Page 56 of The Easy Way
Chapter Sixteen
Cort walkedinto the room and shut the door behind him with no small amount of unease. Cam had heard enough from Drew to suspect Cort was still keeping secrets, and Cort expected an angry tirade the moment the door closed, complete with yelling and demands. Instead, he found Cam kneeling beside his suitcase, pulling out a pair of swim trunks andsandals.
Cort licked his lips. “Cam—”
“Let’s go to the beach. Grab your suit,” Cam said, dropping his shorts quickly. “And I’ve got some sunblock and stuff in my kit. I can already feel myselfburning.”
Cort frowned. “Yeah, fine. In a minute.First…”
“No. Now,” Cam insisted, yanking on his trunks. “While there’s still light.” He wouldn’t meet Cort’s eyes, and Cort would be damned if he’d acceptthat.
He grabbed Cam around the waist and pushed him against one of the tall mahogany bedposts. He saw his own uncertainty reflected in Cam’s stunning blue eyes, and it slayedhim.
He needed to reassureCam.
Hell, he needed to reassurehimself.
“You calling all the shots today, badass?” he whispered, trailing his free hand over Cam’s cheek and down his jaw to cup hisneck.
Cam shivered and swallowed hard, but didn’treply.
“Listen to me first, for just a second. Out there, beyond the door, there are a million things happening, Cam. Things to test us. Things wanting to destroy us. Things that make the idea of us being together seem impossible,” Cort said, staring into Cam’s eyes. “But here, in this room? That shit is background noise. There’s only you and me. Are you withme?”
Cort leaned closer, hand digging into Cam’s hip, and opened his mouth over the spot on Cam’s neck where his pulse beat a rapid tattoo. He sucked gently, not hard enough to leave a mark, though every instinct told himto.
“Okay,” Cam said softly. “Okay.”
Cort’s eyes shut, and he leaned his forehead against Cam’s shoulder for a second, as wild, heady relief swampedhim.
“Okay,” Cortrepeated.
Then he lifted his head and laid claim to Cam’smouth.
Cort took full advantage of the height difference between them, towering over Cam and forcing his head back against the post. Cort’s hands found Cam’s hips, holding him in place, while Cort’s tongue licked against the seam of his lips. Cam moaned, his lips parting slightly, and Cort accepted the invitation, delving his tongue inside to tangle alongside Cam’s own with a measured thoroughness. He wanted Cam to remember this, no matter what happened between them later, wanted to ruin Cam for any otherkisses.
Then Cam’s arms came up to wrap around Cort’s neck, pulling him them even more tightly together. The surprise of it, of knowing Cam was feeling even a fraction of what Cort felt, made Cort’s heart lurchpainfully.
Cam writhed against his hold, returning every bite and moan, measure for measure, until Cort knew he’d been claimed every bit as thoroughly as he hadCam.
He wasCam’s.
Cam washis.
He smiled ruefully as he pulled back, pressing one more chaste kiss to Cam’s forehead. The problem with acknowledging someone wasyourswas that you had to find a way tokeepthem.
“Nowwe go to the beach, badass,” Cort said gently. He stepped away to find his own trunks, adjusting himself to somewhat conceal his burgeoning erection. He smiled slightly when Cam continued to lean against the bedpost in adaze.
Cort slipped the burner phone into his pocket, grabbed Cam’s toiletry bag and a couple of towels, then held out his hand to Cam, who deliberately slid his palm against Cort’s, twining their fingerstogether.
They stepped into the hall, and Cam locked the door behind them, pocketing the small key that had been left in the lock. He ushered Cort down a flight of stairs next to their room, and out through a side door. A hedgerow screened them from the view of the revelers still out on the patio as they cut across the side lawn and took a well-worn path over the rocky ledge and down a set of stone steps leading to the beachbelow.
The water was calm in this small cove, though they could hear the surf breaking on the rocks just beyond. The setting sun was sinking from the sky. Cort remembered reading somewhere this was the golden hour, and he truly understood it for the first time. The wet rocks and placid water seemed to burn with liquid fire, and even the air shimmered aroundthem.
Cam still held on to his hand as they crossed the stony beach and ducked through a stone archway to a more secluded sandy stretch of seashorebeyond.
“It’s like an entirely separate world,” Cort mused, leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on Cam’s cheek. He couldn’t hear any noise from the party, not a single airplane streaked across the sky. It felt as though they were completely cut off from everyone, and Cort took his first deep breath inhours.
“Mmm. I used to love it here,” Cam said. He braced a hand against Cort’s arm and closed his eyes, breathing in the saltwater scent that surrounded them. His brown hair was red-tinged in the sunlight, his skin was flushed and warm, and the sight of him made Cort’s chest ache. “When I was a kid, I’d bring a book and come here to read, but I never ended up reading. I’d sit and watch the water and makewishes.”
