by Claire Adams
I let my eyes move out toward the sunset and let out a sigh. "Man, this place is almost majestic."
"I agree, but the thought of an alligator moving through the water around us kind of leaves me worried that some other horny idiots will come out here to skinny dip and not get so lucky as we did." She turned toward me, and I reached out and brushed my fingers by the side of her cheek.
"Are we horny idiots?" I asked as a smirk lifted my lips.
"I am. I'm not sure about you." She leaned in closer and kissed me, stealing my breath and sucking the humor from the moment. Passion rolled through me as I pulled her into my lap and ran my hands over her back and down her legs as I licked and sucked at her mouth.
She moaned softly and turned to straddle me. "Let's go back to the house. I don't want anyone coming up on us while we're not watching."
"You should have thought about that before you straddled me." I brushed my fingers over her mound and brought her in for another long string of kisses as I petted her.
The lights flashed behind me, and I jumped, laughing as the cops passing back by us laughed, too.
"Assholes," I mumbled with a smile on my lips and helped her move off my lap.
"Nope. Just horny idiots like us." She wagged her eyebrows and moved over to take the driver's seat. "I'm driving, so hold on."
*
She wasn't kidding about holding on.
I saw my life flash before my eyes a few times on the way back to the cabin with the crazy girl driving. She seemed to be enjoying herself, and there was no way in hell I was showing any more insecurities for a while. I gripped the side of the boat like it had the power to save me should we flip over.
"There. No big deal, right?" She smiled as we pulled up to the dock.
"Yeah, you're not allowed to drive anymore." I tied the boat up and pulled myself onto the dock before offering her a hand.
"What? That was fun." She pulled herself up and wrapped her arms around me. "You seemed to like the thought of action and adventure. I was just giving us a thrill."
"On T.V." I kissed her nose and turned, taking her hand and walking us across the street. "You wanna go into town and grab something to eat or see what the guys are up to and make a quick sandwich?"
She glanced down at her watch and let out a cute little yawn. "Let's just make a sandwich and go snuggle in your bed."
"You mean have wild sex that leaves us both lusting for more, right?"
"Is that what we're telling our friends?" She gave me a cocky smirk and walked up the stairs just in front of me.
I popped her butt and laughed. "We can, but I was half serious."
"Your lust knows no bounds, does it?" She paused at the door and glanced over her shoulder, stealing my heart with her beauty.
"With you? Fuck no." I reached around her, brushing my arm by her breasts and opening the door. "Behave in here. I don't want anyone looking your way. I'd hate to kick a man's ass tonight. Especially a friend."
"Kick whose ass?" Derek glanced over his shoulder as he sat at the kitchen table to our right. They guys were playing dominoes and had at least three empty beer bottles sitting beside each of them.
"Your ass." I wrapped my arm around Cora's shoulders as we moved up beside the table. "Did you guys eat anything?"
"Yeah." Clay glanced up and winked at Cora. "There's a couple of burgers on the stove. Help yourselves."
"And then, get in here and help me whoop these idiots at their own game." Daniel pulled the toothpick from his mouth and smiled. "Bring Cora, too. The more of us playing, the better odds of me winning."
"That's ‘cause you're a chump." Derek laughed. "Take a few risks and you'll win. Shit. How many times have we told you this?"
"You've been teaching him our trade secrets for winning?" I asked and tugged Cora into the kitchen.
"You win because you cheat," Clay called after me.
"Lies. All lies." I pulled the buns from the cabinet above our heads. "Get the mustard and cheese out of the fridge, baby. We'll make these burgers and then head to my bedroom."
"I wanna play dominoes. Can you teach me how you guys do it?" She glanced back toward the table as the guys let out a loud holler and someone slammed their dominoes down.
"Hell yeah, I can." I worked on my burger and watched her out of the corner of my eye as my chest filled with pride. She was the whole deal: the perfect woman as far as I was concerned. It was scary to think that I had something so close to perfection in my grasp, and yet there was a high chance that I was going to fuck it up.
