Owen looks as if he might pee his pants. God, that little cry fest was so worth seeing this hilarity ensue.
“Yes … yes, Chief.”
I chime in. “Well, I’m going to go get my stuff. We can load up your truck and head out. Love you, Daddy!”
And with that, I skip away to fill Kelsey and Chloe in quickly on the soap opera that was my life.
17
Owen
“The police chief! Really, Minka? The police chief is your dad! You couldn’t have given me a fucking heads up. Jesus!”
My little minx giggles in the passenger seat next to me. This situation is anything but funny. I nearly shit my pants when I saw her then the cop, walk up behind her. That guy is seriously going to cut my nuts off if I ever even look at her the wrong way. Which, of course, I hope I never will.
Speaking of looking at her, I can’t stop. She’s piled all those curls into a bun at the top of her head which makes her look even more fucking exotic and delectable than usual. She is wearing this curve-hugging white sundress that I seriously am considering ripping off of her with my teeth.
I’ve had a boner ever since she opened the door. Which was kind of awkward seeing as how her father wanted to put a bullet in my balls.
I didn’t need to admit to the girl I was crushing on, that her father made me quiver in fear. Chief Braxton is not a small man. He isn’t even your average dad.
When you thought of someone’s father, you thought middle-aged, sporting a gut, mildly intimidating, but a good-natured fellow. Minka’s dad is a goddamn pit bull.
He’s taller than me, probably about six foot five, in better shape than any cop I’ve ever seen and was menacing as shit.
When she walked away to do God knows what, possibly leave me to die, he turned his laser focus on me.
“Mr. Axel. Your Carl’s son?" He sniffed as he said it and I already got the feeling he didn’t like my father.
“That’s correct, sir.”
“Hm. And how is it that you know my daughter?”
“We went to school together, sir, but now I go to college. I reconnected with Minka when I got back for the summer.”
It was a lie but it sounded better than, “I finger banged your daughter after stalking her at an underage kegger.”
“What are you in school for?”
“Teaching, sir. Math specifically. And I’m also on a baseball scholarship.”
“Ah, so you coast by in school and hope to make your millions just like your father. Is that right?”
“Respectfully, sir, no.” I didn’t need to elaborate. It wouldn’t get me anywhere near his good graces anyway.
“Let me tell you something. My daughter and I, we are working on our newfound relationship. But just because I’m trusting her to go with you this weekend, doesn’t mean I trust you as far as I can throw you. And I can throw you. Remember that. Keep your hands to yourself this weekend and keep my daughter safe and happy.”
I almost choked, but that would have required that my throat not be dry as a bone. This guy was really fucking intimidating. “Yes, sir. I plan to show her a great time.”
He sees Minka heading back toward the front door. He leans and whispers, “And if you hurt her in any way, I will find you and I will kill you.”
“Sorry, it was just too good. And I’m getting used to this whole protective, overbearing Dad thing.”
Hmm, she’s actually revealing something without me having to pull it out of her. I decide to keep on this line of questioning.
“Yeah, he mentioned that you were working on your relationship. What did he mean by that?”
I reach over the console and drag her hand to rest on my lap. Just her hand on my leg makes me instantly calmer. And also brings my dick to half-mast.
“We are. My dad and I, we haven’t always been the best communicators over the years. He’s been pretty absent, but … well, I guess I should tell you that my mother died giving birth to me.”
A frown marks her beautiful, plump lips and I instantly regret asking her about it. “I’m so sorry, babe. I didn’t know …”
I was never very good when it came to death or comforting people in grief. I hadn’t experienced it all that much.
“It’s okay. I’m not bitter about it. Never have been. Mostly I just get sad that I never got to know her. But that’s why it’s been so hard for my dad. He pretty much fell apart after she was gone. Threw himself into work, slept at the station most nights. It was as if I lost two parents.”
I can’t imagine what that loneliness feels like. Sure, my dad could be an asshole, but my mom supported and loved me more than she did herself. My family is always together on holidays, birthdays, and at least one weeknight dinner. Looking at it from her perspective, my reluctance to sit down and talk with my father seems petty. At least he was in my life.
“But recently, we had a blowup. Which was actually a positive thing.” She snorts. “We aired our grievances, and he’s going to try to make more of an effort.”
“That’s … great.” I smile, trying to forget his death threat on me just minutes earlier.
“Oh, you don’t have to pretend he doesn’t scare the shit out of you.” She squeezes my leg and my cock shoots from half-mast to windblown sails.
“You do that again and he’s really going to kill me for what I do to you.” I stare into her eyes, which flash with heat. At this rate, I’ll need to pull the truck over and get her in the back seat. It’s been way too long since I’ve tasted her.
“So what about your father? I recommend a huge blowup. It really does wonders for that fatherly bond.” She smiles, but I can tell she’s trying to easily broach the subject of my dad.
This is definitely not the small talk I wanted to engage in on our trip to the beach. “All right, rap goddess. Can you take a little rock and roll?”
