Page 67 of XOXO, Valentina

Doubt flashed in her eyes. “I’m a mess. My hair is salty, and I have sand in places that definitely shouldn’t have sand.”

A grin curled my lip. “I like those places.”

She smacked me on the chest, her hand lingering a little as she felt me up. She did that a lot—let her hand linger a moment too long whenever she touched me.

“Let’s get out of here before it rains.” My voice was gruff as I pushed back from the table.

“It’s not going to rain,” she insisted.

I bent and whispered in her ear, “Maybe I just want to be alone with you.”

She hopped up from the table, grabbing her bag. “You should have just said so.”

We headed down the beach toward our hotel. The day was half over, and I tried not to dwell on how little time we had left together in our bubble of paradise.

My free hand drifted to my chest, where I rubbed absently at my heart. The ink on my skin was there to remind me that love wasn’t all fun and games. Usually the tattoo did its job, but it wasn’t working. Maybe it was already too late. Maybe I’d stepped over thefallingline straight intomadly. Straight off the cliff. I stopped walking and tugged her hand until she stopped.

“What is it?” she asked.

I steeled myself and leaped. “I don’t know how to say this…”

“What?”

“I really like seeing you.” I plummeted, free-falling through air with no net in sight.

“I like seeing you, too.” Her words sounded raw, ripped from her throat.

I dipped my chin. “I like seeing you walk down the halls like you run the place.”

She frowned. “Idorun the place.”

“Right.” I grinned, thinking of Gabriella striding down the halls of PES. She was so hot when she was doing her job. “My point is I look forward to seeing you, whether it’s hiding in the bushes at the park or struggling in a yoga class or waking up with crazy bed-head.”

She touched a hand to her hair, which hung halfway down her back in a silky dark curtain. The heavy humidity had given it extra body, and it looked perfect.

I reached up and grabbed her hand from her hair so that I held both her hands prisoner. They felt tiny in mine. Such small hands, but so capable. It felt wonderful to touch her like this, out in the open. Or in a restaurant full of people. I wanted to do this at home. I wanted her to want the same.

I pinned her eyes with mine. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Her brow furrowed again, and I realized I wasn’t making myself clear. Or maybe Gabriella was being thick-skulled on purpose.

I loved her, for fuck’s sake. Did I have to spell it out?

I grabbed her face and planted my lips on hers. Her lips were stiff at first, still trying to figure out what the hell I was trying to say, but then they relented. We combusted like a match rubbed against a coarse surface. My hands shifted to cup her face as I poured every aching emotion into the kiss.

She kissed me back, grabbing my shoulders as her tongue met mine stroke for stroke.

Her mouth tasted like heaven, hot and salty and so sweet. I wanted to stay in this moment forever, kissing and touching as if we were the only two people in the world.

Without warning, the rain started. It fell in fat drops, dousing everyone on the beach as they scrambled for cover.

Rain soaked our hair and clothes and dripped down our faces, but we didn’t stop kissing. We couldn’t stop. We kissed until we couldn’t breathe, until we were gasping and soaked through.

And still, I couldn’t convey enough of what I wanted to say in one desperate kiss. I couldn’t show her how much I wantedmore. More than the accidental run-ins in the hall. More than the stolen kisses in an office. More than waking up next to her every once in a while.

The rain plastered us together, dripping into our mouths as we kissed desperately. I could never get enough of her. I didn’t care if I couldn’t breathe. Being kissed to death by Gabriella Salinger in the rain would be a good way to go.

We finally broke apart on a gasp and made a run for a nearby grove of trees. Ducking under the low branches of an almond tree, we cowered for cover.

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