“We can host them anywhere. It ain’t about the location.”
I chewed on my lip and mulled over Kim’s words as he drove towards the sea. I waited for him to ask for directions to Haven Cottage, but of course, he never did. Why would he, when Porthkennack natives knew everything about everything?
He pulled up outside Haven Cottage a few minutes later. “Sulk all you want. I’m going inside.”
Sulk? Me? Was he having a fucking laugh? But as the urge to stay in the car and pout remained strong . . . perhaps he was right. I was sulking, but why?
Who the hell knew? And who cared, when Kim was inside a deserted cottage without me?
I hurried out of the car and followed him. Knowing my family’s goldfish-like attention span, I half expected to find the place derelict, but I was sorely mistaken. The interior of the cottage had fresh new plaster, shiny wood floorboards, and crooked polished beams that fairy tales were made of. An open fireplace was the crowning jewel of the lower floor, and there was even a bed and a claw-foot bathtub upstairs.
Kim was sold, I could tell.
“Red’s getting married,” I blurted.
He turned around, his expression unreadable. “What?”
“Red’s getting married . . . tomorrow, to the girl she met in California.”
“How do you know that?”
“She called me.”
“During dinner?”
“Yes.”
Silence. My heart began a slow, painful descent into my stomach.
“Why did she call you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Liar.”
“She wanted to know how you were before she told you.”
“How I am?” A dangerous humour glittered in Kim’s convoluted gaze. “Jesus. You two think I can’t handle reality without hurling myself off the wagon? That ain’t fair, Jas. You can’t baby me.”
“I’m not. I’m telling you, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, while you look at me like I’m an unexploded bomb. Do you really think I wouldn’t be happy for her? That I’m selfish enough to have my life with you and deny her the same happiness?”
“Are you happy?”
It wasn’t what I’d meant to say, but whatever my intended words had been evaporated as Kim crossed the room in two strides and seized me by the shoulders. He pushed me hard onto the plastic-covered bed, his face a potent mix of fury and amusement. “You don’t get it, do you? You’ve got no idea how much you mean to me, even after all this time?”
I had a fair idea, but I wasn’t going to interrupt him while he was digging his cock into me the way he was right now. I wound my arms around his neck and pressed myself up against him. “I know you love me, Kim, but I know you love her too.”
“It’s not the same, damn it!”
“No?”
“No. How many times are we going to have this fucking conversation?”
Kim growled and abruptly flipped me onto my stomach. A thrill that only his touch evoked shot through my veins, and I shivered, my eyelids already fluttering as sensation consumed me. Time hadn’t dulled the electricity between us. If anything, it had deepened, solidified, and he could bring me to my knees with the intent behind his stormy gaze.
And his intent was clear now—he was going to fuck me, and I was going to let him . . . more than that. I’d beg him if he kept me waiting too long.