by Piper Cook
DRAGONFLY DREAMS
Honey Ridge Summer
Book 4
By Piper Cook
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are used fictitiously.
Copyright © Piper Cook – All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
Chloe & Tristan – Ladybug Love
Chapter 1
Blair
I slather a seaweed mask on my face while steamy water flows into the claw-footed tub. A little bubble bath can’t hurt, so I pour in a capful and take in the aroma of lavender and lilac. I slip into the balmy water and pop my earbuds in with soothing soul music lulling me into a relaxing soak. I lean my head back on the rolled up towel on the tub edge and close my eyes.
Ah, peace. Finally, some alone time.
Charlotte moving out of this little house is exactly what I need. The timing couldn’t be better. I love being out at Purple Haze lavender farm with everyone, but not when it’s bunking with the boss. I don’t want to be a burden to anyone and I kind of felt underfoot. Anais is generous to a fault, but I’d rather my boss not know my personal hygiene practices, latest loves...as if...or any other details of my private life.
The only hitch in the plan is the landlord. He’d planned to raise Charlotte’s rent when her lease was up. Instead of allowing me to ride out her lease, he raised the rent and threw in the option of a roommate. I’m not opposed to a roommate, but I’m nervous to meet her. She’s supposed to be here next week, so I at least have one week of privacy, and I plan on soaking it up.
I hum along to Sam Cooke, The Temptations, and Al Green, immersing myself into their music. Cooke’s song “(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons” begins and I belt out I love you, I love you over and over again along with him. It gives me a melancholy vibe, so I skip it. I don’t need a reminder that my sex life is locked away in a cellar and someone’s thrown away the key. I’d say I can’t remember the last time, but I do, and it was grade A awful. I swear sex classes for men should be mandatory before they even think about screwing a real live female. When someone takes me for a spin and rubs my lady parts like their waxing a car, I’m out. Done.
Cooke’s “Cha Cha Cha” song comes on and I begin swaying to the catchy beat, sloshing water over the edge to the tile floor. It’s a little cheerier. Enough to change gears and think about something other than S.E.X.
Halfway through the playlist my fingertips begin wrinkling like prunes and the firming green mask shrivels across my face. It’s so relaxing sitting here lazing about that I don’t want to get out of the water. But I pull the plug and enjoy the last few minutes of bubbly bliss. “Love Man” by Otis Redding begins playing and I belt out the lyrics like nobody’s business. There are advantages to having my own space. No one around to hear me butcher the song.
I throw the rolled up towel beneath my neck across the puddle of water and step out of the tub just in time to catch movement out of the corner of my eye. A man stands frozen in his steps in the bathroom doorway with a grin plastered across his face.
“I’m your love man.”
Micah
“What the fuck,” she shrieks, scrambling for a towel. “Get out. Get out.”
I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help but stare at her. She’s all curves from her creamy pale thighs to her bouncy breasts. A feast for the eyes. She grabs a soap dispenser from the counter and hurls it at me, continuing to screech. That’s all it takes to snap me out of my lust filled stupor.
“I’m going, I’m going.” I turn heel and the bathroom door slams behind me. It’s immediately followed by a squeaky scream and a loud thud. I stop to listen and hear the woman’s low moan. I tap lightly at the door. “Everything okay in there? You alright?”
“Get out.” Something hits the door from the inside. “I’m calling the police.”
Just what I need. I’ve been in town exactly twenty minutes and a woman already wants my head on a platter. Par for the course. Can’t say that I blame her though. I’m a week early. To be fair, I called out when I heard her singing, but she didn’t hear me. Her music player must’ve been cranked to the max. I should have turned around the second I realized she was naked in the bathtub. My dick spasms as the vision of her nude hourglass figure replays in my head.
“I’m Micah, your roommate.” That’s when I notice a small purse, keys and cellphone sitting on the hall table. I pick up the phone and bend down to slide it through the gap between the door and floor. “This might come in handy for phone calls. But I’d rather you didn’t call the police. I really am your new roommate. Are you okay?”
The door swings open and the feisty, blonde woman with green smeared across her face and a towel wrapped around her body appears. Her eyebrows crease and the green mask she’s wearing crackles as she contorts her face.
“You are not Micah. Micah is a woman’s name.” She eyes me up and down and I stifle a chuckle. She’s a spitfire all right. She’s got gumption threatening me with nothing but a pointed finger and fistful of phone. “And you’re...Micah...isn’t supposed to arrive until next week.”
“I assure you I’m Micah.” I reach for the wallet in my back pocket, and she flinches like I’m going for a weapon. It’s not like I’m packing heat. Not in my pocket anyway. “I’m early. I start work in a week at Bee Sweet Meadery. Thought I’d see the sites, get to know Honey Ridge.”
I offer her my ID. When she reaches for it her towel slips revealing the swell of her breast and a puckered nipple in need of a good tongue lashing. I instinctively reach for the towel to help pull it up, but she slaps at my hand causing the towel to slip further.
