“It’s lovely here.” My toes pushed off the soft white sand. Just shy of turquoise water lapped at the shore. I wished we had time to stay longer than one night.
“The people are amazing. They’re very family oriented. One time, my mom walked to town with the four of us. Sofia was a baby. It was crazy hot, and by the time we had picked up a few things, most of us were tired and hungry. Mom decided to take a cab back, not knowing the driver was on his lunch break.”
I laughed. “So you all had to walk anyway? I feel for your mom.”
“You would think, but no. The driver insisted on taking us because of ‘the kids.’ He also refused to accept payment.”
“Did he know who your mom was?”
Trey stepped over a broken conch shell. “I don’t think it would have mattered. The native people are just that way. Family is everything to them. They watch out for one another’s kids, whether they’re from here or visiting.”
We turned around to head back, walking in companionable silence, saying hello to the few people we passed. I got the feeling that his family welcomed the residents onto their property with open arms. No one showed fear or wariness around Trey. It was also the one place I’d noticed that he didn’t have his gun strapped to him twenty-four seven.
I cast another longing glance at the stunning water. He tugged on my hand, angling us so that we were facing the sea. Then we waded in. Warm water lapped at my legs the farther in we went. When it was up to my shoulders, we stopped, buoyant in the salt water.
Trey’s hands found my waist, and an electric current from his touch shimmered over my skin. Then there was the way he was looking at me. My heart skipped a beat, and I swayed toward him, helpless against the magnetic pull. His gaze dropped to my lips then slowly returned to my eyes. My hands settled on his wide shoulders, and the muscles bunched beneath my fingertips as he inched me closer.
“That kiss we shared last night.”
The memory of his lips on mine seduced me, and I shivered from the sensual onslaught. I caught my lower lip between my teeth then released it, waiting for him to continue.
“I can’t stop thinking about it.” He lifted a hand from my waist then traced my bottom lip with the pad of his thumb, trailing droplets of salty water in its wake. “There’s something between us, and I want to explore it.”
I tilted my head, confused. Does he want something purely physical with me? Because I’m on board with that, but I need clarity to do a better job of guarding my heart if that’s the case.“You want to explore what?”
“A relationship.” His thumb rested over the pulse fluttering at the base of my neck. “Are you interested?”
I slid my hands up his neck to tangle in the thick, silky strands of his dark hair. Our chests pressed together, and I gasped at the contact, a breathy “yes” following before his lips slanted over mine.
Heat built between us as he deepened the kiss. The water lapping around our entwined bodies faded from my awareness, as did the diminishing sunlight. The way he touched me went beyond anything I’d ever experienced. It was soul searing and life altering.
I could have continued to devour him, but he changed the intensity of the kiss until his touch was tender rather than earth shattering. When he pulled back, all I could do was cling to him. The only thing that appeased me when he broke the kiss was the way his heart thundered against my chest and the raw hunger swirling in his dark eyes.
“We should get out of the water and go back to the house.”
I worried my lip. Things were spinning out of control. I needed a moment to catch my breath.
He grinned as if reading my mind. “We’ll shower and change then go get something to eat.”
“Yeah, okay.” I put my hand in his, and we made our way through the water then up the boardwalk until we reached the pool area, where we’d left our towels.
I borrowed one of Sofia’s sundresses, and we had dinner on the terrace of a beachside restaurant, complete with twinkle lights overhead. I glanced at the menu and decided to have their fish-of-the-day special, paired with white wine because a piña colada would not have gone well with that meal. Later… I would definitely order my favorite beachside beverage. After our wine was delivered, I couldn’t refrain from asking Trey what it was like growing up.
“I can’t imagine what it was like as a kid, growing up in one of the Five Families.”
Trey grinned. “There was always danger, but my family handled it in a manner that didn’t cause us undue stress. Unless someone got shot.” He shrugged. “We were close. Marco and Nico were more similar, so Sofia and I tended to hang together if there were conflicts between the four of us. The worst was when Sofia wasn’t included. It was rare, but it happened.”
I leaned forward. “I can’t imagine she dealt with that well.” She struck me as such a force, confident and determined but still fun and adventurous. People were drawn to her charisma, which had instantly ensnared me.
“No.” Mirth danced in Trey’s warm brown eyes. “One time, and I honestly don’t remember what Marco had done, but Sofia snuck into his room when he was sleeping and put makeup on him. He had a habit of wandering downstairs half asleep for breakfast, so he didn’t realize he was wearing blue eyeshadow, hot-pink lipstick, and these two streaks of bright-red blush on his cheekbones.”
“That’s not so bad.”
“It wouldn’t have been, if we hadn’t taken pictures and used it as blackmail for years.”
“Sofia was the biggest troublemaker?”
Trey snorted. “Not really. We were pretty young when this happened, but Sof and I had done something to Nico. Neither of us know what it was—we’d just borrowed it, but I guess we erased a program he was working on. Anyway, he retaliated by cutting five inches off Sof’s hair. He did the same to me, but he buzzed it.”