QUINN LOOKED AT the water hesitantly before her eyes flicked to me and then back to the water again. ¸

"I'm not..." She looked down at her clothes. "Wearing a swimsuit."

No, she wasn't. She had on a pair of her cut-off shorts and a white tee, and she looked damn good. Like always.

I clucked my tongue. "The one time you're not wearing that little yellow bikini."

She looked sheepishly at the sand, drawing in it with the tips of her toes. "I don't wear it that much."

I raised a brow because we both knew she was lying, but then said, "It's not like I'm complaining. And I think you know that."

Quinn's lips pressed guiltily together because she was well aware of what she did to me.

It was terrifying, honestly, the things she did to me. I still couldn't believe I'd told her everything that I just had. That I'd entrusted a Warriors reporter when I'd spent years downright despising the media team and their role in the franchise.

But I didn't feel regret. Or really anything other than relief. Trusting Quinn allowed me to release some pent-up anger I'd been holding onto. Anger that I thought would dissipate when I left the team but still lingered. Quinn was changing things for me, and all I wanted right now was to be close to her.

Her and this island and this moment that I knew wouldn't last.

"You don't need a suit, Castle," I said, and her wide gaze shot straight to mine.

"I'm not going skinny dipping in the ocean with you."

I cocked my head to the side, even though that wasn't what I meant. "Why not?" I gave myself a second to rake my gaze over her in appreciation before adding, "I've seen you naked. Don't you remember?"

"Oh, I remember." Quinn's cheeks flamed, but she didn't look away. "But it's not you I'm worried about. The sun's still up."

Glancing around us at the empty beach and my distant neighbors, I chuckled. "As much as I want you naked, and I don't think a soul is paying attention to us, skinny dipping was not going to be what I suggested."

Quinn did another quick inspection of her outfit before flashing me a look. "You want to see me in my best wet t-shirt look, Fletcher? You did say I'd win a contest for it."

"You would. And I'm sure any judge would agree with me, but I'm the only one allowed to see."

She arched a brow as she started to unzip her shorts and wiggle out of them. "Is that so?"

All I did was nod, and Quinn didn't argue the point. She knew the agreement. While she was here, this little scene that was happening right now with her stripping for me? It was only for my eyes. It was only me and her.

Wearing only a pair of underwear and her shirt, Quinn stepped toward the water, cautiously dipping her toes into the ocean and leaving me to look at her backside, which was barely covered by a scrap of lace.

Fuck me.

I glanced around again, double-checking that no one was around. But the beach was quiet, like it always was, and I swiveled my attention back toward Quinn, ready to soak in this moment. Ready to soak in her.

She peered at me over her shoulder. "Are you coming?"

I looked back at her, surprised. I expected I'd have to convince her to get in the water with me, coax her to join me. But there she was, waiting for me to join. "I didn't expect you to say yes," I replied honestly.

"I don't like the ocean," she said, keeping her gaze on mine. "I think it's scary and wild and unpredictable. But that's not how you feel about it."

"No," I agreed, my voice going hoarse for a reason I couldn't quite explain. "I don't."

"For you, it's comfort. It's home."

I nodded, unable to speak when it felt like she was digging deep into my soul.

Quinn turned to face me, shifting her feet in the sand and letting them sink again as the waves surrounded her ankles. In and out, in and out. The rhythm of the ocean matched the thudding in my chest. And just like Quinn said, it was a comfort.

"I don't know what I'm going to do about the article or my job," she said, and I could tell by the uncertainty in her eyes she was telling the truth. They sparkled as the sun blazed a fiery orange. "But I never want to be someone who uses you. I want to be someone who puts you first. Before myself and the things I think are scary and unpredictable."

"You want to put me...first," I repeated slowly, wondering if I would ever recover from hearing those words. And wondering how I would ever let her leave now. The idea was growing more and more unbearable by the day.

Quinn nodded with confirmation. A steady, strong nod. "I'm scared, August. But you trusted me, and now it's time for me to trust you."

She held out her hand, and after whipping my shirt over my head, I somehow mobilized my feet to walk forward, take it, and pull Quinn into my arms. She made an adorable squealing noise that I interrupted with a hard and fast kiss, covering her mouth with mine because I wasn't sure I would have survived another moment without feeling her lips on my own. But then I pulled back and muttered, "I don't want you to be scared."

"Just don't let me go, and I'll be fine," she whispered, blinking up at me with the prettiest damn eyes I'd ever seen.

"Never," I grunted before hooking my hands beneath her legs and lifting her into my arms, cradling her against my chest the same way I did that day when the lights turned off in the athletic complex, and she was scared of mice.