She groans, dropping the phone as she scrambles for the towel. She gathers it up around her delicious curves and storms off in the direction of a bedroom.
“Welcome to Honey Ridge,” she huffs as she stomps away, her tone filled with sarcasm. “I’m not on the list of must see sites.”
Oh, I beg to differ.
Chapter 2
Blair
I slam the door behind me, unsure if I should be afraid, mad as hell, or turned on. Micah is one smoking hot piece of man candy. And my new roommate. The landlord should’ve given me a heads up that I’ll be bunking with a guy.
I toss the towel across my bed and rub my hand over the splotch on my leg. If Micah hadn’t showed up, I never would’ve slipped on the wet tile floor. One minute I’m relaxed, minding my own business and the next a strange guy’s ogling me. A wildly hot, sexy guy.
Ugh. This is not what I need right now. I’d love some peel-the-paint-off-the-walls sex, but that’s not happening with him sleeping on the other side of paper thin walls. I pull on a pair of shorts and T-shirt and catch my reflection in the mirror.
Crap.
I completely forgot about the seaweed mask. I look like an alien. A wrinkly, cracked, old alien. Now I have to go back out
there and face him again. It’s not like I plan on hiding in my bedroom for the foreseeable future. But there’s only so much embarrassment a woman can take in a day. Fifteen minutes to be more precise.
Pull up your big girl panties and get out there Blair. Set some ground rules and do it like a boss.
I cautiously open my bedroom door and strain to listen, before quietly tiptoeing down the hall, past his closed bedroom door. I should have chosen the room next to the bathroom. Now I’m stuck passing his room every time I want to go to mine.
The wooden floorboards creak giving away my movement. I scurry to the bathroom and quickly close the door. I lean back against it and close my eyes as I inhale a calming breath. As calming as can be under the circumstances. I quickly run tap water in the sink and wash the dried green goo off my face.
The damage isn’t so bad. I look refreshed, renewed, and ready to face...Micah. I tamp down the butterflies tickling at my belly and muster my spirit animal. The dragonfly.
The dragonfly represents hope, change, and love. It’s a symbol of transformation and contentment. It’s been my guiding mantra for the last several months. It’s what brought me to Honey Ridge and ultimately Purple Haze. I needed change, rebirth if you will. Growing up in an environment that judges other people’s choices was too much for me. I like to break the rules and live by my own set of values. Who is anyone to judge how other people choose to live their life if it isn’t hurting anyone?
One last check in the mirror and I’m good to go. Time to face the music. Time to face Micah.
Micah
Blair probably thinks I’m a super creep. There’s no way she could possibly want me as a roommate. But I know how to keep my hands to myself. Not sure I can keep my imagination in check. Seeing her standing there with blobs of bubbles clinging to her sweet, thick thighs and curvy hips would cause any healthy male to fantasize. The green mask couldn’t cover her beauty if she tried. She’s a stunner and full of fight. Cute and spunky. Exactly what I like in a woman.
I finish unloading the last of my stuff from the truck and carry it inside. The bathroom door opens just as I’m passing by, and she plows right into me. The top box tumbles from my arms and scatters contents across the hall floor.
“We need to stop meeting like this,” I joke.
I try to make light of the situation and stoop to pick up the spilled items. Of all the boxes that could spill it’s the box with the embarrassing stuff. Box of condoms, girly mags, and lube. The condoms are more hope than necessity. I should check the expiration date. There’s no explaining the magazines and lube. A guys got to find release somewhere when there’s no live prospects.
“Maybe we should put up signs. You know, one way, yield, closed to thru traffic.” She snickers and grabs for one of the magazines. I cringe when her eyes meet mine. Her snicker turns into a grin, and she plops the magazine back in the box. “Caution, hot lava.”
“Fair enough. We even?” Heat rises in my neck and I’m sure the embarrassment shows on my cheeks by now. “It’s a guy thing.”
“Not even close to even.” She squints and gestures to magazine. “You saw me naked. That is not the same.”
“I can drop my pants if that’s what it’ll take to call a truce and start over.” I bounce my eyebrows up and down and let out a teasing chuckle. Though if she hauled me into the bedroom and told me to strip, I’d do it in a heartbeat. My dick would be a happy camper. I’d be a happy camper. I’d make sure she was a thrilled camper. Everybody wins.
“Not necessary.” She grins and holds her hand out. “I’m Blair.”
“Micah.” I return the gesture of what I hope is friendship or at least a white flag of surrender. “Sorry to have barged in on you.”
She brings her fingers to her lips and twists them as if she’s turning a key in a lock. Then she tosses the imaginary key into thin air.
“We’ll never talk of it again. But we should talk about some ground rules.” She stands back up and leans against the bathroom door jamb. “Have you had lunch?”
“Nope, but I’m starving. Be right back.” I plop the box on my bed and follow Blair back down the hall. I hope wearing those shorts are on her list of ground rules. They hug her curves like a race car to pavement. I could watch her shimmy and sway for hours. I adjust myself while she has her back to me. Now’s not a good time to go full horndog. “What’s good around here?”
