Chapter 19 #2
“You got some serious ink.” Dreux reached out and touched the tattoo staining my skin on my left side.
A shiver coasted down my back at the feel of his thumb rubbing circles over my compass.
He was looking down at the piece and examining it casually, unaware of my total undoing.
He’d touched me before, but something about his hand on the bare skin of my body made me fight not to squirm.
I was into him. Really into him.
I forced interest at the lake. “You are just muscular for no reason,” I complained.
Dreux looked down and observed himself and tossed me a smirk. “You like it?”
I scoffed and started for the pier. “No!”
Dreux was suddenly in my ear. “What did I tell you about blushing for me?”
I was such a goner.
We didn’t get in right away. Instead, we sat at the edge of the pier, dangling our feet in the water as we bathed in the sun. Dark gray clouds were nearby in the east, and I wondered how long we had until the weather turned. Either way, it was peaceful.
“You nervous about tonight?” I chanced asking about his dinner with his parents.
Dreux gazed out at the lake as he rested back on his arms, shoulders sagging. “Not so much nervous, but more so dreading it.”
I was grateful things were better between my parents and me. But really, I wasn’t sure what it would be like to see them in the same room.
“I’m sorry, Dreux.”
He shrugged. “It is what it is.” He looked at me and gave a small smile. “I’m just glad I could do this with you first. Dinner’s for them, but this is for me.”
I couldn’t stop the vivid blush that spread across my face. Dreux made me feel special like no one had before.
“Well, let’s make the most of it.” I got into the water and Dreux was fast behind me.
The cool water against the warm day above was a perfect balance.
We swam a couple of laps, racing and just enjoying the lake. It was the freest I’d felt in a while. A side effect of Dreux St. Julien no less.
“Thank you for the playlist,” I said as we were floating on our backs. The sky had darkened some and the sun was now gone. “I really love that song by Summer Walker with Teddy Swims.”
The record was a blend of R&B with a hint of country. A ballad. It was raw and vulnerable. I had never related more than when I was looking at the boy floating beside me.
His eyes were closed, his handsome face relaxed yet smiling as he said, “You should cover it.”
Of course he knew I was already thinking about doing so. We hadn’t known each other long, but Dreux knew me so well. And what he didn’t know he patiently tried to understand.
For most of my life, I had a chip on my shoulder and was guarded. After Kevin, I was distrustful of everyone except my friends. With Dreux I was softer. I felt safe. Feeling unwanted for so long, I wasn’t sure I ever felt protected. Like I had to have my own back.
It was while talking things through with my mother that I did feel her fierce protection and all that she’d sacrificed for me. I recognized this feeling with Dreux and how he treated me and looked out for me.
I was falling for him. And with each stolen glance, tender touch, I was certain he’d catch me.
“Deal,” I said as I got back to Dreux. “Scott’s been working with me on the guitar. Let me learn the melody and we can do it.”
I loved that music was in my blood. Watching Scott play the guitar, piano, or even harmonica made my hands itch to move. To learn. I’d always loved classic rock, but it all made sense when I was with Scott listening to him play or telling me a story about his old band.
The words I’d been jotting down for song ideas of my own didn’t feel strong yet. And the genre didn’t feel like rock, but I kept going, hoping to someday have at least one song completed.
“Maybe you can look into music classes at a college,” Dreux suggested gently. “Just something to think about.”
It wasn’t a bad idea.
I decided I’d look into it later. For now, I came from my back and splashed Dreux, catching him off guard and throwing him off balance.
“Stop being so perfect!” I teased.
Water dripped from Dreux’s face as he came up to the surface and caught himself. The glare he was sporting told me I was in trouble. Big trouble.
“AHH!” I yelped as a strong hand captured my arm before I could take off.
There was no getting away as Dreux pulled me close. Our chests collided, leaving me breathless as I was left peering up into his dark eyes. His expression said he was annoyed, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.
“Let me show you the perfect revenge for that,” Dreux said, his grip unrelenting.
I should’ve been afraid of his retaliation, but I was right where I wanted to be.
Boldly, I laughed in his face as we continued looking at each other. “If I give you a kiss are we even?”
Dreux lifted a brow. “Tempting.”
He didn’t loosen his hold and I didn’t want him to.
