Chapter 5

Eunice

"You've been dodging me all night, Eunice," he said, his stare pinning me in place, unrelenting. "I wasn't about to let you vanish on me again."

I curled into myself on the bench, knees drawn up tight, the drenched fabric of my clothes plastered to every curve. It did nothing to cool the inferno raging inside me. He was too close, dangerously close, and the bench felt like a cage I didn't want to escape.

"I wasn't running," I whispered. The lie tasted weak even to me.

His eyes dragged down, over my lips, my throat, then snapped back up, devouring my face like he was branding it into memory.

"Don't lie to me."

He shifted, stretching one arm along the back of the bench, caging me in without a single touch. His fingers hovered just shy of my bare shoulder, the heat radiating off him like a threat. My body betrayed me instantly, nipples tightening, thighs clenching.

"You flinched every time my eyes landed on you," he murmured, leaning in until his breath scorched my skin. "Sank lower in the water like you could hide from me if you tried hard enough."

His gaze dropped, slow and filthy, to where my soaked shirt clung transparently to my breasts, outlining every hard peak. He lingered, unashamed.

"That shirt wasn't hiding a damn thing," he said, voice low and rough. "It was screaming for me to look."

A flush of heat surged across my cheeks, spilling down my chest. My lungs refused to work; my body froze.

A low, dark chuckle rolled from him, predatory, satisfied, and drunk on the alcohol coursing through him. I should have been terrified, should have run, but my mind refused to obey.

"You're trembling," he said. "Think I wouldn't notice how fucking wet you are for me already?"

"Stop," I breathed, the word fragile and useless.

He leaned in closer, lips grazing the shell of my ear, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

"Stop what?" he taunted. "Watching you since the second you walked out your door tonight? Feeling you tense up every time my thigh brushed yours on that scooter?"

Oh God, he knew.

"Or admitting I loved how you looked—scared little thing realizing I wasn't going to stop staring?"

My heart slammed against my ribs so hard it hurt. I turned my head just slightly—and there was nothing left between us. His eyes were black with raw lust, stripped bare under the moonlight. This was happening. And fuck, I wanted it. I wanted him.

"Denver," I whispered. It came out like a plea.

He didn't pull back. Instead, his hand rose slowly, deliberately, thumb tracing the slipped strap of my wet shirt, grazing the bare skin of my shoulder. One stroke. Light. Possessive as hell.

I gasped, the sound sharp and needy.

"Tell me to stop," he said, voice steady, lethal. "Say the word and I'm gone."

I opened my mouth, nothing came out. I couldn't. Deep down I was screaming for him to keep going, to take everything.

His smile turned dark, triumphant.

"Good girl."

He stayed close, close enough that my body arched toward him on instinct, close enough that every exhale ghosted over my lips. Still not touching. The air crackled, thick with filthy promise.

"Your choice," he whispered against my ear, lips barely brushing skin. "But know this..."

He paused, letting the weight crush me.

"I don't chase anyone who actually wants to be left alone."

He started to pull away, and panic surged through me.

"Wait, Denver."

He froze, eyes sharp, searching.

"Yes?"

"What... what the hell are you doing to me?" My voice shook. "Why are you finally like this with me?"

He let out a heavy breath and closed the distance again, pressing so close that his warmth seeped into me.

"You've never shown me this side of you," I whispered. "And you... you're sending signals that are killing me. Signals I never imagined I'd get from you."

His gaze locked on mine, voice dropping even lower. "Honestly, I don't know when it started. One day, you weren't a kid anymore. You grew, curves, attitude, that mouth, and now I can't stop imagining you beneath me, moaning my name."

My lips parted on a shaky breath. "Picturing... us?"

"Yeah. Us," he growled. "If I could ignore the fact you're Paulo's little sister. If I could just take you without feeling like I'm crossing every goddamn line."

"You... wanted me?" My voice cracked.

That slow, filthy smile spread across his face as he leaned in, arm brushing mine deliberately, making me shiver.

"Ever since that night in the gown," he rasped. "Your body in that dress burned itself into my brain. Haven't been able to get hard for anyone else without thinking of you."

I froze. That night, he'd teased me, acted like he barely noticed. And now this.

"But if this makes you uncomfortable, I'll back off," he said, voice suddenly softer. "I'll stop. Just say it."

"No." The word flew out before I could think. "I don't want you to stop."

He went still. "What?"

"I've wanted you forever," I confessed, voice barely above a whisper. "Always. I just... never knew how to tell you."

The silence stretched, electric.

Then he moved, fast. His hand caught mine, yanking me against his chest. Before I could gasp, his palm cupped my jaw and his mouth crashed into mine.

Beer and mint exploded on my tongue, sharp and addictive. The kiss was pure fire, hungry, desperate. I melted into it, kissing him back just as hard, years of pent, up need pouring out.

We broke apart gasping, foreheads pressed together, chests heaving.

His eyes were molten, promising filth. He wanted to devour me. And God, I wanted to let him.

I didn't wait. I surged forward, arms looping around his neck, fingers twisting in his hair, pulling him back to me.

"Fuck, Eunice," he snarled against my lips, hands clamping my waist, dragging me flush against him. I felt every hard inch of him. "You're destroying me."

"I'm done holding back," I panted, grinding closer. "Take me, Denver."

He groaned, claiming my mouth again, brutal, possessive. His tongue fucked into me, deep and demanding. I met him stroke for stroke, arching hard, rubbing against the rigid length straining his jeans. His hands slid down, gripping my ass, hauling me into his lap.

"God... don't push me like that, Eunice... or I'll lose it," he growled between searing kisses, teeth nipping my lip.

"Or what?" I challenged, breathless, desperate.

"Or I'll rip these wet clothes off and fuck you raw right here on this bench until you're screaming my name, begging me to fill you up."

My core clenched hard, slick heat flooding me. "Then fucking do it," I whispered, voice shaking with lust. "I want you to be my first. The one who ruins me for anyone else."

"Don't say that," he warned, eyes blazing.

"I'll say whatever the hell I want," I shot back, rolling my hips against his cock. "I'm not your little girl anymore. I'm the woman who's going to take every inch of you tonight."

He went rigid, a guttural sound tearing from his throat, and then my phone shrilled, slicing through the haze.

I fumbled for it with trembling fingers. Mom.

"Answer," he ordered, hand still locked around my waist, thumb stroking my skin possessively.

"Hello? Yeah, Mom... I'll tell Paulo," I managed, voice unsteady.

I hung up and met his eyes, disappointment raw.

"She wants us home."

He saw it, felt it, but instead of frustration, he softened just enough, brushing a gentle thumb across my swollen lip.

"Then we go," he murmured, voice still rough with restraint. "But this isn't over, Eunice. Not even close."