CHAPTER 19

ajay

I woke the next morning, the tang of salt in the air and that rhythmic lull of waves invading my conscience. A new, welcome kind of soreness also greeted my day as I stretched and felt that twinge deep inside me, a reminder of last night and everything Nick and I had done.

It had been incredible. Mind-blowing. Amazing.

So very, very good.

I knew Nick thought I was rushing things between us but I had always been a bit that way. Once my mind was made up about something I was all in. And I had made up my mind about Nick all right. Probably a lot earlier than I had even realised. I could see no point in delaying something we both clearly wanted.

And I had wanted it all right.

Nick made me feel things I had never felt before. It had all just felt so right last night, feeling him moving inside me, finding that spot of pure liquid gold I had thought was a myth, like his body had been made for mine. Although he had probably been right about tamping down my impatience. He was a lot to take for a first time.

I felt Nick shift beside me, his hand tightening where he held me across my stomach. He seemed to have some fascination with touching me there but why I could not explain. His stomach was the one worth fantasising about, not my perfectly flat one.

Nick's eyes opened and landed on mine, his hand gently smoothing my skin as he woke. A sudden bolt of shyness landed on me. I hadn't asked if I could stay the night in his bed. It had kind of just happened when we both fell asleep after that incredible and exhausting night of sex when I had been too boneless to move. But he had let me stay the night before so maybe I was worrying about nothing.

"Morning, gorgeous," Nick murmured, still heavy with sleep and a smile tugging at his lips. It was enough to take that fleeting shyness away with it.

"Morning," I returned with a matching smile.

"I would offer you another morning blowjob but I honestly think you'll wake the house," he grinned.

I huffed a laugh even as my cock twitched at the memory of yesterday morning's perfect wake up call. "Yeah, sorry," I grimaced. "I overestimated my control over my vocal abilities last night."

"Don't apologise," Nick returned, voice dipped low. "I love that I make you moan so loud."

I groaned as I covered my eyes with my arm. "I feel like I should be embarrassed."

"Nope," he laughed, moving closer and pulling my arm off my face. He grinned down at me, a satisfied smirk on that sexy face. "I think those might be my new favourite sounds."

"Let's just hope no one else heard your new favourite sounds," I grimaced.

"Exactly. Those are my sounds," he returned, leaning down to kiss my neck. "No one else gets to hear them but me."

Oh, I did like that possessive little streak as a lick of heat curled in my stomach. Why I should like them when I had still not quite managed to shake off my last overly possessive girlfriend was a mystery but I certainly made no pretensions about being a psychologist.

"I'm pretty sure those sounds were just for you," I admitted.

"Really?" he smirked, looking down at me with those bright blue eyes. "Nobody else has made you moan like that before, huh?"

"I really doubt you need me to stroke your ego any bigger than it already is."

"You're right. It's plenty big enough for the two of us already, huh?" Nick grinned, shifting his hips forward to make sure I was in no doubt of his meaning.

"How about that surf then?" I said instead, ignoring his smirk as it turned into a laugh.

"Let's put a pin in the stroking," he agreed. "Surf first."

I noticed that Nick's and my dawn surf sessions had wound up a little earlier the last two days. I was also pretty sure it was because we both wanted to rush back for a sneaky kiss under the cold outdoor shower. Funny how I hadn't even noticed how cold the water was the last few mornings.

I also had to admit there was something a little heady about kissing Nick while knowing the other three were somewhere in the house, completely ignorant of the fact that Nick's tongue was down my throat and his hand down the front of my shorts.

I was feeling a little floaty and light when Nick and I finally returned to the house, relishing in the little knowing glances we kept sending each other.

I was so focused on Nick that I didn't even notice when Kira planted herself in my path.

"Where were you last night?" she asked, hands on hips and eyebrows raised. My nice post-orgasmic floaty feeling evaporated in a quick flash as my pulse suddenly kicked into gear. I somehow avoided sneaking a look at Nick, knowing that would not aid my case. I decided to take inspiration from Kira and deflect.

