Seaside Serenade (Seaside Summers Book 9) Read online

  Forget giving up on Cree.

  Brock was about to become the asshole he’d swore he’d never be.

  Chapter Three

  CREE WIGGLED BETWEEN Brock and the woman standing beside him and leaned on the bar, giving him an enticing view of her cleavage.

  “Hi,” she said breathily, and then she turned those devastating brown eyes on Colton and said, “Hey, Colton. Can I get an ice water, please?”

  “Anything for you, beautiful.” Colton went to get their drinks.

  Brock thanked the powers that be that Colton was gay, because he’d take on anyone for his little sprite-turned-vixen, even his brother.

  Cree smiled at Brock and said, “I made it, but I’m not going to sing.”

  “Yeah, you are,” he said.

  “No, I’m not. I told you I don’t sing for other people.”

  “I bet you sing for Justin.”

  She scoffed. “Hardly.”

  “Aw, come on, sweetheart. With a voice like that, you can’t tell me your boyfriend doesn’t beg you to sing for him, because if you were mine, I’d want to hear it every damn day.”

  Colton set their drinks down, winked at Brock, and went to help another patron.

  Cree stared at Brock, mouth agape, for so long, he couldn’t tell if she was pissed about his comment or not. She abruptly picked up her glass and gulped a mouthful of ice water.

  “You think Justin is my boyfriend?”

  He raised his brow, unsure why that would come as a surprise to her.

  She laughed and shook her head. “Seriously? What is it with people around here? He’s like a brother to me and definitely not my boyfriend.”

  Relief and desire rushed through Brock like a gale-force wind. He downed his drink in one swig, his mind sprinting around that little golden nugget, needing to be sure he’d heard her correctly. “But he drives you to and from work all the time.”

  “Yeah, because my car sucks and I can’t ride my bike when it’s too cold or rainy. Do you really think I’d be flirting with you all the time if I had a boyfriend? That is so not me.”

  “I just assumed…”

  Her eyes widened. “You thought he drove me because we were sleeping together? Ohmygosh! All this time?”

  “All this time.” He stepped closer, no longer having a reason to keep his distance. Their bodies brushed, and he fucking loved the way her breathing hitched. “So you haven’t been with Justin?”

  “No,” she said a little breathlessly. “We’re close, but not like that.”

  He belted his arm around her waist, hauling her against him. His whole body ached for her as her lips parted and her tongue swept over them. He threaded his hand into her hair, twining the silky locks around his fingers as he searched her eyes and found the green light he was looking for.

  “I’m your boss, so if this feels wrong”—he brushed his lips over hers—“you’re fired.”

  He slanted his mouth over hers, crushing their bodies together. Her soft curves melded to his hard frame. She clung to him, meeting every stroke of his tongue with an eager one of her own, filling his lungs with her sexy moans. That titillating vibration unleashed all of his pent-up desires. He tugged her hair, angling her mouth so he could deepen the kiss. Her hands dove into his hair like she’d been waiting her whole life for this moment, and he loved it. Kissing Cree was everything he’d imagined and more. She was passionate, seductive, and hungry for him. But somewhere in the recesses of his mind voices filtered in, and he remembered they were at the bar, surrounded by strangers. The urge to protect her with everything he had surged forth, forcing him to ease his efforts. He kissed her tenderly, not wanting to stop but knowing he had to.

  He loved the sweet sounds of surrender she made and the whimpers that fell from her lips as he finally forced himself to reluctantly draw back.

  Her cheeks were flushed, her lipstick kissed off, and she was even more gorgeous than ever because she was finally in his arms.

  She whispered, “Kiss me again,” like a secret.

  He took her in a slow, sensual kiss, leaving her breathless.

  Keeping her close, he pressed a kiss beside her ear and said, “I’m going to devour you.” He slicked his tongue around the shell of her ear. “And then I’m going to fuck you.”

  She shuddered against him, her fingers digging into the back of his neck.

  “And just when you think I’m done, I’m going to make love to you so thoroughly, you won’t remember what your body felt like without me in it.”

