Drawn To You (Paloma's Edge) (18 page)

“So
you know that he hasn’t done anything with Cassidy?” The question slipped out of my mouth.

Frowning, Aunt Deborah replied, “Cassidy lied about Chase.” She waved her hand. “The hard part is getting your uncle
to believe me.”

Nancy’s chin creased as she handed me two sealed containers. “This smells
amazing, Nancy.”

“They’re
mantecados; Spanish crumble cakes.” There was a slight quirk to her lips. “Chase and Pierce couldn’t get enough of them when they were here.”

“Tell Chase and Pierce that I
said hello,” Aunt Deborah said.

Nancy
smiled at me and Aunt Deborah drank more coffee.

***

When I reached Chase’s car, my stomach fluttered. The images he’d put in my head yesterday hadn’t gone away when I’d fallen asleep. His tone had sounded a little off when our conversation had ended last night. It could’ve been due to him having been worked up at the beach and not doing anything about it until he was in his guestroom. Maybe I was reading too much into it. I’d been the one who’d initially ended the conversation. But he hadn’t texted me or called me back last night.

“What’s up?” His eyebrows drew together. As I looked at each of my shoulders, I noticed how his hands covered them complet
ely. I wouldn’t have consciously known in that moment that he had his hands on me if I hadn’t peeled my eyes away from his chiseled face.

“I was thinking about yesterday.”

He dropped his hands and gently held my wrists. The move made me tremor. I leaned into him and he engulfed me in his big, tall body. I could detect that he’d used a different soap, the same aftershave I’d gotten used to invading my senses.

“You feeling weird about it?”
he probed.

I shook my head and he patted me on my butt, gesturing me to take a seat. As he closed the door,
the corners of his mouth tipped up.

We buckled our seatbelts
. “You sounded like you were distracted towards the end of our conversation,” I said.

His face became serious. “I had to handle something,” he responded. “Was yesterday your first time having phone sex?”

“Yes,” I answered. “You?”

“Yeah.” I couldn’t help but mirror his
pleased expression.

***

Chase

Beth unzipped her dark gray tote and a light, sweet, buttery smell dispersed into the air. She set down the containers on top of my food holder. The road was clear and it would be another sunny day that led to a delicious evening breeze. I was going to tell her about Cassidy’s appearance on the beach last night, but it’d spoil our day out. Thinking about it made me feel angry. Our relationship was in our control, for the most part, but we were new to this. Or, at least, I was. Yet I didn’t want Cassidy to have a role in our relationship anymore.

“An old friend of Nancy’s from Spain ta
ught her how to make mantecados.”

“I am not too big on crumble cake, or any kind
of cake for that matter, but it smells too good not to try.”

“It’s got this little kick to it that you don’t really taste until it’s melting on your tongue. It’ll make you have a sweet tooth.”

“So, Chase…” I heard a teasing tone in Beth’s voice that re-directed my attention to how downright sexy she was in her thin white tunic and a mini skirt that gave me a great view of those legs I wanted wrapped around me. She’d changed her fingers and toes to a clear polish.

I drove into one of my favorite parking spots because many cars weren’t here yet.
A blush spread across her face. My hand landed on her thigh and I gestured her to come to me from across the passenger seat. Nodding her head, Beth set her legs on either side of me while pushing the front of her short skirt down.

S
he met my gaze. “What did you wanna tell me?” As she unzipped the inner pocket like I’d seen her do while we were on the beach last Sunday, her unsure expression swiftly switched into a smile that I recalled the day when we’d had our first real conversation in the Pruitts’ kitchen. Beth carefully held onto the bottom edges of the photo with her, Bri, and the members of Tainted Virtue. And I realized that she was giving me one of her private smiles. Her beautiful cerulean eyes filled with emotion because of me of all people.

They both looked truly happy in that
photo and I helped to make that happen. She looked at me like I’d done something amazing for her. I took the photo from her, opened the compartment on the passenger side of the car, and placed it in there. I’d put it in one of my empty frames and maybe set it on the small desk in my guestroom. I trailed my hands from her back down and ventured lower.

Kneading the top of her backside, she
released a sharp breath. And, in turn, she snaked an arm around my waist, her nails pressing into the back of my shirt. She crushed her lips against mine, her warm tongue sweeping into my mouth, making me want her more. All my blood went straight to my cock as her heat pressed down on me. I raised her skirt up more and touched her bare cheeks through her panties. Those warm curves felt amazing as I massaged them. When I pressed her down so she could feel how much I wanted her, she moaned into my mouth. She licked my upper lip before she drew the connection to a close, her breathing coming in heavy pants.

Beth’s fingers
went through my hair. The move may have soothed another person, but it only made my skin constrict. I moved her further back onto my thighs. Her grip in my hair loosened.

“Beth.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

I glanced around the parking lot, thankful that the lot was still relatively empty. “I am gonna indulge a little to keep me going, okay?”

With a deep furrow between her eyebrows, Beth’s tiny hands closed in on the sides of my face. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

Instead of elaborating,
I sought the warmth between her legs with my fingers, stroking her over her panties. I was turned on even more from the contact of her moist desire through the fabric. “Please…don’t stop,” she murmured.

Suddenly dehydrated, I replied with a shake of my head as I flicked over her bundle of responsive nerves. Her
clit and labia swelled against my fingers. Beth moved against me, causing a delightful friction, and I knew just when her pleasure transitioned into more throbbing. “When did you get so fucking wet?”

