Chapter 4

(River)

When the unexpected morphs into an epic weekend

The whole evening was nice, and I was glad to see he was into it. I’d kind of expected him to wanna get buzzed, grope my ass over a game off pool, feed me the cursorily burgers and fries at the drive-in while he groped me more, then finish things off back at one of our places, the night ending with the walk of shame. I still had every intention of ending the night naked and underneath him, but it was good to know that the in-between places weren’t going to be the usual, predictable, bullshit.

“You said some of your pieces are at the artisan shop?” he asked, shoving me out of my thoughts as our hands collided and he caught mine and gave it a little squeeze before lacing our fingers together.

It had gotten too cold to remain on the merry-go-round. What had started out as crisp had all too quickly become cold and I almost kicked myself for not wearing warmer clothes, only I’d been more interested in enticing Lux. Besides, my shivering soon led to him wrapping his arm around me, so it was win-win all around.

Tonight, I didn’t dread heading up to my apartment, since I wasn’t walking up those steps alone. I could never tell Haven how lonely I was on the nights he spent at Maddox’s, not when I could see how much he loved being over there. Maddox had created the home for him that he’d lost when he’d gone to jail protecting our older brother. It wouldn’t have been fair of me to begrudge him any of the time he spent there, despite how much I longed to have him spending it with me. I’d stayed alone above the shops since we’d opened them, so when Haven had moved it, it had been awesome. Like back when we were kids and used to stay up to all hours of the morning hanging out and watching movies.

Now, I let him into the loft, plugged in the extension cord just inside the door, and illuminated the whole space in pink and purple fairy lights.

“Whoa, that’s unreal, how many strands did that take?” Lux asked as I secured the door behind us.

Giggling, I looked around and made a halfhearted attempt to count the number of times the colors shifted, only I was more interested in watching him take it all in, so I shrugged. “Haven and I lost count.”

“I bet, I doubt I’d have even tried,” Lux declared. “This is amazing though. I love the way you wove them around everything so the whole room glows.”

“What can I say,” I declared, slowly spinning and allowing the lights to reflect off the embellishments on my clothes. “I like sparkles.”

“You’re not the only one,” Lux admitted. “Most art teachers will tell you they hate glitter, but I’m the exact opposite, I love it. I love the way it brightens a kid’s face when they get to shake on as much as they want. I can see them shining right down to their very souls and that’s more than worth a bunch of useless sweeping. Besides, what’s the glitter hurting, sparkling on my floor? It just makes the place look more inviting to me.

“Glitter was one of my favorite parts of art class,” I admitted as I led him to the couch and the electric fireplace I’d bought because I loved to watch the flickering of the flames, but didn’t necessarily need the heat. It had three features, two that would warm the tiny space more if I needed it to, and one that was just for show. For tonight, I wanted both the illumination and the heat, rather than the television or anything else that might distract from getting to know more about him.

“Must be nice to only have a flight of stairs between you and work,” Lux said as he draped his arm behind me on the couch.

“Tell me about it. I’m one of those people who hit the snooze button a zillion times, then scramble out of bed at breakneck speed and slip and slide all over the shower while I get ready. We open promptly at forty-five seconds past nine and not a second earlier. It’s not like we have people camped out in the parking lot waiting for someone to turn the lock. Most people swing through on their way home from work, especially on Fridays and Saturdays.”

“Well, I’m glad Frida couldn’t be bothered to swing through herself, or it would have taken me longer to meet you.”

“How long have you been in town?” I asked.

“Three weeks and as you saw when we popped into my place, I’m still living out of boxes.”

“It took me months before I got everything unpacked after I moved in here,” I admitted, glancing around and still able to recall how cluttered it had been as I’d tried to work out how I wanted the space to look. “Moving sucks, but at least I never have to do it again.”

“No shit. Why would you want to?”

“I don’t,” I declared. “I love the space I’ve created, and I love the memories I have of playing up here when I was a kid, and my folks still owned the shops downstairs.”

“I wouldn’t want to either if my apartment looked like this. Hell, my loft in the city never looked this amazing and I lived there for years. I had big dreams of living over my studio space and opening my gallery every morning with a cup of tea in my hands, only I overestimated my skills and underestimated my ability to make rent on a substitute’s salary while living in the city.”

“Which one?”

“Portland.”

Giggling, I raised an eyebrow at him. “Again, I ask which one?”

“Oregon.”

“Nice, that’s not that far,” I replied. “At least you didn’t have to come clear across the country.”

“I’d have done it,” Lux admitted. “I was that desperate.”

“How long did you live in Portland?”

“Sixteen years. The four I spent in college and the twelve I spent trying to eke out a living there before throwing in the towel,” he replied.

“So that makes you what, thirty or something.”

“Or something,” Lux replied, chuckling, “Try thirty-four.”