  “Yes,” she pleaded in a rush of warm breath.

  He took her chin between his finger and thumb, gazing deeply into her eyes as he said, “Right after you get up on that stage and sing for me.”

  CREE HAD NO idea how her noodle legs were carrying her as Brock led her through the crowd. Didn’t he know she was still trying to catch her breath? He’d shattered her ability to think the second his mouth had touched hers, and those kisses? Lethal. She needed to change her panties! He didn’t just kiss; he consumed, possessed. How had he known she’d love him tugging her hair or kissing her so deeply she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began? Heat spiked down her spine with the memory. She was going to lose her mind before the night was over. She was sure of it. He’d freed years of longing. Her body was pulsing with it, and on top of it all, he wanted her to do the unthinkable? To sing in front of all these people? She couldn’t do it. But with Brock’s sexy promises hanging like gleaming brass rings, she wanted to try.

  “Hey, man,” Brock said, jerking Cree from her thoughts and bringing Justin and his brothers sitting at a table into focus. “I just wanted to let you know Cree’s in good hands tonight. I’ll make sure she gets home safely.”

  Justin looked from Brock to Cree, and she felt herself grinning like a fool as he rose to his feet and asked, for her ears only, “Babe, you good?”

  “Mm-hm. Yes. Definitely. Better than good.” Could she ramble more?

  Justin’s eyes drifted from her to Brock and back again. “Why didn’t you just tell me it was Brock? He’s a good guy.”

  “Because if he wasn’t into me, I’d have looked like a fool,” she said softly.

  Apparently not soft enough, because Brock pulled her closer and said, “Sweetheart, any man who isn’t into you is a fool. But now they’ll have to go through me.”

  He slipped a finger beneath her chin, tipped her face up to his, and kissed her, right there in front of everyone. He was claiming her, and she’d wanted this for so long, it made her a little giddy. Even that simple press of his delicious lips made her swoon.

  They left Justin and made their way to another table, where Sawyer and Sky were sitting. Sky squinted, confusion rising in her eyes as Brock pulled out a chair for Cree. They sat down, and Brock’s arm circled her shoulders.

  “Um…?” Sky flipped her long dark hair over her shoulder. “What is this?”

  Sawyer arched a brow at Brock.

  “Turns out Cree’s not seeing Justin after all,” Brock said.

  “You thought she was seeing Justin?” Sky asked.

  Cree hiked a thumb at Brock. “Along with Bella, Jenna, and God knows who else.”

  “Wow. If I’d known you were into Cree, I could have clued you into the fact that she’s been jonesing for you forever!”

  Brock’s brows slanted, and he glowered at Sawyer. “You couldn’t tell me that?”

  Sawyer splayed his hands. “Dude, this is the first I’m hearing of it.”

  Cree and Sky shared a laugh.

  “I swore her to secrecy,” Cree confessed, happiness and heat still pulsing inside her. “Bad move on my part, huh?”

  “I’d say.” Brock pulled her in for another scorching kiss. “That just means we have a lot of time to make up for.”

  “Geez, Brock. Why do you think she applied for a job at a boxing club? Because she loves boxing?” Sky rolled her eyes.

  Brock squeezed Cree’s shoulder with a look of disbelief. “Is that true?”


  “Yes, but I love my job. I get to see you every day and watch you work out, shirtless and sweaty, and…” She fanned her face. “I need ice water.”

  Everyone laughed.

  “But there is one thing,” Cree said.

  Brock gazed into her eyes like she was all he ever wanted and said, “Anything.”

  “Does this mean I can stop learning to box? I did it to get closer to you, but my arms are so sore after we work out. I want to learn to protect myself, but…” She rubbed her biceps.

  He laughed and kissed her again, making her wish she had a hundred more questions just to earn more of his kisses. “I think we can find more enjoyable ways to work out together. And I can show you other self-defense moves.”

  “What is going on over here?” Jana asked as she and Hunter joined them. “You didn’t tell me we were sexing you up for my brother!”

  Cree winced. “Sorry.”

