A Dose of Pretty Poison: Chapter 24

Before my father left, he taught me one important lesson—nothing in life comes for free, and most of the time, people have an ulterior motive. And as I walk down the docks with Laiken, heading for Monty’s boat, I’m starting to think this is one of those moments. There’s no way the guy who practically drooled on Laiken at her birthday is giving us his boat out of the goodness of his heart.

But the opportunity to spend the day alone with her is too good to pass up.

Is he probably just trying to win her over and make her believe he’s a good guy? I’d bet money on it, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to take advantage of it and fuck her on every surface of his boat.

He can lust after her all he wants—she’s always going to be mine.

“There you are,” Monty greets us. “She’s all ready to go for you. Gas tank is full of fuel and I had it detailed yesterday.”

“Thanks, Monty,” Laiken says. “We really appreciate it.”

I look him up and down, sizing him up. “I’m still wondering what the catch is.”

“H!” Laiken chastises me.

But Monty just shakes his head. “No, it’s okay. There is no catch. I’m just trying to help out a friend.” He shrugs and tilts his head to the side. “And maybe get in her boyfriend’s good graces so she doesn’t feel like she needs to choose between us.”

There’s a little voice in the back of my head, telling me that I should correct the boyfriend term he used, but I’m thinking that’s what he wants. He wants Laiken to be reminded that we’re not official, and he wants me to be the one to do it. Instead of playing his little game, I focus on the last part.

“Oh, rest assured. Any choice between the two of us would not go in your favor.”

Laiken sighs, no doubt rolling her eyes, but Monty takes it like a man, chuckling as he nods.

“Understood.” He takes the keys out of his pocket and hangs them in front of me, dropping them into my hand when I put it out. “You two have fun, and I’ll meet you back here around nine.”

“Thanks again, Monty,” Laiken shouts as he walks away.

He turns around and smiles as he answers. “No problem!”

Once he’s gone, she focuses her attention on me, completely unamused.

“What?” I play innocent.

She cocks a single brow. “Did you have to be an asshole, or is that just part of your personality?”

“It’s who I am, baby,” I tell her as I kiss her cheek. “Now, let’s see how this beauty does on the water.”

Her eyes roll, but as I step onto the boat and turn around to help her, she leaves her anger on the docks.

THIS THING RIDES LIKE a dream. It’s not as big as I thought it would be. I expected a yacht, though I’m sure he has one of those, too. But driving this thing, feeling it glide across the water, I’m in my element out here.

And watching Laiken sunbathe in front of me is the icing on the cake.

Beautiful boat, beautiful girl.

She must feel me looking at her, because she lifts her head and smiles as her gaze meets mine. Getting up, she comes over and gets behind me, draping her arms over my shoulders.

“You look happy,” she says.

I turn my head to glance behind me. “How could I not be with you all half naked and gorgeous?”

She giggles. “I meant driving the boat.”

“Oh,” I downplay my excitement. “It’s all right.”

“Mm-hm.” She presses her lips to my cheek. “So, you can see how Monty isn’t all that bad?”

“And now you ruined it,” I groan. “I was enjoying the little fantasy I had going in my head, and you just brought Moneybags into it.”

“Fantasy, huh? Tell me about it.”

I shake my head. “Can’t. It’s gone now. You killed it.”

She chuckles, coming around to sit on my lap. “In that case, let me give you another one.”

Holding the steering wheel with one hand, I wrap my other arm around her. Her palm rests on my face as she presses her lips to mine—soft, but just enough to tease. I hum against her mouth, letting her deepen the kiss and take control for once.

When it starts to get a little heated, I lift the throttle until the boat comes to a stop. My hand moves from the steering wheel to her waist, sliding up her skin until I cup her breast over her bikini top. The way she arches into my touch, pushing herself further against my hand, it’s fucking sinful.

“I am never going to get enough of you,” I murmur, feeling her smile into the kiss.

“Good,” she says, an evil hint to her tone. “That’s my plan.”

WE SPEND THE DAY in the most laidback way possible. Laiken is perfectly happy just lying in the sun, while I take advantage of the fishing poles and bait Monty stocked for us. But no matter what we’re doing, we always stay close to each other.

If I moved to the back of the boat, it wasn’t long before she would come over to me.

If she went to go lay back down, I’d feel off until I went up there to be near her.

And when the sun starts to set, I sit on the bow with her in my arms, watching as it dips beneath land. LED lights around the boat light up once they no longer detect the sun, illuminating the inside. But Laiken doesn’t make an attempt to move, and neither do I.

It’s so innocent how I run my fingers through her hair and she gently rubs her thumb across my knee, but somehow, it’s everything. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this is the best day I’ve had in a while—spent with her and not having to worry about a damn thing.

“Lai,” I all but whisper. She turns her head to look up at me, and I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re so beautiful.”

She exhales, smiling as I gently take her chin and kiss her. This one feels different than all the ones before it. It’s softer, lazier, like we have all the time in the world. But most importantly, the part that scares the shit out of me, is that there’s more meaning to this one.

