Chapter 15

There was a soft halo glowing around the streetlights as they guided us back to the rental. I'd been aware of Evian right next to me since meeting up earlier, entranced by the scent of his cologne, calmed by the sound of his laughter…drawn to the small of his back, my palm still radiating warmth from the residual touch.

I'd seen happy couples at the festival live their lives. Pushing baby carriages, holding hands, loving freely, and had been so tempted to take Evian's hand several times. Something always held me back, but now regret was front and center in my mind.

It was time to reach for what I wanted most.

Slowly, I extended my arm and slipped my hand over Evian's, lacing our fingers together. Okay, so we weren't in the middle of the festival anymore, but we were out in the open, walking down a street in Coral Pointe. That had to count for something, right? Judging by the beautiful smile that spread on his face, it definitely counted as a big step forward.

A few people headed toward us on the street, and it took everything in me not to fall back on the habit of panicking. Instead, it was Evian who loosened his grip, most likely sensing my inner turmoil. All that did was make me more determined to keep his hand in mine and walk with confidence…with pride. I could defend us. I would defend us.

When the group of people simply passed by, giving polite waves and friendly smiles, I remembered where I was. Remembered I was safe here. That my mom wasn't here. How fucked up was it that part of feeling like I was in a safe place was because my mom was nowhere near me?

My focus needed to be on the person who was here. I squeezed his hand and looked down at him, my breath catching as the moonlight reflected in his hazel eyes. I wanted to lick him right where his pink V-neck met his golden skin. Not for the first time today, I imagined what I'd find under his jeans…imagined him completely bare and spread out before me.

"Fuck. If you keep looking at me like that, the thin thread I have on my self-control is gonna snap."

"Good thing we're here," I said, pulling the smaller man behind me on the walkway to the front door. Every nerve ending in my body was pinging with anticipation as the key turned in the lock and we went inside a completely dark house. "I forgot to leave a light on. Hang on." I switched on a soft lamp by the couch and closed all the curtains.

"This is a pretty painting. I wonder if it's from a local artist." While he focused on the waves painted across the canvas as they crashed on the shore, I noticed his hands as he wrung them in front of him. He was nervous. I didn't know if that meant he was anxious for me to make a move or hoping I wouldn't.

I took a chance and walked up behind him, the front of my body grazing the back of his. Close enough to breathe him in and feel his warmth. The last thing I wanted to do was pressure him or make him feel uncomfortable. When he leaned back against me, closing what little distance was between us, I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

My hands found their way to his small waist, my eager mouth to his neck. My lips hovered over the skin I'd imagined tasting minutes before. "This okay?"

"Yeah," he whispered, tilting his head to the side to give me more room. I took the invitation and kissed the curve of his delicate neck, my tongue slipping out to finally have a taste of his warm skin. His salty flavor sank into my tongue, awakening all my senses.

I took a chance, slowly sliding my hands around his waist and under the hem of his shirt, pressing them against his flat stomach. My body trembled with how much I wanted him, reminding me how long it had been since I'd touched anyone like this.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly, turning in my arms.

Flames engulfed my face as I shifted my gaze over his shoulder at the waves metaphorically crashing, much like my bravado just took a leap off my ego and shattered at my feet. Jesus, what the hell was wrong with me? Over the last few days, I'd envisioned him in my arms like this, and now I was afraid to take it. Afraid it wasn't real or that I'd embarrass myself because I was inexperienced with men. Terrified someone would stop me again and ruin this moment when the only one fucking up it up was me.

"Enzo, we don't have to do anything you're not ready for." Evian slid my hands off his body and took a couple of small steps back, putting space between us. I could feel my opportunity escaping.

Determination surged wildly through me, because as terrified as I was that this was all just a dream, I was even more scared to let this gorgeous man slip through my fingers. I closed the small space between us, cupped his gorgeous face, and whispered, "I'm so fucking ready. I promise you I am."

He still looked apprehensive as he bit his enticing bottom lip, fueling my tenacity to replace that worried expression with the heat I'd seen in his eyes less than ten minutes ago.

Quickly, I swooped in and slammed my mouth over his, immediately deepening the kiss when he sighed. I wanted to devour him as if he were my last fucking meal, savoring every inch of him. Wanted to claim every whimper and moan he made as I backed him against the wall and slid my knee between his thighs. Holy shit, he was hard. Knowing I made him that way was a confidence booster like no other. I reached around and grabbed his tight ass, pulling him to me so he was flush against my body, helping him rotate his cock against my thigh.

