by Tess Oliver
Megan laughed as if it was something funny. “That doesn’t happen every day. A Highlander hooking up with a Trog. Kellan got lucky with that match. Not so sure about Rylan.”
I turned to look at Megan. She squirmed enough to know that she’d just blurted out enough stupid shit to piss me off.
She forced a smile. “Sorry, Dawson, I know he’s your best friend.”
“What’s all this gibberish about Highlanders and Frogs?” Wyatt asked.
“Trogs not frogs. It’s silly really.” Megan laughed. “There’s a train track that divides Bluefield into two halves. The rich people, or Highlanders, live on the north side of the tracks, and the Trogs live below the tracks on the poor side of town.” Megan twisted her mouth shut. She’d apparently forgotten which half she’d come from.
As expected, the overly curious and judgmental Wyatt looked over at Megan, who was now avoiding eye contact with him. “Well?” he asked. “What side do you live on?”
Megan scooted around on her chair. “Neither. I live in California.”
Aubrey cast a quiet smile my direction.
I decided to help Megan out. “We’re Trogs. Megan included.”
Megan shot a hard scowl my direction.
I shrugged. “You brought it up.”
Megan pretended to busy herself dusting sand off her legs. “They’re just stupid, meaningless labels.”
“Why Trogs?” Wyatt was too much of a fool to know when to end a topic.
Megan had no intention of answering but I, on the other hand, was happy to answer. “The miners, the workers who risk their lives every day to work underground, the only people who keep the mine productive and keep the Highlanders fat and happy in their mansions, live on the south side of the tracks. Troglodytes are prehistoric people who lived in caves. But it’s too long to say when you’re trying to land a good insult on someone. Trog is easier, cuts to the chase faster. The whole label thing sort of backfired on them though. Most of us are just fine with it. Without us, the mine and Bluefield wouldn’t exist.”
An annoying, condescending laugh shot from his mouth. “Proud to be a Trog?” He laughed again. “Of course, you know my opinion about the whole coal mining thing.”
Aubrey sat up and scowled, not at Wyatt but at Megan. “Are you really just going to listen to that?”
“What? Everyone’s entitled to their opinion,” Megan said with a little lift of her chin.
“Shit,” Aubrey muttered. “I’m going for a walk on the beach.” She spotted something in the distance and looked over at me. “I think your friend is walking this way.”
Wyatt grinned over at Megan. “This should be interesting,” he said it quietly, but I heard every word. Which I was sure was his intention. Fortunately, I already hated the guy enough not to give a damn about anything he said. And seeing Lenix walking across the sand to me in broad daylight made the rest of the world fade away into nothing.
I stood up. She was wearing dark sunglasses, no doubt, because we were on the beach, but there was no beanie, no scarf, no disguise. Just the girl who made my pulse race and my heart slam around my chest as if it was trying to break free.
“Is she coming here to sit with us?” Megan’s lip curled up in disapproval.
“Nope, Meg. She’s coming here to sit with me.”
I walked the last few feet to meet Lenix. Like always, she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me. It was a habit I was getting used to and one I was going to miss . . . a lot.
Aubrey had walked up behind us. “Hi, remember me? I’m Aubrey.”
Lenix lifted her dark glasses and rested them on top of her head. Her eyes glittered gold as she greeted Aubrey. “Right, Aubrey and I’m Lennie.”
Aubrey didn’t respond. She held Lenix’s hand and stared at her in a mixture of confusion and shock. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.
I took hold of Lenix’s hand and left Aubrey standing speechless in the sand. I led her over to Megan and Wyatt. “This is my sister, Megan and her friend.” I made a point of not saying his name. He was plenty pissed about it.
Lenix put out her hand. “Hi, I’m Lennie.”
Megan stared up with the same perplexed expression that Aubrey wore. “Hello,” Megan said hesitantly. Megan was rarely without words, but she seemed to have lost her tongue.
“Wyatt,” Wyatt said, throwing a scowl my direction as he offered his hand. He too seemed to have noticed the uncanny resemblance to the famous singer and fell silent.
