Page 49

He’d arranged the blankets so they formed a little dip, propped with cushions. She lay back, snuggling under the blanket as he handed her a drink.

“My goodness—what service,” she teased.

“Only the best for you.”

He was watching her again. That quiet, warm smile. Intense. Yep. Definitely flirting.

The air between them felt thin and buzzing.

She coughed and took a sip of fizz, trying to distract herself from the pulse thudding in her neck.

Over the next half an hour or so, a few people drifted over to say hello, then moved on.

Thankfully, no sign of the Sharks. Lizzie said David had gone to the big party at Beira’s Beach, and apparently a couple of them had shown up there. Beira’s was rowdier—Puka’s was much more chill. People talked about everything and nothing, passing around drinks and sharing stories and easy laughter. The hardcore partygoers were still up dancing. Some of the older teenagers had appeared too—likely freed after babysitting their siblings and cousins while the adults were out. And now they were trying to sneak a sly drink or two.

Jenn realised she was very close to Ruairidh. And she was starting to feel… twitchy, her hands pressed tight together, her body thrumming with restraint. His body heat, the scent of his aftershave—citrus and wood and something warm beneath—was wrapping around her like a second blanket. She could feel the length of him stretched out along the blankets, broad and steady, his quiet presence impossible to ignore. Her skin tingled with awareness, each accidental brush of arms or legs under the blankets making her breath catch—and she couldn’t believe she was still holding a normal conversation. More than once, his hand grazed the bare skin of her thigh. Each time, she felt her heartbeat jump—and saw the faintest flicker of a smile on his face. The air between them was getting denser by the minute.

“To hell with it…” Jenn heard Ruairidh mutter.

She turned to ask what was wrong.

But he took her chin in one hand and locked eyes with her. His gaze was almost black in the darkness. There was a faint shake in his breath, like whatever he was about to say had been locked behind his teeth for weeks.

“I’m sorry, Jenn, but I have to say it…” he said, voice low. “You’ve been driving me mad all night. Actually—longer than that. I just didn’t want to say anything and ruin it all…”

His thumb brushed her jaw, the tiniest tremor in it. “Ìosa, you’re hard to ignore.”

Jenn didn’t give him the chance to overthink it. Oversay it. Every nerve screamed yes. She could taste the salt in the air, feel the heat rolling off him, the faint brush of his breath across her lips, and if she waited another second, she might combust.

She crashed her lips onto his.

The kiss was hard, urgent, desperate, tasting of salt and citrus and something entirely, overwhelmingly him. The heat of his mouth seared into hers, his stubble rasping her skin, his breath hot and ragged as he angled the kiss deeper.

She didn’t care who saw. What he was saying—how he was saying it—was enough. To hell with consequences. She could survive a few awkward baggage carousel moments if it meant finally getting this man out of her system.

“Ooooooh, look at these two teenagers!” came a distant hoot—Housty or Austin, probably.

It was followed by a thwack and Màiri’s unmistakable hiss: “Ist! Leave them be. Actually—piss off back to the bonfire!”

Apparently, sisterly approval did the trick. Ruairidh deepened the kiss.

He shifted, half on top of her now, his weight pressing her into the blankets. God, it felt good—heavy and grounding, deliciously solid against her. His hand slid into her hair, tugging just enough to make her gasp, tilting her mouth so he could devour her more thoroughly. The other hand wandered up her thigh, fingers skating higher and higher, the calluses on his fingertips a rough counterpoint to the sensitive skin beneath. Goosebumps chased his touch, sending a shiver darting all the way up her spine. His knee pressed between hers, nudging her thighs apart, grinding in a way that added pressure, tension, heat—every shift of his body dragging a fresh spark of want through her.

Jenn could not get enough.

Her hands were everywhere—gripping his shoulders, clawing down his back, threading through his hair to drag him closer. The hard muscle of him under her palms, the heat of his skin, the way he trembled faintly when she bit at his lip—she wanted it all. She was ravenous, undone, dizzy with need. She wanted to crawl inside his skin. And from the way he kissed her—reckless, hungry, relentless—he wanted the same. Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one affected by this crazy connection between them.

She had no idea how long they kissed like that. Frantic, messy, incredible.

Time blurred, marked only by the scrape of stubble against her jaw, the tangling of their tongues, the hot press of his lips, the low rumble of his groans caught between them. Each breath she dragged in tasted of him, heady and intoxicating. The wind blew gently around them. The sea lapped softly against the shore. Jenn felt both cool and hot. Intense and relaxed.

Eventually, the frenzy slowed, shifting into something deeper, more thorough, unhurried. The pressure of his mouth softened but grew no less consuming. Every kiss wound her tighter even as it sank into her bones, steady and claiming. His tongue teased slow and sure, enticing rather than desperate now, and she melted into it, her body loosening beneath the weight of his. The blankets were soft beneath her, the sand shifting subtly underneath, grounding her in the moment. His body was a furnace against hers, his heartbeat hammering against her chest in sync with her own. They hadn’t forgotten they were still at a beach party—music and laughter still carried faintly from somewhere beyond—but none of it mattered. Not when she could savour this, every second.

Jenn wasn’t sure she’d ever been kissed like this in her life. It was all-consuming. Relaxed. Passionate. Easy. Somehow both chaotic and gentle.

Finally, they stilled.

Ruairidh opened his eyes, looking down at her with a slow, satisfied smile that curled heat low in her belly all over again. He brushed his hand through her hair, trailing fingers down to cup her jaw as though he couldn’t quite stop touching her.