by Steph Nuss
“Really?” Bayler deadpanned.
“Seriously, let me go!”
“Never!” I rubbed my knuckles across his head a couple more times and then finally released him. He pulled away fast, scowling.
“So, video games tomorrow night?” I asked, smiling.
A smile reappeared on his face and he shrugged. “Sure.”
“Boys are so weird,” Bayler muttered, shaking her head.
“See you later, B,” Rook said, sliding out of the backseat.
She rolled down her window. “Hey, Vail’s birthday is coming up. We should do something for her.”
“Yeah, we should,” he said, leaning against the vehicle. “I’ll start thinking of ideas.”
“Me too,” she replied excitedly. “See ya!”
We watched him run into the building, and then I pulled away from the curb and headed toward Bayler’s place. Reaching over the console, I grabbed her hand and linked my fingers with hers, and for a second, I prayed she didn’t pull away. When she curled her fingers around mine tightly, smiling as she watched the scenery go by, I released the breath I’d been holding.
Thank fuck, I thought. I couldn’t handle these guidelines and rules with her anymore.
We were no longer Bigs for the day. With our Littles back in their homes, we could go back to being us—even though we weren’t an us. We weren’t a couple, but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t imagined us as one. I liked to think of us together because just holding her hand like this made me feel things I’d never felt before. I’d spent all afternoon with her in a bikini; I was dying to just touch her. She terrified and excited me all at the same time. But fuck, never in my entire life had I felt as alive as I did when I was spending time with her, being inside of her and giving and receiving the best pleasure I’d ever experienced.
She had me by the balls, and she was easily working her way up to my heart.
When we got to her place, I killed the engine and jumped out of the car to open her door before she could. She smiled up at me kindly and started to thank me for the day, but I stopped her by putting a hand on her back and leading her up to her home.
“You’re walking me to my door?” she asked incredulously.
“Damn right I am,” I said, pulling her out of the elevator.
Holding hands, we walked down the hall to her door, and then I hauled her up against the wall and covered her mouth with mine. She dropped her bag and wrapped her arms around my neck, kissing me back with the same heated vigor as my tongue slipped inside and teased a soft, lusty moan out of her, causing all the blood in my body to rush into my dick. It’d been way too damn long since I last kissed her, since I felt her sexy body melt against mine. Infatuation pumped through us as our lips ravaged one another over and over again, hands cleverly grappling with clothes that were just in our fucking way. She had a mouth I could feast on for the rest of my days, tasting sweet like vanilla and sugar but moving and biting, sucking and tugging, licking and ravishing like the impatient, naughty lover she was. I loved her insatiability. I wanted to bottle it up and serve it at my clubs so everyone could experience true pleasure.
It was this.
It was her.
It was us.
Breaking away for air, I leaned against her forehead, gasping, and she held on to my hips for balance.
“What was that for?” she asked breathlessly.
I smiled and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. “That was just me being nice.”
Chapter Thirteen
Fourth of July weekend was upon us, and I was set to spend three days with my friends and siblings. But I’d be lying if I said I actually wanted to be here. The Hamptons were beautiful and the beach was relaxing, but I’d rather be back in the city spending a weekend in bed with Fletcher, like we’d been doing for the past month. We probably wouldn’t even be able to look at each other for too long, let alone sneak around to spend time together without the gang suspecting something. We’d had a talk about staying away from each other this weekend, but I had a gut feeling that it wasn’t going to last, even if I was the one who thought it was best. None of the rules applied anymore where Fletcher was concerned.
“Okay, so the couples will room together, of course,” Tessa said, smiling at Harper and Elly. “I have each of you in one of the rooms here on the first floor.”
We’d just arrived at Fletcher’s beach house, and Tessa was assigning us to our rooms.
“Fletcher will get the master bedroom since this is his place,” she continued, looking at her notes. “Paige and I will share one of the rooms on the second floor, Bayler will get the other, and Cash and Justin will bunk together in the third floor loft.”
