“I’m going to make you scream with pleasure.” He drew her down another inch and then held her hips steady.
She reached for him, wrapping her hands around his biceps. Her fingernails dug into his dress shirt. “I dare you . . . ”
The roar of the storm-teased ocean drowned out her voice. She kept her gaze locked with his as he pushed deeper and deeper.
Boom, she thought.
The first shudder of pleasure sparked. Behind her, a wave hit the sand and rushed out. The sound of the ocean echoed the crashing need rolling up inside her, reaching closer and closer . . .
“Oh God, Jared,” she groaned and closed her eyes.
Raindrops landed on her face and soaked through his white shirt. She rocked her hips harder and faster against him. And he gave her everything. He met each thrust of her hips, rocking up into her. The blanket surrounding them—their fortress—grew wet and heavy.
Her body exploded, and she swore she saw colors. The entire rainbow erupted inside her and all around her, undaunted by the storm.
“Fireworks?” he growled.
His biceps tensed beneath her hands. His hips thrust once, twice, and then stilled. He shuddered beneath her. And the rain fell harder, coming in quick, insistent sheets. They were soaked. But still . . .
“Fireworks,” she moaned as
the last spark of her orgasm slipped away as if the tide had dragged it out to sea.
But the water always came back. The waves shifted to peaceful and pleasant, yet the wild storm was never far away.
“Beautiful, magical fireworks.” She opened her eyes and saw his smug satisfaction. “Please tell me there is an encore.”
He reached up and brushed her wet, dripping hair out her face. “The bedroom show starts as soon as we get out of this storm.”
She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. A quick brush, just enough to taste the rain and know he was real. This was real. She never would have dreamed, never would have guessed.
Thunder rumbled. Not overhead, not yet, but the storm was closing in on them.
“Lucy?”
“I’m fine,” she said softy. “I’m great. I just never imagined that happiness looked like this—a unicorn in a rainstorm.”
Unicorns aren’t real, a tiny voice inside her head warned her.
But that didn’t change the fact that she believed in them. Just like she trusted Jared and this perfect moment.
Chapter 16
Lucy Linden Fantasy Number One involved his desk. Fantasy Number Two featured his bedroom. His shower played a key role in the third. A public beach in the middle of a thunderstorm hadn’t made the list. And he’d never pictured her rambling about horned horses after sex.
“Did you just call me a unicorn?” he asked mildly.
“Yes.” She cradled his face between her palms. Then she dropped a kiss on his lips before releasing him. “Yes, I did.”
He laughed and shook his head. “You can explain that insight into Lucy’s dating world later. Right now, we need to get out of this storm. We can make it to my car in five minutes if we run.”
Thunder rumbled overhead as he gently shifted her off him. He pulled on his pants and fastened the closure at the top. His phone vibrated against his leg, signaling an incoming message or voicemail. He ignored it. Instead, he turned and tossed everything onto the wet blanket—the taco container, the juice box, and her plain, white panties.
She didn’t come here tonight for sex, he thought as his gaze lingered on her underwear. But he’d managed to say the right things. He’d walked onto the beach without much of a plan. Hell, he’d gone home intending to change and instead, he’d stripped the blanket off his guest bed on the way out the door. Then, he’d decided to write the words in the sand because he needed to give her a sign that he cared. He’d needed to make up for deceiving her.
She’d forgiven him. She’d made love to him. She was his.
Thunder sounded again, closer this time. Too damn close to stay out there a second longer than needed.