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  With my hands behind my head, I staggered on my next breath. Up and down, up and down. She went slowly at first, swirling her tongue, doing magic tricks around it with her hot little mouth and the cold ice trickling down on my balls.

  I was throbbing when she took my entire cock into her mouth, wanting so badly to grab her hair and tug on it, but she was doing her own thing. She was giving me an experience and I didn’t want to ruin it by being greedy.

  I stayed cool as she swirled her tongue, twisting her lips and the ice around my pulsing cock. I couldn’t help the tightening of my core, or the way my balls grew taut as she lapped her tongue around them too, letting the ice melt and coat my sack.

  Her mouth came back down on my hard dick, hot and wet, and she moaned, causing a vibrating sensation that felt unreal.

  I felt myself wheeze when her hazel eyes bolted on mine. The look she gave me was so fucking sexy, like she was hungry for me. Never going to get enough.

  Fuck. I was close. So close. No teeth, just the flickering and prancing of her velvety tongue. She moaned around me again. That’s when I realized the ice had completely melted. It was gone, so she took my cock in deeper, until she damn near choked on it.

  My eyes rolled back. “Fuckkk, Chloe.”

  That was it. That was all it took.

  Just like that, I bucked and my hands came down. I held the base of her skull as I came deep down her throat. She drank every last drop as if it were sweet—like she longed for the taste of my come.

  I shuddered as she drew her semi-cold tongue back up to my tip and lightly suckled on it, and when she pulled away and the air hit my cock, I shuddered again with way too much satisfaction.

  “Ah, shit,” I moaned, flopping back on the pillows. A fucking moan? I never moaned.

  She grinned as she climbed on top of my lap, only wearing one of my white T-shirts. Her nipples were straining against the shirt. She was ready for another round today.

  “How was it?” She smiled hard, like she already knew the answer to her own question.

  “Fucking amazing, Chloe. I’ve never had that done to me before.”

  “Really?” Her smile grew wider.

  “Never.”

  “So, I finally gave you a first at something?”

  I laughed. “Yeah, you did. And it’s a first I will never forget.”

  She kissed my forehead. “This time, I taught Mr. Black something,” she teased, smirking, and then climbing off the bed.

  I couldn’t help the laugh that rumbled out.

  “I’m going to take a shower,” she announced. “I know you’re tired, but it would be nice if you joined me.”

  I groaned, flopping back again and planting my palms on my face. “You’re serious right now, aren’t you?”

  “As a heart attack, Mr. Black.”

  I busted out laughing as she sauntered to the bathroom, tossing her shirt before she’d even entered. When the door was partly closed, I sat up and shook off the weariness, but something vibrated behind me.

  Her phone was on the nightstand.

  I took out another pair of shorts to wear after the shower, doing my best to ignore the vibrating. It stopped, but started ringing again seconds later.

  I walked to her side of the bed and checked the screen.

  Sterling.

  Of course it was that motherfucker calling. He always stepped in to ruin shit—to ruin my life. And always at the worst time.

  I had the urge to silence it, to delete and block his worthless number, but I couldn’t touch it. I couldn’t make the decisions for her, no matter how badly I wanted to. It was her cellphone, not mine. But I was damn sure about to squash whatever the hell was going on right now.

  I headed towards the bathroom, spotting her through the opaque glass, washing her hair and body.

  Look at her. That fucker didn’t deserve her. She was too much for him. Too mature. Too beautiful.

  She was mine. He wasn’t getting her back. Fuck that.

  I opened the glass shower door and stepped in behind her. I grabbed my soap, watching as she rinsed the suds away. When it was gone, she let the water run over her face and then stepped back to wipe it all away with her fingers.

  I couldn’t bite my tongue about it anymore. The longer I watched her, it made me wonder.

  “Why didn’t you tell me Sterling’s been calling?” I finally asked. Water ran over her naked, wet body, making it even harder for me to be angry.

