Fireworks 1 and 2

Chapter Twenty-Eight

    Mia waded backwards, just out of Drake's reach. The look in her eyes was taunting, daring.

    "Are you going to make me chase you?" he asked her, his voice low.

    She stared at him wordlessly.

    He slowly moved towards her with his eyes lowered. Water lapped up on the skin of his arms and water droplets rolled off of his biceps as he moved his arms.

    "Something tells me that women don't make you chase them much," she said.

    "They usually do whatever I want them to these days," he admitted as he approached her.

    She looked up at him. "I'm a bit more...difficult than that," she warned him.

    He grinned. "I noticed."

    "I don't think you can handle me," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

    "Let me be the one to decide that," he returned, lifting a hand to her hair.

    She stared up at him, searching his eyes.

    He lowered his head and kissed her.

    If she were completely sober, she would be busy overanalyzing things. She'd be wondering what this kiss meant, exactly. Did it mean he wanted to be with her? Did it mean that he accepted the challenge of attempting to knock down the walls she'd built up so carefully around herself?

    Because she had a warm buzz settling in the pit of her stomach, and because this all felt more like a dream than reality, she threw caution to the wind. Instead of spending time and energy overanalyzing every little thing, she chose to live in the moment. She returned his kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck just as she felt his arms sliding around her waist beneath the surface of the water.

    He pulled her against him as he deepened the kiss.

    When they came up for air, she stared up at him. She lowered her eyes to his lips and moved her head forward. She caught his bottom lip between her teeth and sucked on it. That action set off a hungrier kiss, all tongues, lips, and wetness. She drew back from him unexpectedly and removed her arms from his neck. She waded backwards and splashed water at him.

    He shook off his kiss-induced stupor and followed her.

    She swam lazily around the pool, staring up at the sky. Whenever he got close, she changed direction, always staying just out of his grasp. After several minutes of teasing him, she hoisted herself out of the pool.

    He savored the sight of her climbing out of the pool and watched as she padded barefoot, walking the length of the pool until she reached a wooden bridge walkway. The bridge walkway led to a circular lounge area that was partially submerged in the pool and surrounded by rocks. The lounge area was cushioned and had pillows arranged around it. She stretched out across the cushion, lying on her stomach. She kicked her feet into the air behind her as she watched him step out of the pool.

    He joined her in the lounge area and stretched out beside her. "Still making me chase you?"

    She slanted a look at him.

    He stared at her lips, then lifted his gaze to her eyes.

    She leaned over and kissed him. When she started to pull back, he raised his hands and grabbed the back of her head to keep her still. He wrapped an arm around her and smoothly pulled her onto his lap, taking her breath away. "Whoa there, cowboy," she said softly.

    He linked his fingers with hers and sat up so he could kiss her again.

    She touched his face and returned the kiss, until she felt his hands prying at her swimsuit. "Timeout," she said, pulling back from him. She glanced over her shoulder. The game of beer pong was finally starting to wind down. Everyone was beginning to scatter, and security was rounding up the random girls who didn't live here so they could be escorted to the door.

    Drake was looking up at her. "Too fast?"

    "Way too fast," she confirmed, finally catching her breath. "Can we just...I don't know...lay here for a few minutes?"

    He wiped his mouth. "Yeah, of course."

    She slid off of his lap and lie down with her back to him. As she expected, he wrapped an arm around her and drew her close to him. She nuzzled against him and closed her eyes, lulled to sleep by the sound of rushing water and his rhythmic breathing.

                                                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "Mia." Drake pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder and stroked her hair. "Mia," he called again. He raised his head and looked towards the house. The backyard was now empty; everyone else had returned to the quarters. The sun would start to rise any minute now. They must have fallen asleep.

    He sat up and ran a hand over his head. He was feeling the beginning of a hangover setting in, and he wanted to get upstairs and in bed before it hit. He rubbed his eyes and stood up. He bent at the waist and gathered a sleeping Mia into his arms. He stepped out of the lounge area and crossed the small bridge that led to the patio area, and carried her inside of the house.

    As he walked through rooms, he made sure to turn off lights that had been left on. The patio area he'd left behind was a mess, but by the time he woke up in the morning, the mess would be cleared by his staff. While holding Mia in his arms, he surveyed the living room area shortly before heading down the corridor and to the staircase. He climbed up the stairs, a little too aware of her soft moans and light breathing. At some point, she'd wrapped her arms around his neck. She curled against him, and it felt like she belonged there.

    He climbed the last stair and flipped off the hallway light switch before striding down the hall. He paused just outside of the bedroom she'd chosen. He could take her into her room, leave her there, and retire to his own room. If he was a gentleman, that's what he would do. But he remembered how good she'd felt when he'd held her against him. How warm she'd felt, and how peacefully he slept whenever he was near her. It may have been a selfish decision, but he was too inebriated and too tired to care. He passed up her bedroom and carried her into his master suite.

    He crossed the room and pulled the comforter and sheet set back before gently setting her down on the bed. He went into his walk-in closet and proceeded to get ready for bed. When he exited the closet, wearing a pair of black boxer briefs, he found her sitting up in bed looking at him.

    She looked over at him, her eyes still sleepy. "Aubrey?"

    He smiled. "We fell asleep outside."

    "I need to take this off," she said, pulling at her swimsuit. Her speech was ever so slightly slurred.

    Images of her naked floated around his mind as he retraced his steps back to his walk-in closet. He plucked out a large t-shirt for her and brought it to her.

    She peeled her swimsuit off and didn't bother with modesty.

    He watched her quietly as she removed the swimsuit and handed it to him. Amused, he turned and entered the bathroom, where he folded the fabric and set it on the corner of the bathroom sink. He walked back into the bedroom just as she was lifting the t-shirt over her head. Her body was so perfectly luscious and brown, perky breasts, slender waist, skin so smooth it didn't look real. He gripped the doorframe to the master bathroom, his eyes glued to every curve.

    She looked over at him. Dark strands of hair had fallen over one eye. "Are you okay?"

    She says shit like that so innocently, but she has to know what she's doing, he thought as he entered the bedroom and walked around to the other side of the bed. He got into bed and stretched out on his back. For how amazingly soft and comfortable his bed was, he didn't sleep in it nearly enough.

    She nudged him in the arm.

    He looked over at her with a lifted eyebrow.

    "Hold me again," she instructed.

    He smiled and turned on his side. She positioned herself in front of him with her back to him, just as she had outside. He secured his arm around her and pressed a kiss to her shoulder, which was now covered with his Bob Marley t-shirt.

    They fell into a blissful, undisturbed sleep.