bodies are joined together as our tongues entangle. The heat of

her is mind-numbing and I forget where I am. It’s just me and her

lying in the sand and I swear for one fucking moment that

everything is going to be okay. That this will be my life. Just her

and me.

Forever.

And for a second, the thought doesn’t scare the shit out of

me.

Callie

I can tell I’m scaring him and I start to shy away, fearing

rejection. But then I see something in his eyes put there by years of beatings and God knows what else. I suddenly get it. Kayden can’t

love me because he doesn’t understand love. He understands pain

and hurt and disappointment, but not love. I know right then that I

can’t tell him how I’m feeling, but I can show him.

Needing to be close to him, I gather every speck of courage I

have inside me and kiss him. He kisses me back but then he’s

pulling away. My insides wind into knots, but I don’t back down. I

press my lips to his again and just like that, through a second

chance, he’s kissing me back.

At first he’s gentle, his tongue soft against mine as he holds

me on his lap. But suddenly the gentleness turns desperate and

the next thing I know we’re falling backward. I land on top of him,

with our mouths sealed together and our bodies perfectly aligned.

His hands are all over me, on my neck, my back. They glide down

to my backside and then they’re slipping underneath my dress,

digging roughly into my skin.

I tense at the intimate touch, but then remember that he’s

seen and felt all of me. I relax, letting his hands explore my body.

Without warning he turns us to the side and pulls my leg up over

his hip. His hand slides higher, leaving a path of heat along my

skin, and I almost burst into flames as he inches his fingers

beneath my panties.

I start to shiver, from nerves, from the cold, from the

anticipation, but each feeling leaves me when he slips his fingers

inside me. I let out an embarrassing moan and my body arches

into him. He starts to move his fingers and causes small whimpers

to leave my lips. I feel myself verging toward the edge, about to

break and be free. But he abruptly stops and then he’s pulling

away again. The moment starts to dissipate and fall into the sand

as he sits up, moving me with him.

“What are you doing?” I stutter, feeling flushed. “Is

something wrong?”

His fingertips burrow into my waist and he holds me firmly

as he stands. Sand showers from our bodies as he wraps his arms

underneath me and he holds me against his body. He hikes across

the beach and toward the house, with me attached to his front.

“I’m taking you inside,” he says softly, kissing me and then

pulling back. “Before things get too out of hand.” He presses his

lips to mine and gives me a delicate kiss. “We don’t want to be out

in the beach… out in the open.” He brings his lips to mine as his

shoes scuff in the gravel of the driveway. He nips at my bottom

and I shiver uncontrollably. When he pulls back, his lips quirk. “We

don’t want to be in the sand… it can get messy.”

I try not to blush, but I’ve never been good at suppressing

my embarrassment, and my cheeks are fiery hot.

He walks around Luke’s truck and trots up the steps, bringing

us into the porch light. He smiles as he takes me in and then

moves one arm away from me to touch his finger to my cheek.

“I’ve missed that, you know—the blushing. It’s adorable.”

I blush even more, but I let it be—there’s nothing I can do

about it. Smiling, he shifts my weight to the side, and I overlap my

fingers behind his neck as he maneuvers the door open without

setting me down. We stumble into the kitchen and his lips come

down on mine as soon as his feet make it over the threshold.

His hand travels up into my hair as he kisses me and walks

through the house, bumping into the corner of the countertop and

knocking his elbow against the wall of the hallway. It’s dark, but

there’s a lamp on in the living room and also in the bedroom and a

soft trail of moonlight filters through the windows.

Kayden’s hands run down my back and slip underneath my

dress as he turns the corner and stumbles through the doorway

into the room Seth and I are sleeping in.

“What if they come back?” I ask, breathless, and my lips feel

bruised from all the kissing.

Kayden adjust his arm so it’s under my backside and I can

feel his hardness pressing against me. All there is between us are

his jeans and my panties. “We’ll lock the door… unless… unless you

don’t want to do this.” Without letting me go, he reaches back with

one arm, shuts the door, and pushes the lock in.

I love that he asks. I love it even more that I want to do it. I

want to be with him. I can be with him. Only months ago, the idea

seemed out of reach, nonexistent, impossible. But now, with him,

everything inside me has changed and my heart and soul aren’t so

shadowed anymore. He is my light and I hope one day that I can

be his.

I move my lips toward him. “I want to be with you.”

He doesn’t say anything else. His lips collide with mine. He

starts walking again as his hands stray to my waist, fingers dipped

inward and leaving paths of sweltering heat on my skin. He lowers

us onto the bed, sits up a little, and shoves Seth’s bag off the edge.

Then he maneuvers his body over mine and our lips reconnect

with a shock of static. When his tongue enters my mouth, I knot

my fingers in his hair and steer his face closer, wanting all of him.

“Callie,” he groans as his hands round to my stomach. His

fingers graze along my skin and send a coil of heat down between

my legs.

My back bows up into him as I relish the feel of his tongue

on mine. If I could wish for one thing, it would be that I could

always feel this way, completely and blissfully consumed by

someone else. No, not just by someone else. By Kayden. My legs

move around his hips, so I’m opened up to him, and his weight

bears down on me. He’s holding himself up with his arm propped

to the side of my head and his other hand moves up the front of

my dress until it reaches the edge of my bra. For a split second I

feel uneasiness choke inside me, but I remind myself that this is

Kayden and he would never hurt me—he’ll only ever protect me,

no matter what it costs him.

His fingers sneak under and cup my breast and my nipple

promptly hardens. My knees constrict around his waist as the pad

of his thumb grazes across my nipple. My head falls back as I let

out a moan and Kayden begins grinding his hips against me. He

does it over and over again, our bodies connecting and colliding.

There’s undying passion in each movement and I forget where I