She took a big bite of her burger and nodded toward the fridge. "There was beer in there. Grab two and come in here with me. I want to watch the game for a few rounds and then I can jump in if the guys will let me."
"Oh, they'll let you." I smirked and grabbed the beers. "They think you're going to be an easy target, so get ready. They might be gentleman on the lake, but around a game of bones? Fucking forget it."
She laughed and turned to walk back into the dining room. "You guys mind if I watch and then join in?"
I rolled my eyes as I sat down beside her. All of them were chattering loudly about her playing and them wanting to help her learn the game.
"We're not playing for money, so stop offering up your virginity. Idiots." I took a big bite of my burger and smirked at Clay who rolled his eyes at me.
"You're just pissy because you lost the last three games." He gave me a mischievous look.
Cora glanced over at me, her eyebrow lifted. "You lost to these guys?"
"Yeah, he did." Derek snorted before his smile faded. "Wait...these guys?"
Cora laughed and moved her burger out of her way. "Never mind me watching you. Deal me a hand. I think I can do this. Shouldn't be too hard to take you guys out and teach you a few lessons while I'm doing it."
My cock hardened at her words—and even more so at her confidence.
"Oh hell no, she didn't." Derek pulled the dominoes back over toward him and looked my way. "You in, Brody?"
"Nope. I want to eat and watch my girl school you bastards." I shrugged and took another bite as Cora's hand moved up my thigh and squeezed my dick.
"Watch and learn." She smiled, and I almost thought to warn her. My group of friends had been playing for years together. There was no way she was going to win.
"Okay, baby. I'm looking forward to it." I glanced over at Clay and mouthed for him to go easy on her.
He snorted, and I knew we were in for a really good time—or a serious ass battle. I leaned back and let things progress as they would.
It was three hours later and two games down, and Cora had not only beaten all my boys, but forced each of them to pony up the twenty dollars they'd each bet against her before the start of the second round.
I laughed so hard that my sides hurt as they drug themselves down the hall and proclaimed her as queen of the table.
She stood and turned to me as I finished my beer. "Alright. Queen of the Table wants King of the Bedroom to make the night complete."
I nodded and reached for her. "What my queen wants, she gets."
Chapter 31
Cora
The time for me to leave was getting closer and closer. I hated the thought of heading back home without my friends. It almost felt like doing so would be the end of the summer affair Brody and I had started. While I knew we could make things work after getting back to life, I didn't know if it was the best answer for either of us. He had dreams and ambitions, and I did, too.
I let my thoughts go and enjoyed the next few days with him, playing on the lake and taking long walks through the city streets together. We promised each other that we would watch a chick-flick a day for fun, and so far we'd gotten through three of his top five.
After a long day of hanging out at the island with our friends, we made our way back to his place and made hot dogs before settling down on the couch together.
"Are you excited about the casework next week? I mean," he licked mustard off his fing
ers, "it has to be pretty cool to see that stuff from behind the red tape, you know?"
"I'm a little excited about it, but honestly, if you knew my parents, you'd understand why I'm dreading it all the same." I took a big bite of my hot dog and kept my attention on him.
"Overbearing?" He popped a few chips into his mouth.
"My dad is. My mom's just his puppet." I finished my hot dog and stood up. "I'm not sure why she lets him run all over her."
He followed me into the kitchen. "Because she loves him, maybe? People do weird shit for love. My mom stayed with my dad, even though he was a cheating bastard. Crazy. I couldn't do it, you know?"
His words drove a stake of fear down the center of me, but I worked hard to play it off. The last thing I needed to do was ruin our last few nights together thanks to my insecurities.
"Yeah. I couldn't do it, either." I reached for his plate and threw them both away. "How long are you guys renting this place?"