Cash raised his hand. “Why can’t I share a bed with Bayler?”
The gang rolled their eyes at him.
“You and Justin won’t actually have to share a bed. There’s a bed in the loft and a couch that pulls out into a bed.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” Cash said.
Tessa groaned and then smiled at me. “I’m sure Bayler doesn’t want to share with you, Cash.”
“And you think I do?” Justin asked, laughing. “God knows what he’ll bring back this weekend.”
“Hey,” Cash said, feigning offense. “You just wait, Jameson. It’s probably been months since you last got any.” He walked over and put his arm around Justin’s shoulders. “You’ll be thanking me by the end of the weekend.”
“Doubt it,” Justin muttered, grabbing his bags.
“Okay!” Tessa said cheerfully. “Let’s go get unpacked, and then we can meet back up on the beach.”
Everyone took off to their assigned rooms, and since Fletcher gave me a tour when we were here with our Littles, I knew which room was mine. There was a room on the second level with a huge bed and three large windows that faced the beach. With sea-foam green walls, beautiful hardwood floors and ivory bedding a girl could get lost in, the room appeared so soft and peaceful: the way each room of Fletcher’s beach house felt.
Entering the room, I threw my bag on the bed and sat down on the plush comforter. I’d dreamed about this room after visiting a few weekends ago. I imagined waking up from an afternoon nap, with the sunlight peeking through the ivory curtains, reminding me to get out of bed and soak up some fun. And I planned on doing just that this weekend.
I opened my bag and pulled out the skimpy red bikini I brought along. It had classic halter ties with three gold beads in between my breasts and cheeky, low-rise bikini bottoms with five string bands on the side with the same gold beads. I tended to have swimsuits for every occasion, depending on my audience. This suit covered everything but showed way more boobs and ass than the suit I wore when I was here with Vail and Rook. This suit was not suitable for children.
Changing out of my clothes and into my bikini, I grabbed a towel and tanning lotion and headed to the beach, where I found Tessa already laying out. Her bikini was light blue and strapless with fringe on the bandeau paired with simple bikini bottoms. She had sunglasses on and her tablet in hand.
“Hey!” she exclaimed, waving me over. “I love your suit!”
“Thanks,” I said, taking the lounger next to hers. “Yours is cute, too.”
I covered the chair with my towel and angled the back just right and then started applying lotion. During the summer, I never burned, so I opted for a tanning lotion with SPF that would save me from the sun’s harmful rays and help my summer glow.
“Aw,” Tessa said, turning her head around. “Here comes Elly and Harper! Look how cute she looks with her baby bump showing!”
I turned to see Harper and Elly walking down the steps to the beach. Cute wasn’t exactly the word I thought of when I saw her belly on full display. Harper wore a purple asymmetrical bikini top that went over her right shoulder. Her matching low-rise bottoms showed off her bump and she sported a purple sun hat to match. And just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, Paige came out of the house wearing a black one
piece. A fucking one piece! The girl had a smaller waist than I did and killer boobs, yet she had everything completely covered up. And did I mention her milky skin color? Now was not the time for her to be covering up.
“Hey, girls,” Elly said, as they joined us on the loungers. She looked hot and sporty in her navy haltered bikini with its festive red and white striped belt along her bottoms. Paige took the seat next to me with Elly and Harper taking the two next to hers.
Even with my sunglasses on, I squinted to look up at Paige. “Why the hell are you wearing a one piece?”
She looked around at all of us in our bikinis. Hell, even Harper was in a bikini. “I’ll have you all know, one pieces are coming back.”
“Well, the 80s called and they want that one back,” I said, shaking my head. “It doesn’t even have any cute cutouts, and I feel like I should have cataract sunglasses on just to look at you. How are you supposed to tan wearing that?”
“Bayler,” Harper peeved. “Would you stop?”
“Oh, don’t even get me started on you,” I teased, pointing to her belly. “It looks like you ate a beach ball.”
