Page 56 of Riding the Waves

“To get you back to my place and get our wet clothes off?” He lifted an eyebrow. “Yes, I’d like us to hurry that up.”

Beaming, she moved in front of him, her stomach quivering as she kissed him lightly. “We could warm each other up here,” she suggested, moving slowly to lift his hoodie over his head. The sliver of fear that he might reject her was quashed when he emerged from his jumper to immediately find her lips again.

Amy shrugged off her raincoat, then briefly broke their kiss to whip off her T-shirt while he did the same with his own. His arms circled her tightly, and she savoured the delicious feel of his skin against hers. When he lowered her back onto the bed, she pulled him right down on top of her, loving the weight of his body pressing down on her.

She didn’t know if it was the cold that made her shiver or the wonderful sense of anticipation, but Damian caught it and manoeuvred the covers from beneath her so they were snuggled underneath. His lips were on her neck when a low buzzing sound made him stop.

“I’d ignore it,” he said, his voice slightly hoarse as he delved into his pocket. “But I guess it’s Hugh. I told him I wouldn’t be long.”

“I was supposed to let him know when I found you,” Amy said.

“So that’s how you knew where I was.” Damian retrieved his phone from his pocket and sat up. While he focused on the phone screen, Amy’s eyes roamed the van.

She thought back to Damian’s jokes about it being his love nest and couldn’t help but wonder if that was why he’d kept it. Was that why it looked so lived in? Because it was actually well used and not just sitting abandoned in the car park?

Shaking the thought away, she reached over and plucked a shell from the low table. “Since when do you collect sea shells?” she asked, feeling Damian’s eyes on her.

“I don’t.” His voice was loud in the small space. “You collected them.”

A flutter erupted in her chest and she turned the shell over in her hand – her mind’s eye showing her a day when she’d insisted he needed some decorations for the van to soften the feel. He’d told her to stop leaving knickknacks around that would only collect dust.

When she turned, he switched his attention to his phone. “I guess I need to either go and pick the boys up or …” His brow furrowed and she ran a hand down his arm until he pulled her close, grasping the back of her neck as he softly kissed her.

“Or what?” Her nose was touching his as she trailed her fingers through his hair.

“I could ask Hugh if they can have a sleepover there.” His voice was soft and uncertain.

“Yes,” she said, brushing her lips across his. “Do that.”

He pressed a heavy kiss onto her lips, then grinned and tapped on his phone while she snuggled under the covers.

“It’s cosy in here,” she said, filled with unease again at the thought of Damian bringing other women back there. It would explain why he’d kept it so nice, with the bed all made up for any unexpected liaisons which may arise.

Damian set his phone by the lamp and slid into the bed beside her, propping his elbow on the pillow and his head on his hand. “I sleep in here sometimes,” he said, pushing a lock of hair from her face. “When I feel like being close to the sea and falling asleep to the sound of the waves.”

It sounded pretty idyllic, but something in her gut told her it wasn’t the whole truth.

“You must be able to hear the waves from the house,” she said.

A muscle twitched in his neck. “Only just.” He dropped his head onto the pillow beside her. “Besides, being here always reminds me of you.”

“Yeah?”

“A lot of my favourite memories of you are from here. I like to reminisce now and again.”

He smiled lazily, and when his lips touched hers, she stroked the taut skin of his upper arm and felt all of her nerve endings fire up again.

“Hang on,” Damian said, reaching for his phone. His eyes darted over the screen. “Okay. Hugh’s happy to keep the boys for the night.” He flashed her a flirty smile. “Carry on.”

* * *

Daylight stung Amy’s eyes when she came slowly to consciousness. She shivered and snuggled closer to Damian’s side to squeeze every ounce of body heat from him.

His hand stroked her hair, signalling he was awake too. He started to say something, then cleared his throat to dispel the coarseness of his voice.

“What happened with you and Anthony?” he asked, taking her by surprise.

It took her a moment to figure out how to respond, then decided honesty was probably best. She inhaled deeply before she spoke.

---