She stares at me for a moment without speaking with her mouth hanging open before pushing her way past me with a look of determination on her face.
“I have a lot to say and you are going to shut up and let me say it this time.” She points a finger in my face, her other hand perched on her cocked hip. If she weren’t so mad, I’d laugh at how cute she looks.
I raise my hands in surrender and walk toward the living room. “Can I get you anything?” I turn back around, watching as she folds her arms and rolls her eyes.
“Can you…” She says, motioning at me up and down.
“Can I?” I say, taunting her.
“Put some damn clothes on!”
I smirk before reaching for the edge of my towel, her eyes bugging out as if I’m going to rip it off right in front of her.
A minute later, I return from my room with a T-shirt and jeans. She’s helped herself to a glass of water and is sitting perched on the very edge of one of the chairs in the living room.
“Pearl, listen. I need to apologize,” I say, running my hands through my still soaking wet hair and sitting down on the couch.
“No, you need to listen. I have to get this out.” She sets the glass down on the coffee table, and I sit back on the couch ready to listen.
“What I wanted to tell you earlier tonight was that I HAD, as in past tense, a plan to try and win Trevor over and try to get him to fall in love with me or whatever, but that’s all changed. I know he doesn’t love me, and I know he never has.”
Now she has my attention, I lean forward resting my elbows on my knees as she stands and starts to pace while she speaks.
“You were right in what you said. I mean, you said it in a really dickish way, but nevertheless, you are right. I know it’s wrong of me to try and break up his relationship or to go after him when he’s in love with someone else. At the time, I didn’t see it that way. I thought they were broken up, and I justified it because I loved him first. I felt I deserved a chance because I had loved him since we were kids.” She lets out a long sigh and looks up toward the ceiling.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” I feel like a complete ass.
“Well, you didn’t even give me a chance to finish before you flew off the handle in your typical, hotheaded fashion.” She points at me again.
“Hey, this isn’t an attack me session okay?” I get a little annoyed at her condescending remarks. “And let’s take it easy on the finger pointing while we’re at it.”
“Oh, you don’t like that? Not used to having someone tell you when you’re wrong and telling you like it is? Funny since you just did that to me!”
She’s shouting now and has both hands on her hips. I stand up off the couch and walk toward her.
“And I apologized for it, didn’t I?” I shout back, pointing a finger right back at her. I’m not proud of myself. “Now that you said your peace and you have seen the light about Trevor, you can leave now.” I motion toward the door.
We’re both breathing heavy, inches from one another. Before I can register what I’m even doing, I slip a hand around the back of her neck and pull her mouth to mine. It’s not hard and fast, even with our tempers flaring.
As soon as our lips touch, it’s like a fire ignites inside me. I extend my other arm out and rest it against the wall as I walk us backward. She’s kissing me back, her soft lips parting and allowing my tongue in. I sweep it against hers and she reciprocates. A soft moan escapes her lips as I press my body against hers, pinning her to the wall while I snake both hands through her hair.
I can feel her arching her back off the well, pressing her body against mine firmly. I want to ask her what we’re doing, but I’m afraid to ruin the moment. Our tongues still dance against each other’s as I deepen the kiss. One of her hands is pulling tightly against my neck as the other is planted on my chest but slowly starts to descend to the waist of my jeans.
She pulls at the button, popping it loose before she slides her hand inside my pants to feel my cock. It’s straining painfully against the zipper of my jeans. In my haste earlier, I hadn’t put on any underwear.
I let out a low moan as her warm fingers attempt to grip me. It’s been too long since I felt the warmth of a woman’s hands on me. I stop kissing her and rest my forehead against the wall above her head, my breath coming out in small puffs into her hair. She pulls the zipper down slowly with her other hand, giving herself more access to fully stroke me.
I ball my hands into fists, willing myself not to explode right here in this moment and embarrass myself. I’m losing my mind over such a simple touch. I grab her hands, pulling them away from me and over her head, pinning them against the wall. I kiss her, hard and deep, before dropping her hands and grabbing her ass, lifting her so her legs wrap around my waist.
