“No,” I tell him, fixing my gaze on his eyes with as much strength and venom as I can handle. I’m a woman and my venom is as powerful as my heart. I have endless reserves. “That’s what you want me to do.”
“And if I say yes,” he murmurs, his face coming closer, the top of his nose brushing against mine, “that I want it too—would that change anything?”
It would change everything.
Everything.
“It wouldn’t matter,” I tell him. I don’t know where I find the strength.
“I think you’re lying,” he whispers. His hands let go of my arms and reach up, disappearing into my hair. “And I’ll prove it.”
Before I can protest, he swiftly leans in and kisses me. His lips are pressed, flush, wet to mine and in that moment a million waves could crash over my head and it wouldn’t come close to this feeling. I’m sinking, drowning, swimming against his lips. His mouth works against mine in perfect rhythm, his tongue so warm and soft and fucking addicting. He tastes like rum punch and lies and the first rays of morning.
Your sister, that voice, that loud and important voice, speaks up. It’s nearly buried by the lust that’s building through me, the same lust that’s making my knees weak, my limbs tremble and shake.
But it’s there.
I put my hand at his chest and push him back. Not hard, just enough for our mouths to break apart. He’s breathing heavily, his nostrils flaring, his eyes drenched in desire, and I already feel empty without his kiss. Every part of me aches.
“We can’t,” I tell him, wishing I didn’t sound so weak.
“Because of Juliet? Your mother? Which person in your family is it?” His tone is borderline nasty.
“Because,” I say feebly, but my fingers are already trailing to the button on his shirt, just beneath his collarbone. “It’s wrong and you know it.”
“We’re adults,” Logan says. “We can make our own decisions. We can decide what’s right for us, not anyone one else, not because of what anyone else thinks.” He runs his hand through my hair, scratching along the scalp and I nearly melt right there. “Fuck, Veronica. Tell me this isn’t what you want. Tell me it’s not me and I’ll walk away and we’ll go back to what was.”
But the truth is so confusing, so dicey.
“I’ll tell you what,” he says, running his thumb over my lips. “I’ve been wanting to kiss you for a long time. And I’ve been wanting to do a hell of a lot more. If you think it’s been easy for me to deal with that…”
“You were married,” I tell him.
“I’m aware of that,” he says. “But the past tense is was.”
I look at him sharply, like I’ve been kicked in the shins. “That’s a terrible thing to say.”
“It’s the truth, isn’t?”
“She’s dead,” I cry out softly. “If she wasn’t, you wouldn’t be saying this.” I pause, the reality kicking in. “But, wait, of course you would.”
He flinches. “Easy now. This is about us.”
“There is no us without her, don’t you see that?”
His brows knit together as he stares at me, his jaw set hard. “All I know is how I feel. And I know how you feel too.”
“I never admitted anything!” I say, about to push him away for good.
But his hand in my hair makes a tight fist, pulling on the strands and he brings my face right up to his. “If you think any of this is easy, you’re wrong,” he growls.
And then he’s kissing me again and I’m a goner. His hand pulls at my hair and I moan into his mouth while his other hand grabs hold of my ass, yanking me into him. I feel everything all at once. I’m overloaded, like a million dreams have just been dumped on me from above. His hard-on pressing against my pelvis, my thighs clenching together, his tongue sliding against mine at a slow and languid pace, the hard and soft of his lips as he both soothes and devours me.
I’m not bashful either. I grab the back of his neck, feeling his hot skin, and I run my nails over his shoulders and the tight, hard muscle underneath. Johnny once told me the Hawaiians saw fire as a force that gave instead of took and here, as we stand on the beach, the waves crashing angrily at our feet, I understand what he means. We’re positively volcanic and the fire between us is growing and giving life to something else entirely. Something new. Something unstoppable.
“Logan?”
Daniel’s voice cuts between us like we’ve been doused with ice water. We both let go of each other and jump back, our chests heaving, fear in our eyes.