Lenix ignored their curious stares and pointed at my towel. “Can I put my things there?”
“Yep.”
She slid off her shorts and sandals and put her sunglasses on top of the shorts.
Aubrey walked over and stood like a statue next to us. She stared at Lenix and tilted her head to the side as if it might confirm what she was wondering by looking at my friend from a different angle. She finally spoke up. “You know you look a lot like the lead singer of Ice Cake, Lenix Harlow.”
Lenix smiled at her. “I know. Uncanny right?” She turned to me. “I’ve been here for half a week and have not been in the water. I was hoping you’d go in with me and scare off any hungry sharks or icky things with tentacles and teeth.”
“I think I could handle that assignment.”
She took my hand, and we headed toward the water.
“How’d I get so lucky today?” I asked.
Lenix circled around and kissed me. “Today? Seems like you’ve gotten lucky for a couple of nights too.”
“Oh, I got way past lucky, Pixie. A winning lotto ticket doesn’t hold a fucking candle to a night with you in my bed. I just meant, how’d I get lucky enough to see you in the day, when the rest of the world can see you too.” We continued on our trek to the water. “You said someone died.”
“Yeah, it’s terrible even if it did work out for me. God, that sounds awful. The singer, Paula Nelson, was found murdered this morning. They think it was her husband.”
“Yeah, Aubrey was telling me something about the singer from the band Hangar Four. So the reporters are following that story, and Lenix Harlow is paparazzi free for an afternoon?”
“Ooh, you are as smart as you are hot. Winning combination, by the way. Especially when you drop in those amazing skills in bed.” We reached the edge of the water and she dipped her toes in. “Somehow, it looked much warmer and more inviting from the balcony of the beach house.”
“Summer’s sun might still be hanging in the sky, but the water doesn’t seem to be absorbing it. We can skip it. I won’t even make fun of you.”
“Darn, now I have to go in. And I believe in doing things fast.” She screamed as she ran through the water, dove into an oncoming wave and came up on the opposite side with a gasp. “So cold!”
I swam toward her, and she jumped into my arms. I cradled her against me and carried her through the water. “You actually got to leave the house without the beast behind you.”
She rested her head against my shoulder and kicked at the water with her feet. “Axel was busy drowning in a plate of nachos. And Graham just didn’t put up much fuss. He’s either tired of fighting me on my quest for freedom, or he figures, too, that there just won’t be anyone out here. I still don’t know who snapped that picture of us on the porch yesterday.”
I leaned back to get a better view of her face. Her wet bangs were smoothed back, giving me a clearer view of her face. She was spectacular. It took me a second to retrieve the question I’d lost when I looked at her. “There’s a picture of—of our session on the porch?”
“It didn’t show much except me wrapped around you. Why? Are you worried about your reputation with the ladies?”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about. Don’t want ladies to get the wrong idea about me.” I laughed and floated back, carrying her with me.
She let her head drop back to rest on the surface of the water. “And what idea is that? That you’re so damn hot, you made me come without even taking off my clothes.�
��
“Shit, when you put it like that, screw my reputation. But what about your reputation, my famous lil’ pixie?”
“That ship sailed long ago.” She placed her head against my shoulder. “I’ve learned it’s much easier not to care what other people think. Makes living much easier.” She reached up and curled her hand around my neck, to bring my face lower for a kiss. Her eyes opened slowly and she gazed up at me. “Why does everything feel absolutely right when I’m in your arms?”
I tightened my hold on her. “Isn’t it obvious? I was put here on earth solely for the purpose of holding you. All this time I was living my life, and I had no idea that my real reason for being alive was to keep Lenix Harlow safe in my arms.”
“There you go again with the perfect answer to my question.”
Familiar voices drifted toward us. Wyatt and Megan had decided to join us in the water. Only, like Lenix, Megan hesitated once she reached the reality of the ice cold water. Wyatt seemed determined to take a dip, and he seemed just as certain that Megan would be going in with him.
