Page 103 of Never Will I Ever

“We better get out there with them before someone drowns.”

“They’re wearing lifejackets,” I remind him. “They’d have to try really hard for that to happen.”

“Yeah, well, sometimes I wouldn’t put it past Cole to hold Day underwater with his paddle.”

The joke lightens the mood ever so slightly as we head over to the shed to grab our own paddle boards, but I can still feel a tinge of despondence in Kaleb. And I hate it. Hate that something has him feeling so sullen and dejected. Hate that I can’t do something to change it.

Maybe that’s why, before he can grab his board off the rack, I wrap my fingers around his wrist and drag him toward me. He crashes into my chest, his smooth, tanned skin pressed directly against mine, and I don’t wait more than half a second before covering his mouth with mine.

Releasing his wrist, my fingers slide over his side and wrap around his lower back, holding him closer while my tongue flicks over his lower lip. Every inch of my body ignites, consumed in a fire of love and lust, and I relish in the burn.

“What are you doing?” he whispers after a moment, his handsgripping my waist.

“Kissing you. I would’ve thought that was obvious.”

My lips cover his again, and this time, he’s kissing me back with just as much fervor and passion. One hand slips up into his dark hair, loving the way it feels between my fingers, while the other moves up to his jaw to deepen the kiss. I back him against one of the racks while our tongues tangle together, every inch of our bodies so perfectly aligned, I could die on the spot.

The ridge of his rapidly thickening cock twitches against my hip, and I roll against him on instinct. A soft moan leaves him—or maybe it was me—and it only spurs me on. Releasing his hair, I slide a hand between us to palm him over his swim trunks, needing to touch him.

But that’s what breaks the spell, and Kaleb’s hand pushes against my chest to break the kiss.

“Okay, okay,” he mutters, putting some distance between us. “We have to stop before we get carried away.”

“So let’s get carried away,” I reply immediately.

His eyes may as well be on fire as he adjusts himself, hiding his erection as best he can. “Too much sunshine must be making you lose your damn mind.”

Turning, he grabs a paddle board from the rack for me, then one for himself. Unfortunately for him, this leaves his delectable ass wide open, and I take the opportunity to give it a playful smack.

“Actually, it was definitely the way these trunks mold to your ass and sit low on your hips.”

He shoots me a glare as he grabs his own board and pushes past me to exit the shed. “And you’re gonna end up outing us to the entire camp if you can’t keep your hands off me in broad daylight.”

“There are worse things.”

What the fuck did I just say?

I don’t have time to process or unpack my Fruedian slip, though, because the second we step from the shed and turn the corner, I’m greeted with a sight that instantly sets my entire body on edge.

“Dad.”

I damn near choke on the word as it falls from my lips, and my father’s penetrating gaze shifts from the lake over to where Kaleb and I are standing.

“Avery. I’ve been wondering where the hell you were.”

“We, uh…” I look helplessly at Kaleb for some sort of explanation, but he still has his gaze locked on my father. “We had to grab our boards before going out with the kids,” I finally go with.

It’s not exactly a lie, and it’s certainly better than going withwe were too busy making out like horny teenagersright outta the gate.

“What are you doing here?” I manage to ask, despite the baseball that’s lodged itself in my throat.

My father glances down at his watch, and it’s only then that I realize he’s dressed impeccably, as always, in one of his tailored suits that cost more than all my paychecks from camp combined.

And he’s certainly out of place standing at the edge of a lake in the mountains.

“I had a call scheduled with Colin to go over some quarterlies after balancing his books this week. Figured I might as well kill two birds with a trip here instead, seeing as I haven’t heard from you since you left.” He cants his head, eyes sliding over me with suspicion. “If it weren’t for your name still on his payroll, I’d have thought you were eaten by a mountain lion out here or something.”

My smile is tight and forced as my father wraps me in an awkward one-armed hug—one no doubt for Kaleb’s benefit rather than my own.

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