"Through August, but I'm serious about leaving a little early." He licked at his lips as he pulled me close to him. "Come get in the shower with me. I wanna touch you all over."
"Sounds like a good deal to me." I lifted to my toes and wrapped my arms around him, kissing him deeply and melted into the strong frame of his chest. He was everything I'd dreamt a man to be, and yet my fears trapped me in an odd state of mind. His sister was a cheater, and so was his dad. Hell, he was a self-proclaimed whore—or had been a few weeks before.
"Come on, baby." He moved back and surprised me by picking me up.
I laughed and smacked him in the chest. "I'm too heavy for this."
"Are you kidding me? I could bench press you with one arm tied behind my back. Blindfolded. While skating on ice in socks." He scoffed, and I snuggled against him, chuckling.
"You're so fucking cocky."
"You love it." He leaned down and brushed his lips by mine.
"Damn straight, I do." I wrapped my arms back around his neck as he lowered me to the floor and pulled my dress over my head. He sat down on the toilet and tugged me over to him, undoing my bra and leaning in to circle his tongue around my nipples one at a time as he squeezed me softly.
I slid my hands through his hair, scratching softly as I let out soft moans to spur him on. He was damn good at making sure I had no doubt to his ability to bring me pleasure by the bucket load.
He kissed my breasts a few times before tugging my panties down. His gaze moved up to mine as his expression hardened a little. "Tell me this isn't it for us, Cora. I want to come see you in the city. Are you getting a place or staying with your folks or what?"
It was odd to see someone like him showing insecurity. It turned me on beyond anything he could do physically to me.
"I'm getting a place with Emily at the end of the summer, but I'll be staying with my parents until then." I leaned down and kissed him a few times as his hands moved over my legs.
"I have a few friends in the city. We'll stay with them when I come to see you." He stood and tugged at his clothes as I turned and started the shower.
"Alright. We'll figure it out when we get there." I forced myself not to dive into why we should just enjoy ourselves and let things lay where they did when I left. Who knew if he would end up staying in Arizona? As badly as I wanted to think about the future with him in it, I wasn't willing to let myself dream that big just yet. Life had a way of taking everyone's attention off of the things that mattered most. I would leave, and he would most likely find someone else.
I stepped into the shower and moved up into the spray as he climbed in behind me.
"I hate how badly you make me wanna offer you the world." He slid his hands around my waist and up to cup my breasts as he pressed himself to my back.
I groaned in delight and pressed my hands to the wall in front of me, arching my back and rubbing my ass over his erection.
"I want to do the same, Brody, but you know that isn't how things work. Let's stop talking about it and enjoy our time together, instead." I glanced back at him, memorizing the way his gaze said that he coveted me. Goosebumps raced across my exposed skin as he reached out and took charge of me, forcing me to turn and lift my ass just a little.
"Alright, baby. Alright." He pressed into me and gripped my shoulder tightly as he fucked me long and hard.
I could barely stand by the time he pulled out, panting loudly. "I don't have a rubber. We'll finish it later."
I'd come three times over the course of our long shower. There was no way I was watching him go without release.
"No way." I turned and gripped the soap in my hands, rubbing a lather between my fingers, and I reached out to stroke him a few times.
He groaned as his teeth sunk into his lower lip and his hips jutted forward, forcing his thick cock to squeeze through my tight fingers.
"God, yeah." He gripped the side of my neck and moved back with me as I washed the soap off and replaced my hands with my mouth, taking him in as far as I could, and massaging the base of his cock where I couldn't reach.
His groans got louder and louder as I worked him thoroughly. His legs locked into place as he gripped my hair and glanced down.
"Move back, Cora. I'm right there, baby." The look of pain etched on his face tore at me.
"Come," I mumbled and moved back down, taking his thick head in my mouth and sucking as I pumped my fingers over his swollen flesh.
"Fuck," he cried out and thrusted farther into my mouth as he let himself go. I held on and took as much as I could, enjoying how much he seemed to lose himself in the moment.