Evian broke the kiss with a few deep breaths and a groan. Tilting his head back, he met my eyes, humor-laced sincerity sparkling in his own. "Are you sure you're ready for this? If this is moving too fast, I need you to tell me because you're about to make me come in my pants."

I groaned, leaning my forehead on his shoulder as I let out a breathless chuckle. "Fuck, no one's ever said something like that to me before, made me feel this way. I've never wanted something…someone…more than I want you"—I lifted my head so I could look at him and truly make sure we were on the same page—"but this isn't just about me, Ev. I don't want to stop, but I will if you want to."

"I don't want to stop," he whispered. "I still don't want to come in my favorite pants, though." He laughed softly. "Pretty sure we can figure out a solution that doesn't involve stopping."

"Yeah?" I heard the eagerness in my own voice and laughed. "Jesus, I just perked up like a goddamn puppy who was offered his first bone."

"Well, technically…" Evian held me hostage in his mischievous gaze, his hand taking mine, pressing my palm over the thickness between his legs.

"Oh fuck." My eyes crossed and slid closed, my entire body giving way to a spine-tingling shiver. "Now I'm the one about to come in my pants."

"We can't have that." A small gasp left his lips, his hand holding mine in place as he rotated his hips against my palm. "Fuck. Couch, before I really do ruin my favorite pants." He pulled me over to the couch, and my brain went offline. Maybe the trusty solution of turning it off and back on again would help. A brain reboot. Too bad I couldn't think or form words. Didn't matter at that point. I was more than willing to let him guide me to a sitting position on the couch.

He stood in front of me, biting that lush bottom lip, a flash of uncertainty in his hazel eyes. Something told me it wasn't because he didn't want this. No, he was waiting for the green light. One undeniable sign from me that this was what I wanted because it would change everything between us.

And, holy shit, I wanted this.

I was so damn tired of waiting to live my life, too keyed up to talk myself out of it.

I held his nervous gaze and slowly leaned forward, sliding my hand under the hem of his shirt, feeling his smooth warm skin before curling my fingers into his waistband and pulling. Evian sucked in a slight breath, his legs landing on either side of me on the cushions. "Fuck," he hissed, settling back on my thighs.

I was transfixed as Evian leaned his hands on the cushion, his long arms framing my head. Moving my hand to the back of his neck, my fingertips grazing his soft hair, I pulled him to me, crashing my mouth over his. I slid my tongue into his wet heat while wrapping my other arm around his slim waist, needing to feel him pressed against me. I knew he'd fit perfectly in my arms. Had imagined it so many times since coming back to Coral Pointe, even though we'd said we'd just be friends. The reality of feeling his lithe body above me, hearing his little whimpers and gasps as I drew them from him, released a primal need I wasn't even aware I was capable of feeling. It came from a depth I'd barricaded so many years ago. A deep, dark corner of my being that was finally getting its first taste of sunlight…its first drink of water.

Of Evian.

My senses were firing on all cylinders, or so I thought.

When Evian spread his trembling legs wider, and his hard cock settled next to mine, I was hit with a flood of sensations, every one of them scrambling my brain. I moaned, pushing my hips up while sliding my hand down to his perfect ass, and pulled him even closer. He rocked his hips, rubbing his stiff cock deliciously against mine, his tongue seeking dominance. Consuming me. Owning me.

Evian pulled away, his warm breath releasing in a vibrating hum against my mouth. He licked his kiss-swollen lips and took a couple more deep breaths. "We're about to pass the point of no return. Or maybe we already have because I sure as hell don't sit on friends' laps this way." And just in case I needed clarification, he rocked his hips, pressing his erection against mine.

I studied him for even the slightest hint of unease, but all I saw in his beautiful hazel eyes was patience. I had no doubt he'd wait if I needed him to. "Good because I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life," I admitted easily. The power that surged through me from saying those words was intense.

Evian held my gaze, his own half-lidded and glazed over with lust. Slowly, he slid his hands from the couch to my shoulders, trailing gentle fingertips down my chest, and stopping on the bottom hem of my shirt. His long fingers, painted with red polish this time, slid under the cotton material, leisurely sliding his hands up along with the shirt and driving me fucking crazy. "I think what we need tonight," he whispered as I raised my arms above my head, "is to take the edge off." He pulled the material up and off, tossing it on the couch next to us. "Release weeks of pent-up need."

