Again, this is not what you think it is. I don't write that kind of stuff. But someone did want Carter and Donovan walking on the beach, this is how it turned out.

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Donovan crept around the end of the bed to Carter's side. He knelt, taking in her sleeping form. Before he got married, he'd never really thought through what it would be like having someone else sleep in the bed beside him. Now, only after two days, he couldn't imagine not having Carter laying next to him.

He smiled at her. Sound asleep she looked terrible. Her hair was a tangled mess around her head. Her mouth hung open. She tossed and turned throughout the night twisting her pajamas around her. He loved it.

Even asleep she was fully herself. If she'd been serene, almost angelic he didn't think he'd like it quite as much. It wouldn't be the Carter he knew. But tangled hair, mouth gaping, a bit of a mess, that was a Carter he knew. The Carter he married.

When she rolled towards him, he noticed her curled fist as if in her dreams she already planned to hit someone. He had an uneasy feeling she might use that fist against him when she realized he was waking her up in the middle of the night.

Still, he thought the chances of getting hit worth it.

Gently, Donovan moved a piece of her hair out of her face, his fingers brushing her cheek. She stirred and sighed. He kissed her cheek and nose.

"Carter," he whispered. "Carter."

She mumbled something but remained asleep. Donovan kept kissing her face until she squinted at him.

"What?" she said.

The annoyance in her tone made him chuckle.

"Get up."

She looked to the shut curtains and he knew what she'd find, not a glimmer of light trying to break through.

"No." 

Donovan went back to kissing her and she didn't seem affected.

"But we're going on an adventure," he said. 

"Does it involve guns?"

"No."

"Then it's not an adventure."

Carter twisted away from him, but Donovan merely stood up and continued to kiss her.

"I won't stop until you wake up."

Carter paused as if deciding. Donovan peppered her face with kisses and finally, she growled.

"Fine."

Beaming, Donovan held out a pair of shorts and his t-shirt for her to change into. Slumped on the edge of the bed, she stared at them as if confused about what they were for.

"I don't like you anymore," she said.

"It will be worth it, I promise."

She eyed him doubtfully but accepted the clothes. Once changed, Donovan took her hand and led her to the bedroom door. Outside the hotel hallway was empty, but Donovan slid along the wall anyway. Carter blinked at him.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I told you this is an adventure."

She looked unconvinced and walked down the center of the hall. Donovan darted forward and tucked himself into the alcove holding the ice machine. Carter walked past shaking her head. When the doors to the elevator opened and Carter stepped on, Donovan sprinted out of his hiding spot, dived, and performed a perfect tuck and roll into the elevator. Finally, Carter burst out laughing.

"Okay, you're ridiculous, mission accomplished," she said.

Donovan grinned and kissed her smile.

"Only for you."

At the lobby floor, Donovan pressed himself against the wall of the elevator, hiding himself from the front desk. Carter stepped out and greeted the worker, giving Donovan the distraction he needed to slip out, and crouched low, sliding along the desk, out of the view of the receptionist. When he felt the worker's gaze drift back to his phone, Donovan popped up and joined Carter. A second later, the receptionist let out a squeak of surprise at Donovan's sudden appearance.

Carter rolled her eyes as Donovan took her hand. "Enjoying yourself?"

"Yes."

As they stepped out of the lobby and onto the hotel's patio, Donovan breathed in the salty air. It was the smell of home. Hearing the crash of the waves, he felt transported back to his childhood. How many times had his brothers and he played along the beach? How many times had they shared their secrets underneath the moon?

Donovan guided Carter out onto the beach. The sand sank beneath their feet, eventually turning solid as they reached the shoreline.

"If your idea of an adventure is taking a walk along the beach, then I'm going back to sleep," Carter said.

Donovan only laughed and spun around, walking backward.

"Growing up," he said. "My brothers and I would sneak out at night to spend time at the beach. It was our favorite time. No one was there, it was just us. There are a lot of nights I remember when we'd share things that we wouldn't in the daytime. I brought you out here because this is a tradition."

Carter nodded, her face ponderous. The edge of her mouth curled and Donovan sense where her mind took her.

"What secret are you going to share with me then?" she said.

"Who said I had any secret to share?"

