evie

“Baby,” he whispers, his long, dark strands sweeping my cheek as he sinks his lips into my neck, tickling me with his stubble as he nips at my skin.

“Hmm?” I murmur, my eyebrows crinkling together.

“Wake up, little monster,” he croons, the feel of his palm on my bare stomach pulling me further from my sleep.

“Why?” I groan, turning over onto my back to face him, the smirk on his face as he takes me in assuring me I look ridiculous. “What time is it?”

“Early.”

“How early?” I ask, sitting up on my elbows long enough to see the light just barely peeking through his blinds.

“Not quite seven,” he admits, blowing a raspberry against my cheek as his hand cradles my ass, giving it a gentle smack. “Come on. Get up and get dressed.”

I study him for a second, my face still holding the same offended expression despite the happiness in his green gaze. I fall back against the mattress and tuck myself into his chest, savoring in the feel of him as he pulls me close.

Since we talked things out with Mason the other day, I’m happy to say the rest of my vacation has been about as close to perfect as I could have hoped for. Dash has worked almost every day I’ve been here, which sucks, but now that the two men in my life aren’t at each other’s throats, things are easier.

If I’m being honest, though, there’s a little piece leftover that misses keeping mine and Dash’s secret.

For so long, the love I’d found with my enemy-turned-lover had been ours and ours alone and I missed the thrill that came with closed doors and hushed whispers. However, if I’ve learned anything about falling for an adrenaline junkie, it’s that I’ll never be bored with Dash Hunter.

It’s still a little weird for Mason to be around us, but he’s trying to be supportive despite his worries. That’s all I ever really wanted.

Until this moment.

In this moment, all I really want is to go back to sleep.

Dash’s hot breath of annoyance at my rebellion washes over my skin and in my revolt, I nuzzle closer to his chest.

“Stop pretending to be asleep,” he says.

“If you’d leave me alone, I wouldn’t have to pretend.”

I pull away to roll over, but he keeps his grip locked on me, yanking me closer.

“Well, I’m nothing if not an overachiever,” he smirks against my lips, sliding his hand beneath my tank top and giving it a gentle tug, exposing me. “I know one way to wake your grumpy little ass up.”

As my eyes flutter open, I find his eyes already on me as he slips the tip of his finger beneath my panties, teasing me as he bends to slide his tongue over my nipple. As he clamps down onto my barbell and sucks, I release a low moan, pulling a growl of victory from his chest as I grow wet around his fingers.

“Dammit,” I mutter as my back arches slightly, my grip on his hair tightening as he continues working me over.

“Hmm…” he hums around my breast, slowly pulling his fingers out before slipping them lower between my cheeks.

“Dash!” I shout as my eyes pop open, the burst of energy I’d just been staving off filling me instantly as I swat him away. “Get out of there!”

“There she is,” he beams, raising his eyes to mine. “You gettin’ up?”

“Oh, my God,” I groan as he releases me, my head falling against the pillows behind me. “I hate you.”

“Liar,” he chuckles, gripping my neck and pressing his lips to my cheek before slipping out of the bed. “Come on. We’re gonna be late.”

“I’m up,” I yawn, rubbing my eyes awake as I stumble toward the bathroom. “Late for what?” I call out a moment later as I’m sliding toothpaste over my brush. “Where are we going?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just get dressed.”

“Babe,” I say around my toothbrush as I stick my head out to face him. “How can I get dressed for something if I don’t know where I’m going?”

“Just put on shorts and a shirt.”

“What kind of shoes?”

“What?” he asks, looking at me like I’ve just grown another head. “I don’t care, just pick some fuckin’ shoes, baby.”

“Helpful,” I roll my eyes, rinsing before I bend to wash my face, raising to find him staring back at me in the mirror.

“Okay, I’m ready and we need to leave in ten minutes. What do you have left to do?”

“Um, everything,” I smirk, dropping the hand towel onto the sink as I reach for my brush, taking in his groan as his head tips back in frustration. “If you wanted me to be ready ten minutes from now, you should have woken me up an hour ago.”

“You need an hour?” his eyes widen. “For what?”

“I have to brush my hair, put on makeup, get dressed… coffee would be nice,” I insist, watching him shake his head as I wave my hand in front of me dramatically. “What? You think this all gets smokin’ in ten minutes?”

“Gimme the brush,” he insists. “No way in hell you’re getting an hour.”

Before I can argue, he pulls it from my hand, blocking me in as his palm presses roughly against the back of my head, the bristles running quickly through my long strands.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I rail, fighting against him, smacking the hell out of him. “Get off me, you idiot!”

“There. You’re beautiful,” he insists, releasing me for a moment before he grips my hand and leads me out in a rush. “Come here,” he orders me, yanking the drawer I’ve been using open while I stare at him in shock. “Here. There’s a shirt and some shorts right here,” he says, raising and shoving them into my hands. “Put ‘em on.”

“Dash, these don’t match,” I argue, rolling my eyes as I face him. “And this is a hoodie.”

“It doesn’t matter, baby!” he shouts. “Just put some fuckin’ clothes on so we can-!”

“Oh, my God! What is your freakin’ deal today? Jesus…” I cut him off, my words making his features relax. “Get the hell out of my face. I love you to death, but you’re being so annoying right now.”

“I’m sorry, babe. I know this isn’t how you wanted to wake up,” he sighs, giving me a kiss despite my deadpan expression. “I know we’ve gotta leave early tomorrow and it’s gonna be a little crazy, so I wanted to make up for that today.”

“So, why didn’t you just tell me? I would have set an alarm.”

