He nodded, understanding and respecting my wishes. “The dock, then?”
Perfect. “Yes, please.”
He grinned back, looking as excited as I felt. “Okay, then. Climb on.” When he turned his back to me and crouched down, I frowned. He huffed out a breath. “I’m not letting you traipse through the woods at night barefoot, and I don’t think I can wait for you to go all the way back inside to get some sensible shoes, so I’m carrying you.”
Shaking my head over his gallantry, I climbed onto his back, trying not to strangle him as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
“So...” He reached back and caught my thighs before hefting me higher. Then he started walking. “How was the cotillion?”
I waited until we were away from the gazebo and finally in the woods before answering. “Fine.”
“Mmm.” He made a noncommittal sound in his throat before asking, “Anything good to eat there?”
“Seafood,” I answered, glumly.
He knew I wasn’t a fan, so he made a sympathetic sound. “What about dancing? Was there a dance too?”
“Yeah.” I sighed, wondering why he was so curious about my dull, boring evening. “There’s always one at the cotillion.”
“Did you dance with anyone?”
I blinked before a grin spread across my face. “Are you jealous?”
He growled, but pressed. “Did you dance with anyone or not?”
Still beaming, I leaned around his shoulder to kiss his cheek. “No. Of course not. No one ever asks me to dance.”
“Good.”
“What?” I scowled, but he sat me down at the dock’s ramp because we’d reached the strip pit.
Then he turned to me and took my hand. After lifting my fingers to his mouth and kissing the knuckles, he asked, “Will you dance with me? Right now?”
My lips parted. But then I nodded eagerly. “Okay.”
He walked me onto the dock and turned to face me, sliding his arms around my waist. “We don’t have any music, so this might get awkward, but...” Stepping into a strange kind of waltz, he began to dance.
I followed his lead, gazing up into his eyes and reveling in every feature of his face the moonlight offered.
With a warm smile, he leaned in to brush his nose along my temple. “When you said cotillion, I pictured you wearing one of those southern, 1800 dresses with a big hoop skirt that belled out, but this is really modern.”
I sighed as his fingers moved over my spaghetti straps. “Yeah, my mother said that in this situation, it’s more important to keep up with the style of the times than to follow tradition.”
He nodded. “It’s a really pretty dress, but...I’m a little more interested in what’s under it, so...it’s going to have to go.” Lowering the straps, he eased the front down, once again revealing my breasts, then he pushed it lower to my hips, letting me know he really did want it off.
I reached down and helped him, pulling it the rest of the way off until it could tumble down my legs and pool at my feet, leaving me in nothing but a pair of white panties.
“God, you’re beautiful.” Lightly moving his hands over my breasts, he continued to dance with me until his hands moved lower, then lower still.
When he reached the waistband of my panties, I held my breath.
His fingers gripped and slid the cloth down.
“Does this happen inside every girl when she dances with a boy, or is it just me?”
He glanced up. “I don’t know; what’s happening inside you?”
I smiled. “I’m really, really wanting to explore third base right now.”
My panties dropped the rest of the way to the ground, and his palm moved over my backside. “Good,” he said into my ear. “Now lie down, and we’ll get started.”
Nerves assailed me; I hesitated. But Knox took my hand and knelt on the dock with me. Then he spread out my dress so I could lie on it. At the last second, he ripped off his shirt to provide my head with extra pillowing. Then he motioned for me to get into place.
I was shaky and nervous, and he could tell as he stared down at me. Taking my balled hands, he kissed them until I relaxed and opened them. “We don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, but I really want to make you feel good, City.”
“Don’t stop. I want that too,” I assured him. It was just...well, I was freaking naked in front of a boy. And he was about to explore...down there. Everything inside me was going haywire.”
“Okay,” he whispered, pressing his mouth to my palm. “But you tell me at any time if you want to stop, and I will.”
I bobbed my head. “All right.”
