Page 59 of Flock
“That’s . . .”
He presses himself against me and a breathy moan escapes me, my eyes darting past his shoulder.
“Where’s Tyler?”
“I told him to fuck off for a second.”
“Why?”
He kisses me, and in seconds I’m wrapped around him, my bikini bottoms pushed to the side as his fingers enter me. He hooks my arm around his neck. “Because I can’t go another fucking minute without being inside you. Hold onto me, baby.”
That’s all the warning I get before he invades me, thrusting so deep I bite onto his shoulder to muffle my moans. He grinds into me, my back against the unforgiving cement as he consumes me. He shifts the triangle of fabric at my nipple to one side and sucks deep, speeding up all the while keeping us connected to the point it’s almost painful. He’s punishing me in the most delicious way, and I feel it—his claiming. Within seconds, I come with his name on my lips as my eyes search for any sign of Dominic and Tyler over his shoulder. I’m not sure I would make Sean stop at this point, even if they did walk into view.
“Goddamn, I missed you,” he grunts and pulls out, biting into the flesh of my shoulder as he comes.
“Missed you too,” I mumble, before he draws my lips into a kiss, and then another, and then another. He rights my bottoms and top after tucking himself back into his board shorts seconds before Tyler walks back through the gate. Sean buries his face in my neck, his breathing labored as Tyler speaks to us both like he has no clue we’re post-orgasm. Maybe he doesn’t, but what we did was the closest I’ve ever come to voyeurism. My cheeks heat as Sean pulls back, his golden smile dazzling as I slowly shake my head.
“I promise a lot more than CliffsNotes, later. We good?”
“Sex isn’t going to fix our communication issue,” I point out, trying to level the playing field.
We stare each other down for several seconds. “I know, but please don’t do that to me again,” he asks softly.
“Do what?”
“Cut me.”
Chapter Twenty
Girl, you are glowing,” Melinda says as we clock out. You must be spendin’ all your time outdoors these days.”
“Mostly, yeah.”
“Well, if that smile you’re wearing has anything to do with the one matching our supervisor’s ...” she pauses, giving me time to confirm or deny—I do neither.
“Anyway, even if he’s trouble, he’s pretty to look at.”
He is. He’s beautiful. For the last week he’s treated me with nothing short of devotion. His kisses are lasting longer; his looks filled with more. My feet haven’t touched the ground since he bulldozed his way back into my space and began ruthlessly chipping away at my reinforced heart. We spend no nights apart, and I don’t bother reporting to Roman where I’m going anymore. Most nights with Sean, I spend at his house. Dominic’s being his usual charming self, and only once have I extended any sort of olive branch. He locks himself in his room constantly, music blasting until the late hours. In an effort to ease some of our tension, I made some homemade ice cream and brought a bowl up to his room where I found him pacing in front of his computer, if it can be called that. It looks more like a space station equipped with three massive screens and two keyboards. I set my offering on his desk, and he all but slammed the door in my face in thanks. When I asked Sean what Dominic was working on he quickly changed the subject, and so I dropped it, no closer to finding a piece of the puzzle that is Dominic King.
As a veteran wallflower, I’ve spent years simply observing people—some more than others—to try and figure out what makes them tick. Though I’m in the midst of shedding my introvert skin, old habits die hard. Dominic is definitely a new focal point for me.
The bigger question in my mind is why an MIT graduate works at a garage, instead of looking for a job to get him into a higher tax bracket? Surely Dominic didn’t get a degree at one of the best schools in the country to replace brakes and mufflers for the rest of his days.
But I keep these questions to myself. One, because it’s not my business. Two, because Dominic is a motherfucker and still engages me at every turn. However, I’ve been giving back just as good as I get. Since that day we called a semi-truce, we’ve grown more playful in our sparring matches.
Despite my curiosity about Dominic, the majority of my attention outside of work belongs to Sean. A few times since that day at the pool, I’ve felt a little guilty for trying to shut him out, though I got the apology I think I deserved. But some part of me is still holding back. Maybe it’s the jaded part that keeps me on edge. I think most of it is because some part of me can’t believe he’s real. The irony is the cynic in me doesn’t want to be right, because even she’s falling for him.
The summer nights have been alive, full of electricity as we split our time between Eddie’s, on occasion, to throw darts, and shooting pool with guys at the garage, or simply driving around as I try and up my skill behind the wheel of his life-sized Matchbox car.
Tonight, we’ve decided to forgo all our new norms for some one-on-one time. Through a set of unlocked gates, I pull up next to a large barn and park in a space to see Sean waiting for me. I can’t help the elation that stirs in me when he peers up at me with a knowing smile, before he crushes out a cigarette with his boot.
“Hey, baby,” he pulls me to him, kissing me deeply as I lift up on my toes to return his kiss.
I glance behind him at rows upon rows of apple trees, the angry branches filled to the brim with blossoming fruit. There are a dozen or more farms in Triple Falls, and the locals take their pride in their apples seriously. Annually, at the start of autumn, Triple Falls holds an apple festival in the square that most townies consider the highlight of their year. Townies including Melinda, who insists I cannot miss it.
“What are we doing here?”
“Midnight picnic,” he turns to gather the supplies stacked on his hood. He hands me a familiar blanket before gathering up the rest, which consists of a battery-operated lantern and plastic bags, before starting us down a path through rows of trees. It’s picturesque, especially under his small camp light; the mountains in the distance silhouetted by the night sky.
