Page 74 of A Shore Fling
“I figure food will lower your defenses, and then I’ll make my move.”
“Spoiler, you didn’t need the food.”
“That’s okay,” he says, reaching up to brush a strand of hair from my face. “Feeding you gives me an excuse to keep watching your mouth.”
Plucking a grape from my plate, I hold it in front of his face. His lips part, allowing me to push the fruit between them. “There. Now I have a reason to watch yours,” I say as he chews slowly, his gaze lingering on mine.
“Maybe we can find a more productive use of our mouths,” he suggests.
“Careful,” I warn, smirking. “If you start talking like that, I might think you’re serious.”
“Oh, I’m dead serious.”
Even through all our playfulness, there’s an electric energy throbbing between us that won’t take much to ignite. I lie back, folding my arms behind my head, and stare up at the deepening sky. The stars are starting to peek through, one by one. He follows suit, our shoulders brushing as we lie there. I turn my head toward him. His face is lit only by the faint glow of moonlight, but his eyes find mine like it’s still daylight.
“What happens at the end of August?” I ask before I can stop myself.
He doesn’t flinch or pretend not to understand. “I don’t know,” he says honestly. “But I’m not worried about that tonight. Are you?”
“No. Not tonight.” And I mean it. Right now, I don’t want to worry about return flights, timelines, or logistics. I just want thebeach, the stars, his dark gaze on me, and for this night to never end.
We stay until the cooler’s empty, the sky’s fully dark, and the tide creeps closer to our toes. He helps me pack up in silence, and then we load up his truck. The ride to my house is quick, and before I know it, we’re standing in the same place on the front porch as we were last night.
“Do you want to come in?” I ask, holding my breath that I’ll get the answer I’m hoping for.
“Yes.”
CHAPTER 20
TRAVIS
Ifollow Nina inside, kick the door shut, and slam my lips down on hers. She clutches at my t-shirt, arching into me. Her hands slip under the material, nails scraping against my skin, sending shivers down my spine. I back her into the door, our bodies pressed together so tightly I can’t tell where I end and she begins. Her heart hammers against my chest. Her mouth tastes intoxicatingly sweet, like the cookies we shared for dessert.
“Bedroom,” she whispers against my lips, her breath hot and urgent.
I lift her, and her legs wrap around my hips as I carry her down the hallway. We bump into a small table and something falls to the floor—probably a fucking lobster—but neither of us cares. Her lips burn a fiery path down my neck as I carry her into the dark bedroom. I lower her to the bed where she’s bathed in the moon’s silvery glow as it passes through the raised blinds. Her dark hair fans out across the pillow, and for a moment, I hover above her, drinking every perfect inch of her in.
“What?” she asks, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
“You’re beautiful,” I say, but that word seems inadequate to describe her.
She reaches up, her fingers tracing my jawline before pulling me down to her. Our kisses grow deeper, more desperate, tongues tangling and teeth clashing. I lose myself in the warmth of her skin as we shed all the layers of clothing between us. Each new expanse of her flesh that’s revealed is a small miracle for me to explore, which I eagerly do.
Nina’s hands are everywhere, in my hair, gripping my shoulders, guiding me where she wants. I follow her silent directions, relishing the way her breath catches when I find a sensitive spot or how her back arches when I use my tongue.
“God, I’ve thought about doing this all night,” I murmur, dotting kisses across her collarbone.
“All night?” she breathes, her voice husky with desire. “What about during dinner when you kept staring at my mouth?”
I chuckle against her skin, pressing kisses along her throat. “Especially then. Do you know how distracting you are when you eat grapes?”
Her laugh turns into a soft moan when my tongue finds the spot just below her ear. My hands map the curves of her body, memorizing every dip and rise. Her skin’s soft like silk beneath my fingertips. She shifts beneath me, her bare legs tangling with mine as she pulls me closer. I can feel the heat radiating from her skin, and her eyes have gone dark with need. My pulse pounds loudly in my ears as she traces patterns across my chest.
“You’re thinking too much,” she whispers, and she’s right. I am. I’m cataloging every sensation and every sound, trying to burn them into my memory forever.
I nuzzle my face against her breast. “I’m thinking about how perfect you are.” My lips wrap around her nipple, my tongue whirling around the stiff peak.
She moans. “I want you.”
