Page 39 of Whispers at Seaside
“Because it makes me want what can’t be, and I have to be careful, for Hagen’s sake.”
“You have to be careful for your sake too, sunshine.” He pressed his lips to her cheek. They were warm, soft, and reassuring. “But it’s true,” he whispered in her ear. “It’s true and I want you to hear it. You have me, Mira. Even if I go back to New Jersey, there’ll only be you. We’ll figure it out. But for now, for these next several weeks,bewith me. Please, let go of your fears andbewith me.”
Questions raced through her mind abouthowthey might figure it out. The thought of a long-distance relationship was too painful to linger on, and the idea of moving away from her family and friends after she and Hagen had finally gotten on stable ground was unsettling. But she would never in a million years ask Matt to give up the very things he’d worked his whole life to achieve. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to soak in his impossible hopes, and pretend, just for a few moments, that they could one day come true.
He gazed into her eyes and said, “Bewith me, Mira.”
The worries lingering in her mind were no match for her heart, which was so full of Matt, she didn’t know how to be any other way.
“I already am.”
BY THE TIME they headed back to the cottage, the streets were nearly empty, and the closer they got to Matt’s private stretch of beach, the more it felt like they had the whole island to themselves. They’d talked about so many things—Mira’s plan to address the co-op, Hagen’s comment about being a nerd, her brothers, his family, his writing. When they reached his cottage, he knew her even more intimately than he had only hours earlier, and it wasn’t nearly intimately enough. They grabbed blankets and pillows and spread them out on the beach, stretching out beside each other.
Mira’s hair tumbled over her chest in luxurious soft waves. She wore the pretty pink dress she’d worn the day he’d met her at Grayson’s engagement party. It gathered over the tops of her thighs. His heart swelled with memories of that afternoon. He’d felt the world shift around him then, but he never could have anticipated how deeply she’d affect him in the coming months.
“Aren’t you worried about your pillows getting all sandy?”
He tucked her hair behind her ear so he could see her face more clearly. “Not at all. You live within the confines of mommyhood every day, and until recently I’ve lived within my academic walls. This weekend we have no rules, no walls. Only each other. This is a private beach, and I intend to take full advantage of our privacy. Sandy pillows and all.”
“Where did you come from? I’ve never met a man like you.”
He kissed her tenderly. “I’ve never been this man until now. Untilyou.”
She laughed softly, and the sweet sound floated around them. “I feel like we’ve been dating for months.”
“We kind of have, sunshine. When I think about how many things led to my decision to take this sabbatical, it seems like most led back to you. All those times you sent me texts telling me that you’d had fun at a bonfire or barbecue with your family or our friends, or sharing something Hagen did or said. Or those torturous texts that said, ‘Wish you could have been there.’ I realize now that each and every text fed into my decision to finally take the sabbatical and give this—us—a real shot.”
He’d been back for only a week, and he was already wondering how he’d ever return to teaching full-time and living hours away from Mira and Hagen—and his family. Morning coffee with Pete had become a habit that he looked forward to, and this week he’d see Grayson and Hunter and their fiancées, Parker and Jana. Time was slipping away too quickly, and he wished he had three more days for every one that passed.
“I wonder if you’d have taken time off sooner if I’d sent you the texts I really wanted to send.” She turned a sultry gaze on him.
Matt ran his fingers along her cheek, and she smiled. He loved her smile. He loved her face, her body, her brain, her son. How did he go from having all of his emotions in check back in New Jersey to the explosion that took place inside him every time they were together? He was usually methodical and careful about decisions, but being with Mira woke up a part of him he’d never known existed.
“Tell me about those texts I never received,” he urged.
Her cheeks flushed, and she licked her lips nervously. She was so darn cute he couldn’t resist sweeping his arm around her and tugging her against him. She felt so good. Warm, soft, and perfectly matched to every inch of him.
“Tell you?” she asked shyly. “I can’ttellyou.”
“Yes, you can, sunshine. You can tell me anything because you trust me.” He shifted her gently onto her back and gazed into her lust-filled eyes. He slid his knee over her legs and pressed his hand to her cheek. “Tell me everything you held back.”
“Matt,” she whispered, and trapped her lower lip between her teeth.
He freed that trapped lip with his teeth, sucking it into his mouth.
“I want to hear you say it. Did you want to text dirty things to me?” He knew he was pushing her past her comfort zone, but he wanted that, too. He wanted her trust, her words, herheart.
“Did you want to offer an invitation?” He kissed her softly. “To tell me you missed me and you wished I was in your bed at night?”
Her lips parted and her long eyelashes fluttered, searching his eyes as if they held all the answers. He was working on that and hoped one day soon they would.
Waves rolled up the shore, and a gentle breeze whisked over their skin. Matt slid his hand along Mira’s outer thigh. She breathed harder, and when his fingers touched the edge of her panties, she sucked in a sharp breath.
“Tell me what dirty thoughts you withheld while we were apart,” he coaxed.
“I wantedyouto flirt withme.”
Hearing her voice her desires, even something as simple as wanting him toflirtwith her, opened a door that Matt had a feeling held much darker desires.
