Tangled Web: A Small Town Romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 6)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

I turned to her and gave her a blank stare. “I wasn’t misunderstanding anything. This is sex,” I said, forgoing the preamble of what we were really talking about. “It’s fine. I mean, your husband just died and I’ve never been much for dating anyway.”

  She shoved the covers off and shuffled over to me, straddling my thighs. Her arms snaked around my neck as she leaned in to kiss me lightly on the lips. “It’s not just sex. Don’t put this on me, like I’m acting like this means nothing. Next time you want to know something, don’t give me a scenario of us walking down the street and getting hit by a car.”

  “It was a crosswalk,” I muttered.

  A small smile tilted her lips. “Only because I said it first.” And then her lips were on mine and she was kissing me hard. Her fingers slid through my hair and her breasts pressed up against my chest. When she pulled back, panting hard, she grinned at me.

  “Does that answer your question about how I feel about you?”

  I shook my head slightly. “I think I’m gonna need clarification.”

  Lorelei

  Wrapped up in Andrew’s arms the whole night, I barely felt the cold of the room. We had been keeping each other warm since our talk yesterday afternoon, only getting up to use the bathroom. Andrew insisted I stay under the covers as he got us more to eat and drink. I didn’t even laugh when his dick shriveled up from the cold. It was freezing. There was no sense in pointing that out.

  I stared into the fire that was still burning hot. Andrew must have gotten up throughout the night and added more logs to the fire. I rolled over, pulling the comforter tighter around us and stared at Andrew. His face was relaxed in sleep and I ran my fingers over the scruff of his jaw. He usually had some scruff on his jaw, but it was thicker now, like it had been a few too many days since his last shave. I found I liked it on him. I also liked that he wasn’t wearing his beanie all the time. I liked seeing his hair and running my fingers through it whenever I wanted. I was going to have to convince him to stop wearing it. Besides, he would start getting bald spots if he wore a hat all the time. At least, that’s what happened with guys that wore baseball hats constantly.

  A chime jerked me out of my thoughts and I scrambled for my cell phone, but it wasn’t mine that had gone off. I snatched up Andrew’s and tried to open it, but it was locked.

  “Andrew,” I shook him.

  He woke groggily, pulling me tighter against him. “Not yet. Just a few more minutes.”

  “Your phone chimed.”

  His eyes flew open and he snatched the phone out of my hands, opening it up. “I have service. Eric messaged me.”

  He dialed his brother’s number, leaving it on speakerphone. “Andrew?”

  “Hey, man.”

  “Are you okay? Joe said you didn’t make it home, and I couldn’t reach you on your phone.”

  “I’m stuck over at Lorelei’s. We’re a little snowed in.”

  He snorted. “Funny, I remember you telling me that this wasn’t going to be a big storm.”

  “Yeah, rub it in,” he said, running his hand down my back slowly. “Any chance you can plow us out?”

  “That’s not very likely. There’s another storm coming in. I just got us plowed out, but the roads are a disaster. Do you guys have enough supplies?”

  He glanced at me and I nodded. I should have enough food and water for a few more days. “Yeah, we should be good.”

  “How are you other than that?”

  “We’re good,” he said in a hurry, so I piped up.

  “No, he’s not. He fell and hit his head. I stitched him up, but he was out for a few minutes.”

  “Christ, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. She’s being paranoid.”

  “No, I’m really not. He was unconscious and he was bleeding a lot. I almost risked dragging him out in the storm, but there was no way to get my car down the driveway.”

  “I’ll call Corduroy, see if he can get someone out to you,” Eric said, the worry in his voice evident.

  “No, don’t do that,” Andrew insisted. “Seriously, I fell the day I got here. What was that? Two days ago? I’ve been fine. No dizziness or anything.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes, I’m fine,” Andrew insisted. “Besides, I’m sure there are other people that need help more than me.”

  “Thank you for taking care of him, Lorelei,” Eric said.

  “You don’t have to thank me. I didn’t particularly want a dead body rotting in the house with me during a snowstorm.”

  Andrew gave me a glare and Eric huffed out a laugh. “I guess that’s one way to look at it.”

  “Look, my phone is gonna die, so you’re not gonna be able to reach me.”

  “Okay, how much food do you have?” Eric asked.

  “Enough for a few more days,” I answered. “And we have plenty of firewood. It’s a little chilly, but we’re finding ways to keep each other warm,” I said with a smile.

  “She means with sex,” Andrew clarified.

  “Thanks,” Eric deadpanned. “I didn’t get it when she was being subtle.”

  “Well, I figured. That’s why I explained it.”

  I covered my mouth as I giggled, loving to see this playful interaction between the brothers. I couldn’t wait to meet all of them at once and see how that played out. They must be hilarious together.

  When he finally hung up, he tossed his phone, claiming that the damn thing was dead anyway. He shifted his body over mine, hovering between my legs. I could feel his erection pressing against me, so I spread my legs and allowed him in. He threw the comforter over us, blocking all the cold air from us. His tongue slid over my body as he lazily slid in and out of me. My hands ran along his back as my eyes slipped closed.

