Chapter 7

The salt air clung to my skin, a crisp, briny reminder of the night before, even as the warmth of his body kept the chill at bay. I woke slowly, the heavy, rhythmic thrum of his heartbeat against my back serving as the only clock I needed. Sunlight, pale and tentative, filtered through the sheer curtains of the master suite, casting long, dusty beams across the rumpled duvet. We hadn’t made it back to my apartment. We hadn’t even made it to the car. The marina had been a whirlwind of noise, glittering lights, and the roar of the crowd, but the moment his hand found the small of my back in the crush of bodies, the world had narrowed to just him, just us, and the electric current that had been building between us for weeks finally snapped. I shifted slightly, the movement causing a dull ache in my thighs, a pleasant reminder of his size, of how thoroughly he had claimed me right there in the shadow of the decorated *Sea Sprite*, amidst the chaos of the boat parade. His arm, heavy and solid, was draped over my waist, pulling me flush against his chest. I could smell