  She froze for a moment, avoiding my eyes. “How do you know he’s been calling?”

  “He just called before I came in here. Twice. Have you two been talking?”

  “No,” she stated earnestly. “No, Theo.” She grabbed my hand, blinking with damp eyelashes. “I’ve been ignoring all of his calls. I don’t want to talk to him . . . mainly because I don’t know what he wants.” She swallowed thickly, looking down. “I know his mom is sick—the woman that was my father’s caretaker.” My back stiffened. I opened my mouth to say something about that but her head shook as she continued. “He could be calling about that, but he hasn’t left any voicemails so I don’t know. I’m thinking maybe it’s not her—that maybe he’s just trying to talk things out about us. But I don’t want that. I don’t want him trying to come back. I don’t want him to make this harder for us. For me. I guess I’m a coward trying to take the easy way out.” She smiled, only a little. It was a worried smile.

  Relief. Sweet fucking relief.

  “Damn.” I studied her, how her lips fell flat. She squeezed my hand tighter, but I pulled away and used that hand to tip her chin so our eyes could meet again.

  “His mother was good to your father. What if he’s calling about that?”

  She lightly shrugged. “I don’t want to answer.”

  “I know.” And I could understand why. I didn’t want to answer Sheila either, fearing that she might try to step in and break us apart. I didn’t want anything or anyone intruding right now. Things were going well. Too well.

  Look at us. We were afraid of our own damn demons—trying to hide from them instead of facing them together like we should have been doing.

  “But you’re right,” she sighed. “So I will call after our trip tomorrow to check in. If it’s not about Margie, I won’t let the conversation carry on.”

  “Sounds like a good idea.” I pulled my hand away, stepping closer. With my lips pressed to her forehead, I inhaled the rich scent of her vanilla shampoo. “We can handle this,” I murmured.

  She nodded. “I know. I’m just scared, I guess.”

  “Of what?” I tipped my head back to see her fully.

  “I don’t want us to end again. I’m afraid.” Her voice cracked as she said, “It could be worse this time.”

  I cupped the back of her neck. “We won’t.” My forehead pressed down hard on hers. “Do you hear me? We won’t. We fight and we win. As long as we fight . . .” I trailed off. Her eyes were so damn hopeful, so desperate for relief. For an answer. “As long as we don’t give up on each other again, as long as we take this second chance and protect it, nothing is going to tear us apart. You’re mine, you hear me?” I held her a little tighter. She bobbed her head. “Mine, Chloe.” I crushed her lips with my own, hauling her closer. When our mouths parted, I said, “I’m never letting you go again. I don’t care what kind of fight I have to endure. You’re worth whatever battles I have to face and whatever scars I end up with because of them.”

  She smiled softly and then rested her head on my chest.

  She had no idea what kind of hell I would go through for her. Through fire and thick flames, I would walk. Through the smoke and cinders, I would push through just to save her. To be with her.

  That nightmare I had was coming. I could feel it. It was building up, and it was only a matter of time now before it swarmed me.

  But instead of letting her walk away like she did in that terrible, horrifying nightmare, I was going to go after her and keep her.

  Chapter Twenty-One


  CHLOE

  Sterling didn’t call again that night or in the morning when Theo and I were packing up the car, ready for our boat trip. He wore a smile all morning, like he wasn’t going to let anything get him down today.

  I wished I could have done the same, but I found myself thinking about our current situation.

  Theo: still married, filing for divorce, not final.

  Me: Feeling guilty. Somewhat ashamed. Fresh out of an engagement.

  What were we thinking? I think the truth of the matter is that we weren’t thinking much at all. We were just doing. Izzy technically still didn’t know about us, though Theo had a feeling she may have. Sheila was probably furious, ready to destroy me, and Sterling’s behavior was starting to worry me. I didn’t want Theo to know that, so I kept it to myself, but I was worried. Only because I was afraid he was calling to bear bad news again.