The look in her eyes is pure lust and desire, driven by hunger. A hunger for me. Without a word, I carry her to my bedroom, trailing kisses from her lips down her neck. She tugs on my hair, pulling my face back so she can kiss my mouth again. I’m practically panting by the time I set her down.
I take a deep breath to slow my heart rate as I look down at her sitting on the edge of my bed. “Are you sure you want this, Pearl?” My voice sounds deeper than normal, like I’ve just woken up. She bites her bottom lip before slowly nodding her head.
I reach out my hand and pull her up until she’s standing before lowering down to remove her shoes. I stand on my knees and slip her denim jacket off her shoulders before leaning down and kissing her again. I want to go slow, to savor every inch of her.
I sink back down and sit back on my heels as I reach up her dress and slowly remove her panties. A small hitch catches in her throat as she watches me lift them to my nose and inhale, keeping eye contact with her the entire time. I reach my hands back up under her dress and let them rest softly on her hips.
“I want you to lie back, Pearl. I’m going to taste you.” I slowly help her lower herself down to the bed before I slip the dress up her creamy thighs, finally exposing her bare womanhood. A small thatch of neatly manicured hair sits in the middle. I run my hands up her inner thighs, spreading her as I do and causing her to gasp.
“Just relax. I promise you it will feel good. If you don’t like it, just tell me and I’ll stop, okay?”
She nods and loosens her grip on the comforter. I can’t hold back any longer. I first reach out and glide my index finger up and down her slit a few times, causing her juices to coat her lips. I can see it glistening on the end of my finger.
I lean forward, inhaling her scent before sliding my tongue gently over her soft folds. She lets out an audible exhale as I lick her again. With every stroke of my tongue, she moans louder. I deepen the licks, kissing her passionately as her thighs start to fall open. Her taste is intoxicating. I’m like a man possessed. I grip her inner thighs, spreading them further as I lap at her from every angle. I pull back to wet my finger and begin to tease her entrance with it as I stroke her clit.
“Yes, yes—ohhhh,” she says over and over as I begin to slide my finger in and out of her with each flick of my tongue. I can feel her walls clenching around my finger as her hips try to come up off the bed. She’s close. Her back arches, and she fists the bed sheets before a sharp cry echoes from her mouth and she falls softly back against the mattress.
I stand up and look down at her on the bed, her cheeks are flush with a bright wash of pink. Her chest rises and falls rapidly as she comes down from her orgasm. Her eyelids are heavy and her eyes hooded as she licks her lips and stares at the bulge in my jeans.
I rip off my T-shirt. Her hands dart forward as she sits up, and she hooks her fingers in the belt loops of my jeans, helping me finish taking them off. I have no idea if she’s seen a man nude before, but she stares at my cock as it springs free. She reaches out and places her fingers around me again. I hiss out a breath of air as she strokes me.
“Fuuuuck,” I say as I close my eyes and let my head fall back.
“How
? How is this going to fit inside me?” Her question startles me out of my state of bliss, and I want to laugh, but I don’t want to make her feel stupid. I’m not exactly small or even close to average. I know for a virgin, to see a cock my size, it’s a natural question.
“You’ll stretch and I’ll make sure you’re nice and ready,” I say, reaching down to pull her up to her feet.
“Ready?”
I pull her in for a kiss, this time not holding back my tongue at all as I reach around and pull down the zipper on her dress.
“Mmhm. I’ll get you wet, and I’ll make sure I use my fingers to make sure you’re relaxed. If it hurts, we can stop.”
She nods as I pull the straps down from her dress, revealing her bare breasts. I guess she was braless under her dress when she pressed herself against me earlier that night at the dance.
Her breasts are round and perky, with little pert nipples that beg to be suck. I lean down and lick one before slipping it into my mouth and sucking. She grips my forearms, and I massage her other breasts with my hands. I bite softly before turning to the other nipple to give it the same attention.
