Page 30 of Hearts at Seaside
“Evan, come on over and let me go over a few things with you. First and foremost, when you see a shark, never try to touch it, lean too far over, or do anything risky, got it? They’re not dogs. You can’t hand-feed them.” Dane spoke with a serious tone.
“Yes, of course. I don’t want to go near them. I just want to see one,” Evan explained. “I promise, I won’t do anything stupid.”
Dane pointed into the barrel of chum while he explained to Evan how to chum the water. Pete’s attention was drawn to Jenna. She was listening intently, with her brows pushed tighter, her arms crossed over her narrow rib cage. Pete wanted to stand behind her and feel her back against him, warm from the sun. He wanted to whisper in her ear—something, anything, that would make her smile or blush. He wanted to be closer to her.
He wanted to love her. Publicly. Not just in his mind and in his heart. Every day brought the depth of his love to the surface, and he was doing all he could to keep from thrusting it upon her, and because of his father, he knew he shouldn’t.
An hour later, the others were gathered around the edge of the boat, watching the chum slick for sharks and listening to Dane tell stories about his shark-tagging adventures. Pete couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t spend one more second watching Jenna and Charlie. He went belowdecks to get a cold drink. He grabbed a soda from the fridge, flipped the tab, and took a long, icy swig.
“Would you mind handing me one?” Jenna’s voice was different. Stronger.
Pete turned, and Jenna closed the distance between them, her eyes locked on him. Heat rolled off of her and ignited with each step. She didn’t dart her eyes away. Her voice was confident and seductive, so different from the Jenna he usually encountered. He liked her. A lot.
“Actually,” she said, moving in front of him. “I can get it.”
She bent to retrieve the drink, giving Pete a clear view of her incredible rear.She’s better off without me.The thought came quickly but didn’t take hold as she opened the soda and took a sip, then dragged her tongue slowly across her lips. He set his soda on the counter, wanting to do so much more than lick her sensuous lips. He knew he shouldn’t, but he took a step closer, all of his senses on high alert. His heart thundered in his chest. She smelled of suntan lotion, and desire wrapped around them like powerful arms, drawing him nearer as she gazed up at him. He took the soda from her hands, his eyes never leaving hers as he set it aside.
“Shouldn’t you be with your boyfriend?” He shouldn’t ask. He shouldn’t care. But every fiber of his being wanted to kiss her.
“He’s not my boyfriend.” She narrowed her eyes.
Pete wasn’t a game player, and if this was a game to her, he had to know. He’d had enough summer flings; he didn’t need to ruin their friendship for one. The lust in her eyes told him this was no game to Jenna.
Voices rang out from the deck and he shot a glance at the stairs, unwilling to move away. He stepped closer, brushing her thighs with his.
“Do you play tonsil hockey with all the guys who aren’t your boyfriend? If so, I must have missed the invitation.” He rested his palm on the wall behind her and leaned in close, testing the waters, his vow to remain in the friend zone forgotten.
“N-no.” She blinked several times. Her chest rose and fell as her breathing hastened. Her eyebrows drew together; then she set her shoulders back, just a fraction of an inch, but Pete noticed. He noticed everything in those quick seconds—the scent of her breath, the way her thighs tensed against his, the shape of her eyes.
She sucked in air. “You don’t need an invitation.”
Desire surged forward, chasing worry, friendship, and hesitation until they bound together and scrambled away, and he lowered his face to hers, their lips a second apart. His hand slid down the wall, and he clutched the back of her neck. His other hand found her lower back and pressed her body to his. They were both breathing hard. Jenna’s body trembled against him, andmandid she feel good. He slid his lips to the corner of hers, grazing the edge of her mouth and then further still. His cheek rubbed against her silken skin, and she sucked in air again. He was savoring the moment, because once their lips met, there was no turning back. He pressed kisses along her jaw, and her head lolled back, her lips slightly parted, her eyes closed. She grabbed the waistband of his jeans, holding him against her as he trailed openmouthed kisses down her neck. Her skin was hot from the sun, salty, and so darn sweet, he didn’t want to stop there. He could only imagine how blessed sweet the rest of her tasted. He ran his hand up her ribs.
“Holy Moses…” she said in one long breath.
He tightened his hold and nipped at her earlobe. “When you’re with me…” He kissed the back of her neck. “How about if mine is the only name coming off your lips?” Her breathing quickened again. He pressed both hands to her cheeks, hard, his thumbs against her jaw—a last chance for her to beg off. He wanted to be gentle, but gentle left the boat the minute she said he didn’t need an invitation. Indecent thoughts he’d tried to stop himself from pairing with Jenna raced through his mind. If he was going to be with Jenna, really be with her, he needed to know she could handle—and wanted—himbeforehe tasted that sweet mouth of hers.
But when he looked into her beautiful eyes and felt her eager body, it struck him like a ton of bricks.
She was there with Charlie. She wasn’t his to claim. No matter how much she felt like she was, or that he was practically salivating at the thought of kissing her, she wasn’t his to enjoy. Pete did not want to share Jenna.
He forced himself to bring his mouth to her ear again.
“When you’re done with your boy, Jenna, and you want me.Just me. You let me know.” His voice sounded rough and gravelly, laden with frustration.
Releasing her was the hardest thing he’d ever done, until he took a step back and unfurled her fingers from his jeans, breaking their connection altogether. Jenna let out a loud breath, panting, her eyes slowly refocusing on him.
“Wha—? Why?”
It was a fair question, and the anger in her beautiful eyes was fair, too. He wanted to take her in his arms and devour her, but he wouldn’t. Once their lips touched, she was his. And he was hers. All Pete had to offer her was the truth.
“I don’t share well. Not you, Jenna. I can’t share you.”
He felt her hot stare follow him as he stepped away; then her hand clutched the back of his jeans and she yanked him back. Pete was a formidable presence against her petite frame. He turned with her efforts and Jenna threw her arms up, coming up short of his neck, which almost made him laugh because she was so stinkin’ cute, all hot, bothered, and ready to devour him. But laughter wasn’t on his mind as he gripped her waist and lifted her easily so she could do what she pleased. He was powerless to resist the love he felt for her. Jenna’s arms circled his neck as he backed her against the wall and sealed his lips over hers in a hard, deep crash of a kiss. She met stroke after insistent stroke of his hunger. She buried her hands in his hair, her nails digging into his scalp as they deepened the kiss. Her legs wrapped around his waist, holding her up, freeing his hands to grope. Her body was supple. Sheer perfection. She could darn well handle him, and now he knew she wanted him, too. Just him.
With one powerful arm around her waist, the other feeling her up—yes, feeling her up, because there was no other way to describe the way he took what he’d been wanting, what he’d tried to ignore for too long—he turned with her in his arms and lowered them both to the padded bench behind them. It was all he could do not to take her right there. She rocked her hips against him, and he grabbed a handful of her sweet behind, holding her tighter, until he could barely think.
“I’ll see where she went.” Bella’s voice sailed around them as they made out like horny teenagers.
