by Addison Cole
Violet narrowed her eyes, and with a knowing smile aimed at Desiree, she said, “I’ve never heard it called that, but okay.”
Serena spit out her drink, spilling it all over herself and the table. “Sorry!”
“Oh no!” Desiree handed her a napkin.
Everyone began wiping up the table, except Drake, who reached over to wipe droplets of alcohol from her breastbone. His eyes were dark and full of desire, and she was sure everyone was onto them. She swatted his hand away.
“What did you mean, Violet? What’s wrong with taste testing?” Desiree huffed out a breath.
“She meant something dirty,” Mira explained, turning a questioning look to Serena—and then to Drake.
“Ohmygosh.” Serena sank back into her chair.
“I always feel like I’m two steps behind,” Desiree complained. “You keep changing code words. Can’t you just say sex?” Desiree asked.
“No!” Serena snapped. “We’re not having sex!” All eyes turned to her. “Great. Thanks, Violet.”
“I can say it, baby.” Rick nuzzled against Desiree’s cheek and said, “Let’s go home and have sex.”
Now Desiree was as red-cheeked as Serena felt.
“Geez.” Serena swiped at her clothes to keep from looking at their knowing stares. “I’m all wet.”
Laughter burst from Violet’s lips. “This is news to you? Because you’re not going to win any Academy Awards for that performance of innocence—”
“Violet!” Drake warned. “Come on, Supergirl. Time to get you out of those clothes.”
“Finally!” Violet lifted her glass in a toast and said, “Proceed with the long-awaited seduction!”
“Violet!” Desiree chastised.
“We are not having sex!” Serena insisted.
Drake shut Violet down with another harsh glare and hauled Serena against him.
“Stop. They already think I’m lying about sleeping with you!” she said in a harsh whisper.
Drake slid a serious gaze over their friends. With his arm protectively around Serena, he said, “Let me make this very clear: Serena and I are not sleeping together. We have never slept together.”
“Well, that’s technically not true,” Mira said. “You’ve fallen asleep on the beach together.”
“Aw, you guys are so cute,” Desiree said as she got up to hug Serena. “You should go home and change out of your wet clothes.”
Drake waggled his brows. Serena rolled her eyes as the others got up to hug her goodbye.
“I love you, sis. I’m going to miss you, so make sure you call me a lot,” Chloe said. Then she whispered, “And I want details!”
Serena groaned.
“Me too!” Emery said, pulling Serena into a fierce hug. “Have fun taste testing.”
“I’m never going to live tonight down, am I?” Serena asked as Mira hugged her.
“Probably not,” Mira agreed. “I don’t know what’s going on between you and my brother tonight, but rest assured, I do not want any details.”
“That’s good, because I don’t know what’s going on, either,” she confided. “I love you, and I’m going to miss you so much.”
“I have a feeling I’m going to be wiping Mira’s tears tomorrow morning when she wakes up and her bestie has moved to Boston.” Matt wrapped Serena in his arms. “Good luck. You’re going to make us all proud.”
“Darn right.” Rick smirked as he crushed Serena to him. “Don’t worry, Serena. I’ll wipe Drake’s tears tomorrow.”
Drake scowled as Dean moved in for a group hug, squishing Serena between him and Rick.
“All right, you two, that’s enough.” Drake tugged her out from between them and said for her ears only, “We’ve got to get out of here before I lose my mind.”
“I love you guys!” she said as Drake grabbed her purse. “Save my seat at the breakfast table on weekends!”
Their friends’ voices trailed after them as they left the bar. Drake held her closer with every step across the parking lot. She was sure he’d be all over her as soon as they reached the truck. She was so nervous as he helped her into the truck, she felt numb and a little dizzy. He reached across her lap for the seat belt, his chest brushing against hers as he buckled her in, which she appreciated because she wasn’t sure she could get her brain to work well enough to do it herself.
Watching her intently, he said, “You’d better stay on your side of the truck, or we might not make it to your place.”