  When Theo tossed the cooler full of drinks in the trunk, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, I tucked my hair behind my ear and pressed my back against the passenger door.

  “Theo, I want you to promise me something,” I said as the wind tousled my hair.

  “What’s that?” He stood up straight, dusting off his hands and shutting the back door. He was wearing black and white board shorts and a white T-shirt. His hair hadn’t been gelled or brushed. He had the perfect, slightly gray bed hair. I had to admit, the gray made him sexier.

  “When we go on the boat, I don’t want to talk about Sterling or Sheila or even Izzy. I don’t want there to be any downtime for us to start thinking about that stuff. I want us to be so occupied with each other that all we can think about is us and what we want.” I stepped closer to him, grabbing his hands. “Can you promise me that?”

  “You know I can,” he responded, voice gentle. “That was going to happen, regardless.” He flashed a crooked smile, revealing those dimples. The sunlight danced off his eyes, the wind tangling in his hair too. Such a gorgeous man. Beautifully flawed, but perfect to me in every way.

  “I hope so. Better make it a good one, too. I have to go back to school tomorrow. You won’t see me all day.”

  He rubbed my cheek and then kissed my forehead. “Oh, it’s going to be a good one.” He flipped his wrist to check his waterproof watch. “Come on. I wanna get out to sea before it gets too hot.”

  We both jumped in the car, strapped in, and he drove to the docks. During the drive, we were hand-in-hand. I smiled over at him and he returned a half-smile, gripping the wheel and speeding up along the winding road that led to the docks.

  He finally let go when we arrived. Parking his Chrysler, he looked over at me and said, “I hope you’re ready for today. It just might overwhelm you.”

  “Overwhelm me?” I laughed, grabbing the door handle. “Well, now I’m even more excited to know what this surprise of yours is.” Tossing a wink over my shoulder, I stepped out in my strappy sandals and sundress, looking right over the top of the car at Dirty Black.

  There he was. Waiting for us.

  Theo started grabbing the coolers and I picked up the bags with the towels and sunscreen in them. “You know, I find it kind of weird that all the things you own that have an engine are all “he’s” and not “she’s.” Isn’t it a guy thing to name their cars and boats after a woman?”

  He laughed like he was truly amused by that statement, dragging the cooler on the wheels and pressing his key fob to lock the doors. “I thought about it a few times. I don’t know. I guess it all goes way to back to my mom. She used to have a car named Bucky. Bucky was our old reliable car when I was young—the kind of car that broke down every week, but would start right back up just in time so I wouldn’t be late for school or her, for work. Whenever she used to talk about it, she’d say he and not she. I guess it runs in the family. Tradition thing.” He shrugged, lips pressing. “Who knows?”

  “Maybe it does. Now that I remember, Izzy’s car in high school was named Paul, after Paul Walker.”

  We both laughed. “Yeah . . . that sounds about right,” he continued laughing.

  We stepped onto the boat and it wobbled a bit with our added weight. He dropped the coolers near the sitting area, in the shade. I placed our bags down on the deck, in the sun so the towels could get a little warm to lounge on, and Theo walked towards the steering wheel, stuffing the keys in and cranking Dirty Black up.

  He started up effortlessly.

  I sat down in the chair to his left, smiling up at him as he placed a pair of sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, shielding his eyes.

  “You ready?” he asked, quirking a brow, with a small smile playing on his lips.

  I held two thumbs up as he gripped the wheel and put the boat in reverse. “Born ready, baby!”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  CHLOE

  I could feel the ocean spray on my skin as I stood in front of the guardrail, letting the wind ruffle my hair. The boat wasn’t going too fast or too slow, just a comfortable speed.

  I gripped the silver railing, inhaling the salted air. This was my home. I had grown to love the ocean, even during the storms. Having the ocean in my backyard gave me serenity. During the times that I just needed to be alone, I would walk that very beach.

  I would put my feet in the cold water and think . . . think of Theo and the past. About how imperfectly perfect we were. The kind of match we made. About how he touched me, kissed me, and told me that he loved me.