He reached for her arm, but she backed up, laughing at what she thought was just a fun game. I could tell by the rigid set of Wyatt’s shoulders that he wasn’t considering anything about it a game or funny. Megan seemed to sense it quickly too. I knew my sister well enough to see the worry in her face, even from a distance.
Wyatt stomped out of the water and took a firm hold of Megan’s arm. She tried to pull away, but he held her tightly. Megan dropped back, trying hard to keep her feet in front of her, resisting him.
“I’ve changed my mind. It’s too cold,” Megan said on a near sob.
I lowered Lenix’s legs. She looked on in dismay at the way the jerk was acting toward Megan. “He’s kind of a prick, isn’t he?”
“That’s a light word for him.” I swam back toward shore.
Wyatt hadn’t seen me approach. He was pulling Megan toward the water, even as she continued to protest against it.
“Let her go,” I said.
Wyatt whipped his face around and took a deep gulp of air as he saw me emerge from the water. His grip remained firm. I could see the white spots on Megan’s wrist where he held her.
“We’re just having some fun here, Dawson. It’s not really any of your business.”
I walked up behind him but kept my distance because I knew if I got within striking distance, my fist was going straight for his sneering face.
“I’m going to say it again. Let her arm go.”
I heard Lenix walk up behind me. Wyatt’s focus flicked temporarily her direction. I knew my sisters, and they’d been Googling Lenix’s name the second we walked away. I had no doubt that they’d already concluded that my friend Lennie was Lenix Harlow. Wyatt was putting on a good show, trying to be a badass. It was about to backfire big time.
Megan looked close to tears. “I’m all right, Dawson. I’ll go in the water. It’s all good,” she said quickly.
I stared unblinkingly at Wyatt. “You might be an asshole, but you can’t possibly be stupid enough to ignore me when I tell you to let go of my sister.” I stepped closer. Wyatt flinched. He stood his ground for a few more seconds, longer than I would have expected, before releasing Megan. Then he stomped back toward the towels.
Megan pulled her arm against her stomach, either because it hurt or because she didn’t want me to see the marks his fingers had left.
“What the fuck, Megan?” I asked. “That guy isn’t good enough for you.”
She lowered her face. I knew she was crying, but she didn’t want me to see it. It was a self-defense mechanism she’d learned, all my sisters had learned, from living with our dad. He thought tears, even from a woman, showed weakness, and he would tease my sisters for it. For most of our lives, Dad was a supreme ass.
Lenix walked over and put her arm around Megan’s shoulders.
I walked up to her. “If you want me to tell him to leave, Meg, just say the word and he’s gone.”
She wiped at her tears and lifted her face with a head shake. “No, he’s my problem. Besides, I can’t trust you and your temper. I have to work with the man.”
She smiled politely at Lenix and turned to walk back up to the towels. Lenix and I stayed near the water. I kept an eye on Megan as she stood and said something to Wyatt. He grabbed up his stuff and marched off.
Lenix wrapped her arms around my waist and peered up at me. “That was so damn hot. As if I needed any other reason to adore you, my big sexy coal miner.”
I brushed her bangs away from her face. “You liked that whole tough guy thing, huh?”
“No, not that part. The way you showed how much you cared about your sister. Hunky, hot and sweet as a pot of honey.”
“First time anyone has ever called me sweet. But, what the hell. There’s a first time for everything.”
Chapter 25
Lenix
Dawson made sure that his sister’s creepy friend left without further trouble. Then we slipped into his room for some of our favorite beach activity. It was an activity that we were definitely not going to get bored of anytime soon.
The sunlight streaming in and the gnawing ache to have Dawson again had woken me from a luxurious nap. I had never been with anyone like him. I couldn’t stop thinking about his hands and mouth on me. Even with the tenderness between my legs from the last two hours of wall banging sex, I wanted more.
His dark lashes fluttered as he slept. The room was warm from the afternoon heat. I slipped out of his bed, grabbed my beach bag and walked into his bathroom. I turned on the shower, deciding to freshen up before we started again. At least I hoped we’d be starting again.