  He was being so tender right now, totally different from how we normally were. And suddenly his questions made sense. I had told him it was just sex, and now he was making love to me. Something inside me panged, my chest tightening at the feelings that were tugging at me. I’d never felt this before, never needed someone like I needed him.

  Out of everyone in my life, he was different. He wasn’t here to save me or take care of me. He just wanted me for me, and as he slowly pushed me to orgasm, I clung to him tighter, finally understanding the need to have someone really love you. And I wanted that so bad. I was already half in love with Andrew. I had never loved a man, not beyond friendship. And I was quickly realizing that there was a huge difference between a man you loved as a friend and a man that you loved and were willing to give your heart to, to risk everything for.

  The heat built between us, our pants filling the small space under the covers. Despite the cold, Andrew worked up a sweat, his body slick as his body rubbed against mine. His body was pressed against mine and he held me to him, my legs wrapped around his body. I was panting hard, my heart beating an unsteady rhythm as he made love to me. I held him to me, emotion clogging my throat as he kissed my neck and then slid his lips across mine. His tongue slowly made love to mine. He moved faster, his hips jerking against mine. I felt myself starting to shake as my orgasm took over. It wasn’t as powerful as when he fucked me hard, but it came with this rush of feelings that I wasn’t expecting.

  Tears slipped down my cheeks as his harsh breath fanned out on my face. He brushed the tears from my cheeks, the look of concern on his face almost more than I could take.

  “Hey…”

  I shook my head, smiling up at him. “I’m fine…really.”

  He leaned forward and kissed me again. Blowing out a harsh breath, he shook his head. “We have a problem.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I think I’m—“ He stopped, his brows furrowing as he looked down at me. He opened his mouth to speak, but it was like he couldn’t get the words out. Was it possible that he felt the same way I did? Was that what he was trying to tell me with that whole car running us over scenario?

  “You think what?”

  He cleared his throat and laughed. “I thin
k my dick is going to fall off from the cold if this lasts too much longer.”

  I could tell that wasn’t what he was going to say, but he obviously wasn’t ready to tell me the truth, so I laughed along with him.

  “Well, we’ll just have to make sure that you fuck me long and hard enough to keep it warm and attached.”

  A slow grin split his lips and he kissed me hard. “I think I can handle that.”

  It was snowing again, just as hard as the last time. Andrew was sleeping off the remnants of sex, but I was too keyed up over what had just happened between us. Slipping out of our covers, I quickly dressed and pulled on double the layers to stay warm. Then I pulled on my hat and some fingerless gloves. As I walked out of the living room, slowly shutting the door behind me, I pulled a scarf around my neck, wrapping it tight. I made my way upstairs to the third floor and sat down at my easel. My last piece was dry, so I set it against the wall and pulled out a blank canvas.

  I knew it was pointless to work on anything right now. It was so freaking cold in the house, but with the beautiful scenery outside, I just wanted to paint it, even if it didn’t turn out well. I got to work, setting up my station and mixing the colors I wanted, and then I got started. My breath came out in large puffs of white and my fingers were chilled to the bone, but I kept going.

  “You know, one of these days, I’m gonna walk in and see you doing something you’ve already done before.”

  I turned and grinned at Andrew. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He was leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn’t dressed as warmly as me, which meant he was just wandering around the house looking for me.

  “It means that every time I see you, you’re doing something different. I never know what to expect when I see you.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?”

  “That’s a very good thing. I like that you throw me off guard.”

  I grinned at him, but sighed. “Well, this definitely isn’t my best work. It’s too cold.”

  “So why paint?”

  I shrugged. “I wanted to try and capture it. It’s so beautiful outside.”

  He walked into the room and stood behind me, wrapping his arms around me as he looked outside. His cold fingers slid inside my jacket for warmth.

  “You know what I see when I look outside?”

  “Hmm?”

  “I see white snow and the stillness, as if nothing is moving in the world right now. It’s like the snow is all that exists.”

  That was actually kind of beautiful.

  He bent down and kissed my neck. “And you know what that tells me?”

  “What?”

  “That it’s fucking cold and you should be under the covers with me instead of freezing your ass off up here.”

  I burst out laughing. “And here I thought you were trying to be romantic.”

  He frowned down at me. “What part of me saying that you should be under the covers with me isn’t romantic as shit?”

  I spun in his arms and tucked my body into his. “You have such a way with words.”

  “Well, you know I have a dictionary and everything.”

  I chuckled against his chest, but I could feel how he was shivering from the cold. Abandoning my painting seemed like the most logical thing to do at the moment.

  “Alright, let’s go back downstairs.”

  We turned to go, but he stopped, staring at the painting I had already taken off the easel. He walked over to it and bent down, studying it like it would tell him secrets.

  “This is really beautiful,” he whispered.

  I blushed and waved him off. “Nah, it’s just something I did the other day.”

  “I’m serious,” he said, grasping the painting as he stood. “This is really good. You should paint professionally.”

  “Yeah,” I snorted. “Trust me, every person that knows how to hold a paintbrush wishes they could be a professional artist. It doesn’t actually work like that. I don’t have any training and my technique needs a lot of work.”