"Asleep on the sofa seeing as you were in my bed," I returned, adding a touch of indignation.

"No you weren't," she replied. I could see the truth in her eyes, a truth which I couldn't exactly deny since as I had been anywhere but the sofa last night.

"Yeah, I was," I said instead. I could gaslight too if I wanted.

"You weren't on the sofa when I came downstairs," she returned triumphantly.

"I don't know, Kira," I deflected, glancing up to see Dane and Dee coming down the stairs. I could hear Nick in the kitchen but I couldn't bring myself to look at him. "Maybe I was in the bathroom."

"Nope," she returned. "I checked there too."

I sighed exasperatedly. "I don't know what you want me to say. Apart from the fact that whether or not I was on the sofa is really none of your concern."

"Who were you with?" Kira pressed, certain she was onto the scent now. Dane and Dee stopped at the foot of the stairs, eyes moving between me and Kira in our ridiculous little standoff.

"I was not with any other girls if that's what you're getting at," I said, deciding to fight with a sprinkling of truth.

"Was it Kat?"

"Kat?" I asked. "Who's Kat?"

"Kat. From the beach party. The pretty one."

"Rob's Kat? Why would I be with Rob's Kat? Unlike you, I don't make passes at my friend's love interests."

"Who was it then?" Kira shrieked, on the verge of hysteria. I glanced up to see Dane's eyes narrowing, a shrewd look on his face as he glanced between me and his brother where he stood in the kitchen. It didn't take a genius to work out he was connecting the dots.

"Kira, there is no other girl," I reiterated. "And I owe you no further explanation than that. You don't get to come downstairs to see me at night and you don't get to demand to know my whereabouts. I don't want to go all Taylor Swift on you but please believe me when I say we are never getting back together."

"And I told you I don't consent," she all but screamed at me. Dee stepped up to her best friend then, hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down as Kira dissolved into loud tears.

Dane had yet to say anything but I had a growing suspicion that he knew, that he'd somehow worked out that those looks shared between me and his brother were a little friendlier than he might have realised.

I also knew better than to think I could rely on either of my friends to stand up for me. This entire discussion was ridiculous anyway. Why Kira thought she had any stake in what I did was beyond me, especially given that she had been the one to cheat repeatedly through our relationship. At least I had waited until we had broken up before moving on with someone new.

And no, I did not feel bad. Quite the opposite, in fact.

I sighed and stepped around Kira, making my way upstairs for the bathroom where I locked the door and breathed. I could hear heated voices downstairs and could only assume that Nick had finally stepped in to say his piece, just like the way I knew he would always go into bat for me.

I took ages in the shower, in absolutely no hurry to step back out into the house for another round of confrontations. I really hated confrontation. I could already feel all that stress I had managed to shed since being down here in Esperance creeping back up to claim my shoulders.

I ducked into my bedroom, relieved to find it vacant, and quickly pulled on a pair of black shorts and a green t-shirt. The kitchen was mercifully empty when I made my way downstairs, making myself a coffee before I ducked outside.

I found Nick in his gym in the boat shed, a light sheen of sweat on his back as he pounded the treadmill. He immediately slowed the machine but I hadn't come in here to interrupt him.

"Keep going," I indicated, moving to the little sofa and taking a seat. Nick smirked at me before he upped the speed again and I sipped on my coffee while perusing the man candy before me. How had I never noticed how much I liked man candy?

"Enjoying the view?" he smirked.

"You have no idea," I purred back, watching as his smirk deepened.

"You're making it very hard to run," he said eventually, reaching down to palm himself.

"You're making it very hard to watch," I returned, snickering when he scowled at me.

"If we weren't a potential scandal in the making, I'd come over there and wipe that smile off your pretty face."

I said nothing, kind of wishing he could carry through with that threat.

