Part 16 (1/2)
And the rest of him wasn't bad either, his athletic figure sporting broad shoulders, narrow waist, washboard stomach, and delineated musculature in streamlined perfection. This was the body of a high school football player, and Lacey adored the visual every day and night.
She dipped down and kissed his inviting lips tenderly, cupping his face, feeling the start of stubble on his jaw and the soft skin of his temples. Bro's hands slid up her back, toying with the thin fabric of her dress. With the tip of his tongue, Bro coaxed Lacey's lips to part, and he stole his way inside, taking her breath away. For a while they kissed, touched, and held each other as the slow fire between them simmered.
A reverent knock came from the door.
Bro groaned, displeased, and Lacey snickered at her grumpy lover.
”Dinner's ready, you two,” came Jordan's amused shout from outside the door. At least he didn't peek inside, Lacey mused gratefully.
Bro growled some more, his eyes closed tight. ”f.u.c.k. I was just getting into-”
”Me?” Lacey teased.
Bro's eyes shot open, and in one fell swoop he had her pinned down on the bed. ”Be very careful, little rabbit, or this big bad wolf will eat you up.” Lacey laughed, and Bro grinned. ”In fact, I might just push up your pretty dress and gobble up your sweet c.o.c.k right now.” His hands brushed against the waistband of Lacey's tight undies, reaching for her swelling d.i.c.k, and managing to successfully graze the hardening length trapped beneath the strict, unyielding fabric.
She swatted his hand away. ”If you give me wood at the dinner table, I'll wring your neck-or some other body part.”
Bro chuckled, not the least bit concerned about the threat aimed at his crown jewels. ”Oh, baby, you can squeeze the life out of any part of me.” He smacked a big, sloppy kiss on her lips, and she scrunched her nose playfully. ”You already have my heart in a chokehold.”
Lacey blinked away some unneeded moisture in her eyes. ”You say the silliest things.” But she didn't mean it. In all honesty, she loved him for saying them. And she just... loved him.
Winking at her, Bro obviously wasn't fooled by her reproach, and then he confirmed his magical mind-reading prowess. ”And you love me for it.”
What could she say to that? Lacey wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him down for a deep, hungry kiss that seemed to halt time itself.
Five hot, sweaty minutes later they sat down at the dinner table. Their awfully amused family members sat around them, and most of them were grinning ear to ear at the sight of Lacey's flushed face, mussed up short blond hair, and feverish hazel eyes, and Bro's just-try-me glare aimed at each and every one of them.
”Sure hope you two worked up an appet.i.te,” Jordan commented placidly. Jack, his younger brother sitting across the table, burst into hopeless cackles.
”My brother's appet.i.te is insatiable,” Sebastian remarked next to Jordan with equal calm. At that point, Jack was chortling and banging on the table with tears streaming out of his eyes, and even his typically stoic boyfriend Kevin chuckled a bit under the concealment of his napkin.
”Fine!” Bro huffed, indignant, red-faced. ”Everybody take a potshot at me!”
Jordan frowned in mock confusion. ”I thought we already were.”
Lacey giggled, covering her full lips behind her hand in a demure gesture. Bro let go of his temper in favor of wors.h.i.+ping his girlfriend, who was in actuality a boy in a girl's dress. This point of view Lacey knew well because Bro's eyes glazed over when he was lost in his feelings for her, and she loved him all the more for it. Not because of the adulation itself, but the way Bro saw her never failed to make her appreciate the bond between them. That tie had gone through its share of frays and tears within the last year, but solidified into a stronger connection.
The summer break was almost over, and their freshman year at college would start in less than a week. Worst of all, they would be going to different places: Bro would go to Howard University right here in DC on a football scholars.h.i.+p, with his best friend, Bradley, and Lacey's best friend, Audrey-Bradley to play football, too, and Audrey to study law-while Lacey would be headed for the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, over an hour away from DC by car. It was a manageable distance, though not one she expected to enjoy on a daily basis.
But for Bro, Lacey would do anything, make any sacrifice. Not that the Peabody was such a hards.h.i.+p. The school had an excellent reputation, and Lacey was looking forward to getting her bachelor's degree in music with the string department. And who knew? After that accomplishment, the next step along her career would be a master's, and then perhaps, if she studied really hard and dedicated herself to her trade, a doctorate in musical arts. Violin performance would be her tool in achieving these goals, and then... take the world by storm?
Sometimes she was so excited about it all she could barely contain her enthusiasm, let alone sit still. Yet, she didn't feel like rus.h.i.+ng it. This past summer had been the best of her life, and she didn't want it to be over yet. In four days, on Thursday, Lacey had to go to Peabody for orientation. And then she had one last weekend of peace before her time would be dominated by studies, research, and practice, practice, practice.
