Love Me

by Quinn Ward

  “Anyway, Grady’s a good egg. He and I hung out a lot, and eventually—” I cut myself off, realizing how easily Brook could get me to share everything with him. “We were a lot alike for a long time. But eventually he met this awesome woman—possibly the only person who’d put up with him—and they moved in together. They got married last year and had their first kid, a little boy, a few months ago.”

  “And seeing his life made you want to change your own?”

  “Yeah, something like that.” I was grateful Brook didn’t pry about our relationship. Grady and I were hard to explain, and most people judged us, thinking we were depraved for sleeping with each other but also being free to sleep with others. Which was bullshit because we’d always given wide berth to anything that sounded like promises to one another. It was casual hookups without the awkward moments before and after.

  “And you think Sunset Beach is the place to start your transformation?” Brook reached out, taking my hand in his. He was offering me a lifeline, perhaps a silent wish for me to say yes.

  “You have to admit, everything’s falling into place to make that possible,” I told him, lifting his fingers to my mouth.

  8

  Brook

  I’ve spent my whole life doing what my family needs of me. Now, I want to live my own life. I know they’ll support me, but I’m still worried how they’ll cope once I’m gone. I don’t ever want them feeling like they’ve held me back because that’s not how I see it at all. -L

  I had to go home. I’d spent the holiday weekend at the inn, telling Grandpa it was because I wanted to be here in case anything went wrong. James’s obsession with overbooking wound up being a blessing in disguise that first night, when he frantically knocked on Dane’s door, telling him he had to move to the unfinished suite upstairs while I stalled the guests waiting to check in. That’d been a costly mistake on James’s part, because we had called ahead and picked up the tab for their dinner at Bomber’s, but it worked out in the end. Every night, I waited until the last guests checked in, forwarded the desk phone to my cell, and retreated to Dane’s room. Eventually this would be the manager’s suite, but that would require James hiring a manager. Until then, he and I would take turns being on call. Or not. As long as Dane was in town, I was more than happy to keep volunteering for night duty. The creepy smirk he gave me every afternoon before he took off said he didn’t believe I wasn’t sharing a bed with his nephew, but I wasn’t about to correct him.

  Dane was still insistent that we take things slow. There were more tender kisses, curling up together on the balcony, sometimes cuddling while we watched a movie, but we hadn’t progressed to anything past that. There was taking things slow, and then there was taking things at the pace of a snail creeping through molasses. Which was why he was in the bedroom while I slept on the sofa in the living area.

  In the early morning, listening to the waves crash along the shore as I watched the sunrise, it was easy to imagine this as our room. But that was a fantasy. Eventually Dane would be heading back to New York to help his dad, and even if Max moved to Sunset Beach, Dane hadn’t made any promises. It helped knowing he was considering a move, but I wasn’t holding my breath.

  The sound of Dane’s phone alarm screeching broke the morning serenity. I peered over the top of the couch, hoping to catch a glimpse of him in his lounge pants. The fact I knew he went commando and was proportionate all over made me feel like a perv, but only a little bit. If he was going to waltz around with his morning wood leading the way, I was going to look. After all, I had made it abundantly clear that I had needs.

  I swung my feet to the floor to start our morning pot of coffee. Up here, it was easy to latch on to the bliss of such domestic tasks. I could pretend we weren’t at my work, that he wasn’t conflicted because he owned part of the inn. We could simply be Brook and Dane, two men trying to dance their way around a budding relationship. And if he stuck around more than a few weeks, this would be the longest relationship I’d ever had.

  Dane surprised me when he snuck up behind me, pressing his lips against the nape of my neck. Someone woke up in a good mood. “Do you know what today is?”

  “Tuesday,” I answered as I continued the task of making coffee, a job made harder by the fact I had a man nearly a foot taller than me attached to my back.