"You just said that the beach at night is where you would share things you couldn't share in the daytime. So share. And it better be good, you did drag me out of bed for this."

Donovan placed his hands on the top of his head, thinking. Slowly, they continued to walk, Donovan blindly leading the way as he moved backward.

"Okay, I mirrored my moody persona off of Clint," he said.

"Nope, not good enough. I already know this. I've met your brother."

Donovan wondered if anyone would be annoyed by Carter's remark. He only found it interesting, a challenge.

"I spent the last night before I went to protect Link on the beach with my brothers. We all cried, Clint was the only one to not trying to hide it."

Carter pursed her lips, mulling over the snippet of information.

"Nope, I want a secret that never in a million years would you want to tell me."

A thought popped into Donovan's head but he knew he couldn't share it. Not with Carter. She grinned and pointed at him.

"Yes, that secret," she said. "I want to know the one you just thought of."

Donovan stopped walking. He didn't know how he could tell her. He tried to think of something else equally good, but his mind froze.

"Ah, you don't want to share it," she said. "It must be really embarrassing."

She rested her hands on his sides, peering up at him, her head tilted to one side.

"You don't trust me?"

Letting out a breath, Donovan closed his eyes. "I had a stuffed teddy bear named Sargent Major that I slept with until I was eight."

To Donovan's surprise, Carter kissed him.

"Adorable," she said. "Now I have blackmail material."

"You can't tell my brothers. It's a miracle James never found him. I hid him in my pillow."

Carter cupped his face. "Of course I'm going to tell them, this is amazing!"

Donovan reached for Carter but she slipped away, running along the beach, laughing as he chased her. Eventually, he caught her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She was breathless, her hair a wild mess.

"This stays between us," Donovan said. "That's how the secrets shared on the beach work."

"Fine. I won't tell them. Besides I had a green stuff dinosaur named Thompson until I was ten."

"Cute," Donovan said, kissing her cheek. "But not a good enough secret, try harder."

He set her down and took her hand, continuing their walk along the shore. Waves skidded up to them before shying away.

"A secret," Carter murmured.

"A good secret."

"Yes, a good secret."

After a stretch of silence, Carter spoke, her voice quiet.

"When I was little," she said. "I hated the sound of thunder."

Donovan edged closer, her tone telling him this was not an embarrassing secret but a vulnerable one.

"So during thunderstorms, I would sleep between my parents," she said. "When my father would be away, I made a habit of sleeping with my mother. I would use my father's pillow and the smell of it reminded me of him and I felt safe."

Carter swallowed and didn't look up at Donovan, though he watched her, seeing the little crease in her brow, the downward twitch of her mouth.

"After my mother left...when my father was traveling...I would steal his pillow and sleep with it. It made me believe he would come home." She paused. "To this day he doesn't know I did that."

Donovan pulled Carter into his arms, holding her. "That's a good secret."

She held on to him, her cheek resting against his shoulder.

"Yeah, better than your lame teddy bear one."

He laughed and kissed her. He didn't say anything more about what she shared, knowing that her joke was her way of saying she didn't want to talk about it. He didn't push, understanding that the fear she used to always live with was hard to express.

"So," she said, leaning her head back. "We shared our secrets, do we get to go back to sleep now?"

"Well, we have to end the night as we did most of the time."

"How?"

Before Carter could run away, Donovan scooped her up and sprinted towards the water. Carter screamed and clung to his neck.

"Donovan don't you dare!"

But Donovan was already racing into the waves. He jumped and they both crashed into the water. Donovan came up laughing and Carter sputtering. Once she could breathe again but before she could curse him, Donovan gave her a salty kiss.

"See, I told you tonight would be an adventure."

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...yeah I got nothing threatening 🤦🏽‍♀️ Dang!

Any who! I what did you think of the chapter and the most cliché setting possible? 💭💬🗯

I gotta say writing the more romantic chapters is not my strong suit, mostly because I'm an action girl or a making-it-super-depressing-so-everyone-cries girl!

Also I don't have a ton to say. Oh! There is one thing! I finished my book Nothing Super! So if you like heroes, characters like Carter, and wild rides you might want to check it out!

Vote, comment, follow because I gave you something cute!