A few minutes later, it turns the opposite direction of my hotel.
“Excuse me, where are we going?”
The man doesn’t answer.
Nerves dial up, and I pull out my phone to call Harrison. But before the ringtone sounds, I realize where we’re headed.
The car parks at the beach, and I get out. The familiar sound of waves crashing along the shore greets me. I scan the nearly empty parking area for Harrison’s car, the knot in my chest loosening when I spot it.
He’s already there.
On the beach.
I take off my shoes at the edge of the beach and walk to him, the sand slipping between my toes. He meets me halfway. He’s barefoot, his waistcoat unbuttoned. The breeze blows his hair, and his eyes glow like blue coals in the dark.
I spot a piece of confetti stuck to his jacket sleeve.
“Classy,” I murmur as I pick it off.
I barely have time to look back up before he drags me against his hard body.
“I know you went to see Mischa. Again.”
I drop the shoes and my bag to fold my arms in the little space between us. “And I know you fucked your hand until you popped like a bottle of Dom at a bachelorette in the middle of Debajo. So, we all have secrets.”
He shakes me hard, anger and fear clouding another emotion in his eyes. “I’m tempted to tie you to my damn bed just to keep you safe.”
We’re so close that his lips rub across mine when he bites out the words.
“Is that the only reason?” I murmur.
He hauls my lips to his. It’s possessive and desperate, and I want to fight him, but not as much as I want to hold him close.
He backs me across the sand. His hands cup my face, the initial demand giving in to something earnest and full of longing. I jerk in surprise when my heels hit the water and the waves lick at my ankles.
He pulls back an inch. His eyes are as deep as the sea, every bit as tortured. “I won’t let you pretend this is all I want from you.”
I swallow, my heart racing as I grip his wrists. “What do you want?”
“That first night I arrived,” he mutters, his voice oddly rough, “I didn’t ask Sebastian if he fucked you. I asked him if he loved you.”
Shock slams into me, tickling starting deep in my stomach like the tickling from the waves against my legs as he continues.
“I couldn’t bear the idea. When I saw the photo of you two at the event, it destroyed me. I tried to tell myself I would stay away if he was what you wanted.”
His thumb strokes the tattoo on the inside of my wrist. His words course through my veins, leave me shuddering. We’re up to our hips now, the water tugging at the fabric of his tuxedo pants. Harrison doesn’t notice, or if he does, he doesn’t care.
“Because I love you. I loved you first. And no matter what happens, dammit, I’ll love you last.”
I’ve seen Harrison King ruthless. I’ve seen him angry.
I’ve never seen him desperate.
I’m a different woman than I was a year ago. I’m stronger and weaker. I hurt more and I love more. I didn’t think it was possible to be both of those things.
He taught me how.
We’re connected in a way that will never end. Out here, where I feel as if I met the real Harrison King for the first time, I can’t deny it.