"Are you okay?" Jared asked, swimming towards me.
"I"m fine," I pushed my hair out of my eyes. "I fell in."
Jared chuckled. "Yeah, I saw that," he kissed my nose.
Holden hooted in the background. "That"s the funniest thing I"ve ever seen!"
"I"m gonna kill him," Jared growled.
"Leave him alone," I clung to his shoulders. "What"s the worst they can do? Ask us to leave? We"re all already wet, let"s just enjoy a midnight swim."
"Finally! A voice of reason!" Holden cried.
"When did you get so daring?" Jared smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
"I guess when I started dating a guy that gets beat up for a living," I grinned.
Jared threw his head back, a deep rumble of laughter escaping his chest. "I prefer to think that I do most of the beating."
I shrugged, rubbing my finger over a faded purple bruise on his chest. After I"d rubbed over it, I placed a tender kiss to the spot. "You don"t always win, but you do always seem to get hurt. Even if it"s just a small injury."
He shrugged. "It"s part of the job, kitten."
"I know," I kissed his chest.
I pulled out of his arms and began to swim.
It felt good to do something forbidden, even if it wasn"t exactly that dangerous.
It made me feel alive.
An hour pa.s.sed, and all three of us had turned to prunes, when we returned to our rooms, dripping wet.
Jared went straight to the shower, turning on the hot water, before shucking his pants and shirt.
"Come here, kittycat," he smirked.
Shivering, and dripping water on the floor, I tiptoed to him.
"Lift your arms up," he said, his voice suddenly husky.
I did as I was told. He pulled the wet shirt over my head and dropped it to the floor.
A jog bra covered my chest but I brought my hands up anyway.
Jared"s breath hissed through his teeth as he unb.u.t.toned my jeans, pulling them and my pajama bottoms down. He got down on both his knees, and gently lifted my feet out of the pants legs, one at a time.
I startled when his lips pressed against my cold stomach.
I looked down at him and his brown eyes flicked up to meet mine. The lashes lining his eyes were long and thick; they fanned his cheeks when he blinked.
We stared at each other like that for an endless amount of time.
Jared gripped my hips as he stood.
His eyes never left mine as he pushed back the shower curtain and pulled me under the spray of the shower head.
The warm water was a welcome relief.
Jared didn"t let me go as the water beat down on us.
He pushed me against the tiled wall, the water still hitting us, and his lips descended on mine.
My fingers gripped his shoulders so I didn"t fall.
His lips moved over mine, playing me like an instrument.
I wanted this.
I wanted him.
I always would.
41.
THE BONFIRE CRACKLED IN THE COOL EVENING AIR. I watched the sparks fly and disintegrate before falling to sand.
"Are you cold?" Jared asked.
"No," I shook my head.
"You feel cold," he felt my arm before pulling off his sweatshirt. "Put this on," he handed it to me.
I pulled my arms through the huge sleeves, the scent of Jared hitting me. It was such a unique scent, mostly citrusy, but with a hint of wood or something else.
"Hey!" Jared called, waving a guy over to us.
Jared"s friends had decided to only come to the beach for today, so I had yet to meet any of them. It looked like that was about to change.
I watched the mountain of a man approach. He was probably an inch or more shorter than Jared, but way more muscular. His arms were covered in tattoos, his eyebrow pierced, and his dark hair shaved close to his head.
"Jared!" the guy grinned, two dimples appearing in his cheeks, totally at odds with his tough guy persona.
"Jay," Jared said, clapping him on the back. "Katy, this is Jay. Jay, this is my girlfriend, Katy," Jared introduced us.
"Hi," I said, shyly, shaking his offered hand.
"It"s nice to meet you in person, Katy. This guy talks about you all the time," he ruffled Jared"s hair like a brother would.
I blushed.
"I would"ve met you sooner, but since I moved away, I don"t come back often. Only when the whole gang can get together," Jay explained.
