3. Chapter 3
Chapter three
Aria
Ifollowed the guy in my car, my radio cranked as loud as my ears could stand it, and sang along to the surf song currently playing.
It kept me from thinking about what I was doing.
I didn’t even know his name. I’d just left my entire life—again—this morning, and I was already jumping in bed with another guy.
I could turn at the next street. Chances of running into him again, even on an island this small, were slim, right? Shit. I was second-guessing.
But I wanted him. I’d noticed him as soon as I sat down at the bar. Like not just because his size was hard to miss but because I’d been aware of him on some deeper level. It was…different. Almost like if I didn’t get my hands on him, even for a night, he’d be the one I never forgot.
I didn’t like wondering about those things, and I tried to avoid regret even though that hadn’t worked out so well for me lately. I’d made decisions today that I’d have to think about tomorrow, so I might as well add one more to the mix.
We’d left the town limits, and without the streetlights, the night sky lit up with a million twinkling lights and the lone arc from the lighthouse keeping watch over the sea.
It was breathtaking. I turned down the radio, then lowered my window.
The rhythmic sound of the surf reached me and immediately soothed my soul.
For the first time in forever, that restless part of me was quiet.
The Jeep in front of me, the green one I was following, turned down a single lane. The houses were small but not too close together like they were in Allie’s neighborhood. Right on the beach, too.
I pulled in behind him, parked, and got out of my car.
The back was piled high with bags. The trunk was full, too.
The only thing I’d left behind was a plant I’d bought that I couldn’t keep alive but couldn’t bring myself to toss out.
A shrink would say it was symbolic or something, and they’d probably be right. But tonight wasn’t for thinking.
I watched as the guy gracefully exited the Jeep. He exuded confidence and power, everything I wasn’t. Maybe that’s what drew me. A moth to a flame. A fly to a web. Fear spiked hot and fast before it disappeared, leaving only a single thought: He was going to consume me.
He walked over to where I stood. “Change your mind?”
“No.”
The word was barely out of my mouth when he swooped down and claimed my lips.
He backed me up against my car, his tongue invading my mouth.
The desire that slammed into me was a force all on its own.
I couldn’t think, I couldn’t breathe, and I sure as hell didn’t want it to end.
His large hand was warm and firm at my waist, anchoring me to him.
His fingertips pressed into me like he was holding back—measuring, controlled even now.
I didn’t want him to hold back. I wanted him as desperately needy as I was. A whimper escaped me as he ended the kiss, his hand slipping from my waist to take hold of mine and pull me after him toward the door.
“Inside. Now.” His voice was low. Gruff.
He keyed a code and pushed the door open, turning to me at the same time. “Brooks.”
“What?” I asked, my body throbbing with need.
“That’s the name I want to hear fall from your lips tonight.”
My pussy clenched at the thought, and I swallowed hard before whispering, “Aria.”
Brooks leaned in, bypassing my mouth and grazing along my throat. “I’ve wanted to do this since you whistled.”
“Whistled?” What was he talking about?
“At the bartender.” His firm lips found the outer shell of my ear and were doing things to it that made me crazy.
“Oh. Yeah.” I smiled. “Too much?”
“Just right.” Then he kissed me again, pushing me up against the door and sliding a knee between my legs.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and speared my fingers into his sun-bleached hair, holding him to me.
He pressed his thigh against my center, and I ground against it.
I was going to come right there on his leg.
Before it could take me over the edge, he pulled back and unsnapped my shorts and yanked them down. I stepped out of them, breathing hard as his mouth left mine and ripped the shirt off me. His lips zeroed in on my nipples that had been bare beneath the shirt.
“Fuck, I can’t wait,” he muttered.
I pushed at his board shorts, and his cock sprang free.
He nudged against my entrance, and I moaned, then hooked my legs around his hips.
With one smooth, controlled thrust, he entered me.
For a second, we stood there, our breaths harsh and mingling as he throbbed deep inside.
I felt him all over. Hell, I even felt him in my teeth.
My nerves were on fire. The orgasm built inside me again, stronger than before. It burned me up like a shooting star, soaring for a moment before plummeting back to earth. He was right behind me, thrusting hard and quick, and then he pulled out, his cum shooting onto my belly.
His forehead pressed against mine, both our breaths fast and harsh. Finally he said, “That was to take the edge off.”
“There’s more?” I huffed out a laugh.
“Definitely more.”
Brooks lifted his head and looked down at me. His face was flushed, his hair was a mess, and his gaze was dark and full of hunger but still focused, still watching every reaction like he was cataloging them.
“Shower,” he said.
“What?” My brain hadn’t found its way out of the lust fog yet, and I wondered if it was even possible when he was around.
“Shower with me.”
“Okay.”
He pulled out slowly, the suction releasing a slight pop in the quiet of the room.
Kicking his board shorts off the rest of the way, he reached for my hand, and I thought he’d lead me where he wanted to go.
Instead, he picked me up, and I let out a small squeak of surprise before settling against the soft white T-shirt he still wore.
Brooks walked down a short hallway that led to a bedroom. It was large and lit by moonlight through the unadorned sliding glass door. On the opposite side was a door that he walked through, flipping a switch. It buzzed, flickered, then took hold, casting a warm glow.
Setting me down on the countertop, he turned and opened the shower door. He twisted a handle, and an array of showerheads stuttered to life. Then he moved past me and set out two fluffy white towels.