The warm water cascaded over my head and down my naked breasts, streaming straight down to my pussy. I reached for the soap and when I straightened, I startled at seeing Dawson’s tall figure through the semi-sheer shower curtain. He pushed aside the curtain and leaned his arm up on the tile edge of the shower.
“Don’t let me interrupt. I’m just here to watch.”
The idea of having him watch me in the shower sent an instant pulse between my legs. I rubbed soap on my body, taking extra care to rub my breasts with the lather. His eyes followed my hands as I smoothed the soap over my pussy.
“Fuck,” his deep growl rolled off the tile as he yanked open the curtain and stepped inside. My soapy skin slid against his as the water produced a fragrant cloud of steam around us. I kissed him urgently, wanting him again so badly that I was nearly in tears with the thought of it.
“Dawson, I want all of you. I want everything and anything when it comes to you. I can’t get enough of you.”
“Fucking hell, Pixie, you don’t know what you’ve done to me. Can’t even fucking think straight. Tell me what you want. Tell me what you need. I’ll do anything just to hear you cry out my name.”
I rubbed my hand along his hard stomach muscles and gripped his cock. It was hard and hot in my hand. I knew I was ready to take it to the next level. I stepped out of the shower and reached inside my beach bag for the bottle of baby oil I’d dropped in it. Dawson watched with heated interest as I lifted his hand and put the bottle in his palm. Then I turned to the tile wall of the shower. Water sprayed my back and the warm mist swirled around us. I pressed my hands against the wall and jutted my ass out.
“I want it all, Dawson. I want you everywhere.”
His massive chest rose and fell as his eyes drifted to my ass. The water ran over the ink on his skin and it blurred into a mosaic of black lines. I was lightheaded with wanting Dawson taking control of me in the shower.
He moved behind me. The heat from his body was far more intense than the water spraying down on us. I heard the cap on the oil click open, and the thick liquid ran down the crack of my ass and into the puckered hole, the hole I’d just invited Dawson to penetrate. I pressed my hands hard against the tile and braced myself as his hands took hold of me, one holding me in place and the other reaching down between my legs to tend to my pussy.
I tightened against him at first, but as his fingers massaged my clit and pussy, I relaxed and he pushed his cock inside. “Fuuck,” he groaned.
With his massive body leaned against me and his hands and cock inside of me, I shuddered with the intensity of it all, barely able to keep my legs underneath me. I felt my pussy and my entire body tightening.
It took only minutes to bring me to climax. “Yes, fuck yes, Dawson!”
His warm breath caressed my back as he pushed into me one last time. I felt his body stiffen behind me and he came.
My hands slid down the tile wall. He smacked off the water, lifted me into his arms and carried me out of the shower. I could barely see straight and the room was spinning as he propped me up on the vanity. He grabbed a towel off the rack and stood dripping wet in front of me as he tenderly dried me off.
I reached up and pushed his wet hair behind his ear. “It’s a good look for you. Wet, that is. Not that you need any help because every look is pretty damn good.” I sensed that what we’d just done, what I’d just asked him to do had taken everything to a new level. We weren’t just having a vacation fling, we were connected intimately, body and soul.
His dark lashes were beaded with water as he focused on drying me.
I reached up and pressed my hand against his face. “You should have been in my life long ago, Dawson. I’m pissed I’ve missed so much time with you.” My chest felt heavy as I said the words. My life made relationships hard, nearly impossible, and I’d missed this type of connection. Even with Brick, who I now considered a best friend, I’d never felt this much attachment. It felt now as if none of it mattered, the band, our success, the concerts, none of it mattered but the man standing in front of me.
Dawson didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to. The reality was clear as if it was written up in thought bubbles above our heads. We lived very different lives and after this, he’d go back to his and I’d go back to mine.
He lifted me into his arms and carried me back to the bed. He lowered me onto the mattress and climbed in after me. My phone rang just as he dragged the covers up over us. I ignored it, not wanting to leave the warmth of Dawson’s body. Then it rang again.