Loving Eden (24 page)

“Grey, 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 Grey 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 him. 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.

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, Grey.” 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.

Grey 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 even more.

I
wondered what Marin felt like waking up married. Was she overwhelmingly happy and satisfied? Did the world look different through a bride’s eyes? I woke up Sunday feeling as if I had made some kind of vow to myself last night. I smiled as I stretched my naked body under the sheet. My perfect Carolina blue cocktail dress was on the floor somewhere. I didn’t care. All the wrinkles would come out at the dry cleaners. I pulled the sheet against my chest and sat forward. There was a note on Grey’s pillow.

I love you.

Grey

I looked at if for a minute before sliding it into the nightstand drawer. Yes, it was true that I thought I was in love before. I mean, I did fall in love with Grey during spring break, I had been loving him all summer and since we moved in together, but now I knew what it meant to take all angles of life and accept them together. Our life wasn’t about dividing problems and handling them alone. It wasn’t about keeping the messy stuff from each other. We were all in. I walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower.

I washed my hair. Anthony had sprayed the heck out of that perfect chignon bun, and sometime during our night in bed, Grey had loosened a few bobby pins. It looked like a sad ballerina’s bun. I washed the hairspray out and toweled off.

Grey and I hadn’t made plans for Sunday. I would need to run to the office and check on our guests at some point. Sunday’s weren’t big check-in days, and I didn’t have anyone scheduled. I assumed he was skimming the pool and making the rounds at the Palm. There was an endless to-do list at that place.

I tucked one towel around my chest, and a second one I wrapped around my hair. I walked to the kitchen to make some coffee. I couldn’t believe I had slept until eleven, but after the night I had, I had barely slept. I giggled to myself, not sure if all night long with Grey was enough.

I waited for the coffee to brew. There were a few missed texts from Taylor. She had to fly out tonight, so she could make it back for her Monday classes. She wanted to meet for lunch.

I sent her a text, asking when and where. At least I was already showered. Maybe she would be interested in brunch. I could go for some bacon and pancakes.

I hurried to my closet and tugged on a pair of jeans, tank top, and the boots Grey gave me. She texted back:

I’ll meet you in twenty minutes at the Pancake House.

Ok. See you then.

I picked up the blow-dryer to dry my hair and dabbed on a little bit of makeup. It was nothing compared to the work Lulu had done yesterday, but I thought I looked a little glowy anyway.

I headed to the door to grab my purse, when I remembered to shoot Grey a text.

Headed to brunch with Taylor before her flight. Can I bring you something?

I jogged down the stairs and cranked up the car when Grey wrote back.

Just bring some more of last night. Have fun.

I smiled. This feeling was incredible.

The Pancake House was my other favorite spot on the island next to Pete’s. A girl’s got to have a go-to coffee spot. This wasn’t Chapel Hill with a coffeehouse on every corner. The waitress showed us to a booth. We slid across the red vinyl seats and ordered a large pot of coffee.

“I had so much fun at the wedding.” Taylor poured us both a cup.

“Me too.” I wondered if I looked as different as I felt.

“I still can’t believe Mason flew me here for one night. What do you think that means?”

“Has he said anything?” I studied her.

She shrugged. “Not about feelings. He says we have fun together.”

“And do you?”

“Yes, I have a blast with him, but I don’t want to get wrapped up in the same thing I had with Jesse, you know? I don’t want to just be the good-time girl. I want more than that.”

“And you think that’s all Mason’s interested in? Fun?” I stirred a heavy dose of creamer into the porcelain mug.

“I can’t tell. You’ve known him longer than me. What do you think?”

I almost choked on my first sip of coffee. “I don’t know him like that. Our relationship has been slightly contentious.”

“Ok, I need you to be my friend right now and not Grey’s girlfriend.” She twisted her lips into a pout.

This didn’t feel like the right time to tell her that I couldn’t separate him from my life like that. That no matter what, Grey was permanently ingrained into my being. She didn’t need to hear that.

I dug deep into my girlfriend roots. “All right. Well, guys don’t usually buy plane tickets for no reason. Let’s face it; he’s pretty damn cute. He could have gotten a local date, but he didn’t. He wanted you here with him,
and
he didn’t have to see you when he flew to Charlotte. You were over two hours away. He definitely could have come up with an excuse not to see you on that business trip.”

Taylor smiled. “Keep talking. It’s working. I’m starting to feel better.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but it’s not really fair to compare Mason to Jesse. Mason’s twenty-seven. He knows what he wants in life. I think part of that is having a good time, but he’s obviously smart and extremely successful. He didn’t get that way by being an undependable loser. He has to have some follow through ability. He’s no Jesse.”

Taylor’s shoulders relaxed. “You’re right. He is successful and driven. That’s a good point. I shouldn’t worry. Just because we don’t have plans to see each other again, it doesn’t mean we won’t.”

I took a big sip of coffee. “You’re in the beginning of a relationship, which is sometimes the scariest part. Give him a chance.” I sat back against the vinyl seat. “The guy does have a lot going on—the Palm, all this crap with his dad. It’d be a lot for anyone to take in.” If I hadn’t heard so much inside scoop from Mason and then Renee, I might not have been as sympathetic, but it was true. Mason needed a break.

“Did Grey tell you he was going to sell? That was a bombshell last night.”

“I had no idea. It was news to me, but he seems resolved with it. At least they won’t be fighting with each other anymore.” I hoped this meant the beginning of a peaceful coexistence. Although, I didn’t exactly picture us all cutting the turkey together over Thanksgiving.

“All I know is that Mason was extremely quiet the rest of the night. We still had a good time at the hotel.” She winked. “But he was different. Pensive even.”

I thought about the Renee conversation and wondered if that had anything to do with it. It was so personal, I didn’t think I could share it with Taylor. The Pops situation was layered with such complexity, my gut told me to keep that to myself. I shouldn’t have been so nosey to begin with.

Taylor reached for the coffee pot to administer refills. “Enough Mason talk. Tell me your favorites here. Pancakes? Waffles?”

I picked up the menu and grinned. “You can never go wrong with bacon.”

Monday morning rolled around, and Grey and I both went to work like usual. He hadn’t heard from Mason and I still had guests at the Palm I needed to visit. It was also stock delivery day, and Sam, the driver, liked to unload early so he could hang out and chat about his grandkids for a while.

I hadn’t asked Grey yet what to do with the pending reservations on the books or the ad I had paid for through the end of the year. I wasn’t completely ready to trust that Mason would drop the suit. When Grey had a signed contract in his hand, I’d believe it. I realized the wedding magic might have gotten to everybody Saturday night. It definitely swept me off my feet.

Taylor had made it to Chapel Hill with no new date plans from Mason. I assured her again he just had too much on his mind to map out a long-distance relationship. I knew from experience trying to book plane tickets and visits weren’t easy when you lived in two different states. He was clearly a perpetual flirt. I just hoped for Taylor’s sake that he wasn’t a heartbreaker too.