by Coco Miller
He pulls me down to sit with him on the soft grass. Then he places me between his legs, my back to his chest and wraps his arms around me.
“Did you create this?” I ask, looking around at the grotto. I don’t remember anything like this as a kid.
He kisses the top of my head and I feel him nod. “I did.”
“It’s stunning,” I say looking around again. “I’m sure this has been a big hit with the ladies.”
The minute the words leave my mouth, Wyatt’s body stiffens, and I regret them.
“I’m sorry, it’s none of my business who you’ve brought here. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Kendra, you are the first person I’ve ever brought to my grotto.”
Hearing him say it shocks me, and I turn my head to look at him.
“When I first moved here, I wanted to be anywhere else, but here. My dad told me to explore, and maybe I’d find something that would make me want to stay. Looking around the lake, I noticed all these trees and thought it would be amazing to be able to hide away in them. A place to escape to. It took a lot of work and many years, but knowing what it would look like when I was done, made moving here a little easier.”
It breaks my heart knowing he was so sad to leave New York, yet I feel like he is opening up to me. I’ll admit, I like it.
“Why did you need to move here?” I ask, placing my hands over his, trying to give him a bit of comfort.
“My mom walked out on my dad and me. I didn’t realize it at the time because I was too busy being a teenager, but my dad needed this move. It was his way of moving on. At the time he gave me a choice to stay in New York with family. He didn’t want to force me to move, but I’m so glad I did. He needed me and the move turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. I love it here.”
“Oh Wyatt, I’m so sorry about your mom. Malik never really talked about it.”
“I’m not surprised. Not something I wanted broadcasted all over the village.”
I don’t know what else to say. He’s giving me an insight into a piece of his life and it makes me feel closer to him. Wanting to change the subject because the sad voice I hear lets me know he doesn’t enjoy visiting that part of his life. I suppose no one wants to talk about their mom abandoning them. So I decide to move the conversation in a different direction.
“So, do you enjoy working construction? It looks like you work with a fun bunch of guys.”
He chuckles and squeezes me a little tighter. I think it’s his way of thanking me for changing the subject.
“I do like my job, especially because ninety-nine percent of the time I work here at the resort. Malik and I are friends with most of the guys. They’re a great group.” He chuckles again, saying, “Well, most of the time they are.”
We sit in the grotto and I listen to stories of what it was like once he moved here and we laugh at all the trouble he caused. I tell him what’s been going on in New York and how much I loved coming here for the summers. The conversation is easy. Like talking to an old friend. It’s so crazy I never noticed him as more than my brother’s friend before.
Somehow we end up laying down, and I don’t even mind the feeling of the grass and dirt on my skin. That’s probably because my body is too focused on the solid, muscular chest I’m resting my cheek on. Even as we just lay here in silence, I feel there is an undeniable connection happening.
Wyatt surprises me when he moves, rolling me onto my back. He doesn’t say a word just takes in my face in his hands before leaning forward and claiming my lips. This kiss differs from the first. It’s hard, rough, and commanding. It makes my pussy ache with need, a feeling I’d forgotten about, but now it’s a sensation I suddenly crave.
He breaks the kiss and puts his hands on either side of my face. “What the hell are you doing to me,” he whispers before claiming my lips again.
I wish I had an answer for him, but I’m asking myself the same thing.
That was a kiss for the ages.
Chapter Ten
WYATT
Waking up the next morning, I have a smile on my face remembering yesterday. It was the best time I’ve ever had with a woman. We talked, laughed, and got to know each other…. and I actually gave a fuck.
When I brought her to my outdoor hangout, I’ll admit I was nervous. It’s special to me, and I’ve never shared it with anyone before. It’s a place I like to go to escape, but there was something about the way I felt with Kendra that encouraged me to take her there.
Going to work was not what I wanted to do. Running over to Kendra’s, now that I was willing to do in a heartbeat. The kiss we shared last night was the most real thing I’ve ever experienced with a woman. I felt like we were connecting and not just in a sexual way.
Even though I wanted to spread her legs apart and fuck her senseless on that grass, I refused to even let it get to that point. I want her to like me, trust me, respect me. If I had slept with her last night, even if she was the one who initiated it, I was afraid she’d hate me. Plus, there’s one major factor I have given little consideration. What will Malik think?
This is all so new and confusing to me, and right now, the only thing I want is to spend more time with her. Lucky for me, last night before I left her place, I asked her if I could take her somewhere after work. After another kiss, she said yes, so when I finish work today I will see her.
* * *
Work is almost over and I’m relieved. I’m so damn distracted and the guys are noticing. They’ve been riding my ass to find out how dinner went, and I just keep saying fine. This is not appeasing them though.
