“Sam, that was the most beautiful thing I have ever done.” Her hand is rubbing over my stomach.

He rolls to his side and places his hand on my face. “Did I hurt you?” he asks sweetly.

“It only hurt for a moment, then it felt amazing. Did I hurt you?”

I hear his deep chuckle. “No, there was nothing that you did to me that remotely felt like pain.”

I lean up on my elbow. “Can we do it again?”

He draws me into him for a deep kiss. “I’d love to, but your sister will be here anytime.”

“Shit!” I jump out of bed. “Where are my clothes?” I frantically feel for them.

He grabs both my hands. “It’s okay, Emma. Let me get them for you.” I still hear a little laughter in his voice.

“It’s not funny, Sam. I don’t want my little sister to find me naked in your bed.” He hands me my clothes and I quickly pull them on and run my fingers through my hair. He wraps his arms around me from behind and I reach back to touch him. He’s still naked. “Why aren’t you dressed yet?” I ask as I turn in his arms.

“I was enjoying watching you frantically get your clothes on,” his deep voice rumbles at my ear. “August was right,” he says.

“Right about what?”

“Waiting for the perfect woman to come along.”

Before I can respond there is a knock on the door and I can hear Tennyson yelling my name. “I’ll go let her in. Please put some clothes on.” I swat his ass as I walk by him.

“Hey, Tenny! How was your play date?” I ask as she and Chase come bouncing through the door.

“Where’s Sam? He promised he would teach me how to swim.”

Chase kisses me on the cheek. “I’m sorry. She’s been so excited about learning to swim, it’s all she has talked about on the way here.”

“Sam will be out in a minute. I want to hear about your play date.”

“It was fun.”

“That’s it? That’s all I get? Well, I did something exciting today,” I tell her as I fix her ponytail.

“Did Sam teach you how to swim?” she asks, completely serious.

“No, but he let me drive his car.”

“Is he crazy? You can’t see!” she says.

I can’t help but laugh. “He has a car that drives itself. Isn’t that the coolest thing ever?”

“Sam!” she screeches. I can only assume he came into the room.

He stands beside me and I’m mortified to feel his bare skin brush against me. He must see it on my face, because he chuckles and says, “I already have my swimsuit on and I’m ready to go. Chase, do you want to stick around and hang out with us?”

“Sure, I’d love to go sit down by the water.” Chase takes my hand, placing it at the bend of his elbow before leading me out the door.

“Can Sadie and Sunny come in the water with us?” Tennyson asks.

“That’s up to Emma,” Sam says.

“I don’t mind,” I tell her.

* * *

We open the pen and Sadie and Sunny follow us down to the water. Chase and I sit on the end of the dock. I listen as Sam gets Tenny in the water and gives her instructions.

“You look different than when I dropped you off this morning,” Chase says.

I can feel my porcelain skin flush quickly from my neck up my face. “I…I don’t know what you mean,” I say, voice cracking.

“You finally did it, didn’t you?” He’s laughing.

How does he know? I don’t even know what to say.

“You did the dirty with Sam, didn’t you?” he says next to my ear.

“That is none of your business,” I huff out, embarrassed.

His arm sweeps around my shoulder. “I’m happy for you. Sam’s a nice guy. I wish I had a guy that looks at me the way Sam looks at you. He’s so damn charming and so good with Tennyson.”

The sound of her laughing and splashing around in the water drifts to my ears. “I’m swimming, Emma!”

I clap my hands together in excitement for her. “Good job, Tenny.” I lean over to Chase. “As for you mister, not another word.”

“I just want to know that you are okay?”

“I’m more than okay. Sam makes me feel things I thought I’d never feel for another person. I think I’m falling in love with him.” The last part comes out as a barely-audible whisper.

“I think he feels the same about you.” He hugs me to him. “I’m glad you have found someone, maybe he can talk some sense into you about getting surgery to get your eyesight back.”

“Do you regret giving up your life to come here and help me?” I drag his hand into mine.

“Not for one minute. I love you, Tennyson, and Nana. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.” He squeezes my hand.

“But you had so much going for you, I hate the sacrifices that you’ve made for me.”

“I don’t consider my choice as a sacrifice. If I want something different in life, I have plenty of time to make some changes. For now, I’m right where I want to be.”

“I love you, Chase.”

“I love you, too.”

* * *

After about an hour, we head back to the house. Poor Sam, Tenny is talking his ears off. “Can I stay the night? Please?” She asks him. “We could go swimming again in the morning.”

“Tenny, I don’t think…”

Sam cuts me off. “I think that would be a great idea. I could build you a fort in the living room. I think I even have some twinkling lights somewhere that I could hang up for you.”

“You don’t have to go to all that trouble,” I tell him.

“It’s not trouble at all. I need to get Sadie and Sunny dried off and then we can work on that fort.” Sadie actually followed Sunny into the water.

“I’ll help you,” Tennyson tells him.

“You guys have fun. Nana promised to make some banana pudding, so I’m out of here,” Chase says. “I’ll come by about noon to pick you girls up.” He pulls me to his ear. “It’s okay to enjoy yourself and to be a little naughty.” I feel my face flush again.