Elly and Tessa laughed while Harper rubbed her hand over her bump and smiled down at it. “Maverick thinks I look hot.”
“Of course, he does. That’s his baby in there,” I said, laughing. “Maybe tomorrow Paige will let you borrow one of her one-pieces so we don’t have to look at your protruding belly button. I swear, if I see a hand or a foot pushing up against your belly, I’m going to puke.”
Elly’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You can actually see the baby’s hands and feet?”
“It’s actually pretty cute,” she insisted, as she attempted to sit down carefully.
“Harper!” Maverick said, running down the steps to her in nothing but a pair of black swim trunks. “Be careful, baby.” He held her hands as she lowered herself into the chair.
Placing her hands on his cheeks, she pulled him down for a quick kiss. “You’re the sweetest.”
“Just watching out for my girls,” he said, smiling back at her as he placed his hand on her bump. Sitting back on his haunches, he turned his attention to the rest of us. “We’re going to set up the badminton net and get a tournament going. Do any of you want in?”
“Sure!” Elly and I said in unison.
“All right. We’ll let you know when it’s your turn.” He stood, pulling his shades back over his eyes and then started to walk away when he called over his shoulder, “Happy sunbathing, girls!”
“Love you!” Harper shouted back.
“Love you, too!”
“Ugh,” I muttered quietly, “they’re so sickening sometimes.”
“Tell me about it,” Tessa whispered, laying her tablet down. She adjusted her lounger and then flipped onto her stomach and unhooked her bandeau. “I gotta get my back first.”
“I think I’ll do the same.” I adjusted everything, turned onto my front and then untied the strings to my top to avoid any ugly tan lines.
Tessa set her tablet in front of her and went back to reading while I folded my arms in front of me and rested my chin on my hands. I watched as the guys hauled out all of the badminton equipment. Fletcher and Cash dropped the posts for the nets and came sauntering over to us. I took the moment to take Fletch in. He was in a pair of navy and light blue swim trunks that hung low on his hips, providing an excellent view of his perfectly cut obliques and that happy trail of hair that disappeared into his shorts. His dark, sandy hair was slicked back, and aviator sunglasses covered his eyes. Unlike the other guys, he was the only one who didn’t have any tattoos, and I liked that about him. I liked that everything about him was clean cut but that he still had a bad boy presence about him by the way his strong, muscular body moved with confidence and ease, almost as if he was on a mission to seduce the fuck out of women everywhere.
Mission completed.
“Hello, ladies,” Fletcher said, rubbing his hands together. “Anyone need some help applying sunscreen?”
“Yeah, we’ve come to assist,” Cash said, sitting on the edge of Paige’s chair.
“We’ve got it all taken care of,” Paige replied.
“Really?” Fletcher asked. He walked over and squatted in front of me, wearing his sexy smirk. He lifted his glasses, almost as if he knew his baby blues were my undoing. “Bayler,” he said, in a deep voice, “would you like me to rub some lotion on your back?”
God, yes, I thought, but instead I glared back at him and said, “No, thanks. I’m good.”
“Shame,” he muttered softly to himself.
“You know, what you guys could do is bring us some drinks,” Tessa said, in a flirty, upbeat voice. “Cash, you already know what we all drink.”
“All right,” he said. “Everyone’s usual and a bottled water for Harper?”
“Just a water for me,” Elly replied. “It’s too early for me to start drinking.”
“Yeah, I better hold off, too,” Paige said.
“Well, it’s not too early for me,” Tessa announced proudly.
“Me either!” I exclaimed, smiling over at her.
Cash left to get our drinks while Fletcher gave each of us a once-over as he stood up. “Well, if any of you—with the exception of Elly and Harper, whose men would kill me—need sunscreen reapplied, don’t hesitate to ask.” We busted into laughter at his words, and Paige shooed him away.
“Your loss, ladies!”