Fuck did I like being the person that Quinn Castle could hold onto when she was scared. I was never that kind of guy–the guy people went to for comfort. I wasn't sure I ever would be, but I wanted to be that for Quinn. Just like she wanted to be for me.

She wasn't leaving. I'd have to figure something out, and quick, because there was no way I'd be able to just watch her walk away when this was all over. 

Quinn clung to me, wrapping her arms around my neck and legs around my hips. I smoothed my hands up the back of her legs to her ass, pressing her as tightly to me as I could while wading into the water. It was still warm from the summer sun but not nearly as warm as Quinn's body was.

"Don't go too deep," Quinn pleaded as she circled her arms so tight around my neck that I could barely manage a word in response.

"Castle." Her name escaped my lips in a raspy chuckle. "Easy, baby. I'm cool with it if you're into choking, but maybe we can reserve that for the bedroom."

Her grip immediately lessened as she murmured a hasty apology, and I could almost guarantee that if I could see her face and it wasn't buried against my shoulder, she'd be blushing.

"I got you," I assured her, humor in my voice so she knew I wasn't upset. I was actually so far from upset. I waded into the water until it came up to our hips and realized I truly couldn't ask for anything more than this: holding Quinn Castle in my arms as the waves rocked against us.

"You good?" I asked as I stopped walking and bent my knees, lowering us into the salty water. I wanted to feel Quinn's body, slick and warm and wet, against mine.

"I'm good," she breathed, even as she shivered in my arms.

Slipping my hand beneath her wet shirt, I smoothed my hand up her back, trying to rid the goosebumps that rose on her soft skin.

"Too cold?" I asked, and Quinn pulled back, releasing my neck as she trailed her fingertips over my shoulders and down my biceps. She dipped her hands into the water before running them back up my arms, almost in appreciation. Or in exploration. I wasn't sure which one, but I fucking loved it either way. It had been far too long since we'd been this close, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to let her go this time. 

"No." The word was barely audible as her lashes fluttered, that hot gaze of hers lifting to meet mine. The look was sultry, sensual, and goddamn, it did things to me. "I'm not cold, August."

If her goosebumps weren't from the cold, that meant they were for me. And that knowledge was electric. The water suddenly seemed charged, the waves working in our favor as they swayed, rocking us together. Her body slid over mine deliciously, but the wet fabric of her shirt was keeping me from feeling all of her, and I wanted it gone.

"Then you won't mind if I take your shirt off," I said, trying to keep the desperation from my voice.

"No." Quinn shook her head, her mouth tilting in the hottest little smirk. "I won't mind."

Satisfied with her response, I gripped the hem of her shirt and peeled it off her. "I know you look good in a wet t-shirt, Castle. But you look even better without it."

I threw the shirt back onto shore, hoping the waves wouldn't capture it, but not really caring. I'd buy her all the white tees in the world if she wanted, but I couldn't look away from her right now. Not when I was obsessed with what was under the t-shirt—a transparent lace bra that left almost nothing to the imagination. Quinn's peaked nipples brushed against my chest, and a low groan ripped from my throat.

"Fuck, you are..."

I shook my head as my gaze traveled over her, wondering how the hell we ended up here. How she was even letting me see her like this, experience her like this. How she was letting my hands wander her body beneath the water, reveling in the way her skin felt in ocean water.

Quinn's lips spread into a grin as she tipped her pretty face toward mine.

"Just kiss me, Fletcher."

She didn't have to tell me twice.

The kiss wasn't gentle, and it wasn't rough. It was deep, though. Consuming. My lips moved over Quinn's in a desperate sort of way, like I couldn't get enough—which was the truth. I needed more. More of her taste, more of her feel, more of the little whimpers she made when my tongue flicked against hers. More of the gasps and the groans.

The push and pull of the water matched our mouths as we started to lose it. As her hands tangled in my hair, tugging on it as if asking for something. As my fingers brushed over her stomach, finding their way to her soft breasts and then her hard nipples. As her body began grinding against mine in a way that wasn't caused by the waves.

"I can't," I gasped as I ripped my mouth from hers after god knows how long.

"You can't?" she repeated, almost stuttering on the words as she blinked at me, pressing her swollen lips together.

"I can't wait anymore," I clarified as I turned us around and started pushing through the water, carrying her back to shore. "I fucking need you, Castle. Tell me I can have you. Please."

I clearly wasn't beyond begging at this point. Considering how badly my body ached, it was no surprise.

And thank fucking goodness Quinn gripped me tight and whispered the words I needed to hear in my ear.

"You can have me, August."

☀️

oh???? 👀👀👀👀🍿🍿🍿

xoxo amelie