Page 24 of Seaside Strangers
He kissed her like he’d been holding back for too long, a low sound rumbling in his chest when her lips parted and welcomed him in.
Moving one hand to the back of her head to hold her in place, he skimmed the other down her neck to her back and lower, spanning her waist and drawing her closer. Maura shifted against him, the movement subtle but deliberate, and his body reacted instantly.
Too fast. Too strong.
He should stop. He knew it. It was the middle of the morning, and anyone could come walking down that stretch of beach at any second.
But he couldn’t. Not after craving this for days.
The kiss took on a life of its own, deepening, turning urgent. She met him without hesitation, matching every movement, every shift. Her taste hit him—warm and a little addictive—and it went straight to his head.
He rolled, taking her with him until she lay beneath him in the sand.
Her hands moved over him, slipping beneath his shirt, and her touch sent a sharp jolt through him, lighting him up before he could shut it down. His control was hanging by a thread, every instinct pushing him closer to the edge.
He lowered his head, dragging his mouth along hers, slower now but no less intense, as if he could memorize the feel of her if he just took his time.
A dog’s incessant bark cut through the haze.
KC stilled, the sound pulling him back to reality. He held there a beat before finally lifted his head, breathing hard.
Her eyes were wide, dark with something that matched exactly what he felt. Her lips were red and puffy, her ponytail half-fallen loose around her shoulders.
He’d never seen a woman as beautiful as she looked right then.
The bark came again.
Both their heads turned. Down the beach, a family of four and an overly enthusiastic Collie were heading straight in their direction.
Yeah. That was a cold splash of reality—but probably for the best. They’d gotten carried away.
KC rolled to his side, putting his back toward the approaching group, then stared at Maura. She wasstill catching her breath, and her expression said she wasn’t ready for it to end any more than he was.
He dragged a hand down his face, then glanced at the very obvious problem in his sweatpants before meeting her gaze again, a crooked grin pulling at his mouth.
“I think I’d better take a quick swim,” he said. “Otherwise, I’m going to look pretty ridiculous walking around like this.”
Color rushed into her cheeks. “I… yeah. That’s probably a good idea.”
He caught her hand, brought it to his mouth, and briefly kissed her palm before letting go.
Then he was on his feet, making a mad dash for the water.
He barely slowed long enough to kick off his sneakers before diving straight into the surf, the cold hitting him hard enough to knock some sense back into his system.
It helped.
But not enough.
On the way home from Big Al’s that afternoon, they stopped in town to invite Dan Malone to dinner.While KC headed toward the hardware store, Moriah veered off to the small boutique a few doors down. At the shooting range, she’d realized all her clothes were sweats, jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers—fine for surviving, not exactly something she’d wear out to dinner.
They were the wardrobe of a woman on the run.
But with KC’s help, she felt stronger. Safer. More like herself with each passing day.
There was no way anyone could trace her to this small town—one most people in Chicago had probably never even heard of. Maybe she could stay in Whisper for a while. Find work that paid cash. It would be too risky to use her real name or her Social Security number.
Which meant finishing her degree was out of reach for now.
