Flock (The Ravenhood)

A dizzying smile greets me as I saunter down the porch steps to where Sean waits at the passenger door, eyes devouring me in my cover-up, a dangerously flossy bikini beneath. I meet him where he stands and warm, calloused hands cup my ass as he pulls me into him in a way that stakes claim. When he kisses me, diving deep, and a soft groan rumbles in his chest, I’m already starved for more. More of what we’ve been doing, I’m anxious for what’s to come. I’d called Christy last night and filled her in on the details, shamelessly sparing few because she’s my person, and she is just as taken in by all that has transpired with Sean.

Being with him makes me happy. It makes my romantic heart sing. Sean’s a caretaker and has done nothing since the day we met but do exactly that. His grip strong, he kisses me and kisses me, our tongues dueling, his feel, his smell a new craving. I feed on him as he takes further control, pulling me further into him, rubbing his erection along my stomach to let me know he’s just as needy for me.

When we eventually part, his eyes are lit, a content smile playing on his lips. “What did you dream about last night?”

“Aren’t you really asking about who?”

“I don’t flatter myself.”

“You should. You were in all the ones I remember.”

“Good ones?”

“Damn good ones.”

“Good to hear. You ready to have some fun?”

“Always.”

“That’s my girl.” Tucked in his passenger seat, he buckles me in and presses a gentle kiss to my lips, as if he can’t wait another second to do so.

“Dom’s coming. Hope that’s okay.”

Deflating a little, I only nod. I was hoping to be alone with him, but I don’t make a stink of it, because any time with him is well spent. Dominic puts me on edge in a way I’m not comfortable with. My draw toward him is unexplainable, and I only feel guilty for it. I don’t tell this to Sean because I don’t want him mulling it over the way I have been for the last couple of days. Being in Dominic’s proximity is like a slow-motion view of an explosion of metal on metal. With Sean, I feel safer; but when Dominic is around, I feel that every breath I take is laced with something hazardous. Yet with each inhale, he becomes more intoxicating.

I prefer sober and aware, at least that’s what I try to tell myself.

Once in the driver’s side, Sean grips my hand and runs a thumb along the skin of my thigh. “You look beautiful.”

Part of my answer is a beaming smile. “So do you.”

“Let’s go, baby,” he murmurs, taking my lips once more before kicking back in his seat and starting the engine. Southern rock drifts out of the speakers as he taps his fingers on his steering wheel, and I just…watch him. It might not yet be love, but it’s definitely nothing short of heady infatuation at this point. We sing along to the classics as he races toward the lake, a cooler packed behind us in his seat.

“Good one,” he says, just as a new song begins to play and he sings along. Curious, I glance at the dash and read the title, “Night Moves” by Bob Seger. Completely at ease, he squeezes my thigh as he sings to me, but it’s when I really listen to the words that I start to deflate. The more he sings, the more I start to feel sick. The song is about a meaningless hookup for a summer, someone to pass the time with sexually until they move onto better things. He notices my frown just as we pull up to his cousin’s property, the picturesque view of the lake surrounded by the mountains rapidly tainting along with my mood.

Once parked, I push his hand off my thigh and slam my way out of the car, seeing Dominic eye us from a tractor tire-sized raft docked at the foot of the lake.

“What the fuck?” Sean asks as I turn and make my way in the opposite direction toward the woods casting shadows a few feet away. I’m already stepping up on to a small hill path leading toward a clearing when I hear Dominic speak up.

“The fuck’s her problem?” I don’t bother turning back to explain myself, I just charge past a few trees in flip flops that are not at all fit for a morning hike. I’m acting a fool and need to get a handle on myself before I do worse.

“Cecelia.”

“Sean…just give me a minute.”

“Hell no,” he stomps after me, “we’re not going through this again.”

“Seriously, I need some space,” I snap over my shoulder.

“That’s not the tune you were singing twenty minutes ago.”

