Sinful Ever After - Vivian Wood Page 0,48

go, if that is still true.”

I take a minute to absorb that information. Olivia squirms beside me. “Where are we going again?”

“We’re just following the coast. I guess it juts out at some point soon, and forms some kind of rocks that you can walk right out on. Carter mentioned it to me last week.”

Sure enough, as soon as the words are out of my mouth, the road splits. I take the road indicated for Tongue Point, tracing the outline of the coast. I drive a few minutes farther, the woods growing deeper and wilder around the car. The road narrows and narrows, until I pull off into a tiny car park.

Tongue Point Trail, a nearby sign reads. Proceed at your own risk.

“That sign seems ominous,” Olivia says with a frown.

“Depends on what you have at stake, I guess.”

As we slip out of the car and hike down the gently sloping trail toward the sea, I can hear the waves crashing against the rocks and the hiss of the water as a small portion of it is churned to mist.

“Whoa,” Olivia says when we reach the rocks. Beyond their sharp teeth is the beast that is the roaring ocean, looking gray and sleek as steel. Above us, the air is so laden with mist that it’s practically raining. “You really can walk right down there.”

She slows and I walk right into her. She looks up at me with wide eyes, seeming a little afraid.

“What, are you worried?” I tease her gently. “Can’t swim?”

Embarrassment flashes on her face before I realize that she very well may not be able to. Her gaze drops from mine, her cheeks going red.

“I can’t, no. Not any more than the last time you tried to teach me. I sink like a stone.” Her voice is so soft that it’s almost carried away by the roar of the wind. “My mom didn't know how… and the state didn't teach us either.”

My heart twists in my chest. I reach down, capturing her small hand in my large one. Her skin feels cool against mine.

“I’m sorry,” I rasp. “I didn't mean anything by it. You don’t have to worry about anything. Just hold on to my hand, okay?”

Her blue eyes lift, spearing and probing me for a second. My breath leaves me in a huff. She is so fragile right now. I want to wrap my arms around her and shelter her. But I don’t. I feel like if I do anything wrong, I might break her.

To my relief, she nods. “Okay.”

My lips lift in a ghost of a smile. “You trust me?”

Her lips twist in a humorless smile. “Yes. I shouldn’t, but I do.”

I tug on her hand to pull her closer, looking down at the rocks. After taking a steadying breath, I move down toward them. At the very tip, they are slick with misty seawater. So I just walk down as far as I can go, until the earth falls away on both sides.

But for the rocks jutting out before me, I would almost be walking on water. She clenches my hand, clinging to me like a drowning man would a life preserver. I hear her draw a breath beside me. Looking over at her face, I see her widened eyes as she contemplates the ocean that is just a few steps away.

She looks perfect just then, with her long dark hair, her creamy pale skin, her azure eyes. With her rose petal lips and the twin blooms of heat in her cheeks, she’s an affecting picture. She could be a photograph, to keep close and remember forever.

Olivia turns her gaze on me, looking awestruck. “I feel like I can see everything in the entire world from this point. Like the vantage I’ve always been looking for is here and is real, somehow.”

I squeeze her hand. Gazing at her, my lips turn up. “It really is something to see.”

I’m only halfway talking about the view, although that is something to see. Still, I can’t take my gaze off of Olivia. Her blue eyes bore into mine. Her gaze drops down to my lips for just a second, as her tongue darts out to wet her bottom lip.

She wants to kiss me as bad as I want to kiss her. I want to spear my hands in her hair and bend her back, exploring her lips and neck with my mouth until she moans.

Her gaze comes back up, crackling. Her lips part, as if she is