Sweet Heat at Bayside(14)

"You guys coming in?" Violet arched a brow. "Or … ?" She waggled her brows.



THERE WERE NO words to describe the feeling of walking into the crowded,  dimly lit bar between Violet, who was smirking like she'd caught Serena  and Drake having sex, and Drake. Drake radiated sexual energy as he  hulked beside her like a bodyguard who'd been told not to touch his  charge. He practically growled at the men who dared look at her. They'd  been there for a while, and she still hadn't calmed down. She swallowed  hard, shifting in her seat. The man hadn't even kissed her on the mouth  and he'd practically melted her clothes off.

The erratic beat of the music amped up the thrum of heat buzzing inside  her as she watched Drake carry their drinks from the bar. His eyes  blazed into hers, fiercely sexy and haltingly arresting. She touched the  bracelet he'd given her, remembering how he'd held her stare with a  wicked look in his eyes as he'd wound it around her wrist. She knew  she'd see that look late at night when she was alone in the dark,  reliving the feel of his lips on her cheek, his hot breath warming her  to her core. But for now she tried to push the memory away, drinking him  in as he approached. His confident stride drew the eyes of nearly every  woman he passed. He looked scrumptious in the black linen shirt she'd  given him last Christmas. It had quickly become one of her favorites  because he always left the top buttons open, giving her a peek at the  dusting of chest hair beneath. Some guys were too hairy, others shaved  or waxed their chests, but Drake had the perfect amount of chest hair,  and now, as he closed the distance between them like a lion stalking his  prey, she imagined what it would feel like against her skin.

Violet leaned back in her chair. Her black top rose at the hem, exposing  an inch of tanned skin above her hip-hugging black leather miniskirt.  She took a picture of Drake with her phone. Then she handed the phone to  Serena and said, "Don't drool on it."

Serena rolled her eyes and shoved the phone back to Violet. "It's not what you think."         

     



 

"Enlighten me," Violet said with a smirk. "Because that blond skank is  trying her best to seduce him, and he can't take his eyes off you."

Serena glanced over, and her insides flamed at the way he was looking at  her. And just as quickly, jealousy clawed its way up her spine at the  sight of a pretty blonde pawing at his arm. She didn't know what to make  of what had happened in the truck, but she knew what she wanted to make  of it. And she knew that might not be smart for all the same reasons  Drake had so diligently outlined for her yesterday.

Her gut twisted as he leaned down and said something to the blonde. This  time tomorrow she'd have no idea where he was or who he was with. Panic  gripped her. She shifted her eyes to the dance floor to try to calm her  nerves. They weren't even a couple. It shouldn't matter what he did or  who he was with, despite those few scorching moments in the truck. As it  was, she had no idea who he was with most nights. Sure, they texted  often, but she didn't pry, and he didn't offer details. She only knew  that in the mornings they either met up at Summer House for breakfast  with their friends, or he arrived at the resort shortly after her, on  his way back from his morning run. She was sure he'd been with women  over the years, but she couldn't remember him having anyone by his side  even once when they were out as a group.

She glanced across the table at Mira and Matt, their heads bowed as they  whispered to each other. Matt must have said something dirty, because  Mira's cheeks pinked up and she closed her eyes, which made Serena think  of Drake's lips on her cheek. She turned her attention to Emery and  Dean dancing too close and slow for the fast beat. A few feet away from  them, Desiree and Rick kissed, swaying to the music. They made  relationships look easy, like life revolved around them, not the other  way around. Why was it so complicated for her and Drake?

"C'mon, woman. You look like a confused little kitten, and I know you're  no kitten." Violet pushed to her feet. "We're going to dance this out  of you."

Dean and Rick came back to the table as Violet yanked Serena up beside her.

"Harper's with the girls," Rick said, and pointed to the three of them dancing.

