Cole was able to slow dance as long as he didn’t put too much pressure on his leg. We swayed to the music, my head resting against his chest. I loved being close to him like this. The lights started to flicker, and I could see the country club staff closing in from all sides. It was after midnight, and they were ready for us to go. I couldn’t blame them. It was late.

Reluctantly, the guests filed out of the main entrance of the ballroom and into the circular drive of the club. A few seconds later, Sasha came bounding down the steps in a short cocktail dress, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Cal scooped her in his arms and lowered her over the side of the car into the passenger seat.

“Y’all behave tonight!” someone hollered over the laughter.

“I don’t think so,” Cal called back from the steering wheel, revving the engine a few times. Sasha slapped him on the chest, but she was clearly happy. Her cheeks were pink, and she hadn’t stopped smiling all night.

I saw Sasha’s mother dab at her eyes a few times while her father held her next to him. Watching their first daughter drive off into married life must have been a bittersweet moment for them.

Cole and I waved as the car pulled out of the drive. Sasha and Cal would be on their way to their St. Croix honeymoon tomorrow. Tonight, they had the bridal suite at the Wave Oasis, a gift from Sasha’s boss.

Everyone milled around for a few seconds, drinking bottled water. No one was ready to go home. Nights like that were hard to leave.

“Hey, I think we should light up the bonfire.” Lance came up behind us. He had had a few beers. “A little after party is in order.” His wedding date was a few paces behind him. I met her during the reception.

It seemed late to start one, and I wasn’t sure about taking my blue dress on the beach, but friends didn’t get married every day.

Cole’s hand slid along my back. “You up for it? I can take you home.”

“Yes, I think it’s a good idea,” I answered. “It’ll be fun.” It was the last party in what seemed like never-ending events.

We could be homebodies the rest of the fall and winter.

Mary Ellen bounced over. “Are we going to the beach?”

I wished I could read Cole’s mind. Would he be ok if Mary Ellen and Aiden tagged along?

Cole answered, “Yep. Come on.”

And just like that, Cole had invited Aiden to the local bonfire. I didn’t know what to say. It was possible there was an impending apocalypse. I checked the sky, but all I saw was a brilliant October Texas sky littered with stars.

I was impressed with how quickly the guys pitched in to stack the wood. Aiden carried an armful of wood from Lance’s truck. I doubted he did much manual labor growing up, unlike Cole, but he was helping.

“Do you see what I see?” Mary Ellen danced over to me.

“Uh, no. What are you talking about?”

“Look at that.” She pointed to the fire. “They are actually working together.”

I stared in disbelief. Aiden was handing Cole logs of driftwood while Cole added them to the blaze. If I didn’t know better, I might classify it as teamwork.

“Maybe I had too much champagne.” I blinked again. Of course, I hadn’t had a drop.

Mary Ellen laughed. “No, it just means that they are getting along. It’s all going to work out, Kaitlyn. You want something to drink? Lance said there’s a cooler in the back of his truck.”

I shook my head. “I’m good.” I lifted my water bottle.

I watched as she skipped toward Lance’s tailgate. Sure, it was nice for a change that Cole wasn’t plotting how to knock Aiden on his ass, but I didn’t expect it to last. It couldn’t. They definitely weren’t chitchatting or slapping each other on the back, but they were loading the fire with wood. It was something I never thought I’d see. There were some deep-seated issues between them. What worried me the most was that Cole might wake up in the morning regretting his decision to sell the Dunes.

It was a beautiful fantasy to think we could ride off into the sunset and live off his fortune while Aiden demolished the Dunes and built a high-rise on it. How would Cole live with this decision? What would he tell his children? Our baby?

“What’s going on in that head of yours, darlin’?” Cole stood next to me.

“Is it that obvious?” I was trying to keep up with the party spirit, but there was too much going on in front of me: Cole and Aiden, Mary Ellen and Aiden, and the fact that we were hiding a huge secret from everyone.

His hands brushed over my shoulder as if I were wearing my hair down. “Did I tell you how pretty you looked at the wedding?”

I turned in the sand so that I was leaning into him, chest to chest. “No, I don’t think you did.”

“Don’t tell Sasha I said this, but you were the prettiest girl in the church.” He kissed my neck. I felt little shivers cascade down my spine. His fingers laced through mine, drawing me even closer.

I giggled. “You are not supposed to say that. Today was Sasha’s day.”

“But I mean it,” he growled against my ear.

