The Wedding Contract(24)
Deegan is safer, more normal. The Ferros aren’t average and their family is constantly involved in some scandal or another. I don’t want that life. I don’t want him. Even as the words form in my mind, I feel the lie and it’s growing. I have a thing for Nick. I know I do. I’m hoping that this beautiful young man sitting next to me can shatter my infatuation. Deegan is real and has been from the start. He’s also not some pampered ass, either, so I respect him more than Nick.
Stop thinking about Nick! I mentally scold myself. I remind myself that I’m sitting next to a hot guy, with a very nice package in those pants. Not that I usually think like that, but it’s hard to ignore it now.
I lift my foot from the water and stretch my tired toes. It makes ripples that fan out from the rock and into the dark water.
Until now, Deegan has been making pleasantries. I laugh, he talks, and so on. It’s nice. So when he mentions Ferro, it throws me for a loop. “Uh, Sky, it’s not that I don’t trust your roommate or anything, but check the coins.” Deegan is looking out at the water when he says it, his gaze fixated on some point far in the distance. “I bet he dumps his change on the dresser at the end of the day.”
I smile, thinking he’s joking. “Why should I do that?” The side of his face is striking. He has a five o’clock shadow I imagine feeling rough under my palms. His tie is off, behind us somewhere with his jacket and shoes. The collar of that pristine pale purple shirt is open and I can see a tiny bit of his chest below.
“He won all three spots.” He looks at me and cocks his head to the side. “Make sure he was playing fair. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had a double-sided coin in his pocket. The man is a Ferro. Don’t put anything past him. They all play to win and like to screw with anyone who gets in the way.” Deegan’s face scrunches up as he glances away. “Well, maybe not screw you, but you get the idea. I don’t like the idea of him messing around with you like that.”
For a second, I wonder if Deegan overheard our bet. I shove the thought aside. “I don’t think Nick is that devious, but I’ll check. If he is, he’s going to wish he never met me.”
Deegan chuckles softly. When he turns his face to mine, we’re a breath apart. My heart pounds harder and I forget to breathe. My eyes drift to his lips and I think about it. I could be the slutty bridesmaid, just this once. No one is out here. We’re practically on the other side of the island, which is mostly a nature preserve, and shrouded in darkness. He could slip the strap of my dress off my shoulder and run his palm over my bare skin. I could lie back on the cold rock and let his body warm me inside and out. Those beautiful hands could feel every inch of me. I could let him. I could.
Deegan’s eyes drift to my lips before darting back to my eyes. He repeats the same movement several times leaning closer to me ever so slowly. The rush of breath I’d lost comes back and I can’t hide that I’ve been imagining our tangled naked bodies. My face grows hot as my body pulses in all the right places. I want this kiss. I want his lips on mine. Just for now, I want him to make me forget all my problems—to forget who I am. He can see it in my eyes.
Deegan’s lips brush against mine, making my skin prickle. I lean in closer, threading my fingers through his hair. The kiss is tame at first, but shifts quickly. Neither of us speaks. It’s like he knew this was coming, even if I didn’t. I don’t do things like this. I’m no exhibitionist, no one-night stand chick aching for another lay. That’s not me. But it doesn’t matter because here I am, falling back and pulling this stranger down with me. His firm body eagerly follows and presses my back into the cold, wet stone.
Slow down, a voice in my mind warns, but I ignore it.
No! For once, I want things to go my way and I throw caution to the wind. I’ve been nothing but cautious and look where it’s gotten me. I’m going to win this bet or go groveling back to my parents. And if I lose, I offered up myself as the prize. What the hell is wrong with me? Why’d I do that? Hindsight is always crystal clear, but at that moment it seemed like a logical move.
Stop thinking. I want to be a siren and this is my cove. I want to seduce this man for no reason other than I want to and I can. When I was a teenager, I’d thought about mythological mermaids to the point it was scandalous. I never mentioned it to Amy. I can’t imagine the conversations that would ensue.
This isn’t like you, slow down.
No, this is me. I have Deegan here alone. He wants me, here and now. I can feel it and I’m not going to stop him. Deegan’s hands are all over my skin, gripping, cupping, and feeling my curves through my clothes. One hand slips under the hem of my dress and I’m in heaven. As I come up from a passionate kiss, Deegan works his way down my neck. Eyes closed, I gasp for air. He presses our hips firmly together and rocks our bodies with the rhythm of the dark waters, filling me with naughty thoughts.