Minka gives me a knowing glance but thankfully drops the subject. This trip has already gotten off to a rough start, what with the firing squad I encountered at her house. I want to relax, see Minka let her hair down. I don’t want to sour our mood with shitty talks about how much my dad sucks.
The opening guitar chords of one my favorite songs blasts out of the speakers and I jack the volume up even more. I pull my aviators out of where they rest on my shirt collar, slip them on and begin to sing along. Badly.
I peer over at Minka and see her heated gaze taking in my entire form. A spark of lust hits me square in the gut. I can’t get us to the beach fast enough.
I begin to belt out the words again and I look over to see her laughing hard. And damn, she’s a sight.
Her curls whip around in the wind coming through the open windows. She has her head tilted back, her mouth wide with a smile. Her delicate hand lies in my lap and the other clutches her chest over her heart as if she can’t catch her breath from giggling.
A little piece of my heart breaks off and makes its way across the truck to her. If this girl keeps showing me these unfiltered moments, if she keeps letting me in, I might just fall in love with her.
* * *
The beach house is one of my favorite places on earth. The house itself is impressive, as is every piece of real estate my father owns. But this place is pure, so much more toned down than the usual gaudy castles he bought.
The exterior sports the faded gray shingles you always picture the houses to look like in Nantucket and the front yard is more a mixture of grass and pebbles than sloping green lawns. I was always glad my father never tried to maintain that pristine standard here, it felt more natural.
The house is three stories. The bottom level features a large garage that houses bikes, kayaks, paddle boards … basically any beach entertainment item you want, we own. The other side of the bottom level is a huge media room. One side has its own private movie theater, complete with the comfy black loungers. The other side holds a ping-pong and pool table side by side.
A memory slams into me … my father and me … him teaching me to play both. The m
emory brings a warm sensation to my chest.
It’s why I love the place most of all. I have only good memories of my father here.
I grab our bags from the back seat and escort Minka inside the media room.
“So, this is the fun zone.” I wave my hand around as she stares, not hiding her impressed smile.
“Wow. I see you really spared no expense, huh?”
“Oh, quit playing the ‘I loathe rich kids’ card. You’ll be thanking me later when you can watch The Notebook in all its surround-sound glory.”
She wrinkles her nose. “Ew, really? You take me for that kind of girl. I’d rather kick your ass in pool.”
She makes me want to bound across the room and throw her over my shoulder. The girl is full of surprises and most of them turn me on immensely. “Duly, noted. Spank Minka’s ass in pool. I’ll add that to the list.”
“In your dreams, pal.”
“Let’s go drop these upstairs.”
We make our way to the second level, which houses two of the four bedrooms and a massive great room which doubles as the kitchen and living room.
The kitchen is state of the art, all stainless steel appliances and cream-colored counters. The overall theme of the house is beachy and neutral tones, beiges and creams stole over every piece of decor. Mama picked rustic, antique pieces with just enough flare to suit her expensive taste.
I move into the living room and set our bags down on one of the gigantic overstuffed couches.
“So here’s the dilemma.” I wait for Minka to stop drooling over the kitchen to propose my plan. I know I need to tread lightly here. “There are two guest rooms down here. But my room and my parent’s master suite are both on the third floor.”
She blinks, clearly not understanding where I’m headed with this.
“There is nothing more I want than to have you share my bed with me this weekend. In which case I can take both of these bags upstairs. It has the best view of the beach too. Just saying. In case you need extra convincing.” I stop, assessing her face. I can’t read the indiscernible expression that swims in her stunning eyes, which are now the color of deep, dark honey. “But, I know you might not be comfortable with that. And I really want you to be comfortable. So this is absolutely your choice.”
She contemplates me and I can see the wheels turning in the back of that pretty head of hers. I silently pray she picks my bed. I am more than ready to hold her in my arms all night. And maybe there are some other especially dirty fantasies I want to put into action too.
But I would forgo the dirtiness, it would be tough but I would, if she agreed to sleep in my bed.
“I think I’d like to stay in the guest room. Don’t hate me please …” Minka cringes a bit and looks down at her shoes.
I’m across the room in two seconds flat. I gently push my fingers under her chin and tip it up until I can see her sharp, exotic features in full view.
“First of all, I could never hate you. So forget that. Second, don’t be ashamed or embarrassed for holding true to something you feel strongly about. I understand if you don’t feel comfortable. I would feel terrible if you chose to stay in my bed and didn’t fully want to be there. I am thanking my lucky stars that you even came on this little getaway.”
Again, a niggling feeling at the base of my spine alerts me to the fact that she has definitely been burned in the past. I won’t pry it out of her, but I also hate that she doesn’t feel one hundred percent secure in my presence.
“I’m glad I’m here too.” Minka smiles and nods her head.
“Let’s get you set up in the room down the hall. It has the better bathroom.” I grin at her, trying my best to erase any fears or doubts taking up space in her head. “I promise I won’t even try to sneak in here in the middle of the night.”
When she speaks next, her voice is infused with a tiny bit more confidence. “No one said you couldn’t try that.”