"Jared said you used to fight MMA with him and Holden." I tried to strike up a conversation so I didn"t stand there like an idiot.
"I did," he nodded. "I got out of that a couple of years ago, though. It just wasn"t really my scene. I work at a motorcycle shop now, it suits me," he shrugged. "I"ll leave the fighting to those two."
I laughed.
"I"m going to grab a beer. You two want anything?" Jay asked, already backing away towards the cooler.
"Nah, we"re good," Jared waved him off.
"He"s nice," I said.
"See," Jared b.u.mped my shoulder, "I knew you"d do fine meeting my friends."
"He looked intimidating from a distance, but Jay seems cool," I tucked my hair behind my ears since the wind kept whipping it in my face.
"Yeah, Jay can look scary but he"s just a big teddy bear. I really don"t know how he ever fought; the dude can"t stand to swat a fly."
I laughed at the image my mind conjured of big, burly, Jay, refusing to kill a fly.
"Jason and his fiance are over there. You wanna go meet them?" Jared asked, nodding to a couple sitting close together, a little ways from the bonfire.
I bit my lip in nervousness; they looked like they wanted to be alone, and so I told Jared that.
He laughed, "They won"t mind, kitten. Stop making excuses."
I groaned as he pulled me up from where I was sitting in the sand. I brushed my jeans off, before taking his hand.
Jared approached the couple, clearing his throat.
"Hey, Jare," the blonde guy said. He had clear green eyes and a nice smile. He had the typical look of a surfer.
"Jason, long time no see," Jared sat down. Instead of having me sit beside him, he pulled me onto his lap, cradling me against his chest. "Eva," he nodded at the woman with pretty chestnut hair. She smiled pleasantly at me.
"I"m Katy," I said, not bothering to let Jared introduce me to them.
"We figured," Eva said. "Whenever Jared talks to Jason anymore, he"s always talking about you."
I looked up at Jared. Even his dark stubble couldn"t hide his flaming red cheeks.
"It"s nice to see Jare finally find someone," Eva looked between the two of us. "He deserves it."
"Yeah, you do man," Jason, said. "Katy," he nodded to me.
"Are you enjoying the beach?" Eva asked.
"It"s lovely," I said.
"It"s even nicer when it isn"t so crowded," Eva looked down the beach where more bonfires and people were visible.
"What are you two doing over here by yourselves, anyway?" Jared asked.
"Eva wanted to watch the sunset," Jason took a sip of his beer.
Eva looked at me. "I always think there"s nothing better than watching the sun set over the ocean."
"I completely agree," I smiled, feeling completely at ease. I could see myself becoming friends with Eva.
"Are Kane and Lacy coming?" Jason asked.
"Kane said they were," Jared shrugged, jostling me.
Jason snorted. "They"ll probably get here once everyone"s packed up for the night. Kane never could be on time for anything. He"ll probably miss the birth of his kid."
"That"s not nice," Eva smacked Jason"s shoulder.
"It"s true, babe," Jason kissed her.
At that moment, we heard a booming voice cry, "The par-tay has arrived."
"Kane," Jared and Jason said simultaneously.
I turned to see a tall, lanky guy, with a spiky black faux-hawk approach us. His arm was slung across the shoulders of a pretty, very pregnant, blonde.
Behind them, I could see Holden talking to Jay. Piper and Rollo were roasting marshmallows.
"Hey, Kane," Jason raised his beer in greeting.
"Where can I get one of those," Kane pointed to the bottle.
The blonde tapped his chest. "No drinking, Kane. You have to drive us home. You know I can"t fit behind the steering wheel anymore."
"Baby, one beer won"t make me drunk," he pleaded.
"I don"t care," she crossed her arms over her chest, standing her ground. "If you take one sip of a beer, I"ll get someone else to drive me home and change the locks on the door. We"re about to have a baby, it"s about time you grew up."
Jared leaned forward, whispering in my ear, "They"ll be at it all night, now."
Kane made a face and stomped forward like a petulant child.