"YOU HAVEN'T EATEN anything today."

Not a question, just a statement. August led me by the hand into the boat's cabin, pausing to shut the door behind me as though he was worried I would disappear out of it.

I didn't have any grand ideas of escaping. Even if I hadn't already missed the bus that would take me to the airport, I wouldn't be able to leave. It was too hard when August's hand was in mine, when he was so close, and it felt so good.

God, I was so screwed. What kind of spell had this man cast over me?

I cleared my throat. "I didn't really have time to eat."

"No, you didn't," August grunted. "You were too busy running away from me."

"I wasn't running away from you," I corrected.

August pinned me with a glare as he pulled me into the kitchen. He tucked me in against the countertop before opening the fridge and surveying the contents.

"I wasn't," I repeated. I needed him to understand that.

Sighing, August started grabbing ingredients from the refrigerator and throwing them on the counter. "I'm going to make you a sandwich, and you're going to tell me exactly why you were running, then."

"You don't have to do that," I argued weakly, despite the grumble in my stomach.

He paused his movements, swiveling to stare at me knowingly. "Yes, I do. Do I have to remind you?"

My brows furrowed. "Remind me what?"

With a slow step, August trapped me against the countertop. His hard body pressed into mine in a way that made me swallow a groan. He'd pressed up against me like this last night, too. In the shower, as the water pelted down around us. Right before he—

"Focus, baby." His husky voice sent shivers through my body, but it focused my attention on his face like he'd wanted. His lips were curved; he knew exactly what I was thinking about.

"I'm focusing," I said, except my voice came out hoarse, betraying me. "What are you reminding me of?"

August leaned down, skimming his lips along my jawline until he reached my ear. I could hear his rough breaths. I wondered if he could hear my racing heart.

"That you're mine, Quinn," he breathed, his hot breath making me shudder as that familiar desire reignited inside me. "You're still here. Barely, but you are. And as long as you're here, you're mine. And I take care of what's mine."

God, I really didn't deserve this man. Here he was, frustrated beyond belief with me, but he hadn't given up. For some reason, he still wanted me. Still wanted me to be his. And he was still insisting on making me a sandwich because he knew I was hungry.

"We're gonna talk, Castle," he added, pressing a chaste kiss to the hollow below my ear. His voice dropped even lower. "But then I have plans for you. And I can't have you passing out on me."

A tiny whimper left my lips at his words, and August chuckled. Fuck, he wasn't supposed to hear that. He wasn't supposed to know that I was so goddamn aroused that I didn't want to wait. I didn't want to talk or eat or anything. I just wanted to feel him again. I wanted to relive last night over and over again.

"Talk, baby," he said, a gentle but firm reminder that we wouldn't be caving to our desires until we figured a few things out. And while that was the smart and sensible thing to do, my focus had been swayed. "You ran away from me. Tell me why."

That caught my attention, making me snap to. "Oh my god, August. I did not run away from you."

August smirked as he returned to his sandwich-making on the countertop beside me. Goddamnit. He knew what he was doing.

I sighed. "I needed to take care of a few things, and then I was going to come back to you," I explained. "Or did you not notice that I left most of my belongings at your house?"

He stilled, a brow raising as he glanced over at me. "I didn't. I was too busy trying to find the keys to the cars I never drive after I found your note and realized you stole my jeep."

I winced. "I'm sorry about that. Really, I am. I parked it safe and sound by Sunny's, though."

August nodded before returning to the sandwich, meticulously putting a piece of cheese on a slice of bread. "I know. I saw when I was on my way to the marina." He paused, releasing a heavy breath. "I don't care about the car, Castle. But you scared the shit out of me."

"I didn't want to scare you," I said carefully. "But I knew if I told you I had to go, you...well, this would happen."

I waved a hand between us, and August frowned.

"And is this so bad?"

I shook my head. "Of course it's not bad. Being with you is anything but bad, which is the problem. I don't know how to walk away from you. You continuously derail all my plans, August."

"That was never my intent." August placed a sandwich in front of me and then found my gaze, holding it. "I don't like the press or media, it's true. But I never intended to derail your plans with your article, Castle. And I tried to stay away, I really did. I told myself I couldn't touch you, couldn't have you. But it was fucking impossible with how badly I wanted you."

I nodded, just like he did when I tried to convince him that I hadn't been calculating, either. That I hadn't meant for any of this to happen.

"I know," I said, and I meant it.

If August hadn't wanted me to do this article, he never would have talked. He never would have given me anything to work with. Instead, August gave me everything that he had. It wasn't his fault that learning the truth had turned me off of reporting it.

He raked a hand through his hair, looking relieved that I seemed to believe him. Then he nudged the plate in my direction.

"Eat."

I picked the sandwich up because I knew he wouldn't stop until I did as he said.

