You Were Mine (Rosemary Beach #9)(16)

“You look beautiful tonight,” I told her.

Just like always, she blushed at my compliment. “Thank you,” she replied softly.

I kept my hand on her waist and began tracing little circles with my finger against her side. She stiffened at first, but then she shivered. That was my breaking point. “Come here,” I said, then moved her to straddle me. Her eyes went wide as she sat on my lap facing me. I cupped her face before I could change my mind and covered her mouth with mine.

She inhaled sharply, and for a moment, she didn’t react. Then her hands were in my hair as I slipped my tongue along her bottom lip. She opened for me slowly, and I dove in, ready to taste her. The feel of her honey-sweet warmth made me shiver this time. It was better than I’d expected. I slid my hands under her dress to feel her bare skin as she made a soft moaning noise and leaned closer into me.

Fuck, this was good. No, this was perfect. This was one of those kisses that changed everything. I wanted to feel more of her, but we were on a public beach, and I didn’t like the idea of other guys watching what was mine.

When she arched her back, pressing her breasts against my chest for friction, I broke the kiss before I lost control and put my hands on her tits, which I’d been using as inspiration daily.

Bethy’s face was flushed, and she was breathing hard as I pulled away from her. She looked dazed, and I wanted to roar with pleasure that I’d put that look there. I held her close to me as I caught my own breath. Her eyes flickered from mine to my lips and back.

She let out a long breath and sank down onto my lap. My erection greeted her, and she stilled. The fact that she was straddling my dick was not helping me calm down. “Don’t move, baby,” I told her through gritted teeth. I reminded myself that other guys could see this. I didn’t like them seeing her like this. It was the only reason I managed to pick her up and move her off of me. The urge to press against her center was intense. But not here. I couldn’t do that here.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. I glanced down at her face. She looked worried and embarrassed. Shit.

I kept her close to my side. Bending my head so that my mouth was at her ear, I pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. “Don’t ever say you’re sorry for that.”

She studied me a moment before replying. “OK.”

Bethy

Something changed that night. After that kiss, Tripp’s hands were all over me, and he wouldn’t let me move away from him. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. I wanted him to kiss me again. I had been kissed before but not like that. Never like that.

The sun had set, and in the darkness, Tripp pulled me closer. His hands were under my dress now and resting on my stomach. His touch on my bare skin felt like an electric current coursing through me. I had no idea who was singing or what they were saying. My eyes were closed as I leaned against Tripp, and I felt his hardness against my back. When I had sunk down on it, I’d had to bite back a cry of pleasure. The sensation between my legs was new, but he’d moved me fast.

His hands slowly moved up until they rested just under my breasts. I breathed hard. I couldn’t help it. With each breath, his thumb brushed the underside of my bikini top. Unable even to pretend I was listening to the band, I laid my head back against his chest and inhaled shakily.

“What’s wrong?” he asked close to my ear. “Is this OK?”

I wanted to scream God, yes! But I didn’t. I simply nodded. Tonight things had taken a drastic turn. I had been convincing myself that Tripp saw me as a friend and nothing more. Then he’d kissed me. Telling myself that he just wanted to be my friend was impossible now. My infatuation was full-blown. I couldn’t hide it anymore.

“Can we go now?” he asked, moving his hands from their resting spot. I wanted to groan in protest. He was so close. The tingling in my body had been doing things between my legs again. It was driving me slightly crazy.

I managed another nod. Tripp picked up the blanket and threw it over his arm, then grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd. His height made it easy for him to navigate through the bodies, since he was taller than most of them. I wasn’t ready to go home, but the idea of getting to press my very needy body against his for the next hour sounded wonderful. Maybe I could find some relief then.

It wasn’t until we were out of the crowd that I realized we weren’t going to the parking lot where we had left his bike. We were going farther away from the beach to the stretch ahead where there were no condos or houses.

It was dark, and I watched for crabs as we walked farther away from the noise. My heartbeat picked up and the butterflies in my stomach started fluttering again as we headed into the darkness of the deserted beach. We walked under a bridge, and Tripp stopped and threw the blanket down before looking at me.

“Come here, Bethy,” he said. His eyes were hard to see in the darkness, but I didn’t question him. I was pretty sure that if he asked me to jump off that bridge into the dark water, I would.

He reached for the hem of my dress and pulled it off, then dropped it onto the blanket. “I can’t promise you anything, Bethy. And I shouldn’t touch you. But I want to so damn bad. Tell me to stop, and I will, sweetheart.”

Tell him to stop? Not in this lifetime. I didn’t say anything.

“Do you want me to touch you?” he asked in a whisper as he reached out and pulled me closer to him.