I watched him jog back over to where the guys had the net set up and ready to go. He looked so good, barefoot and shirtless on the beach. The lines and muscles of his back moved with each step, emphasizing his fit body and calling to mind just how in touch I was with said body. I knew how those muscles felt underneath my hands during sex, how they moved with each thrust, what it felt like to run my fingers along those lines as he drifted off to sleep afterward. I hated how these thoughts invaded my mind during times when I couldn’t have my way with him. If they didn’t turn me on so much, I’d try harder to avoid them.
Thankfully, Cash came back with our drinks, causing all thoughts of Fletcher to disappear, and then took his spot on the badminton court.
“Oh, my, God,” Tessa said, slapping me on the arm. “Abs at nine o’clock.”
I turned my head to the left and saw a tall, dark-haired guy running our way to grab the soccer ball that passed him. “Holy shit.”
“Yeah, you can say that again.”
“Holy shit,” I repeated. He had a slim waist and smaller build than Fletcher, but his abs rippled across his stomach as he ran. His swim trunks hung so low on him they looked like they could fall off at any minute.
When he got to the ball, he caught us staring and winked as he picked it up. “Sorry, ladies,” he said, in a British accent that instantly turned me off. “Our game of football got a wee bit out of hand.”
“It’s okay,” Tessa said coyly.
He smiled at her, and I could practically see her melt as his eyes ran over her body. “You’re more than welcome to join us.”
She wrinkled her nose and smiled. “I’m not much of a soccer player.”
“All right.” He laughed and twirled the ball in his arms. “Well, have a good one.”
“You too,” she said.
And then he ran back to his lads.
Tessa looked over at me wearing the biggest grin. “Did you hear his accent? He’s British, and he sounds so hot! How many Brits come to the Hamptons for the Fourth of July! This isn’t even their holiday!”
I laughed, shaking my head. “I’m sorry, but his accent totally made him less hot in my book.”
“What?!” she asked, shock evident in her voice. “Are you kidding me? Every red-blooded American woman loves a man with a British accent!”
“Not me,” I announced, raising my hand. “It’s nothing against the Brits; I’m just not into them.”
“There’s something wrong with you,” she said, turning back to her tablet.
A loud holler from one our g
uys pulled my attention back to them, the good ol’ American boys, and I saw Fletcher arguing with Maverick about the badminton match. Just seeing him get all worked up over something as simple as a badminton game and hearing that fire in his voice had all my girly parts tingling.
There’s definitely nothing wrong with me.
Whatever they were arguing about was soon settled, after Maverick finally gave in to whatever Fletcher said. He looked triumphant as he spun the racket in his hands and walked back to his place in the sand to serve. He caught me watching and nodded his head slightly in acknowledgement. I mentally chastised myself for feeling the rush of blood to my cheeks and hoping this wasn’t the only interaction we’d have all weekend.
“What about you, Bayler?”
“What?” I asked, pulling my mind out of the gutter and into the conversation the girls were having.
“What are you wearing tonight?” Elly asked. “We always go out on our first night here to eat and then go to this really fun bar called The Levee. It’s kind of like Judge’s, but there’s a dance floor and it’s busier during the holiday weekend.”
“Oh, I brought a short, white dress and some sandals.”
“Cute.”
“So, what else do you guys normally do this weekend?” Harper asked. She had her sketchpad propped up against her bump and her pencil in hand, drawing away. She’d told me she was going to step back from designing since the baby was coming, but that didn’t look like the case now.
“Tomorrow, since it’s the Fourth, we’ll have a cookout here. The guys will probably surf—”
Fletcher surfs?
“And we’ll swim, eat and drink some more and then watch the fireworks go off and light some of our own,” Elly said.
“Please tell me there’s a fire involved in there somewhere,” Harper said, looking up from her pad. “Baby Jones has been craving s’mores, and Maverick promised me.”
Tessa laughed. “Of course.”
“Fletcher has wood in the garage for the fire pit,” Elly explained.
“The guys surf?” I asked, still stuck on the idea of Fletcher surfing.