Nervous, I lick my lips that suddenly feel so dry. He kneels over me as he captures both of my hands in his and raises them above my head, holding me his prisoner. “Gotcha, little girl.” He leans forward, and I think he’s going to kiss me but instead he bites my neck. “Should I fuck you right here as part of my payback?” He grinds his cock against my sex. Hard. Making me moan.

“Lawrence,” I breathe throatily and tilt my hips up to welcome him as I wrap my legs around his waist.

“Men don’t fall in love with women like you, Blaire.” He burns me with his gaze. “They lose their fucking minds.”

He closes the space between our mouths with a smoldering, soul-reaching, logic-defying kiss. The cold sand, the freezing water, and the howling wind disappear around us. All that matters is the man on top of me, his body touching mine, his lips breathing fire into me.

We pull apart, and I’m trying to get my wits together when I feel a lump of sand land on my face. Opening my eyes, I find him above me staring at me with a lopsided smirk.

“Oh, you ass. That was so not fair.”

“Quid pro quo, quid pro quo, my friend.”

I wipe my cheeks broodingly. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one left with a lady boner and sand on her face.”

And then the most beautiful thing happens in front of me. Lawrence throws his head back and barks with laughter. Freely. Easily. Spontaneously. Could he be the same man I met at the Met in what seems a lifetime ago? Gone are the rock hard eyes and the mocking smile. He’s been replaced by this carefree stranger with bright evergreen eyes.

Yes, the unknown with Lawrence is definitely inviting.

We’re walking back to the car when Lawrence changes trajectories and walks back to the park. “Forgot something.”

I nod drowsily. With my arm wrapped around his waist and his around my shoulders, I lean my head on his side. Glancing up, I see that the Ferris wheel is lit up and functioning. “Look, Lawrence! The Ferris wheel is open.” I take a moment to admire its lights against the purple, pink and orange twilight. “I wonder if they only open it at night?”

A moment or two later, Lawrence says, “No idea.”

I’m so tired that I don’t even notice where he’s taking me until we’re standing in front of the large, colorful wheel and there’s a man dressed in uniform, waiting for us. Puzzled, I let go of Lawrence and turn to look at him.

“What’s this?” Frowning, my gaze ping pongs between the ride, Lawrence, and the man. “You didn’t?” But even as the words leave my mouth, I remember seeing Lawrence putting his cell away out on the beach. Breathless, my heart beats as though it were a stampede crushing my chest.

He caresses my cheek before tenderly tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. “I did.”

“Why?” I ask with a trembling voice.

He grabs my chin, making me look at him. “I think it’s about time to make new memories, and what better time than right now?”

He begins to look very blurry. Fucking tears. I close the space between us and hug him, really, it’s more like I’m trying to crush him. I shake my head, unable to speak as I bury my face in his chest. When I’m able to stare at him without making a fool of myself, I tilt my head back and meet his gaze. “How can I ever thank you?”

“You could start with a kiss,” he counters smoothly.

“Is that all?”

He raises an amused eyebrow.

I giggle before kissing him hard on the mouth. “How’s that?”

“You could try harder,” he drawls, looking lethally attractive.