He finally looked at me, completely from head to toe, laid out nude on the dock while he knelt beside me.
“Fuck, City, you look good naked in the moonlight. You’re...perfect.”
“I love you,” I said in a high, scared voice.
His grin was immediate and warm. “I love you, too.” Then he leaned down and kissed me, sweetly and closed-mouthed, on the lips.
This, I could do. So I kissed him back and cupped his face, running my fingers up into his hair. He eased down beside me so we were stretched out next to each other on our sides, and as he deepened the kiss, his hand smoothed over my cheek and down my neck until he reached my breasts. After flicking his thumb over the nipple, he cupped me hard, making a jolt of pain mix with even more pleasure.
I panted into his mouth and kissed him deeper. He groaned and moved his hand south, over my stomach and across to my hip. He cupped that a second before caressing his way to the apex of my thighs. Right before he reached the place that was sensitive, pulsing, and swollen, he paused. Then he pressed his forehead to mine, looked into my eyes, and touched me.
I sucked in a breath at the shock of it.
“Is it okay?” he asked, his gaze worried.
I gulped, not quite sure I could talk yet. Then I nodded, and blubbered, “Better...so much better than okay.”
Male satisfaction clouded his features, and he moved lower, until—
“Oh, fuck me. You’re wet. You’re so fucking wet.”
His finger plunged into me and I bucked against it. “Knox. God, that feels...” I clutched his shoulder hard and savored the feeling. “So...good.”
“Does it?” He stroked me then, drawing his finger out and then pushing it back in. I loved it and thrust up my hips to meet his next plunge. “God, you’re gorgeous. You’re so gorgeous.”
I bit my lip, watching him as he watched me back.
“Jesus, City,” he rasped. “You’re killing me here. You’re not supposed to look this hot getting off to my hand. I’m barely holding myself together.”
Too seeped in the pleasure to care, I arched my back and begged, “More.”
He gave it, kissing me hard, tangling our tongues together as he added another finger and cupping one of my breasts with a free hand. I crashed my hips against his palm in feminine demand, and he moved faster, thrust deeper.
“Oh my God.” I pulled away from his kiss to arch my neck back and bow up my aching breasts. “Something’s happening. I think I’m gonna come.”
“Shit! Wait.” He moved down my body as I gaped at him in absolute confusion, but then he said, “There was one more thing I wanted to do before you...” He didn’t bother to finish his explanation. He pressed his mouth between my legs and licked me.
I screamed and bucked against him. He shoved his fingers deep, swirled his tongue over a knotted bundle of nerves, and I came so hard I went lightheaded and slightly oxygen deprived. But the bolts of energy radiating from me felt so freaking good, I rode the high, not even caring.
By the time I came down, I felt limp and satiated, ready to pass out and sleep for a decade.
Knox blew out a breath and collapsed beside me, lying on his side so he could watch me. I rolled onto my side so I could face him too. We grinned like idiots at each other until we started to laugh.
Then I held up a hand. “Okay, I just have to say...I f
reaking love third base.”
He laughed and kissed my lips in the moonlight. “Yeah, so do I.”
I shook my head, studying his beautiful, perfect face as he pulled back. “How’d you ever know to do something like that?”
He shrugged. “My dad watches a lot of porn.”
“Oh.” I bit my lip, my thoughts swirling. Then I whispered, “Knox?”
His lashes fluttered as if he could pass out too. Then he murmured, “Hmm?”
“Can I confess something to you?”
Eyes opening, he nodded. “Of course.”
“My brothers watch a lot of porn too.”
When I reached between us and snapped open the top button of his jeans, he sucked in a breath. “City?”
I lowered the zipper slowly. “Can I do to you what you just did to me?”
“Uh...” Words seemed to fail him as I slipped my hand into the opening and clutched him through his underwear.
“I think the answer you’re looking for is yes.”
He groaned as I stroked him. “Yes. Oh...fuck. Yes, okay. But only if you want to.”
