Page 58 of Visions of You

As soon as she’d said she wanted fresh air, I’d had an irresistible urge to visit the Cove with her. I hadn’t been to it since I’d come back. As a familiar sense of serenity washed over me, I wondered why it took me so long. As I concentrated on the soft warmth pressed against me, a smile rose on my face.

Because I wanted to share it with her. I just didn’t know it yet.

I spread the blanket out on the sand and helped April lie down on it. The air was warmer here without the breeze. I lowered my head and reached for her soft, yielding lips. After a soft moan, she broke away and swept her gaze over the top of the cliff behind us.

“Don’t worry,” I whispered. “We’re completely hidden here. The beach is invisible from the bluff and the Big House.”

She peaked a brow. “Ah. I take it this is where you bring all your girls?”

I gave her a cocky grin. “Hardly. I made out with a few here in my teenage years.” As I stared at the pale curve of her cheek, my smile faded. “Making out was all. I brought you here because I wanted to show the Cove to you, but now I’m kind of hoping for round two.”

My heart beat faster as she smiled up at me, starlight reflecting in her eyes. “I’m glad you did, and I can’t think of a better place. You might need to be a little more gentle this time, though.”

I rubbed my nose against hers. “I can do that.”

I could be whatever she needed.

The warm night embraced us, and the only sound as we came together again was soft waves washing ashore.

Chapter Twenty-One

April

Gabriel Markham was a cuddler.Of the things that had amazed me about Gabe—and the number was legion—this was among the most surprising. We had only spent a handful of full nights together. Most nights we retired to his bedroom after Hailey was safely asleep, and I made sure to stay awake. But on those rare luxurious full nights, I had always woken up in a different position from what I’d fallen asleep in, yet with Gabe wrapped around me somehow.

Smiling, I blinked my eyes open to golden light streaming into my bedroom. Gabe breathed deep and steady next to me. We faced each other and one strong arm lay draped over my waist. Our legs intertwined. I was warm and wonderfully comfortable.

Except I needed to pee.

Slowly raising my arm from his hip, I gently scooched backward. Eyes still closed, Gabe murmured and pulled me tighter to him, our bellies pressing together. As much as I loved his strong arms and legsaround me, this wouldn’t do. He settled again, so this time I slowly moved my left leg from his, then my right.

Okay, mostly there.

With agonizing slowness, I moved my hand and picked up his arm encircling me. As soon as I started to lift it, his hold tightened. His arm became a steel rod. Immovable.

I frowned, then glanced at his face.

At his smiling face, though his eyes were still closed.

“You asshole. You’re awake!”

He burst into laughter, opening his eyes. “Wow. That’s a nice greeting. Are you always this warm and fuzzy in the morning?”

I couldn’t help smiling back. “When I have good reason to be. If I was wearing pants right now, I’d be about to pee them.”

He made a rumbling noise in his throat. “But you’re not wearing pants, are you?”

“We really ought to get up. Don’t you need to collect your daughter?”

He closed his eyes and snuggled into his pillow. “At some point. What time is it?”

I glanced at the clock on the nightstand behind him. “Seven thirty.”

His eyes flew open. “Shit! Really?”

“Did you think we’d be awake at the crack of dawn? We were at the Cove half the night.”

“Don’t remind me or we’ll never get out of bed.”

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