by C. M. Albert
ROSALIE WAS QUIETER than normal, even for Rosalie. She asked to listen to some music on their way to the quarry, so Zade cranked the Karizma Duo’s version of “Brown Eyed Girl.” It reminded him of the beautiful woman sitting next to him, head resting on the seatback, eyes closed, sun on her cheeks, her feet tapping along with the catchy tune.
My brown-eyed girl. Zade would do anything to keep it that way, but she was a tough nut to crack. Whenever he felt like he was making progress, she pulled back, closed off again. It scared Zade. Especially in light of recent events. It was something he needed to talk to Rosalie about sooner rather than later.
Definitely later, he thought as her lips curled up into a smile when the next song came on. She reached over and turned up the volume even louder. The sound of a ukulele drifted over the wind as Rosalie scanned the passing scenery, her hand absentmindedly making waves in the air outside the car.
“This a favorite song of yours?” Zade asked, a half-grin twitching at the corner of his mouth. It wasn’t one he would’ve pegged her for.
She shook her head, turning to look at him for the first time since she got in the car. “No, I just love how God works. Last night when I was at Celeste’s, I did a small reading for her friend Kenya, who was curious about her brother. This was their song, and he told me about it when he came through. I love that it’s playing now—it feels like Marcus is smiling down on us, letting me know he is more than okay. I’ll have to tell Kenya about this.” Her face was relaxed as she hummed along about where the skies are blue.
Zade could lose himself in Rosalie. Her long, dark brown hair tumbled down over her chest, and he noticed the ends were crimson today. It suited her. He lifted a strand and ran it between his fingers. “This is new,” he said, squinting at her in the bright sunlight. He let her hair go and focused on the road, but he could see Rosalie watching him from his peripheral vision. She studied his face before dropping her head back against the seat again and closing her eyes.
Damn.
“I needed a change,” she said quietly.
“Should I be worried? Isn’t there a saying about being careful around a woman who changes her hair?”
“‘A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life,’” Rosalie quoted. “Coco Chanel.”
“Well, guess I should be glad you didn’t cut it, then,” he teased. When she didn’t smile back fully, his stomach sank, worry searing his gut.
When they arrived at the quarry, he hopped out of the car, running around to Rosalie’s side to open the door for her before she could object. Her dark brown eyes softened when she looked up at him. She placed a hand on his cheek, gentle. Zade thought for a moment she was going to kiss him. Instead, she whispered, “Thank you,” before brushing by to stretch and take in the view.
“How did you know about the quarry?” Rosalie asked, turning to help with the picnic blanket and towels. “Mostly only locals know about this place.”
“I have my ways,” he teased. He grabbed a small backpack from the car’s trunk and slung it over his shoulders. Zade peered over the top of his black-framed Ferragamo sunglasses at Rosalie. He couldn’t wait to see if she’d actually worn a bikini like he asked, but he was also afraid she had. It would be torture keeping his hands off her either way.
“Ready to head down?” he asked, his voice husky with the desire that was clawing its way to the surface. He took Rosalie’s hand and led her down the tree-lined path. The quarry was a little hike away, so they had plenty of time to chat about Rosalie’s morning (boring), her favorite books (true crimes), and her favorite place in the world (she hadn’t been there yet, she said). That one saddened Zade. He knew for certain he wanted to be the one to show Rosalie the world until she found her favorite place. Maybe one day even their favorite place.
The trail was overgrown in several places, making the pace a little slower and sweatier than Zade anticipated. By the time they reached the quarry, they were both drenched from the heat. Rosalie spread out the blanket under a tree by the quarry’s ledge, then shimmied out of her jean shorts and black INXS T-shirt before Zade even had a chance to process what was happening.
