Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove #1)(34)

But that didn’t stop me from wanting him.

“Hey,” he called out, just as I turned to step into my room.

“Yeah?”

“What if we each grab a shower and you go pour us those hot teas you made last night, and I’ll find us a movie?” His tongue swiped out to wet his bottom lip, and I clasped my hands together, intertwining my fingers to keep from reaching for him.

“That would be amazing. Thank you. I’ll see you in a little bit.”

“Sounds good, Snow.”

He walked toward his bedroom, and I ran to my room and turned on the shower. I rinsed my body, dried off, and grabbed my pj’s. I glanced in the mirror and studied my face.

This must be the face of a woman who’d just gotten herself some.

I mean, I didn’t really get me some, but I sure as hell got me something.

I brushed out my wet hair and pulled it into a bun on top of my head. I stopped in the kitchen and turned on the kettle before pouring us each a chai tea with some almond milk and carried the mugs over to the couch and set them on the coffee table.

Hugh walked out, his hair wet and tucked behind his ears. His chiseled jaw worked back and forth as he took me in before we both sat down on the brown, leather, L-shaped couch, and he placed a throw pillow between us, which made me chuckle.

“This house is so cozy.” I reached for my mug and motioned to the other cup sitting beside it. “That one is for you.”

“Thanks. Your brother and his guys helped me with every renovation I did here.” He reached for his tea and grabbed the remote with his free hand before turning to look at me. “Are you okay with everything that just happened?”

He looked so tortured, the way his eyebrows pinched together with concern.

“I’m actually great.” The strap on my tank top slipped down my arm, and his eyes widened. “Why are you being so weird? It’s not like you didn’t already see the goods.” I waggled my brows.

He barked out a laugh. “I didn’t really see the goods. I felt them rubbing up against me, though, didn’t I?”

I shook my head and set my tea on the coffee table. I found it hilarious that he was uncomfortable about seeing me in pajamas, yet I’d dry-humped the man into oblivion. Well, can you really dry-hump someone in the water? I guess I’d wet-humped him? Either way, it was on me, and I had no regrets as long as he wasn’t upset.

“You sure did.” I waggled my brows.

“Are we going to be okay after what just happened?”

“I mean, I can only speak for myself. But I’m feeling pretty damn good. If sex is anything like that, I am so ready for it.” I glanced over at him just as his lips twitched in the corners.

“I don’t know, Snow. What just happened is going to be really hard to beat.”

I leaned closer to him and whispered. “Really? Was that as good as sex for you?”

He was quiet for a minute. “Sex is different, but I’ve never gotten off by just having a woman rub up against me. At least not as a grown man. So, yeah, this is up there.”

“I think I’m going to be a really great lover,” I said over my laughter, and his head tipped back with a chuckle. “Seriously. I’m an overachiever in most things in my life, so why should this be any different? And I’ve had all these years to think about it, right? So, I think I’m going to kill it.”

“I think you’re going to kill it, too.” He smiled. “Just don’t rush it. Find the right guy.”

What if I’d already found the right guy?

I wasn’t about to tell him that, but my attraction to Hugh was the strongest I’d ever experienced. I felt safe with him.

Loved.

Worshipped.

What more could you ask for?

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” His gaze locked with mine.

“When was your last serious relationship?”

He shrugged. “Probably my freshman year of college. It’s been a while.”

“How come?”

His tongue slipped out and moved back and forth against his bottom lip as he thought about it. “Well, I guess having two parents who set the bar extremely high can work against you, too. I’m not settling for anything less than what they have, and I just haven’t found that. Maybe it’s not in the cards for everyone.”

I nodded. I would love to have what his parents shared with one another someday myself. “I’m guessing that’s what we’re all striving for. How’d they meet?”

Hugh’s whole face lit up, and I reached for my tea and took a sip. “They met in college. My dad went to this party with a friend of his, who happened to be dating my mom at the time. But when my father laid eyes on her, apparently, all the hair on his arms stood on edge, and he said he was hit so hard, he could barely see straight. When they got in the car to leave, he told his friend that she was the girl he was going to marry.”

My mouth gaped open. “That’s so sweet. What did the friend say?”

“I think he was a little shocked, and he said he’d step away because he’d just met my mom himself, and it wasn’t serious.”

“I love that. Did your mom feel the same way?”

Hugh barked out a laugh. “The way she tells it is hilarious. You know my dad is a jokester, and apparently, he teased her and gave her a hard time, so she never thought in a million years he was interested that first night. But here they are, five kids and a lifetime together later, and they’re still crazy about one another.”