I whirl on him, coming close to running into his chest. “Speaking of tunes, what the hell was that?”

He draws his brows together. “What was what?”

“The song you sang to me. Are we hinting around to anything here?”

“I played liked seven of them on the ride over. Care to get specific?”

I cross my arms as he racks his brain, and I see the moment it dawns on him.

“It’s just a song.”

“Is that what I am? Is that what this is going to be?”

He towers over me and grips my wrist, placing my hand on his heart. “I have no idea yet, and neither do you, but I can promise you that only a quarter of how fast this is fucking beating has to do with chasing after your beautiful and crazy ass.”

“I heard you share.”

He doesn’t flinch.

“We have.”

Silence.

I snatch my hand away and cross my arms. “Care to elaborate?”

“Nope. And if you heard about that, it’s not because we said a thing about it.”

“Wow, that’s some arrogance talking.”

He runs a hand through his golden strands. “It’s the truth.”

“Is that why I’m here?”

His jaw ticks. “You’re adding insult to injury by acting this way.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, should I be offended you think I’m a fucking sleazeball for taking part?”

I only glare as he steps forward crowding me, his eyes lit with temper.

“You have a thing for Dominic. You can deny it all you want, but I’ve seen it, I’ve felt it, and I’m not standing in the way of that, and claiming you as mine is not going to do either of us any good. The truth is, seeing it only makes me want you more. And I do get off on it, and I won’t fucking apologize for it. Just like I won’t make you apologize for your attraction to him. I told you when we first hooked up, I don’t do things in the traditional way, neither does Dominic. Giving you the choice is more of a reflection on how I respect and feel about you and what you want, and it’s much better than denying to myself that I’ve seen you eye fuck him, more than once.”

I gape at him, completely blown away by his brutal honesty.

“Step outside that brainwashing for a few seconds and be honest with yourself. That’s all I’m asking. Just be truthful. In your heart of hearts, if you didn’t have to choose, would you?”

I’m still stunned as he leans in, invading my senses.

“I-I-I’m…I’m with you,” I stutter out, hating the fact that he’s drawn all these conclusions. His superpower of reading people and anticipating what they want has just blown up in my face. I feel nothing but guilty as he inches closer.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he drawls, “but completely mistaken if you think I want anything more from you than you are willing to give.” His finger runs from my chin to my neck. “I’m not trying to manipulate you into a goddamn thing. And today, when I picked you up, I wasn’t thinking about you sinking onto anyone else’s cock but mine and without an audience.” His flecked eyes light up. “But it makes me so fucking hard that you’re thinking about it.” He brushes my lips with his. “But the choice is always, always, up to you.”

I stand fish mouthed and utterly speechless. He curses and reads my expression. “Let’s just table this, okay? You were pure sunshine when I picked you up and the last thing I want to do with you today is argue. Let’s just try and have fun.”

I’m still stunned stupid, reeling, as he tugs on my hand and I jerk it away.

“Are you kidding me? You just told me…” I gape at him. “I thought we…would…”

He turns back and I can only conclude he sees the warring hurt and confusion in my eyes, my expression. “You catchin’ feelings for me, Pup?”

All I can do is give him the same honesty. “Yes, of course I am. We… I was hoping… I don’t know.”

“That’s right, we don’t, so let’s not go around getting offended and slinging drama where it isn’t needed. You want to trust me, but you’re not letting yourself, and there’s nothing I can do about that. I can tell you every day you’re safe with me, but unless you believe it, it’s pointless. And for the record, I caught feelings the minute I laid eyes on you.” I go slack as he brushes a finger over my lips. “You’re beautiful, intelligent, kind-hearted, sensitive, and more,” he drops his forehead to my shoulder and groans, “and pissed off.”