”Mr. Teasdale's going to drive you to Baltimore?” Kevin asked Lacey between bites of the pepper steak Jack had made. It was pretty much all Jack could make, but the steaks were d.a.m.n juicy. Even Lacey, who rarely ate meat, had to admit that. She wasn't a vegetarian, but she was beginning to lean in that direction, not just to satisfy her ecological convictions, but because of the fresh, light taste.
”Yes.” Lacey nodded. ”I think he's as eager as I am to see the conservatory. He studied in England and Italy, so this is a change for him.”
”Aww, your first fan,” Jack stated with childish glee, half of it fake.
Lacey snickered. ”I'll have to start selling tickets to my performances next.” Then she glanced at her boyfriend beneath her lashes. ”You'll have a special boyfriends-only backstage pa.s.s.”
Bro grinned and blushed endearingly. Lacey just had to kiss him, tasting pepper steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, and vegetables, all with one lick. Friendly chuckles and one wolf whistle accompanied her actions.
As he pulled back, Bro stared at her dazed, like he always did after they had been smooching. Lacey felt heat suffuse her own cheeks, and felt her c.o.c.k jump in her tight underwear, pleading to be let out to play.
As if sensing her discomfort, Bro asked, ”We've still got four days. What do you want to do?”
During the past month, the six of them-Bro, Lacey, Jordan, Sebastian, Jack, and Kevin-had traveled quite a lot of the Chesapeake and Ohio Ca.n.a.l National Historical Park, by car, on bikes, and on foot. It had been an awesome six days, though they had scarcely seen all there was to see. Lacey had loved the outdoors. ”I was thinking we could go camping for a couple of nights in the Shenandoah National Park.”
Bro was a sporty, outdoorsy person too. The twinkle in his eyes and the widening grin told her that her idea was grand. ”Yeah, that sounds f.u.c.king great. I've never been there before.”
”Bro,” Sebastian admonished him for his cursing, pursing his lips in playful distaste.
Bro rolled his eyes, but for his deaf brother's benefit signed, ”Sorry.” He turned to Lacey, buzzing with excitement. ”Yeah, let's do it. We'll go tomorrow.”
”Tomorrow's Sunday,” Kevin noted. ”I recommend waiting until Monday.”
”Why?” Lacey asked, curious.
”I've stayed at Shenandoah before. During the weekends, the campsites are crowded with children, precious few of them on their best behavior. It'll be noisy. Weekdays are best. I recommend Loft Mountain Campground. It's not necessarily the most popular site for families with kids, with no tourist shops close by. Oh, and do try to get there early. The A lots are the best. They come with some semblance of privacy, not to mention some killer views. But they go out fast.” As usual, Kevin delivered his information with a deliberate lack of sensationalism, in an impa.s.sive manner. He rarely showed his feelings to people, and his boyfriend, Jack, was one of the few who could coax a truly emotional response out of him.
”Thanks, man,” Bro said, his expression grateful and happy. Lacey adored seeing him like this, so effervescent, bubbling with life.
”It's at least four hours to drive there, so you better leave early,” Kevin advised. ”You could call them to make a reservation for a specific lot, but it's really first come, first served out there. Eat or be eaten.”
”G.o.d, I love it when you get down and dirty poetic,” Jack murmured wickedly next to him and leaned closer to nuzzle the big bear of a man's stubbly cheek. It wasn't Lacey's imagination that Kevin's face reddened at the teasing of the gorgeous blond.
Kevin cleared his throat and dug into his steak, lowering his face practically to the plate before him. Jack chuckled. Then Kevin suddenly jumped in his chair, while Jack looked all innocent. Lacey had a distinct feeling there were naughty things happening beneath the table, but she wisely chose to look the other way and say nothing.
Jordan had no qualms about scolding his little brother, though. ”Jack, shut up and eat.”
”You mean let your partner eat without getting his junk manhandled under the table,” Jack said back, his tone ready for an argument.
Jordan and Kevin were partners in the Financial Crimes and Fraud Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department, while Jack was an EMT for the District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department. Sebastian was a volunteer police officer on account of being deaf, but he worked for the same department as Jordan and Kevin these days, tending to the evidence locker and to the mountains of paperwork generated by the department, being so diligent and energetic.
While Jordan and Jack bickered good-naturedly, Sebastian watched the row with rapt amus.e.m.e.nt, and Kevin buried his face in his plate, Bro was free to fondle Lacey under the table too. She felt his fingers sliding beneath the hem of her dress, trailing their leisurely way up her thighs. Lacey swallowed hard, feeling hot and perspiring again. She took a gulp of water from her gla.s.s, but then Bro's fingers found their way to her hardening c.o.c.k and rubbed along the length with precision and stealth.
His downright evil grin made Lacey's heart pound. ”Stop it, you fiend,” she whispered, all but hissing.
”Make me,” Bro dared with a low, seductive chuckle.
The only way she could do that was by causing a scene.
Lacey lifted her water gla.s.s above his head, warning with her eyes she was about to pour. ”You need to cool down, boy.”