I thought when I agreed to hang out at the pool bar on the mainland with Liam, Mason, and my brother, we'd just relax and drink beer all day. What I didn't calculate for was Izzy and Emery to drink, too. And while they've been at the other side of the pool for most of the day, it's taking all my energy to keep my eyes off Emery.

She's wearing a black one-piece that cuts right down the center of her chest, stopping at the middle of her stomach. Her breasts are outlined perfectly, and, honestly, I haven't wanted to see what that swimsuit looks like on her from the back. I'm terrified I'll get a hard-on at the bar, and how am I supposed to explain that?

"Surprised you haven't made a move yet," Liam hums. I almost spit out my drink until I realize he's speaking to Connor. My brother, who is on the barstool to the right of Liam, continues scanning the crowd of women as if searching for someone. "What? None of them fit your criteria?"

Connor rolls his eyes and takes a swig of his beer. "I'm not that much of a dick, despite what you're implying."

"I couldn't tell," Mason adds, waving a hand over Connor's outfit. My brother's abs are freshly oiled, beaming from the sunlight, and his shorts look about two sizes too small. "Don't worry, you'll have women flocking to you in no time. I give it five minutes."

"I'm not looking to get laid," Connor replies. We all pause with our drinks in hand, waiting for the punchline, but only mariachi music fills the silence. "What?" He asks, noticing our expressions. "We're having a guys' day. I just want to chill."

"That's never stopped you before," Liam teases, "and you've undoubtedly been scanning the crowd as if you're looking for someone." After a few seconds, realization dawns on him, his eyes growing wide. "Unless there's a certain someone you're hoping to see?"

I have never, in all my twenty-three years of life, seen my brother blush, but his cheeks are turning redder by the second, and it's not a sunburn.

"Oh my god, there is!" Mason says. "Holy shit. I never thought I'd see the day. She made that much of an impact, huh?"

Connor scoffs. "Don't make it seem like she was just—" He sighs, running a hand through his curls. "Fuck. I don't know. I think I'm losing it."

I continue sipping my beer, remaining silent. I've never been the one to carry the conversation. Honestly, I'd prefer not to be in group gatherings like this. The only reason I'm here is because I was forced to be here. If given the choice, I'd be balls deep in Emery back in our hut for the remainder of the day. Not discussing my brother's hookup.

Liam claps him on the back. "That's love, man. It sneaks up on you when you least expect it."

Or festers for an eternity, I mentally add, for your ex, in particular.

"What's her name?" Mason asks.

Connor winces. "She didn't give me one. It was like..." He shakes his head. "Like she didn't want me to know who she was. We met at the beach bash, and I brought her back to my hut, but this morning when I woke up, she was gone. I didn't get her name."

Mason howls with laughter. It takes a good ten seconds for him to catch his breath before he says, "So, she pulled a you on you? Oh, this is good. This is really good."

"Poor Connie." Liam leans over to ruffle the top of his hair, earning him a punch to his bicep from my brother. "Don't dish out what you can't eat."

Eventually, I'm laughing along with Mason and Liam, which causes Connor to shoot a full-toothed grin at me. "Watch it, Ev."

My laughter immediately vanishes just as Liam turns to arch a brow. "New nickname? Since when?"

Thankfully, as if the universe is in my favor, two girls in string bikinis stroll up to Mason and my brother, saving me from answering the question. Usually, my brother would be all over these two. Hell, he'd probably convince them into a threesome, but now, he sends them a tight-lipped smile and scans the crowd again before turning around to reach for his drink.

Mason doesn't even bother to say hello to them, earning massive points from me. Since day one, he's only had eyes for my sister, and he's been someone I've looked up to. I'd like to think he's taught me a lot about navigating the waters of relationships. Where my brother thinks flirting and saying just enough to get them into bed is what works, I've learned that getting to know someone and earning their respect gets you a lot further.

My eyes get drawn back to Emery, who is easily on her fifth margarita. I would be more concerned about her large consumption of alcohol, but my sister is with her, and we're in paradise. If there's a time to get drunk, it'd be now. Plus, who could blame her? Her ex and current boyfriend, who are best friends, are sitting next to each other. I'd be throwing back drinks like water if I were her.

Boyfriend. The name sits on my tongue, warming it like an old whiskey. It tastes right. It sounds right. It's a title I've never had before. A part of me always wanted to save it for her because I didn't think I could bear to hear it on another woman's tongue. And now, when Emery leans over the bar for her sixth margarita, showcasing that fine as hell ass...

Yeah. I like boyfriend a lot.

That's all mine.

And I'm fully, one-hundred percent hers.

"When do Uncle Ethan, Maya, and Elias get here?" Connor asks. "I thought they were flying in yesterday?"

"Not until the day of the wedding," Liam answers. I manage to take my gaze off Emery to look at him, wondering how the hell he would know that, but Liam quickly clears his throat and says, "What? Do you forget Elias and I go to the same school? I hear more than you guys do about them."

"No, but—" I stop speaking when I catch Izzy holding Emery's hand out of the corner of my eye, helping her climb the steps out of the pool. Emery is laughing her head off, stumbling as she tries to regain her balance. Liam follows my gaze, and we both stand up at the same time. I've never wanted to punch Liam in the face until now, but I'll do it. I'll never trust someone else with her while she's intoxicated, even if said person is Liam.

"Make Everett deal with her," my brother chuckles. "It'll be punishment for laughing at my fucked up love life at the moment."

