Adam swallowed hard enough that Gabe could hear it over the phone. “I’ll try to remember that.”
“There is no try. Only do or do not.”
Adam snorted at Gabe’s Yoda wisdom. “You’re such a geek.”
“A geek who is about to get laid. I’ll see you soon. Hang tough.” Gabe wasn’t sure how encouraging such words were to an addict. Personally, Gabe had never suffered such an affliction, so could only imagine the struggle Adam endured each day.
“Madison keeps me clean. I won’t falter. Not while she’s around.”
After they’d hung up, Gabe slid his phone into his pocket only to have it vibrate with a text message. He checked the screen. Kellen. He was currently dealing with his band more now that they’d broken up than he’d ever dealt with them even on tour.
As he read the message, all the air evacuated his lungs. He read it again.
Owen
just got some bad news. Chad was injured in the line of duty. I think it’s pretty bad.
Another message from Kellen appeared below the first.
I did something stupid and now Owen won’t talk to me, but he needs a friend right now. Could you call him?
Tell him I’m sorry.
Ask him to talk to me.
Please.
Gabe had never seen such desperation in Kellen before, so he was curious about what their typically calm and cool rhythm guitarist could have possibly done to make his closest friend not talk to him. They’d been chummy enough when he’d last seen them a few hours before. Gabe texted Kellen back while Melanie—no longer burning with desire for him—twiddled her thumbs beside him.
That really sucks about Owen’s brother. Is he going to live? Gabe backspaced to remove the word live. He didn’t want to put that thought out into the universe. He replaced the deleted word with be okay before sending the message.
I’m not sure. He’s alive, but it’s bad. Really bad. And Owen won’t talk to me.
You mentioned that. What did you do to him?
Since Kellen’s answer didn’t come at once, Gabe glanced up at Melanie. “Owen’s brother—he’s a marine—has been injured.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh my God. I didn’t even know Owen had a brother. Is he going to be okay?”
“I don’t know.” Since Kellen still hadn’t responded, he called Owen. When Owen didn’t answer, Gabe left a message. “Shit, Owen. Kellen just told me about your brother. I’ll be praying for him, bro. If you need anything at all, let me know. I’m here. And you should probably talk to Kellen. He wants to be there for you too.”
Gabe set his phone aside and reached for Melanie. Seeking comfort in her warmth, he pulled her onto his lap and pressed his face against her neck. He didn’t know Chad very well, but imagining that someone so young and so strong could be so easily ended had Gabe staring his own mortality in the face. Had him questioning his life and what was important to him. His band, yes, but also his home, his family, his . . . Melanie.
“How do you feel about shacking up?” he asked.
Melanie laughed. “Is it even called that anymore?”
“I don’t know. Would you consider moving in with me?” They had never broached any serious discussions about their potential future beyond deciding that they wanted to be together. He was ready to take this step and the next. He just wasn’t sure if she was.
“Move in together?”
Her voice squeaked, and he struggled not to chuckle. He had sprung that on her out of the blue.
“Don’t you want to wake up beside me every morning?” he asked. “Learn all my disgusting habits?”
“Someday.”
“How about now?”
She pushed against his chest so she could look up at him. “Where is this coming from all of a sudden?”
He shrugged. “You never know how many tomorrows you have left.”
“Gabe . . .”
“Move in with me.”
“Are you crazy? That’s a huge step! I mean, staying with you for a few days is one thing, but moving in? I’m not sure we’re ready for that.”
He was sure. He knew Melanie was the one. Knew it with every part of his mind, his heart, and his soul. There were some truths science would never explain, and this was one of them. His knowing.
“Do you want to spend your life with me?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said without hesitation.
“Then moving in with me is not a decision. It’s inevitable.”
“Gabe . . .”
He silenced her protests with a deep kiss. He couldn’t take her rejection. Not at this rocky spot in his life. He needed something he could be certain of. He’d thought he could count on his band, thought he had a stable career, stable friendships. He’d thought he had unlimited tomorrows, but now he wasn’t sure about anything but her. He was sure about her.
He cupped her breast, squeezing gently. She moaned into his mouth and pressed her softness more firmly against his palm. He pinched her nipple, and her body jerked before relaxing into his. He became increasingly sure of her as her kiss turned desperate. She could fill a lot of holes in him, and at the moment, he needed to fill one in her.
His fingers moved to the button of her shorts. He unfastened freed the button, and pulled down the zipper before delving inside, his fingers seeking the hot wetness between her thighs.
She tore her mouth away. “Not sure why your unexpected proposition makes me want to come instead of go.”
He grinned, his fingers dipping inside her. He used her slippery fluids to stroke her clit, his tempo increasing like the rising crescendo of a Sole Regret drum track. Her cries of pleasure rose as well as he brought her closer, closer, closer to her peak. She shifted her body—and he thought she might be trying to get away after all—but her shorts were suddenly on the porch and she was straddling him on the swing, struggling to free his hard-as-stone cock from his jeans. The buttons of his fly popped free, and before he could collect his thoughts enough to rationalize her sudden need for him, he was inside her.
He groaned as her heat engulfed him, sending pleasure and need spiraling through him. She must have been even closer to her peak than he realized as her body jerked and shuddered as she found release. He cracked one eye open; the sight of her face contorted in ecstasy made him groan. He lifted his hips to pound his cock up into her, but the swing shifted and he found himself at the mercy of her tempo—which had gone slow as she prolonged the aftershocks of her quick orgasm. His fingers dug into the wood beneath him as she squeezed her breasts while she rode him, completely at ease with making her own pleasure.
Once she caught her breath, her hips began to rock, churning his length inside her until his head dropped back against the swing. The slightest movement of his foot on the porch pushed him deeper as the swing swayed beneath them. His toes lost contact with the ground, and the swing tipped dizzily, unsettling him and making his heart lurch with panic. It also buried him so deep within her, not even a fraction of him was exposed. Which got him thinking about centers of gravity and sex swings with anal plugs. A short thick one for him—because it would feel amazing to have something up his ass to ground him in this rocking motion. And a longer, vibrating one for her, because why not? He loved the feel of a vibrator against his dick when he was buried inside a woman.
But she began to move faster, sending the swing swaying precariously and his thoughts shattering.
“Rub my clit,” she said breathlessly in his ear. “I’m so close.”
“Again?”
“Yes.”
She leaned back so his hand could find her swollen nub. She had an exceptionally large clit, and he had just the suction cup to keep it overstimulated for far longer than he could manage on his own. Unfortunately, it was in the house, so he’d have to do this manually.
“Yes. Oh, Gabe. You’re so good at this.”
Sitting still while she did almost all the work? He was rather good at that. He sent her flying, groaning in delight as her pussy gripped him in rhythmic spasms. She collapsed against him, breathing hard, and her body went completely limp. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close while she got her bearings.
“You didn’t come, did you?” she murmured after a long moment of sitting impaled by his aching cock.
“No.” He kissed her shoulder, refusing to look at the two dogs sitting at the foot of the steps watching them. “It’s okay.”
Apparently she disagreed. She winced as she lifted her hips, and he fell free of her delightful warmth. She settled back on his thighs and took his cock in both hands. Pleasure pulsed up and down his length with each slide of her grip. In his already overstimulated state, it didn’t take her long to give him the release he craved. “Yes,” he groaned, watching her catch his cum and struggling to keep his eyes open so he could see it drip over the back of her hand. “Oh, Melanie. You’re so good at this.”
She snorted when he threw her earlier words back at her. “Well, I’m sure I don’t have as much practice as you do.”