Holiday Tides (Wilks Beach Holiday Novella)

20. Summer

twenty

Summer

I stumble back a few steps. Before I can berate Nick for manhandling me, one of his hands slides behind my neck, his thumb heavy on my jaw, as the other fists the back of my dress at the base of my spine. Then his lips are on mine, hot and insistent and more delicious than I could have expected.

My body presses forward as a needy sound escapes my throat. That’s all the permission Nick needs to deepen the kiss. Tiny beams of light splinter behind my closed eyelids. The room spins even though I’m pretty sure my feet are still on the floor. I don’t remember the last time someone kissed me like this—wholly, thoroughly, soul-satiatingly. Have I ever been kissed like this?

The thought breaks off as Nick sets hungry kisses along my jaw, beside my ear, down my neck. My eyes catch the mistletoe above us before they blink closed again, drunk though I only had a single glass of bubbly hours ago.

“ Nick. ”

He stalls, pressing his forehead into my shoulder as if to gather strength. An openmouthed exhale leaves him as he raises his face to meet my puzzled gaze.

“That’s always how I’ve wanted you to say my name.”

A startled inhale slips into my parted lips, drawing his attention. This time, Nick is focused, controlled. His thumb skirts over my mouth before he leans in torturously slow. A delicate kiss brushes my lips before he pulls back a fraction. Our erratic breaths mingle for several heartbeats. When I tip forward, needing to demolish the space between us, a possessive grip on my hip backs me into the closed door of Bayside Table’s private meeting room. Our eyes remained locked, his green irises almost nonexistent until I reach for the handle.

Then it’s a flurry of motion again. Nick slamming the door shut, lifting me atop the eight-person dining table. My hands making an absolute mess of his hair, savoring the scratch of his beard scruff over my palm.

“Why do you smell so good?” I ask while setting a kiss against his neck.

“I— I don’t—” A wicked smile lifts my lips at his incoherence before I nip at his earlobe.

A curse leaves his mouth on a broken sigh before his lips are exploring mine again. Undoubtedly, I’ve never been kissed in the desperate, all-consuming way Nick seems incapable of tempering.

All of a sudden, Nick grips my shoulders, separating us. “Wait.” He sucks in a ragged breath. “We should—”

“Kiss some more?” I ask, sending him a coy grin while leaning into his palms in an attempt to get closer.

His gaze drops to my mouth, his bottom lip tucking between his teeth. Nick’s broad shoulders rise with a large inhale before he shakes his head.

“Later. We need to slow down, to hash some things out first.”

“Why?” I’m not exactly proud of my pouty tone, but I’ve also never been structurally rearranged by a kiss before, so I’m giving myself a pass.

Nick runs a fist over his lips, momentarily distracted again. He almost gives in, his body swaying forward helplessly, but then something in him shifts.

His green eyes meet mine, earnest, as he takes another settling breath. “Because this is something I’ve wanted since you moved in across the street, but five minutes ago, you hated my guts.”

“I didn’t hate your guts.”

“Were irritated at me, then.”

“Yes, but it was because you weren’t doing this.” I circle my hands to indicate the way he’s standing too close, his thumb mindlessly rubbing the sleeve of my dress. “I was angry because you asked me out, but then covered it like a joke and called me a friend.”

Nick flings his hands up with a knee bounce. “Because you had a boyfriend! I might be a flirt, but I’m not about to get between two committed people.”

“Now you know I’m single.” I grip his wrist and settle his warm palm on my waist. I’ve never been so bold before, but something about kissing Nick feels simultaneously comforting and enticing, and I don’t want to stop. “Can we continue?”

He shakes his head even as he drifts closer, his hair falling over his eyebrows while the corner of his mouth quirks. “So stubborn.”

Our smiling lips are a hair’s breadth apart when the door flies open. Don and Ruby tumble through in an eerily accurate replica of what we must have looked like moments ago.

“Out, young man. Your time is up.”

Nick groans like a petulant teenager but pulls me off the table in a swift motion. He shields me from Ruby’s amorous giggles, setting my back to his front as he steers us out of the room. When the door is shut behind us, a full body shudder rakes his frame.

I, on the other hand, burst into laughter. When I collect myself enough to glance at Nick, he’s looking at me with such unrestrained affection my breath catches.