"It shouldn't surprise me that you keep your boat well stocked," I commented before taking a bite and withholding a groan at how good a simple ham and cheese sandwich was.

"I pay someone to keep it ready." August looked satisfied as he watched me. "Never know when a pretty reporter is going to turn up hungry."

I swallowed, raising a brow. "A pretty reporter. Do you run into many of them on the island?"

August's lips twisted in amusement. "Is that jealousy I'm detecting, Castle?"

"Of course not." I rolled my eyes. "But I'd like to know if I have competition hanging around."

"No competition." August's eyes stayed on my face, watching as I ate. I might have been embarrassed if I weren't so hungry. And if he didn't look so hungry. "There's no competition. Only you."

Heat rose in my cheeks as I held the sandwich out to him, seeing if he wanted any. He shook his head, pushing it back in my direction.

"You're probably hungry, too," I pointed out.

"I'm going to eat soon." His lips twitched. "That's for you."

I rolled my eyes, ready to argue the point more, but August redirected the conversation back to the very thing I didn't really want to discuss.

"What were you going to do in New York, Quinn?"

"I was going to take care of things."

"And what, exactly, does that mean?"

I put the sandwich down, pushing the plate away and swallowing hard. I looked up at August, who was already staring at me, intent on catching my response. Sighing, I played with the ends of my hair, my eyes skating away from his intense ones.

And then it all came tumbling out.

"I was going to tell them to fuck off, okay? All of them. Parker and the Warriors. Resign. Tell them I wouldn't be completing their damn assignment. And then I was going to go to my apartment, check on Eloise, and probably pack some of my belongings because, without a job, I'm not sure how I'll be able to afford it. I have a few connections that I could rekindle to help me land a new job, so I was possibly going to reach out to them. See if anyone was able to meet up. I was just...I was going to take care of things. Reorganize my life, I suppose, and try to figure out what to do next."

It was quiet, the air pulsing between us. I couldn't get myself to glance back at August, because I could feel the emotion rolling off of him, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to see it.

But August grabbed me by the chin, forcing me to look back at him.

"Castle," he said, meeting my gaze with his blazing one. "You don't have to do that. You don't have to do any of that. I don't care about them. I only care about you."

"See, but that's the thing." I put my hand on his chest, feeling the way his breathing was immediately affected. That wasn't normal, right? This—whatever it was that was between us—couldn't be normal, right? It had to be something more, something bigger, bigger than New York City or August's little island, or any of it. "I don't care about them, either. I only care about you."

"Fuck."

August dropped his head to mine, his eyes fluttering shut. "Don't lie. I know you care about your job. I know you loved your job."

"I loved being a reporter, just like you loved playing football. But when you're doing it for the wrong people in the wrong place, it loses its sparkle a little bit, doesn't it?"

"I could walk away because I had a lot less to lose by leaving than I did by staying, Quinn." August shook his head. "It's not the same for you."

"Isn't it? Because losing a job and maybe an apartment feels like a lot less than losing you," I confessed, and then held my breath because I couldn't believe that I'd admitted that aloud.

"Oh, fuck."

The words escaped August's lips on a groan. They fell out of him, onto me, making me feeling things everywhere, and then he followed them down until his lips were on mine. No, they weren't just on mine, they crushed against mine. It was a crushing, bruising kiss, and I'd never had a better one.

"You're not going to lose me," he gasped between the breaks of our kiss. "Whatever you decide to do—" Kiss. "—you're not going to lose me." Another kiss. "As if I could ever let you go." And another. "Understand?"

"Understand," I promised, as if there was anything else I could possibly respond to that. I didn't have words right now, I just had this...all-consuming desire to be closer to him. To be as close as any two people could be.

"I'm not so sure you do," August grunted, still not convinced even though my lips were all but glued to his, my tongue dancing around his. "I need you know to know what you mean to me."

"Can you show me?" I pleaded. "I think we've talked enough."

August's teeth scraped against my lower lip, nipping at it, tugging on it. "I haven't said half the shit I want to say to you."

"After," I said, trying to sound convincing.

August chuckled. "After what, Castle?"

"After you fuck me."

Another groan flew out of him, and I decided then and there that nothing was sexier than hearing August Fletcher groan. His body pressed against mine, caging me against the countertop. I could feel how badly he wanted me, and I hoped to hell that meant he wasn't going to push me away, even though it might be something I deserved.

He pulled back, breathing heavy as he looked down at me. I momentarily got trapped in his warm, wild gaze, and then he breathed my name with a desperation that made my stomach flip.

"God, what are you doing to me?" he muttered before his lips crashed onto mine again.

And I knew then, there was no way that we were stopping. Not now, not ever.

Neither one of us knew how to stop, and it was possible we might not ever figure it out.

And I was figuring out more and more...how much I just didn't care.

☀️

a/n:

to be continued... 🫶💕

xoxo amelie