Chapter 21
Two games later, I’ve got a solid buzz going. The solo cups were only filled about a third of the way, but between my lack of experience and the pace of the games, I’m definitely flirting with drunk territory.
“You’re a natural,” Johnny praises, tossing his empty cup into the grass as we win our second round.
I shrug, trying to downplay my pride. “All you have to do is flip the cup at the right angle with the appropriate amount of pressure. You said it yourself, it’s easy.”
He groans, rubbing a hand down his face. “Jesus. I have no idea how, but you just made ‘angles and pressure’ sound sexy.”
I snort. “Come on. I want to find Axel and Nik.”
We head back inside through the kitchen, and sure enough, they’re right where we left them. They’re leaning against the counter, mid-laugh, like nothing ever phased them. Jessie’s pouring herself a drink and practically bounces when she sees me.
“Lina!” she squeals, eyes gleaming. “Come dance with us!”
She grabs my wrist and starts tugging. I hesitate for half a second, remembering Johnny’s words about going nowhere without them, and glance over my shoulder. Three sets of eyes meet mine. Axel, Johnny, and Nik. All watching. All waiting.
“Someone bring me a drink?” I ask, my eyes bouncing between them. How could I possibly choose?
Jessie pulls me toward the living room, and I let her, trusting at least one of them will follow. The beat of the music thumps through the floor, the crowd is thick, and the air smells like sweat, cologne, and cheap beer.
We find Rachel and a few other girls from school already dancing in a loose circle. Rachel gives me the usual cold shoulder, but a few of the others flash friendly smiles. Jessie keeps a firm grip on me like she knows I have plans to disappear at the first opportunity, so I give in.
I let the music take over. I close my eyes. Let my hips move. Hands in the air, body swaying. I don’t overthink it. I just feel. The bass. The beat. The heat.
Jessie slides behind me, her hands landing on my hips, laughing against my ear. “Damn, girl! Don’t stop, but look how they’re watching you.”
I open my eyes and follow her stare.
Johnny. Axel. Nik. They’re on the edge of the chaos, drinks in hand. Girls are dancing right in front of them, trying to catch their attention. But their eyes? Their eyes are on me. I feel like a sparkler lit from within. I lean into Jessie, deciding to give them a show.
“Yes, Queen!” She whoops, picking up on my energy.
We slide our bodies together, feeling the beat.
Hands roaming, hair flipping, hips swaying, until the song changes.
With a smile playing on my lips, I gently slide Jessie’s hands off my waist and step away.
I walk slowly, deliberately toward the guys, every step a tease.
Nik lifts his chin slightly when I reach him, offering me one of the two cups in his hands.
I take it and hold his eyes while taking a slow sip.
The beer still tastes awful. But the way his blue eyes flare in the dim, flashing lights makes everything go warm.
I lick my lips. “Thanks.”
He doesn’t respond, at least not with words. His eyes drag down and back up, slow and appreciative.
I reach out, the alcohol making me brave. “Dance with me?”
Nik shoves his beer at Axel and takes my hand, eagerly trailing me back toward Jessie.
I flash her a smile and let the rhythm pull me in again.
I’ve never danced like this in public, but I love music.
It doesn’t just move my body; it stills my mind.
It speaks in a language my trauma can’t drown out.
I let it carry me, sensing his presence from behind.
His large hands spread on each side of my waist, strong and possessive.
Suddenly, he tugs me flush against him, my back to his front.
His grip hard enough to make me gasp. Possibly firm enough to leave marks.
And, I love it. I rest my head back against his chest and let our bodies flow together.
His fingers tease along the strip of bare skin between my skirt and crop top, and one of them slides just under the edge, giving me a little thrill.
With a buzzed boldness, I reach an arm back to loop around his neck.
My fingertips toy with the soft ends of his hair at his nape.
We move as one, slow and sensual, hips in sync.
His hold is grounding and electric all at once.
I arch against him, and the pressure of his body sends heat blooming low in my stomach.
“Princess?”
My eyes flutter open. Axel stands in front of me. Watching. Wanting.
“Let me touch you?”
