“OK. We have to be careful. You’re slippery, and I don’t want to mess up.”

I stood up and turned around as he pulled down his boxers, and I watched in fascination as his cock sprang free. It was big and thick, and the end was red and swollen-looking. I wanted to touch it, but I wasn’t sure that would be OK, so I didn’t ask.

His eyes were focused on where we were about to touch for the first time, and the veins in his neck were standing out. “Sit back down on me,” he said as he held his hardness down so that it wasn’t sticking up.

When I felt the heat of his skin make contact, I gasped and pressed down hard. Tripp’s hands grabbed my waist and squeezed as he growled, then cursed. Explosions lit my body from within, and I needed more. I knew the peak I was headed for, and the idea of reaching it with our bodies so intimately touching made me dizzy with want.

I slowly rocked my hips so that I was sliding up and down the length of him. I wasn’t touching the tip, but I was sliding along most of it, and it was amazing.

“Holy fuck,” Tripp ground out through his teeth.

I pressed my forehead to his and looked directly in his eyes as I picked up the pace. I’d had his hands and his mouth touch me, but it didn’t compare with this: seeing him lose control and fall into the same bliss he always sent me spiraling toward.

“God, Bethy,” he breathed, then pulled my bottom lip into his mouth and sucked on it.

I rocked harder. His loud groan when I ran over the tip, so red it had to be sensitive, made me want to do it more.

“Slow down, baby. Please,” he panted.

I couldn’t slow down. I was so close. But I didn’t get to slide over his tip again, because he was picking me up and carrying me inside. I landed on my back on his sofa, but he was over me instantly, his mouth devouring mine as I clawed at him to get closer. The tip touched me, and I let my legs fall open and lifted my hips so I could feel it again.

Tripp tore his mouth from mine with a frustrated sound, then grabbed his hard length in his hand. I watched as he ran the tip back and forth over my opening, then touched my sensitive spot with it before doing it again.

“So wet. I’d slide inside so easily,” he said, almost so low I couldn’t hear him. He lifted his head to look at me. “See how good that looks. You’re all wet and swollen.”

I was about to explode. I grabbed his arms and began chanting his name as I watched him pick up speed. I stopped breathing at some point, and then my world shot off into a million brilliant colors. Warmth coated my stomach, and I shivered as he shouted my name.

Blinking, I came back to earth and stared up at Tripp, dazed, as he stared down at my stomach. I followed his gaze to see white stuff all over me. Then I noticed one small drop still on the tip of his cock. He’d come. On me.

Smiling, I looked up at him, and his eyes lifted to meet mine. In that moment, I felt it. He didn’t have to tell me. I just knew. Tripp loved me, too.

Tripp

Present day

It had been a long day, with Bethy’s words replaying over and over in my head. All of the guys had eaten lunch with Woods, and then we’d spent the rest of the afternoon playing golf. Woods—not Rush—tried to talk to me about Bethy, which was a relief, since I didn’t feel like giving someone else the full backstory just yet.

I needed a plan. One that involved more than me following her every day. Bethy was talking to me now. I had to figure out what the next move should be. Because her words last night weren’t forgotten, nor would they ever be. They were the small ray of hope I’d been looking for.

I waited outside my hut for Bethy to come out of hers. We were due at rehearsal in ten minutes. Luckily, we weren’t being forced to dress in tuxes tonight—the dress code was dressy casual. Slacks and a button-up shirt would suffice.

Bethy stepped out, fidgeting with her purse. Her gaze swung up to meet mine, and she faltered a moment. She hadn’t been expecting me to wait for her. I had been doing the at-a-distance thing for so long now.

The pale yellow skirt she wore hit her at mid-thigh and was made from the type of flowy material that caught the breeze and teased you. She wore it with a sleeveless white blouse that tied at her waist and a pair of backless heels.

When I’d finished taking in every gorgeous inch of her, I lifted my eyes back up to meet hers. “You look beautiful.”

I could see the emotion flash in her eyes before she tucked her purse under her arm and stiffened. “Thank you,” she replied tightly.

“Did you enjoy your day at the spa?” I asked as she took a tentative step in my direction. She had to pass me to get to the rehearsal. There was no way around it. Unless she wanted to swim there.

“It was nice,” she said.

Neither of us moved. It was a standoff.

Finally, Bethy sighed. “What do you want?”

I grinned, amused by her exasperated tone. “To walk with you to the rehearsal.”

She started to say something, then closed her mouth. I watched her internal struggle. Finally, she caved. “Sure. Fine. Whatever.”

She walked toward the island, and I fell in step beside her. I didn’t push further by forcing her to talk to me. I decided this was enough for now. She wasn’t shoving me in the water and screaming at me. We had made progress.

Everyone was gathering on the stretch of beach where the wedding would be held. When we reached the group, Bethy finally stopped walking and looked at me. “I’m tired of this. We were friends once. We both loved Jace, and we both lost him. I’m done trying to blame someone other than myself. I don’t want to be angry anymore. It’s time I rebuilt my life and found myself again. So”—she held out her hand toward me—“friends?”