He closed her door and went around to the driver’s side, while she tried to stop her world from spinning.
The drive to her cottage didn’t take long, but it felt like an eternity. Questions circled her brain like a carnival ride, as exhilarating as they were alarming. Why hadn’t he kissed her yet? Was this it? Was he having second thoughts and now he was back into doing the right thing? Would he even kiss her good night? Would he come inside at all? Did she want him to?
He parked in the driveway and came around to help her out. She took his hand as she stepped out of the truck, which she’d done too many times to count. On the nights he’d driven her home from outings with their friends, he always walked her up to her door, but tonight she was hyperaware of his tempting, strong body beside her, how tightly he held her hand, and how big that hand was.
She fished her keys from her purse, feeling the heat of his stare, and awkwardly unlocked the door. He moved her hair over her shoulder, as calm as a summer breeze, which made her even more nervous as she pushed the door open. She caught sight of the bracelet he’d given her, bringing back all of his naughty whispers.
He took her hand, drawing her against him on the porch. Her wet shirt pressed chillingly against her, but his warmth could have burned it right off. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. His approval-seeking gaze told her he was offering her an out. Her emotions sped and skidded. She’d imagined this moment so many times, had fantasized about all the things he’d done and said at the bar, but nothing compared to the real thing. Drake’s power of seduction was a hundred times stronger than she could have ever imagined.
He splayed his hand across her back, as he’d done when they’d danced, sending tiny shocks rippling through her. He kissed her cheek, and she closed her eyes, trying to calm her racing heart. A kiss on the cheek shouldn’t make her entire body plead for more, yet she was going up on her toes, clutching the front of his shirt, breathless and needy.
“How did we get here?” tumbled from her lips as he threaded his fingers into her hair and held on tight, searching her eyes.
He skimmed his lips over her jaw, slowing to press light kisses there, and said, “I don’t know.” He brushed his scruff along her cheek, abrading the tender skin, and nipped at her earlobe. Each touch of his slow seduction sent sensual sensations skittering through her.
“Do you want to be here?” he asked roughly, tightening his hold on her.
“Yes—”
Heat flared in his eyes, and he lowered his face toward hers, stopping short of kissing her and lingering there like the most sought-after treat, just out of reach, making her breathless and anxious.
“I’ve waited so long to kiss you,” he said in a low growl. He tugged her hair, angling her face beneath his, and slowly traced her lower lip with his tongue. “To taste you.”
He kissed the edges of her mouth, pressing his hand firmly on her lower back, his hard body temptingly insistent against her. She clung to him as his hot lips touched her neck, kissing and licking, taking his time as he revved her up one sinful second at a time. Just when her legs were ready to give out, his mouth covered the curve of her shoulder in a hard suck, and then he feasted on her sensitive skin, until she was a boneless, trembling mess.
“Kiss me,” she pleaded.
He drew back with a wolfish grin, and in the next breath he was lavishing her shoulder with more taunting openmouthed kisses and grazing his teeth over her skin, causing pleasure and pain to collide inside her. Never in her life had she been s
o turned on. She arched against him, needing more but not wanting him to stop his masterful seduction. She had no idea how her legs carried her, but they stumbled into the cottage, and he backed her up against the door, pinning her there with nothing more than his hungry eyes raking down the length of her with lethal calmness. She was breathing too hard, shaking from fingers to toes, every nerve ending already aflame as he visually devoured her. His gaze crawled north again, lingering on her chest.
He took hold of one end of the tie that laced up the center of her shirt, and his eyes found hers. “If you want to remain only friends, now’s the time to tell me, Supergirl.”
Was he nuts? She couldn’t speak right then if he’d held a gun to her head, so she began fumbling with the buttons on his shirt to convey her answer.