  “Mmm-hmm,” he hummed against my neck. “That means opening weekend is over. I talked to James and convinced him you needed some time off. You’ve been working too hard lately. I thought we could pack a lunch and head to the other end of the island. Would you believe I’ve never been in the ocean?”

  I pressed my hands to his chest, leaning back so I could look up into his icy blue eyes. “How’s that even possible? You’ve been here a week and a half, and you grew up on the coast.”

  “No, I grew up within driving distance of the beach, but when I was a kid, there was never time for us to get away for the weekend. Dad was always busy trying to make something of his life, which meant I had a lot of time in front of the TV,” he clarified.

  The more Dane shared about his childhood, the more my heart ached for him. While I wouldn’t go back in time and wish my own life had been different, I did wish that for Dane. Maybe we wouldn’t have met if he hadn’t been through everything he had, but maybe we’d have met sooner too. Maybe he wouldn’t be so guarded and jaded. Maybe we’d be wrapped up in one another in bed instead of cautiously avoiding the chemistry I knew damn well we both felt.

  Too damned many maybes…

  I slid my hands across his neatly trimmed beard, cupping his cheeks. If Dane wasn’t going to make the first move, I would. Kissing him required me to pull his face down to my level, since I couldn’t reach even on tiptoes, but Dane offered little resistance. I closed my eyes seconds before our lips met, deeply inhaling the scent of him. I loved that he didn’t jump into the shower immediately upon waking; there was something insanely erotic about his natural, sleep-warmed scent, unmasked by bodywash or cologne. I sucked Dane’s bottom lip into my mouth, desperate to taste him. His lips parted, allowing me entrance. As our tongues tangled, his hands slid around my waist, and the tips of his fingers dipped beneath the waistband of my shorts.

  No way was I letting him pull back now. I arched forward, pressing my erection against his thigh. I needed this. Needed him. And for once in my life, I was going to take it. Moving meant breaking the kiss, something I couldn’t have been paid to do, so it appeared our first time was going to be right here. Hopefully he would eventually bend my ass over the counter. I reached between our bodies, shoved my hand down the front of his sleep pants, and curled my fingers around his dick. He groaned as he thrust into my grip. He was thick and long, and I couldn’t wait to feel him filling me. I dropped to my knees, wincing as I made contact with the granite tiles, and dragged his pants down until they pooled at his feet.

  “So sexy,” I praised him, running my hands down his solid, hairy thighs as I sucked the head of his dick into my mouth. My tongue flicked around the crown, paying extra attention to the places that made him cry out in ecstasy. He twisted his fingers into my hair but never shoved his cock deeper than I was ready to take. Never before had I been with someone who showed such restraint. I released him long enough to suck openmouthed kisses along the entire length of his shaft. “Want to lay you down and taste every inch of you.”

  Dane growled, long and low, before hitching a hand in my armpit and pulling me off the floor. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

  I practically jogged along behind him, not breaking the spell by reminding him my legs were shorter than his, and stopped short when we entered the bedroom. Dane turned to face me and lifted me into his arms. I hooked my ankles behind his back, grinding against his stomach as we continued making out. His cock bounced against my ass. It wasn’t close enough. He’d better have supplies stashed somewhere, because I was going to lose my mind if we got cockblocked at this stage.

  I shrieked when Dane tossed me onto the bed,
then spread my legs wide as he took my cock all the way into his throat. He shifted slightly, giving himself room to slide one thick finger down my taint until it pressed at my entrance. He never breached me, only gave me a hint of things to come.

  “Nightstand,” he mumbled around the head of my dick. I twisted my body the best I could and caught the drawer pull with one finger. When I found a bottle of lube and unopened box of condoms, I let out a loud sigh. Not only was I grateful that he was prepared, but it also confirmed that he wanted this as much as I did. I placed the supplies in his hand and flopped back as Dane swirled his tongue over the head of my cock while he fumbled around trying to open the box. He tossed one condom on the bed next to me and the cap on the lube snicked open. I tensed as cold gel made contact with my skin, moaned as he pressed a finger into my ass at an agonizingly slow pace. When I tried scooting down to force him deeper into my body, a broad forearm pressed down against my stomach.