I look back to Nik, gauging his reaction. He doesn’t speak, but he doesn’t have to. His eyes meet Axel’s with something curious, maybe even a little amused. There’s no jealousy, no tension, just… understanding. A complete one eighty from their moment in the kitchen earlier.
When I nod, Axel steps in, his hands claiming my hips. The air between us crackles.
He draws closer, sandwiching me between their hard bodies, and my knees almost give out.
Nik’s hands roam higher, fingers brushing against the sides of my breasts, until I’m biting my lip to keep from whimpering out loud.
My nipples are hard as rocks against Axel’s chest as he grinds against me from the front.
The build-up is maddening. My breath comes faster.
I squeeze my thighs together, desperate for relief.
Axel’s grip tightens on my hips, and I brace a hand on his shoulder for balance. My whole body is trembling.
“Let me see those eyes, Princess,” he murmurs. His voice is low, ragged.
I obey, looking up.
His usual amber irises are almost black with want. I raise my beer to my lips and take a sip, just to cool myself down. His gaze drops to my mouth, and I almost drop my cup when he leans in and slowly licks the residual foam from my upper lip. My knees go weak.
God, I could stay between them forever.
But just as I start to forget myself, a hand closes around my wrist and tugs me from between them. I stumble, face-first, into another warm body. His familiar scent wraps around me before I panic. Johnny. My body relaxes on instinct.
Someone takes my cup from my hand, and I slide my arms around Johnny’s neck, holding him. His hands settle on my waist, thumbs brushing the exposed skin. Each stroke sends sparks up my spine until I’m practically panting.
When the song ends, he spins me around, and I find myself facing Axel again. Johnny presses in from behind.
I freeze.
His hard length pushes against me. Unbidden, my mind starts to slip, spiraling toward old memories. Not the good kind. But then Axel’s hand cups my cheek.
“You okay, Princess?” His voice is tender, grounding.
I blink up at him, nodding slowly. I needed that. I needed them. Their touch is nothing like before. It doesn’t take, it offers. It’s a promise. Safety. Acceptance. Desire.
I lean back into Johnny’s chest. He weaves his fingers into my hair and tugs, tilting my head back so I’m forced to meet his eyes.
God, I like that. I like it a lot.
“Time to go, honey,” he growls.
My heart skips. He releases my hair but catches my hand, threading our fingers together as he pulls me through the crowd. I glance over my shoulder, but Axel and Nik are nowhere to be seen.
Johnny leads me back down the driveway, silent and sure, one hand still laced with mine.
I yelp when he suddenly lifts me and sets me down on the hood of the car. The metal is cool beneath my thighs, but his heat burns hot as he steps between my legs and braces his arms on either side, caging me in.
He’s so close, I have to lean back on my hands to meet his eyes.
“The tension in there was killing me.”
I wince. “Was it that obvious?”
He huffs a low laugh. “What? That they’re both trying to piss on your leg?” His smirk is amused, but there’s tension in the tightness of his shoulders. “Yeah. It was obvious.”
The alcohol humming in my blood emboldens me, which is the only reason I ask, “And you?”
His brows lift. “What about me?”
I hold his gaze, steady and defiant. “Are you trying to piss on my leg?”
His smile fades. In its place, something darker blooms. He leans in, eliminating the space between us until my breathing hitches. One of his hands slides through my hair and cradles the back of my neck, firm and possessive.
“I don’t need to piss on your leg,” he says, voice low and rough. “You’re already mine.”
He ghosts his lips softly over my own. So close, but not touching. Just enough to make me ache. My thighs instinctively try to close, but he’s there, solid and unmoving, keeping me wide open. Vulnerable. His.
He notices. Of course he does. His eyes drop to where my skirt’s ridden up, to the sliver of red silk between my legs, caged in by my fishnets. A pained sound tears from his throat. Something primal.
“Are you dripping for me right now?”
He teases his lips over mine, once more. No matter how badly I want to, I can’t close the distance. His firm grip on the back of my neck keeps me still, and I whimper in frustration when he pulls back again instead of giving me what I want.
