With a low chuckle, I shook my head. “There aren’t a whole lot of sharks that come this close inland, not with all the people constantly splashing around.” I leaned closer until my lips brushed his ear. “The only creature that thinks you’re a snack right now is me.” I bit the shell of his ear, letting my tongue lave over it.
He groaned, and I didn’t miss the way he shivered. “God, Lea, don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?” I asked innocently.
I moved behind him as he floated on his back, sinking lower into the water as I pressed my left cheek flush with his right. “You’re doing so well, babe,” I murmured, then turned my head and smacked a loud kiss onto his wet cheek. When I started nibbling down his neck, he made a little growling noise in the back of his throat and holy fuck, my dick really liked that.
He rolled out of position and planted his feet back on the ocean floor—we were only waist deep—and aimed a ridiculously sexy glare my way.
I couldn’t help wading toward him and kissing those pouting lips, and he moaned as he grabbed onto my biceps. I drew back a few inches, watching his eyes open slowly. His long lashes were fringed with tiny drops of water, and the dreamy look on his face made my heart flip.
But when he smiled and his dimples appeared, he stole the breath right from my lungs.
“I love how playful you are,” he said, his fingers trailing softlines up and down my arms. I was caught in his gaze, snared by that smile. I moved closer to him.
“Oh yeah?” I asked.
“Yeah. It makes me feel good,” he said softly. “Youmake me feel good.”
I slid my fingers into the longer hair at the nape of his neck, tugging gently. “All I want to do is make you feel good.”
Beau closed his eyes as I played with his hair, and the contented look on his face had butterflies fluttering in my stomach. He was gorgeous and sweet and—for right now—mine.
I leaned down and pressed my lips to his, held them there, then let myself fall back into the water with a splash.
“Come float with me, beautiful,” I said, watching Beau’s face closely. He bit his bottom lip, his eyes trailing down my body, then turned and lowered himself until the water held him up. I grabbed his hand and laced my fingers through his, savoring his startled gasp, enamored by the way he squeezed my fingers tighter.
The sun was beginning to set, and we’d need to get going soon, but right now, lying on my back with Beau beside me, his fingers tangled in mine, staring up at the pinks and oranges and reds streaking across the sky, at the hint of stars and a few wispy clouds, right now we could just be together.
“Shea’s out there somewhere,” Beau said quietly.
“Mm,” I said. I turned my head to look at him, to gauge what he was feeling. He was staring off into the horizon, where the water had blended seamlessly with the sky in an explosion of colors.
I knew their relationship was strained, but I’d only ever heard how Shea felt about all of it. How much guilt he carried, leaving Beau the way he did. How much he wished he’d stayed, regardless of what would’ve happened to him.
He loved Beau more than anything, and over the years, he’d told me and the rest of the guys countless stories about theirtime together in Kansas. Some weren’t great, sure, but a lot of them were good. He wanted to remember the good times they’d shared, so I knew all about their trips to the movies, how Beau loved board games and would regularly beat Shea at everything they played. That Beau had taught him how to make ice cream from scratch. The class projects Shea had helped Beau with.
There were a million little moments between them, etched into the core of their beings. They’d shaped each other’s lives, left indelible marks that time would never remove.
Right now, Beau looked more contemplative than sad, so I told him, “You know Shea loves you more than anything, right?” Beau’s eyes cut to mine as I kept talking. “That all he’s ever wanted is to take care of you, to see you in a good place. When he told me you were coming back here to live with us…” I shook my head, remembering. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard him so happy. Seriously.”
Beau hummed, squeezing my hand.
“And I know he can be a lot, way too overbearing and intrusive—kinda like my family, I guess. Looks like we’ve got that in common,” I mused, earning a soft laugh from Beau. “But…I think he just doesn’t know how to put all the years he missed with you behind him. He carries a lot of guilt around, and it makes him push a little too hard. He hasn’t found that balance quite yet, but he will.”
“Yeah,” Beau said softly. “I guess I need to talk to him when he gets back.”
“You should. He would really like that.”
I turned my gaze back to the sky, where the stars were a little brighter now. There was a quick flash of light that streaked vividly across the darkening colors, and I shot up out of the water with a gasp. “A shooting star!” Grinning, I turned to Beau. “Did you see it?”
Beau was standing beside me, his eyes locked on my face as he slowly shook his head and said, “I missed it.”
I tutted and lowered myself in the water until we were the same height and gave him a wink. “Too busy staring at me? Tell you what. I’ll make a wish for you.”
The way Beau was looking at me had awareness spreading through every fiber of my being. It was intense and penetrating and it made me feel like he could see through every flimsy barrier I’d ever erected, right into the heart of me.
I wondered what he saw.