Holiday in Danger (33 page)

She didn’t know what Blake wanted. What she wanted. Or Devin. Was she just a trip down memory lane for him? A weekend fling?

She pushed against his chest until he loosened his grip. “Why’d you break up with Ivy?”

He released her. “What does that matter?”

“I want to know.”

Devin stepped back and pinched the back of his neck. His arm bulged and flexed as he kneaded his muscles. “We didn’t work out. That’s all.”

“Why not?”

Devin huffed in irritation. “This is ridiculous. I’m not talking about Ivy.”

“Please, Devin.” Summer stepped toward him. She knew every question pushed him out of his comfort zone. Talk about feelings? Devin Rogers? No way. But she needed to know.

He glanced up. “Tell me why it’s so important.”

Summer frowned. “It just is.”

“That’s a bullshit answer.”

“Better than no answer at all.”

He crossed his arms and locked his knees. The Devin cold shoulder.

After a minute of stony indifference, Summer caved. It came out in a rush. “Because she’s everything I’m not. She’s blonde and gorgeous with legs for days and a bikini-ready body. And she’s here. If she’s not enough, what hope do I have?” All the insecurities and doubt tumbled out of her mouth and Summer turned around before Devin could catch the quiver in her lip. No way was Ivy McClellan making her cry.

As she sucked in a breath, Devin’s sturdy hands wrapped around her arms. “Summer, you can’t mean all that.”

She sniffed. “You wanted to know.”

“Babe, she’s nothing compared to you.” Summer glanced at the floor, but Devin tugged her around until she looked up into his eyes. “You’re so much more than Ivy.”

“Am not.”

“Are too. You’re a million times sexier. Funny. Kind.” He glanced up at the ceiling. “Ivy—She’s shallow. Immature. I’m not sure there’s even a real person under all that makeup.”

Summer tried to laugh. “Really?”

“I can’t believe you’d compare yourself to her and think you weren’t enough. You’re so much more.”

Summer bit her lip. She wanted to believe him.

“Don’t you see? I’m willing to share you. That’s how much I want you. If I can’t have you all to myself, then I’ll take whatever I can get.”

She blinked. “You mean you’d rather Blake wasn’t in the picture?”

Devin licked lips. “I don’t know if I’d go that far. Seeing the two of you together…It does something to me.”

“But?”

“But nothing.” He reached up and took her face in his hands. “Ivy and I are long over. She’s with Ian. It’s all in the past.”

“So are we.”

“Not anymore.” He closed his eyes and Summer melted into him.

Lips. Body. Fear. It all turned liquid and she stopped thinking. Worrying.

Devin and Blake were stronger than she remembered. Intense and thoughtful. Full of more life than anyone back in New York. The wedding wasn’t until tomorrow night. That gave her all afternoon and half the next day to soak them up. Drown in their bodies.

She could still feel the ghost of Blake’s chest as he pressed her into the rock. The crush of their bodies together as he slipped his hand over her mouth. The high when he came inside her.

Summer shuddered and twisted her hands in Devin’s t-shirt. Surfer body. Jeans slung low across his hips. Abs flexing beneath her hands.
Damn.
Had he always been this built? This sexy?

The way he brushed off his relationship with Ivy like an empty bag of chips. The way his eyes raked up and down her body. A pause on her chest. Hips. A squeeze of her ass in his hands.

Devin pressed her body close. He held her until her heart and his fell in rhythm. One tangled up mess of beats and longing.

“I want you.” Her words were bold. Daring. So unlike her last four years. Was this who she was? Was this the real Summer Crenshaw?

“Mmm.” He pressed his smooth cheek against hers. So different from Blake. Instead of a square jaw and short beard, he was all angles and skin. Instead of short hair she could rub, it was a mop she could weave her fingers through.

“Tell me you want me.” She licked a trail from his ear to down his neck. Tasting the salty dried sweat. The hint of musk. Devin.

