Page 115 of Jagged Line Paradise

Chapter 30

Avalon

THE SKY GRADUALLYdarkens as the sun descends, falling through layers of hazy purple, orange, and yellow as the black of night chases it down. The pine trees in the distance brush across the sky like feathered paint strokes, and I wish I’d brought my art supplies out with me to see this sunset.

“What do you think of this one?” Andrés asks as he stretches his legs out in front of him.

We’ve been traveling for three weeks now, making our way up the West Coast. We’ve been watching sunsets as we go, noting our favorites, which has been tough because they’ve each had something special about them.

This one is somewhere between Portland and Seattle. The green trees and forestry are enchanting. They make me wonder why I spent so much of my life thinking that there was only one paradise—my jagged line paradise—when every sunset I’ve seen since we left has held just as much beauty and splendor as the last.

They’ve all been just a little bit different, and I’m starting to like the change, the excitement of discovery.

“This one is a top contender,” I tell Andrés.

He chuckles. “You said that about the last three.”

“And I meant it. All top contenders.” I look over at him and smile, placing my palms behind me on the blanket he laid out for us beneath the trees. I lean back on my hands. “What’s the next stop going to be?”

“I was thinking we should head back south.”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe check out a sunset at the Grand Canyon. But we could make a stop on the way there.”

“We would be making several stops because that’s a long trip.”

“Right,” he grins, “but there was one in particular I was hoping to make.”

He’s just so sexy sitting here beside me, all casually cool like he always was. I can’t help myself; I climb over him, straddle his hips, and push him onto his back. In true Andrés fashion, he takes control, flipping me onto my back and settling between my legs. His fingers brush my cheek as he pushes a strand of hair back behind my ear.

“If you’re gonna start something, you’d better be ready for me to finish it.”

I reach between us to work his belt buckle and unzip his jeans. “Finish it. Get rough with me, you beast.” I grin. “It’s only fitting that you should get in touch with your inner animal for forest sex.” I shove my hand down the front of his pants and squeeze his thickening hard-on.

He chuckles at me as his hand moves from my cheek to slip across my throat, gripping me lightly. “Don’t you want to know where I want to stop on the way to the Grand Canyon?”

I stroke his cock, drawing a groan from deep within his gut. “Wouldn’t it be better as a surprise?”

“Mmm, maybe.” He kisses my cheek and across my jaw. “But I kind of want to get your buy-in on this one.”

“Okay. Where?”

He runs his tongue along the side of my neck, all the way up behind my ear before he whispers, “Vegas.”

“Vegas? Really?” I’m not much for fancy cities. I prefer our small-town stops, staying in quaint little bed and breakfasts we find along the way.

“Really.”

“What’s the appeal?”

He shifts between my legs, grinding his bulge into the apex of my thighs, making me moan with desire. He kisses down the side of my neck, nipping with his teeth as he follows the curve toward my shoulder. “Why don’t you think about it for a minute?”

My eyes drift shut. I don’t think about it because the way he sinks his teeth into my skin before swirling his tongue over the bite marks spoils my mind for thinking.

“Andrés,” I moan.

“Did you figure it out?”

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