Page 31 of Small Town Frenzy
He doesn’t bother saving me as I dig myself deeper into this hole I’m trapped in. My heart starts thumping hard in my chest, my breath growing shallower as panic starts to set in. It’s not just the night. It’s Jacob who stays at the forefront of my mind every time I think of our night in Costa Rica. What if Griffin connects the dots before I’m ready to expl?—
“I remembered.” His confession is loud and boastful. It’s not soft either. It’s steady and sure, his tone a force of honesty. “I never forgot.”
“You didn’t?” I hate how weak I sound, as if he’s made everything better by his admission.
“No,” he replies, grinning. No cockiness is found despite the earlier spark of it. “I just didn’t know if you did. I felt foolish.”
I whisper, “Why would you feel foolish?”
“Because that night meant a lot to me. You did.” It’s the first time I’ve seen him with any doubt caving his shoulders. “I should have gotten your information.”
I breathe easier knowing we were on the same page. “You don’t know how many times I wished I had done thesame.” I take a deep breath and slowly release it, and then ask, “Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
Tilting his head to the left, he glances just to my side and then back again. “Probably the same reason you didn’t.”
“Spite?”
He balks, his laughter echoing through the marsh. “Ego, but spite works as well.”
I hadn’t noticed we’d turned around until we bumped up against the shoreline where we originally found the boat docked. Seeing the old tractor up on the level ground ahead makes me wonder if we just walk away now like nothing happened, when it feels a lot like something shifted in my universe. Good or bad, I feel different.
What happens once we get off this boat?
He stands and hops to solid land, and then tugs a rope attached to the boat, pulling it up on the shore. After tying the rope around the base of a tree, he comes back and offers me a hand. Before I can take it, he grips me under the bottom of the vest and lifts me to the shore next to him. Being this close has me thinking about things I shouldn’t. Kissing him probably wouldn’t be a great idea. Not when so much has been revealed, and there’s so much more to share in time.
Time.I don’t know how long he plans to be here. He doesn’t even know.
He pops the latches on the vest and then drags it from my shoulders and tosses it in the boat. Neither of us rushes to walk away or say anything. Just a shared look that says more than we should exchange.
The back of his hand brushes against my chest, causing my breath to momentarily catch. I part my lips, needing air in my lungs, but when he leans down, I stop breathing altogether. He whispers, “What happens if I kiss you?”
The whole world can hear me gulp when I swallow, but then I say, “We blame it on the moonlight?”
His lips meet mine in a rush like time is running out. The pressure firm and his hand strong as he cups my cheek, tilting me up for better access. When his other arm comes around my lower back, my lips part. Our tongues meet as I melt into him, the kiss, and the reunion I never in my wildest dreams imagined would happen.
CHAPTER 13
Griffin
Beer and sweetnessmingle on Cricket’s lips. The swipe of her tongue around mine is possessive, wrapped in assurance. Her hands slide over my shoulders, and her arms come around my neck to press her body against mine.
When the softest of moans lodges in her throat, she holds me tighter. Sliding my hands over the curve of her waist and then lower under her ass, I lift her to bridge the height difference. She wraps her legs around my waist and rubs the apex between them against me. My thoughts spin from the past and present, and what this looks like come tomorrow. I never fucking worry about the future since it tends to work in my favor, but this is Cricket and me, four years after Costa Rica. This is being with someone in my hometown, which complicates not just when I leave, but when I come back to visit. She’ll have expectations. What woman hasn’t after being together like this? And it wouldn’t be unreasonable, which means this needs to stop.
I pull back, not because I want to, but if I don’t, this isgoing to get out of hand and fast like my spinning thoughts. “Damn,” I whisper, and then lick my lips.
Her eyes are lit with desire, and the push of her hips tells me all I need to know about where she wants this to go. But I peel her off the front of my body and set her on her feet again. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I brush some wild strands of hair stuck to her cheeks and tuck them behind her ears. Seeing her now reminds me so much of how she looked back then. She’s more woman than girl, a greater curve from her waist to her hips than I remember, and her tits are fuller, which she made the stars of that tight-fitting jersey. I have a deep-seated craving that she wore it for me. I noticed, alright. Somehow, she’s more stunning than ever if that’s even possible. She was a fucking wet dream back then. Now she’s a goddess before me, so fucking beautiful it hurts. “I was just thinking we might not want to take this much further.”
“Speak for yourself, Twenty-two.” Her hands slide down my chest and then grip onto the hem of my jersey. Not even trying to act shy, she smirks up at me. “I’m perfectly good with moving forward.”
Chuckling, I take hold of her hands before they go lower, where I actually want them. If she goes there, I’m done for. “I think I should take you home.”
“But—”
I touch her lips with my finger, which she promptly kisses, and then her grin returns, blooming even wider for me this time. She’s a little vixen who knows how to get a reaction out of me. This is probably a losing battle, and by losing, I win if we sleep together again. And here I am, trying to be so good . . . “Not because I don’t want you.”
Glad I left my hat in the truck, I run my fingers through my hair without the hassle, and say, “I’ve thought about youmore times than would be considered healthy over the years. Sowhenwe do this again, it’s not going to be in a tin can of a boat, or against a tree.” Glancing at the truck parked up the hill, I add, “Not even in a truck. It will be where I can appreciate every inch of you all night long without interruption.”
