Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Quietly, I pad through the sand toward her, watching her back as she focuses on the reflection of the moonlight on the gently lapping water.
Her red hair trails down her back, and from this angle, it looks completely bare. Her eyes jump to me as I sit down beside her, leaning back into the sand on my hands like I’ve done so many times before.
“Hi, Juni.”
Her voice is soft. “Hi, Beau.”
I chuckle a little, opening my coat and smirking. “Actually, it’s Mr. Darcy to you.”
Surprised eyes jump to mine once again, and I nod. I remember, June. Apparently, I remember everything when it comes to you.
She glances down at herself. “Avery talked me into being Ariel.”
I scan her shell bra and bare stomach, looking down to the glitter of her green mermaid-tail skirt, and smile. “Far be it for me to agree with my sister on something, but she got this one right. You look incredible.”
“Really?” she asks, and the only instinct I have right now is to kiss the self-doubt right off her face.
“Really,” I confirm with emphasis. “I’m having the hardest time keeping my hands off you.”
She startles into a laugh, and my eyebrows draw together, but she waves a hand in front of my face and grabs my elbow to keep me from disengaging at all. I don’t know what to make of it, but when she finally speaks, I understand.
“I’m sorry, really,” she says, her voice just barely over a whisper. “But you just have no idea how many times I’ve dreamed of you saying that to me, like, out loud.” She pauses and looks over at me, her eyes scanning my face with hesitancy. “If you haven’t caught on,” she says, and her voice drops even lower. “I’ve, uh… I’ve had a bit of a crush on you for a while now. Years, even.”
My smile is lazy and comfortable. For as awkward as I thought this would be, it’s not.
It’s us, just better.
“I imagine Elizabeth had to wait a while for Mr. Darcy, too.”
The cutest fucking giggle escapes her lungs. “Yeah. You’re right… Beau—”
“June—”
We both grin, and she hurries to usher me on. “You go ahead.”
I sit up and drape my arms over my knees, turning my neck to look her directly in her pretty blue eyes.
“Why did you ask me to meet you on Midnight initially? Was it about Seth? Or was it because you wanted a way to talk to me?”
She shrugs gently, her bare shoulders nearly touching her ears, and admits, “Both, I guess. I wanted to help you, but mostly…I’m sorry for how things went, so damn sorry. And I know I’ve put you in a really bad situation, but I did it because…” She pauses and swallows hard. “I just wanted you.”
Her words are a fucking dart that hits the bull’s-eye of my chest. “June.”
“I don’t know how to go back to the way things were.” Her voice shakes as she looks away from me to stare at the ocean. I know it’s because she’s scared—because the conclusion of this conversation could change our lives forever. I’ve been scared too.
But sitting here with her, finally talking to her about everything, I find myself looking at June in a way I think I’ve subconsciously avoided for a while. And being worried isn’t in the equation at all.
“We don’t,” I say my truth. “We don’t go back, June.”
“Beau—”
“No, June. You can’t start something like this—this big, this great, this deep—without finishing it.”
“But…” She shakes her head and furrows her brow. “But Avery—”
“I don’t give a shit about my sister,” I chime in, not even letting her finish the thought. “I haven’t thought about her at all, honestly. But I’ve damn sure thought about you. Every day, every night since you started this.”
June’s mouth curves down into a little frown. “Beau, she’s my best friend.”
“And you’re my obsession,” I admit, throwing all caution to the wind and leaning close enough that our warm breath mingles in the cool breeze of night. “I want you, June.”
She sways forward, and I take it as a sign, pushing my lips to hers and drinking in her gasp as I do. She tastes like cherries and sunshine, and I linger in the feeling of her lips under mine as a tingle spreads down my spine and settles in my dick. She tastes so good, I could swallow her fucking whole.
I push her back into the sand and hover my body over hers, confident enough in the cloak of darkness and the sounds of the party that we won’t be discovered. She moans, her legs falling open enough for my hips to find their way between them, and I shove up the mermaid-tail skirt to touch the skin of her thigh.
She kisses me back, opening her mouth and letting in my tongue, and I explore her further. It’s magic in a bottle and better than I ever would have dreamed.