Page 96 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

“I—” I turned, and his hand was already on the curtain, ready to pull it aside but still waiting for my permission. “Sure,” I whispered.

He pulled the curtain aside, just enough to peek in, and within a second, he was in the fitting room with me and shut the curtain tight as if he hadn’t just opened it.

Before I could react to him, my back was against the wall, a gasp escaping me from the shock of the cold on my bare lower back. Wes had me caged between his arms, his body pressing up against mine, his eyes dark and his breathing heavy as he looked down at my swimsuit-clad chest.

“Fucking hell, Haven,” he growled, his hand moving to my neck, his thumb lifting my chin. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“No?” I squeaked.

“Are you sure? Because I swear to the—” He inhaled a long, slow, deep intake of breath, and then started again. “I swear, if you go outside in that, I’m going to have to rip out the eyes of every other man on the beach.”

His thumb rubbed along my jawline the entire time he spoke, and the possessiveness in his voice and actions sent me back down inside that dizzying vortex of lust-filled imaginings. It didn’t even faze me he’d threatened something so bloody and violent. My traitorous body didn’t care, and my hips moved on their own, pressing forward and up so my body rubbed against his front.

The hardening bulge I felt there told me his thoughts were just as dirty and lusty as mine, and the returning press of his hips did nothing to temper the wild inferno racing through my veins. I let out a needy whine, and my cheeks heated at the pathetic sound.

This wasn’t me. I wasn’t the type to be so wanton, so bold. Even with Lennox, it had always been him to initiate any intimacy. I had never been this forward, this confident in my sexual desires.

Then again, Lennox never made me feel the way Wesley did. Like I was beautiful, treasured, and special. Like I was someone who mattered.

“You can’t wear this one,” Wesley stated as if he had the last word.

“But it’s the only one that fits.” I pouted, bringing my hands up to his chest.

He lifted his eyes back to meet mine, and they were as black as coal, and filled with the heat of a thousand suns. I swallowed against the intensity of it all, trying to form coherent thoughts and words but finding myself still lost within the sensory flood caused by his body, his touch, and the scent of his cologne.

“And it’s going to drive me crazy knowing other men are seeing you in it.”

I inhaled, rubbing my hands on his solid chest. “I don’t care if they look at me. I’m not wearing it for them. I’m wearing it for you. The only one I want looking at me is you.”

He clenched his teeth and lowered his forehead to mine, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. He seemed to have an internal battle with himself, a muscle in his jaw ticking as I waited for him to speak again.

“Fine,” he said through his teeth. “Fine, but if anyone even looks at you the wrong way—”

“You’ll rip their eyes out, I know,” I teased.

His dark chuckle sent a thrill all the way down to my toes, and then he pressed his lips to mine in a fierce, soul-claiming kiss, his thumb pressing almost too hard into my throat. His other hand moved to my hip and slid up my exposed stomach, and my breath caught in my throat as his touch drew nearer to my breasts before the snap of the tag being ripped from the suit made me jump and break away from his lips.

“Cover up and grab whatever else you need,” he grumbled, stepping back from me and giving my entire body one more long, lingering look. “I’ll meet you at the register,” he added before turning and cracking his neck and walking out of the fitting room.

CHAPTER 34

HAVEN

Once we had everything we needed, Wesley paid for it all—including the swimsuit I had on under my clothes from earlier—and we made our way to the sand. He had a giant bag filled with all kinds of supplies, including sunscreen and several very large beach towels, and I had my purse and a straw sun hat I had found right as he was paying for everything.

I waffled on it, trying it on in front of the mirror it had been hanging near, and when Wes saw me in it, he pointed at me and said, “Also, ring me up for her hat.”

Between the time he had left me in my fitting room and I’d met him at the register, he’d changed into his own new swimsuit and a pair of flip-flops, which he kicked off of his feet when we reached the sand.

I paused at the spot where the cement ended and the sand began and took a deep breath to prepare myself for this momentous occasion. Wesley paused his steps to turn and look at me, heaving the bag further up onto his shoulder. I kicked off my sandals and bent to pick them up, but Wesley already had them in his hands, having crossed back over to me to grab them.

He took my hand, and I stepped over the line, then stopped again, savoring the feel of the warm, coarse sand beneath my feet and between my toes. But before I could fully absorb the moment, I had to hop between one foot and the other.

“Shit, it’s hot!” I shrieked, and Wesley laughed.

“Well, yeah, it’s been under the sun for a good chunk of the day.”

“You could have warned me!”

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