“Everything.” She glances over her shoulder with the cutest dimpled smile. Her eyes slide to my lips, and I grin.
If she’s included in everything, I’m already in over my head.
Chapter 3
Blair
Another great change from living out at Purple Haze is the proximity to downtown. There’s always some kind of event or festival going on at the lavender farm, but nothing like downtown. A brief walk around the corner and the place is alive with bars, restaurants, and fancy little touristy shops.
I breathe in the fresh air as we walk along the sidewalk. I point out The Taproom where Charlotte worked until a couple of weeks ago. We pass Bee Sweet Meadery and peek in the window. It’s closed on Sundays.
“Looks like you have a short commute.” We continue along the sidewalk until we reach Queen Bee Burgers. Micah reaches for the door and waves me in to go first like a gentleman. I resist the urge to roll my eyes and revel in being treated like a lady instead. “Best burgers in town.”
It’s crowded for a Sunday afternoon. The tables are all full, so we squeeze in at the bar. His meaty thigh brushes against mine as he slides onto the bar stool. Unexpected tingles spider up my leg. I wonder what kind of reaction my body would have if more than his denim covered thigh touched me.
“What about you? Where do you work?” He eyes the menu and slips a glance my way.
“Purple Haze. It’s a lavender farm on the outskirts of town. Honey Ridge is pretty small, so it’s not like commuting in Portland or Salem.”
We order burgers and beers and I watch Micah’s large, calloused hands fiddle with a napkin. He rolls and folds it and a gooey softness seeps into my center thinking of all the delicious things his fingers can probably do that my body’s been missing.
“So, we should get to the ground rules.” If I watch him toy with that napkin any longer, I might wet my panties with the slickness building there.
“Okay. Rule one. Shutting the bathroom door when you’re taking a bubble bath is a must.” He chuckles and I punch him in the shoulder. “Or not. We can make it optional.”
“We’re not talking about that, remember.” I cock an eyebrow at him.
His warm laugh tickles my insides. Ground rules I remind myself. It’s the only way I’ll keep my sanity and libido in check sharing the same tiny house with him. We’ll be bumping into each other in the hall, sharing the same sofa, slicking our hands together in a sink full of dishwater, rubbing next to each other on the way to the bedroom...
Stop.
I squeeze my legs together spurring on the growing desire thrumming through my delicate parts. It’s been entirely too long since a man’s been able to turn me on and I miss the thrill of it.
“What about bringing someone home? We should have some sort of signal or schedule.” And now he knows I have sex on my brain. Way to go Blair.
His fingers stop fiddling with the now tattered napkin. He slowly turns his head to look at me. His dark cholate eyes cast a mesmerizing spell over me. I inhale slowly to steady my breathing before it gives my thoughts away. I resist the urge to lick my bottom lip.
“You have a boyfriend, Blair?”
I watch his full, pink lips say my name and my throat nearly closes. I swallow hard and take a long pull off my beer bottle to stall. I need time to choke back the nervous tremor rising in my body. My knee knocks into the bar support as it begins its nervous bounce.
“Nope, but a boyfriend’s not a requirement for bringing someone home.”
I nearly choke on my own words, but I’m curious about his reaction to a girl like m
e. Back home I’d be called all sorts of names reserved for women who actively pursue their sexuality. Men can have sex with a different woman every night and be glorified for it. It’s assumed a woman who owns her sexuality in the same way has low self-esteem or is desperate, a floosy if you will. I’m none of those things.
“Do you have a girlfriend, Micah?”
Micah
“I’m a free spirit.” I shake my head, trying to wrap my head around what she’s saying and not saying. I don’t want to think about Blair bringing random guys home with her. It’s her life and all, but I’m already feeling possessive. If there’s any random sex happening, I’d rather it be with me. “But no, no girlfriend. I just moved here remember?”
“Well, we’ll have to get you all set up then. Take you around. Meet the ladies.” She snickers and I’m certain she’s kidding, but I can’t be sure. Hairs stand up on the back of my neck and I’m a little irked she’s so eager to set me up with other women.
Our food comes and I’m grateful for the lull in conversation while we chow down. She’s right, burger is good, but I’ve lost some of my appetite imagining her thick thighs wrapped around some dude’s waist as she rides him like a wild child. My cock flinches and throbs. I want her in my bed, no one else’s.
“If we’re going to make this work, we have to agree to just be friends. No dating each other. We’re stuck in a lease together for the next year. Romantic entanglements gone wrong would be the worst to ride out for that long.”
She rattles the words out so quickly as if nervous energy is prodding them along.
“I don’t need much time in the bathroom in the mornings, but desperately need a shower after work. We should work something out so we’re not stumbling over each other or barging in on each other naked.”
I’m so engrossed in my thoughts I barely make out her words. I shake the buzzing in my brain and bring myself back to the present so I can participate in these so-called ground rules.
