Page 47 of Shifting Sands

“If this seduction is hot enough to keep me warm.”

Challenge accepted.

I kiss her temple, then the curve of her cheek. She shifts slightly, her hand brushing my chest, and when our eyes meet again, it’s different this time. Quiet. Real.

She’s watching me with this look—soft and expectant, like she’s waiting for me to say something I haven’t been ready to say. Like she knows.

I open my mouth. Then close it.

But she looks at me eagerly.

“I—” I start, but my throat closes.

Her gaze lifts, locking with mine. “What?”

“Nothing.” I force a smile. “I was just gonna say, I’m glad you came out tonight.”

She narrows her eyes, not buying it for a second. “You sure that’s all?”

No.

Hell no.

But I nod anyway because if I say it now—if I tell her the truth about who I am, what I’ve been keeping from her—everything will shift. And I’m not ready for that shift yet.

She lets it go. Barely. Then leans in and kisses me.

And just like that, the moment changes.

Her lips are warm against mine. Slow, sweet. Then hungrier. She presses closer, her hands finding my neck, fingers sliding into my hair, and I groan softly into her mouth as I pull her into my lap.

The blanket’s barely big enough, the boat’s rocking gently, and the air smells like salt and something heady I can’t name. My hands roam over her back, her waist, her thighs. Her sweater rides up, exposing skin I want to memorize inch by inch.

“Brew,” she whispers, breathy and flushed, lips brushing my jaw.

“Yeah,” I say, forehead resting against hers, but before she can say more—

Bang.

A loud clatter echoes across the water.

Brandee jumps. I jolt upright.

We both look up to see the motion sensor light flick on at a dock down the way. A dog barks. A porch screen slams shut.

“Just a neighbor,” I mutter, pulling her closer.

But the moment’s gone. Not completely, but enough to remind me how fragile this is.

She lets out a shaky laugh. “Way to kill the mood.”

I stroke her back. “Oh, nothing is killing this mood. Are you hungry?”

She smiles and presses a kiss to my neck. “I could eat.”

I turn the heater on, and it warms the surface of the boat as I unpack the cooler I brought along and spread the food out on the blanket before us.

Brandee

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