“You’ve scratched plenty…”
Just as Knox moves to close the distance between us, we’re illuminated from the shore. We both turn towards a vehicle’s blinding headlights. The contrast in the darkness makes it impossible to make out the two figures standing on the beach, seemingly waiting for us. My eyes widen when one of them bends down by our piles of clothes.
“Um, Knox…” I begin, stopping when his fingers grip my hip.
“It’s fine, baby.”
I momentarily forget our visitors. It’s the first time he’s called me that. I want to relish in how possessed it makes me feel.
“We received a few calls of loud noises coming from the lake. Everything okay out there?” a deep voice booms from the shore.
A deep, familiar voice coming from a body standing way too close to my clothes.
“Sam!” I yell. “What are you doing here?”
“Dammit, how’d you know it was me?”
A third silhouette steps away from the car. A more petite one, and I roll my eyes. Why am I not surprised?
“We closed up the bar and figured we’d take a dip in the lake sans clothes. We had no idea you two beat us here first. I thought you were going home because you were exhausted.”
“Took a detour, Sunny,” Knox tells her. “Now, if you’ll be kind enough to let us get dressed, the lake’s all yours.”
“You guys want some company? We could totally play naked chicken!” Sunny exclaims.
And she’s not kidding.
“Joe,” Knox growls in warning.
Sunny’s giggles stop abruptly. “Okay, okay, we’re going!”
“Have fun, kids!” Joe hollers.
“Oh my god,” I mutter.
We wait a few minutes to make sure they’re truly gone. I wouldn’t put it past Sunny to stick around to try to get a glimpse of Knox’s goods. Not that I can blame her. Fortunately, we get back to our clothes without incident and stumble back to my house, holding hands and laughing. I can’t remember a time I’ve felt so carefree.
For the second time today, we find ourselves in my shower. As I reach for my shampoo, Knox scoops up the bottle and squirts product into his hands.
“Turn.”
I obey the one-word command and fall into bliss when Knox’s large hands work the shampoo into my hair. I’m putty in his hands, proven as he turns me and rinses my hair. It’s wash, rinse, repeat with my conditioner.
“All clean,” he declares, and I’m too tired to make a joke.
“Your turn.”
Dark eyes soften and gaze down at me. “Amelia, you’re exhausted. I got this.”
I grab the shampoo bottle from him. “Tit for tat, baby,” I tease.
His lips twist into a grin, and he doesn’t protest, turning so his back’s to me. I have to raise on my tiptoes, and I’m still not tall enough to give as good of a head massage as he gave me.
We spend the next few moments lathering each other up with soap and slowly rinsing off. Neither of us says a word, and with that, I’m content. The silence continues out of the shower, each of us rubbing the other with a towel before falling into bed, exhausted and satisfied.
For some reason, that felt more intimate than what we did earlier. I’m not so sure that’s a good thing. Because I know it’s a great thing.
As I drift off, I replay our conversation at the lake and realize we’re two peas in a pod. I don’t want to talk about my past. Knox doesn’t want to talk about his future.
All we have is the present. I already know it won’t be long enough.
“RISE AND SHINE, SLEEPYHEAD.”
Knox’s voice comes way too early in the morning for my taste. I slowly open one eye and find him sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at me. He’s already dressed, in a loose pair of tan shorts, a black tank top, and a ballcap. I want to kiss every inch of golden skin weeks of summer sun has blessed him with.
“No. Too early,” I groan, placing the pillow back over my head and rolling away from him.
He pounces just like I knew he would. “Come on, Melia. The sun’s been up for hours.”
“So,” I grumble, adjusting my body so his weight shifts, forcing him to sit on my ass. “We’ve been working nonstop at your place and I deserve a day to sleep in.”
Knox snags the pillow from the top of my head and leans down, his lips hovering over my ear. “And I’m so damn grateful for your help. It would’ve taken me a lot longer to finish without it. Since all we have left to do is paint the porch, finish the bathroom, and give the place one nice deep clean, I figured we’d take the day off. Do a little exploring. We deserve it,” he says, a lone finger tracing the curve of my spine.
I perk up even though I don’t want to. “Why didn’t you say that in the first place? I’m always up for you exploring.”
He takes his fingers away and hops up from the bed.
I groan. “I’ve been had!”
“All we do is sleep and sleep together,” he says in a mock falsetto, echoing the words I stupidly uttered a couple of weeks ago.
My returning glare only makes him laugh. “And I thought we both established there’s nothing wrong with that. Isn’t that what this summer’s all about?”
He ignores my question, waving it off in a super annoying yet cute way that makes me want to drag him back to the bed. Unfortunately, he’s too far away to get ahold of.
“Come on, Melia. We have plenty of time for that later. And considering how much if it we’ve done, my dick would probably welcome a break.” His teasing grin annoys the hell out of me. “I want to spend the day outdoors together. Clothed,” he says.
“Who are you and what you have done with the Knox I’ve come to l—enjoy?” I catch myself in the nick of time.
He grins, seemingly unaware of my near slip of the tongue. “I realized I haven’t seen much of Crystal Cove except for the inside of your bedroom, the bar at Mickey’s, and the lake. If I’m going to have a summer home here, I want to explore what’s out there. Nature-wise. There’s a spot Joe told me about that I wanna take you to. The sky’s clear and the temperature’s dropped a bit. For the first time in two weeks, the high’s finally below ninety and the humidity’s lower than it’s been in a month. That means today’s the day.”
“Ugh. Fine.” Begrudgingly, I crawl out of bed and head to the bathroom, going through my morning routine at a leisurely pace.
After all the work we’ve done on the house, my muscles ache in the most glorious way. Of course, all of Knox’s massages at the end of every long workday have helped ease the soreness. I feel a little pang at knowing I won’t get to the enjoy the fruits of our labor after this summer is over, and I briefly wonder if he plans on selling it or making it a summer place. Oh, the possibilities.
Stop that, Amelia.
“What should I wear on this adventure of ours?” I ask.
“We’ll be outside, so whatever’s comfortable for you. Just make sure to wear either a good pair of tennis shoes or hiking boots.”
“Hiking boots? Knox, I’m down with the outdoors as much as the next person, but really? If you want to reward me for a job well done, lounging by the lake, going on another shopping trip, or staying in bed all day are more up my alley.”