Page 29 of Requiem
“Relax.There’s like fifty people swimming around us.” He finally sets me down as the water rises around us, pulling me close.
I gasp, snatching onto his warmth from the cold Pacific water. “You’re insane.”
“Yeah,” he says easily, grinning down at me like he simply doesn’t care.
The water moves around us in slow, steady waves, people splashing and shouting nearby, music still carrying from the shore. Fireworks explode overhead again, casting light across his face in quick, flickering bursts. And for a second, I just look up at him. His hair is already damp, falling into hiseyes. His skin glows under the shifting light, his smile the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. In this life, and every other life.
“What?” he asks, noticing the way I’m staring.
“Nothing,” I say, even though it’s not true. Before I can say anything else, his hands slide over my waist and pull me into a passionate kiss.
I gasp softly against his mouth, my nails digging into his shoulders as I lean into him, the world around us blurring into nothing but us and the distant crack of fireworks. My arms wrap around his neck while I kiss him back just as hard. His skin is still warm from being in the sun all day.
“Emma!” Heather’s voice cuts through our little moment from the shore. She is already halfway down the beach with Ben, dragging him toward a bigger cluster of people further down.
“Don’t have sex in the ocean!” she shouts. “It’s not good for you.”
I laugh against Jude’s mouth, pulling back just enough to glance over my shoulder. “She’s unbelievable.”
“She’s not wrong,” he murmurs, his voice lower now, a little rougher.
My stomach flips.
He studies my face for a second, like he’s savoring every detail of it. Then, without a word, he lifts me again.
I roll my eyes, instinctively wrapping my legs around his waist this time as he carries me back toward shore, water dripping from both of us.
“Oh my g—god, it’s ssso cold,” I say, breathless and shivering.
He just kisses my cheek as he walks past the people, the music, and the chaos. Until it all fades and the beach opens up into a quieter, darker area, lit only by explosions in the sky and the moon reflecting off the water.
He sets me down gently in the sand, but his hands don’t leave me. For a second, we just stand there, breathing each other in, the world muffled and distant behind us. The fireworks still crack and bloom somewhere down the beach, painting brief flashes of color across his face.
Red. Gold. Blue.
He looks like a dream.
My fingers slide up into his wet hair, pushing it back from his forehead as I smile at him, still a little breathless. “I hope you didn’t lose your hoodie. I’m freezing right now. Plus, that’s my favorite one!”
“I gave it to Vanessa to bring home,” he says quietly, his hazel eyes darting between mine. “You won’t need it, though.”
There is something in the way he says it that makes my chest tighten. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
His hand lifts, brushing a strand of damp hair from my face, fingers lingering at my jaw. The touch is light, but it sends heat spiraling down my spine anyway, goosebumps trailing in its wake.
“You’re…” He lets out a quiet laugh, like he can’t quite find the word. “You’re everything when you’re like this.”
“Like what?” I whisper.
“Happy. Drunk. Sexy.”
I swat at him playfully. “You like me drunk?” I take a step away. “Why’s that?”
His gaze sweeps over me slowly. Over my wet dress clinging to my body. “You know why, Em.”
Before I can respond, his arm darts out, yanking me back into him. His mouth finds mine again, slower this time. I feel him hard against my thigh through his shorts at the same time his tongue swirls over mine, and I melt into it instantly.