“Lie back,” I say as I walk her back a few steps. I can’t help but drool at how delicious her young body is. The fact that she’s only twenty-four pops in my head, and I almost tell her to get up and get dressed. As if she knows what I’m thinking, she reaches forward and grabs my hand, pulling me down on top of her.
I position my body over hers as I kiss her while her hands wrap around my back to pull me closer. I take my finger and place it at her lips. “Lick for me,” I say as she slowly opens her mouth. She licks my finger in one long motion before pulling it entirely into her mouth and sucking. She releases it with an audible pop and a smirk on her face.
I reach down and run the wet finger up and down her folds before slowly starting to pump it in and out of her hot center. I haven’t had an experience like this since I was in early high school, but this right here is by far the most intense and passionate experience I’ve ever had with a woman.
“I want you,” she says between pants as I continue to pump my fingers in and out of her.
I reach for the drawer of my nightstand and pull out a condom, tearing it open and rushing to put it on. “Try and relax, okay? This…might hurt,” I say as I position my head at her entrance and slowly begin to pump it into her.
A small gasp leaves her lips as she looks down her body and watches me. I press a little harder, and she yelps and grips my bicep.
“Too much?”
She shakes her head back and forth, encouraging me to keep going. I thrust a little harder this time, and I can feel her thighs shaking.
“Sweetheart, I don’t want to hurt you,” I say as I look down at her.
“Do—don’t stop.” She lifts her hips a little to accommodate more of me. It takes several minutes before I’m even halfway in, and I’m starting to lose it. She’s so tight and warm, I don’t think I’m going to last much longer.
I watch as her breasts sway with each thrust and her heavy eyes roll back in her head. I lean forward and bite her nipple again.
“Oh fuck, Pearl. Fuck, fuck, FUCK!” I yell as I lose control and explode. I grip the pillow beneath her as the orgasm tears through my body. It takes everything I have not to thrust the rest of the way inside her.
“I’m sorry,” I mutter as I lean forward and kiss her. “You’re so fucking sexy, I…”
She pulls me in for a kiss after I pull out of her and toss the condom. “I’m sorry I couldn’t handle more. It actually felt so good once I got over the initial pressure.”
I push her hair off her forehead. “I guess we’ll just have to practice more,” I say before kissing my way down her body and devouring her again.
Eleven
Pearl
“What happened with you and Tracey?” I run my finger softly over Blake’s chest as he stares up at the ceiling. He lets out a long sigh. “And don’t give me the vague version.”
“We met after I moved back here from college. I was too ashamed to move back to Grand Lake, so I went to Denver instead. I met her and we hit it off. Wasn’t anything serious back then, just a casual hookup now and then. After a few months, my dad got sick, so I moved back to Grand Lake, and she moved on with some other guy. She’s a city girl and I didn’t expect anything from her, but we stayed friends.”
He stops for a brief moment as if he’s remembering that time in his life. It was rough when Mr. Winthrop got sick. It seemed like one day, he was fine, and a week later, he was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.
“Over the years, we’d hang out, usually between relationships. Finally, she said she wanted something more, and it just kind of happened. She said she was willing to move here to be with me since I was helping my mom with the cabins and starting my own company. So we lived here for a few years before I proposed and then about a year ago, I woke up one morning to the ring on her pillow and a note that said she missed her life in Denver and she was tired of waiting around for me since I travel for work so much. And that was it.”
The room is so quiet. I’m not sure what to say. “I’m so sorry, Blake. That was a really shitty thing for her to do.” I prop myself up on my elbow to look at him.
“Nah, she had to do what was best for her.” He doesn’t look at me, just runs his hand up and down my naked back.
A small sliver of moonlight peeking through the curtains is the only light in the room. “Do you still love her?” I don’t know what prompts me to ask that. I’m not sure I want to know the answer either.
