I expelled the deepest breath I'd ever held. "You do?"

"Don't act so surprised, Wade. You're not that bad."

I let go of her hand and grabbed her by the waist instead, hauling her up against my body. "Not that bad, huh?" I raised a brow. Before she could respond I lowered my head, covering my lips with hers.

I could count on one hand how many times I'd kissed Ari, and each f.u.c.king time it got better.

And now that we'd both declared our feelings, all I wanted to do was lay her down, kiss every inch of her body, and show her exactly how much I loved her.

But since I couldn't do that, I showed her with my kiss how much I wanted her.

Her and only her.

My friends must have turned around and seen us, because there were whoops, screams, and cat-calls.

"Ow-ow. Get it, Liam," Ollie yelled.

I couldn't see him, but I lifted my freehand in the air and waved my middle finger around.

"Wade's finally going to get laid!" Brady joined in, and I jabbed my finger in the air again. f.u.c.kers.

I broke the kiss and cupped her face in my hands. "Where have you been all my life?"

She glanced down, and a blush blossomed across her cheeks, but didn't respond. I took her hand once more, and we joined everyone at the top of the hill. Everyone except Talia, that is, since she had to wait below by the water.

I stood by the edge with Ari and my friends, all of us lined up in a row.

"Don't think," I told her, "just jump."

One by one, Jeremiah, Brady, and Ollie jumped into the water below.

Ari reached for my hand, and I entwined mine with hers.

"Together?" Her eyes spoke of so much more than the jump.

"Together," I echoed, and we took the plunge.

Ari.

Hawaii was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. Considering I hadn't seen much of the world, I knew I probably wasn't the best judge, but I doubted many places could surpa.s.s the island.

I found myself up early, standing on the balcony with a cup of coffee. The sun hadn't even risen yet. I didn't want to sleep, though. I couldn't sleep when there was so much to see and remember. Every little detail was one I wanted to memorize and file away to keep forever.

Liam's compet.i.tion was the next day, and we'd be heading back home the day after. I didn't want to go. Not so soon, anyway. The previous few days had been some of the best of my life laughing and having fun with him and his friends. I guessed they were my friends now too. They had been for a while, if I was honest with myself.

Honesty didn't come easy to me anymore. Maybe it never had.

The door behind me opened, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Liam step out. A pair of loose, gray, pajama pants hung low on his slender hips and his chest was bare. I might've stared. No, I definitely stared. His dark hair stuck up messily from sleep, and it helped to soften the blunt edges of his cheekbones. His blue eyes were foggy with sleep, but there was a smile in them when he saw me.

"Hey." His voice was deeper than normal from sleep.

"Hi."

Thump. Thump. Thump.

My heart pounded in an out-of-control rhythm. It usually did that around Liam, but it had grown more p.r.o.nounced since we both openly admitted our true feelings.

Liam came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my body. He kissed my cheek before resting his chin on my shoulder and gazing out at the water with me.

After a few quiet moments, he reached for the coffee mug I held. "Can I have some?"

"Of course." I let him take the mug from my hand.

He took a few sips and handed it back, returning to his original position. "Want to go do something?"

"Right now?" I questioned. "It's kind of early."

"What I have in mind needs to be done early to get the full effect." I could hear the smile in his voice.

I turned around to face him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Okay," I agreed, not even bothering to ask what he had in mind. I trusted Liam-something I never thought I'd feel again for anyone.

"Go put a swimsuit on, and meet me in the foyer in five minutes."

Curiosity filled me, but I was willing to let him surprise me.

I left him on the balcony and went to change into my bikini and a cover-up. When I met Liam in the foyer he'd changed into a pair of board shorts and a sleeveless shirt and had a blanket draped over his arm.

Excitement bubbled inside me as I followed him out of the hotel. He stopped and grabbed a paddleboard, tucking it under his arm like he would his surfboard. He handed me the blanket and then took my hand in his.

When we reached the beach he set the board down and I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders. It might've been August, and Hawaii, but the early morning air was cool and had gooseb.u.mps popping out across my arms.

Liam lifted his shirt off and dropped it on the ground before setting the paddleboard in the water. He made sure it was floating properly and then held it steady while reaching out with his other hand for me. I dropped the blanket on the sand beside his shirt and put my hand in his; he clasped it tightly and helped me onto the board. It bobbed in the water with my added weight, and I giggled as it teetered.

"Whoa." Liam chuckled, grabbing onto it and holding it steady.

