and how it contrasted with the dark fringe of his eyelashes. He was a living piece of art, with dark tattoo swirls on his skin.
I trailed my fingers up the marks on his forearms, over his shoulders, and back to his waist. As I toyed with the waistband of his pants, his breath hitched. It excited me.
He lowered himself again, and this time, I moved on top, kissing a path from his nose to his navel. A soft moan escaped his lips, and he moved us again, a dance of passion and exploration I couldn’t imagine doing with anyone else.
He rose up and took my face in his hands, and then kissed me. He took his time, thoroughly kissing my lips and then moving to my neck again, leaving a trail of kisses from my collar bown down the neckline of my dress until my chest was heaving and all I wanted was more. His hands slid over my shoulders and down to my waist, pulling me closer to him until we were both lying pressed together, the sand underneath us molding to our moving bodies.
A strap of my dress fell over my shoulder, and Ronan capitalized on the bare skin, leaving a path of heat with his mouth and teeth before lifting it back into place.
With my eyes on him, I put it back down, along with my other strap. He watched me, his dark eyes full of intensity and longing.
I sat up and unzipped the back, the zipper audible over the quiet between us, and bared myself to him in a way I had never done with anyone else.
Ronan had me. Heart, body, and soul.
I wanted him to know I was all in, with us, with my new life, even if he didn’t know exactly what that meant.
Slowly, he peeled off his shirt and his pants, and we were both bare to each other. I could see the burns on his chest. He could see the birthmark on my shoulder.
He could see me.
“You’re beautiful,” he breathed.
He was too with the light casting shadows over the hard muscles of his stomach and the moonlight giving his skin a pale glow. He was like an Italian statue carved in front of me, a piece of art and beauty. But art wasn’t meant to be simply looked at. It was to be considered, enjoyed.
I stepped closer to him, and he to me until we met in the middle, our bare skin touching and warming. He kissed my lips softly, and I knew, whatever happened between us, however it ended, I would never have any regrets.
Thirty-One
I woke up to dusky morning rays with my cheek against Ronan’s bare chest and his jacket draped over me.
Even on Egyptian cotton sheets and expensive mattresses, I’d never slept so well as I did in Ronan’s arms.
He shifted underneath me, and his lips curled into a peaceful smile. Looking at me through a dark fringe of lashes, he said, “Good morning, beautiful.” He pressed a kiss on my forehead, and I swore I was in heaven.
“Good morning,” I breathed, smiling wide.
“You’re even more stunning in this light.”
I could hardly believe he was saying that. Surely my hair was a mess from the humidity coming off the ocean, and there was no way my makeup had survived the night before. But he ran his fingers through my hair like I was the most precious thing he’d seen in his life, and I believed his actions because I knew they spoke louder than words.
“What do you have to do today?” he asked.
And then it hit me all over again. The night before, the things I’d said to my father, the sacrifices I’d made for the sake of autonomy. It had cost me everything, but what I had in front of me was priceless. I had a future of my own choosing.
I shook my head. “Nothing. But can you bring me by my house to get some clothes?”
“What?” He grinned, pushing himself up. “You don’t want to wear that sexy black dress all day?”
With a small smile, I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
He stood and pulled his T-shirt over his head, and I couldn’t help but be a little sad, like our night together was officially over. Our actions the night before had changed me in more ways than one, and it made me sad we couldn’t stay here, in this cove, forever.
I stood myself and completely zipped my dress back up, thankful for the privacy of