We stayed like that for a while, pressed against each other, the bonfire roaring nearby while our friends danced up a storm on the beach. I loved dancing, but I loved being held by Cole more.

“Cole?” I looked at his face, glowing with the last flames of flickering firelight.

“Hmm?”

“Take me to bed?”

He smiled. “Do you think we’ll make it in the house?”

I blushed, tipping my chin toward him, daring him to kiss me in front of everyone, although everyone was coupled off and I doubted anyone would notice.

“Do you want to make it in the house?” I teased. My eyes locked on his. This shameless seduction had me burning up for him. I didn’t think he was serious, but I was completely turned on.

I was addicted to pregnancy sex.

“Why don’t we start walking back and you’ll find out.” He stood from the log we used as a seat, his hand extended.

Every part of me started working in overdrive. My breath was rapid, my skin sensitive to his touch, my pulse surging rapidly. All I could think about was how tangled up we were going to get before we even walked through the door.

I didn’t bother saying good-bye to Mary Ellen or Lance. We disappeared into the shadows and followed the dunes to our cottage before anyone realized we had left the party.

I started to climb the stairs when I felt Cole’s hands sliding along my bare legs. He was a few steps below me, and I kept a slow pace as I climbed to the next step, not wanting to lose his touch. I stopped, clutching the railing as his hand reached between my legs, and over my backside, gripping the waist of my panties and guiding them down my legs. I closed my eyes, reminding myself I had to breathe and keep climbing the stairs. I stepped forward, allowing him to work them over my ankles.

Thank God, we didn’t leave the lights on the ocean side of the house. I didn’t expect to arrive beachfront at the end of the night. I took another step. His hand was pushing the sides of my dress up as he eagerly fought to dip along my hot wet skin. I stopped until his chest was heaving against my back. I needed him to steady me, all the feelings were incredibly intense—the ones in my heart and the ones raging through my body.

His mouth descended on my neck, and I reached behind me, grasping at the back of his head. The harder he kissed me, the more his fingers reached inside me. Twirling and spreading until I was craving every ounce of him.

“Cole, we’re outside,” I moaned. It wasn’t the first time we had made out by the beach, but the way he was escalating things, I could tell he wasn’t about to stop.

“Keep walking.” He bit my ear.

I did as he commanded until I was at the top of the stairs. The sliding glass door was in front of me, and I could see our beautiful new couch, but Cole twisted me toward him, catching my mouth with his passionate lips. He walked backward until he was leaning against the railing. I grasped at his neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss, knowing I was abandoning any sense of reality. His tongue lashed against mine with lightning strikes that had my head spinning.

I heard his pants drop to the deck, and his belt buckle clang against the wood. He hiked my dress up over my hips and brought my one leg to the crossbar on the railing. I realized exactly what he was doing. His fingers dug into the small of my back as I climbed onto the frame with my other foot, this time with certain purpose. I planted a kiss on his mouth then sank with all my force onto his wide cock.

“Oh God,” I whimpered.

I began to rock against him, taking us both to new heights on the deck, high above the ocean, in the dark, far from the bonfire on the beach, but knowing we were igniting something in each other we could never extinguish.

“So fucking beautiful. Fuck me harder, baby,” he commanded.

He braced himself against the railing as I brought us closer together, and then worked to the edge of us dying to be connected again. He groaned as I slid against him. The wind whipped over my face as my head reeled back. I had never felt such total abandon, yet complete connection with another person. I smiled when I saw him bite down on his lip. I was driving him beyond crazy.

“Don’t hold back, baby.” He met my eyes with hunger. “My leg’s fine.” He clutched my bottom, driving me harder and deeper against him. “Don’t stop. Whatever you do, don’t stop,” he moaned in my ear.

“Oh my God, Cole.” I thought we might burn the house down, starting with the top deck.

“You feel it? Everything between us?” His teeth raked over my shoulder until he was bearing down on my neck.

I nodded against his chest before I called his name, needing him to release me, to keep me like this forever, to hold me tighter, to let me fall.

The strength in his hands rocked me higher and deeper than I anticipated. My hands reached for the railing on either side of him. But just when I thought I could keep the intensity going, keep giving him this part of me, keep making him feel all the love I had for him, my body began to break and shatter from the inside out. I folded in his arms, breathless and hungry for more.

“Take me to bed, please,” I begged. “I need you. More. I need more.” It wasn’t enough. Reckless insane outdoor deck sex wasn’t enough.

Cole didn’t say a word. He wrapped his arms around my back and carried me straight to our bedroom where I fell in love with him all over again.