Graduation and Gifts (Untouchable Book 8) by Heather Long (best books to read for beginners TXT) 📕

The trembling in my legs and body kept me glued to the chair. A hand traced over my hair, then fisted it gently.

Jake’s kiss turned softer and sweeter as he nibbled his way along my lips as though he only wanted to sample each breath. Even the click of our sunglasses glancing off each other didn’t puncture the moment. Pulse galloping, I went boneless, trusting his grip on me to keep me from floating away.

“Mr. Standish…” At the intrusion of the accented voice, I stiffened.

“I’ll join you in a moment, Captain.” The words and tone brooked no argument. Jake soothed his hand over my back as I shivered. I missed when he’d pulled his fingers from me, then he broke the kiss to suck on one finger, then another, as though licking them clean. I couldn’t miss the scent of me on him or the way his eyes lit up as he stayed so close.

The flash of his tongue had my toes curling.

“Better?” Jake asked.

I grinned slowly. “Perfect.”

“Fuck yes, you are,” Coop let out with a grunt of appreciation, and bit by bit, where we were registered again. I lifted my head just a bit higher as Jake glanced over at Coop. “What?” Coop demanded in a heated voice. “She’s fucking perfect.”

My gaze locked on Ian’s though, I couldn’t see his eyes through the sunglasses nor he mine, but I swore I could feel him all the way down to my toes. “Did you enjoy that, Angel?” Dark promise kissed each word, and I couldn’t resist smiling at him or a little nod, because I wasn’t sure if my voice would come out as more than a squeak.

“Fuck, I did,” Archie said on a groan. “I’d have enjoyed it more if it had been my dick she was riding as she squirmed like that.”

“You’ll get your chance,” Ian said, and a flush of heat crashed through me like a lava eruption boiling to the surface.

“Not arguing,” Jake said, the teasing words anchoring me. They were all watching me, and I wanted to fucking preen under the attention. “Just cool down, player three.”

A snort escaped me before I could stop it, and I clapped a hand over my mouth. There was a beat, then laughter erupted all around us and Jake grinned down at me. As much as Jake and I liked to push it when we were out in “public” spaces, I had great faith that no one could see me, so I rolled over and he trailed his gaze down at me as the bikini top fell away.

“Fuck me,” Archie swore. “Let me deal with the captain.” The scrape of his deck chair warned me of his exit.

“You’re playing with fire, Angel,” Ian warned.

I grinned and then stretched my arms above me. The combined heated stares kept any chill from even reaching my skin. “So,” I asked. “Who’s going to put sunscreen on my front?”

What fun was there in playing with fire if you didn’t get burned?

Despite my best efforts at teasing, the rest of my morning sunbathing on the deck went uninterrupted. None of the crew came anywhere near us, and Archie confirmed I wasn’t visible from the upper deck before Jake could complain. A part of me wanted to doze, but I enjoyed listening to them talk to too much.

The captain warned us about an hour out from the island, and I sat up and let Jake tie the bikini back into place before lunch arrived. Lunch was mostly cold meats, breads, and fruit. It all came with cool water and even colder wine. I had one small glass of the wine, but I didn’t want it to go to my head.

I wasn’t hot at all, but I was warm. The sun off the water and the island coming into view as we sliced from deeper water into those more crystal clear had me moving with the guys to watch as the island grew bigger and bigger.

Tucked between Jake and Archie against the rail, I braced against them, not that I had to worry. They each kept a hand on me as the yacht slowed to give us our best look yet. Not only was the beach almost pearlescent and the trees and foliage green and lush, the house sat up on a little hill away from the water, but it was…almost majestic.

Excitement thrummed through me. The yacht couldn’t go all the way in, so we transferred onto a smaller craft. Apparently, there was a dock on the far side that we could also use if the water was too rough, but as the agitation generated by the engines calmed, the water smoothed like glass. Well, at least until we were getting in the oversized rubber boat.

I would look up the terms later. Our luggage would come over after us. Apparently, that had been part of Archie’s coordination with the captain earlier. Archie and Ian were already in the boat when I made my step over. I wasn’t too worried about falling in, but they were all making sure I didn’t even take a misstep.

Settled between Ian and Archie for this leg, I let out a laugh as the outboard motor fired up and we raced across the water toward the shore. I gripped the guys and the side of the boat as we skimmed. Thank fuck I wasn’t the only one whooping.

The two crew members helping laughed at us. I wanted to jump off like they did as we rode right up the surf to the sandy beach. But Ian’s hand clamped down on my thigh when I went to move, and I made a face at him. As soon as the crew dragged us up on the sand, I was up and we were all out.

What a beautiful freaking place.

It was a slice of paradise. Ian lifted my hand for a kiss before he handed it to Coop. I swore they were trying to keep me out of the way, but Ian joined