Стейси Кестуик - Wet

West nodded at his nephew.

“I left him inside with Wyatt. I didn’t want him running down Cody.”

A quick glance confirmed that the oversized hound was taller than his nephew.

“Good call.”

“I’m a good uncle.”

I wrapped my arms around him from behind, using the pretense of giving him a hug to run my hands over his taut abdomen.

He made a noise in the back of his throat and shot a glance at me over his shoulder. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Don’t think I don’t know you’re enjoying it.”

His hum of agreement vibrated through me where I pressed against him. Pinching his side, I moved away and picked up the camera again, pointing it at him.

“Gonna pose for me, stud?”

He leaned closer, lowering his voice so only I could hear. “You want some private shots for your collection? That could be arranged. But not with the squirt underfoot. And only if you’re in them too.”

My breath caught, imagining what we would look like, tangled and thrusting, frozen in black-and-white.

Nudging me with his shoulder, he waited until I met his eyes.

“Exactly,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

“What are you going to take pictures of?” Hailey asked as she sidled up next to me.

“You,” I answered. “And Cody. And Uncle West. Wanna smile for the camera, little man?”

I snapped photos for the next thirty minutes or so, until Cody’s attention waned. I don’t know how Hailey found ways to keep him entertained all day.

She and Cody settled down to build a sandcastle, and West switched into teacher mode, instructing me in the finer points of flying a stunt kite. I mastered the figure eight — it was easier than it looked —and was enjoying making it swoop low to the ground, kamikaze-style, before jerking it back up just before it hit the sand.

I tried to get fancy, attempting a barrel roll by stepping over the strings. It didn’t work. At all. My foot got tangled in one of the strings, and I lost my balance, tumbling into the sand and dropping the kite strings, although not fast enough to catch myself from landing face first. Pushing to a sitting position, I had just enough time to see the kite nosedive onto the beach, thudding to a stop.

“Crash!” Cody yelled, pointing at his fallen toy, looking thrilled. Jumping to his feet, he ran over to me. “Uh oh. You have a boo-boo.” After pausing to press a wet kiss to my nose, he took off down the beach. “Kite fall down. It has a boo-boo too!”

West helped me to me feet and dropped another kiss to my gritty nose. “Better?”

I nodded, brushing sand off my face and clothes. “Sorry for messing up the kite.”

“We’ll get it flying again,” he said with a shrug.

“You think?”

His eyes caught mine. “Oh, ye of little faith.”

Ten minutes later, it was airborne again, and he showed off some advanced tricks that sent the kite dipping and twirling through the cloudless sky. Cody gasped every time West yanked on the string, the rainbow kite performing an intricate dance for its captive audience.

He nudged my side with his elbow. “Told you we’d get it in the air again.”

“I should have known you’d come to the rescue.” I rolled my eyes.

“I’ll always rescue you, Sadie. Always.” The unexpectedly rough tone to his voice caught me off guard, and when I looked up at him, his eyes were dark and serious.

Swallowing hard, I excused myself to take some more pictures, not wanting to read too much into his comment, his stare.

Cody lit up around his uncle. It pained me that his own dad was missing out on this, sacrificing this time with his child to keep us safe by serving in the military. And West seemed comfortable with Cody, taking the time to play with him in a way I bet most guys wouldn’t.

After awhile, Hailey drifted over to me where I was standing about twenty yards down the beach. “Can I see?” She pointed at the camera.

As I showed her some of the better ones from today’s session, she smiled big, laughing at some of the goofier moments between her son and brother.

“He’s good with kids, isn’t he?” She tipped her chin toward West.

“He is,” I admitted, knowing he’d be a great father if we had kids one day.

If we have kids one day?

I gasped and put my hand to my chest, rubbing hard at the ache there. Where the fuck had that thought come from? My eyes were drawn to him in that moment, as he tossed Cody in the air like he weighed nothing. The little boy’s squeals hit me squarely.

Would our kids have his gorgeous eyes? Would our daughter get his laugh or our son his broad shoulders? Would they share his sense of humor, passed along with his DNA?

I loved him.

It was sudden and undeniable in that moment.

The sun shone brighter, and the sand felt warmer beneath my feet. The camera hung forgotten in my hand. The roar of the ocean swelled, providing the bass line, while the gulls sang soprano, celebrating my revelation. Behind the man — my man — and the boy, the lone cloud in the sky shifted in the breeze, almost resembling a heart if you tipped your head and squinted a little. I froze, unable to take it all in, everything suddenly overwhelming. It was too much, too bright, too big to absorb.

Hailey waved her hands in front of my eyes, looking between me and West, a concerned expression on her face.

“Hey! You okay?”

“Yeah,” I replied faintly. “Everything’s perfect.”

Behind us, a door banged open, shattering the moment.

Hailey and I both swiveled, turning toward the sound.

General Beauregard barreled across the sand, baying as his big body stretched out between strides. Behind us, I heard Cody giggle, his exclamation of “Dog!” making me smile.

Raising my eyes to the beach house door, I faltered.

Aubrey was standing there, hair wild, holding her hand to her eyes to shield the sun and wearing oversized gym shorts and a shirt that I was sure had come from West’s drawer. She was on his balcony, leaning against the rail like it was the most natural position in the world.

“Heeeeeeey!” The drawled greeting and finger wave she sent our way were like nails on a chalkboard.

Wide-eyed, I turned to West.

He was moving in her direction, storm clouds brewing in his expression.

I paused and then followed him. Hailey called for me, but I ignored her. My field of vision had narrowed to the man I loved and the woman determined to ruin it all.

He climbed the stairs, growling at her to get inside, with me just steps behind.

Closing the sliding glass door behind us, he glared at her, hands on his hips.

“Why are you wearing my clothes?”

She tittered, her gaze glancing off me.

“What did you want me to come outside wearing?”

He growled. “What happened to your clothes?”

“You know what happened,” she shrugged with a suggestive smile, running her fingers through hair that clearly hadn’t seen a brush today.

My breathing was shallow, but I waited. My dream come true wasn’t going to morph into a nightmare before my eyes. That wasn’t how it was supposed to work.

Stepping forward, he rose to his full height.

“I know you showed up late to the party, already wasted, and drank even more. And Wyatt offered you the couch, despite my objections. I know you slept there last night — alone, and in your own damn clothes.”

She shrank a little under his fierceness.

“I didn’t think you’d mind,” she said finally, peeking up at him from under her lashes.

“I mind.”

She pushed past him toward his bathroom, rubbing her body along his as she passed.

I hissed, narrowing my eyes, and West yanked me to his side, giving me a reassuring squeeze. While she gathered up her clothes from the tiled floor, he leaned down to me. “I promise you, I didn’t touch her.”