"Years," I rasped then cringed with my lack of self-preservation. The admission was too revealing…too…humiliating. Especially when Evian's warm hands landed on either side of my bare ribcage and he sucked in a breath, searching my eyes. So, logically, I needed to make sure I drove that embarrassment home, right? "More than five years of not touching anyone, and before that, it was only women."

"Fuck, that's hot," he hissed out.

I laughed, devoid of any humor. "What? How can that be hot?"

He let his blazing gaze travel down my torso, leaving a trail of heat in its path. "Enzo, I've been with men who took me for granted, cheated, made me feel less than… Do you know how sexy it is to be given what you're giving me right now? To know you want me that much? To let your guard down and trust me the way you are?" He leaned in and pressed his soft lips against the curve of my neck. We both shuddered with that first contact.

"I have a feeling I do." I licked my parched lips, trying to focus on what I was saying while he did wicked things to my neck. I pushed my hands into his hair, pulling his head back so I could look into those gorgeous hazel depths. "You're trusting me the same way, aren't you." There was no point in forming it as a question when I already knew the answer. He'd closed himself off for years, but there he was, trusting me in one of the deepest ways possible.

Rather than answering me, he seized my mouth aggressively, as if he couldn't verbally find the words, so instead, he was showing me. And, because we were trusting each other on such a level, I couldn't get his shirt off fast enough. My fingers trembled as I grabbed the hem and yanked it up, letting him take over and pull it over his head, tossing it next to mine. Finally, there was nothing that was keeping me from feeling him, skin to skin. I pulled him against me, my breath shudderingto finally feel him with no barrier between our chests.

I wanted more. The image I'd had of him earlier, naked and spread out on my bed, came rushing back. We needed more room to move…explore… "Hold on to me."

"What—" He squeaked and wrapped his arms around my neck, his lean legs around my waist as I gripped his ass and stood up with him in my arms. Kissing him and carrying him at the same time turned out to be difficult, as proven by the chair I suavely walked into. Evian laughed against my mouth then began a trail of nips and licks across my jaw and under my ear, burying his face in my neck, kissing my sensitive skin.

Passing the threshold of the bedroom with Evian in my arms was so surreal. In the darkened room, I carefully quickened my step across the hardwood floor to the bed, laying him down on it, determined to keep him there as long as I possibly could.

I switched on the lamp on the bedside table, draping a soft glow over Evian's body. He slid himself back until his head hit my pillow, grabby hands reaching out for me. I didn't overthink, didn't hesitate, as I crawled over him and let my weight press him into the mattress. His hands were everywhere, sliding into my hair, tickling the nape of my neck, squeezing my shoulders before sliding down my back and landing on my ass.

He felt so delicate underneath me, his skin smooth and soft. Our tongues slid together in a wicked dance, my hand exploring his chest, stopping as it slid over his small, pink nipple. I broke the kiss, dragging in deep breaths as I brushed my thumb over the tightened nub. He shivered from my touch. Desperate to pull an even bigger reaction from him, I leaned down and closed my mouth over it, laving with my tongue and grazing ever so gently with my teeth. His back arched, whispers of Enzo and more and fuck fell from his lips.

I sucked in a breath when his nimble fingers released the button on my jeans and slid the zipper down. His hand slid over my throbbing erection, my hips rocking, immediately searching for more pressure.

"Look at me, Enzo," he said, his voice raspy. I pried my eyes open, struggling to focus on him while his thumb brushed over the head of my covered cock. "Is this what you want?" He pulled my waistband out, only moving it down slightly so the tip of my dick slipped out.

He said to look at him, but I couldn't stop myself from jerking my head down, entranced as his fingertips grazed the purple head, smearing the liquid leaking from my slit. "Fuck, yes."

Evian responded by shoving my jeans down as far as he could until I took over and removed them and my socks, leaving only my black boxer briefs, the head of my cock still sticking out. The second my legs were free, I worked on the button of his pants, my pulse kicking up at the first glimpse of purple lace and silk.

"You like?" he asked, shoving his pants down so I could take my fill of the beautiful material barely covering the bulge between his legs.

"Like isn't a strong enough word," I managed to say, eager to get his pants off so I could see his lithe, naked body except for his erection concealed by the layer of thin cloth. I slid my finger down the soft material, tracing the outline of his cock. "Jesus Christ, Ev. I've never seen someone sexier than you are right now. I'm torn between staring in awe at how beautiful you are in these and removing them so there's nothing left between us."