Without a word, he lifted her into his arms, guiding her legs around his waist, and finally, hungrily, crushed his mouth to hers in a penetrating kiss that resonated through her like a symphony. Just when she thought she would come apart from nothing more than this, he eased his efforts to the sweetest, tenderest kisses she’d ever experienced. He was like the most intense, passionate roller-coaster ride, taking her harder, more demanding, holding her in place with one hand buried in her hair. He continued his exquisite possession, devouring her fast and then slow, rough and then sweet, until her thoughts fragmented and she gave up trying to think at all.
The next thing she knew, he was on the move, carrying her to the bedroom. She could do little more than cling to him as they ate each other’s mouths, and when he lowered her to the bed, he went with her, never breaking their connection.
His hands cradled her head as he took their kisses to mind-numbing depths. His kisses were whole-body invasions, causing her heart to beat faster, her breathing to become shallow and then frantic, as she filled with desperation. She clawed at his back, tugging at his shirt with the need to feel his bare skin on hers. She was completely and utterly lost in a frenzy of lust and greed and something much more animalistic.
He reared up on his knees and stripped off his shirt. Her hands were drawn to his chest like metal to magnet, moving over his muscles, through his chest hair. How many times had she imagined doing exactly this? His fingers circled her wrists, and he kissed one palm and then the other, his eyes never leaving hers. His lips were soft and hot, and when he touched them to the underside of her wrist, she held her breath. He sealed his mouth over the sensitive skin, driving her out of her mind by sucking and licking, nipping and kissing all the way from the underside of her wrist to the crook of her elbow and back again. She never knew mere kisses could have this effect on her, but Drake didn’t merely do anything. He consumed. Claimed. Possessed.
“Drake,” she begged.
He continued kissing, all the way up her arm to her shoulder. Then he captured her mouth again. She gasped for breath, and he breathed air into her lungs.
“I’ve waited a lifetime for this. You’re gorgeous, Serena.”
He kissed her again, tender and languid. “I don’t want you to wake up tomorrow regretting a single thing we do.”
“I won’t,” she promised. “I could never regret this. I’ve waited forever to be with you, too.”
“And you’re leaving tomorrow,” he reminded her. “Embarking on an exciting new part of your life. I want you to be clearheaded when you start your new job, not distracted by me, or us, and wondering what if…”
She flopped onto her back and sighed. “Well, you already messed that up.”
He laughed and kissed her again. They both fell to the mattress smiling.
“You told me all the reasons you couldn’t be with me,” she said. “And now look where we are. You kind of stink at holding back.”
“Hey, I’ve restrained myself for years. I think I should be commended for my efforts.” He lay beside her, holding her hand, and said, “I couldn’t have held back more than I have tonight if my life depended on it.”
She grinned like a fool.
“I think you put some kind of weakening agent in my drink.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Promise me something. If you regret this in the morning, text me and let me know instead of disappearing and never talking to me again.”
“How could I not talk to you again? You’d leave a hole in my life, and that would stink. You won’t do that, will you? What if you regret it? Ohmygosh. What if you’re telling me this because you already regret it?”
“Stop,” he said with a smile.
“We need a code word,” she said hastily. “Delete. If either of us regrets this, we’ll text delete to the other, and then we’ll know that we can never think or talk about it again.”
“Yeah, that’ll work,” he said sarcastically. He touched his lips to hers and said, “You are all I’ll think about from this second on. Your intoxicating mouth…” His lips came coaxingly down over hers, taking her in another toe-curling kiss. “And don’t get me started on your body.”
Holy cow. He was crazy if he thought she’d regret this. She didn’t even know what this was, and she didn’t need a definition. It felt too right to question.
He kissed her and touched her, making her feel cherished, sexy, and oh so satisfied even without making love to her. She melted limply into the mattress, and he gazed down at her, his dark eyes holding her captive. A slow grin lifted his lips, and he kissed the edges of her mouth as if he simply wanted to remember the moment, to see her face. And holy cow, what that did to her hungry heart was overwhelming.
