Unforgettable: Book Two (A Hollywood Love Story #2)(54)

“How do you feel?” he asks, breaking the silence.

“Fucked.”

“In a good way or bad way?”

“In the best way. But I’m sore. Very sore.”

“Where?”

“All over.” And that’s the truth. My back smarts from grinding against the rough stucco, my ass throbs from the belting, my legs ache from running away from him and from being stretched, and my face stings from the coarseness of his stubble. But where I feel it the most is between my inner thighs. My *’s on fire.

“Show me where it hurts the most.”

I take his hand and put it on my *. He caresses it, the rawness giving way to arousal against the gentle friction of his fingertips.

“I gave it to you good, huh?” His voice is laced with smug victory. “Was it too hard for you?”

“I don’t think I can walk.” I loved every f*cking minute.

“Do you think you’ll be able to walk down the red carpet with me tomorrow night?”

Of course, I will and can’t wait, but the actress in me says: “Not sure.”

On my next heartbeat, he stands and scoops me up in his strong, loving arms.

“What are you doing?”

He shoots me a cocky smile. “I’m going to heal you. I can’t afford to have you out of commission tomorrow night…or tonight for that matter.”

Two minutes later, to my utter shock, we’re deep in the Mediterranean. He’s still holding me, but now I’m facing him, my arms and legs wrapped tightly around him. The water is surprisingly warm and while the saltiness initially stung my soreness, now it’s soothing. I cling to him like a life preserver, and while I know this is a gentle sea, my fear of the ocean has crept back into me.

“How do you feel?” he breathes in my ear between delicious kisses.

“Better. But I’m anxious.” Truthfully, I don’t know what I’m afraid of. There are no waves and the current isn’t strong. And he’s holding me.

“Are there sharks?”

“Yup.”

I gasp.

He smiles smugly. “Just one…me. I want to eat you up alive, my sexy little beast.”

Before I can punch him, he latches his lips on to mine, consuming me with another tongue-driven, passionate kiss. He cups the back of my head while I fist his hair, deepening and prolonging it. As our tongues glide together in some kind of synchronized swim, waves of bliss roll through me. I don’t want to let him go. My fear of the ocean is abruptly replaced by my fear of losing him. And the reality is he’s not mine to be lost. He belongs to another. Katrina. For the first time since leaving the restaurant, her name sears my mind, my heart, and my soul. Why didn’t he break up with her before this trip? He hasn’t told me and I’m too afraid to ask him. Apprehension ripping through me, I pull away.


“Brandon, f*ck me!” A desperate plea. A defense mechanism? I’m suddenly treading water in a sea of doubt.

He smooths my unruly damp hair. “No, baby. As much I’d like to, and believe me, I’m hard as nails, I need you whole tomorrow. You’ve had enough of me tonight.”

I can’t get enough of him. I want him in the worst way. With all my heart. Tears, as salty as the sea, fill my eyes. I blink them back.

“Please.” Mama’s magic word.

“Baby, what’s the matter? Why do you look like you’re about to cry again? Seriously, I’m not good with tears I can’t control. They drive me crazy.”

“Good crazy?”

“No, bad crazy with you.” His violet eyes, dark with night, pierce mine.

“What do you mean?”

“Because I care about you.” He traces my lips with a finger. “And have this all-consuming need to protect you. So, when you cry tears I don’t understand that have nothing to do with me f*cking you hard, I think I’m failing.”

His words eat away at me. I’m fraught with emotion. He cares about me. This is not the first time he’s said that, and I flashback to the time he told me this while I was convalescing from my concussion. Somehow, those words directed at me tonight strike an especially deep chord. A traitor tear escapes.

He kisses it away. “Zoey, please don’t do this to me. Stop crying. And that’s an order.”

“Okay,” I whisper.

A grateful sexy smile lights up his face. “C’mon, let’s go for a swim before we head back. There’s nothing like swimming in the sea at night. I’ll stay close to you.”

Knowing he’ll be there for me, all my inhibitions and fears melt away. A renewed sense of security and strength washes over me. On my next breath, I’m under the water with Brandon by my side. Other than the shadow of his chiseled body and the bubbles we make, all I see is blackness. The blackness envelops me and is magical, instilling me with peacefulness and a passion for survival. Making me brave the precarious unknown that awaits me. Lead your dreams and land them…then live them. Right now, Brandon Taylor is mine and I’m his. The swim is sublime. And so is his kiss under the water.

I love you, I love you, I love you, I say to myself silently. For as long as my breath allows. I may be swimming in the sea, but I’m drowning in love.





Zoey