Page 50 of Wood You Knot

In my perusal of the beach, I realized the sun had begun its descent, the golden sphere touching the surface of the water and painting the sky in a beautiful array of orange, yellow, and pink. The clouds reflected those dazzling colours, too, reminding me of the beautiful bouquet Nix had brought me.

The colours changed minute by minute as the sun went down, almost appearing to sink deeper in the water. We finished our dinner and sipped at our beers as we watched it.

“It’s stunning,” I murmured, taking it all in. For a moment, I wished I’d brought my camera. But it would have been rude to pause our date to take pictures of it. My memory would just have to do.

“You’re stunning,” he said, and when I turned to look at him, he was watching me—not the sunset. The way he was looking at me sent an electrifying thrum throughout my body, and I got the sense I wouldn’t be forgetting this sunset—or this moment—any time soon.

I bit my bottom lip, my eyes dropping to Nix’s mouth. I wanted him to kiss me more than I wanted to breathe my next breath. I think he picked up on that desire because he moved a little closer, and I leaned in.

He brought his hand up to cup the side of my face, and then his lips were on mine. Tentatively, at first—as if he was making sure this is what I truly wanted. When I responded, my lips parting slightly, all bets were off.

He kissed me like he’d been wanting to do so for a long time. He kissed me like he needed to inhale me, and it was the most erotic first kiss I’d ever had. The way his mouth moved against mine had all my senses on fire and begging for more.

I let out a quiet moan, causing him to smile against my lips and then deepen the kiss as we moved even closer to one another. I don’t know how long we sat like that, tangled up in each other’s arms and kissing, but eventually, we had to come up for air.

Nix put his forehead against mine and let out a breath, the smile on his face mirroring my own.

Chapter Eighteen

Nix

“I’m really glad you moved back, Sage,” I said, pulling back a little so I could gaze at her face before I continued. “I know it’s probably not easy starting over…but I’m glad you’re here. I always had the biggest crush on you,” I confessed.

“Really?” she asked, sounding surprised.

“Really, really.” I grinned when she nodded almost timidly. “I’m not sure how you couldn’t tell before.”

“Well, I can tell now,” she joked, arching a brow pointedly toward the evidence of my arousal.

Unashamed, I leaned in for another kiss. The first one had merely solidified my desire for her. She kissed me back with just as much fervour, her hand gripping my shirt and pulling me closer.

Just when things were heating up, the sound of an ATV puttering down the beach had us pulling apart, and not a moment too soon. The headlights of the purple Commander washed over us.

Sage pulled away and lifted her hand to her eyes, shielding them from the bright light.

“Oh! It’s Nix and Sage. Our apologies.” Alice giggled, turning off the engine and the bright lights. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but when they finally did, I could see Alice, Dorothy, and Betty sitting in their purple ATV.

“We didn’t mean to interrupt your…date. We weren’t expecting to find anybody down here,” Dorothy said, but the secretive smile she exchanged with the others belied their mischievous intentions.

“Here we were, thinking Damien Wood was finally coming around to us and left the padlock unlocked for us.” Alice tutted, shaking her head.

“We like to drive along the trails and end our evening at the beach some nights. Brings back memories of when we were all young and in love,” Dorothy explained.

“That’s really sweet.” Sage smiled, pulling her cardigan around her body more. I could tell she was uncomfortable.

“We’re so sorry for intruding. You two carry on with your date now, we’ll be on our way,” Betty chimed in, tossing a stern look to her sisters.

They turned the Commander back on and reversed, retreating the way they came.

“Did you see? They had a bottle of Choco Temptation…” Dorothy could be heard saying as they drove away.

“Ooh! That’ll do it,” Betty replied before they were too far away to hear anymore.

Sage frowned, glancing at me. “What was that about?”

“I’m not all that sure, to be honest.” I laughed. “The Hartley sisters often make cryptic remarks. I’ve learned to not take them too seriously, though.”

She still looked unconvinced, and for a moment, I worried the sisters might have doused our date with a metaphorical bucket of cold water. She turned toward me, her hair spilling over her shoulder, and reached for the now-empty bottle of chocolate stout.

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