  “No rush,” he reminded me. “Nowhere to be today.”

  “Except the beach,” I panted. How I could even think about leaving this bedroom was beyond me, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to walk for a week if we didn’t take a break at some point. Hell, just having him inside me once might be enough to make me walk with a noticeable just-fucked gait for a few days.

  “We’ll see.” He smirked against my thigh before sucking a nut into his mouth. No one had done that before. Why hadn’t anyone done this to me in the past? My previous boyfriends were obviously inept at the art of lovemaking, because holy shit! My hips bucked off the bed, and precum seeped from my cock. I wasn’t going to last another minute with the way Dane managed to work so many erogenous zones simultaneously. “Like that?”

  I fisted his hair in my hands, holding him away from my dick. “Need… a minute… too… close….”

  My ass clenched, mourning the loss of his finger as Dane shifted me on the bed so we could lie facing one another.

  “You’re not at all what I expected,” he whispered, dropping a tender kiss to the tip of my nose. “You sure you’re okay if I fuck you?”

  “More than,” I promised him, trailing my fingers through the coarse hair of his chest. He hissed when the tip of a finger grazed over his nipple. Arched his back off the bed when I flicked it with my nail. I couldn’t resist parroting his words from earlier. “Like that?”

  “You know I do,” he responded through gritted teeth. The bed jostled as Dane dug around, trying to find the condom. I reached for the lube and started fucking myself so we wouldn’t waste a single second once he suited up. Dane froze when he realized what I was doing. “That’s so fucking sexy. If I didn’t need you so much, I’d jack you while you fingered your ass until you came.”

  “Maybe next time,” I promised.

  His gaze never left my ass as he rolled the latex down his length. Instead of handing him the lube when he asked for it, I filled my hand and jerked him with slow, measured movements. With every second that ticked by, my anxiety grew. I wanted this, but the weight of the cock in my hand also terrified me. Dane was huge. Everywhere. And I couldn’t remember how long it’d been since I’d been with anyone; probably late last fall.

  Yeah, I was definitely going to be walking funny later. “I’m ready. Just… go slow.”

  “Don’t worry.” He pressed a kiss to my temple. “The last thing I want to do is hurt you.”

  Then don’t ever leave. I was saved from the humiliation of voicing that fear out loud when Dane shifted on top of me, bracing his weight on his forearm. He lifted my leg to rest on his other arm as he reached down to guide himself to my entrance. I hissed at the first aching stretch, arched my back as he continued easing into my body. Let out the breath I’d been holding when, finally, his hips pressed against my ass.

  “You good?”

  I nodded, unable to form words.

  Dane bent down to kiss me passionately while my body got used to the intrusion. At fucking last, Dane began to move. My body was overwhelmed with sensations: the taste of his tongue in my mouth, the sound of flesh slapping flesh as he fucked deeper into me, his fingers teasing the strands of my hair on the pillow. All I could do was close my eyes and savor every blessed moment.

  “Look at me, Brook. Want to… see… those eyes….”

  I struggled to comply. When I looked up at Dane, I smiled. The way he watched me, licking his lips as he appraised the body beneath him… cherished was the only word to describe how I felt. Dane’s pace quickened, growing frantic as he reached between our bodies, taking my cock in hand, stroking in time with his thrusts. I bucked my hips off the bed, digging my nails into Dane’s arms as he drilled me.

  “Not… gonna… last….” Each word was cut short by my inability to breathe while Dane had me folded in half, but I wasn’t about to complain. The angle was just right so his dick slid across my prostate without drilling it. “So good, Dane. Fuck. Just… like… that.”

