I pulled two towels out of my duffel bag and handed him one.
“You brought towels?” He laughed. “No bathing suit, but a towel to dry off with. I like your style, Ace.”
The way that he looked at me left me weak in the knees and he hadn’t even touched me yet. He unbuttoned his dress shirt and shrugged it off his shoulders. My breath caught in my throat as I studied his chiseled abs and muscled chest. I moved closer, running my fingers over his tattoo, wanting to touch every inch of him. He undid the button on his dress pants, and they dropped in a puddle on the floor. His black briefs hugged his body like a second skin, drawing attention to the enormous elephant in the room.
And oh my god.
Calling it enormous was an understatement.
“Wow.”
He laughed again, his tongue darting out to wet his lips as I sucked in a long breath.
“You know we don’t have to do anything tonight. There’s no pressure. I’m just happy we get to spend the night together.”
“I want to do things,” I said, startled by the sound of my own voice. It was gruff and laced with need.
He chuckled. “Oh yeah? What things do you want to do?”
I leaned forward and reached for the hem of his briefs. “All the things.”
I tugged his briefs down and stared in awe at the sight of him when they dropped to his ankles. He stood there totally confident, like this wasn’t something we hadn’t done hundreds of times before.
“When do I get to see you?” he rasped.
I turned around and waited for him to unzip my dress. I could feel his warm breath on my skin and goose bumps ran down my neck and back. He leaned forward and kissed my shoulder, unsnapping my strapless bra as his lips trailed back up my neck.
He turned me around to face him and I held my breath, unable to move.
“So beautiful, Ace,” he whispered.
I stood there, completely bare aside from my lace panties.
“You still want to swim?” he whispered, and he leaned down and kissed my shoulders again where Alec had marked me.
“Yes. Let’s go in the water first.” I needed to calm down. My body was on fire. Desire all but engulfed me. I didn’t know how to handle these feelings. I leaned down and slipped my underwear down my legs as he studied me as if he were memorizing every inch of me. Every curve. Every line. I shivered and he reached for a towel and wrapped it around me.
“Are you sure those bruises don’t hurt?”
I tucked the top of the towel around my chest and watched as he wrapped the other towel around his waist. I reached in my bag for a hair tie and piled my hair in a bun on top of my head. There was a makeshift bed with lots of blankets and pillows on the tent floor and butterflies rushed my belly.
“I’m positive. Come on.” I ducked through the small opening to get out the door and we walked down to the water where we’d stood hundreds of times before. But this time things were different.
“You sure you want to do this? The water’s going to be cold.” He quirked a brow.
I dropped my towel and ran into the dark, cold water. I didn’t stop until I was neck deep and howling in laughter. Jett came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.
“It’s not as bad as I expected.” I turned so I was facing him, my hands around his neck. He hiked me up so he could hold me, and my legs came around his waist. I giggled again as I felt his desire beneath me.
He smirked. “Are you seriously laughing because I have a boner? You do realize that you’re naked in my arms.”
“I thought cold water took care of that?”
“I don’t think anything could take care of that when I’m with you,” he said, his lips grazing mine.
His mouth covered mine, tasting and exploring, and my hands tangled in his hair. We were both breathless and I couldn’t stop my hips from grinding up against him. It was clear that he wanted me as much as I wanted him. I was no longer cold, not even a little bit. In fact, I was burning up.
“Let’s go back to the tent,” I whispered against his mouth.
He continued to kiss me as he walked back toward the shore with me in his arms. Once we were out of the water and the light breeze hit my skin, he set me on my feet and wrapped the towel around me again before pulling the other around his waist.
We walked back into the tent and he zipped the door closed. I dropped on the floor to sit on the blankets. “This is really sweet. I love all the candles.” I glanced over and beside the bed, there was a small bouquet of pink peonies tied with twine. “My favorite flower.”
“My favorite girl.” He dropped to sit beside me.
I pulled him down and kissed him again. My towel coming undone as I did so. I tugged at his, wanting to press against his bare body.
“I love you.”
“Love you, Ace.” He stretched out beside me and we both rolled on our sides so we could face one another.
I gripped his erection in my hand. “Show me what to do.”
His hand came over mine and slowly guided me up and down his shaft.
“Jesus. Just like that,” he whispered.
His hand let go of mine and moved down my back and over my chest, stopping to cup my breast. His fingers teased my hard peaks, and I arched into his touch. He rolled me on my back and my hand fell to the side as he kissed his way down my neck, pausing to kiss each breast, licking and sucking and driving me wild.
“Jett,” I whispered, and I couldn’t stop the little pants that followed. I writhed beneath him, desperate for more.
His hand moved between my legs as he’d done before, but being naked and alone in the dark only intensified everything. He teased my most sensitive spot and I ground up against his hand.
“I know, baby,” he said, as one finger slipped inside, and I bucked against his touch, frantic for relief. “Let yourself go.”
I cried out his name and gasped as I continued to move against his hand.
“Oh my god.” I rolled on my side to face him. “Did you bring a condom?”
“I did. But there’s no rush.”
“I want this to happen. Please don’t make me wait.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.” I ran my fingers over his rope bracelet that matched my own, thinking about all the ways I’d frayed this year. All the ways I’d found myself, found what I wanted, who I was. All because I’d met this boy who believed in me.
I wanted this.
I wanted him.
He leaned forward, capturing my mouth as he settled above me.