"I'm pretty sure Dane knows about us," I eventually admitted, taking another sip of my coffee. Nick glanced up at me at those words before shutting off the machine and slowing to a walk. He stepped off the treadmill, using a towel to wipe the sweat off his neck and forehead before he stepped towards me.

"Why do you think that?"

"I don't think he missed my carefully phrased defence about not being with another girl last night."

"Huh," he mulled, face contemplative. "And … and are you okay with that? With Dane knowing about us?"

"I probably would have preferred him to find out in a better way but yeah, I'm fine with him knowing about us."

A whole heap of tension dropped instantly from Nick's shoulders at my affirmation. It only really dawned on me then how important that would be to him. Especially after Mateo who wouldn't publicly claim him in front of anyone but their closest friend.

Not that what Nick and I had was the same as that. It wasn't like we were in a relationship or anything. He wasn't my boyfriend. And I wasn't his.

At least, I didn't think we were.

A soft knock at the door to the boat shed had us pausing, not realising we had been having an intense little moment until Dane's shadow fell on us.

"Thought I'd find you in here," Dane said, words directed at me as his eyes bounced between me and Nick. I tensed a little but didn't feel the need to clarify his suspicions. "I just thought you would like to know that Kira is leaving."

"She is?" I asked. I hadn't meant to sound quite so upbeat at his news as Dane narrowed his eyes at me.

"Yeah, she is," he reiterated. "Look, man, I don't know what's going on with you but think about this clearly for a minute, will you? Once Kira walks out that door, she's not coming back again. Are you really going to just let everything you have go, just like that? You're ready to turn your back on our foursome for some tiny little slight that didn't even lead to anything?"

I sighed deeply, scrubbing a hand down my face. "Dane, it wasn't just one little slight. Next time you're so quick to jump to Kira's defence, please just talk with her and make sure you have all the facts."

"She swears she's telling the truth," Dane pressed, not ready to give in, not ready to accept a truth that meant Kira was a liar and Nick was not.

"And yet after a year of her dramas and lies you'll forgive me if I choose not to believe her," I returned. "Honestly, Dane, you don't even know half the story. But I'm not going to be the one to give it to you either. You've clearly chosen your side here."

"Fine," Dane huffed, heaving a breath of air. "But Dee and I are going back to Sydney for a bit too. Kira needs us."

"You know, I probably could have done with a bit of support this week too," I told him, watching as his gaze narrowed again.

"Well, looks like you found it," he spat back, eyes on Nick.

"Don't start, Dane," Nick sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You're supposed to be Ajay's best friend but all you've done is make him feel like shit while taking the side of his lying, cheating ex-girlfriend."

"Why are you involved in this?" Dane asked, lifting his hands in exasperation. "This doesn't concern you at all and yet every time Kira has tried to make things up with Ajay, there you have been in the background blocking them."

"Someone needed to have Ajay's back seeing as you hung him out to dry."

I could see this descending into another fight so I wearily stood to my feet, holding a hand up to Nick's chest.

"It's okay, Nick," I said to him.

"It's really not," he returned, a little fire in his eyes that I loved because I knew it was for me. He turned back to his brother who was still breathing his own fire. "Not everyone has what you and your girlfriend have. Can't you see that Ajay doesn't love Kira? Why wouldn't you want him to be happy? To be able to find what you and Dee have with someone else?"

"Oh and I suppose you have some suggestions over who that someone could be?" Dane returned.

"Leave it, Dane," I said, stepping back between the two brothers as they eyeballed each other. Dane's eyes came back to me and I shrunk back a little at the way he was looking at me.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing," he said before spinning on his heel and walking out the door.

Neither of us said anything but I could feel Nick's heavy breaths where I still held my hand against his chest. A minute later we heard the garage door roll up and a car reversing out the driveway as Dane and the girls finally left. I breathed a sigh of relief.

My eyes found Nick's, more aware than ever of the air between us, the tension that was all but pulsating.

"Looks like we're all alone, Ajay," he purred, that evil grin spreading across his face.

"Looks like it," I swallowed.

