Scorched Beats – By Arell Rivers #5
My control snaps. I walk around to her back, then slide the zipper of her skirt down to the top of her round ass.
She slips the skirt off her hips as I return to face her.
Now only a slip of pink lace separates us.
Gently, I lower her to the bed, position her in its center, and take a mental photograph of a moment I never thought would happen.
She taps the bed, and I join her side. I need this one final assurance. “Are you ready for this?”
“Oh, Ashton.” She licks her lips. “Before today, I would’ve told anyone they were crazy if they suggested we’d end up here. Now, though, I can’t imagine a single person I want more.” Her tongue traces the cleft in my chin and I’m a goner.
My hands move to her hips, and I take off her panties, managing not to show her my shaking hands.
I stroke her left thigh, then her right, delighted when she opens them for me.
My lips trail kisses from her torso downward, while my fingers meet me in her wet center.
I smirk. “I’ll take this to mean you’re excited to be with me? ”
“More than you know.”
I skim over her clit, causing her hips to wiggle. I need more. I need her out of her mind, knowing it’s pleasure only I can bring her. My mouth touches her clit as I insert my fingers into her heat.
“Yes! Yes!”
Her exclamation spurs me on. My tongue circles her bud, and I pay attention to how her body reacts to my every swipe. When she grapples against the sheets, I unleash the full power of my attention on her and am rewarded when her core clenches and she cries out my name.
I don’t let up until she goes limp. Then, I pick up my jeans from the floor, grab some condoms from my wallet, and place them on the side table. Settling in next to her, I watch as her brown-eyed gaze comes back into focus.
“Wow.”
I smooth her hair from her face. “We’re only getting started.” Leaning over her, we kiss again.
This time, her hand skims down my body until she grips my hard cock. “I bet he would like to get into the action.”
God, yes. “I agree.” Turning over, I grab a packet and pass the condom to her. “Do the honors?”
“Without a doubt.” She takes the condom from me and rolls it over my cock, squeezing the base. “Now we’re ready.”
“Not quite,” I correct. Instead of jumping her, I take my time worshipping her mouth and breasts and every part of her body. Only when she’s writhing underneath me do I position myself at her entrance. “ Now we’re ready.”
“Please.”
I kiss her once more and push forward, allowing her to get used to me inch by slow inch. Her walls close around me, welcoming me, and the feeling is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. “You feel so good.”
“So do you,” she replies, her hands on my ass, trying to pull me in even deeper.
When I’m seated as far as humanly possible, we stare into each other’s eyes.
Her pupils are blown out and her breaths come in rapid pants.
I’m not faring any better, judging from the sweat covering my body.
I give her one experimental thrust, which is like the perfect sound mastered from my sound board. And it only gets better.
Our lips meet in a hungry kiss.
I circle my hips and she gasps.
Reaching down, I stroke her clit and her back arches.
One more thrust and she detonates around me. I watch her fly over the cliff for a second before my balls contract and I come inside her in an explosion of the best notes I’ve ever mixed.
After we’ve both caught our breath, I carry her into the bathroom, where the shower hosts another amazing round between us. Back in the bed, we snuggle in each other’s arms.
“Wow,” she says. “That was something.”
I admit, “Something I’d like to do over and over for a long, long time.” No lie. If I could bring my college fantasy to life and keep her forever, I’d be a happy man. My only hope is she feels the same way.
She sighs. “If only.”
Buoyed by her response, I ask, “What’s keeping you here, besides your screenwriting classes and opportunities?” An idea forms, but I have to figure out if it’ll work before sharing it with her.
“I’d like to help the community rebuild.” She plays with my fingers. “LA is wonderful.”
I let her explanation sink in as my mind puzzles a way for us to be together. “Come here.” I pull her close and kiss her forehead. “Let’s get some sleep before we do this all over again.”
“I like the sound of that.” Her arms wrap around my middle, and she closes her eyes.
The next morning, after another very satisfying round of sex, we eat breakfast and she drives me out to LAX. With every mile, I’m more convinced my idea might work. Renata could travel with me on UC’s tour. And dare I dream? Perhaps even be mine ?
We pull up to the drop-off spot, get out of her car, and I place my hands on her shoulders. “I’ll be back out with UC before you know it for the concert. Until then, we’ll keep in touch, all right?”
