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“But the things they said. They were so awful and I didn’t see the point of bringing us all down.”
Bash put his hands on my shoulders and shook his head. “No. We are all a part of this relationship. We all carry whatever consequences come from going public.”
“But—”
“Seriously, Em. If Michael were out here, he’d say the exact same thing. If any of us tries to do something like that on our own, it’ll create an imbalance, and an imbalance will lead to weak spots that can tear easily.” He stroked my cheek with his thumb and I closed my eyes. “I don’t want us to tear, Emily.”
“I don’t want that either,” I whispered.
“Good. Now let’s enjoy whatever fresh hell awaits us next.”
My eyes snapped open, and a smile stretched my face. He was so beautiful. His lips were so damn perfect it hurt to look directly at them sometimes. The water was reflecting in his eyes, making their blue depths even more bottomless than usual.
“What’s that smile for?”
“Do you know how many times I stood on this dock, watching you out on the water, wishing you’d notice me as more than just your friend’s little sister?”
“I see you, Em,” Bash murmured.
I bit my lower lip and my stomach fluttered with nerves leftover from years ago. “And how many times I wished you would meet me on the dock and kiss me?”
“Like this?”
He combed his fingers through my hair and our chests crashed together before his lips claimed mine. A slight breeze blew in, as if he had pulled me so close he stirred the wind up himself.
His skin was rough, stubbled with the hint of a beard he was silently growing. I dragged my tongue across his lip, feeling some of the coarse growth on the edges before sinking back into his mouth.
He was warmth and protection. The relief of telling him about the articles washed over me. Bash was right. We needed to shoulder everything together.
When we finally pulled away and steadied our ragged breathing, I glanced at the lake house. “We need to talk to Mac.”
Mac was silent, listening as I recounted the worst details of the article. Like how Bash and I were clearly using him for his money and status because we were nobodies, and how he should have stuck with puck bunnies because they were at least transparent about what they wanted.
His forehead tensed with each new sentence, and I finished the rest of my spiel as fast as I could. “I’m so sorry,” I finished with.
“Why? Did you write it?”
I glanced at Bash, who was watching me as intensely as Mac. “She seems to think she needs to apologize to us for something she didn’t do.”
“Sorry—”
“Emily,” Bash growled. “If you keep apologizing, I’m going to bend you over this bed—”
I pressed my thighs together and swatted him. “This bed creaks like it’s going to snap apart at any second—”
“Then, for the sake of the bed, quit apologizing.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my neck. “And if you don’t want your family to hear anything, you better be quiet for the next few minutes.”
He tugged my pants down to my ankles and nodded toward Mac. “Get her on the bed, Savage.”
Mac pulled me down to him, and I whisper-shrieked. “We can’t do this. I’m sure they’re all listening.”
“Then let’s give them a show they won’t forget.”
I smacked Mac and pulled up my pants. “I can’t. Knowing our parents are a thin, thin wall away. And my grandma—”
“She’s going deaf—”
“She wants you to think she’s going deaf, so you’ll gossip around her. Big difference.”
