Page 44 of Just Between Us

I preened at his praise. Knowing the effect I had on him was electric. Royal’s hand slid down my arm until his fingers caught mine. “Come with me.”

Excitement danced through me. Royal King was going to fuck the daylights out of me, and I didn’t have to think about anyone or anything while he did it. My clit hummed in eager anticipation. When he turned toward the entryway instead of farther into his house, I tried to pull my hand free, but he held it.

With a grin, he eased me back out the front door. “There’s something special I want to show you.”

“But ...” I looked over my shoulder at his house as he led me away and down the front steps.

“Do you trust me?” His inked skin was shadowed by the summer night sky.

Not yet.

I gulped and gave him a weak nod. With a smile, Royal adjusted his cock in his pants, and I tamped down a needy pout. I didn’t want to go anywhere but his bedroom, and now it looked like he only wanted some kind of midnight stroll in the dark.

What. The actual. Fuck.

I let out a sharp exhale that made him turn. “Everything okay?” he asked.

I ground my molars. “If you haven’t noticed, it’s not easy for me to release my hold on every situation. I—I mean, we—” I let out a frustrated growl. “I thought we were about to have sex, and now you’re taking me for a walk on the beach?” I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I don’t like knowing that I read the situation wrong, and I don’t like not knowing what’s going on.”

“Hey,” his grumbling voice rolled over me as he stepped into my space. Royal’s wide palms rubbed up and down my arms, and I felt myself go lax in his presence. “You didn’t read anything wrong. You’re fucking perfect. I don’t think there’s a single woman on this planet I’ve wanted more, but if we’re doing this, we’re doing it right. It’s my job to earn your trust. This is just step one.”

A sense of calm washed over me. Royal knew exactly what he was doing, and all I had to concentrate on was allowing him to take the lead.

To surrender.

I blinked up at him, realizing that I wanted him to earn my trust.Desperately.

My arm shot in front of me with an annoyed flick. “Proceed.”

With a dark chuckle, Royal guided me across a wooden deck at the edge of the sand dune bluff. A long wooden staircase zigzagged down the dune until it reached the beach at the bottom. Moonlight glittered on the water’s surface as the waves rolled onshore. A rocky outcropping shielded the rest of the beach from view.

“What is this place?” I asked.

Royal pointed down the beach in the direction of town. “Downtown and North Beach is that way. Over these rocks is Trawler’s Cove.” He held out his hand. “It’s what I want to show you.”

The sand shifted beneath my feet, and I slipped off my flip-flops. Royal took them and tucked the flats into the back pocket of his jeans. The boulders were tall enough to hide what lay beyond from view, but not so high that climbing made me nervous. I braced my hands on the cool surface and wedged my bare foot between two rocks.

Royal’s hands steadied me as I carefully scaled higher. Once I reached the top, I tossed my leg over and started my descent. Close enough to the ground, I hopped down and landed in the soft sand with a thud. Royal leaped from the top with the unsurprising grace of a cat.

“Wow.” I looked around. Rocks surrounded three sides of the cove, blocking much of the lake breeze and noise and making the space feel quiet and secluded. Above the rocks, the towering sand dunes protected the small sandy beach.

“Pretty neat, huh?” He looked up at the dunes in the distance. “Trawler’s Cove is a hidden gem. We used to come here a lot as teenagers.”

I grinned. “Sneaking dates and getting into trouble?”

Mischief lit his face. “Something like that.”

The outcropping stretched into the water, the height of the rocks shrinking until it disappeared into the lake. Royal walked to where the water kissed the sand. I shamelessly ogled his ass as he bent to untie his boots and slip them off. He stripped off his socks, rolled his pant legs, and dug his toes in the sand before tossing my flip-flops onto the ground next to his discarded boots.

I sidled up to him, looking out onto the dark, restless water. “From here it feels like there’s no one else on earth.” Clouds rolled over the bright moon, cocooning us in darkness for a moment. I exhaled. “It’s so lovely.”

“You have no idea.” His breath tickled my cheek, and I turned to see his eyes moving over my face. My body heated, flushing my cheeks under his adoring assessment.

I laughed and tried to look away, but his fingers captured my chin. “Don’t do that. I want you fully present. Don’t dissociate and get lost in your head. Be here. With me. Do you understand?”

I gulped and nodded. His eyebrow shot up. When Royal had commanded me to call himsir, I had nearly laughed. I’d been using the word for years in the corporate world, sheerly out of habit. It held little power.

Only now, directed toward Royal, the simple word was weighty. Whenyes, sirslipped through my lips, it would be more than idle respect.

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