The enticing smells of coffee, eggs, and bacon roused her from a deep deep sleep.
She rolled over to find Chase juggling a shopping bag, two foam take-out containers, and a beverage carrier with two cups. He was freshly showered judging from the damp strands of his dark hair and he looked just too sexy again in those black jeans, another form-fitting T-shirt, and the hoodie.
When she gave him a puzzled look, he said, “You were asleep so deep, I didn’t want to wake you. I went to the surf and skate shop to get you something to wear and to Nagle’s for some breakfast.”
He plopped the shopping bag with the OG store logo on the floor and laid the containers and cups on the nightstand. Standing by the bed a little hesitantly, he said, “We could go out to eat if you want or you could go home, but it looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day. I thought you might want to stay for a while.”
She sat up in bed, drew some errant locks from her face, and pulled the sheet up to hide her nakedness.
“First I’d like for you to sit down and get comfortable and then, coffee. Please please please some coffee.”
He grinned, toed off his shoes, and sat cross-legged on the bed opposite her. Reaching back, he snared the two cups and handed her one.
She tore back a piece of the plastic lid and took a sip. It was done just like she liked it. Creamy, light, and sweet.
“Thank you,” she said and a second later, her stomach growled noisily.
“Hungry?” he asked and arched a brow.
After last night, she was starving and not just for food. But that had to wait until some things were more settled between them.
“Famished,” she said and he laid the two foam containers before her and opened the tops to reveal the two different breakfast sandwiches inside.
“Pork roll or bacon?” he asked.
“How about we share?” she said, knowing how much he liked both the breakfast meats.
He grinned and grabbed half of the egg and pork roll sandwich. She did the same and they sat there, satisfying one hunger while another grew steadily, especially as he occasionally looked at her, his gaze the deep blue of desire.
She chewed thoughtfully and finally said, “I like this. . . .”
Her voice trailed off as she struggled to find the right words for their current situation.
He lowered a dark brow and grinned sexily. “This? Like breakfast or something else?”
“Breakfast is always good,” she said and popped the last bit of her sandwich into her mouth.
“So is sex, like last night,” he said and she nearly choked as she swallowed while fighting back a laugh.
She couldn’t deny it had been good, but there had been lots more that had been good the night before.
“I liked that we talked,” she said.
“During sex?” he teased, dragging intense heat to her face and a protest.
“Chase. . . .”
“You wanted me to be more open, so I’m being more open. I liked telling you what I like. Hearing what you like, especially – ”
She leaned forward and laid her index finger on his lips. “Stop, please. Be serious.”
He playfully bit the tip of her finger and said, “I am being serious, Natalie. I liked sharing with you. Talking with you. Sleeping with you. Making love with you.”
The heat across her cheeks deepened and traveled downward. Beneath the protection of the sheet, her nipples puckered into tight nubs.
She wanted him again, but it was just too soon.
Sitting back, she grabbed her half of the second sandwich and took a bite. He followed suit, grabbing the remaining half and devouring it in just a few bites. She ate a little more slowly, needing the time to consider his offer to stay.
She hadn’t planned on it and didn’t have any clothes, but then again, he had gotten her some judging from the full bag sitting by the bed. At a minimum, she wouldn’t have to do the walk of shame in last night’s dress.
But if she stayed. . . .
She didn’t want to think about what might happen again, as much as she wanted him physically.
She wanted to see what the day would be like with this new old Chase. Was he truly serious about spending a lazy day down on the beach or would he be itching to pick up his phone to check his messages? Would he be willing to stay the night again at the inn and be late for work tomorrow or would he want to rush home so he could be at work at the crack of dawn?
There was only one way to find out.
Swallowing her last bite of the sandwich, she said, “Were you serious about spending the day together?”
***
Chase had never been more serious about anything . . . except maybe marrying Natalie.
“Totally serious,” he said and motioned to the shopping bag. “If you don’t like what I got for you, we could go back to the store and get something else.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine. Let me just take a quick shower,” she said.
“Do you need help washing your back?” he teased.
“Not if you want to get to the beach any time today,” she said, dropped a quick kiss on his lips, and hopped off the bed.
Snagging the bag with the clothes, she rushed into the bathroom, but not before shooting him a sexy grin. “Maybe later, Chase.”
He grinned and sat back against the headboard, imagining just how he could help her in the shower later. As the sound of the running water stopped and he heard her moving around in the bathroom, a thought came to him.
He grabbed his smartphone and was checking out the surf and skate shop’s website when she popped out of the bathroom, smiling. The smile faded quickly as she saw him on the phone.
“It’s not what you’re thinking,” he said, a little disappointed at her lack of trust. He held up the phone so she could see the screen and explained. “The shop rents surfboards. It’s been a long time since we went surfing and I was just checking the conditions.”
She walked over and snared the phone from his hand, swiped up and down and said, “Bummer. It’s kind of flat. I guess we’ll just have to lie on the beach and soak up the sun.”
“Such a hardship,” he kidded, thankful that the awkward moment had passed.
“Thank you for the thought and the clothes. They’re perfect,” she said, motioning to the boardshorts, T-shirt, and swimsuit top visible beneath the shirt. He skimmed his gaze down her long lovely legs to the sandals he’d bought and the bright pink nail polish on her toes.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thanks. Now it’s your turn,” she said and held up a pair of men’s boardshorts. “I’m assuming these are for you?”
