Page 91 of Endeavor

I giggle and slap Grady’s thigh. “You are such a—”

“Sexy boyfriend?” he suggests, cutting me off and grinning at Dean as he picks me up and tosses me over his shoulder.

I slap his ass. “No.”

“An amazing lover?”

I giggle. “Stop it.”

“I know, I’m a freakin’ rock star.”

Now my giggles are out of control as he walks us out to the beach and sets me down. “You’re something,” I retort.

He waggles his eyebrows, and I grin as we clasp hands and walk along the water. The salty air blows my hair around as the cold water laps at our feet. Everything seems a million miles away when we are here in our little bubble. I know we can’t stay here forever, but it gives me hope that as the weeks go on, we’ll continue to heal and get back to our lives. The scars may always be there, but the wounds are slowly closing.

Grady

I pull Emma down onto the soft warm sand, settling her between my legs. She leans her head back against my chest, and I wrap my arms around her shoulders, resting my head on top of hers.

“How are you, really?” I ask her as I plant a kiss on the top of her head.

She shrugs. “Better. Every day, I get a little better.” She pauses and I wait, because I know my girl now and I know she’ll say more if I give her a moment. “I haven’t had a nightmare in a few nights. And, studying for exams and working on the documentary have been good distractions. It helps to get back to a normal life.” She turns her head to look up at me. “Well, sort of normal.”

I poke her boob, and she nips at my hand. “Sort of normal?”

She kisses the spot she just nipped, and I feel my cock come to life at her touch. “What’s not normal about it?”

“Oh, I don’t know, living with a rock star and vacationing at a beach house in Malibu?” she says sarcastically.

“Sounds normal to me,” I quip, grinning down at her.

“You’re an ass, you know that?” she says to me.

“But, I’m your ass, now, baby,” I answer as I lean down and gently kiss her lips. She responds by turning around and wrapping her legs around me, deepening our kiss. God, I could make love to this woman forever.

“I think we should head back up to the house before the paps get photos of us making out on the beach,” I suggest, pulling back and pressing my forehead to hers.

“Do you think after your next tour ends, we could go somewhere with no paps for a while?” she asks as I help her stand.

“Yes, I think we can arrange that.”

“Good, because I don’t know how you put up with them. I kinda want to do a documentary about them, but I sort of don’t want to acknowledge they exist.”

I laugh. “Sounds interesting. Why don’t you tell me all about it while I have my afternoon snack,” I say as we walk up the steps to the house.

“What are we having for a snack?” she asks, and I know she’s feigning innocence and it drives me even more crazy.

“Playing coy, Miss Baldwin?” I ask, raising an eyebrow as I take her hand and escort her to our bedroom.

“Never, Mr. Daniels.”

I shut the door and pull her top over her head, followed by her shorts and underwear. When she’s lying naked on the bed, like a fucking dream, I crawl up between her legs, tracing between her legs with light touches.

She squirms. “You still haven’t told me what you’re going to eat,” she whispers in a low seductive voice, the one that drives me fucking crazy.

“You, baby. I’m going to eat you,” I reply as I lick her. I don’t stop until she’s screaming my name. We have nothing to do this afternoon except this, and I swear with every touch of her body, she heals me a little more. I’m not sure we’ll ever be the same after that day, but maybe, just maybe, we’ll be stronger for having survived.

Epilogue

---