Anchor of Secrets by Tessa Hale
44
Dash kept touchingme as I ate breakfast. A hand skated up my spine. Fingers ghosted along my thigh. Heavenly torture.
I twisted in my seat and pinned him with a stare. “Stop it.”
He gave me his best innocent smile, but I knew it hid a demanding dom beneath. “What?”
“You know exactly what you’re doing.”
Trace snorted as he tore off a corner of French toast. “Yeah, he’s hoping he turns you on enough that you’ll let him spread you out on the table and fuck you in front of all of us.”
My cheeks heated.
Ronan smacked Trace upside the head. “Don’t be an ass.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t say it was a bad plan. I wouldn’t mind watching.”
My blush only deepened at the reminder that Trace had watched me, Colt, and Dash last night. He hadn’t stayed after making his presence known, muttering something about going for a run.
Colt cleared his throat. “I think that’s enough.”
Declan shifted in his seat. “My blue balls would thank you for any subject change.”
I buried my face in my hands.
Dash nuzzled my neck. “Don’t be embarrassed. We love it.”
“Not over breakfast,” I grumbled.
“Okay, okay.” He squeezed my neck and sat back in his chair. “What should we do today?”
I dropped my hands from my face and scanned the table. “Don’t we have various nefarious characters to try to take down this weekend?”
The corner of Trace’s mouth kicked up. “I wouldn’t mind a little casual murder.”
Colt groaned. “You are not in charge of activities. Ever.”
Trace frowned. “You’re always such a buzzkill.”
Colt just shook his head and turned to me. “We thought it might be nice to just have a regular weekend.”
My brows lifted. “And we can do that?”
He grinned. “Yes. I’ve got a tail on your mom and people searching for Damien.”
I worried the corner of my lip. “A normal Saturday.”
I played the words over and over in my mind as if it were a completely novel idea.
Declan chuckled. “We can have them occasionally.”
“Not as far as I’ve seen,” I muttered.
Ronan pinned me with a stare. “What do you want to do?”
I really thought about the question for a moment. “Could we go into town? Poke around the stores and walk on the beach?”
“Of course,” Ronan said instantly.
Colt looked pained. “Are you sure you don’t want to do something at home?”
“Colt…” Ronan warned.
He held up a hand. “Okay. Normal.”
* * *
The wind caughtmy red locks, and I spun on the beach. The air was turning cold, but I didn’t care. It just meant that the beach was relatively empty and peaceful.
“We should’ve brought a kite,” I yelled.
Trace looked at me as if I’d suggested killing a puppy. “I do not fly kites.”
I rolled my eyes and stuck my tongue out at him. “Oh, I forgot, you have to brood twenty-three hours a day, and kites are happy.”
Trace’s lips twitched as the guys laughed. Then he charged.
I squealed as he hoisted me over his shoulder and charged toward the water. “Don’t you dare!” I screamed.
“This is what happens when you give me shit,” Trace warned.
“If you dunk me, my payback will be brutal.” I pinched his side and twisted.
He yelped. “What the hell, woman?”
“Put me down!”
“Okay.” Trace moved as if he were going to toss me into the waves and then caught me, slowly lowering me to the wet sand.
My breath caught as our eyes locked. Trace lifted a hand, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Happy looks good on you.”
I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. But I so badly wanted to close the distance between us. Wanted to feel that same closeness I’d gotten with the other guys. But I wouldn’t take Trace’s choice from him. He had to lead. Had to tell me when he was ready.
Trace leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
Heat shot through my system in a fiery blaze, and I had to bite my cheek to keep from whimpering.
He released me and stepped back. I nearly collapsed.
Declan stepped in, wrapping an arm around my waist. “Got a little Trace high, there?”
I shook my head, trying to clear it. “I’m good.”
Concern and sadness filled Trace’s gaze.
I forced my smile brighter. “I think I need ice cream.”
Colt’s brows rose. “It’s freezing.”
“It’s never too cold for ice cream,” I argued.
“I like the way she thinks,” Ronan said.
Dash started up the beach toward the shops. “Just don’t share with Ronan. He gets competitive.”
“Competitive?” I asked, puzzled.
“He’ll try to eat it all before you get a second bite.”
Ronan picked up some sea kelp and threw it at Dash. “Ass.”
Dash narrowly avoided it. “That was uncalled for. You know that stuff freaks me out.”
A laugh bubbled out of me. Today had been just what I needed. A reminder that no matter how scary things got, this life was worth fighting for.
We made our way toward downtown and its adorable shops, Ronan and Dash bickering the whole way. Declan dropped a kiss to the top of my head. “Happy?”
I grinned up at him. “The happiest.”
We climbed the steps to the street and turned toward the ice cream shop. But a voice stopped me dead in my tracks.
“If it isn’t my wayward daughter. Did you miss me, baby?”