"Darn right." Rick smirked as he crushed Serena to him. "Don't worry, Serena. I'll wipe Drake's tears tomorrow."
Drake scowled as Dean moved in for a group hug, squishing Serena between him and Rick.
"All right, you two, that's enough." Drake tugged her out from between them and said for her ears only, "We've got to get out of here before I lose my mind."
"I love you guys!" she said as Drake grabbed her purse. "Save my seat at the breakfast table on weekends!"
Their friends' voices trailed after them as they left the bar. Drake held her closer with every step across the parking lot. She was sure he'd be all over her as soon as they reached the truck. She was so nervous as he helped her into the truck, she felt numb and a little dizzy. He reached across her lap for the seat belt, his chest brushing against hers as he buckled her in, which she appreciated because she wasn't sure she could get her brain to work well enough to do it herself.
Watching her intently, he said, "You'd better stay on your side of the truck, or we might not make it to your place."
He closed her door and went around to the driver's side, while she tried to stop her world from spinning.
The drive to her cottage didn't take long, but it felt like an eternity. Questions circled her brain like a carnival ride, as exhilarating as they were alarming. Why hadn't he kissed her yet? Was this it? Was he having second thoughts and now he was back into doing the right thing? Would he even kiss her good night? Would he come inside at all? Did she want him to?
He parked in the driveway and came around to help her out. She took his hand as she stepped out of the truck, which she'd done too many times to count. On the nights he'd driven her home from outings with their friends, he always walked her up to her door, but tonight she was hyperaware of his tempting, strong body beside her, how tightly he held her hand, and how big that hand was.
She fished her keys from her purse, feeling the heat of his stare, and awkwardly unlocked the door. He moved her hair over her shoulder, as calm as a summer breeze, which made her even more nervous as she pushed the door open. She caught sight of the bracelet he'd given her, bringing back all of his naughty whispers.
He took her hand, drawing her against him on the porch. Her wet shirt pressed chillingly against her, but his warmth could have burned it right off. He didn't say a word. He didn't have to. His approval-seeking gaze told her he was offering her an out. Her emotions sped and skidded. She'd imagined this moment so many times, had fantasized about all the things he'd done and said at the bar, but nothing compared to the real thing. Drake's power of seduction was a hundred times stronger than she could have ever imagined.
He splayed his hand across her back, as he'd done when they'd danced, sending tiny shocks rippling through her. He kissed her cheek, and she closed her eyes, trying to calm her racing heart. A kiss on the cheek shouldn't make her entire body plead for more, yet she was going up on her toes, clutching the front of his shirt, breathless and needy.
"How did we get here?" tumbled from her lips as he threaded his fingers into her hair and held on tight, searching her eyes.
He skimmed his lips over her jaw, slowing to press light kisses there, and said, "I don't know." He brushed his scruff along her cheek, abrading the tender skin, and nipped at her earlobe. Each touch of his slow seduction sent sensual sensations skittering through her.
"Do you want to be here?" he asked roughly, tightening his hold on her.
"Yes-"
Heat flared in his eyes, and he lowered his face toward hers, stopping short of kissing her and lingering there like the most sought-after treat, just out of reach, making her breathless and anxious.
"I've waited so long to kiss you," he said in a low growl. He tugged her hair, angling her face beneath his, and slowly traced her lower lip with his tongue. "To taste you."
He kissed the edges of her mouth, pressing his hand firmly on her lower back, his hard body temptingly insistent against her. She clung to him as his hot lips touched her neck, kissing and licking, taking his time as he revved her up one sinful second at a time. Just when her legs were ready to give out, his mouth covered the curve of her shoulder in a hard suck, and then he feasted on her sensitive skin, until she was a boneless, trembling mess.
"Kiss me," she pleaded.
He drew back with a wolfish grin, and in the next breath he was lavishing her shoulder with more taunting openmouthed kisses and grazing his teeth over her skin, causing pleasure and pain to collide inside her. Never in her life had she been so turned on. She arched against him, needing more but not wanting him to stop his masterful seduction. She had no idea how her legs carried her, but they stumbled into the cottage, and he backed her up against the door, pinning her there with nothing more than his hungry eyes raking down the length of her with lethal calmness. She was breathing too hard, shaking from fingers to toes, every nerve ending already aflame as he visually devoured her. His gaze crawled north again, lingering on her chest.
He took hold of one end of the tie that laced up the center of her shirt, and his eyes found hers. "If you want to remain only friends, now's the time to tell me, Supergirl."
Was he nuts? She couldn't speak right then if he'd held a gun to her head, so she began fumbling with the buttons on his shirt to convey her answer.
Without a word, he lifted her into his arms, guiding her legs around his waist, and finally, hungrily, crushed his mouth to hers in a penetrating kiss that resonated through her like a symphony. Just when she thought she would come apart from nothing more than this, he eased his efforts to the sweetest, tenderest kisses she'd ever experienced. He was like the most intense, passionate roller-coaster ride, taking her harder, more demanding, holding her in place with one hand buried in her hair. He continued his exquisite possession, devouring her fast and then slow, rough and then sweet, until her thoughts fragmented and she gave up trying to think at all.
The next thing she knew, he was on the move, carrying her to the bedroom. She could do little more than cling to him as they ate each other's mouths, and when he lowered her to the bed, he went with her, never breaking their connection.
His hands cradled her head as he took their kisses to mind-numbing depths. His kisses were whole-body invasions, causing her heart to beat faster, her breathing to become shallow and then frantic, as she filled with desperation. She clawed at his back, tugging at his shirt with the need to feel his bare skin on hers. She was completely and utterly lost in a frenzy of lust and greed and something much more animalistic.
He reared up on his knees and stripped off his shirt. Her hands were drawn to his chest like metal to magnet, moving over his muscles, through his chest hair. How many times had she imagined doing exactly this? His fingers circled her wrists, and he kissed one palm and then the other, his eyes never leaving hers. His lips were soft and hot, and when he touched them to the underside of her wrist, she held her breath. He sealed his mouth over the sensitive skin, driving her out of her mind by sucking and licking, nipping and kissing all the way from the underside of her wrist to the crook of her elbow and back again. She never knew mere kisses could have this effect on her, but Drake didn't merely do anything. He consumed. Claimed. Possessed.
"Drake," she begged.
He continued kissing, all the way up her arm to her shoulder. Then he captured her mouth again. She gasped for breath, and he breathed air into her lungs.
"I've waited a lifetime for this. You're gorgeous, Serena."
He kissed her again, tender and languid. "I don't want you to wake up tomorrow regretting a single thing we do."
"I won't," she promised. "I could never regret this. I've waited forever to be with you, too."
"And you're leaving tomorrow," he reminded her. "Embarking on an exciting new part of your life. I want you to be clearheaded when you start your new job, not distracted by me, or us, and wondering what if … "
She flopped onto her back and sighed. "Well, you already messed that up."
He laughed and kissed her again. They both fell to the mattress smiling.
"You told me all the reasons you couldn't be with me," she said. "And now look where we are. You kind of stink at holding back."
"Hey, I've restrained myself for years. I think I should be commended for my efforts." He lay beside her, holding her hand, and said, "I couldn't have held back more than I have tonight if my life depended on it."
She grinned like a fool.
"I think you put some kind of weakening agent in my drink." He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Promise me something. If you regret this in the morning, text me and let me know instead of disappearing and never talking to me again."