Page 87 of Penalty Shots

"I think deep down I left with the tiniest hope that you'd come for me. It was selfish of me, but if I'm being honest. I just wanted to see how far you'd be willing to go."

He turns his body to me and places a hand on my cheek. I lean into his touch. "For you, Rina? I'd go to the ends of the world."

He then moves his hand into my hair, pushing it back and away from my face, and pulls me to him. "I'd do anything for you. Even if it meant throwing away a career I've always wanted. Even if it meant changing my dreams, I'd rather have you. And…"

He pauses, his face battling with what he's about to say next. "And I was an idiot for ever letting you go without a fight."

I didn't know I needed those words. I didn't know that over a decade of feeling like my heart was locked up, untouchable, hardly beating—those were the words that completely undo me.

I feel a burst of warmth in the center of my chest. And I want nothing more than to give myself to this man. For him to know me, all of me. And for me to know him.

This man who would rally my people. This man who would kick my ex's ass. This man who blends so seamlessly with my family.

I want him.

I reach for the button of my shorts and tug them down to my ankles, kicking them off. Then I pull my shirt over my head. He watches me as I do, his eyes asking the question his mouth won't—what are you doing?

I get up and stretch my hand down to him. "Let's go for a swim."

He chuckles, "You don't swim."

"Not by myself. But with you…" I look out to the vast ocean. "I know I'm safe."

He takes my hand, but instead of getting up, he pulls me down into his lap. I fall onto him and quickly adjust so that I'm straddling him.

His hands come down to my bare thighs, warm and possessive.

"Red is definitely your color," he says, his voice husky and raw.

I look down at my bikini. I wore it, knowing it would drive him wild.

"It looks even better off," I say.

His eyes widen as he reaches for the string on my back and gives it a tug. The fabric falls away from me and onto his lap as he takes in my body. "You are so right."

I wrap an arm around his neck and pull him closer to me, the scruff on his face brushing against my skin. He holds me against him, one hand against my back while the other hand comes up my abdomen and brushes against the underside of my breast.

He looks at me, eyes hooded, mouth slightly open. "What do you want, Katarina Marianela Lopez?"

I look down at him, surprised. "You know my middle name?"

"I may have snooped through some old photo albums," he admits.

"You did? Why?"

His hand comes up to my neck. "I wanted to see what my future kids would look like."

And just like that. Any hope for us just dies. Right there on that beach.

Because what Keelan doesn't know is that I'm destined to have the same problems my mom experienced.

He notices the shift in me because he shakes his head. "Don't do that. Don't pull away."

"Keelan, I need to tell you something."

He flips me down onto the towel and hovers over my topless body, placing a big, warm hand on my abdomen.

"I don't care. Whatever you're about to say. Whatever big secret you're about to tell me. I don't care. It's not going to stop me from wanting you, Rina. It's not going to stop me from feeling like I can't breathe because I can't have you. Too many things have kept us apart. Too many things have stolen our moments, and I'm done letting that happen."