifference, or shame that shapes his expression. It’s arrogance that blazes like a wildfire in his eyes. Figures.
I look away, needing the few seconds without him distracting me to get my story straight. But lying is not my friend, so I go with the truth. Carelessly throwing my arm out to my side, I snap, “Like you didn’t remember.” I want to roll my eyes, but I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he’s gotten to me.
He doesn’t bother saving me as I dig myself deeper into this hole I’m trapped in. My heart starts thumping hard in my chest, my breath growing shallower as panic starts to set in. It’s not just the night. It’s Jacob who stays at the forefront of my mind every time I think of our night in Costa Rica. What if Griffin connects the dots before I’m ready to expl—
“I remembered.” His confession is loud and boastful. It’s not soft either. It’s steady and sure, his tone a force of honesty. “I never forgot.”
“You didn’t?” I hate how weak I sound, as if he’s made everything better by his admission.
“No,” he replies, grinning. No cockiness is found despite the earlier spark of it. “I just didn’t know if you did. I felt foolish.”
I whisper, “Why would you feel foolish?”
“Because that night meant a lot to me. You did.” It’s the first time I’ve seen him with any doubt caving his shoulders. “I should have gotten your information.”
I breathe easier knowing we were on the same page. “You don’t know how many times I wished I had done the same.” I take a deep breath and slowly release it, and then ask, “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
Tilting his head to the left, he glances just to my side and then back again. “Probably the same reason you didn’t.”
“Spite?”
He balks, his laughter echoing through the marsh. “Ego, but spite works as well.”
I hadn’t noticed we’d turned around until we bumped up against the shoreline where we originally found the boat docked. Seeing the old tractor up on the level ground ahead makes me wonder if we just walk away now like nothing happened, when it feels a lot like something shifted in my universe. Good or bad, I feel different.
What happens once we get off this boat?
He stands and hops to solid land, and then tugs a rope attached to the boat, pulling it up on the shore. After tying the rope around the base of a tree, he comes back and offers me a hand. Before I can take it, he grips me under the bottom of the vest and lifts me to the shore next to him. Being this close has me thinking about things I shouldn’t. Kissing him probably wouldn’t be a great idea. Not when so much has been revealed, and there’s so much more to share in time.
Time. I don’t know how long he plans to be here. He doesn’t even know.
He pops the latches on the vest and then drags it from my shoulders and tosses it in the boat. Neither of us rushes to walk away or say anything. Just a shared look that says more than we should exchange.
The back of his hand brushes against my chest, causing my breath to momentarily catch. I part my lips, needing air in my lungs, but when he leans down, I stop breathing altogether. He whispers, “What happens if I kiss you?”
The whole world can hear me gulp when I swallow, but then I say, “We blame it on the moonlight?”
His lips meet mine in a rush like time is running out. The pressure firm and his hand strong as he cups my cheek, tilting me up for better access. When his other arm comes around my lower back, my lips part. Our tongues meet as I melt into him, the kiss, and the reunion I never in my wildest dreams imagined would happen.
CHAPTER 13
Griffin
Beer and sweetness mingle on Cricket’s lips. The swipe of her tongue around mine is possessive, wrapped in assurance. Her hands slide over my shoulders, and her arms come around my neck to press her body against mine.
When the softest of moans lodges in her throat, she holds me tighter. Sliding my hands over the curve of her waist and then lower under her ass, I lift her to bridge the height difference. She wraps her legs around my waist and rubs the apex between them against me. My thoughts spin from the past and present, and what this looks like come tomorrow. I never fucking worry about the future since it tends to work in my favor, but this is Cricket and me, four years after Costa Rica. This is being with someone in my hometown, which complicates not just when I leave, but when I come back to visit. She’ll have expectations. What woman hasn’t after being together like this? And it wouldn’t be unreasonable, which means this needs to stop.