Make Me Hate You(74)

She looked like a goddess, with the mountains stretching up behind her in the distance, palm trees waving in the breeze along the beach. She had her long legs crossed, polished toes tapping along to the steel drum in the distance, and her tan skin was ablaze against her skimpy white bikini.

If we didn’t have our own private hut on the water, I’d have had a big problem with that bikini, because the thong exposed her perfect little ass and the strapless top just barely covered her chest. As it was, she was on display for my eyes only, and I rather enjoyed the view.

I took my time making my way outside, letting my eyes wander over the plush canopy bed that was still a mess from us the night before and swiping my sunglasses off the bedside table. The teak wood was warm on my bare feet as I padded across the balcony, and I leapt into our private pool right next to the hammock, tucking my legs into my chest for the optimal splash.

When I emerged to find my wife glaring at me over the soggy pages of her book, I knew I’d succeeded.

My wife.

God, I’d never get tired of that.

We’d wasted so much time being apart, years of pretending what happened between us was nothing, a mistake we were both trying to forget. But the minute she showed back up in New England for my sister’s wedding, I knew we’d both been lying to ourselves.

I think I knew, even on that first night when I watched her eating dinner with my family for the first time in seven years, that she’d be mine. It didn’t matter that I was taken at the time, or that she was, too. Just being back in the same room had ignited a flame inside me that I’d tried to convince myself had long been extinguished.

The truth was that it never could be.

Those two weeks were hellish. I tried to stay away from her, tried to leave her alone, but no matter how I convinced myself that I was doing everything I could to give her space, I somehow found myself in the same room as her, no matter where she was. And I made up every excuse in the book to spend time with her — like being in the kitchen when I knew that’d be her first stop after her morning run, or forcing her to rest when she lost her voice and jumping at the opportunity to stay back with her, or taking her for a run on my favorite trail.

Every time I had a wake-up call in the form of her boyfriend reminding me that he existed, I’d find a renewed urgency to stay away from her.

But it never lasted long.

And once we finally admitted what we’d been feeling all along, once I’d had her? I knew I’d never be able to let her go again.

We’d wasted a lot of time — too much time — and I’d spend the rest of my life making up for those moments lost.

“Jerk,” Jasmine said through a pouty laugh, laying the book out to dry beside her drink. “I was just getting to a good part!”

“A sex scene?”

“Maybe.”

“We can make one of our own, instead,” I offered.

She smiled, and even though her eyes were covered by sunglasses, I knew she was rolling them. Still, she crawled out of the hammock, grabbing her drink and taking a seat on the edge of the pool. As soon as her legs were in the water, I was between them, grabbing her hips and kissing her possessively.

“You weren’t kidding about making that sex scene of our own, were you?” Jasmine teased against my mouth.

“I’d never joke about something so serious.”

She laughed, shoving me backward into the water. “You’re insatiable. We’ve barely stopped fucking on this trip.”

“That’s the purpose of a honeymoon.”

Jasmine leaned back on her palms, giving me an even better view of her lean body as her feet kicked softly in the water. “I can’t believe we’re here,” she said softly, shaking her head on a smile as she looked around at the paradise surrounding us. “I can’t believe we’re married.”

“Well, any time you can’t believe it, just look at the ring on your finger.”

She did, and her smile grew, finger wiggling and making the two-carat, radiant-cut diamond glisten in the sun. “Not bad advice, Mr. Wagner.”

“What can I say? I’m a genius, Mrs. Wagner.”

I smirked, swimming my way back over to settle between her legs again. My lips found hers, soft and seductive, and I loved the way she opened up to my touch, the way her legs widened, her arms wrapping around my neck, the soft sigh of a moan slipping through her lips.

“Think we’ll ever get tired of this?” she asked, kissing my neck.

“Maybe,” I said. “But I can’t picture that day yet.”

She chuckled. “Well, if your parents or only sibling are any indication of what we’re in for, I’d say the day will never come. Your parents have been married for thirty-two years now, and they still can’t keep their hands to themselves.”

I groaned, pushing back to float on the water before I let it take me under. When I came back out, I shook my head, spraying water off my hair. “Talking about my parents when I’m between your legs is not cool. Total boner killer.”

Jasmine laughed. “Was just trying to make a point. Between them and your sister with baby number two on the way, I’d say we’re locked into a family of hopeless romantics.”

“I’ve always been hopeless when it comes to you.”

She smiled, and I swam back between her legs, pulling her off the ledge and into the water with me so I could completely wrap myself around her. Her giggle was light and airy, my favorite sound, and she latched her legs around my waist, her arms around my neck, letting me carry her to the infinity edge that looked over the impossibly blue water beneath us.