Serena couldn't suppress her smile. Wearing a short, colorful hippie  dress, along with several long, dangling necklaces, Harper looked like a  flower child. Her long blond hair swung as she danced like she was on  the floor by herself, her arms flailing, her chin tipped up, and her  eyes closed. Beside her Desiree danced a little self-consciously in a  cute maxi dress, while Emery ground her hips and shimmied in a  skintight, bright-blue minidress.

Violet dance-strutted across the floor in her silver-heeled biker boots.

"Mira, want to dance?" Serena shouted over the music as Drake joined them at the table and set the drinks down.

"Yes!" Mira kissed Matt and headed toward the dance floor.

Serena turned to follow her, and Drake caught her by the hand, staring  longingly into her eyes. In the next second that longing morphed to  something darker, sending her stomach into a wild swirl. She didn't  think as she grabbed the drink he'd gotten for her and guzzled it down.

His eyes burned hotter, hungrier, as if her nervousness was turning him  on as much as his interest was flustering her. She grabbed another drink  from the table without a care for whose it was and downed it just as  fast, taking comfort in the warmth of the alcohol as it slid down her  throat. Drake's eyes flared with a maddening, and equally exciting,  appreciation. Never had she been so nervous around a man, so unsure of  what she wanted. Or rather, what she should do. She knew exactly what  she wanted-the six-foot-two man with eyes the color of night and lips as  unrelenting as a bullying wave, who had stolen her heart when she was  just a girl.

She turned and made a mad dash to the dance floor.

She weaved through the crowd, hips and shoulders swaying to the beat,  feeling looser by the second as the alcohol numbed the worry out of her.  Violet and Emery were slithering up and down each other's bodies in  some sort of dirty dance, while Desiree and Mira leaned in close,  talking as they moved in purely PG fashion. Driven by the lust pulsing  inside her and the tension-easing effects of alcohol, Serena joined  Harper in an evocative dance. She gazed up at the colored lights, calmed  by the music, feeling it throb and flutter inside her. This was what  she needed, to lose herself in something other than Drake, to feel in  control again.

"Finally!" Harper yelled over the music.

Serena answered with a bump of her hips.

"Why didn't you tell me that you and Drake were a couple?"         

     



 

Violet and Emery cracked up.

"What? We're not!" Serena shot a look at Mira.

"Don't look at me," Mira shouted. "I see what Harper sees!"

Harper's brows lifted in confusion. "Then I've really lost my hotness  radar, because the way you two look at each other tells a different  story."

"It's just a weird night." Serena raised her arms over her head and  closed her eyes for a moment to try to lose herself in the beat again,  but all she saw was Drake's sinful gaze. She opened her eyes as Chloe  burst through the crowd and threw her arms around her.

"Sorry I'm late!" Chloe hugged her, then embraced the others. "Wow. You guys all look amazing!"

Violet smirked. "Don't we always?"

"I know I do," Emery said.

Chloe pointed to Serena and said, "Are you dressing to get one last quickie in before Boston?"

"Something like that." Serena had forgotten what she had on. She did  look like she was trying to get lucky. Was that why Drake had finally  made a move?

"I thought she'd dressed for Drake!" Harper said as they began dancing.

Violet danced over to Serena and said, "So did he," into her ear.

Serena glared at her.

"She's been dressing for Drake since she realized she had boobs!" Chloe teased. "Why would tonight be any different?"

"Shut up and dance with us!" Serena said, hoping to change the topic.

They danced in a group to so many songs, Serena didn't know when the  colored lights had dimmed, and she didn't care. She was a little high  and was feeling good. When Harper tapped her on the shoulder and  motioned toward Drake sitting at the table watching her like she was  putting on a private show just for him, she turned up the heat.

Holding his gaze, Serena thrust out her breasts, rolling her shoulders  back, first one, then the other, swaying her hips to the same rhythm.  She raised her arms, moving them over her head as she turned  seductively. When she'd turned full circle, his face was a mask of  wicked intent. His interest made her feel bold and sexy. She sidled up  to Emery in a sexy grinding dance. Emery fell right into step, and  together they drove Dean and Drake out of their minds.