Page 56 of The Seascape Between Us

My limbs felt loose and rubbery. My ass ached deliciously from the pounding it had taken, and I could feel his cum dripping from my hole. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I felt this sated, thisgoodafter sex. “Okayisn’t exactly the word I’d use.”

His grin widened before he dipped his head, kissing me slowly—almost sweetly. Something clenched in my chest even as warmth expanded inside me. I did my best to ignore the emotion swelling in my throat.

“Come on.” He rolled off of me and held out his hand. “Let’s get cleaned up.”

I stood on wobbly legs, letting him lead me into an absurdly luxurious bathroom. About the size of one of the hotel’s rooms, it was all exposed brick, gleaming concrete and rustic wood. He pulled me into a glassed-in shower stall that could have fit at least four more people. Under the hot spray, we washed each other between long, slow kisses that made it easy to forget this thing with Grey couldn't last. I might have loved him so much my chest ached, but we were from different worlds, and every day that passed, Grey was closer to returning to this world where I just didn’t fit.

After we showered, Grey changed the sheets, and we slipped under the covers. However, once back in bed with Grey curledagainst my side, sleep eluded me. Despite the exhaustion weighing my limbs down, I stared out through the floor-to-ceiling windows surrounding Grey’s bedroom at the city lights reflecting on the river's dark surface.

Whatwouldit be like if this was my life? If Grey and I were together for real, not just the partners-with-benefits arrangement we had going now. The idea of Grey’s loft becoming my home was so far removed from my life at the hotel it was almost laughable. But as impressive as Grey’s home was, I didn’t really give a shit about the money. I mean, it made life easier. There was no denying it. I’d seen the evidence firsthand, after all, watching how quickly Grey had been able to get work completed at the hotel. But my feelings for him were the same here in his king-sized bed overlooking the river as they'd been at the hotel, or back in our room at his father's house.

The idea of spending the rest of my life with him wrapped around me, of falling asleep every night with the weight of his arm around my middle, his breath tickling the back of my neck, appealed in a way that was primal, desperate. I thought about everything he'd said during sex—words he'd probably intended just to get me hot—and he'd been successful—but a part of me still craved having someone at my side, someone to help carry the weight of decisions, responsibilities, and consequences.

I knew better, of course. Relying on someone else was a mistake. Life had taught me that just when things started to go well, when you felt like your feet were finally on solid ground, fate always swooped in and knocked you flat on your ass. Better to rely on myself than face the inevitable disappointment.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Daniel

“You better get a move on,” I called from the kitchen, pouring coffee into the two travel mugs I’d set on the counter. I left Grey’s coffee black and added a splash of cream to mine before snapping the lids on. “We’re going to be late.”

“I am, I am,” Grey muttered, hurrying from the bathroom to the bedroom. “Not all of us can just throw on jeans and a t-shirt and say we’re ready.”

I grinned. Grey had a video conference scheduled for his own business immediately following the hotel’s staff meeting. With the Grand Re-opening just days away, there wasn't time for Grey to commute back and forth to Portland to manage his company. Instead, he was relying on video conferencing and Finn to stay on top of his work. I worried that the hotel and I were interfering with Grey’s real life, but he assured me he was exactly where he wanted to be. The hotel was half his and deserved his attention. Besides, once the Grand Re-opening was behind us, he’d focuson his other business, and I’d be running the day-to-day at the hotel just like before.

My chest tightened at the thought of him leaving, returning to his life while I went back to mine, but I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind so I could go on avoiding them for just a little while longer. Since we’d come back from our weekend at Grey’s place, we’d both been buried under a mountain of last-minute details getting ready to reopen the hotel, and while neither of us had been willing to say anything out loud, something had definitely shifted between us. I’d never felt closer to Grey, or anyone else for that matter. Our time together felt more open and intimate than before.

During the day, Grey and I worked tirelessly preparing to reopen the hotel. In the evenings, back at the house, we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. While the sex was hot, I liked the quiet time we spent together, too. In the evenings, we curled up on the sofa together or lay quietly in bed. We talked about everything and nothing. I’d forgotten how much I liked that about him, how he could make me laugh, and how much I liked the way his brain worked.

Even just stretched out on the sofa with my head resting in his lap while his fingertips traced lines through my hair while we watched TV felt warm, safe—like home.

Maybe because I was done fighting my feelings for him, pretending he was just a guy I was having sex with. Let’s face it, it had been a losing battle from the start. Hell, I don't think I'd ever stopped loving him, even all those years ago.

When Grey returned to his own life and I remained in The Square, resuming right where I’d left off when he’d reentered my life, it would wreck me. But it was always going to, and there was no stopping that at this point. I was resigned.

“Five minutes,” I called, lifting both cups and carrying them into the living room before setting Grey’s on the coffeetable while I waited, half-heartedly watching the news on the television.

“I know,” Grey called back. “I’m almost ready. If we’re late, it’ll be your fault.”

“How do you figure? You pulledmeinto the shower with you, knowing you’d scheduled this meeting for first thing today.” We’d wanted to go over the plans for the big day with everyone and make sure they all knew what their roles would be once we reopened.

“Something I wouldn’t have done if you hadn’t looked so fuckable this morning,” he grumbled.

I grinned. “Tick-tock. They’ll give us endless shit if we’re late to our own meeting…”

My words trailed off, and my grin slipped away. My attention fixed on a huge green blob sweeping across the radar image of the coast, while my stomach dropped in one icy swoop.

Heavy rain. Hurricane-like winds. A rare storm for this time of year. The forecaster’s words fed the dread unfurling in my gut like a monster waking from hibernation. And yet, part of me wasn’t even surprised. A part of me had been expecting something like this—not astorm,butsomething.

Since coming back from Grey’s after our date, and with the days ticking down to our Grand Re-opening, I’d been waiting for something to go wrong, waiting for the proverbialother shoeto drop. And here it was, a storm swooping in from the sea.

Storms bringing the predicted winds, rain, and potential flooding were almost unheard of here, especially at this time of year. But with just days until we reopened. Of course, the storm of the century was headed directly for Saltwater Cove.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered, staring out the front window. Outside, the sky was a bright, cloudless blue. The early morning sun cast a warm glow over the emerald lawn and mass of purple and pink flowers spilling over the edge of the gardens.

It was a gorgeous summer day, making it almost impossible to imagine that, in forty-eight hours, we'd be facing catastrophic winds, rain, and flooding.

“What’s wrong?” Grey asked.

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