He angled his mouth over mine, and his tongue brushed into my mouth.

I was consumed.

Devoured.

Obliterated.

I did not exist.

Somehow I managed to let go of my thoughts and soon I was hurdling over the edge as an orgasm hit me.

I clung to him desperately, my legs shaking, and he let go of my hands to grasp my thighs.

He pushed into me a little harder, but still at an unhurried pace.

In a matter of minutes I was close to another orgasm.

I cried out, and he tried to silence me with a kiss.

“Fuck,” he growled against my throat, nibbling the tender skin there. “Oh, fuck you feel so good. I’m gonna come.”

When his orgasm hit he growled low in his throat and burrowed his head against my neck. His wet hair tickled me, but I was too tired to try to move away.

Still inside me, he murmured, “That was fucking amazing.”

I nodded.

He gently lowered me to the ground and he slipped free of my body.

Before I knew what he was doing he had my shampoo bottle in his hand, and poured some into his open palm.

“Turn around,” he commanded.

I did as he asked.

He lathered the shampoo into his hands and worked it into my hair. He rinsed it out and did the same with the conditioner.

When my hair was clean he reached for the body wash. He worked it into his hands and rubbed my shoulders and my arms, before cupping my breasts.

I leaned against him, absorbing his touch.

His hands roamed over my stomach and my body clenched with desire once more, hoping his hand would venture lower, but he didn’t. Instead he rinsed me off and used my shampoo to wash his own hair. I really hoped no one noticed that we both smelled like strawberries.

He turned the shower off and we stepped out. I wrapped the waiting towel around my body and grabbed another one from underneath the sink for him.

When I stood back up he was right there. I let out a startled squeak and jerked backwards, knocking into the large decorative vase that had some kind of wooden sticks in it. It fell to the floor and shattered with a loud clamor.

I looked at Ezra with panic in my eyes. “Oh, shit.”

He grabbed the towel from me and used it to rub his hair before tying it around his narrow waist. “No one probably heard.” He swept his thumb over my bottom lip, like it pained him to not touch me.

I glanced down at the shattered vase. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“I’m always right.” He chuckled.

He took my face between his large hands and kissed me long and deep, before stepping back. “I never want this to end.”

He said the words so quietly that I didn’t believe I heard him right, and was convinced they were merely a figment of my imagination.

He headed out of the bathroom without a backwards glance and I stood there, hating myself for letting my feelings get the best of me.

“What are you doing in Sadie’s room in only a towel?”

Ice drenched my veins. Oh, we were so fucked and not in the good way. I knew someone had to have heard the vase break and of course it would be Emma. I had the worst luck on the planet.

“There was a spider in the shower. She screamed and I came running over to see what was wrong.”

“And you got wet in this shower?”

I peeked around the edge of the bathroom doorway, but I couldn’t see Emma. All I could see was Ezra standing there, wet, in nothing but a towel. Normally this would be a wonderful sight to see, but not right now.

“Well, the shower was running so yes I got wet. But I came from my bathroom, where I’d been taking a shower, which is why I’m in a towel.”

Man, Ezra could lie pretty well under pressure. It was kind of scary.

“Mhmm, I’m sure that’s what happened,” she said doubtfully. “Is everything okay though? We heard something crash, so that’s why I came up here.”

“Uh, a vase might’ve been broken in the process of trying to kill the spider. It was huge. Mammoth sized. And fast. I’m lucky I escaped with my life intact.”

“Yeah, well, I’m happy to see you’re alive. Try not to hurt yourselves too much killing spiders.” She said the words like they were code for something. Maybe they were.

I heard her steps retreat away and a second later Ezra closed the door and turned to look at me. Panic shimmered in his dark eyes.

“We are so screwed.”

IT WAS OUR third night at the beach house and Ezra and I hadn’t had any more close calls. But that was only because we were doing our best to ignore each other.

“Where are we going again?” I asked Emma.

“I can’t remember the name,” she said, pulling on a pair of flowered wide leg pants. She was also wearing a white crop top. “But it has karaoke.”

“Karaoke, great,” I mumbled.

“Hey, it’ll be fun,” she said, swiping a clear gloss over her lips.

I leaned closer to the bathroom mirror, blending my eye shadow. I was going for a sultry smoky eye. I’d curled my hair and braided a few pieces before pulling it back into a bun. The dress I chose was hot pink with a dipping neckline and a short skirt. It made my already golden skin appear even darker.

Remy was already dressed in a simple long black dress, accented with a necklace. Her blonde hair was styled straight and she wore her signature red lipstick.

Arden hadn’t joined us. She wasn’t going out, instead she was staying home with Mia. I felt bad ditching her, but she had insisted that the rest of us not stay behind because of her.

Since my dress and eye makeup was bolder I opted to wear a nude colored lipstick with a pale pink gloss on top.

When my makeup was done I grabbed my strappy pale pink heels and put them on. Not to sound egotistical, but I knew those heels made my butt look amazing and my legs impossibly long. Even if Ezra and I were trying to avoid each other right now, so that we didn’t get caught, it didn’t mean I couldn’t try my best to drive him mad.

We headed downstairs to meet the guys. They were all hanging around the TV, but looked up when we approached.

Ezra looked at me like a starving man seeing food for the first time, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say it made me feel good.

I knew the others were speaking, but I couldn’t hear a word they said.

For the moment, all that existed was Ezra and I.

His hands rubbed against his jeans and he bit his bottom lip. I wanted desperately for him to take me in his arms and kiss me, but that was impossible.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

They were innocent words. Words he’d spoken to me many times in the past through our friendship. But somehow, right now, they felt different. The others didn’t notice though, so maybe the difference was merely a figment of my imagination. Something I conjured up in an effort to make his feelings as strong as mine. I had to keep reminding myself that while I wanted more with him, he didn’t want the same. Friends. We had to remain friends.

The others moved around us, heading to the door, and I snapped back to reality.

I hastily turned away from him, breaking the spell he’d cast over me. For the moment at least.

“Is Hayes not coming with us?” I asked, noticing that he’d disappeared.

Emma turned to give me a puzzled look. “Did you not hear him when he said he wanted to stay with Arden so she wasn’t here alone?”

“Uh, must’ve missed it,” I muttered.

“Are you okay?” She asked, genuine concern coloring her tone.

“Yeah, yeah,” I rushed to assure her, “I think the sun is just getting to me.” I laughed it off and then my body went ramrod straight when I felt the commanding presence of Ezra behind me. My whole body reacted to his proximity. It was entirely unfair. My only saving grace was that I was starting to believe that he wasn’t as immune to me as he seemed.