Page 56 of Wild Tides
He covered the ground between us, tangling our fingers. That connection steadied me, allowing my feelings to surface, unguarded, and bleed into my eyes. Letting them speak all the words I couldn’t say. The love. The want. The need. It swirled, a blender of emotion that caught me in the whirlwind, whipping me relentlessly.
“We’re pretty great together, you know that?” Lee finally asked.
“Like peanut butter and chocolate?”
His smile was soft. He tilted my chin, placing a gentle kiss on my upturned mouth.
“Like coffee and cream,” I added.
He kissed the other side of my mouth, a gentle benediction.
“Like pen and paper.”
His lips grazed my cheek.
“Like the moon and stars,” I whispered.
Our mouths met, the kiss so sweet, it made me ache.
“Like a mystery and a perfect alibi.”
I pulled back, smirking. “That better not be a threat, Murphy. My family absolutely knows where to bury a body. No questions asked.”
He rolled his lips, shoulders shaking. But he didn’t correct me.
“Like a secret whispered in the dark. Like hands entwined on a quiet walk.” He dropped another kiss on my lips, sweet and sure. “Like the last page of a well-loved book. Like two hearts sharing the same beat.” The words tumbled from him, each more romantic than the last.
My heart took flight, beating out an insistent tattoo in my chest. “Are you trying to tell me something, Murphy?”
“Only that I love you.”
My stomach dropped, leaving me weak in the knees. Like I couldn’t have heard him right. But his blue eyes were clear, his expression open and soft, tinted with a tenderness that made my heart ache.
I leaped, wrapping my legs around his waist as best I could in my long dress. My momentum knocked him back a few steps, but he recovered quickly, his arms like bands around my back, holding me in place.
Raining kisses over his cheeks, chin and mouth was the only response I was capable of. He chuckled, squeezing me tight against him. His lips found mine in a soul-deep kiss, sealing all the sweet words into my heart until they sizzled beneath my skin. His love flowed through me like a superpower, turbocharging every sense. His beard drew along my shoulder, the kiss he placed on my neck nearly sending me over the edge.
“Are you trying to tell me something, Cupcake?” He looked so damn hopeful.
“Only that I love you back.”
There was something almost boyish about him in that moment. Lighter. His eyes creased, the smile that bloomed across his features creating dimple-like divots in his cheeks.
Everything for the next hour passed in a haze of euphoria, like my feet couldn’t quite connect to the ground, even as we walked into the cocktail bar downtown.
“To us,” Lee said, tapping the rim of his glass to mine, his gaze so tender, it reignited the joy from his earlier confession, flooding my heart all over again.
Part of me wanted to jump to the next step and the next, but instead I bumped my glass against his. “To us.”
Chapter 27 – Lee
My knee brushed Violet’s under the table. Our town’s tiny cocktail bar was the kind of place where ordering wine or beer felt like an insult to the bartender. Intimate and cozy, tall leather chairs clustered around small tables under low lighting. Behind the bar, Jay worked his magic, chatting with customers as he mixed drinks. Candles flickered on every table, casting dancing shadows, and slacker rock played over the speakers, adding to the mellow vibe. It was a bar, but PNW island-style.
I nodded to Will Guzman in the corner with a blonde who looked like trouble, then tipped my chin to a group of seniors monopolizing the back corner. Gin and tonics came and went like clockwork, Jay keeping their glasses full without missing a beat.
And then there was Vi. Radiant in her dark purple dress, cheeks flushed with happiness. I wanted to lock the memory in, hold it close as the most perfect thing I’d ever experienced.
Sure, orgasms are great, but have you tried telling the woman you love what’s in your heart and having her tell you she feelsthe same? Wrestling your inner demons, negative a thousand points. But beating the odds against them and winning? One million.
