Chapter 7
Chapter seven
August
The concert was fucking fantastic.
The openers had been amazing, getting everyone standing and shouting along to their songs, even if we didn’t know them.
By the time Dropkick Murphys rolled onto the stage, we’d gotten out of our seats and started surging toward the mass of people in the center.
I didn’t want to get my arm fucked up after getting fresh ink, but I found myself drawn to the energy automatically.
It didn’t hurt that Drake was an amazing guy to go with. He got just as into the songs as I did, contributing to the infectious energy of the show. It definitely beat going with Serena, who would’ve been looking at her phone most of the time and asking when we could leave.
The final strains of “Shipping up to Boston” played through the venue, and the crowd roared.
“Thank you for being a great crew. Good night, New Jersey!” the lead singer of Dropkick Murphys called out.
“Wooo,” I called out, throwing a fist in the air. Sweat beaded on my skin, and my shirt was pasted to my chest from jumping around during the show.
“Fuck yeah,” Drake yelled. His hair was plastered to his forehead, and his shoulders heaved from exertion.
His dark eyes glittered with mischief, his teeth gleaming with his roguish smile.
My insides gave a sharp squeeze in response, and I couldn’t deny the fluttering that arose.
I truly thought I’d never see him again after we parted ways at the diner.
After all, for as much as Serena had said we’d be friends, she’d been quiet ever since the breakup, apart from setting this up.
Par for the course.
If all my exes remained friends with me, I’d have an overabundance.
Drake leaned in close, and his lips brushed against my ear. “Oops, sorry.”
Heat scorched through me at his proximity, my whole body rousing to life. I hadn’t experienced a nuclear reaction to anyone like this in… well, ever. But from the second he showed up at the venue tonight, my heart had been pumping faster.
“What are you doing after?” he asked.
I met his gaze. “Where do you want to go?”
He blinked, as if surprised by my acquiescence, but clearly he underestimated the combination of extroversion and neediness that comprised me as a human being.
“The beach is right there, and I’ve still got a lot of energy to burn.
” The husky rasp of those last words right by my ear had my cock waking up.
While I doubted he wanted to burn that kind of energy with me, the idea of getting on my knees out there and choking on his cock vaulted into my brain and refused to let go.
God, it had been so long since I sucked cock.
I licked my lips and glanced down. The worn, buttery jeans did a great job at framing his package, and the bulge there wasn’t insignificant.
Whether it was in my mouth, my hole, I didn’t care. Need rose, sharp and fierce, inside me.
When I glanced back up, Drake stared at me, his dark eyes even more intense than before.
“I’m in,” I said, even though I was no longer clear what I was in for.
Chances were, I imagined the heat percolating between us, the hunger in his expression.
I didn’t know if he was queer or not, since Serena had kept her family at a distance.
Probably another sign she hadn’t been serious about us, but I’d missed all the cues.
“Come on,” he said, tilting his head in the direction of the exit, where the rest of the crowd was pouring out.
He moved with ease, cutting through any open space with a surety to his steps that I envied.
I did my best to keep up with him, but I was klutzy on my best day—all fumbles on my long legs.
Only thing steady about me were my arms, and thank fuck for that, given my career.
We hit a few bottlenecks in the crowd, since everyone rushed to get home en masse.
I wasn’t aiming to hit the road though. No, I wanted to spend any extra time Drake was willing to offer me.
It was a good thing I hadn’t met him while Serena and I were dating, because holy fuck, he was scorchingly hot.
My gaze was glued on his muscular, defined ass, even though I wanted to get fucked something fierce.
When we broke out of the venue, I sucked in a long, lusty breath of the salt air.
And promptly choked on it.
I spluttered, smacking my chest as I gasped out for air.
“You okay there?” Drake teased, a smugness to his tone.
“Totally fine. That’s just how I breathe,” I proclaimed loftily.
His eyes twinkled as we strolled down the boardwalk. “Right. Completely normal.”
I nudged his shoulder with mine in retaliation.
Instead, the zing from our connection rocketed through my body, heightening my awareness of the drop-dead gorgeous guy who strode beside me.
