He wrapped me in his arms, and the feel of his firm chest pressing against mine unraveled me. Every part of me suddenly came alive - warming and pulsing with desire. He kissed me softly and slowly, as his hands gently investigated the tender skin of my chest. As he cupped and caressed me, his kisses deepened and an intense feeling of closeness and safety warmed my heart. Allowing myself complete vulnerability to his touch, his acceptance, and his love freed me of the abusive words and judgments of my troubled past; healing something inside me I didn’t realize needed healing.
Feeling way too restricted by the heaviness of my soaked jeans, I stood. Never breaking his gaze, I slipped them off and kicked them aside. As he stood I noticed he was biting his lip, almost nervously waiting for me to make the next move. I grasped the waistband of his jeans and pulled him towards me. As I unbuttoned his jeans and let them drop to the sand, he tucked my wet hair behind my ears and smiled.
“I think I’ve had this dream before,” he smiled down at me, alluding to our last beach encounter on Shackleford Banks. I didn’t miss the way he stumbled over his words nervously. “I keep finding myself half-naked on a faraway beach with the most amazing girl in the world.”
“That’s funny,” I grinned. “I’ve had that very same dream!”
“On a faraway beach with the most amazing girl in the world?” he raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, so maybe there was one slight difference in my dream…” I giggled.
“Shew,” he wiped his brow. “I was starting to get worried there for a minute.”
My laugh came out a little too spastic, and I realized that our rambling was an effort to hide our nerves. But I was in uncharted territory, and I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that I didn’t want to stop. We gazed at each other in nervous silence, before he took a step towards me and his face turned serious. He wrapped one arm around me and swept me up into his arms, gently lying me back down on the sand. The chill of the ground below me was quickly erased by the heat of his body as he lay down on top of me. At the pressure of his weight, a sharp pain erupted beneath one of my butt cheeks and I cried out in pain. Finn jumped off of me so fast, I almost missed it.
“Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
I searched for the sharp culprit beneath me and produced a sharp piece of something brown.
“I think it was just some wood,” I explained; catching my breath when I realized what I had just said. “I mean…not your piece of wood…no - I mean…oh my god.” I laid back down on the sand and put an embarrassed hand over my face. I heard him chuckle and felt him lay back down on top of me slowly. He took my hand and somehow peeled it off of my red face. I peeked out at him from one eye.
“I love you so much,” he grinned down at me, his eyes full of tenderness. Thankfully, my thoughts were swept away as soon as his soft lips met mine. The thunder continued to rumble around us as we became lost in each other. Each touch, each movement fueled the flames that threatened to engulf me. I could think of nothing else other than Finn. I wanted to be closer - I needed to be closer.
Deciding that I couldn’t ignore the ache inside me any longer, I clumsily rid Finn of his boxers as he attempted to do the same for me.
“Stasia,” he breathed into my neck; his voice husky with passion. “I’ve never…” The sudden intensity in his eyes sent ripples of every emotion through my body at once. Beneath the overwhelming passion and unmistakable desire was a layer of uncertainty, a side to him no one was allowed to see. A side of him I’d seen only once before. His innocence. It shone so brightly in his eyes, that my heart melted and ran down into the sand, mixing with the rain.
“Me either,” I whispered back. I felt his body tense unexpectedly as a crushing disappointment fell over his face.
“I don’t have…anything,” he stumbled, looking away from me in shame. “I didn’t know…I..”
“It’s okay,” I rubbed his face to comfort him, utterly touched and silently thanking my adopted mother. “I’m on the pill.”
His body relaxed and he closed his eyes, relief washing over him. I pulled him back down on top of me as his touch became more urgent, his kisses more desperate. I had never felt a need so strong. It was crushing in its intensity and urgency. I no longer heard the banter of the rain or the rumbling of the thunder. The storm was now raging inside of me, releasing entirely new and powerful feelings. Waves of heat rolled over me as we became one, and I willingly embraced this entirely new and profound level of love. Time faded away and the outside world disappeared into oblivion, leaving only me, Finn, and the perfect storm.
Chapter 19
“Time to wake up, sleeping beauty.” A light, feathery touch along my arm roused me from a dreamless sleep, as the musical sounds of crashing waves filled my ears. I kept my eyes closed, but couldn’t stop the sloppy smile from dripping across my face. I had a bad feeling that getting rid of said sloppy smile would take some effort. I knew that it would take Carmen all of two seconds to figure out what I’d done if she caught a glimpse of it. Finn’s touch trailed down my arm and onto my trace, as he took my hand and kissed it softly. The light of day burned against my eyelids as I blissfully replayed last night over and over in my head.
“Turn off the lights, it bright out here.”
“It’s called the sun,” he chuckled. “I’m afraid there’s no off switch.”
“Damn.” Before I could say more, a loud squeal and subsequent laughter jolted me wide awake. I took in the throngs of early morning beach goers and tourists snapping pictures of the rocky shore, Aphrodite’s Rock, and the sea. Shock and horror rushed over me when I remembered that I was lounging around in public, sporting nothing but my birthday suit.
“Oh my god!” I instinctively curled up into a big red ball of absolute humiliation, until I realized that move had only succeeded in baring my backside to the entire world. I moved to huddle up against Finn, when I noticed his pious smirk and the unmistakable glint in his deep blue eyes as he watched me with amusement.
“Where are my clothes?” I demanded with a hitch in my voice. I searched the surrounding sand in a desperate hunt for something - anything – that resembled my bra and underwear. Finn snorted and proceeded to antagonize me further by showing off the clothes he was clutching in his hands. Before I could beat him senseless, I discovered we were sparkling. I let out an exasperated sigh and collapsed back onto the sand.
“I hate you,” I declared plainly. As he hid his laugh behind a poorly executed cough, I glared at his pearly whites and fought the smile that played across my own lips.
“I notice you keep saying that,” he tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Although I’ve done nothing to warrant such harsh words…”
Feeling increasingly exposed (which doesn’t take much when you’re standing naked on a beach full of people), I lunged at him unsuccessfully. He stood his ground and held them just out of my reach with a smile. Not surprisingly, no amount of jumping did me any good. Instead I was forced to watch in horror as he walked down the beach with a satisfied lightness in his step. I scrambled to my feet and chased after him, nearly tripping over a small toddler counting rocks near the water’s edge; his unsuspecting mother beaming with pride. The possibility that Finn’s cloak would disappear at any given moment was enough to send my legs into overdrive. I had no idea how far away from him I could be, and still remain invisible. The burning heat of my cheeks spread to the rest of my body as I chased him past a sweet older couple holding hands. To my relief, he turned on his heel and headed out into the waves instead of farther down the beach. I swam after him as hard as I could, and finally caught up with him after about a mile.