Satisfied, Brooks returned and picked me up, carrying me into the shower. He didn’t just set me down; he slid me down his front, slowly and deliberately before framing his hands on my jaw and tipping my face up to his.
“You good?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I’m good.”
“If you want to stop—”
“I don’t want to just shower.”
He smiled, his hands sliding down my throat to my shoulders.
“Good. Me either.” Then he turned and picked up a bottle off the shelf.
Squirting some liquid into his palm, he soaped up his hands, then laid them on my shoulders.
He soaped up my body, one inch at a time, down my arms and across my back and up over my ribs.
Every place he touched, heat sparked, and I moaned as he massaged down my legs and lifted one foot at a time.
He leaned forward and placed a kiss on my pussy, and I thrust forward on a moan, the fire he’d been stoking with every touch flaring to life.
“You like this?”
“What?” I asked, looking down to where he sat on his knees in front of me. Water had plastered the hair to his head and glistened on the tanned muscle of his chest. My mouth dried at the sight.
“Do you like this?” He slid back up, his gaze on mine as his palms washed my belly and finally my breasts.
“Brooks,” I said, my body swaying toward him, “please.”
“Do you like this, Aria?” he asked again, his voice a little firmer.
I shook the water out of my eyes. “I-yes.” No one had ever asked me that before, and if it was possible, the question had turned me on more.
“Tell me what you want.”
“You inside me. Now.”
His laugh was low and strong. Like him. “Not yet.”
He took his time, working me under the hot water, watching me while his fingers moved between my legs. This time when I broke, it was different than before, not as hurried or hard but something deeper, stronger. Like he had marked me in some way.
Before I could think too much about it, he reached behind me, turned off the spray of water, and opened the door. I shivered as the cool air touched my skin. Brooks took my hand and helped me out, then moved to the counter, grabbed one of the towels, came back to me, and began to dry me off.
“I can do it,” I said, reaching for it.
Brooks pulled it out of my reach. “I’m sure you can. But tonight, I’m doing it.”
My hands dropped to my sides. “Okay.”
When he finished, he used the same towel on his body and then hung it up over the shower bar and said one word as he lifted me off the ground. “Bed.”
In seconds, I was lying across his soft sheets, Brooks’ body covering mine.
“I’m glad you walked into the Sandbar tonight,” he said before swooping down and kissing me.
Braced on a forearm to hold his weight, he moved his other hand down my body, teasing out goosebumps as his fingertips grazed the outside of my breast, down my side to massage my hip, then down to my thigh where he hooked his hand around it and pulled it wider.
The head of his cock settled against my entrance, and I moved, my body reaching for his.
His mouth left mine, and I sucked in air as he kissed his way down my throat to my breast. I arched against him, practically shoving my nipple into his mouth. Dozens of stars shot across the galaxy of my closed eyelids when his teeth grazed the sensitive bud.
I think I screamed his name, but I wasn’t sure, too consumed with the sensations flooding my body. He left my breast, continuing his journey down my belly and my hips. When he stopped, I cracked my eyes open and peered down at him.
Brooks was staring at my pussy. I watched as he inhaled deeply. “You smell so good.”
Then he spread my legs hard and fast before spearing his tongue inside me. I had been wet before, but now my juices flooded out, and he moaned against me, the vibration setting off an orgasm. I ground against him, and he sucked at my clit until the last wave rolled over me.
Brooks crawled over me and settled himself between my legs once again. His cock lay heavy against my sensitive folds. He leaned down and kissed me, his tongue slow-dancing with mine. I tasted myself on his tongue, and I was surprised that it didn’t turn me off.
He reached between us, his thumb grazed my clit, and then he was pushing his hard cock inside of me. Once he was seated, he began to thrust, his thumb returning to my clit to add a bit of pressure.
Another orgasm built inside of me, and I moved with him, hooking my ankles over his. He tensed then shuddered, pressing harder into me and sparking off my orgasm. He called my name as his hot cum spurted into me.
He lay on top of me, his weight holding me down. Normally I hated that, feeling like I was trapped, but right now, with our breaths sawing in and out in the quiet of the room, it felt comforting.
And that scared me more than the way he’d coaxed so many orgasms out of my body tonight. Or even the fact that we hadn’t used a condom.
Finally he rolled over, pulling me to his side. “I’m clean,” he said.
“Me too,” I whispered, “but I’m not on the pill.”
His hands flexed, and he sighed. “I can’t have children.”
Oh. There were so many questions, but none a one-night stand should be asking, so I bit my tongue and waited.
Brooks volunteered nothing more. His breathing evened out, and I knew he’d fallen asleep.
I slid out from under his arm, careful not to wake him. I found my clothes in the dark. At the bedroom door, I turned back to look at him. He was on his side, one arm thrown across the empty space I’d left. He looked younger when he was asleep.
I could stay. See what would happen. It had been less than twenty-four hours since I’d found that ring and run away from a relationship I’d been in for almost a year.
Brooks seemed like a good guy. Hell, a great guy.
And though he had reached me on a deeper level than any guy I’d ever been with, I was a mess.
I needed to get my shit together, and if I stayed until morning, I’d never do that.
Quietly I walked down the hall and let myself out the front door. As I drove away, I couldn’t help looking in the rearview mirror and wishing things could be different—and hating that the wishing felt already too close to wanting to stay.