The water splashes against my feet.
Kai is walking deeper in the water next to me. His is shirtless. Somehow, lately, he is more often just in his board shorts. Barefoot. He is so sexy it makes me jealous of other girls glancing at him.
“Are we going to pretend that we are strangers?” I ask.
I feel pathetic. But besides the smiles, there is no indication that we are anything but fuck buddies.
It didn’t feel like that the night before or this morning.
In fact, my heart is heavy despite the smiles because I know that before, years ago, what I felt for Kai Droga was infatuation—instant, irrational, and overwhelming.
Now, there is so much more to it. Seeing him the second time, here, on the island, after years and everything that happened, feels like fate. And the last two weeks feel like magic.
Kai walks out of the deep waters toward me, bends to hook his hands under the backs of my thighs, and in seconds, lifts me up, my legs wrapping around his waist.
I smile, studying him, my arms around his neck, my heart suddenly doing a cartwheel.
“We are not,” he says, studying my face. “And I am not pretending, petal.” He kisses me on the lips, and I answer shyly, knowing that others further down the beach can see us. It’s the first time we kiss in plain sight.
Kai pulls away, a half-smile on his face.
“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he says. “I don’t know what you want and where you want this to go. I thought I would give you some space. But if you want”—his lips curl in a devilish smile—“I can grope and hump you in public. And I’ll do it any chance I can.”
I giggle, slapping him playfully on his chest and burying my face in the crook of his tattooed neck. I am so freaking happy, it’s ridiculous.
He stands with his feet in the water, his arms wrapped around me, my legs around his waist, and spins slowly, making me giddy.
This is perfect.
Heis perfect.
I feel tears well up in my eyes and pull away to look at him.
His dark eyes glisten mischievously when he says, “I want you to move to my bungalow.”
That’s fast. And exciting.
“I want to talk to you for hours,” he goes on. “I want to see your pretty face when I wake up. I want you to sit next to me at meals. And I want to kiss you in front of everyone.” That cocky smile is back. “And if Zach ever winks at you like he does sometimes, I’ll break his face.”
I chuckle, and my heart flutters at his possessiveness. I run my forefinger down his torso all the way to where our bodies connect.
His muscles flex. He brings his lips to my ear. “You play with me like that, and I’ll take you right here, in front of the entire island, baby girl.”
I laugh and feel want clench inside me. I would like to have him right now.
I study his smiling face for a moment. “It’s so strange that after everything that happened, we end up here. You and I.”
You and I.
The words tug at my heart in the most tender way.
But his smile fades, his gaze suddenly too intense.
“Do you know what hurt the most after that night four years ago?” he asks.
I want to hear it and I don’t.
Let’s not do this.