“Want to take me home?” I ask, voice dark.

Nick takes another one of those focused inhales, his gaze slipping from my lips, to my neck, to take a lazy perusal of my legs.

“No.” His answer is a coarse scrape before he clears his throat. “I’ll walk you home, though.”

Before I can argue, Nick collects our coats, interlaces our fingers, and leads us into the frosty night. After a few crunchy steps over the nearly frozen ground, Nick brings the back of my hand to his lips for a soft kiss. It shouldn’t feel so knee-quaking to have something as benign as Nick’s lips brushing my hand, but I nearly stumble. Tucking me tighter beneath his arm, he begins speaking—little steam clouds billowing in the wan lamplight.

“I want to be honest with you.” He pauses just long enough for every muscle cell in my body to tighten.

He’s dumping me? After that incredible kiss? What in the name of—

“I’ve wanted to kiss you for longer than I said earlier. A lot longer.”

My neck snaps in his direction, but he only slips his eyes to mine for the briefest of moments. When my brain finally processes his words, I’m folded inside out. Shy Nick is the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. I have the sudden urge to snuggle with him on the couch while finger-brushing his hair.

“And because I’ve clearly wanted this for a lot longer than you have, we should take things slow.”

“How slow are we talking?”

“Glacial.”

I hum. “They say the glaciers are melting at an alarming speed.”

“Did your scientist friends tell you that?”

My palm whacks his shoulder before Nick sees it coming. “Some of us read, Nicholas. We’re not all—” His pained groan stops me short. “I didn’t actually hurt you, did I?”

Nick’s flirty smirk hits me like a rogue wave. “I think I like you using my full name even better than hearing you say, ‘Nick,’ all breathy and wanton.”

My mouth drops open. “You were right there with me! Let’s not forget you kissed me first.”

It’s when I tear my fingers from his, playfully stomping away while Nick’s laughter peppers my back, that I realize we’re interacting in nearly the same way we always have. It’s just now I understand that Nick’s jokes, his little jabs, aren’t because he thinks he’s better than me.

He sweeps my legs from under me, much like he did on my first day back in Wilks Beach.

“The things I want to do with you. I have to keep myself in check constantly. I want to teach you to surf. I bet you’d be a natural. I want to slip beyond the chain link fence into the nature preserve to watch the baby sea turtles hatch.” Wholesome imaginings are not where I thought this conversation was headed.

“I want to deliver hot cinnamon rolls from the coffee shop the instant you get home from a run. Then eat them on the floor beside the TV, watching our favorite show. I want to cook for you. You don’t even know I make a mean Chicken Teriyaki.” He sighs, the wistful sound like a fist around my heart.

Nick sets me down at the rickety fence surrounding my small front yard, gently opening the disintegrating gate. “And more than anything, I want to fix up your house so you’ll be comfortable and warm in a space that makes you happy. And that”—he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear as we arrive at my front door—“will take time. Lucky for me, I’ve been here long enough that I’m a certified local. Are you going anywhere anytime soon?”

“Nope.” My cheeks sting from my giant smile.

His entire face lights. “Can I see you tomorrow?”

“I need to make snickerdoodles. Do you want to help me?”

“Absolutely.” He gathers me in his arms. “Whatever way you’ll let me in, Summer, I’ll be there. Just ask.”

I roll my eyes. “What if I invite you to my parents’ dinner and tree decorating tomorrow night?”

“I’m in. There’s nothing I love more than decking the halls.”

My palms push against his hard chest. “Be serious.”

“I am.” His honest expression steals the air from my lungs. “Plus, they’ll love me—your family. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but everyone loves me.”

“Not Carol,” I counter.

His chin tilts to the side. “She’s a tough nut to crack, but I’ll get there.” Nick gives me a seductive grin that burns all the way to my toes. “What time tomorrow?”

“Um, two? To make the cookies. Then we’ll head to the mainland afterward.”

“Sounds perfect.” His breath skirts my lips as he answers.

I smile, lifting my face slightly. “Are you going to kiss me now?”

Nick doesn’t answer me, but it’s several long minutes before I slip into my warm cottage, buzzing with excitement of what tomorrow might bring.