Page 90 of Resisting Temptation (Men of Honor 3)
Faith turns to me with a smile, “Mmm, how did you know the beach is my favorite place?”
“I know everything, Red.” Okay, I’m lying. Julia and Grace found out for me. Thankfully they helped me out with all of this, because I didn’t have a fucking clue what to do.
Getting out of the truck, I come around to help her down but she’s already out and toeing off her sexy boots as I reach her. “Aren’t you going to take yours off?” she asks, pointing to my shoes.
“No.”
She shakes her head and gives me a small smile. “Of course not! What was I thinking?” I ignore her sarcasm. After she puts her boots in the truck, I grab her hand and start hauling her toward the deserted cove.
“Don’t you need anything from the truck?”
“Nope,” I answer cryptically. Thanks to Julia and Grace, the only thing I need from the truck is her present, which I will come back for later. If I pull it out now she will know what it is and I don’t want her to see it just yet. I hope she fucking likes it and I picked the right one.
Walking across the beach, I take her around the giant rock and lead her into the middle of the cove where I see our spot all laid out. Oh christ, I asked the girls to drop off a blanket and the food, and of course it looks nothing like what I asked for.
Faith gasps as she takes in the over-done setup. A large blanket is spread out with flower petals sprinkled all over the goddamn thing. A picnic basket sits in the center of it, a vase of flowers, and… is that fucking champagne? I don’t drink that shit.
Red turns to me in shock but has a smile that suddenly makes me less annoyed with the girls. “Okay. Who are you and what have you done with my brooding guy?”
I can’t deny the kick to my chest at hearing her call me her guy, it makes me consider lying to her and accepting all the credit, but then decide against it. “Sorry, Red, but I didn’t do this. I told Julia and Grace to drop off a fucking blanket and the food. Not this.”
“Hmmm,” she muses, “maybe I should ask one of them on a date then.” She laughs at my annoyed expression. “Just kidding,” she says, as if I didn’t already know that. “It wouldn’t work out anyway. It seems I like my guys moody, brooding and sexy.”
I grunt, then tug on her hand, walking over to the blanket. She kneels down and I watch her grasp a handful of petals, letting them slip through her slender fingers with a smile, and it makes me wish I had been the one to think of all of this.
She picks up the bottle of champagne and quirks a brow at me, “Do you think they packed you any beer?”
“Doubtful,” I reply, sitting across from her.
She opens the basket. “Oh you are wrong. There are a few beers in here, and a note.” She pulls out a small piece of folded paper and opens it. She bursts out laughing then hands it to me after reading it. “I believe this is for you.”
I take the paper and instantly recognize Evans’ writing: You’re welcome. Have fun on your romantic date, pussy.
I grunt and crumble the paper in my hand. Asshole. I look up to see Red going through our basket of food. “Mmm, this looks good and it’s all vegetarian. What are you going to eat?” she teases, putting the whole basket on her lap.
“I’ll manage with what’s in there.” Mainly because I ate a burger after I dropped Ruthie off at Sawyer and Grace’s but I keep that part to myself.
We start eating right away, since Red is clearly starving. For someone so little she can really pack away a lot of food. She does the majority of the talking, like usual, and I contentedly sit and listen to her. She rambles excitedly about picking out Christopher’s outfit for the dance, and spending some time with him and Katelyn tomorrow. Her earlier distress about the kid walking in on us doesn’t seem to be bothering her anymore.
After we finish she packs our garbage back into the basket, then crawls over to me with a smile that has my dick jerking in my pants. She climbs over my legs and straddles me. My hands slide under her dress and cup her perfect, round ass.
She moans and grinds against my erection. “Take off your shoes, Walker. Stay a while.”
I groan and know I’m close to losing my control, but I can’t, not yet. I grasp her hips and bring her away from my throbbing cock. “Not yet, baby. I have to go back to the truck for minute.”
“Why?” she asks breathlessly, fighting against the hold I have on her hips, which makes it that much fucking harder on me.
“Because I need to go get your birthday present.”
She stops her attempts and rears back in surprise. “My birthday present?”
“Yeah, I wanted to give it to you sooner but it took me a little while to find what I was looking for.”
“What is it?” she asks excitedly.
I grunt. “You would know by now if you would quit fucking distracting me.”
She giggles and gives me a quick, hard kiss before climbing off me. “By all means.”
I reluctantly stand and head to the truck. After grabbing the present from the back seat, where I buried it under a ton of shit so she wouldn’t see it, I make it back to our spot and come to a quick stop when I see Red standing at the edge of the water, a peaceful expression and soft smile gracing her delicate face as she watches the waves crash over her feet. The setting sun casts a glow behind her that takes me back to that first week in Iraq. She is the picture of perfection, and I swear there is no other woman who walked this earth that is more beautiful than her.