He plumped her ass and ground his hips against her. The unmistakable ridge of an erection dug into her belly and she grinned. “Guess you don’t have to.”

“I’ve always wanted you, Summer. Since the first minute I saw you all those years ago.”

She swallowed. “Then what are you waiting for?”

He kissed her forehead. “I don’t want to rush you into anything.”

“You’re not rushing me.”

“You say that, but—”

“I mean it. I wouldn’t have been half-naked in the Cove today with Blake if I wasn’t sure.”

Devin’s eyes clouded. “You what?”

Damn it
. Summer closed her eyes. “He didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

She bit her lip and blinked her eyes open. “Don’t get mad.”

Devin’s face was stony. Impassive.
Shit
. Might as well spill it.

“I might have let Blake…we might have…Oh, hell. We had sex back in the rocks. On the beach by Captain’s Point.” She waited with a trapped breath.

Devin twisted up his mouth.

“Are you mad?”

“No. Jealous. That’s for damn sure.”

“Is that why you were freaking out earlier?”

He dropped his arms to his sides. “Yes? I thought—” He ran his hand through his hair and glanced at the door.

“It’s okay. You can tell me.”

“I thought you were choosing him over me. First the kiss yesterday. Then the two of you alone together. I—I know I’m not the most sensitive guy. But don’t think for a second I’m only in this for a fling.”

“You’re not?”

“No. I’m not.”

Summer exhaled. “Then come back here. You don’t need to take it slow with me. I’m a big girl. I know what I want.”

“And what is that?”

“Your cock.” She giggled when she said it.
Cock!
These men brought out the inner diva. She sank to her knees and grabbed his waistband before Devin could say a word.

The button came free, the zipper opened and Summer shoved his pants and boxers down.

“Summer—you don’t—”

“Shut up. I want to.”

She pushed harder and Devin’s cock sprang free. It bounced in the air, long and straight.
Yes
.

Summer rose up and wrapped her hand around his shaft as she leaned close. A bead of fluid smeared across his tip and she licked it up, tasting his salty goodness before opening up and taking his cock deep.

With a groan, he pushed into her, sliding to the back of her throat until she pulled back and lapped his head. She licked circles around his velvet skin, tracing the ridge and bumps and veins until he groaned again.

When it’d been her and Blake, he’d taken over. Dropping to his knees and shooting stars behind her eyes. Spinning her around and fucking her against the rock wall. But with Devin? It was her turn.

She was in control. She was turning a grown man into putty. She was calling all the shots.

As he slid his hands into her hair, Summer slid forward and coated his veiny shaft in her saliva. With a little moan, she bobbed her head again and again.
 

Over and over she worked him, just lips at first. Then tongue and teeth. Hands. He pumped into her in shallow thrusts and she flattened her tongue. Opened wide.

The first shot of his release splashed on her tongue and she swallowed it down, sucking his spit-slicked tip until he shuddered.

At last, Summer let him go.

He staggered back. “You’re spectacular.”

She wiped her mouth with her hand. “Thanks.”

Devin pulled his pants up and grinned “Now it’s your turn.”

“No way.”

“What? No—that’s not fair.”

He reached for her, but she side-stepped.

“Like I said, I knew what I wanted. Now it’s time to paint.” She flashed him a smile and picked up a paint brush. “I’ve got to get this out before I lose it.”

Devin’s eyebrows creased. “You’re sure?”

“Very. But you can stay and watch, if you want.”

The dimple reappeared. “If you finish tonight, there’s a bed downstairs that’s big enough for three.”

Summer paused. “Three?”

Devin shrugged. “What can I say? I’m feeling generous. At least more so than Blake.”

Her cheeks flushed scarlet. “When you put it that way, we sound like sex-starved teenagers.”

“Nothing wrong with that.” Devin kissed her shoulder, lingering until his lips warmed her skin. “I’d love to watch you. I’ve always wanted to see you work.”

With the promise of a kick-ass reward, she was more than ready. “Okay. But don’t freak out if I get paint all over you.”