Mason winks at me when Liam isn't looking. "That's even worse than punishment, Connor. Having him deal with Emery is like nails on a chalkboard to him."

Liam is still on his feet, waist-deep in water, and his hesitation is what's like a punch to my gut. He cares for Emery. It's evident in the concern etched onto his face. He's reluctant to leave her with me, and for good reason. I've never been nice to her in front of him.

"I'll be on my best behavior," I grumble.

"Promise?" He asks.

Nodding only once for confirmation, I begin to wade through the pool to the steps when Liam adds, "Make sure you give her medicine. She always wakes up with a headache."

I'm gritting my teeth so damn hard I'm afraid they'll break. He knows these little details that I don't. Granted, I've never witnessed Emery drunk to know what she needs, but still. Liam memorized her like the back of his hand, and it bothers me that I feel like I'm in a competition with him—a competition I'm losing.

The doubt is eating away at me when I finally reach Emery and my sister. I still have yet to get Izzy alone to ask her why the fuck she invited Liam in the first place, but right now isn't the time or place. Not when Emery is piss drunk.

"She may have had a little bit too much to drink," Izzy says with a sympathetic smile.

"I wonder why," I muse, getting whatever dig in I can. "I'll take her back to the hut."

At the sound of my voice, Emery lifts her eyes to mine, squealing with delight. "Baby!" She shrieks, launching herself into my arms. I stumble backward but quickly recollect myself to hold her against my chest. The doubt that entered my head only minutes ago is placed on the back-burner of my mind from the sound of that nickname on her tongue. To hell if Liam is watching. With her thick thighs wrapped around my waist? I'd like to watch a man attempt to pry her off me. I'd kill them in cold blood.

Izzy thumbs over her shoulder where Mason is currently eye-fucking her. Thankfully, Liam is wrapped up in a conversation with Connor, oblivious to Emery in my arms. "I'm gonna go talk to my fiance," she says. "See you guys later?"

"Maybe," I reply. "It depends on how she's feeling. I'll let you know." I don't wait to watch her start a groping fest with Mason. Instead, I leave the poolside bar and head down the path that will lead us to our huts.

"I love being carried by you," Emery mumbles into the crook of my neck. "You're so tall and muscular and..." A drunk hiccup escapes her, causing a smile to tug on my lips. "I feel safe with you."

"Well, I love being your safe place," I admit, "and I love carrying you."

"Really? I'm not too heavy?"

"Have I not proven that to you by now?"

She giggles, and it's more adorable than it should be. "I guess you have. Plenty of times, actually."

The dirt path in front of us is surrounded by various plants and palm trees. A soft breeze blows between us, forming goosebumps on my skin that was submerged in water only a few minutes ago, so I pull her closer, wondering if she's cold, too. We didn't think to grab towels.

"You're hard," she says with another giggle. "I can feel it."

"Observant, are we?" Anytime her thighs are wrapped around my waist, and my hands are holding her ass to keep her up? I'm bound to get hard. She should know this by now.

"You could take me against one of these trees, you know. Nobody is here."

I release a laugh I've never heard come out of my mouth before. "You're drunker than I thought."

"Come on, please?"

I shake my head, placing a kiss on her shoulder. "Not while you're drunk, baby. If you wake up and still want me? I'll gladly give you what you want with no questions asked."

With a huff of frustration, I attempt to hide my smile when we reach the docks. Emery adjusts herself to sit up more, wrapping her arms around my neck. Even while straddling me, she still has to look up to stare into my eyes, and I'm blown away by the unrelenting need mixed with the specks of honey-brown swirling in her stare. "I've never seen someone so handsome," she whispers, running her fingertips over my bottom lip. "Even when we were younger, I'd..." She sighs and lets out a laugh, running her fingertips to my eyebrow, fumbling with the piercing. "This thing drove me crazy."

"My eyebrow piercing?"

"Yes. Whenever you'd get mad, you'd always play with it. You were brooding and miserable but...sexy. Always so sexy, Ev."

I let out a groan when we reach our hut. "Are you trying to make this difficult for me?"

She bats her eyes innocently. "Is it working?"

"No. You're not going to change my mind, Em." I set her on her feet in front of our bed before turning for the dresser and rummaging through my clothes. When I find a t-shirt, I spin back to face her, noticing her bottom lip is trembling. What the hell? "What's wrong? Did I say something?"

"W-why don't you want to have sex?" She asks. Tears roll down her cheeks, splitting my heart in two. "I-I'm not sure why this always happens. Why I'll never be enough." She tries to take a step closer, but she stumbles, and I catch her with ease. "I just want to be enough."

All those insecurities rush out of her like a tidal wave. I thought Liam being here would give her good memories, but I never considered they'd bring up bad ones, too. They never had sex with the lights on, and despite Emery saying it was okay with her, it must have fucked with her emotionally. Clearly, it did, or she wouldn't be having this conversation with me in the first place.

I've spent my entire life not caring about anyone, but Emery will always be the exception. Time and time again, even when she was with Liam, my thoughts drifted back to her. I would do anything for this woman, so to hear her be this insecure and scared has me putting my thoughts into overdrive on how I can fix it. I want to be her provider, her protector, and, as she previously mentioned, her safe place.

So I sink to my knees before her, thankful that those sniffles of hers instantly cease.

If I have to please her in order for her to believe she's worthy, I'll gladly do so.

Author's Note:
WE LOVE LONG CHAPTERS

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