Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
There’s not a chance in hell I’m going to risk falling overboard, so I drop to my knees and start crawling across the damn thing.
“Oh my God, June,” Avery mutters behind me. “What are you doing?”
“Worry about yourself!” I shout back to her, and I’m graced with one million laughs from her big fat mouth.
By the time I reach Beau’s boat, his smile is beaming, and he helps me to my feet with a gentle but strong hand.
“Get some rest and hydrate!” Avery waves an excited goodbye, and I give her a thumbs-up as the boat she’s on starts to move away from us.
By the time Beau gets the walking pick back on deck, guides me toward the front of his boat, and we sit down on the bow cushions, Avery’s party boat is too far away to even see her.
And the only thing I feel right now is relaxed. Relieved, even.
Beau wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me close, shoving a bottle of water in my face without delay.
“Where’d you get that thang?” I ask, a laugh making my last word sound weird. “Are you a magician?”
Beau smirks. “I have a slight advantage at the moment for the element of a surprise. You’re not exactly completely aware of your surroundings.”
“True,” I agree, tipping the bottle to my lips and drinking the clear liquid greedily.
“How are you feeling, really?” Beau asks, concern softening his voice. “Do you think you’re going to get sick?”
I smile, leaning into his hard chest and taking a whiff of his unbelievable scent. “Uh-uh. I feel so good. So, so good now that I’m with you.”
He laughs. “I’m feeling better now that you’re with me too, Juni.”
“Did you ever know I liked you?” I ask, the alcohol in my system destroying any hesitation I’d usually have in telling him all the down and dirty details of my forever-long crush on him. “Like, back in the day, when you were still in high school, I was crushing on you so hard.” I laugh at the irony of it all. “Guess things haven’t changed much, huh?”
“I’m crushing on you pretty damn hard too, Juni.” Beau pulls me closer to his chest. “And, no, I didn’t know you liked me back in the day.” He gently runs his fingers through my hair. “But I’ll be honest, I think I never even let myself consider it because you were so off-limits. I noticed you at my graduation, though. And after. I’ve always thought you were beautiful, but if you hadn’t messaged me on Midnight, I don’t think I ever would have let myself go there.”
“I figured I’d get over it at some point.” I snort. “I thought it’d be on your wedding day to Bethany, but I thought I’d get over it.”
His mouth is a bowed line, and he sinks his hand deeper into my loose hair at the side of my head. My stomach flips on itself, butterflies awakening. “This is a much better option,” he whispers, so close I can feel his breath on my face.
“Yeah,” I whisper back.
This is a much, much better option. I don’t know what I’d do if we ever went back to the way things were.
There’s something sexy and dangerous and exhilarating being out on Beau’s boat—just the two of us—with only the night’s sky hovering above us. After I managed to chug two bottles of water and neutralize the booze in my body, we’ve been sitting here, at the bow, for the past two hours.
Maybe longer. I can’t be sure. All I know is that kissing Beau is an aphrodisiac that has my nipples hard, and a deep, Beau-craving ache makes itself at home between the apex of my thighs.
I’ve always enjoyed kissing, but I’ve never felt kissing like this. Never been so entranced by kissing a man that I find myself completely unaware of time, my surroundings, pretty much everything but him. Frankly, the only reason I still know we’re on his boat is the gentle rocking motion that occurs each time a wave laps against the sides.
Beau sits with his back against the boat, and I straddle his hips. My mouth tastes and teases and kisses his, and his big, strong hands touch my thighs and my hips and my hair and pretty much every part of my body as we just kiss each other.
He deepens the kiss as his fingers skim the skin at my hip. His lips move from my mouth to my collarbone, skirting along the delicate spot with the kind of softness that urges goose bumps to appear on my skin.
I sink my hands into his hair and moan at the feel of him on me. I’ve fantasized and dreamed and envisioned for years and years, and still, the real thing is ten times better. I’m still not used to the satisfaction of truly feeling him, and I’m starting to wonder if I ever will.