  Dane crushed his lips to mine, trapping my dick between us. The abrasion of his treasure trail was mind-numbingly erotic. Before long, I planted my feet on the bed next to his legs, arched my back, and shouted as I came.

  “Goddammit, Brook,” Dane growled. “Fuckfuckfuckfuckuck.” He lost any sense of rhythm as he pounded into me, throwing his head back as he came. His dick throbbed through the aftershocks, until finally, he flopped onto the bed next to me, one heavy arm pinning me to the bed. “Need sleep after that.”

  I lifted his arm and tried to slide out from under him, but Dane held me tight. “I’m going to finish making you coffee.”

  He released me, cracking one eye open to look at me as he trailed a finger through the cum drying on my stomach. My dick twitched as he brought that finger to his lips and sucked it clean. “Definitely not what I expected. Sex and coffee is one hell of a way to wake up in the morning.”

  9

  Dane

  There’s a storm coming in. Not sure why I’m writing that in here, but I am. They say it’s supposed to be a big one. We’re supposed to evacuate, but how can I leave when this is my home? -C

  I snuck out of the suite early, while Brook was still curled deep beneath the quilt in my bed. Today was the day. James and I were going to lunch to discuss what we wanted to do with the inn. In my mind the only option was to keep the business in the family. While I’d never met my grandfather, I had to believe this was important to him if he’d entrusted me with its future.

  My sense of loyalty warred with twenty-five years of bitterness. I wanted to say fuck it, demand that we sell the place, and walk away out of spite, but by all accounts, my grandfather was a good man who was cowed by a controlling woman who came from a family that cared more about appearances than love. Could I really be the one to destroy the one thing he’d built for himself? That was the question I needed to answer before meeting with James.

  Long after Brook had fallen asleep, I’d tossed and turned in the bed. Watching him. When I imagined what it would be like to quit my job, stop traveling, and have this view every night, the idea held more merit than when Grady had suggested a change of scenery. Working next to Brook, taking my grandfather’s legacy and transforming it into our own was a great fantasy, but pulling that lever would require me to face two changes I had avoided at all costs: I’d have to admit I was tired of being alone, and I’d lose the anonymous shield created by city living.

  I had already learned Sunset Beach was the type of town where you couldn’t hide. Nearly every day a few locals trickled in to meet Phillip Montgomery’s long-lost grandson. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t choke me up to hear their stories about me. To hear what they knew about Dad and me, not from the papers, but from my grandfather. Originally, I’d been nervous about Dad relocating to someplace so quaint upon his release from prison, but the more I experienced life in this little town, the more I got the feeling my grandfather had hoped to have us back here. Whether or not he knew it’d be after his death was anyone’s guess. And that was the biggest tragedy of all: my dad had sp
ent my whole life trying to prove himself, prove his worth, prove he hadn’t thrown his life away by staying with my egg donor, and now, he would never gain the approval of the man who mattered most. Yes, Sunset Beach would be a good place for Dad, but that didn’t mean I’d thrive here too.

  These thoughts raced through my mind as the ocean washed over my bare feet in the early morning light. It felt wrong, walking out to the mailbox without Brook by my side, but this was a decision I needed to make without anyone’s influence. As I debated the pros and cons of uprooting my entire life, of altering my entire worldview, I couldn’t have Brook interrupting me, wanting to read notes from other visitors. Couldn’t look up and see his crystalline eyes watching me. Couldn’t hear him chuckling to himself when he was amused. Whether I stayed or left, I needed some sort of assurance I was doing it for me and not because the thought of breaking Brook’s heart when I left was too much to bear. Sure, he said he understood this was likely a passing fling, but whenever he looked at me, I felt like I mattered. Like he’d miss me when I left.

  It was still too dark to read when I reached the mailbox, so I settled onto the dune, stretched my legs out in front of me with my toes buried in sand so soft it reminded me of powdered sugar, and closed my eyes. Although I’d come out here to run through every possible scenario regarding the fate of the inn, I worked to clear my head.