Page 49 of Forbidden Fruit
Her expression softens as she finds whatever she's looking for in my eyes. She cups my face in her hands, thumbs gently stroking my beard.
"I've spent so long being strong for everyone else," she whispers. "Trying to be what everyone needed me to be."
I turn my head slightly to kiss her palm. "And what do you need, Becca?"
The question hangs between us, weighty with possibility. Above us, the stars multiply by the minute, turning the sky into a glittering canvas.
"This," she finally says. "Just this. You. The stars. No expectations."
My heart swells almost painfully. I capture Becca's lips in a kiss that starts gently but quickly deepens. Her body melts against mine, soft and yielding yet somehow commanding at the same time. My hands slip beneath the borrowed shirt, finding the warm skin of her back.
"I want you again," I murmur against her throat. "Here, under the stars."
Her breath catches. "Someone could see."
I smile against her skin. "We're miles from shore. There's no one but us and the night sky."
She pulls back just enough to study my face, her eyes reflecting starlight. Then, with deliberate slowness, she begins unbuttoning the shirt. One button, then another, then another, until the fabric parts to reveal the gentle curves I've spent hours worshipping.
"You're magnificent," I breathe, unable to look away.
The shirt slides from her shoulders, catching at her elbows. The night air pebbles her skin, and I warm her with my hands and mouth. She gasps when I take a nipple between my lips, her fingers threading through my hair to hold me close.
I stand with her in my arms, her legs wrapping around my waist. Carefully, I lower us to the cushioned deck, laying her beneath me like an offering to the night. The stars watch us make love, our bodies moving in rhythm with the boat's rocking and the sea's eternal pulse.
Later, we lie wrapped in a blanket I've brought from below. Becca's head rests on my chest, her breathing deep and even. I trace constellations on her bare back, connecting the beauty marks scattered across her skin.
"I don't want to go back," she murmurs, her voice thick with approaching sleep.
"We don't have to," I say. "Not tonight."
"Not ever," she whispers so quietly I almost miss it.
The words send a surge of fierce joy through me. I tighten my arms around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
"I’ll take you anywhere you want to go," I tell her. "Just say the word."
Becca
The morning sun streams through Casa Azul's windows as I pad barefoot across the cool tile floor. The scent of coffee and something buttery wafts from the kitchen, where Clive stands at the stove, his back to me. I just watch him for a moment, still trying to process everything that happened last night.
I slip into one of the bedrooms to change out of the clothes I slept in, pulling a light blue sundress over my head. The cotton feels soft against my skin, still warm from sleep. When I finally turn my phone back on, it buzzes like an angry hornet.
Fifty-three missed calls from Jack. Twelve from Holly. Twenty-eight text messages.
My stomach drops as I scroll through them, each more frantic than the last.
"Where the hell are you?"
"Answer your damn phone."
"I'm going to kill Clive if he's touched you."
I quickly tap Holly's name, needing a buffer between me and Jack's rage.
"Oh my God, Becca!" Holly answers on the first ring. "Are you okay? Jack is absolutely losing his mind. He showed up at my apartment at midnight demanding to know where you were."
"I'm fine," I say, lowering my voice and stepping farther from the kitchen. "Better than fine, actually."
