Page 63 of Entangled

“And wet?”

“I’ve seen better.”

I fight against the twitch of my lips, feeling Andrea and Zane’s eyes ping-ponging between us as we volley back and forth in our verbal play.

“Hmm.” Jace’s eyes narrow just a bit before a wicked grin fills his face, giving me about a one-second warning before he launches himself at me.

He tackles me down into the sand, laying his wet body on top of mine and grabbing for the camera as I lift it above my head, trying to keep it out of his reach.

“Not the camera, Jace! It’s expensive!” I laugh as he tries to pry it from my grasp, long hair dripping water down onto me. “And you’re all wet!”

“Pass it over and no one gets hurt, Delacroix.” He dips his face down to my neck, nuzzling at it and dropping his voice intimately. “Plus, around me you should always expect to get wet.” He follows up the naughty comment by swiping his tongue out and licking my neck, surprising me into letting go of the camera.

“Ugh! I hate it when you do that.” I bring my hand down to swipe at my neck as he raises his head, grinning down at me smugly.

“No you don’t.” He drops his head to the other side of my neck and gives it the same treatment as I protest, bucking up uselessly underneath him to the sound of Andrea and Zane’s laughter.

He lifts his head and clicks on my camera, expression clearing for a moment as he looks at the screen before a small, happy smile pulls his lips up. Setting the camera down next to us, he cages me in with his arms and brings his firework eyes to mine.

“Just about the coffee, huh?”

“Absolutely.”

A smirk pulls at my mouth right before he lowers his head and drops his lips to mine. Kissing me teasingly, gently pulling at my lips for a moment before raising his head back up to look down at me.

“You’re such a liar.” He grins, dropping one more quick kiss to my mouth before lifting off of me and standing.

“Aww,” Andrea teases, grinning like a fiend, eyes bouncing back and forth between us. “Y’all are adorable.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jace pushes at her head jokingly as I rise, a smile on my face despite the flutter of nerves in my stomach at the public display.

Zane drops down on the other side of Andrea and slings his arms around her neck, curious eyes on me. “Leave ’em alone, babe.”

Jace walks over to a cooler beside the blanket, grabbing a water bottle and chugging it down before bringing his eyes back to mine. “How was the sheriff?”

A light scoff leaves me and I shrug. “Interesting, I guess? I understand your sentiments about the woman now. We definitely rubbed each other the wrong way. I’m still trying to figure it out, but she’s getting me the file, so whatever.”

“Hmm.” He makes a sound of affirmation and looks out at the waves. “I thought it might go something like that given your sparkling personality.”

Zane chuckles softly. “Don’t worry, she leaves most people feeling the same way.”

“Hey,” I call out to Jace, drawing his eyes back to mine and tensing at the memory. “The weirdest thing happened when I stopped to get gas afterward, though.”

He tilts his head at me in question. “What’s that?”

“There was this guy across the pump staring at me. Anyway, I might not have been the nicest, considering the fact he was giving me total creeper vibes, so sorry if he’s really a friend of yours.” I take a breath before continuing as Jace’s eyes narrow. “But he told me to tell you that Trey Morrison is back in town and sends his regards through your girl, whatever that’s supposed to mean?”

I watch the blood drain right out of Jace’s face as his expression goes slack and his whole body tenses. His eyes lift from mine to quickly scan the length of the beach behind me before dropping his gaze back to mine.

“What did he look like?”

I shrug nervously. “Shitty blond dye job, brown eyes, and a scar running along his temple.”

Jace’s hand clenches around the water bottle he holds, causing it to crackle at my description.

“What?” I question, stomach churning at the sight. “Who is he?”

I can see the thoughts flying behind his eyes at a rapid pace when he brings them back to me and walks over, dropping down onto his knees in front of me. “Did he touch you?” he asks, voice low and serious as his eyes rake over every inch of my body. “Did he say anything else?”

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