"I want you upstairs and I want you naked," Nick returned, taking a lethal step towards me. "Now."

I could only grin back at him, watching as his eyes darkened before I turned and all but ran into the house, feeling him right on my heels.

We only made it half way up the stairs before Nick tackled me, pushing me up against the wall as he plundered my mouth with his, crushing his hips up against me, leaving me panting and breathless. The kiss was messy, nothing but needy tongues and his hands kneading my ass as Nick pressed me against the wall like he was trying to leave my imprint there.

Nick groaned and broke the kiss, burying his face against my throat. "Bedroom," he ordered.

"I was trying," I returned, wanting to laugh at the pained heat I saw in Nick's eyes as he looked up at me. He reluctantly stepped away from me, uncoupling our fused bodies. But he didn't let go of me as he chased me up to his room, not even waiting for the door to close before his lips were back on mine, his hands clasping either side of my face as he took possession of me.

My t-shirt was on the floor before I even knew what was happening and then Nick was pushing me onto the mattress, my shorts following the path of the rest of our clothes littering the floor. I was almost mindless with want, all the blood draining from my head straight to my dick as his large hand wrapped around it and pumped roughly.

"I want to fuck you again so bad," Nick breathed into my neck as he licked and sucked my throat.

"Yes," I rasped. "I want that too."

"On your stomach," he ordered. I was almost too eager to comply as I instantly rolled over. I was still a little tender and sore back there but I wanted this more than I could breathe and I couldn't hold back my moans as Nick's fingers plunged inside, the patience and gentleness from last night completely gone.

He found my prostate, my limbs instantly flooding with liquid gold as I moaned around him, wanting more, my body aching for it.

"More," I whimpered, smiling into the pillow when Nick swore in my ear. He pulled his fingers out of me and I heard him tear a foil packet open, clearly as eager as I was for this to start.

Nick carefully shifted my knee up, opening me up to him fully as he lined himself up between my legs. I welcomed the burn, the sting of pain as Nick sank into me, pulling me taut. I felt it when he was fully inside, so big and invasive in me, letting out a deep breath as he kissed the back of my neck.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm good, Nick," I assured him, feeling my body accepting his, accommodating for him. Nick pressed more kisses on my neck as he started moving inside me, this new angle building up a heightened level of pleasure as he immediately found that spot in me and I groaned.

It felt amazing. He felt amazing, this whole thing just so very, very good.

"Let go, baby," Nick rasped into my ear. "There's no one here to hear you."

It was not as though I needed his permission but I was glad for it anyway, unable to hold back my moans as Nick went to town on me, losing all track of time as he became all I could think about, all I could focus on. It felt like he owned me, Nick with his mouth on my neck, his hand pressing down on my shoulder blade as he pounded into me from behind, losing all the restraint that had held him back last night.

I wasn't sure how much more I could take, pressure building everywhere as Nick sucked on my neck, likely leaving a purple mark there as I just moaned and repeated his name, just a mindless bundle of sensations.

I didn't want it to stop. I wanted Nick's body in mine, controlling me and taking me like this forever. I had never known such bliss, such utter ecstasy as I abandoned myself to him. Gave myself to him wholly.

But it soon became too much, this need, this chase to the end. Nick must have sensed the increasing desperation in my whimpers as his free hand moved into the small space underneath me, taking hold of my dick. It took barely a couple of his not so gentle pumps before it was all over for me, an orgasm the likes of which I had never known overpowering me completely.

Nick swore behind me, his groans loud in my ear as he finished at the same time, so deep inside me I wasn't sure how we would ever be separated again.

I lay limp on the mattress, Nick's body a heavy weight on top of me as I literally floated. I had never felt anything like the way Nick was making me feel, this new world so much more than anything I had ever experienced. I felt like he had opened my eyes, unlocked a part of me I had never known, like this summer was the start of a whole new life for me. Cliché maybe but that was the only thoughts I could latch onto as I closed my eyes and drifted into the most peaceful slumber I had ever known.