He grinned. “For sure,” he said, walked to her and grabbed the shorts.
“See you in a second,” he said and dropped a kiss on her cheek before heading into the bathroom to change.
Once inside, he sucked in a long inhale, fighting back the rise of desire once again. The sight of her, even in something as simple as the casual wear, had him hard and aching to be with her again. But he knew that today demanded patience and restraint after the night they’d shared.
Today had to be about more than just the physical.
He changed into the boardshorts and luckily they were loose enough to hide his aroused state. With a few more deep breaths and a splash of cold water on his face, he had tamed his need enough to be able to grab some towels and head back out to the bedroom.
She was waiting for him, hair pulled back into some kind of knot that made her look years younger, much like the teenager who had captured his heart on that long ago summer night.
She held out her hand to him and said, “Ready?”
He slipped his hand into hers and said, “Totally.”
Smiling, she swung their hands playfully and they walked out of the room and down the stairs. In the lobby, the innkeeper greeted them again with a friendly smile and said, “Have a nice day.”
Out on the street, they did the short two block walk to the boardwalk and onto the beach. Luckily it was past twelve since the town normally wouldn’t open up the beach until Sunday services were over. With the summer season over, there weren’t any beach badge checkers which meant a good number of people were out on the sand, taking advantage of that and a gorgeous September day.
“So nice,” Natalie said as they neared the water’s edge and laid out the towels.
“It’s one of my favorite times of year to come to the beach,” he said. He sat down beside her and pulled off his shirt, eager to feel the warm kiss of the sun on his body. Appreciating the subtle once over she gave him that kindled another kind of heat in him.
Natalie sighed at the sight of him, so beautifully male. All lean muscle and smooth skin except for the smattering of hair across his chest that trailed down to . . . .
No, don’t think about that, she warned herself. There would be time enough for that later, or at least she hoped there would be.
They hadn’t talked about tonight or tomorrow. Neither was guaranteed to them given the current state of their marriage, but they were still husband and wife despite the separation.
And he was trying hard and so would she.
She slipped off the T-shirt he’d bought her to reveal the bikini top with the colorful almost tribal print. The tropical hues of the top perfectly matched the boardshorts he’d bought and she liked that the shorts were cut a little longer than some. She’d never been a fan of exposed butt cheeks and judging from the way Chase slowly swept his gaze up and down her body, he wasn’t complaining about her outfit.
Easing down onto the towel, she closed her eyes against the bright sun and sucked in a deep breath of ocean-kissed air. There were few waves today, but there was still that sussurus of the sea coming and going. Seagulls squawked nearby and melded with the excited shouts of some young children playing at the water’s edge.
She smiled, content with the peace of the day and peeked out of the corner of her eye toward Chase.
He was lying beside her, a content grin on his features. His arm outstretched with his hand palm up on the sand not far from her.
She slipped her hand into his and he started, surprised, and shot a half glance in her direction, but said nothing. His smile grew stronger though, bringing out a boyish dimple on one side of his face.
Twining her fingers with his, she smiled back and closed her eyes again to savor the peace of the morning.
An hour or so passed and the heat of the day grew stronger and heat built as the ocean breeze stilled.
She was starting to feel the burn of the sun on her skin and as she sat up and gazed at the water, Chase did the same.
“Time for a dip?” he asked.
She nodded and together they rose from the sand and ambled to the water’s edge.
It had been a warm summer and September’s temperatures hadn’t cooled off all that much so the water was still really pleasant.
Chase tugged her into calf-deep water and then released her hand to dive into the waves.
As pleasant as it was, the water was cold enough to bring goosebumps to her sun-heated skin.
“Chicken?” Chase called out from a few feet away as he rose from the ocean and slicked back damp strands of his dark hair. The drops of water on his chest glistened with the touch of the sun, making her itch to wipe them off.
But first she had to brave the chill of the water and there was just one way to do that.
Sucking in a breath, she dove in and with a few strokes, came up beside Chase, shivering.
“Shit, shit, shit, it’s cold,” she said and wrapped her arms around herself.
Chase laughed and embraced her. Drew her close to the warmth of his body. “You always were a wuss in the water, Ramirez.”
She grinned, thinking, “I might be a wuss, but I’m right where I want to be right now.”
Tucked close together, they floated in the water, enjoying the lazy ebb and flow of the ocean. Their bodies warm at every spot they connected, but soon the cool water started to rob that heat and she shivered roughly against him.
“Time to dry off,” he said and she wasn’t about to argue.
They hurried out of the ocean and back to their towels. He’d grabbed a third one and gallantly offered it to her to dry off first.
She quickly wiped off the water and handed it to him. Appreciated the sight of him and the play of muscles as he rubbed the towel across his body and then lay back down for some more sun.
Resting on her side, she watched him for long minutes until he turned to face her.
“You okay?” he asked.
“This is nice,” she said, unable to recall the last time they’d just spend the day together, without worries or interruptions.
He grinned and cradled her cheek. “It is nice. I’m glad we decided to do it.”
She was glad as well and flipped onto her back to savor the heat of the sun on her skin.
She pushed all negative thoughts from her mind, wanting to just enjoy a glorious day and time with her husband.
Her husband.
She liked the sound of that. She liked the time they had spent together this weekend.
She hoped they could spend more time together.
Smiling, her eyes closed, she eased her hand into his again and just appreciated being in the now. Appreciated being with him.
The day would end soon enough and she wasn’t sure she was ready for that.