  “Oh, heck no. Don’t be sorry.” Jana whipped out her phone and said, “I’m assuming the goofy look on Brock’s face means you two are together, right? I mean, this will probably be more than a one-night stand?”

  God, I hope so.

  “Definitely,” Brock said.

  “Then I just won a hundred bucks! At our wedding I bet Harper you two would end up together. I have to text her,” Jana said as she typed out a text. Their sister Harper was a screenplay writer and was currently out of town working on her first optioned script.

  “That was a long time ago,” Cree said, eyeing Brock. Could he have possibly liked her as long as she’d liked him? Brock squeezed her hand, nodding with so much honesty in his eyes, she melted inside.

  Jana set her phone down and said, “When I saw how Brock looked at you, it was so different from the way he’d ever looked at any other woman, and I just knew.” She smiled at Hunter and said, “I told you so.”

  “I thought you and Justin were an item,” Hunter explained. Then he kissed Jana and said, “And my wife likes to gloat.”

  Jana swatted him and climbed into his lap the way Cree hoped one day she could climb into Brock’s.

  “Hey, you know that Maroon 5 song ‘Love Somebody’?” Brock asked out of the blue.

  “Doesn’t everyone?” Sky said.

  “I belt it out when I’m home alone and it comes on my playlist,” Cree said.

  “Where are my A Capella Boys?” Roach’s voice boomed from a microphone. He was a mountain of muscle, like Brock, with jet-black hair and serious eyes.

  Cheers and applause rang out.

  “That’s us, sweetheart.” Brock rose to his feet, bringing Cree up beside him.

  “Us?” She looked at Sawyer, who shrugged.

  “That’s right,” Brock said as he led her toward the stage.

  “Brock? I told you I can’t sing in front of people.” She felt dizzy and sick as he dragged her up the steps. “Brock!” she whispered harshly. “I can’t do this. Please!”

  He spun her into his arms, captivating her with a heated stare, which was totally unfair. “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes, but—” Her words were lost on the press of his lips. His arms circled her, and she was vaguely aware of hoots and cheers increasing as they kissed.

  She couldn’t walk off the stage now if she wanted to. Her legs were like Jell-O.

  “I’ve got you, sweetheart,” he said with a smile. “Hopefully that helped you relax.”

  “Are you nuts? I’m more wound up than ever,” she confessed, her cheeks burning.

  “Damn. Sorry about that.” The glimmer in his eyes told her he was sort of sorry. “But please don’t keep that gorgeous voice all to yourself. It’s too special not to be given a stage of its own.” He stood in front of her, blocking her view of the cheering audience. “Focus on me and only me.”

  Her heart slammed against her ribs, and she felt like she might pass out, but she wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or from his kisses. He was looking at her like he not only adored her, but as if her singing meant the world to him. And that made her want to try.

  He grabbed a microphone and put it in her shaking hands. Then Colton crossed the stage and handed a microphone to Brock. Colton winked at Cree as he headed off the stage.

  Brock stared directly into her eyes, his back to the audience even as he spoke into the microphone and said, “There’s been a slight change to the A Capella Boys. Joining the A Capella Boys tonight is the beautiful bella Cree Redmond.”

  More cheers rang out, and her pulse skyrocketed. Brock’s deep voice filled the air as he said, “Remember her name, ladies and gentlemen, because this talented lady is going to be big.”

  Her heart nearly climbed out of her chest.

  He nodded at Roach and Sawyer, and then he pinned her in place with a stare that held as much confidence as hope. The three men began moving to a nonexistent beat as they sang about pills that were hard to swallow and being unable to recover if they fell for someone. Cree focused on Brock’s eyes as they gazed deeply into hers and on his lips as he sang the chorus. It seemed like every word was meant for her as he sang about their only being halfway there and wanting to go all the way. He hadn’t written the words, but he didn’t have to. He still drove each one into her heart, coaxing her along with his rich, deep voice and hungry eyes, drowning out her inhibitions as he sang about wanting her to stay with him tonight.

