Chasing the Tide

Chapter Eleven: Giving In

Lila took a step back, her emotions colliding into one another like waves crashing against the shore. “I don’t know what you expect me to say,” she admitted, voice wavering.

Noah’s jaw tensed. “I expect you to be honest. With me. With yourself.”

Anger sparked in Lila’s chest. “Honest? You want honesty? Fine. I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know what I want. I’m supposed to be planning my wedding, not standing on a beach arguing with you.”

Noah took a step closer, closing the distance between them. “Then why are you here, Lila?”

She opened her mouth but had no answer. Her breath hitched when he reached for her, his hands firm as they gripped her arms, forcing her to meet his gaze. The heat of his touch sent a shiver down her spine, her heart hammering wildly.

“Tell me you don’t feel this,” Noah murmured, his voice raw with emotion.

Lila’s resolve wavered. Her body betrayed her as she melted into his grasp. “Noah...” she whispered.

His lips crashed into hers before she could finish, stealing the rest of her words. It was a kiss filled with frustration, with longing, with everything unsaid between them. Lila gasped against his mouth, the tension breaking like a dam as she clutched at him, her fingers curling into his shirt.

Noah’s arms wrapped around her, pulling her flush against him. The world around them faded, leaving only the sound of the waves and the rapid beating of her heart.

“Tell me to stop,” he murmured against her lips, his hands tracing down her spine, making her tremble.

Lila couldn’t. She didn’t want to. Instead, she pulled him closer, her answer clear.

The sand was warm beneath them as Noah eased her down, his lips trailing along her jaw, down her neck. Lila’s pulse thundered in her ears as she surrendered, as she let go of everything she had been holding back.

The ocean whispered secrets only they could hear as they lost themselves in each other beneath the stars, and for the first time in her life, Lila stopped thinking about what was expected of her and simply let herself feel.