“Oh, I want to. I want to so very, very badly.”
Wiping a hand over his face, he watched as I drew him free of his underwear, then he lifted his hips so I could push his clothes out of the way. When I returned to his cock, I was amazed at how soft it was over the hardness beneath the surface. The slit at the end of the mushroomed head seeped a syrupy drop, so I leaned down and licked it away.
He reacted violently, clutching my hair and surging his hips up. But a second later, he slammed his butt back to the dock under him. “Sorry, sorry. Did I hurt you?”
“No. In fact,” I took his hand and placed it back in my hair. “I kind of liked that response.”
Then I put my mouth around the entire head. The groan that followed and his grip in my hair told me just how much he liked it. So I moved down, taking in more. All I really knew was that I was supposed to suck and not bite. Wrapping my lips around my teeth, I used suction to pull him in deeper. He shuddered, every muscle in him seeming to spasm out of control
“Fucking hell,” he gritted out. “I’m not going to last long.”
I pulled out some only to suck as much as I could handle back in. It didn’t take long to learn from his reactions that he liked speed and pressure, and lots of suction.
“City. I’m gonna... God, I’m gonna come.”
Excited I was doing it right, I picked up the pace, but he clutched my hair hard and pulled me off him. Gripping the base, he pumped furiously for two or three strokes before cream shot out over his stomach. I gaped at how much came out of him.
“Oh, God,” he said, thumping the back of his head on the dock as he tried to regulate his breathing. “That was...so much better than masturbating.”
I grinned because his shock and pleasure was adorable. “Thanks for pulling me off at the end,” I said, glancing at the stream of semen pooled on his stomach. “I didn’t realize there would be quite that much.”
He laughed and looked down at it too. “Yeah, I didn’t figure you should swallow the first time out.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, beginning to frown. “How’re we supposed to clean it off?” I glanced at my dress, then my underwear, knowing it would be noble to let him use either of those to wipe his stomach clean, but...eww. I just couldn’t.
I think my expression amused him. He laughed again. “Well, there is a large body of water right there. What do you say to...skinny-dipping?”
I grinned at the idea. “Well, I am already naked.”
He glanced at his jeans shoved down to his thighs. “And I could get there soon.”
“Let’s do it.” Without waiting on him to strip the rest of the way, I popped to my feet and took off running so I could dive into the cool evening water.
I was having a good delicious dream about Knox moving inside me, hitting a spot that had me right on the edge, when someone crawled into bed with me, jerking me awake.
I gasped, embarrassed and...well, mostly just embarrassed out of my freaking mind. It skeeved me out to be having a sex dream while a ten-year-old was seeking me for comfort after a nightmare. But damn, after almost reaching an orgasm with Knox at the club, I was left so hot and bothered I couldn’t even be that mad at him for abandoning me afterward.
I mean, okay, yes, I was upset. Pissed, really. But at least now I knew he still cared for me, he still wanted me, he still missed me. His inability to deny his love for me told me everything I needed to know. He was holding himself back for some oddball reason I wasn’t yet aware of, but as soon as I figured out what that aggravating reason was, I was going to crush it under my feet and make it a total non-issue so he’d never feel the need to push me away again.
But first, I had to deal with Colton Gamble. This was the third night in a row he’d sought me after a nightmare. The first two times, I hadn’t asked him anything after I’d gotten it out of him that he’d had a bad dream and just wanted company. I’d let it go and allowed him to stay the rest of the night. When I’d asked Aspen about it, she’d said he used to do that to Caroline, his sister, when she’d lived here.
Tonight, however, I was ready for him...well, as soon as I cooled my jets and stopped thinking of Knox’s cock inside me.
“Another bad dream?” I asked after a minute, acting as if I were just then waking up.
He cuddled in closer to me, trembling. “Yeah.”