  Her voice came softly at first. She sang about being unable to recover if she fell for him and how she thought about him every day. The lyrics rang so true, she realized she was singing from her heart, asking him not to leave her tonight and to stay with her tomorrow. Adrenaline rushed through her, sending her words soaring with such vehemence, she found herself dancing with Brock as the truth poured out, without a care of who else heard her as long as he did. She was a bit lost. She had no idea where to start with him, but she felt herself falling even harder, and she never wanted to stop.

  The crowd went wild, and she realized Roach and Sawyer were no longer on the stage. Brock’s soulful eyes drilled into her as he sang the chorus, and her mind traveled to the strangest place, to a tattoo she’d gotten shortly before she’d met him. It was a single line from a poem she’d found scrawled on a napkin at a bar where she’d worked. She’d never known what had compelled her to have In your eyes I found myself inked on her skin until tonight. Now it all made sense.

  After he sang the last note, the room exploded around them. Brock swept her into his arms, taking her in a kiss that seared through her like lightning, causing another burst of applause and cheers.

  She laughed into their kisses, tears stinging her eyes. Never had she felt so alive, so invigorated, or so lost in a single person. “That was amazing! Thank you!”

  “You’re amazing, Cree, and I’m going to make sure you know it every single day from here on out.”

  “Starting with making good on every one of your naughty promises, I hope.”

  A SHORT WHILE later they stumbled into Brock’s Wellfleet cottage, tearing at each other’s clothing, leaving a trail from his front door to the bedroom. Moonlight streamed in through the open curtains as he backed her up against the wall, his thick cock pressing into her belly. His hands moved over her flesh roughly as they feasted on each other’s mouths. He bit her lower lip enticingly, tugging gently, his eyes a torrent of greed and lust.

  “I’ve waited so long for you,” he rasped.

  “I’m yours, Brock,” she panted out, and she meant it. She’d been with two men in her life, and both encounters had taken place long before she’d first seen Brock.

  “You look gorgeous tonight,” he said between ravenous kisses. “But for the record, I think you’re sinfully hot in anything you wear. And I really dig your boots.”

  She smiled against his lips. “You do?”

  “Hell yes. Your boots, your yoga pants, those T-shirts you wear.” He kissed her deeply and said, “I’m clean, sweetheart. Please tell me you’re on birth control.”

  “I am.”

  “
Thank Christ,” he growled, taking her in another scorching kiss. “I want to feel your heat surrounding me when I’m buried deep inside you.”

  “Yes” came out as a breathless plea as he kissed, bit, and sucked his way down her body.

  He slowed to love her breasts, squeezing one nipple between his finger and thumb as he drove her out of her mind sucking and teasing the other. When his teeth scraped her sensitive skin, she bowed off the wall with the spikes of pleasure and pain it sent to her core.

  “Oh, yes!” she cried out, and he did it again.

  She cupped his balls, earning a guttural moan so hot she got goose bumps. She wanted to drop to her knees and take his thick cock in her mouth, but he was on the move, his talented mouth loving its way south. He slicked his tongue over each of her tattoos, and when he reached her belly button, he took the ring between his teeth and tugged. Then he plunged his tongue into her belly button. He clutched her ass, lavishing her belly with licks and sucks and openmouthed kisses. She swore she felt every one of them between her legs.

  She bit her lower lip as he continued blazing a path to the apex of her thighs.

  “Open your eyes, gorgeous,” he said, as much a demand as a request. When she met his gaze, he said, “I want to see your face when you come on my mouth.”

  Her sex clenched in anticipation. In the next second, he dragged his tongue between her wet, swollen lips, sending sparks skating along her skin, and her head fell back with a greedy moan.

  “Watch me, sweetheart,” he said more demandingly.

  And she did.

  Holy heck…

  His tongue and hands were wicked, licking and sucking, plunging and teasing, until she was a thrusting, begging mess of raw nerves. When he used his tongue on her clit and dipped his fingers inside her, finding that magical spot with the precision of a heat-seeking missile, she cried out, tugging at his hair and holding his stare. The pleasure in his eyes intensified hers, and she came that much harder.