Neighbors

Chapter 13: Alone at Last (Part 1)

I was still in the water, when Ian returned back from the store.

"Want to join me?" I called out to him as he glanced out at me from the back deck.

"No thanks," he called back. "Come on out, before you catch a cold."

I rolled my eyes as I swam back to the pier, hopping out of the lake, completely naked. I grabbed my clothes from off the ground, as I walked straight towards Ian's back door, dripping wet.

"Ian, where are your towels?" I called out as I closed the door back behind me. "I'm dripping everywhere."

I could hear Ian groaning, as he searched for a towel, the sound of him opening and closing drawers echoing throughout the house. I stood just there in front of the back door with a devilish grin, waiting for him to bring me one.

"Why didn't you -" He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes flickering across my body for a moment. He let out a sigh as he opened the towel up, wrapping it around me without a second thought.

"Why didn't I what?" I asked innocently.

"I know what you're trying to do, Ryder," he warned. "And you're making it very hard for me, I will say, but unlike you, I have a little bit more self-control."

"Oh really?" I retorted. "Is that a challenge?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "You don't want to play this game, trust me. You'll lose, Ryder."

Me lose? Never. I scoffed, pulling the towel off of my waist and using it to dry my hair. Ian didn't have me at the whim of his fingertips. I could resist his advances, but he couldn't easily avoid mine. I mean, he did say it had been a while since he had been in a relationship. So, I had an advantage.

After I showered, I met Ian outside. He and I sat around his fire pit and roasted marshmallows. The store had apparently didn't carry graham crackers. Lame.

"I know you said you didn't want me to get you anything, but I couldn't resist," he said pulling a small box from behind him. "Happy 21st birthday."

I opened the it to see a silver watch inside. I fastened it onto wrist, my eyes flickering across the band.

"Thanks Ian," I said not really sure how to act. No one had ever gotten me anything this expensive.

"It's waterproof by the way," he added. I grinned at him. Of course, it was. He knew me all too well. I would be the one to forget that I had a watch on and jump right into a pool or something. Ian wrapped his arms around my shoulder, as I shoved another marshmallow into my mouth, nearly burning my fingers.

"Shit," I muttered, jerking my hand away quickly. My fingertips stung as I quickly swallowed down the hot sticky gooeyness of the marshmallow.

"You know you're supposed to wait for it cool off first," he retorted sarcastically. "You're so impatient."

"I know that Ian," I huffed. "That doesn't change the fact that my fingers are burning."

Ian took my hand, sliding my index finger into his mouth, and slowly sucking on it. I bit down on my lower lip, my face flushing a bit as his rough tongue traced across the tip of it. Just as I felt myself starting to stiffen in my jeans, he stopped, pulling my finger out of his mouth, as a sly smile crept on his face.

"Better?" he asked in a teasing manner. Oh, he was good.

Before I could even reply, he brought his lips to my mouth, flicking his tongue against the corners. A lump formed in my throat as he pushed his tongue in between my lips, tasting every inch of the inside of mouth. His fingertips fell into my messy black hair, gliding down my back, and underneath my shirt. He pulled my t-shirt over my head as his lips fell onto my neck, soon finding their way onto my chest and abdomen. He didn't leave an inch of me untouched as he dug into my skin, biting me softly.