I look down and watch, mesmerized, as he rubs one of his knuckles up the center of my panties, slow and sure. My whole body shudders at his touch, but it’s from pure pleasure.
“Oh, honey,” he murmurs, eyes dark. “These are soaked.”
I’m still entranced as he brings that knuckle to his nose and inhales deep. His eyes flutter closed for a second, and then open. Blazing.
“Fuck!” he growls, voice low and wrecked.
“One of these days, I’m gonna lay you out and keep you open for me…
tongue-drunk and shaking… until I’ve branded myself into every inch of you.
I won’t stop until I know every breath, every moan, every twitch of your body until it’s carved permanently into my flesh.
Soaked into my blood. Burned into my fucking soul. ”
“Yes,” I breathe. “Please.”
But even as my body arches into his, greedy for every inch of contact, my mind flickers to them. To the way their hands slid over me on the dance floor like they already knew me. Claimed me. Like they’d earned me.
“But…” My voice is barely a whisper against his lips. “What if I want to be theirs too?”
The words hang there, raw and shameless, and I wonder if I’ve ruined it. If jealousy will push him away. But it’s not rage I find in his eyes. It’s something darker. Hungrier.
He lets the question settle in the space between us, like smoke curling in the air. Then he smiles. A sharp, dangerous thing. Not cruel. Just certain.
“Then they’d better pray they know how to keep up.”
And before I can respond, he’s on me, crushing his mouth to mine in a kiss that’s all teeth and heat and promise. It says mine even if it never says only. It says he’s willing to fight for a place in my chaos and ruin anyone who tries to take it from him.
And I kiss him back like I believe it.
We're a brutal, beautiful mess. Kissing in a battle for dominance, neither of us willing to surrender, until his hand curls at the base of my throat, grip unrelenting, guiding my mouth to his with ruthless precision.
He licks against the seam of my lips, and I open for him like he owns me. Like I want him to.
I’m seconds from begging. One more kiss, one more grind, and I’ll be whimpering his name, when we hear voices and footsteps just around the bend.
Axel. Nik.
The sound slices through the moment like a blade of ice. Johnny jerks back, chest heaving, pupils blown wide. We stare at each other, mouths swollen, breaths ragged, caught between what just happened and what still simmers between us.
“Get in the passenger seat,” he says gruffly.
And I do. Without a single word. Because whatever this thing is between us… it’s not over. Not even close.
We sit in heavy silence as Axel and Nik approach, taking their sweet time. My lips are tingling, my face itchy from Johnny’s beard, and I can still feel the weight of him between my legs. I wonder if it’s written all over me. If they’ll know.
Johnny hasn’t looked at me since he shut the driver’s door.
I swallow and ask, “Are you okay to drive?”
“Yes.” His voice is low, controlled. “I had less than two beers, and I drank water before I found you. I’d never drive drunk. Especially not with any of you in the car.”
Well, we can’t blame this on alcohol. He’s practically sober, and I’m barely holding onto a buzz after... that.
Axel and Nik climb in, barely sparing us a glance. Thank God. I must look like I’ve been thoroughly kissed, and there’s only one person in the car who could’ve done it.
Johnny pulls away from the party like nothing happened. It’s decided Nik’s crashing at ours tonight, and Johnny will drop him off sometime tomorrow.
Before I know it, we’re home. Axel and Nik head inside, but Johnny waits for me at the door. I walk up the porch steps, shyly. I don’t know what to say, how to act, what the hell I’m supposed to feel. But he takes my hand and leads me inside and upstairs anyway, saying nothing.
In my room, he guides me to the bathroom and stays while I remove my makeup and brush my teeth. When I’m done, he hands me pajamas and steps out to give me privacy while I change and pee.
When I come back out, he’s gone, but I’m too tired to care.
I’m already under the covers when he walks back in.
“Here, honey. Sit up for a sec.”
I grumble but comply. He hands me a full glass.
“Electrolytes,” he explains. “Drink all of it. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”
I chug it gratefully, hand the empty glass back, and flop back down into my pillow.
Johnny leans over me, pressing a soft kiss to the top of my head, and just before sleep claims me, I swear I hear him whisper, “mine.”