Sometime later, as she lay in a foggy state of bliss, she realized he’d given her pleasure but she’d done nothing for him. “Let me make you feel good.”
“You already have,” he said, showering her with more kisses. “No regrets, beautiful.”
He wrapped her in his strong arms, holding her as they kissed and then running his hand soothingly along her back as they lay together. Most men couldn’t wait to get in a woman’s pants, and here he was, content with pleasuring her, holding her.
“Okay, sweetheart,” he said softly. “I better go before I forget why we stopped.”
She clung to him, knowing he was smart to give her a chance to think before they went further and wishing he could be careless just this once. That he’d take the decision out of her hands, as he had when he’d held back. But now she understood his reasoning well enough to realize that this decision was too important for either of them to give in.
He covered her with the blanket and kissed her tenderly. “Get some sleep.”
She lay on her side, watching him put on his shirt and wishing they’d been there four years ago. Was she making a mistake moving away? Could this be the beginning and the end of everything she’d ever wanted?
Weren’t those the exact questions, the reasons, he’d held back for all this time? The reason they hadn’t made love tonight?
“You’re going to outshine everyone in Boston, Supergirl. I can’t wait to hear all about it. I’ll come by in the morning to help you load up your car.”
“No. Please don’t.” She swallowed past the lump in her throat caused by the disappointment in his eyes. “I stink at goodbyes. You know I’ll cry, and I don’t want that. Just let me pretend it’s any other day and I’m going on a road trip.”
“That feels wrong on so many levels.” He sank down to the edge of the bed and took her hand in his.
“It’s not. It’s the rightest thing you can do.”
He sighed and traced the stars on her bracelet.
“I love my bracelet, and I love that every time I wear it I’ll think of tonight. Thank you.” She wanted to ask him what tonight meant. How would they act when they saw each other again? But part of her knew that too many questions might bring whatever this was between them to a screeching halt.
“I’ll lock up when I leave.” He touched his lips to hers and whispered, “Nothing could ever delete tonight from my memory banks. Good night, Supergirl.”
Chapter Eight
DRAKE AWOKE TO the
sound of his cell phone vibrating on the nightstand. He bolted upright, disoriented after being awake for most of the night. He’d been in a state of euphoria when he’d left Serena’s cottage, having finally let her feel his emotions instead of hiding them. But when he’d gotten home, he’d been swamped with worry. He’d done the exact thing he’d sworn he wouldn’t do. He’d been this close to making love to her. Even without that next level of intimacy, he’d crossed every line he’d ever drawn between them—and despite his worries, he didn’t regret a second of it.
But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t worry like crazy.
He snagged his phone, hoping not to see the word delete. Relief swept through him as he read Serena’s message. Thanks for the best night of my life. And for making me more confused. xoxox. She added a smiling emoji.
“Best night, huh? Nice to know I’m not alone in that.” Before he could type a response, another message popped up. And don’t you DARE text DELETE or I’ll come back and punch you in your wonderful mouth! Love you.
A kissing emoji popped up.
Another message bubble appeared. I meant I love you like I always say to you and Rick and Dean. Not I love you like a boyfriend.
He sat up on the edge of the bed, smiling as another message came through. That sounds bad. You know what I mean. See? You definitely confused me! Goodbye! See you this weekend to work on the shop.
“What have I done to you, Supergirl?” he mumbled as he typed a reply. So…you like my mouth, huh? Love you too, Supergirl.
Drake pulled on his running clothes and texted Rick. Ready to run?
Rick’s response was immediate. We thought you blew us off. Hurry your butt up.
A brisk breeze, sunshine, and the sound of the bay kissing the shore were welcome companions as they ran down the beach. Drake looked forward to their morning runs, even in the winter, when the bitter cold brought them to the streets rather than the beach. Running took all the starch out of him before work each day, and catching up with the guys was always a nice way to start the day. They knew when to give each other space and when to push—emotionally and physically. Drake caught up to Rick and Dean about half a mile down the beach.