* * *

Sam, Tenny, and I are lying in the tent that he built for her. She is reading one of her favorite books to him. His fingers are entwined with mine. I love the feeling of him holding my hand. It brings me a security that I haven’t felt in a long time.

“I love the twinkling lights,” Tenny says behind a yawn.

“I think it’s time for you to go to sleep, little one,” I tell her.

“Where are you going to sleep?” she asks.

“I’ll be right here on the couch.”

“No, I’ll take the couch. You can sleep in my room,” Sam says.

“Okay,” Tenny replies. We wait until she appears to be asleep before crawling out of the tent.

“I’m really okay to sleep out here,” I tell him as he tugs me toward his bedroom.

“I want you in my bed.”

“We can’t sleep together with her here,” I whisper.

His dresser drawer makes a low rumbling sound as he slides it open. “Here is a t-shirt for you to sleep in. I can help you undress if you would like.”

His voice sounds so sexy that it instantly turns me on and sets every nerve on fire with desire for him. I think about how sweet and gentle he was with me. I’ve never thought of myself as someone who would be sex-crazed, but I can totally see myself being that way with him. Instead of giving in to my craving, I stifle it. “I think I can handle it.” I take the shirt from him and undress. I can feel his eyes on me, causing an ache deep inside me that I’ve never experienced.

“You are so damn beautiful.” His hands are brushing the hair out of my face.

“Sam,” his name comes out as a deep need. His lips softly join mine. The kiss is tender and sweet but I want more. I push him to give me more as our tongues collide. He pulls me deeper to him with his hands roaming my backside.

“Tell me what you want, baby,” he says.

“I want you, but not with Tenny here. I don’t want her to wake up and find us together.” He kisses me one last time and pulls away.

“Come on, I’ll tuck you in bed.” I hear him pulling back the covers and I lay down, wishing he was joining me. The air around me warms with his scent as he leans over to kiss my forehead. “Good night, Emma.”

* * *

“Emma, wake up.” Sam’s voice rouses me from a deep sleep.

“Is it morning already?” I’m not sure if I’m dreaming.

“No, I want you to come outside with me.” He pulls the covers off of me.

I sit quiet for a minute, listening. Raindrops softly patter against the tin roof. “It’s raining outside.”

“I know,” he says, taking my hand.

“You know I’m afraid of the rain.” I try to pull away from him.

“Do you trust me?” He parrots my question from earlier.

“I do, but…”

“No buts. Just be quiet so you don’t wake up the little princess.”

Hesitantly, I let him lead me through the house. He quietly opens the front door and the sound of the rain brings a shiver to my body. “It’s okay, Emma.” I try to wrap my arms around myself, but he won’t let me. The rain pelts down in front of us, terrifying me. He takes one of my hands in his and the other he places on his shoulder. “Dance with me,” he says.

“You brought me out here to dance in the rain?”

“I brought you out here to hold you in the rain so you wouldn’t be scared any more. The dancing part is a bonus.”

I think I can hear his facial muscles pull his lips up in a grin. I relax and sway in his arms. “You know this means I’m only not scared with you in the rain.”

“The rain won’t hurt you, baby. I know it was raining the night your parents died, but it wasn’t the rain that hurt them.”

My hair is dripping wet and the t-shirt is clinging to every part of my body. I don’t care, all I care about is the man in my arms. He swings me around and I hear the sloshing of the puddle beneath me. I raise my face to the rain and start laughing, a deep, cathartic laugh. I have no fear at this moment in time. He stops dancing and places his hands on my face.

“I love you, Emma,” he says and consumes my mouth.

“I love you, too,” I say between kisses. He moves me backwards and we stop when my back presses against a wall. My hands are all over him. I reach down and unzip his jeans and he lets out a hiss. He tugs at the hem of my t-shirt until my breasts are bare. His mouth is taking in one of my nipples while his other hand cups my breast. I throw my head backward and let out a moan. God, he feels so good. He picks me up and wraps my legs around him, pressing me into the wall. I feel him enter me in one powerful thrust. My head falls forward on his shoulder. The sensation of being so full is overwhelming. I can already feel my body starting to clench around him. I pull at his hair and find his lips. This seems to fuel him on and he starts thrusting harder.

“Sam!” This time I yell his name over the sound of the rain. My orgasm takes over, accompanied by a sense of euphoria. I didn’t know sex could feel so damn good. He presses me harder into the wall and I hear his moans as he pulsates inside of me.

We are both breathless and soaked to the bone when I slide down his body. My body is spent and I start to shiver. He picks me up, curling me into his arms. I bury my face into his shoulder. He walks me through the house and sets me down on a counter. The shower nozzle squeaks and the bathroom comes to life with the sound of water spraying on the shower walls. He peels me out of my wet shirt, lifts me up and places me under the warm spray of the water. I hear him strip his clothes off, and a moment later his body is pressed up against mine.

“That was incredible,” he whispers, kissing my neck.

“Thank you,” I say.

“You’re thanking me for what we just did?” he laughs.

“No, I’m thanking you for dancing with me in the rain.”