Page 16 of Dopplebanger

Then I stepped forward, gripped the iron rail, and peered way, way down at the ground, around twelve-stories below.

It took me a moment to catch my name, thrown at me but boomeranged back by the wind before I could fully grip it. I glanced over my shoulder at Evan, who remained near the brick wall of the lighthouse.

“Why don’t you come back over here by me?” he asked.

“Because you can see so much better from here.” I tipped onto my toes, leaning against the rail. A tug on the back of my jacket returned me to flat on my feet. I looked down at Evan’s long fingers and the way they clutched the fabric, then ran my gaze up to his face, noticing the firm set of his jaw. “Are you afraid of heights?”

“No.”

I inched closer to the railing, and he jerked me toward him, the fingers of his other hand wrapping around my wrist as soon as I was within his reach.

“It’s more I’m afraid of plummeting to my death,” he said, his fingers tightening on my wrist. “And I’m afraid of you doing that, too.”

I laughed, and he scowled, which only made it more hilarious. “Sorry,” I said, but a giggle burst free, obliterating my attempted apology. The fact that he was afraid of anything was news to me, and after his constant teasing about my planning to make plans, I couldn’t help being a bit smug over finding this chink in his armor. Not that I tried very hard to smother it.

He pursed his lips together, his scowl still creasing his features. “You told me all about how the tower got struck by lightning, how old it is, and the erosion threats, so pardon me if I don’t feel like it’s the safest structure to dangle off of.”

I twisted to face him. “There was no dangling. And I’m sure they tested it after they moved it again a decade or so ago.”

“That’s another thing. Buildings aren’tmeantto be moved.”

I gave him a quick peck on the lips and took a step backward. “Come on, we can take a selfie with our backs to the railing so we get the ocean behind us, too.”

“How about we do that once we’re by the shore?”

“Okay. We’ll get one of us at the shore. I’m just gonna take a quick one up here, so I’ll be right back.”

He tugged on the sides of my jacket—well,hisjacket, technically—bringing me back to him.

“I could easily slip out of this, you know,” I said.

“Then you’ll leave me no choice but to grab whatever I can get my hands on.”

“You need to work on your motivational skills. That’s not exactly inspiring me to keep the jacket on.” I was surprised his words from earlier popped out of my mouth, but the way it made his Adam’s apple bob up and down made it worth it. With everything that’d happened in my last relationship, I’d held back with Evan, and it felt freeing and powerful to throw things out there.

Seeing the passion reflected in his eyes made it safer to be me, all out, no holding back.

He tugged me to him, crashed his mouth over mine, and then spun me and walked me backward until I hit the brick wall opposite the railing. His hands slipped inside the jacket, and he gripped the sides of my waist as he continued his delicious assault on my lips.

His hips knocked into mine and I rocked against him, needing more of him on more of me. The feel of his hard length sent heat pooling low in my stomach, and an ache I hadn’t felt in a while formed between my thighs.

His groan sent my nerve-endings into a frenzy, and I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair, dragging my nails along his scalp.

We lost seconds…? Minutes…? Who the hell knew, and who the hell cared? Desire took over my actions, and when he ground against me, I whimpered. I might feel embarrassed if he didn’t look so damn proud of my reaction. Right now it was one of my more subtle reactions, too. For all of Tori’s talk, I hadn’t really been feeling this huge drive to cross into more territory.

Until now.

Part of me had worried that I’d made up the sparks firing back and forth between us so I wouldn’t have to take this road trip alone, but it appeared that once they’d finally arrived on the scene, they were here to stay.

Honestly, I was so hot and bothered that I was entertaining the idea of having sex right here, right now. Never mind that someone else might come along, or that we weren’t very hidden.

It’s midday on a Thursday. Maybe no one will come along for hours.I didn’t really want our first time to be rushed, but?—

Evan’s fingers slipped under my shirt, his thumb dragging intoxicating lines along my skin, and I ran my hands up, resting them on his firm pecs.Okay, now works.

A noise cut through, tickling the back of my mind, but it took a couple of seconds to connect to logical thoughts that could process what it meant. “Someone’s coming,” I said through labored breaths, pushing him away instead of pulling him to me like I wanted.

Seconds later, a group of people stepped out. Judging from the raised eyebrows, signs of our steamy make out were written across our faces. Evan’s hair was mussed, and I raised my fingertips to my kiss-swollen lips.

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