He brushed a hand through my hair gently. "My vote is for removing them." His voice was so soft, vulnerable yet completely sincere. I couldn't help but slide my hand between his legs and feel the silky soft material one more time. As Evian pushed his head back into the pillow and moaned, I slid the delicate material down, revealing his cock.

"Holy shit." His hairless, smooth skin and balls distracted me from finishing the task of getting him completely naked. All apprehension vanished with the uncontrollable urge to feel how soft his skin really was. I traced his shaft in awe, having no idea until that very moment how much seeing him without a single hair would drive me fucking wild.

Evian pushed his hand into my underwear, his fingers sliding into the dark curls surrounding my cock. I had a moment of embarrassment at the thought that he wouldn't like my unshaven nest of hair if he preferred to be bare.

"It's sexy as hell," he said, shifting my embarrassing thoughts to ones of confusion.

"What is?"

Evian pushed my boxer briefs down and hooked the waistband under my sac. "This," he whispered, running his fingers in the coarse hair. I nearly swallowed my tongue, hanging my head and taking a deep breath in, trying not to shoot from just one touch. "I'm bare because I like the way it feels against the silky material, all smooth and soft. It makes me feel sexy. That doesn't mean I don't find this"—he pushed his fingers into the hair again—"fucking hot."

I forced myself to meet his eyes again, floored by the intensity of heat and longing in his hazel depths. "How do you do that?"

He drew his dark brows together, tipping his head to one side. "Do what?"

"Read my mind…calm my fears…before I even say a single word."

Evian didn't answer but, instead, sat up and removed the last of his clothing. He gripped my underwear and pulled them off then pressed his warm palm to my chest, encouraging me to lie on the bed where he'd just been. He licked his lips, a sexy smile curling the corners of that delicious mouth. "Lube?"

"Drawer." I pointed to the nightstand, my skin vibrating with anticipation, but curious as the question I'd just asked still hung in the air.

He quickly found the bottle, pushing the cap open so he could get his fingers slick. Ev straddled my hips, his body raised above me, his grip coating his cock in a glistening layer of lube. His hand wrapped around mine next, getting me ready for whatever he was about to do. Then, with what could only be described as a sinfully beautiful grin, he said in a husky voice, "I'm about to take you to a level you've never been before." He spread his lean legs even wider and painstakingly brought himself down. The first feel of his hard, naked cock—of any cock—against my own was mind-numbing and electrifying at the same time.

"Oh fuck," I groaned, my eyes crossing and my head pressing back into the pillow when his hot, stiff shaft nestled beside mine. "Holy shit, Ev."

"Uh huh," he said in a stuttered breath, his hips fluidly rocking in a steady motion, sliding his cock against mine. He fell forward, hands on either side of my shoulders. "It's in your eyes. I find myself completely consumed with all things Enzo." He seized my mouth urgently, our tongues in a wicked dance while he continued to rut against me. The thrust of his tongue found a hypnotic rhythm with the swing of his hips. He broke the kiss and stared into my eyes. "You may not always have the words, but your eyes say so much more than you know." He groaned, his cock keeping its steady pace, completely determined to get to its destination. "I'm more than willing to decipher the thoughts you think you're hiding so well."

"Evian. Shit." Damned if that clever response I managed to give him didn't back up his point.

He rested his full weight on top of me, continuing the frantic thrusts of his hips. "Shh…I've got you."

Fuck, did he have me. Every moan, every movement, and yes, every thought I gave eagerly to him. Letting my desire guide me instead of fear, I reached around and grabbed his bare ass, helping him move while pushing my cock alongside his. Our thrusts were growing frantic, our breathing labored, making it impossible to continue kissing.

A high-pitched whimper fell from his plump lips. I felt the sting as he gripped a handful of my hair. "Enzo, I…" He exhaled through his nose. "I'm gonna come."

"Me too," I rasped. My breath hitched, my body tensing with pleasure as the first hot streams shot out of my cock between us.

Evian used his hands on my chest to push his torso up, his head falling back, his whole body spasming as his release landed in white ribbons on my overheated skin. "Fuck," he whispered, twitching again with the last of his orgasm. He brought his chin back down, his face glowing with a big, gorgeous smile, licking his lips while he caught his breath. "Holy shit, did we just level up."

I barked out a laugh and yanked him against me for a kiss, laughing against his mouth when he landed in the mess on my chest and yelped. "Oops," I mumbled, my lips pressed to his. "At least you didn't ruin your favorite pants."