He held up his hands. “I promise.”

Summer picked up a paintbrush and turned to the painting. When she’d started, it had been violent—brutal. A storm that matched the need Blake lit inside her. The fire rocketing through her veins. But now?

Now she saw hope. Light. A break in the clouds. Instead of a swirling whirlpool battering the little boat around, there was a shot at salvation. A ray of sun breaking through and hitting the red hull. She dipped the brush in a pale yellow.

Devin and Blake. Two men who managed to come together and satisfy all her desires. Stoke and calm the flares at the same time. Light and dark. Rain and sun.

In minutes, she’d lost herself to the muse. Paint splattering. Canvas filling. The sun outside sank lower and lower and lights turned on inside. Devin. Even in real life, he was lighting the way.

She painted and painted. Until her arm ached and her shoulder screamed and her hair was more rainbow than brown.

At last she stepped back. Midnight Cove. Battered on one side by a raging storm. Illuminated on the other by the golden sun. A sailboat in the middle. Strong and tall. Balanced and thriving.

Footsteps sounded behind her. “It’s beautiful.”

Summer started. “Blake? When’d you…?”

“Get here? About an hour ago. Devin let me know. Hope you don’t mind. It’s been an honor.”

She smiled at the ground. “Thanks.”

Devin stepped over. “How about we clean up and head downstairs? I’m guessing you want to wash all that paint out of your hair.”

Summer pulled a lock in front of her face and grimaced. “God, I must look like a train wreck.”

“You look like an artist.”

Summer’s eyes widened and she gave Devin a quick nod.
An artist.
She bent down and grabbed a tube of paint before he caught the shimmer in her eyes.

BLAKE

“Y
OU
DIDN
’
T
SHOW
her the shop, did you?”

Blake huffed in annoyance. “No. We’d agreed. I wouldn’t go back on that.” He pulled out a barstool and sat down. As soon as they’d headed inside, Summer had hustled off to shower in their guest room. She was probably covered in lather, scraping the paint off her skin and out of her hair.

The shower water echoed through the pipes and Blake wished he were in there—soaping Summer’s back and ignoring the tension between him and Devin. But they had to face each other. Now was as good a time as any.

Devin walked past him and opened the fridge. Anger radiated off him, furnace hot. He ducked down to pull out a beer and his voice carried over the door. “So you keep your word on the shop, but fuck her as soon as you two get alone? That’s great.”

The fridge door swung shut and Devin stood up with a scowl. “On the beach, even? Seriously, Blake. That’s fucked up.”

Blake clenched his fist but kept his voice even. “And your little show last night wasn’t? You should have seen Brad this morning, man. He was a fucking powder keg. If I’d said anything out of line, he’d have found a way to arrest me.”

Devin popped the top of his beer. “That’s not the same thing.”

“Yeah? Well, if it weren’t for you, I’d have never run into Summer. Or had to do damage control.”

“What are you talking about?”

Blake let out a breath. “Your ex-girlfriend.”

“Ivy? What’s she got to do with any of this?”

“Ian asked me to track her down at the spa. Something about wanting her to meet with Brad. When I pulled up, she was ripping into Summer something fierce. Blaming her for the permit fiasco.”

Devin paused, beer midway to his mouth. “That’s none of her fucking business.”

“No shit. But there she was, waving her fake nails all over the place, being a total bitch. They’d been going at it for a good while, it looked like. If I hadn’t shown up, who knows what would’ve happened. Summer might be on a plane back to NYC.”

With a curse, Devin set his beer on the counter. “We shouldn’t have agreed to let Ivy into the deal.”

“A little late now, don’t you think?”

Devin exhaled. “I figured Ian could keep her on a leash.”

Yeah, right
. From what Blake had seen of Ivy, she was only interested in one thing—herself. Trading up in boyfriends like most women changed shoes. Always looking for the next big thing. The next way she could put her name in lights. “She’s bad news.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m not still pissed.”