Page 132 of Fighting With Light
Standing from my towel, I cup my hands around my mouth and yell, “Liam!”
He’s floating on his board and turns his head. I wave my hands and he waves back, paddling back to shore. I watch him catch another smaller wave and ride it almost to the beach.
He takes a few steps towards me, tosses his board onto the dry sand, and wraps his arms around my ribs, spinning us a round. I squeal at the cold water against my skin, but I don’t care as he grins up at me. I wrap my legs around his waist and his hands slide to my butt, holding me up.
“What’s up, princess?” he asks.
I don’t know where to start and refuse to let my father ruin this moment, so I don’t. Leaning forward, I grab his lips with mine and it sends sparks down my spine every single time. I love the way it feels to be with Liam. Slipping my tongue past his, he groans into my mouth and I nip him .
He pulls back, frowning, and takes a few steps backward before he drops to his knees with me still in his arms. I squeak, and he chuckles, laying me back in the sand. Keeping my knees at his hips, he holds himself up on his arms and stares down at me.
“Do you know when I fell in love with you?” he asks.
My heart flips around in my chest and I feel a gentle brush from the ocean lapping at my butt. I shake my head and he kisses my cheeks before stopping on my nose.
“Portugal, the heat got canceled. It was raining, and I just knew. You are it for me, Aelia Costa.”
The back of my nose burns and I blink, trying to keep from crying, but a tear slips out, anyway. “I love you,” I rasp and pull him back down to my mouth.His hips drop and his mouth caresses. He makes me feel like everything is going to be okay.
We pull back to inhale and our quick, heated kiss turns slow and heady as he drops his lips down my neck, sucking at the pulse, dragging a moan from my mouth.
“I know I’m safe with you,” I whisper.
He draws back to look me in the eye. Before I can brace myself, he spins us so his back is on the sand and I’m straddling his hips. I look into his beautiful hazel eyes and get lost for a moment. It’s so easy with him. We may have started out…different,but I think it needed to happen. I needed to experience his lack of trust in me so I could find it in him.
“I will always protect you, princess,always,” he says.
I try not to get choked up because what’s coming is not something hecanprotect me from. “I will do anything for you,” I whisper and lift my chin.
When we touch, when we kiss, it’s electric, confident, as he takes everything that I so freely give him. He sits up, groaning into my mouth, and his large hand holds the back of my neck as he flips us. I pull away laughing because it feels like we’re in a movie. We’re making out on the beach and sand is everywhere and I don’t even care.
“What?” he asks, lifting slightly.
I snort and he tilts his head.
“What’s so funny, princess? Because how I’m feeling right now isn’t funny,” he grumbles.
My lips burst open in a laugh and I run my hands through his hair, getting more sand in it.
“Look,” I say, lifting my chin in the direction we came from. Body prints are pressed into the sand and the water licks at it, threatening to get rid of the imprint.
He snorts. “Instead of footprints in the sand, it’s ass prints in the sand.”
I throw my head back laughing and he pulls a piece of sandy hair plastered to my forehead away.
“Stunning,” he murmurs.
The laughter catches in my breath as he stares down at me, as if he’s amazed that I’m here. I reach for him, placing my hand over his heart, and it feels like it’s beating out of his chest.
“You always do that to me, you know…I saw you walk down from the house to the sand, and I swear my heart almost gave up.”
“That can’t happen,” I whisper.
He grins and kisses me again. It’s rough mixed with a bit of sand, yet I don’t care.
“Don’t worry, princess, you’ll just jump start it when you touch me.”
I lift my eyebrow, not sure if he’s being cute or dirty. I’m okay with both.