I settled myself with my legs crossed, and when it no longer bobbed Liam climbed on across from me, letting his legs dangle in the water. He bent and moved his hands through the water, propelling us forward.

"Why not a surfboard?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Not big enough."

"What do you have planned for this paddleboard?" I joked, waggling my brows.

He snorted. "Get your head out of the gutter, Ari."

I smiled at him as we moved out into a bit deeper of water. He pulled his hands from the water and we bobbed with the motion of the waves. Above us, the sky was still fairly dark-just a hint of purples began to show indicating the rising sun.

"I brought you out here because I want you to understand why I love the water so much. The beach. Surfing. Why it's such a part of me," he explained.

The wind blew my hair around, and I turned my face to the side so I could see him through the wild strands. "The peace," I whispered. "That's why you like it, isn't it?"

He grinned one of the largest smiles I'd ever seen on his face. "Yeah," he nodded, "that's it exactly."

"That's why I like to draw, you know," I told him. "Because when I'm so focused on the image I'm creating, everything else ceases to exist. There is no pain, or suffering, or worrying. Just quiet."

"We're a lot alike," Liam mused, leaning closer to me.

"We are," I agreed.

Liam took each of my hands in his and ducked his head, pressing his lips firmly to mine.

His lips heated my body, thawing the icy cold that surrounded my limbs.

I kissed him back, and disentangled one of my hands to grab his chin. His stubble scratched at my skin, but I didn't mind.

When he broke the kiss, I opened my eyes to find the sky was now rimmed in a vibrant orange, the purple tones beginning to fade away.

I looked around, completely in awe.

I'd spent so much of my life locked away.

Hidden.

A dirty secret.

There was a time where I thought I'd never see the light of day again. Feel the breeze on my face. Inhale the air. They were all things I took for granted before.

Before I was kidnapped, all I thought about was getting through school, and one day finding my Prince Charming. Life was simple then. In one moment it became anything but. My only desires became about survival when I watched my old life completely disappear.

And then one day something switched in me.

Survival wasn't so important anymore.

It was freedom.

Whether that freedom was found in my death, I'd have been okay with that. I knew I couldn't live the way I had any longer.

"I love you," I whispered to him beneath the rising sun.

A new day. A new beginning.

His lips quirked up. "I love you too."

I wasn't supposed to stay. I, most definitely, wasn't supposed to fall in love.

But I did, and I couldn't regret it.

The happiness, even if it was only fleeting, was completely worth it.

In the back of my mind the fear of Blaise still lingered. It always would. But it wasn't as strong. If he hadn't found me by then, he probably wouldn't, and maybe he wasn't even looking at all.

"Come here," Liam's voice broke me from my thoughts and he scooted back on the board.

I turned around and stretched my legs out, laying my back against his chest.

Content. Whole. Happy.

Those were the things I felt and the things I cherished most.

We sat on the board until the sun had fully risen and then Liam paddled us back to sh.o.r.e.

I hopped off the board into the water and Liam did the same, towing the board the rest of the way. He left the board on the sand and took my hand, guiding me down the beach.

"Are you feeling nervous?" I asked him. I looked down at my feet, watching my toes sink into the wet sand as we walked.

"Yeah." He sighed. "I hope I don't f.u.c.k up tomorrow."

"You'll do great." I meant it, too. I didn't know much about surfing, but I could see that Liam was fantastic. He'd have to be or his career wouldn't have taken off the way it did. But he was too hard on himself and couldn't see how amazing he was. All he saw were his flaws. I guessed most people were like that. It was so much easier to see what was wrong than what was right. "What time are your parents arriving?"

"Eleven," he replied, spinning me around.

I giggled as his hands wrapped around my waist, holding me close.

I gazed up into his impossibly light eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck.

Without saying anything at all, a thousand words were exchanged between us in one look.

I lifted on my toes, pressing my lips to his.

The kiss started out soft, but like a slow-burning fire it quickly built to an inferno. His hands skimmed up the bare expanse of my back and his tongue tangled with mine.

Every nerve ending in my body seemed to hum and vibrate with a barely-contained energy.

I let out a soft moan and he growled in response.

Before I knew what was happening he'd picked me up and lowered me onto the ground. The sand was cool beneath my back and stuck to the damp skin of my legs.

He parted my legs, fitting his body in-between them.

"Ari," he breathed my name, gazing down at me with what I would've once described as l.u.s.t, but now it was love. Just love.

I rubbed my fingers over his cheek, and he relaxed into my touch.