Drawn To You (Paloma's Edge)

by Shaw, Robin

  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 taught 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.

  She 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.”

  With 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 got 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.”

  Pierce squared his shoulders. “Noodles, I know Mom wants me to move back home, but Dad and I will get into a real fight. And I am tight that Cassidy doesn’t have to answer for her behavior. Say Chase had been dumb enough to mess with her—why wouldn’t she face consequences, like Chase did for supposedly fucking around in their house?”

  “Because she’s their daughter,” I said, strongly disliking their names and the word “fucking” in the same hypothetical scenario.

  His face burned with exasperation. “When Mona and I hooked up in their house when we were kids, I had to clean the neighbor’s house and mow their lawn for three months. And no one can miss that house with the huge-ass water fountain in front of it when you enter our community.” He sighed heavily. “Cassidy can do all sorts of wrong, but I have to be noble? I’ve brushed it under the rug, but Dad played my boy. Dad has told me to think before I act, but he failed to do just that.”

  I completely understood where Pierce was coming from. I titled my head sympathetically and Pierce gave me a half-hug. We resumed walking again. “Are you and Chase doing okay?”

  I nodded. “How about you, Porkchop?”

  Impatiently, Mona tapped her foot loudly. An annoyed, conflicted look flitted over Pierce’s face. Brianna rolled her eyes as she and Gavin got into her car. A minute later, she drove behind Rylan and Joel’s cars. With a scowl, Pierce stood stock-still. Mona mouthed “sorry.” As I left Pierce’s side, and the question hung in the air, I trotted over to Chase, who lured me with the heat in his eyes. My disquiet began to melt away. Pierce strode towards Mona, or his Mustang.

  ***

  The laptop and the desk lamp were the first objects I noticed when Chase brought me into his guestroom. I hadn’t seen the guestroom he used at Uncle Anton and Aunt Deborah’s before he’d left, so I didn’t know if he was a tidy person in general. I’d been neater since staying in my guestroom, because it wasn’t really my room, and Chase may have kept this space spotless for the same reason. Brianna and Gavin weren’t here yet, and I pondered what could happen tonight. His twin bed looked like it was too short and narrow for his six-three frame. No object was out of place. The wooden floor had been polished recently.

  I took off my tunic and hung it up in front of his closet to keep it with the orderly appearance of this room. Chase came inside and my eyes darted from his broad, welcoming smile to the morir soñados he had in his hands.

  “Need me to put on the fan?” he asked as I reached for my glass.

  I shook my head, swigging some of my beverage, and Chase set his drink by the night table and sat down on the bed.

  A shiver ran through me as his gaze darkened and he angled his head at the bed. My lower stomach tightened, as I recalled the thrill of possibly being caught in the act with Chase in broad daylight at the parking lot.

  I complied and when I laid a side of my body against his, I heard him sip his drink. He settled his other hand on my buttock and I slid my hand underneath his shirt, surprised to feel barely any hairs this time. An ache flared between my legs.

  I raised my head. “What’s your last name?”

  Frowning, he answered, “Lovell.” His features smoothed. “Pierce didn’t tell you?” He sounded surprised.

  I nestled my head against his shoulder again. “It never came up.”

  “And you didn’t try to find that info in HR?”

  “Records for new employees are computerized. The new system tracks what every employee does, and that was enough incentive for me not to get nosy. Only Mrs. Clark and Mrs. Adler have access to the file cabinets.”

  I reached for my glass and gulped most of it down. My heart pounded and I heard the blood rushing past my eardrums. “You didn’t think I’d say yes to bringing you back here, did you?”

  I laughed nervously. “Was it obvious that I thought you’d say no?” When Chase ha driven a mile from the beach, I’d wondered if I could come with him to Brianna and Gavin’s, and the next thing I knew I’d suddenly asked him without any real consideration to the potential implications. And he understood that I hadn’t wanted to stay in the living room or the kitchen this time. I wanted to be with him in his guestroom.

  “No, babe,” he said. “I am surprised that I said yes.” He fell silent for a beat. “This morir soñado is cooling me down.”

  The warmth of his big, hard body, coupled with the tenderness I saw in his hazel eyes, overwhelmed me. “When you swim, you look good, so free. It does something for you.”

  “I’ve never been a great swimmer,” he said. “I’ve gotten competent at it over the years, and it’s become a huge part of my training for football. My muscles are stronger and I am more agile now.”

  “You let go of whatever you’re feeling when you swim?” My statement came out as a question.

  He sucked in a breath and my fingers trembled against his chest.

  “As much as possible,” he said, and the side of his mouth tugged up.

  He drifted his hand from my backside and dragged it over my arm, the familiar caress sending chills through me. We hadn’t said anything for a while. Staying in his embrace, I glided my fingers from his belly button and up to his nipples until they stiffened like mine had because of him. Ever since he’d first touched me. I’d been weak. The self-loathing in Chase’s face when he’d told me about his promiscuity replayed in my mind and I couldn’t discount how important it was for he and I to have sex when our hormones weren’t consuming us. I had to be strong for the both of us. I didn’t want to disrupt Chase’s goal. I laid my hand flat against his chest again.

  Chapter 11

  Chase

  “What’s good?” Gavin asked, entering the living room the following
day. He wiped his pillow wrinkled face with the sides of his hands. He’d slept for about three hours after he’d come from La Floridita. He rested on his sofa and put his thermos on top of his fold-up table. Bri had left for work at the Paloma hours ago, and even I felt like it was too empty in here, especially since Joel and Rylan were probably still asleep. Pierce was working twelve hours today. I recalled the times when I’d pulled those hours with he and Brody.

  “Pierce networked for me at a meeting he and his Mr. Pruitt had in Miami, and a potential employer emailed me about possibly taking on a job. I’ve been reading the branding guidelines since I first woke up,” I told him, shooting him a look.

  Gavin lowered the newspaper down to his lap. “Are you feeling it?”

  “The branding guidelines are kinda rigid, but I can design the images that the company wants for its promotional goals.” I shrugged. “And the pay is right. It’s the standard half upfront and half after the completion of the project.”

  He nodded. “Oh, and here comes the contract!” I opened up my new email.

  He gave a dry chuckle. “Now, let’s see how you’re really feeling it once you’ve read that contract!”

  As I started to read the first paragraph, Gavin began reading the paper again. About two hours later, and after a lot of side notes on my computer’s notepad, I took in a breath and reclined on the sofa. When I turned my head, Gavin raised a bushy brow at me. “The contract is kinda verbose.” I huffed. “I’m gonna have Pierce look this over and tell me what he thinks.”

  With an amused expression, he went to the kitchen. “You want sugar with your coffee?” Gavin called out from the kitchen.

  “Done,” he replied.

  Minutes later, he returned with our mugs of coffee. My phone vibrated, and there was an alert of a new message against the background picture of Beth and Bri with Tainted Virtue that she’d finally emailed me yesterday. It was unlikely that I’d ever change my screensaver.