Damn, he was all hard muscle. I had a little from being active with hiking and shit, but not like…
firefighter muscle. My mouth dried at the thought of what he’d look like beneath that tight shirt and weathered jeans.
Damn, I shouldn’t be this hard-up for him. It wasn’t that long since I’d had sex… with his sister. I winced and looked up at the sky. The late-night stretch of the velvet horizon captivated me, studded with silvery stars and a glowing crescent moon.
“Thanks for inviting me to join you,” Drake said, breaking through the quiet that had settled between us. Some folks from the concert strode past us along this stretch of the boardwalk, but most people had made a beeline for their cars. “I didn’t realize how few invites I get nowadays.”
“Mmm, don’t tempt me,” I said. “I’ve got your number now.”
“That a threat?” he teased. “Bring it, babe.”
The term of endearment sent a flush of heat through me, and when I glanced to meet his eyes, his smirk amplified it to an inferno.
Being around him was exciting in a way I didn’t feel often, though it was more the adrenaline from the concert and less of the “oh fuck my house is on fire” kind of panic.
“You have no idea what you’ve unleashed.
I’m the asshole who sends the daily texts. ”
Drake shrugged. “As long as you don’t mind if I don’t always have immediate answers, I’m good with that.”
My heart thudded a little harder. That had been a sticking point in my relationship with Serena.
She felt guilty because I sent a barrage of messages, and the onslaught was a bit too much for her to handle.
Story of my life. If I toned myself down, I ended up bursting, and that wasn’t good for anyone either.
“Come on, let’s get down to the sand,” Drake said, veering to the left, where the ocean glittered nearby.
The crash of the waves soothed my soul in a way little else did, and combined with the crisp, salty nighttime air, I was more aware of everything around me.
Hard not to be when Drake was so close, the mix of sweat and leather coming from him was intoxicating.
He lit me up like kerosene to my system, and I was one match away from an inferno.
The second we hit the sand, I plopped down and yanked my boots off. No way was I doing the drive back with shoes full of sand.
“Shit, that’s a good idea.” Drake thumped down beside me and began to unlace his big-ass steel-toed boots. I burrowed my feet in the sand, now cooled from the descent of night. Still felt amazing though.
“Did you ever eat sand as a kid?” I asked, staring at it.
Drake burst out laughing, the sound echoing through the quiet between us. “Like on purpose? Fuck no. What the fuck sort of question is that?”
I lifted a handful of it up and watched the grains fall through my fingers. “The texture felt so good I thought it would be equally good in my mouth.”
Drake flung himself back on the ground, full-out cackling. A smile rose to my own lips, because I’d done a lot of weird shit as a kid, and that hadn’t abated much as I’d grown. He slapped a palm to his chest, which was heaving from laughter.
“Oh god,” he gasped. “I haven’t laughed that hard in ages.”
I mimicked a seated curtsy. “Happy to be of service.”
“You’re fascinating, you know that?” he said, giving me the side eye.
“Like in a bug under a microscope way?” I asked, running my not-sandy-hand through my hair. I’d learned some lessons at least.
“Nah, like in a strikes my curiosity way,” he responded, his voice growing deeper, huskier. The way he looked sprawled out on the sand was sinful. The moonlight highlighted the sharp arch of his nose, his defined chin, those thick brows. I let out a breath I hadn’t even realized was trapped.
Damn, I just wanted to climb on top of him and ride. My cock woke the hell up at the thought, and I shifted in my seat, hoping he didn’t notice the semi pressing against my jeans. “Well, good. I need a concert buddy anyway.”
“If you’re serious, I’ll take you up on that,” he said. “I need to get out to shows more.”
“I’m very serious,” I said, even though my nose wrinkled.
Chances were, I’d get overeager, and he’d get sick of me.
Wouldn’t be the first time. In the distance, the silhouette of the pier beckoned, dark waves crashing around it.
A burst of energy filtered through my veins, pushing me to move, move, move. “Want to walk down there?”
“The pier?” he said. “Yeah, let’s go.”
I pushed up from my spot on the sand and snagged my boots.
The feel of the cool sand between my toes was immaculate, a hit of dopamine I craved.
The moon cast delicate lavender beams, the pale sand contrasting with the glittering blackened expanse of the ocean crashing to the shore beside us.
