Page 135 of Priceless

“Not this beach.”

On the ground floor, Micah took a different path out of the hotel and down to the sand. High stone walls cradled the path before flaring outward into a massive chunk of the beach that was blocked off on both sides and entirely deserted. “Is this a private beach?”

“Just for the penthouse.”

I shook my head, grinning. “The three of you never do anything by halves, do you?”

“Never.”

Up close, the blue in the waves was vibrant and neon. Every wave was a new burst of color. There were tiny bits of green and purple. Almost like the aurora had fallen to earth and come to life in the water.

I tossed my robe and sandals onto the sand and waded in. The ocean was warm, and the minute my feet touched the water, it glowed around them. I leaned down and ran my fingers through it to watch the way the light followed it.

“Look.”

Micah came with me, lifting a handful of water up. It glowed in his hand, remaining lit instead of fading. He poured it from one hand over the other. As the water fell, it left a glow behind. Fading, but it stayed for a moment.

“Wow.”

This was… incredible.

“I meant what I said this morning,” Micah said. “When we get home, I’m painting you.”

The darkness meant he couldn’t see the heat in my cheeks.

“But that doesn’t mean I can’t paint you right now.”

“What do you mean?”

Another handful of water. This time gently poured over my shoulder. The glow of it reflected in Micah’s eyes. “Ocean blues.”

What he meant clicked. Paint me. With this. Right now. I opened my mouth, and he didn’t let me speak, closing the distance and kissing me. Gathering me up and saying everything he could without words. He was quiet, my husband, but he knew how to speak.

“Will you let me paint you, Ocean?”

Both our voices were barely a breath. “Yes.”

He curved his fingers into the straps of my bathing suit and pulled them down my shoulders. “I need my whole canvas.”

No protests from me. We were entirely alone anyway.

“If I’m naked, you are too,” I whispered. I wanted to watch him.

I caught the curve of his smile in the scarce light. “Yes, ma’am.”

If this was the way he undressed me, I wanted him to do it more often. With slow, careful attention. Touching the skin he revealed and kissing places I didn’t think had ever had a mouth on them. Until I was bare beneath the stars and rising moon, and he was too.

He dragged a handful of glowing water up my side and let it drip. I couldn’t help but look down at it, entranced by the way tendrils of light clung to my skin. And another handful that he let fall over my breasts. “Can I take pictures while I paint you?”

I glanced at the pile of our clothes. His phone was on top. I hadn’t even realized he brought it with him. “Only for you, right?”

“Only for me,” he murmured. “And Cam and Everett.”

“Okay.”

He kissed me slowly. “Something tells me I’m going to want to paint this too, and I don’t want to do it from memory.”

I laughed, breathless, as he lifted me off my feet and took me to the sand, right in the middle of the shallow waves of the rising tide. There was something luxurious about being naked on the beach and the feel of the water everywhere. Especially when every wave was a wash of crystal light.

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