For both of us.

Even if neither of us will say it out loud, we feel it.

Laiken turns and straddles my lap, deepening the kiss, but still not rushing it. I slide my hands up her back and untie her bikini top. The fabric falls and gets discarded beside us as I cover her nipple with my mouth. She throws her head back, letting out breathy moans as I pay special attention to each one.

Worshipping them.

Worshipping her, because dammit, she deserves to be worshipped.

I lift her up and move onto my knees, gently laying her down before hovering above her. Her hair splays out on the boat, and the light reflects in her eyes. She’s so gorgeous it’s hard to believe she exists, and that she’s beneath me, looking at me in a way that silently tells me everything I’m terrified of hearing. It all seems more dream than reality.

“You have no idea how perfect you are,” I tell her.

Smirking, she reaches up and pulls my head down. Our mouths move together as she drags her nails down my back. I graze my fingers over her skin until I reach her bathing suit bottoms. The moment I untie each side, it falls apart beneath her, leaving her completely naked and withering for me.

“Hayes,” she begs as I skim my touch over her clit.

“Shh, baby,” I whisper. “I’ve got you.”

Slowly, I make my way down her body, taking my time as I kiss her skin the whole way down. She squirms and whimpers and I know exactly where she wants me, but I’m not going to rush this.

I can’t.

I need it.

Moving my mouth to the inside of her thigh, I suck on her skin, leaving a mark behind when I’m done. Then, and only then, do I finally lick right across her pussy. She mewls as my tongue goes back and forth across her clit. When she tries to speed things up by arching her hips, I press down on her lower stomach to keep her in place.

“Always so needy,” I murmur against her.

I slide two fingers inside her as I suck on her clit just the way I know she likes it. Because that’s the thing—with every time we’ve been together, I’ve started to memorize her body.

Her sensitive spots.

The way she moves.

How her voice changes when she’s about to come.

They’re all burned into my mind, in a compartment reserved just for her.

My cock is straining against my bathing suit as she’s starting to get close, but while normally I’d get her off before fucking her into oblivion, that’s not what I’m looking for tonight.

I slip the condom out of my pocket and ditch my trunks before sliding it on. Sucking on her clit once more, I kiss my way back up her body. When I reach her head, I kiss her deeply, letting her taste herself on my tongue as I press into her.

Her legs wrap around my waist, and she pulls me in deeper. I want to feel her raw again, like the other day on the beach. Being inside her without anything between us was a religious experience. And I know if I were to ask, she would let me, but I’ve heard all about how sick the plan B pill can make someone.

I won’t do that to her.

Our fingers tangle as I hold her hand, and her breath hitches as I bend down to kiss her. There’s no rush. No slamming roughly into her because I want to get off. It’s just her and me, and a moment I don’t think either one of us will ever forget.

And as we come together, moaning in unison, our gazes stay locked on each other—like we’re the only things that matter in the world.

I want to be the only thing that matters in her world.

A LITTLE PAST NINE, we pull the boat back into its slip. Monty is waiting for us and ties the boat up so it doesn’t go anywhere. I hop off first, turning around and picking Laiken up by the waist to make sure she gets onto the dock safely.

“The boat behave okay for you?” Monty asks.

I nod. “It’s a great boat. You take good care of it.”

“Can’t take the credit for that,” he says with a smile. “My father has a whole team of people who do it for us.”

Figures. Still, I extend my hand to shake his. He looks at it for a second, then takes it.

“Well, regardless. Thanks for letting us take it out,” I tell him.

“No problem at all.”

Throwing my arm around Laiken, we say goodbye to Monty and head back to my truck. Maybe Moneybags isn’t so bad after all.

LAIKEN SLEEPS AT MY house again, but this time, it’s intentional. After spending the whole day with her, I’m still not ready for it to end. So, we spend the night lying in bed together, sharing lazy kisses and keeping a part of us touching at all times.

When the morning comes, I don’t want to move. She’s sound asleep, with her head resting on my chest. But if I don’t wake her, she’ll be late to work. And there’s nothing she hates more than to leave the kids waiting.

I bring her to her car, kiss her goodbye, and head home to go back to sleep for a few hours—only to wake up to my mom knocking on my door. It creaks as it opens, and I need to blink to adjust to the light.

“Laiken forgot her sweatshirt,” she tells me, coming in and draping it over the back of my chair. “So, is this a thing now?”

I don’t even know how to answer that, if I’m honest. But as the memory of last night plays through my head, I know there’s a part of me that would be completely content if she never left my side. Though I’m not about to admit that to my mom.

“How do you know she wasn’t here for Dev?”

“Because I have a brain, and you’re smiling.”

I don’t answer that, and she doesn’t say anything else as she leaves the room. It’s almost as if she’s letting me off the hook for now, and I’m grateful for it. Because I may not know what’s going on with us, or with me, but I do know that Laiken does something to me that I don’t fully understand.