Page 42 of Love You Like This

“Do you want to go for a walk on the beach?” he asks just before I reach my door.

“I was just thinking about doing that. The moon is so beautiful tonight.” I push my door open. “I’ll change and be right out.”

“Okay.” He gestures toward the back of the house with his head. “I’ll wait out there for you.”

I make quick work of taking my sundress off and grabbing a pair of shorts and a hoodie. Knowing it’ll probably be breezy down on the beach, I toss my hair up in a messy bun. The finishing touch is a little swipe of lip balm. I forgo shoes, no point when we’ll be walking on the sand.

Xander looks up from his phone when I step out onto the patio. “You look comfy.”

“I am.”

He leads the way down the stairs to the beach. Even though the path is unlit, there’s enough light from the moon to illuminate the way. The sand is still warm from the heat of the sun as my feet sink into it with each step. I follow him to the water’s edge where waves lap on the shore. The waves are the smallest they’ve been while we’ve been here, but there are still obvious rip currents spread along the beach.

“I’m sorry for making you feel uncomfortable today.” Xander surprises me with the apology. “I should have covered myself up.”

“Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t just you. I shouldn’t have stared. You didn’t make me uncomfortable.”

“Well, it’s hard not to stare when confronted with that type of magnificence.”

I laugh and give him a little shove. “So humble.”

He flashes his full, unguarded smile at me. The one that showcases the dimple in his cheek. Butterflies riot in my belly as I return his smile with one of my own.

Then I remember where I am and who I’m with. These feelings aren’t okay. He’s my stepbrother. Firmly off limits. We’re just friends.

Just. Friends.

“This is my favorite version of you,” he says as we start walking again.

“What?” I look over at him. “What do you mean?”

“In the moonlight on the beach.” He kicks at the water lapping over his feet. “You feel less burdened. Freer somehow. I don’t know, it just…”

“It just what?” I grab his hand to stop him.

He turns to me; his eyes, a swirling mix of brown and gold, look so conflicted as they search my own. “I don’t want to make things weird by finishing that sentence.”

His eyes dip to my lips.

“What if it doesn’t make things weird? What if whatever you’re thinking is mutual?”

He hesitates and then leans forward, pressing his forehead to mine while he reaches into my bun and pulls the elastic band out, freeing my hair. Our lips are so close, the air between us shared as our breaths feather against each other’s mouths.

“Fuck it.”

I barely get one gasp out when he presses his mouth to mine with the type of groan that tells me he’s been thinking about this as long as I have. His fingers dive into my hair as he tips my head back for deeper access. I press my body against his and run my fingers up his sides. Every divot and plane of muscle quivers beneath my touch.

Every stroke of his tongue against mine sends a rush of heat rolling through my body. I press my thighs together as my core aches with pulsing need. A kiss has never felt like this. I whimper against his lips as his other hand slides under the back of my hoodie and strokes the skin of my waist. I love the feeling of his piercing against my tongue.

“How is your skin so soft?” he whispers against my cheek. “Fuck. That was so much better than I ever imagined it could be.”

How long has he been thinking about this? Longer than me? If there were signs, I definitely wasn’t picking up on them.

I push those thoughts to the side and rise onto my toes, kissing him again with a fervor to meet his own. His cock hardens between us, the now familiar length of him twitching between our heated bodies. My hair dances around us in the breeze as I memorize every second of this moment to replay later.

I don’t know how long we stay locked together like this. It feels like it’ll never be enough. He could lay me down right here in the sand and take me, and I wouldn’t say a word except please. I can feel my pussy growing wet just from making out with him like this. How much better would it be to have his fingers or tongue buried in me.

He breaks the kiss again but presses his forehead to mine to stay connected. “We should stop. Dad and your mom could come home anytime and catch us.”