He watched in slow motion as her arms crossed, clutching the end of her frayed T-shirt. The fabric lifted, revealing smooth, tan skin and a flat stomach. Hallelujah! She’d worn a bikini. The top was all Rosalie, though, which made Zade’s smile stretch even wider. It was a crop-top style bikini top with the middle cut in half and laced up like an old rock-n-roll T-shirt. But the bottoms nearly had him biting his fist as she slid the jean shorts over her full hips and let them drop to the picnic blanket. They were white like the top, contrasting her lush brown skin even further. She turned, and Zade honestly wondered how she got the small patch of cloth to stay put since there was barely enough of it to stretch over the sexy swells of her backside. Zade wanted nothing more than to move the tumble of thick, brown hair over her shoulder to taste the curve of her neck, wrap his hand around the soft skin of her waist, and pull that full backside against him. His mouth was dry when he heard Rosalie’s laughter.
“Should I call a doctor, doctor?” she leveled Zade with her smoky brown eyes before tossing her tortoise-shell sunglasses to the blanket and running to the quarry’s edge, diving off the side before Zade could formulate a coherent response.
He gasped, knowing how high the quarry’s ledge was. He ran to the edge and looked down. He hadn’t actually been planning to jump from this height—he wasn’t even sure it was safe. His heart clenched when he didn’t see Rosalie right away. He tore his black T-shirt over his head, ready to jump, when Rosalie shouted from below. “Get in, you big baby!”
Zade’s heart was still racing as he watched Rosalie treading water, her long, wet hair covering the swell of her breasts. Dear God. Zade threw his three hundred dollar sunglasses across the grass, aiming for the blanket but not really giving a damn if they made it. He took a quick, deep breath and ran, trusting as he leaped off the side.
The free fall was much longer than Zade expected, and his stomach felt like it was in his throat by the time be hit the water. When he surfaced, Rosalie was laughing at him.
“Holy shit it’s cold!” Zade gasped, swimming toward her.
She splashed him. “It’s actually quite warm this time of year. You should feel it in May.”
Zade grinned, but couldn’t take his eyes off Rosalie’s mouth as she spoke to him. Her wet hair clung to her tan skin, her nipples now evident under the wet bikini top. He couldn’t have stopped the kiss from happening if he’d tried. Which, admittedly, he didn’t try too hard.
Rosalie stared back at his mouth, her lips parting in anticipation. Zade reached out, her strong thighs curling around his midsection as she slid into his arms. Her center was warm as it pressed against his cold stomach.
Rosalie’s lips were soft, hungry. They took more than they gave, leaving Zade breathless. Her hands found his wet hair as her tongue pressed forward, curling with his in a sensual dance only understood by the chemistry between them. She tasted like ripe strawberries bursting in his mouth—sweet, succulent, satisfying. He gasped when her teeth dragged along his bottom lip, tugging before sucking it in.
He explored her small waist and back with his hands as she consumed him. He couldn’t pull her close enough. “Rosalie . . .”
“Zade,” she whispered back. “Don’t overthink it. It’s just a kiss.”
But it wasn’t just a kiss. It was a connection with the woman he was falling for, with the woman he couldn’t get enough of, with the woman he was afraid would ghost him if he turned away for too long. He was terrified of losing her, when she wasn’t even really his yet. He groaned, his mouth taking control. Her legs were now treading along with his, pushing their way between his as she moved to stay afloat. She reached down and cupped him in the water, her small hand exploring the hard length of him.
“Rosalie,” he growled, “let’s not start anything we can’t finish.”
She nibbled on his earlo
be and whispered, “Who says we can’t finish it?”
She laughed, splashing away from him as she swam for the side of the quarry. Zade had no idea how to actually get back to the top, so he took off after her, his heart accelerating at the exertion and anticipation. There was no way they were “finishing” anything here, but he wouldn’t mind taking Rosalie back in his arms and tasting more of her sweet strawberry mouth.
He climbed out over jagged rocks, using the rope ladder someone installed against the side of a large boulder. He loved watching Rosalie climb up first, her tiny white bikini doing little to cover anything at this point. Her legs were muscular, strong, leading up to a firm backside. Just remembering how strong they were as they clung to him in the water fanned Zade’s lust even further.
After climbing a rickety wooden ladder the rest of the way up the quarry’s steep ledge, Rosalie turned and grinned at Zade, a challenging look heating her eyes. “A kiss if you can catch me before I get to the blanket,” she said, not waiting for a response. She took off running toward their cozy little setup under a giant angel oak tree that must’ve been older than Arden’s Glen itself.
