Dylan leans his forehead against mine and stares down at our connection. “Fuck. Fuck! Summer, you feel so good,” he rasps as he slams into me. The euphoric sound of his voice, and the knowledge that he’s watching us, pushes me over the edge. I scream for God and buck against him as I experience one of the most intoxicating climaxes I’ve ever had.
Dylan follows straight after me with a drawn-out groan and then drops down with his head resting on my stomach. Without giving it much thought, I wrap my arms around him and hold him close.
We lie like that, unmoving, until Dylan lifts his head from my chest and smiles. He looks sated and happy and…something else that I don’t yet want to touch on.
I awkwardly begin to sit up as Dylan pulls out of me, and the feeling makes me moan, involuntarily, in pleasure. He grunts like he’s in physical pain, and next thing I know, I’m being tossed over his shoulder as he runs down the hall toward his room. He gives my ass a slap just before we reach the door and then squeezes me tightly. I can’t stop the giggled words from erupting out of me. “What are you doing?”
“Round two,” he growls, playfully biting the side of my thigh, which does all sorts of things to my insides. He throws me onto the bed and then lowers himself on top of me, sealing our lips in a passionate kiss and inserting a finger inside me. My heart races, and my skin tingles with pleasure.I think I like this take-charge version of Dylan, a lot.
Chapter Thirty
Dylan
Brushingthehairawayfrom her face, I kiss Summer once more and then hover above her. I never would have guessed we’d end up back here after our non date, especially after her telling me I should see other people, but fuck, am I glad we did. She smiles up at me with flushed cheeks and messy hair, relaxed, like she could stay in this moment forever.
“God, Summer. Today was perfect. Tonight was perfect.You’reperfect,” I whisper, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead before slipping onto the bed beside her. She freezes beside me, and I instantly regret my words, even though I meant them.
She sits up, bringing her knees to her chest and pulling her top,my top,down over them, covering the lower half of her body. After we had sex for the third time without getting naked, Summer showered and changed into one of my shirts. I can’t help but get the sense that it’s not just circumstantial accidents that have stopped me from seeing her body, and it’s actually a big deal for Summer. Something else I wish she’d talk to me about.
That aside, to say seeing her in my shirt does something to me is an understatement. I never thought I was a possessive guy, but with Summer, I want to brand her and tell the world that she’s mine.
Getting sidetracked, I’m still trying to sort through my thoughts when she blurts, “I’ve got to go,” and starts scanning the room, almost frantically. When she can’t see what she wants, presumably her clothes, she huffs in annoyance before standing up and stepping over me to leave.
We need to talk about this. About us. And we can’t do that if she leaves. Before thinking through my actions, I jump up and follow her into the kitchen, grabbing ahold of her wrist. She flinches before she looks at me.Fuck! “I’m not letting you run again,” I say bluntly—possibly a little too bluntly, but call it frustration.
“That’s not something you get to decide,” she says, pulling her hand out of mine.Fair point; she’s right.
Taking a deep breath, I calm myself and try to sound a bit more caring.“What are you afraid will happen if you stay?”
She sighs and looks up to the roof. “I’m not afraid of anything, it’s just not something I want to do. It is what it is—a release. For both of us. Let’s not try to make it something it’s not.”
“Bullshit!Anyone with eyes can see it’s more than that. It’s not just a release. You want this—me.” I point to my chest.
She shrugs like she’s completely unfazed, but I can see the nervousness reflected in her eyes. “It’s the truth,” she says, but she’s shaking her head like she can’t even look at me.
I stare at her silently until she finally looks my way. “I’ll repeat…bullshit.” There’s no anger in my tone, no fight. It’s just a statement, delivered with no emotion, because I’ve got nothing left.
Summer closes her eyes, and when she opens them again, the pain is unbearable to look at. “I think we should stop,” she whispers, and God, I hope I heard her incorrectly. When I don’t say anything right away, she repeats herself, a little louder this time. “We should stop.”
Shit, that’s not what I wanted to come from this talk.My chest aches at the thought of never touching her again. I should’ve just let her leave. What was there to complain about really? I had a good friend, we had good sex, and she didn’t want to have anything more. A lot of men would kill to be in my shoes, and yet, here I was, screwing it up.
“It’s getting a bit much, and I would hate for it to ruin our friendship somehow,” Summer adds, not even realizing that she’s tearing me up inside. She’s thrown around the friendship card many times during our relationship, and I’ve let it slide, but this time wasn’t going to be that easy.I don’t think I can go back.
Her phone rings on the table beside me, and I look to see the name Logan flashing across the screen.Why the fuck is he calling at four in the morning?A flashback of me lying in the tent, listening to their moans, invades my mind, uninvited, and I cringe.
“Why is it so easy with you and Logan, then? Your friendship doesn’t seem to be affected.”
Summer’s eyes widen as my words sink in, and she realizes I know there’s more to them.Yeah, that’s right. I heard it all.We’ve never discussed it. In fact, the name Logan has never come up between us, despite him being one of her best friends. She looks to the ground and bites the inside of her cheek before responding just above a whisper. “It’s not the same.”
Is she denying it?“It’s exactly the same,” I snap and then wince with regret. I soften my tone slightly and continue. “You and Logan are friends with benefits, right? How is what we’re doing any different?”I wince again as my own words actually hit me.Fuck, is that all we are?
She doesn’t answer right away, instead playing with the hem of my shirt. “Come on, Summer. What’s. The. Difference?” I say, getting worked up over her avoidance.God, Dylan. Calm down.My emotions are clearly out of control.
“He doesn’t want more,” she yells before I’ve even finished the last word of my question.
“Neither do I!” I roar as panic that I’m about to lose her flares up inside. Is it a complete lie? Of course, it is. But if that’s what it takes… She recoils like I’ve slapped her in the face and then looks away for a second.
When she turns back to face me, she looks utterly broken. “Good to know, but it doesn’t change a thing,” she says, and the words feel like they’re dripping with poison.