Page 36 of Dodge

He chuckled with his eyes closed. The burbling water flowed around him, and his mind drifted. “It’s true.”

If things were different….

Paintings of her rose in his mind combined with his art. Fauna as a warrior in a chariot pulled by lions—no, lionesses. Flowing white dress. Not that. Gold ribbons, strategically draped over her body. Flames—gotta show the fire inside. Nah, dancing. Dancing on a beach. Not that either. Dancing naked under the stars.

The last picture that flashed behind his eyes had his body tensing up. Naked Fauna. Beautiful and captivating. Lying in a tangle of sheets, sleeping from exhaustion after coming hard. Even though he’d deleted it from his phone, the memory was still vivid in his brain. He would paint her with softer colors and blend the effect.My Queenwould be the title.

Her hands still worked his shoulder, and he groaned as blood rushed to harden his groin. “Fauna, you need to stop.”

“Why?”

Had her voice grown huskier? Did touching him affect her the way it did him?“I’m having a hard enough time staying away from you as it is. Just knowing we’re under the same roof tonight is bad enough, but having you right here, right now? It’s fucking torture. You make me want things I have no right to want.”

“Who says you can’t have what you want?” Her fingers dug through a painful knot, forcing its release.

All the pressures came at him in one swoop: his apartment, the garage, Mallory, his father, overtime, the club’s new troubles, the restaurant, his feelings for Fauna. It was too much, and the dam broke as he gave in.

Her body was light and buoyant as he moved her onto his lap. Her legs straddled his, bringing her core closer to his. Only two layers of clothes impeded any intimate contact. Both of his hands ended up in her springy hair, and her mouth met his in a rush of hunger.

His dick swelled painfully against the chafing swim trunks, and he wished like hell he hadn’t bothered to put them on. Her slick skin glided over his, and he groaned as her tongue licked at his lips. One tension flowed from his body as another took its place. Her arms came around his neck as he plundered her mouth. He hooked a finger at the top of her bikini and pulled the triangle of cloth down to reveal her nipple. She broke off the kiss, gasping when he plucked at the tight tip, which gave him the opportunity to draw it into his mouth and circle the rough areola with his tongue.

“Dodge,” she breathed huskily. “We started off ass backward that night in the hotel, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing between us. Don’t you think it’s time we dispense with the friends-only thing and do something about this?”

God, how he wanted to. It had been a long time.

So why not?

Why was he hesitating? Some sense of chivalry? Honor? What was stopping him from consummating this draw between him and Fauna? He was an expert at mixing and blending colors into beauty. What reason existed for him not to be with the woman he wanted so fucking badly?

He let go of her breast and bared the other one. She cried out again as his lips covered her other nipple. “Please, Dodge!”

His dick ached with need. It would be simple. All he had to do was raise his hips a little to pull the annoying trunks down and free himself. Then he’d move the crotch of her bikini over and finally be inside her. He imagined they would both explode in seconds.

He slid his hand down between her legs and under the thin layer of cloth. She was soaking wet even in the bubbling water. He slowly pushed a finger into her hot channel, and she moaned into his mouth. “Yesssss.”

His thumb snuck between the fleshy lips and stroked over the hard nub of her clit. He noted that she had let her pubic hair grow back and wondered if she would ask him to shave it once more. After he did, he would go down on her again and again until he exhausted her from coming so many times. Then he would spread her thighs wide and…

He lifted up and tugged at his trunks.

“Yo, Dodge, you out here? We got us a case of Jessop’s ’shine. The one with cherries in it.”

The burst of voices from the back deck worked better than a dousing of cold water. Fauna yelped and awkwardly fell off his lap, going under the waterline and coming up sputtering. She jerked her swimsuit back in place and moved to her original spot across from Dodge just as four people appeared around the corner. Rafter and Forge approached the hot tub with a large glass jar of ruby liquid and a sleeve of red plastic cups. Two women were with them, ones Dodge had seen around the club but didn’t know. He wasn’t sure which irritated him more, the shit-eating grins of his club brothers or the girls’ drunk giggles.

“You naked in there, brother?” Rafter finally spotted Fauna, and his face changed to anoh shitexpression. “Looks like you two were having a conversation. Fuck, should we leave?”

Dodge gritted his teeth and swore Fauna blushed as she scrambled out of the hot tub and grabbed her towel.

“Nope. I’m done for the night. Y’all have a good time.” She paused in her flight. “Oh you’ve got to be kidding! I just saidy’all.”

The others laughed at her joke, but Dodge kept quiet and did his best not to squirm with discomfort. His trunks were still in place, but his pulsing erection would be on full display if he moved.

Part of him was angry as hell at the interruption.

Another part was grateful.

He watched as Fauna retreated without a backward glance. The quartet of new people laughed and flirted as they stripped and climbed in the bubbling tub. Bare breasts and asses splashed into the water with a burst of giggles.

Rafter poured a round of the ’shine and added a couple of the potent cherries. “Here, brother. This shit is the best.”

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