The squeal that rang out from Rosalie’s plump lips as Zade grabbed her from behind and pulled her back against him almost unhinged him. It sent shivers down his naked torso, tightening him beneath his swim shorts. Instead of devouring her in a kiss, he held her there, taking a deep breath to tamp his desire. He wanted to be close to her—needed to be—but he was too close to losing his right mind when it came to her. She deserved more than a quick romp at the quarry for their first time together, but she was testing his resolve as she pressed her backside against him, purring.
Her head fell back against his chest, a satisfied smile lighting her face. “I let you catch me,” she breathed out. “Just this once.”
And that was exactly what Zade was afraid of as Rosalie turned in his arms and stood on her toes to kiss him again.
Once would never be enough when it came to Rosalie Alexander.
ROSALIE HAD BEEN to the quarry before. Many times. But only one other time had been with a guy. Rocco Del Vecchio. He was the kind of boy her mother warned her about when she was alive—dark, brooding, quiet, and too handsome for his own good. He’d first caught Rosalie’s attention in PE class, before her canoodling with the gym teacher began. Rocco made it nearly impossible for a shy girl like Rosalie to say no to a date, especially when she had so few real friends.
Rosalie shivered from the memory, nestling deeper into the crook of Zade’s arm as they stretched out on the blanket under the protective limbs of the ancient oak tree.
“You okay?” he asked, rubbing her arm. “If you’re cold, we can leave.”
“No, it’s not from being cold,” she said, turning to look up into his warm green eyes. They explored each other in silence like that for longer than most people would be comfortable, but Zade never once looked away. He brushed her hair from her eyes, the tender gesture gripping Rosalie’s heart.
“What’s it from then?” he asked, his eyes darting to the open area around them. “We aren’t alone, are we?” he whispered.
Rosalie laughed. “I hate to break it to you, doctor, but we’re never alone.” She laughed harder when Zade’s eyes grew bigger. “Most people don’t even feel their presence and would never even know,” she said, tracing her finger in a circle on Zade’s firm chest.
“Hmm, that’s reassuring.”
“They’re mostly harmless,” she teased.
“That’s what I’m worried about,” he said. “The ‘mostly’ part.”
“We should be far more scared about the people who can hurt us who are alive,” she whispered, Rocco’s face swimming to view again.
“Who hurt you, Rosalie?” he asked, rubbing her shoulder.
“Who hasn’t?”
“That bad?”
Rosalie closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. She could hear the gentle thump of his heartbeat and wondered if it would accelerate if she kissed his chest as she wanted to. But something in her told her not to bypass his question with sex. He wasn’t the kind of guy who would let her anyway.
“I lost my virginity here,” she whispered. “It wasn’t a bad thing at the time, even if I was too young to be messing around.”
“I’m guessing it didn’t stay that way, based on your comment.”
“Well, most relationships are doomed anyway, right? They’re either the one or temporary. It’s not like I thought he was the one. I was only fifteen, but I wasn’t stupid.”
Zade said nothing, just rubbed circles on her back with his hand and let her talk.
“I knew a guy like him probably wasn’t interested in much more than what I gave him that day, but I was hoping against hope that he was different.” She shrugged. “Turns out he wasn’t.”
“Rosalie—”
“Don’t,” she said, cutting Zade off. “It was a long time ago. He broke my fifteen-year-old heart, but I’m long over him. He didn’t deserve me anyway.”
“No, he didn’t. No one does,” he growled, “except me.”
Rosalie lifted her head, searching his eyes again. “Is that so?”
“God’s honest truth,” he said, lifting three fingers in salute. “Scout’s honor.”
“Oh my God. Were you a Boy Scout?” she teased.
“I may’ve been,” he said, grinning.
Rosalie searched his face, adoring the dimples and full, kissable lips. The scruff covering his jawline. It would be so easy to lose herself in him, if she could ever trust his intentions. But that’s exactly what she was afraid of. If she lost herself, she’d never get out. She’d be stuck in the one place she swore she’d leave one day. And that day was so close Rosalie could taste it. “Zade, I don’t know what this is, what we’re even doing together.”