  He frowned down at the painting and then looked back up at me with a shrug. “Well, I like it, and I’m taking it home with me to hang on my wall.”

  “You can’t just take my painting,” I said incredulously.

  “Yeah? Who’s going to stop me?”

  “I am.”

  “Prove it.” His eyes glimmered, so I quickly reached out to snatch the painting, but he held it over his head, laughing at me as I tried to jump for it. On my third try, I jumped awkwardly, my knee connecting with what I could only assume were his goods since the air left his lungs in a whoosh and then he bent over. His eyes squeezed shut as he fell to the ground and assumed the fetal position.

  I winced, kneeling down beside him. “Are you okay?” I put my hand on his arm, but he jerked away.

  “If I had known you really didn’t want me to have it, I would have given you the damn thing back. You didn’t have to knee me in the balls.”

  “It was an accident, I swear! You can have the painting. I’ll make you ten more if you want.”

  “And maybe get me an ice pack,” he breathed out through clenched teeth.

  I nodded. “Definitely.”

  “And some alcohol. I think that’s definitely in order.”

  “Anything you want.”

  “And some grilled cheese and tomato soup. I think that’ll really help to start the healing process.”

  I almost nodded, but stopped at the last second. “Tomato soup will make things better.”

  His eyes opened and he smiled sheepishly. “Ma always used to make grilled cheese and tomato soup on cold days when I wasn’t feeling well.” He jerked his head toward the window. “It’s a cold day, and I’m most definitely not feeling well. I might even need my cock massaged.”

  “If you tell me your mother used to do that for you, I’ll kick you out of the house right now. I don’t care if you die in the snow.”

  A look of horror crossed his face and he shoved himself up into a seated position. “You’re disgusting. That’s…you’re sick.”

  “I’m sick? You’re the one bringing your mother into this.”

  “Not in that way! I would never…” He shuddered and pushed himself off the ground. “You know, I don’t think I want your cock massage anymore.”

  “Well, I never offered one.”

  He glanced down at the painting, wincing as he bent over to pick it up. “But I am taking this with me. And I expect those other ten as promised.”

  He turned and stalked out of the room. A small smile split my lips as I watched him walk away, still looking at my painting.

  Andrew

  As much as I wanted to stay wrapped up in this cocoon with Lorelei, I knew it couldn’t last forever. I had a business to get back to. I could only imagine the messages I had waiting for me. So, when I woke up the next morning, as much as I didn’t want to, I left my beautiful vixen on the couch and got dressed to go shovel us out. I knew Eric would get out here as soon as possible, but I could at least get started.

  Bundling up as much as I could, I opened the front door and grabbed the shovel off the porch. The path Lorelei had made the other day had already been closed up with new drifts of snow. I started shoveling another path. Luckily, it wasn’t too difficult since she had already done it once. Otherwise, the snow would have been packed and been a lot harder. By the time I was done with the porch, I was heaving and sweating under my layers of clothes.

  I heard a faint sound in the distance, something sounding similar to scraping. It was difficult to see from this far back from the road, but I would bet a snow plow was coming through. I dropped the shovel and started hiking toward the road down the long drive. Each step was harder than the last. The snow was up to my knees in places. I was crazy for thinking that I could shovel this out. I needed a plow, and when I saw Eric’s truck coming down the road, his plow attached to the front, I started laughing hysterically. Mostly because I was worried tha
t I was actually going to have to shovel this whole damn thing out.

  He honked as he came closer, slowing as he started plowing a path down the drive. He backed up a few times, having to plow several spots twice before he really moved all the snow. By the time he had the end of the drive plowed out, I was just walking up to him. He jumped out of the truck and grinned at me.

  He glanced behind me at the small area I had shoveled and held out his arms in disbelief. “Thanks, man, for getting that little path shoveled. You saved me tons of time. If you had been able to get just a few feet more, that would have been perfect.”

  “Hey, I shoveled off the porch. Do you have any idea how long that took?”

  “Oh, you poor baby,” he jeered. “Did you have to do some work?”

  “Hey, I’ll have you know that I’m seriously injured and you’re lucky I’m still alive.”

  “Yeah? Let me see.”

  I took off my hat and showed him the back of my head. “What, that scratch? You’re such a baby.”

  “That’s not all. I got kneed in the balls yesterday.”

  He winced, nodding slightly. “Now that makes me feel bad for you.”

  “Wow, you’re all sugar and sunshine, aren’t you?”

  “Do you want me to plow you out or not? Because I don’t have to do this much work. I could go home and relax with Kat.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure this is really hard work, moving the gear shift back and forth. I really feel for you, man.”

  “You should. My arm is killing me,” he said, mockingly rubbing his arm.

  “I’m surprised you left Kat at all.”

  “Well, I didn’t want to, but someone had to come save your ass. I couldn’t live with myself if I let you die.”

  “That’s really touching,” I said, trying to sound sincere.

  “Yeah, well, I can’t have my reputation stained. I can’t be the brother that didn’t go rescue his helpless brother.”

  “Whatever. You want to give me a ride back?”

  “All the way up there?” he scoffed. “You can’t make the walk on your own?”