I moved back and washed my face and hands as he pulled me closer and wrapped me in his arms from behind.
"Delicious." I glanced over my shoulder as he captured my face and leaned down for a long kiss.
"Jeez. I swear I'm falling in love with you. I've never in my life been with a woman that knew how to take such good care of me." He kissed me again as his words tore through my mind. I wanted to be that woman for a long time, but the warring emotions inside of me just wouldn't rest.
"Come on, let's go pile up in the bed and watch T.V." I turned off the water and got out, towel-drying quickly and sneaking down the hall to his room with a large white towel wrapped around me. I got into his bed as weariness washed over me.
I wasn't going to last much longer, but it was good. We'd had a lot of long nights and far too many full days out in the sun not to give in to the need to sleep, even though it felt too early to do it.
He closed the door and climbed up into the bed next to me, dropping down on his back and lifting his arm. "Come here and lay on my chest."
"Nowhere I'd rather be." I moved up and snuggled into his side as a yawn left me. "I'm not going to be able to keep my eyes open."
"Good. Sleep here with me tonight. I'll make you breakfast in the morning." He kissed the side of my head, and I couldn't seem to respond. He didn't need to make me breakfast. He was supposed to sneak out in the middle of the night and leave my heart whole and protected, but he wasn't going to do that.
Maybe I needed to?
*
I woke the next morning with far too much on my mind. The clock beside the bed read 4 a.m., and I knew that I needed to head back to the house to think things through for a while. I would be leaving in a few days, and my heart ached in my chest at the thought. I was working so hard to protect myself, and yet if I was being honest, at all, I knew I was without a leg to stand on anymore. I wasn't falling for Brody. I'd already fallen for him.
After slipping out of the bed quietly, I dressed and closed his door behind me. The house appeared to be quiet, and the deep sound of someone snoring caused my lip to lift in a smirk. The guys were all so cute in their own way, and having met them over the summer would most likely prove to be a life-long friendship with each of them.
I snuck down the hall and stopped as I reached the kitchen and realized there was someone standing by the window, looking out toward the lake.
"Clay?" I turned and s
miled as he glanced my way.
"Hey, Cora. How are you?" He walked over and gave me a friendly hug. "Did you leave the oaf in there asleep?"
"Yeah." My heart constricted as I glanced back down the hall. "Tell him that I needed to get back to my own bed?"
"Sure, but that's a weird message to leave him." He chuckled. "Is your bed so much better than his?"
"It's far safer." I laughed, but the sound fell flat. "Anyway, I should be going."
"Cora." Clay reached out and gripped my wrist likely. "You know that you don't have to care about him just because he cares about you. He's a big boy. If you don't want this thing between you-”
"What?" I smirked. "Why would you think that?"
"I don't." He crossed his arms over his chest. "But I can tell you that he does want it. He's not stopped talking about you since you guys bumped into each other at your cabin the first day."
A smile lifted my lips. "You know he had some hot little number pressed to my car, trying to convince her that the car was his?"
He smiled. "That sounds a lot like my old friend, but not so much like my new one."
"What's that mean?" I gripped my keys in my hand as emotion raged deep inside of me.
"It means that people can change. Just like you might be a great girl today, and tomorrow you could make one mistake that ruins everything. People make mistakes. All of us. You included."
I nodded. "I agree with that. I've made plenty of my own and certainly have suffered at the hands of a few mistakes made by others around me."
"Right, but on the same token, people who live their lives full of mistakes and bad choices can change in a heartbeat, too. It just takes the right person coming into their lives, and they want to be someone different. Not for themselves, but for that special someone. You know what I mean?"
Tears burned my eyes. "I think so. I'm just not sure that's me. I'm honestly terrified of letting someone like Brody into my heart. It wouldn't be a fling that I could just discard as summer fun, Clay. It would be so much more."