“You can’t figure it out yet, Rosalie?” He lifted a strand of hair and twirled it. “I’m crazy about you.”
“Today. You’re crazy about me today. But what happens when tomorrow comes?”
Zade lifted Rosalie, sitting up with her. He took her hand, searching her eyes. “I don’t know what I have to do to prove myself, but I’ll do whatever it takes. I don’t scare off that easily, and I don’t care what you do for a living as long as you’re happy. I just want you, Rosalie.”
“But why?” she pressed. “You could have any woman in Arden’s Glen. Or in the entire state of North Carolina, for that matter,” she said, exasperated. “You’re a catch, doctor. I’m sure you know that by now.”
“Wow,” he said, shaking his head. “You really don’t know me, do you?”
She sighed. “No, I don’t. That’s the problem. I like you, Zade. You’re a fun guy. A smart man. But I don’t get you. I come from nothing. I was adopted—did you know that?” she asked, biting her lip with worry about what he’d say. She’d been judged her whole life, and while her heart told her Zade wouldn’t judge her, being adopted had always made her feel like an outsider even more.
“Rosalie, that doesn’t matter to me. Where you came from, that means nothing to me either. When I look at you, all I see is you. The woman you are today. Do we make sense to anyone else? I don’t know. But I honestly don’t care,” he said, cupping her cheek. “All I care about is what you think of us—of me.”
She pressed her face against his palm. It would be so easy to fall for his charm. She wanted to. She wanted to lean in, soften her heart, and throw caution to the wind. But she wasn’t built that way. “I accepted a job offer,” she said instead, pulling back. “I’m leaving Arden’s Glen in about two weeks. I don’t see where this can go, even if I wanted it to.”
“Bullshit!” he said, pulling her all the way into his lap. “You’re scared, Rosalie. I get that. But I’m not. A job offer somewhere else means very little to me, when I know this could be so much more.” He brought his mouth down on hers, his lips begging her to open up to him despite what she’d just said.
“Zade,” she gasped betwee
n kisses. She couldn’t think when his hands were all over her body, his mouth possessive and demanding.
“I don’t care where you’re going, Rosalie—and I’d never ask you not to leave. But there’s no rule that says we can’t still be together. And hell if I’m letting the best thing I’ve ever found walk out of my life.”
He leaned her back against the blanket, looking down into her eyes. “I’m falling hard for you, Rosalie. There’s something between us I can’t explain. I felt it the first time I saw you at Christiano’s adoption ceremony—and I know you did too. When something rocks your world this hard, it’s worth exploring, isn’t it? To figure out if the spark we have is real?” His hand trailed down her body, sending goose bumps racing over her bare skin. “Well, convincing you that the spark that we have is real.”
He leaned over and brushed his lips softly over hers. “I have no doubt that it is. Deep down, I don’t think you do either.”
Rosalie couldn’t have pushed him away in that moment if she’d tried. There was something so endearing about Zade. She knew he was speaking the truth of his heart, even if Rosalie couldn’t yet find it in hers to open up and let him all the way in. But she could crack it a tiny way and see what happened, couldn’t she? Just a tiny little crack open?
Rosalie lifted her head, bringing her mouth to his. She kissed him slow, deep, letting herself take in and feel everything Zade was feeling. Her heart nearly exploded in her chest. “I’m scared,” she admitted. “I’m scared about all that you want from me.”
“Let’s take it one date at a time, okay? We don’t have to figure everything out today, Rosalie. Today, let me just relax on a blanket in the sun with my brown-eyed girl.”
She sighed, laying back against the soft cotton and closing her eyes. Zade’s lips covered her skin, kissing all the bare spots he could find. His hands ran over her skin, making her forget why she even objected to begin with. When his fingers found their way to her bikini bottom, she pressed into him instead of turning away. Zade’s mouth never left hers as his fingers pushed her over the edge and brought her to her first orgasm at the quarry. Stars exploded behind closed lids as she came, her body shaking from the release. A release that felt so very different from any others she’d had in her lifetime.
