Wynter's Horizon (40 page)

She gripped the chair, keeping me her willing prisoner, kissing me until I thought I might lose all sanity if I didn’t enter her. When she finally came up for air, gasping and whispering all sorts of things and threatening to completely drive me over the edge, I managed to move us in one fell swoop onto a chaise lounge cushion laying on the deck. I tore her t-shirt in two as she tugged my shorts from me, and, locking hands with her, I teased her body until neither of us could stand it. She was hot and wet and, once inside, I forgot all memories of a previous life and wondered how I had ever existed without her.

***

She lay tucked in my arm, her body draped over mine and her head on my chest. Her heartbeat hammered in my ears. For once, I was content.

She drummed her fingers on my chest. “Your heartbeat sounds regular. Da-dum, da-dum. Nothing abnormal there,” she commented. I smiled down at her, running my fingers lightly up and down her back.

“Is everything okay?”

She propped herself on her elbow, her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Are you okay? I mean … after what I told you?”

“Of course, I’d rather know. Besides it doesn’t change who you are.”

It was my turn to sit up. “But it does. I have that in me. That’s what I’m capable of. Look at what I did to you.”

I reached out and brushed her scar with my fingers. Perhaps it wasn’t as noticeable to the rest of the world, but I saw it every time I looked at her. “I did that to you, and I would have done more if Quinn hadn’t been there to knock me unconscious.”

“Maybe, maybe not. But he
was
there so we’ll never know. What I do know is that you didn’t just do that unprovoked. They beat you and drugged you. You didn’t get there to that crazy place alone.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that I can get there. Most people don’t have that crazy place, that loss of control gene in them.”

“Maybe. But, then again, most people don’t have your heart, your strength, your beliefs. We take the good with the bad. Nobody’s perfect.” She paused and ran her hands up her bare arms. My gaze followed, and I saw a deep purple bruise on her triceps. My breath caught.

“Did I
do that to you?” I tried to recall the moments before, if I had let my need get the better of me.

She pulled at her arm, twisting it to look, and then grinned. “I got that during lacrosse the other night.”

“Really?” I couldn’t disguise the surprise in my voice. I knew she had stopped playing when Abby died.

“Yes.” She smiled at me openly, her green eyes sparkling in the dim light of the porch. There were clearly other things to talk about, not just my pathetic past. I hadn’t asked her at all about her summer, about her life these last few months.

“Dinner? The Galleon?” I suggested.

“Absolutely.” She jumped up, and I reluctantly let her go. She stopped in the open doorway. Her naked body made a stunning picture, and I stifled the urge to grab her and drag her back down with me.

“Beck?”

I locked eyes with hers. “Yeah?”

“I’m glad you came back.”

I nodded in response. I wanted to tell her I loved her. I wanted to tell her how I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. “Wynter?”

She took another step and turned around again. “Yes?”

I chickened out.

“Wear underwear or we’ll never make it out of the house.”

Chapter Seventy-Three

Wynter—Newport

I tried to rush getting ready. I could hear Beck downstairs, and I was starving. Finally, my hair dry, I threw on the sundress I had bought to wear to the picnic the day after the wedding. Loose and flowing, strapless, in baby blue and white, it hit just at mid-thigh. Beck waited at the foot of the stairs, and his lopsided grin was all I needed to unleash a zing in my belly. I grabbed my sweater as he held the door open for me.

“Everything good?” I asked. He looked around as he locked the front door.

“Perfect, except that dress makes me want to stay home and do bad things to you. Should I dare ask if you are wearing anything underneath?”

I laughed in answer. I’d actually thought about going bare, but I’d thrown on a thong at the last minute.

“Well, I
like
the bad things you do to me, but you’ll just have to wait to find that out,” I teased, hopping into the Jeep. As we drove to Newport, he twirled his fingers through mine. When he bored of that, he reached across the seat and played with my hair.

I smiled and leaned into his touch. He wore a loose navy shirt over khaki shorts. Watching the way his arms flexed as he gripped the steering wheel, my stomach danced, thinking of the last twenty-four hours. He was mine now. The wind whipped through the Jeep with the top off, and his hair blew around. I twisted mine into a knot to save my hard work blow drying, and laughed. I’d never felt so peaceful, and I wanted the feeling to last.

It was another beautiful night, and Newport was busy with the beginning of its summer season. The Galleon was packed, as usual, so we walked around the shops while we waited for a table. Beck let me lead the way, following behind. At times, I worried I’d lost him in the crowd, but he was always there when I turned around, eyes clearly planted on me.

We split a bottle of wine at dinner and, over clam chowder and lobster, I told him about the end of the school year and the summer. He never took his eyes from mine. It wasn’t long before I could feel the heat between us and by the time dinner was over, my body ached again with need. All I wanted was to be home alone with him and feel his hands on me.

I pressed myself into his side as we left the Galleon, and tried to keep my breathing steady. I waited until we got to the Jeep before turning into him and kissing him as he opened the door. He answered my need by pulling me closer.

“I think we should wait for tomorrow.” He whispered in my ear before kissing me back, his lips nibbling, almost playful. I sagged against the Jeep door and pulled him backwards into me.

“I’m okay. Take me home.” His hands ran up and under the hem of my dress, his fingers fluttered against the delicate fabric of my thong. I moaned, every nerve in my body intensified at his touch. “Please,” I begged, rocking my hips forward.

“Bloody hell, Wyn. You’re going to send me over the edge.” He closed his eyes, leaning his forehead on my chest while I tried to stop from panting. When he raised his head, I nodded to make sure he knew this was what I wanted.