“Poor boy.” I smoothed his sweat-damp hair off his forehead. “I hate having nightmares. I used to dream that I showed up to school in nothing but my underwear and everyone laughed and pointed, and no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find any clothes to wear.”
Colton giggled; his muscles relaxed.
“What was your dream about?” When he didn’t answer, I guessed. “It was about zombies, wasn’t it?”
Zombie games were our thing. Whenever I came to visit—before I actually lived with the Gambles—we usually played some version of a zombie game on one of his gaming systems. Or we were known to watch the show iZombie together. He was slightly obsessed with them. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the undead were haunting his dreams.
“No,” he mumbled, though. “It was about my mom.”
I wasn’t expecting this answer. The only thing Aspen had ever told me about his mom was that she’d been neglectful and hadn’t taken care of any of her kids, so Noel had scooped up his three siblings and moved them in with him.
“What about her?” I asked, kissing his forehead as I continued to pet his hair.
“She came and took me away,” he said, burrowing close. “Every time I dream, she always drags me back with her, and I never see Brandt or Aspen or Noel or Caroline again.”
I swallowed, wincing, because it hurt to hear a child was actually afraid of being with his mother. What the hell had she done to him?
Ignoring the growing rage, I said, “You know you don’t have to worry about that, right? Noel and Aspen have legal custody of you now. Your mom couldn’t take you, even if she wanted too.”
“I know,” he mumbled. “But I can’t stop dreaming about it.”
“Well, let’s figure this out. If your mom ever did come for you and try to steal you back, what would you do?”
He went tense. I rubbed his hair some more.
“How about this idea? I’ve seen you take a hoe after a zombie, and boy, you’re wicked awesome with a hoe, let me tell you. How about you threaten her with a hoe and tell her you’re not going anywhere with her, or she gets the zombie death chop?”
He giggled. “Or a lawn-mower haircut.”
“Heck, yeah. You’re deadly with those too.”
We went through a few more scenarios of how he could stand up for himself and refuse to go anywhere with his mother. And after we talked it though, I nudged his arm. “Hey, I have a surprise for you.”
“Really?” His voice perked to attention. “What?”
“I can’t tell you. You have to f
ind it for yourself, but I hid it in this room and you can only find it in the dark, because I put a glow-in-the-dark sticker on it.”
Colton immediately popped out of bed and started searching.
I smiled because he didn’t seem to have a problem rooting through the dark at all.
“Found it,” he said, returning to the bed with the sound of crinkling paper as he tore the wrapping off. After a second, he asked, “What is it?”
“What’s it feel like?”
“I have no idea. Something soft and fuzzy with a little metal tube.”
“The soft fuzzy part is a rabbit foot.”
“A what? Eww.”
“Hey, I got this eww, gross rabbit foot from a hoodoo priestess,” I said, pitching my voice low. “And I got it just for you, because they’re full of good luck and protect you from harm. But...not just any rabbit foot from any ol’ rabbit will do. Only the left hind foot brings good luck, and not just any left hind foot. The rabbit has to be caught in a cemetery on a full moon and the foot chopped off while the rabbit is still...alive. So don’t you dare take my gift lightly. Somewhere in a cemetery, there’s a three-footed rabbit limping around, just so you could be protected. And I haven’t even gotten to the coolest part yet.”
“What?” he asked, sounding totally interested.
“The tube connected to it is actually monster repellant.”
“Nuh-uh. There’s no such thing.”
“Oh, yes, there is. Whenever you think a monster might be near, you spray this baby in your mouth—it’s actually very minty flavored—and it keeps any and every monster away from you. Go ahead.” I nudged him. “Try it. Spray a squirt into your mouth.”
After a second, I heard the aerosol spray go off. “Ugh,” he muttered. “That’s disgusting.” Then he smacked his lips together a few times and added, “But not too bad.”
“And?” I asked, “Do you see any monsters?”
“Well...no. But you’re here. They wouldn’t come out with an adult in the room.”