“No,” he says before turning to look at me. “It’s okay that you’re still in love with Trevor. I’m not disillusioned to what this is,” he says without breaking eye contact.
My breath catches in my throat, and a small pain shoots through my chest. I smile and nod, playing it off. I thought I’d made it clear to him last night that it’s not Trevor that I want.
“And what is this?” I ask coyly, motioning between us. “Young virgin gets seduced by gruff mountain man who teaches her how to be with a man?” I say, giggling, trying to lighten the mood.
He looks at me for what feels like minutes even though I know it’s only a few seconds, and for the briefest moment, I feel like he wants more, and I silently pray he asks me for it. “Yeah, something like that. I mean, you know my track record. Not exactly boyfriend of the year material.”
He gets up and heads to the bathroom. I can hear the shower running as I slowly drift off to sleep.
It’s been four days since I slept with Blake, and I haven’t heard a word from him. The morning after wasn’t exactly what I had imagined my first time would be like either. No pancakes or eggs, just a note from him that he had to run some errands and that I could stay as long as I liked.
“Have you heard anything about that job?” Jade asks as I sip my latte. We have a standing date every other Sunday. We grab lattes and Noodle, Jade’s mini Aussie, and head out for a sunrise hike in the Rocky Mountains.
“Nothing since the initial email response about setting up a phone interview. The lady who messaged me said she was going to be out of the office, but she’ll be back on Monday so she’ll reach out then. Am I crazy? I mean, this is home.”
“Pearl, I think you’d be crazy to not get try something new. Yes, this is home and it’s always going to be here. So, if this job in Chicago doesn’t work out, or you get there and hate it, then home will still be here. I just don’t want to see you sell yourself short by not even trying.”
Blake’s face keeps swirling in my head. What even am I to him? Why do I keep thinking about him and feeling guilty when I imagine a life for myself in Chicago?
“I slept with Blake.”
“WHAT?” Jade spins so fast, she loses her balance and flings her latte off the side of the mountain.
“Shit!” I yell, reaching out to catch her hand and steady her.
“You cannot tell me news like that when I could fall to my dea
th!” She shouts, motioning to the ledge a good twenty feet away. We both burst out in laughter as Noodle bounds up to us, curious about the excitement.
“Okay, let's take a seat over here. I need a minute to process this,” she says, pouring some water in a portable bowl for Noodle. “Tell. Me. Everything.”
I explain to her without any explicit details about how it all went down. “But I haven’t heard from him since.”
“Wait, hold up. He took your virginity and just bailed?”
I can see the fire start to burn in her eyes.
“No, we didn’t have any expectations or anything. He thinks I’m still in love with Trevor, and I’m pretty sure he’s still in love with Tracey. I saw him yesterday at the cabins in passing, but I’ve noticed he hasn’t been to The Place at all this week, and that’s not like him. I think he’s avoiding me.”
“Here’s my two cents. First, you’re both adults, so just say how you feel so there’s no miscommunication, and second, if you both feel the same way, then go for it. If you both just want it to be casual, then don’t feel like it needs to be more than that. He’s your first, Pearl. Enjoy it until you don’t or whatever.”
I bump her shoulder and nod my head. “You know, you’re always right.”
“Yeah, I know. That’s what happens when you get your heart ripped out at seventeen. You become a bitter old woman.” We both laugh. I fear the day Memphis Styles ever has the nerve to show his face in this town again, because Jade will rip it off the moment she sees him.
Several hours later, I pull my bug into the parking lot of The Place, where I spot Blake’s truck. It’s Sunday night, so there’s a decent-sized dinner crowd, but he’s one of only two people sitting at the bar. His back is toward the door, and he’s watching whatever sporting event is on the TV.
“Who’s winning?” I say, sitting down on the barstool next to him. He turns to look at me and I smile, stretching out my hand toward him. “Pearl. Pearl Davenport. You must be new in town.”
Grand Lake Colorado Series: A Complete Small Town Contemporary Romance Collection Page 6