“Whoa, you’re older than my sister and she’s the oldest of all of us,” I said, letting out a low whistle. I hope he didn’t take offense, but that was older than the guys I usually met up with and drifting into some serious potential Daddy vibes, which left me feeling a little giddy.

He huffed a little, side-eying me. “Yeah, and how old is she?”

“Twenty-nine.”

“Damn, okay, how old are you and please say legal, which I assumed but maybe shouldn’t have considering what you’re allowed to sell,” he declared, scooting back from me a little.

“I’m legal,” I declared, puffing up and inching over to fill the gap he’d made. “I’m twenty-two.”

Lux whistled and shook his head. “Still young.”

“But legal.”

“Yes, which I’m extremely grateful for, since I’d have hated to cut our evening short if that had proven not to be the case,” he declared.

“Yeah, that would have sucked,” I grumbled, inching a little more until our knees were touching again.

“Did you grow up here in Foggy Basin?”

I shook my head, then leaned back and got comfortable against his arm. “Not in town, no, my folks had a place outside of it, but they owned this shop. My siblings and I spent as much time up here after school as we did at our house. Our old man was a mechanic, and our mom ran the gas station. The dispensary was a liquor store back then that some friends of theirs ran. They had kids our age, so we’d all play here when school got out, at least until we were old enough to be turned loose on the town.

“Then look out, right?” he asked as he gently stroked his fingers through my hair.

“Meh. We didn’t get into that much trouble.”

“Sure. Something tells me that you were a trouble magnet.”

“More like a bully magnet,” I admitted, unable to keep the bitterness out of my voice.

“Same. I was the nerdy art guy who was always covered in paint and smudges,” Lux admitted. “You should see my ninth-grade picture. There’s a green smudge on my chin and charcoal streaks on my shirt.”

“I’ve had some epic mishaps on picture day,” I said as he played with my hair, taking the time to separate the strands and lightly caress my scalp as he did.

Still unhurried.

I was really starting to appreciate that about him. Maybe I wouldn’t wind up under him tonight, but with sudden clarity, I realized that I’d be okay with that if it meant the chance to form a connection with him that was more than just sexual.

“You can’t just say that and not share at least one tidbit of juicer information,” Lux prodded.

“Okay, so picture this…” I began only to have him poke me in the ribs.

Squealing, I squirmed away before he realized just how ticklish I was.

“What was that for?” I squawked as I batted at him with a throw pillow.

“It wasn’t for anything,” Lux declared. “It was to prevent you from saying Sicily, 1942.”

“How would I know what happened in Sicily in 1942?” I protested. “I don’t even think my grandparents had been born yet.”

Lux smacked himself on the forehead while I clutched my pillow and remained ready to smack him with it if he tried to tickle me again.

“I can’t believe you didn’t get the reference.” Lux groaned.

I shrugged, confused and lost in the reflection of twinkle lights flashing in his eyes. “Okay, I’m lost.”

“Apparently,” he said, still grinning at me. “I can’t believe you don’t know Sicily. 1942.”

“Nope, sorry, not a clue.”

“Sophia from The Golden Girls.”

My mouth fell open as I felt my cheeks heat up. “Oh… ohhhh, fuck…. how the hell did I miss that?”

“I don’t know. I’m as baffled as you are,” Lux declared, throwing his hands in the air. I took the opportunity to thwack him with the pillow, which he caught and yanked away from me. Laughing, I tried to scrunch up into a ball, because I should have seen that coming. My brothers had done that to me a thousand times. All I could do was squirm as he batted me with the pillow while simultaneously tickling me until I wiggled so much, we fell off the couch. My hip throbbed when I landed on it, but I was laughing so hard I didn’t bother rubbing it. I just squirmed closer, until I was pressed against his side with my head on his shoulder and my hand splayed across his abs.

“My brother and I would stay up late, so we could watch four episodes of Golden Girls in a row,” I said. “I don’t know why we found those old ladies so funny, but they were hilarious. I think maybe we found it so appealing because it was our grandmother’s favorite show. She’d always have it on in the kitchen when she was cooking, so we got to watch it when we were helping her.”

“Sounds like my grandfather,” Lux declared. “He had the television in the kitchen on whenever he was in there, only he had it tuned to old westerns. If I missed an episode, he’d always catch me up on what happened, even if I had no interest in who Marshal Dillon or Hoss Cartwright were.”

“My grandfather loved those shows too,” I said. “And Mash and Hogan’s Heroes, stuff like that. He loved old creature features too, even the weird ones, like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.”

“Those are the best.”

“Holy shit, seriously, you like ‘em too?” I asked, sitting up enough that our eyes met.

“I love them,” Lux admitted. “My favorite way to spend a Saturday is to sprawl out with creepy crawly movies, my sketchpad and some amazing takeout.”

“If you ever want some company for that…” I began.

“I’ll tell you to bring your ass over and pick up something for dessert along the way.”