“Of course.”
Her words agree with me, but her eyes hold a world of disappointment and resignation, which only serve to spur me on.
I give her another kiss—not goodbye but rather until we meet again—and spring out of her car.
When I reach the airport entrance, I turn to see her still waiting at the curb.
I blow her a kiss and wave, then make my way to the gate, my mind spinning.
This will work. I refuse to lose her a second time.
RENATA
I make it all the way to my Airbnb before tears flow over my cheeks. I only was looking for a bit of solace in my scorched life. Certainly not a forever love.
Love?
WTF am I thinking?
On a huff, I open my car door and slam it shut, then take the path to the front of my rental.
Back in college, I thought the sun rose and set on his brother.
His twin brother. Then Ryan cheated on me and nothing’s ever been the same.
Until Ashton steamrolled into my life and words like “possibilities” and “hope” returned to my vocabulary.
My only saving grace is I managed not to voice them to him.
Inside my Airbnb, I fill a mug with water and put it into the microwave. I need some herbal tea, stat. First, though, I need to call Hayden. I press the green button on my cell.
“Hey, Renata! How did things go with Ashton?”
“What possessed you to send him out here?”
She clears her throat. “What happened?”
He grew up all sexy and competent and skilled. He brought more passion into my life than I can ever recall. He was sweet and funny and nice . Oh so nice. “He’s Ryan’s brother.”
“Well, true, but since everyone raves about him, I’d say he got the better end of the gene pool.”
My eyes roll. Of course they rave about him. I fall back on the obvious. “He still resembles his twin.”
“An accident of birth.”
To be honest, he does look different from his fraternal twin.
His body’s filled out in all the right ways.
His hair isn’t cropped. He’s much more relaxed and down to earth.
No one’s ever loved me the way he did last night.
And this morning. “Well, true. I can see many differences.” My microwave beeps and I put the hot mug onto the counter, adding the teabag.
“That’s great! How was he?”
“Fantastic.” The word spills out of my mouth before my brain can stop it.
Hayden doesn’t skip a beat. “Aha! As in ‘fantastic at his job’ or ‘fantastically blew my mind’?”
“There’s no such word as ‘fantastically.’”
She laughs. “Yes there is. Look it up.” After a second, she asks, “Did anything happen between you two?”
I toss the teabag and take a sip. Hayden’s my best friend, and we don’t keep secrets. “We sort of slept together.”
“I knew he had a crush on you back in college, but that was ages ago. I guess he’s still carrying the torch for you. But how are you doing? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. He was amazing.” I sip my tea. “Now, he’s on a flight back to meet up with UC and I’m here in LA. It was good while it lasted.”
“UC will be in LA soon for the concert, and you can see him again then. The band returns to LA a lot. Has to mean something, right?”
“If I were on the prowl for a long-distance thing, sure. With everything going on here, though, I can’t add such a complication to my life.”
“Sweetie. If I were there, I’d give you a great big hug. Things are going to break your way soon. I can feel it.”
The weeks crawl by, with my involvement with the charity concert taking up most of my time. The number of bands who have agreed to participate is staggering. At the end of the day, we’re going to raise a lot of money.
Finally, the day has arrived, when Ashton’s returning to LA.
Like he promised, we’ve kept up a steady text string, and he’s revealed so much more about himself to me.
Like his father wants him to do something more than work for a rock band, yet he loves the life and the challenge.
I told him not to give up on his dream. Hell, I haven’t given up on mine either, even though my screenplay writing class ended.
My agent told me my manuscript is still under consideration at Netflix, so that’s somewhat encouraging.
Ashton cheered louder than Dad did when I shared this bit of news with them.
Because I couldn’t help myself, I agreed to pick Ashton up at LAX, despite the fact the band had transportation squared away.
Following his instructions, I pull up to the same curb I had dropped him off at weeks ago, and soon his dark brown head appears.
My heart flips, confirming the fact I’ve still got it bad for him.
Great. With his schedule, there’s no way this can work.
I get out of my car and meet him at the trunk. “Fancy meeting you here,” he teases. After he drops his bags into the trunk, he picks me up and gives me a proper kiss, scrambling my brain, and leaving me holding on to his sturdy body.
I find my voice. “Let’s get you to your hotel.”