  I would never forget the day he snuck into my bedroom when I came home from college, just to tell me that he loved me. I thought about the first time he said those words every day.

  The boat finally began to slow down and I realized Theo was making a right turn. Some land appeared, along with a tall wall of jagged, auburn rock. I glanced over my shoulder, but he simply smiled, taking us closer.

  There was a shore. A beach.

  He stopped the boat when we were closer to shore and docked it to keep the boat in place.

  “Theo, where are we? What is this?” I hadn’t realized how far we’d actually ridden to get here. It took nearly thirty minutes to reach this destination. Last time, we went less than five minutes out from Bristle Wave and we stayed on the water.

  “This,” he said, voice dripping with delight, “is your surprise.” He walked toward the steps, where the exit of the boat was and flicked his fingers, gesturing for me to follow.

  I didn’t hesitate. I was too curious and excited to find out exactly where the hell we were.

  He helped me off the boat and my feet landed in the shallow blue water. With my hand still in his, he led the way up the shore and onto the pristine, white sand. There were no footprints, no trace of human life, other than ours.

  He made his way towards the jagged rocks, walking a few feet down until a small hole in the rocks appeared. The entrance was carved by nature, the edges of it smooth and slick with mist.

  Theo kept walking. We were going into a cave. It grew darker, but only a little. There was light inside this cave, coming from small holes above that allowed the sunlight to filter in.

  I looked over at him, but he kept his gaze ahead, as if he knew that whatever he was looking for was close.

  And then it appeared.

  He didn’t have to announce it for me to see.

  Because it was right there.

  So beautiful. So full of life. Simply amazing.

  A gaping hole was formed in the ceiling of the cave, rays of gold showering down on the water below. There was even more sand here, the clear, blue water rushing up to the small shore. It was a beach.

  A hidden beach.

  It was incredible, and for a moment I held my breath, squeezing Theo’s hand, unable to form the right words.

  I finally felt him looking my way, but I couldn’t pull away from this view. The water tunneled to shore and then retreated. The waves were gentle, and the water looked deep enough to swim in.

  I took a few steps forward to see where the water was coming from and there was another entranc
e. This entrance was big enough to fit Dirty Black through, but I wouldn’t have risked it. The edges of it were much sharper than the one we came through by foot.

  But through that gaping entryway, I could see the entire ocean. I could see boats from a distance and seagulls flying by. An infinite supply of blue water.

  “Holy shit,” I breathed. This place . . . it was . . . it was everything.

  “Does that mean you like it?” Theo’s dimples were on display when I turned to face him.

  I was speechless. I could feel my head shaking and my pulse in my ears. I could feel the excitement and joy coursing through my entire body, but I had no words. I couldn’t explain myself enough in that moment to let him know that I loved it.

  I loved it so, so, so damn much.

  This surprise? It was epic. Truly fucking epic.

  He scratched the top of his head, nervous as I stared at him, mouth agape. I realized I still hadn’t spoken, so he did.

  “Do you remember when I took you out on the boat for the very first time and you asked me what I did whenever I sailed out alone?”

  I barely nodded, clamping my mouth shut.

  “Well . . . I came here. I found it once with Dane. Three times I visited this place, but being here alone wasn’t really fun—peaceful, but not fun. It was lonely. So I didn’t come here anymore after that third time. But I did make a promise to myself that if I ever fell in love again after Janet, that I would bring her here. And I would show her a good time. I would make it the best day of her life . . . one she will never forget.”

  My mouth parted. I wanted to speak—wanted to scream. So many words were on the tip of my tongue, ramblings like: Thank you. I love you so much for bringing me here. I can’t believe this place. It’s beautiful! Such an amazing man with a big heart. How have I been living without you?

  He sighed. “If you don't like it or think it's too much, we can go. We can stay on the boat—do something else to occupy ourselves and forget we ever came here—"