Licking my lips, I peered at him and brushed my lips over his again before whispering against them. “Damn, and here I was hoping that I’d be dessert.”

Growling, he kissed me, his gaze fierce when he stopped and leaned back so he could cup my cheek. “Haven’t you ever heard of secondzies?”

“Of course.”

“There ya go,” Lux said, before leaning in until our lips brushed again.

“And here I am,” I murmured before kissing him.

Hand roved as we mapped out each other’s bodies, moving from lazy to frantic the moment my hand dipped beneath his shirt and touched skin. Warm, he shuddered beneath my caress and reared up, grabbed the hem of my t-shirt, and yanked it off over my head.

“Supplies are in the end table drawer,” I grunted, twisting so I could try and reach for them.

“Supplies are in my pocket,” he growled, yanking me back into a scorching kiss.

Damn I loved a guy who came prepared.

Grinding against him, I let him feel how happy I was to be squirming on top of him, his hands buried in my hair, keeping our lips pressed together. I don’t know if it was the joke about secondzies or the image of the two of us laying side by side drawing while watching killer bees descend on a town that had taken root in my head, but I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he and I would be seeing a lot of each other, even if it was just as friends.

That was okay with me. The two best friends I had I’d met through moments like this. We could look back and laugh now, especially me and Theo. He swears I knocked him into the horse trough on purpose, just so he’d have to strip right there beside the barn. I’d had to strip because the bastard had grabbed hold of me when he’d tripped and dragged me in on top of him, drenching us both. We’d come up fussing at each other about who was to blame and wound up sharing the first of several kisses throughout the day. Now he was the guy I’d be telling about this kiss the moment the opportunity arose.

My back hit the ground, and I gasped. I hadn’t even realized we were rolling until we’d already stopped.

“I hope I have your full and undivided attention now,” Lux growled, before blowing raspberries on my belly until I was squirming, wiggling and thrashing against the carpet. By the time he stopped, I could barely catch my breath, let alone help when he started peeling my pants off me.

His mouth on my cock was like heaven, especially when he pinned my hips to the floor and bobbed, humming around me until I saw stars.

“Oh yeah, I’ve got your attention now,” he murmured against my thigh before his tongue started doing wicked things, like sliding over my balls and licking up the side of my cock.

He blew me while he prepped me, until I was desperate and pleading with him to fuck me, and still he kept tormenting me with his lips and fingers ‘til I was right on the edge. I heard the sound of the wrapper tearing and felt the brushing of his fingers between us as he rolled the condom on.

“One day, you’re gonna stay like this for me, needy, desperate, whining, begging me to fuck you while I’m busy capturing how much you want me, my pencil flowing over the page,” he growled as he stroked my entrance.

“You’d better, draw fast…” I huffed, pinned by his hands and the teasing way he started rubbing his cock against my entrance but wouldn’t let me move. “Or I’ll finish myself without you.”

“No,” he growled as he entered me, breath tickling my necks and sending slithering pinpricks of pleasure spiking through my brain. “You won’t. You’ll be good because you’ll want to earn the reward I promised you.”

“Re-reward,” I moaned as he pressed deeper. Shuddering I tried to shift my hips, wanting more, but the hand he’d locked around my thigh prevented me from having it.

“If I told you what it might be, it would spoil the fun, now wouldn’t it?”

“M-maybe,” I hummed as he pressed in deeper, stretched my hands up over my head, and pinned them down so he controlled me completely.

There was so much strength in his long, lanky frame. Wrapping my legs around his hips, I moaned as he started moving, kissing me again as he fucked into me until I came with a cry beneath him, his cock still hard inside of me. It should have been too much, to have him keep fucking me that way, but each caress, each swipe of his tongue over my lips, or gliding against mine, just made me desire more. I could feel a second orgasm building as he folded me in half, my legs over his shoulders, his fingers digging into the tops of my thighs as he yanked me into every thrust. Felt like he was trying to fuck the soul right out of my body, and I was more than okay with that. He could do whatever he wanted as long as he didn’t stop.

When he finally, mercifully, collected the cum on stomach and started stroking me, it only took a handful of times before I blew all over his hand. Didn’t mean he stopped, he just fucked me harder until he came with a roar, fingertips digging in so hard I knew I’d wear his bruises for a week.

I was flying so high it didn’t matter, nothing mattered by the hammering of my heartbeat in my ears and his hot breath puffing against the side of my neck as his bodyweight crushed me. We were gonna need showers, but the bathroom was so far away it was pointless to even think about it right now. I wasn’t crawling an inch, let alone the several feet it would take to get me there. I just lay beneath Lux and melted into the carpet, skin prickling from what was no doubt a case of rug burn that would throb like hell the moment the water hit it. There’d be time enough to clean up in the morning and maybe, if I was lucky, I’d get his hands all over me again. Only I’d insist it be while he was rubbing on lotion to ease the delicious sting his pounding had left me with.