Hostile(31)

Whether he’s laughing or not, I know sharing this with me makes him feel vulnerable. “Yeah. I’ll go. Let me go grab some trunks.”

He nods, his smile bright. “Cool. Guess I should take my own car.”

“Yeah. I’ll follow you, okay?”

“Okay.” There’s a heat in his eyes and an electricity between us I can’t deny.

I’m not even fighting it anymore.





TWENTY-ONE





“Damn.” Rhett whistles as I let him inside my parent’s house. I shake my head, closing the front door behind us.

“It’s ridiculous.”

Rhett’s eyes scan the foyer and go up the grand staircase leading upstairs, where most of the bedrooms are. This house is way too big for three people. Especially when there’s usually only one person at home. But it’s all about prestige for my father. And my mother too, I suppose.

They love throwing large parties here and seeing the envy in their friends’ eyes. The greed. The bitterness of their rivals, parading as allies. They eat it up.

“I’ll show you my room, and we can change.” I nod toward his hands that are currently gripping a pair of black trunks.

He also nods, still taking in the house that’s more of a mansion. My grandfather did very, very well, and my father, despite being an asshole, has only grown his initial wealth.

Rhett follows me down the stairs. “Your bedroom is in the basement?”

We reach the bottom of the steps, and I turn left toward my room. “Yup. It’s close to the pool. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

He doesn’t prod further. It’s not like he needs to. There’s nothing more to tell. My parents aren’t warm and inviting. They don’t want to be close to me, and over time, I’ve learned to like the independence. I like having this part of the house to myself. I don’t have to listen to them argue—or make up. And I’m more than happy I don’t have to listen to any horrifying sounds float down the hall when the other isn’t home, and they invite a lover over.

I moved down here a few years ago. It was the best decision I’ve ever made. We head into my room, and his eyes roam over everything. I don’t have a lot in here, but there is a desk, a bed, a massive television mounted on the wall, a side table, and a dresser.

I point to the attached bathroom. “You can change in there, if you want to.”

He grins, probably hearing the nervousness in my voice. I have no idea why I’m nervous. No one has ever made me feel this way. He walks into the bathroom, flicking on the light, but his brazen ass doesn’t close the door.

I lick my lips and watch him remove his shirt. He glances over his shoulder at me as if he’s wondering whether I’m watching. I don’t think I could look away if I tried. At least not if he doesn’t ask me to. I stand at the foot of my bed, watching his long fingers descend to the button on his jeans and flick it open. He definitely knows I’m watching.

My eyes wander over his taut abs and beautiful ink, my cock twitching with want and desire, but I don’t want to spook him. Still letting him set the pace of whatever this is between us.

“Don’t you need to change too?” I hear the amused lilt in his voice and smile. “If you wanted to see me naked, all you had to do was ask.” He pushes his jeans down after unzipping them, and I forget everything when his firm ass, gripped tight by his black boxer briefs, comes into view.

“Damn.” I know I should look away. I need to. This isn’t the same thing as a hookup. I asked him to come over to swim, and now I’m perving on him.

“You look awfully deep in thought over there.” I hear Rhett’s deep voice as he walks back into my room, his trunks in hand and wearing only his briefs.

“I was thinking I should look away.” I smile, but I don’t feel as confident as I manage to sound.

“Why?” His eyes are blazing with heat so intense, I suck in a sharp gasp of air that should embarrass me. It probably would if I wasn’t so turned-on. “I didn’t ask you to.”

I swallow hard, reaching down to grip my hard cock through my jeans and adjust myself to get a little more comfortable, but Rhett’s eyes track my movement. “No. You didn’t. If you had, I’d have looked away.”

He nods slowly, thinking that over carefully. “I know.”

He very slowly pushes his briefs down, and I’m pretty sure I actually gulp at the sight. He’s damn near killing me. His hard cock springs free, slapping against his abs. It’s as beautiful as I thought it would be—thick and long, cut, and already leaking at the tip. He kicks his briefs away, standing totally naked before me.

Jesus. Fuck. I think I stopped breathing.

“Grayson.” His voice is hoarse, dripping with need but also full of authority. “Get over here.”

I don’t waste time making my way to him and grabbing the back of his head, pulling him in for a heated kiss. He yanks at my shirt, both of us stepping back enough for him to pull it over my head and toss it behind us before finding each other’s mouths again.

I feel those same long, elegant fingers working on the button of my jeans as I grasp the back of his hair and pull him into me. I want so many things at once, my dick rock hard and aching with desire.

For what? I’m not entirely sure, but he wants this too. I know that now. He hasn’t pushed me away, only pulled me in, and I’m going to take whatever he’ll give me. His lips bruise mine in a punishing kiss as his hands push inside my jeans, gripping my ass over my briefs and pulling my cock against his.