Initial shock aside, I decide to try and be completely honest with myself, to give myself the freedom to try and see things his way. There is a lot of truth to his words, but I expect to see hurt in his eyes, and I don’t. It disappoints me and, in a way, wounds me. I was hoping at this point he would be possessive when it comes to me, but that’s not what I’m feeling from him. “I just don’t want to feel…”

He lifts his head. “Used? Degraded? That’s you doing it. That’s you, baby. Not me.” He leans in. “Any judgment being passed right now is yours and yours alone.” He’s still holding onto my hand and slowly lifts it, kissing the pads of my fingers one by one. “When we started spending time together, I didn’t expect…” his eyes pierce me deep, “I have been and will be monogamous with you, Cecelia, easily, if that’s what you truly want. I have half a mind to lock you up and throw away the key with only me behind the door because of the way I think you’re starting to feel. But there’s the other side of it, and I don’t want to hold you back, because liberation can be a beautiful thing. And you deserve to have whatever you want.” He leans in, whispering kisses along the hollow of my neck, his lips trailing over my rapidly heating skin. He grips my hair, his breath warm in my ear. “It’s okay to want his dick, baby, I’ll watch it go inside you and fucking love the view, and the savage it’ll make me.”

Pulling back to weigh my reaction to his words, I see nothing but satisfaction before he tugs my lip into his mouth, the act aiding to the rapidly pooling desire between my thighs. He runs his hand down my stomach and dips beneath the material, slipping a lone finger inside of me. My slickness glistens on his finger as he lifts it, forcing me to see just how much his suggestions arouse me and I can’t look away as he sucks it into his mouth. On the brink of combustion, my legs begin to shake as he drops to his knees. “Yeah, let’s take the edge off that.”

I push at his head with urgency as he chuckles darkly while he unties my bottoms. Kneeling before me, his hair tickles my stomach through my hole-ridden cover-up.

“Sean,” I moan out his name as he pushes my legs apart and hooks one over his shoulder. “Jesus.”

“Open up,” he nudges my legs further. “Wider,” his deep throaty grunt reaches my ears a second before his tongue lands on my clit. I jump at the contact and he grips me, grounding me in his firm hold as he lashes out with his tongue. It takes only seconds to start feeling the crest of an orgasm as he eats me eagerly.

“Fuck, yes,” he murmurs, looking up to me while pushing a finger inside and moving my cover-up so I can watch it glide in and out. He adds another as I gaze down at him, his golden crown glowing in the clearing of trees as he kneels amongst pine needles, his hazel gaze brimming with lust. I’ll never in my life forget how good it feels being looked at like this, touched like this. Breaths heavy, I begin to shake in his hold as he coaxes my orgasm with expertise. He’s good, too good, and that tinge of jealousy spurs me as I clench around his thick fingers. I just watch him as he does nothing short of worship me. Keeping my eyes trained, he leans down and darts his tongue with perfect pressure, his fingers twisting before I detonate. A satisfied groan vibrates from his throat as he watches me from below, his tongue picking up speed as I come undone.

Quaking in his arms, it overtakes me entirely and he struggles to keep me upright. Unable to control myself, I shriek his name as he laps me up until the surge subsides. When I’m liquid, he re-ties my bottoms, placing kisses on the bare skin on my stomach, trailing his warm mouth up my neck before claiming my lips. In that kiss, I feel nothing but safe and adored. Not judged for my wicked thoughts, not condemned for getting heated by his suggestions.

He pulls away. “Damn, it’s all I can do right now to keep from fucking the hell out of you.” He shakes his head reading my dazed expression. “There’s a battle raging in your head from what you’ve been taught and what you think you might want, and that’s okay, baby. It’s okay. Some believe without rules and morals that we’re no better than animals.” He leans in, his mouth twisting seductively. “But it can be a lot of fun to be an animal, and it’s always about the choices you make. But it’s always going to be up to you. Understand?”

I nod as he pushes thick strands of hair behind my shoulder. “Good.” He turns and crouches down in front of me. “Now, hop on before you blow out a flip flop.”