18
Minka
Owen’s room really does have the best view. After settling my stuff into the guest bedroom downstairs, he convinced me to at least come up and see his rad Owen-cave. His words, not mine.
The room is enormous, it practically takes up half of the third floor. The half that is not occupied by his parent’s suite that is almost as big as my house. When I walked in and saw their bathroom, I told Owen he could lock up when he left. I’d be living in there, soaking in the tub until I died.
Owen’s room matches the rest of the house in its creamy beige color palette, with accents of nautical decor throughout. His California King is backed by what looks like a huge piece of driftwood that has been painted ivory and made to look distressed. But what it faces is far more beautiful than the actual bed.
Directly across the room are floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that open up onto a balcony. The whole thing wraps around the entire top level of the house. I stare in awe as I make my way toward them, completely ignoring the hot slab of man putting his clothes away in the free-standing armoire across the room.
Pressed up against the glass, so close I’m probably slobbering on it, I look out at the most breathtaking beach view I’ve ever seen. And that would also be only the second beach view I’ve ever seen.
Dad was never big on vacations, as noted by his frequent absences. Chloe’s family had taken me on a trip to Florida with them in middle school, but I found the beaches in Miami to be crowded and filled with women in bathing suits that I’d be embarrassed to walk around in even today.
But this ocean view? It’s majestic. Owen’s house sits almost directly on the beach, save for a dune shielding the back of the house from the prying eyes of beach guests. All you have to do is walk up and over the sand hill to meet the ocean.
“You can go out on the deck, you know …” Owen chuckles, coming up behind me. I can feel his body heat against my back and am instantly overcome with a warm buzz, wanting to feel his hands on me. Instead, he reaches around me, brushing his arm against my waist in the process and clicks open the latch, pulling the giant doors apart.
I wasn’t sure I could move just then. Tingles move up and down my spine from just his contact against my skin. My body yearns so badly for him to just move his mouth down and close in on my neck. Like he’d done all those weeks ago in my kitchen.
“Quit thinking about getting me naked, Braxton.” He skims his finger down my arm, another repeat from my kitchen, goose bumps trailing in its wake. And then, just as my eyes close and a sigh forms on my lips, he smacks me square on the ass.
“Ow! You dick!” I scowl at him as he slips around me and runs to the railing of the balcony.
“You only want me for my amazing body, we get it. But come over here and check out this view,” he teases, facing away toward the ocean.
I join him at the railing and try to shove my elbow into his ribs, but he’s quicker. He catches my arm and pulls me in front of him, bracketing me between the railing and his, yes, amazing body. My heart rate picks up.
“There, that’s better.” I feel him nuzzle my hair and then rest his chin on my head. My heart literally melts into a pool of wilted-girly feelings. This is why I can’t stay in his room.
The fear that he’ll be just like Gregory has almost evaporated, and Owen has done absolutely nothing but make me feel secure. But, it’s been replaced by a whole new fear. The fear of falling. I’m getting too close, letting him slip past my defenses and every wall I’d put up. I know that if I agree to share his bed, he’d tear them all down, shoving into the nooks and crannies of my heart. Places I would never be able to get him out of.
I like him too much and it’s only a matter of time until he leaves. I need to keep straight in my mind what this is—a summer fling. It was fun, sexy and yes, he’s great at romancing me. I’ve been seeing the world through rose-colored glasses ever since he stepped into it.
But the summer will eventually end and I can’t expect that Owen, a college sophomore and someone destined for celebrity and super-stardom
status, will wait around for me to graduate high school.
That’s why I needed to keep a safe distance, to avoid getting caught in his orbit. Because if I do, I will definitely get burned.
“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” I can feel his breath so close to my ear that it sends delicious shivers down my back. No way am I spilling all the fears running through my mind.
“I was thinking about how beautiful and quiet it is out here. Nothing like Miami.”
I can hear the smile on his lips. “Oh, yeah? Are you a Miami connoisseur or something?”
“No, it’s just the only other beach I’ve ever been to. My friend Chloe’s family took me when I was thirteen.”
“Seriously? This is only your second trip to the beach?” I turn my head back and nod as he guffaws in disbelief. “Well, shit, I have to show you what a real beach is like. Go slip into something sexy and let’s go for a walk.” His hands squeeze my hips.
“You’re a perv.”
We make our way to our respective bedrooms, but not without him trying to follow me into mine and subsequently getting the door slammed in his face. When I’m finally alone, I heave my bag onto the spacious king bed and begin to rifle through it.
Rooting around to try to feel for the straps of my bikinis, my hand hits the corner of a box. “What the …” I pull, finally freeing the item and groan when I see what my hand comes up with.
Condoms. Those idiots put condoms in my bag. Chloe and Kelsey must have stashed them at the bottom of my bag when I was talking to my dad.
Tossing them aside, I start to pull out my clothes and arrange them in piles. I find my black bikini that ties in a bow at the center of my chest and hope it qualifies as something sexy.
Over the Fence Box Set Page 12