She
pulled in her lips as I teased her core with my thumb and fisted the side of her tunic with my other hand. I slid two fingers into her slickness. Beth was incredibly snug around my fingers. And while she had more than enough lubrication, it was like she hadn’t had this sort of intrusion in a long time. I guess she hadn’t fingered herself yesterday. After prodding her, I filled her entry until it was smoother with each penetration. Steadily, she rode my fingers. In her bliss, she was beyond gorgeous.

“Aaahh, Chase,” she wailed.

“Let go, babe.” Arching her hips up, Beth’s eyes slid shut. I plunged three digits deeper into her. As she approached her climax, I withdrew from her. I brushed my knuckles over her clit, feeling her body shudder with a fine release.

Beth’s body slackened onto mine. Searching my face, she groped my crotch and I carefully pulled her hand away.

“Not yet.”

W
ith a post-coital grin, she swung her arms around my neck and touched my mouth with her lips possessively.

***

Bethany

Joel snatched the two containers I had in my hands while Chase unfolded the chairs and attached an umbrella to one. I didn’t fight Joel because I knew that he wouldn’t eat  all of the mantecados. Brianna came towards me with a bottle of ice-cold water. After making out with Chase for about a half an hour in his car, my lips felt dry—and great. I understood that if I’d done for him what he had so thoroughly done for me, we wouldn’t be on the beach right now. We’d probably get complaints or get arrested. I didn’t know how I kept him sated when I didn’t do anything for him, but he was a lot more composed now. Chase had one of the containers of mantecados back in his hands.

I swallowed half of the water and sighed contentedly. “
That must have been some workout you had,” Brianna said with a knowing look. I touched my lips with my index finger and she chuckled. “I am only teasing.” She angled her head to one side. “Your lips aren’t that swollen.”

Redness flooded my cheeks.
“We waited ten minutes for our mouths to recover,” I admitted.

Brianna patted my shoulder with a humorous glint in her bright green eyes.

Chase had put our seat next to Brianna’s and we sank down. I chugged the rest of the water. Gavin passed down plastic plates and utensils. His friendliness really reminded me of a teddy bear, but he was pure muscle.

“
Thanks, Gavin.”

“You got it,”
he said with a wink. “We’re having another dinner. I’ll have Bri or Chase will tell you when.” He opened up the container. I took one mantecado after Brianna did. Once I bit into the flavorful softness, I groaned. Gavin stood there and told me to take another one. I did, along with Brianna.

I
whipped my head around when Joel whistled. I’d been watching Chase move through the water like a dolphin. He hadn’t swum so fluidly in the water when we’d been playing around last week.

A female
, who bore a strong resemblance to Jayne Mansfield, save for her gray eyes, came into view. She’d stop traffic anywhere. When I shifted my gaze, Pierce moved in tandem with her, flashing his trademark dimples that made the females on the beach appreciatively look him up and down. The female next to him seemed to take joy in the attention they were both receiving. There was enough physical distance between them that I could’ve fit in the middle, but it was obvious that they were here together.

My
eyes darted from Pierce to his bombshell female companion again. She was in a black monokini that revealed the sides of her waist to her hips in a circular shape.

“She
’s Mona,” Brianna told me.

“Hmmm. I haven’t seen her around,” I said in a low tone.

“She’s chilled with us a little over the years, but she’s always been a home body.”

When they were less than two feet away from us, Pierce took off his shirt, baring his six-pack. Brianna took a deep intake of breath at his move before she took a long pull of her water. Pierce
hadn’t seen Brianna’s reaction, but Mona curled her lips meaningfully. Joel dissolved into laughter and Gavin hit him upside his head, which made him laugh harder until he was choking a little.

Pierce tipped his head to Gavin and Joel, who took a big bite out of another piece of a Mantecado. Mona was right behind him. “Hey, Bri.”

“Hey, Pierce.” Brianna eyed Mona. “How are you?” she asked her, a trace of guilt racing across her face.

“I’ve decided not to keep Pierce to myself for the day,” Mona responded in a joking tone, but I had the sense that she somewhat meant it
. “I am feeling like being generous today.”

Pierce cast Mona a glance. “You
’re a little greedy, aren’t you?” he queried rhetorically and looked at me. “Beth, this is my friend, Mona.” I rose from Chase’s beach chair up and hung his towel over my arm, offering her my hand. “Mona, this is my cousin Beth.”

Mona studied me as she shook my hand
and then she slipped her classic Chanel sunglasses from the front of her head down to her face and sat down in the other beach chair Gavin got for her and Chase. I hadn’t observed when he’d done that.

Pierce gave Joel a measuring look as he signaled him to hand over the container of
mantecados at the just as Chase came out of the water, followed by Rylan, who was coughing. I wanted to lick off each droplet off of Chase’s sinewy abdomen. I held the towel out for him.

“Nice
butterfly, guys” Brianna remarked as Chase took the other end of the towel and dried off.

Brianna gave Rylan his towel and
he accepted it. “Thanks, Bri.” He jerked his gaze to Mona. “What’s new?”

Mona twirled around. “She’s finally wearing that bathing suit I g
ot her last year,” Pierce said. He rolled his eyes. “That’s probably why she decided to come here with me.”

Chase nodded to Pierce and Mona, and lifted
my chin up to give me a quick kiss. Pierce diverted his focus back to Joel. Chase brought me down on his chair with him. Arms with hints of gold in them surrounded my chest, his sturdy chest cool against my back.

***

“When are you gonna come to the house for breakfast or dinner?” I asked Pierce as we strolled up the long trail behind everyone that led to the parking lot.

He ran his fingers through his hair. “I talked to Nancy before Mona and I left her house. I’ll be there next week for dinner.”

I let out a rush of air. “She hasn’t been the same without you home.”