“Well, I was trying to do something nice and fuckin’ surprise you!” he exclaims, his eyes widening in frustration. “Instead, we’re doing this shit at seven o’clock in the morning and we’re still going to be la-”

“Late. I got it, babe,” I cut him off, giving him a small smile as I kiss his jaw. “Thank you. Please calm the hell down. I’m getting dressed.”

I pull out of his hold, moving as quickly as my tired brain will allow. I feel his eyes on me, watching me as I begin sifting through my bag.

“Sorry,” he offers, pulling my eyes back to his.

“Shut up, baby,” I tease, pulling real clothes out of my bag while he begins to pace nervously. I pull a top out, my face contorting when I realize it’s not what I want before folding it neatly and setting it to the side. I don’t miss the heavy sigh of impatience leaving his chest. I glance over, eyebrow raised to face him. “What?”

“Nothing,” he lies, biting his lip, pulling a nod from me. “You’re just…”

“Just what?”

“Nothing” he clears his throat, fighting the smirk of annoyance. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I smile sweetly, rolling my eyes as I pull another shirt out, still unable to find what I want.

“That’s perfect, baby,” he manages, staring at me. “What’s wrong with that shirt?”

“The fabric’s thick,” I explain. “I’ll get hot really fast.”

“Right,” he nods, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I mean, you don’t want to get hot,” he swallows hard, watching me once more, the third shirt nearly sending him into atomic meltdown mode. “Evie!” he snaps, catching himself when I glare at him in challenge. “Baby, I… hmm…” he swallows the growl, his palm raking over his face covering his annoyed smirk. “Sweetheart, we need to…”

“Dash? Can you do something for me?” I ask him sweetly as I cut him off. “I think it’ll help move things along.”

“Yes.”

“Can you get the hell out of here before I hit you?”

dash

“You brought me to the beach? I love the beach!” she smiles, leaning up in the seat. “Oh, man! I didn’t bring my suit!”

“It’s in the trunk,” I wink, carefully reading the street signs for the turn I’d been driving toward for the past hour and a half.

“Shut up!” she shoves me playfully, making me smirk. “How’d you do that without me seeing?”

“I packed last night after you fell asleep,” I admit. “I was worried I was gonna wake you up, but you’re such a lightweight, you passed out after three or four drinks,” I laugh at her blush. “Anyway, hopefully, we’ll have time to go for a swim before we have to head back.”

“Well, if we aren’t here to hang out, why’d you bring me to the beach?” she asks, her shoulders slumping slightly before she pulls her sunglasses off and looks at me. “Did you bring me here for a wet t-shirt contest?”

“No,” I shake my head with a chuckle, laughing harder when she narrows her eyes at me. “I didn’t! I swear!”

“Alright,” she smirks, relaxing into the seat. “Well, why are we here? What’s the big surprise?”

“You’re about to find out,” I promise, squeezing her hand in mine. “You excited?”

“Yeah,” she admits, making me smile. “I was kind of nervous at first, but I feel better now.”

“Nervous about what?”

“Well, you’re all into extreme sports and crap like that,” she shrugs as her lips move from an apologetic smile into an amused grin. “This morning when I was getting dressed, I had this paranoid moment where I thought you were going to try to throw me out of something,” she laughs lightly, her gaze out the window helping her miss the blank look covering my face. “I shouldn’t have worried, though. You know I would never go for anything like that.”

“Yeah,” I smile nervously as I whip into the lot, doing my best to park far enough away that she won’t see the massive sign over the building she’s about to kill me in. “Yeah, even I’m not that dumb.”

“Hey, we stopped! Are we at there?” she asks, struggling to see around me as I move my head to block her view of the entrance, earning a weird look. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” I lie, hoping my head is big enough to block the entrance. “Hey, you know, this might have been dumb. Why don’t we just go to the beach?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she waves me off. “You worked so hard to surprise me. I want to see what you planned.”

“Well, yeah, but you were so excited when you saw the water,” I recall, clinging to the memory as I cup her face, restricting her ability to look passed me. “Let’s just go hit the beach. I bet they have a bar.”

“Dash, it’s barely nine in the morning and we have spent every day in a bar since I got here,” she arches her brow. “Why would you wake me up at seven to drive an hour to another one?”

“Hey, it’s five o’clock somewhere,” I wink, reaching for the keys. “Who doesn’t love day drinking?”

“Baby,” she chuckles, pulling my hand off my ignition. “What are you doing? Why don’t you want me to see?”

“It’s not…” I shake my head, meeting her eyes. “Nothing, I just…”

“Dash?”

“Hmm?”

“Move your head.”

“Nah, I’m good,” I swallow hard, watching her eyebrow raise before her lips move into a smile.

“Fine,” she shrugs, settling easy against the seat and replacing her sunglasses. “You don’t have to tell me.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Let’s do the bar thing,” she nods, smirking at my unease. “What’s wrong, baby? Don’t you trust me?”

“Mhmm,” I nod, making her smile wider as I lean over to give her a quick peck. Her fingertips graze my beard, pulling a low hum from my chest. Fuck, I think as I melt further into her lips. She knows that drives me crazy.

I’m so far under her spell that it’s not until I feel her lips move into a smug grin against mine that I catch her.

“Hmm…” she hums against my lips before pulling away abruptly. “Sucker.”

“Dammit!” I call out, but it’s too late.

She’s already out and standing at the hood of the car, mouth hanging open in shock as she whips her gaze around to where I’m still sitting behind the wheel.

“Have you lost your fucking mind?”