Being silly, I leaned up and pressed my lips to his cheek and lingered. Seconds ticked by before I pulled back.
“There are—”
My words never made it out before Dreux was on me. His lips claimed mine, his strong arms holding me and bringing me closer, secure and firm.
I melted against Dreux, closing my eyes and getting lost. Nothing felt as right as this, as good as this, as perfect as this.
Neither the first roar of thunder nor the flash of lightning tore us apart.
It wasn’t until a sprinkle of rain hit us that we pulled away and looked up at the sky.
“We gotta go.” Dreux squeezed me close, giving me one last chaste kiss.
I pouted, something that made him flash the cutest smile.
We headed back to shore and I couldn’t let it go. I wasn’t ready to lose the moment. I wasn’t ready to go back to toeing the line.
“Dreux…” We were about to go into the cabana to change. The rain was coming down steady now. And I was probably about to fuck everything up. “Come inside with me.”
Gone was Dreux’s smile as he sobered up, glancing behind me at the women’s changing room.
I tilted my head back toward the door. “I don’t want to stop.”
Dreux took a step forward, still eyeing the room, contemplating. “Saylor.”
I could tell by looking at him that he didn’t want to rush me, didn’t want to pressure me to do anything I didn’t want to do or wasn’t ready for.
And that was why I was sure in my decision.
He quoted the greats whenever I was feeling down.
He touched me tender unlike everyone else.
He looked at me like I was something worth seeing.
Someone who fascinated him beyond the surface.
He made me a playlist because he thought I was a wildflower, a rare beauty too good to pluck. No one had ever described me that way.
I didn’t want to be bad at choosing men, and something in my gut told me Dreux wasn’t wrong.
“Are you going to make me beg?” I teased.
In a blur, Dreux gave in. He lifted me like I weighed nothing. Like it was easy. And I decided I loved that. To be handled as if it wasn’t a chore or a challenge. Like I wasn’t a nuisance or burden.
He kissed me against the wall of the cabana, our bodies pressed together in the pouring rain.
Dreux groaned, trailing kisses along my neck, as if it pained him to touch me. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Saylor.”
Heat rushed between my legs and I angled my head, needing more. “Fascinated with me, are we?”
His grip on my body tightened, like it would take the jaws of life to get him to let me go. “I’m fucking obsessed.”
When he could take no more, he reached for the knob of his room and carried me inside. He set me down on the bench, taking a moment to rake his gaze over my body, making me feel alive.
Dreux pressed his forehead against mine, peering into my eyes. “You sure?”
I had never wanted anything more.
Nodding my head, I said, “Yes.”
Slowly, he peeled his stare from mine before lowering his attention to my body once more. He shook his head. “You and this fucking bikini.” As if annoyed, he yanked the string to my top, undoing my knot. In another pull, he had it off me and cast aside.
“Oh,” I let out breathlessly as he reached out and cupped my right breast.
Dreux tore his gaze away from his staring. “I love it when you blush for me.”
I squeezed my thighs together. Maybe I would beg. It felt like I needed him I was so worked up.
“Lie back,” Dreux instructed.
Doing as I was told, I turned and laid the long way across the bench.
I didn’t have to wonder about his next move. Dreux came down on top of me. He gave me a soft, lingering kiss, soon leaving me wanting more as he descended my body. My hips bucked when he took my left nipple into his mouth.
I moaned, cradling his head in my hands. “Don’t stop.”
Dreux sucked on my nipple, tugging and nipping it with his teeth. He kissed a trail to my right breast, repeating the motions of suckling and nipping until I was practically panting.
Dreux kissed long and slow, back and forth between my breasts, before dipping his head lower. There was a heartbeat between each kiss. An agonizing momentum that was driving me crazy.
There was no rush as he gradually pulled each string from my bikini bottoms free. One look at his face and I could tell he was anticipating this, savoring every second as he took his time learning my body and how every little thing he did drove me wild.
Cool air hit me as he clutched my bottoms in his hand, leaving me bare. I had no shame, and as shy as I felt, I didn’t try to cover up. All I could do was lie there as Dreux’s attention dropped and lingered between my thighs. His lips parted, his brows furrowed, and he swore beneath his breath.
“Jesus, Saylor,” he let out.
It was my only warning. Gone was his patience as he sank to his knees and dove in.