Drake kept up with ease as we walked along the beach toward the pier.
The swing of his boots in his hand drew my attention, same with the fluid motion of his arms and legs, as he strolled with me.
My gaze snagged on the tight fit of his jeans and the bulge there.
Ngh. Damn, he probably had a delicious cock.
The adrenaline from the show hadn’t crashed yet, and the jittery anticipation filtered through me, flooding my body from head to toe.
Not like it would go anywhere. Better to get the energy out with this walk.
My foot snagged, and I vaulted forward. Hands wrapped around my waist, but my arms had shot out, and I was already flailing. My arm knocked into Drake, and our weight shifted.
Down we went.
My back thudded against the sand, which broke most of my fall, and Drake landed with a thump on top of me.
The breath knocked out of my chest, and not just from the weight.
With his hard, muscular body pressed against me, and his face mere inches from mine, I couldn’t pop the lid on the attraction that had been bubbling under the surface from the moment we met.
His dark eyes burned with heat, muscular arms bracketed me on either side, his hands pressed into the sand, but he didn’t budge. My thigh nudged against his groin, and I shifted slightly. Oh fuck, he was hard. A thrill shot through me, and I swallowed hard. Drake stared at me, not looking away.
“You’re trouble, August,” he murmured, his voice hoarse and raspy.
“Is that a bad thing?” I asked, my breath coming in a little faster.
God, I wanted to close the distance between us, to taste those lips.
His were carved and perfect, and his hot breath puffed against my face.
Fuck. I didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to leave this space where he was pressed against me, his intoxicating scent of sweat and musk captivating.
I tilted upward on automatic, as if those inches between us could magically disappear.
His gaze zeroed in on my mouth, and my breath hitched.
A universe spanned between us, impossible to cross, yet we were close enough that our breaths mingled. The tension increased to the point I could’ve sworn it buzzed in the air, and I licked my lips, which had grown dry with anticipation.
Drake’s eyes widened, and that was it.
With the suddenness of thunder, we were colliding, our lips crashing together.
I wasn’t sure who’d initiated the kiss, if it was him, or if it was me, but it didn’t matter.
His mouth on mine transmuted my soul, like the first dip of a wet paintbrush into my watercolor palette.
And his brushstrokes were masterful as he kissed me with a fervor that left me breathless and panting.
The colors exploded between us, vibrant and evocative as I met him kiss for kiss.
His tongue swept into my mouth as he devoured me with a consuming hunger that coursed through my body.
My cells vibrated from this awakening, bursting with life from head to toe.
The cool sand against my back contrasted with the heat of our bodies pressed together, and his cock plumped up against my leg, testing the denim it was trapped behind.
The feel of his desire sent me reeling, my own need ratcheting up.
My length thickened, my balls giving a needy throb.
I kissed him with a desperation that grew by the second.
I hadn’t realized how deep my craving had grown in such a short time, but from the moment he burst into my house, Drake had been on my mind.
And tonight, enjoying the concert with him, sharing the space, the energy—yeah, he’d stolen my attention.
It didn’t hurt that he had the sort of muscles I wanted to trace with my tongue and wicked, bad-boy good looks.
He nipped at my lower lip, the zip of pain lighting my senses. My hips shifted on instinct, and my length brushed against the side of one of his thick thighs. Drake let out a low groan that reverberated against my mouth, a sinful sensation I wanted to revel in.
He pulled back at last, and breaths exploded between us.
“See? Trouble,” he murmured. “I wasn’t supposed to do that.”
My heart thumped hard. I might miss cues a lot, but the fact he was Serena’s brother was so obvious even I couldn’t ignore it. “Well, if we’re already making trouble, why not go out with a bang?”
He arched a brow, and I ground my cock against his thigh again, even the slight motion sending a shudder through me. His groan lit the air, low and delicious. His thick lashes fluttered, and then his serious, dark gaze locked in on me. He was going to turn me down. Tell me this was all a mistake.
My chest sank.
A wicked grin cracked his features, a canine poking out. “Last one to the pier’s on their knees.”
A thrill rushed me, as fierce and sudden as the rapids, and my smile rose unbidden.
“You’re on.”
Little did he know, I had every intention of letting him win.