In an instant, he lifted me up and over the door and into the seat. I blinked, and he was in the driver’s seat backing out of the parking lot.

“How do you do that?” I asked, breathless. He maneuvered deftly through the old narrow streets and flew down Second Beach Road toward his house.

“I have many hidden talents.” He grinned back wickedly.

“Well, hold onto your hat, Robin Hood, so do I.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh.” I licked my lips, undoing my seatbelt, and scooted closer.

***

When I could finally breathe again, I opened my eyes to see the stars shining through the limbs of a tree. Beck lay next to me, his arm shielding his eyes. I sat up and surveyed our surroundings. I didn’t recognize anything, and the lack of a moon didn’t help. South of us, a field seemed to roll away endlessly. I turned around and barely made out the Jeep parked haphazardly under the tree.

“Where are we?”

Beck dropped his arm and grinned at me. “Good God, woman, that’s some hidden talent. You may be the death of me.”

“Look who’s talking,” I quipped, remembering the things his tongued had just done to me.

“You started it.”

He got up, throwing his shirt on in the process. My dress had wound up smushed around my boobs, convenient since all I had to do was pull it down. I gave up trying to find my thong in the dark.

“Where are we?” I asked again, trying to make out more of our surroundings.

“In someone’s field. I thought I was going to drive off the side of the road so I just pulled over. Sorry.” He held his hand out to help me up while brushing leaves out of my hair.

“No apologies needed here. That was new—which is always a nice surprise.”

He chuckled, leading me by the hand to the Jeep, carefully skirting holes and roots.

“Love, since the day I’ve met you, you’ve been surprising me. I’m just lucky to keep up.” I could hear the smile in his voice, even if I couldn’t see his face clearly. He closed the door behind me, leaning in close and inhaling. I leaned back toward him, feeling his cheek near mine, my stomach quivering. Then he was back in the driver’s seat, and we were on the road.

Chapter Seventy-Four

Beck—Home Again

I brought the Jeep to a stop, its tires crunching on the gravel drive, and glanced over at Wynter. She watched me, her head leaning against the headrest. I stared back, wishing I could freeze the moment. I reached out and stroked the side of her cheek. It warmed my hand. She brought her own hand up and covered mine. We sat like that for a minute.

I breathed in her scent but found it mingled with the smell of Marlboro cigarettes.
Damn. Couldn’t I get just one whole weekend to myself with her?
I must have conveyed something because Wynter bolted up, concern written on her face. “What?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. It’s just Quinn. He’s back a little earlier than I thought.”

She jumped out of the Jeep and headed for the porch, excitement obvious. I followed her, fighting a pang of jealousy.

He sat in his usual spot on the deck, smoking and drinking. Wynter bounded across the yard calling his name. I reached the deck as he stood, arms outstretched to embrace her. “Hey, doll.”

“Quinn. I missed you.” He swung her around and set her lightly back on her feet at my side. I scowled at him. I hated him for the ease with which he interacted with her.

“How are you doing?” He raised his eyebrows at me then laughed. “You couldn’t even get a room in a hotel, for god’s sake? How cheap are you?”

Wynter blushed. I could see her red cheeks even in the dim light of the porch light.

“How did you know?”

“He smells the dirt and grass,” I explained.

“That and the fact she still has leaves on her,” he added, reaching over and pulling a few out of her hair. I must have missed them on the ride home.

She smiled at me. “Well—some things can’t wait.”

“I’ll say,” he answered. She headed toward the door. “Where are you going, luv?”

She leaned back outside. “To the loo, as you Brits say.”

“Bite your tongue. I am not a Brit.” She laughed in response, closing the door behind her.

Quinn turned to me. “Good Lord, man, you guys tore this house apart. And it smells like damn sex everywhere. Except, thankfully, in my room.”

I laughed quietly and dropped into an available chair. I was contentedly exhausted.

He settled back down on the bench. “A bit knackered, huh?”

“Uh-huh.” I smiled at him, not giving an inch. I knew he wanted details, but he wasn’t going to get them from me.

“Did you tell her?”

“Tell her what?”

“Why you came back?”

“Yeah. I told her about Lilly and all that.”

“Did you tell her about the other … connection?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Not exactly.”

“Scared she might think you’re crazy?”

“Maybe.”

“I think you should tell her. You never know what happens.”

“Why are you back here so soon anyway?” I asked, changing the subject. I wasn’t ready to talk about that. “Didn’t you say you’d be a few weeks?”

“Disappointed?”

“Absolutely. We were going to break in your room tonight.”

“Fucker.” He took a drag off his cigarette. “Ireland didn’t go as well as expected.”

“Why not?”

He paused, dragging again, and stared out at the night. It wasn’t often he was reticent. “Well…” he started but stopped.

“Because of me and Wynter?” I finished.

“You could say.”

“Not on the same page?”

“She’s not even in the same chapter.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Not as bad as that hotel bill you’re going to get. We tore the room up a bit.”

“Remind me why I support you?”

“Because you have some odd need to be a contributing member of society, and I unselfishly help you in fulfilling that goal.”

“Thanks. But I’m not made of gold, you know.”

“You could be if you ever sold that friggin’ coin or took Drew up on that offer.”

“Maybe
you
should go to work for Drew.” I didn’t bother to argue the value of the coin, as Wynter came through the doorway. She had thrown one of my sweatshirts on, and it fell almost to her knees, hiding her dress. I fought for control, imagining her naked under it. She climbed into the seat next to mine, beer bottle in hand, and held one out for me. I wanted to pull her onto my lap but judging from my body’s response to her in my sweatshirt, that would lead to more. I took the open bottle, drinking quickly and watching her as she curled her legs underneath her and settled back.