“Something about her looks familiar,” Todd says.
I swallow hard. I haven’t told them who she is yet. It’s only a matter of time before they figure it out or find out. She looks nothing like Malik, thank God, but her last name is a dead giveaway. Once they find that out, I’m toast.
“Did you kiss her?” I turn to look at Todd disapprovingly and he smirks. “What,” he says, laughing.
“You act like a damn chick,” I reply and shake my head with a smirk.
“Chick with a dick.” We both burst out laughing.
“You’re a fucking idiot.” I turn back to the sheetrock I’m hanging and start screwing it in place.
“So did you?” he asks, standing right next to me. “I mean she sought you out and apologized. What woman does that unless she gives a shit?”
“Holy shit. Yes all right, I kissed her. No, I didn’t go any further. Happy,” I say completely fed up with the non-stop questions.
“Who sounds like a whining chick now? Damn.” He walks away laughing and I flip him off before getting back to work.
When we finally leave for the day, I go home and shower before making sandwiches. I pack up everything I need and head over to Kendra’s. Like the chick that Todd said I sounded like, my stomach flips and turns the closer I get to her place. What the hell? I’m getting soft like ice cream.
I knock on her door and she opens it almost immediately. The air is sucked out of my lungs when I see how beautiful she looks. She’s wearing a coral-colored sundress with her hair in a windswept updo with pieces that have fallen out framing her face. The exposed skin of her neck is begging for my touch, and it takes all my willpower to keep from carrying her to the bedroom. What gets me the most is the sexy smile she’s wearing. Tonight is going to be hard. Literally.
“You look stunning,” I say, moving in to kiss her. She wraps her arms around my neck and runs her fingers into my hair as I deepen the kiss. She lets out a soft moan, and I need to break the kiss because my hardened cock has other things in mind.
Smiling she says, “You look great too. So what are we doing?”
“Get your stuff and I’ll show you.”
She gets into my beat-up pickup truck, and I drive the short distance to one of my favorite open fields. Looking over at me she raises her eyebrows. “Well, this is more clear,” she says causing us both to laugh.
�
��We are going to have a picnic.” I open the door and look back over at her. “Come on.”
After getting the blanket and picnic basket out of the bed of my truck, I grab her hand and lead her out into the field. We get to a spot that has the tall grass pressed down, probably from kids laying out here earlier, and I lay the blanket down. We sit down and she looks around.
“You know I spent so much of my childhood here and I don’t remember any of this. How is that possible?”
“I think we are good at only holding onto the memories we treasure. Obviously, it wasn’t the grounds you treasure.” I wink at her reaching into the basket to pull out the sandwiches and pasta salad.
“You’re right. It’s the time I spent with my parents out of the city. They weren’t too busy to play with me here,” she says, resting her hands behind her. “We were happier here.”
“Kind of sounds like what you are trying to avoid.” I raise my eyebrows and grin.
She sits up quickly and looks more pissed off than I thought she would. Crap.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Kendra, I meant nothing by it. You said all you used to do was work, but now you are taking time for yourself. Maybe that’s something you need to do more often. That’s all I meant,” I say, hoping I didn’t just fuck up our night.
She blows out a breath and leans back again. “No, you’re right. Damn it, I never saw it like that, but that’s exactly what I was becoming, my parents when we lived in the city.”
She jets out her lower lip and says, “Don’t let me become my parents, Wyatt.”
We both chuckle and I climb on top of her, laying her onto her back. I kiss her lips, nipping on her bottom one. “You don’t need me for that. You were fixing it anyway. That’s why you’re here.”
Cupping my face in her hands, she smiles at me. “Is it weird to say that I feel this connection to you?”
“Thank fuck it’s not just me,” I say before crashing my lips to her. She runs her hands down my back, such a simple touch, but it makes me want to slam into her. I slowly drag my hand down her chest letting it lightly skim her tit.
She bucks her hips and breaks the kiss. “Oh God, Wyatt,” she moans cocking her head back giving me access to her neck. I kiss down her neck, nipping every so often. I suck on the spot where shoulder connects, and she digs her nails into my back, letting me know she loves what I’m doing to her.
I kiss a path down her chest to the valley of her breasts and seeing the tops of ample tits spilling out of her dress is too much.
I pull away and sit back on my heels, running my hands through my hair. “Kendra, if I keep going we will end up fucking right here on this blanket.”
She snaps her head up to look at me and the lust I see in her eyes makes my already hard cock harder. “Wyatt, it’s been longer than I can remember since someone has made me feel like this.”
Embarrassment colors her face before she covers it with her hands. This is a different Kendra. In the courtroom, she may be a badass, but under me, she’s a novice. There’s something about that I like.
She runs her fingertips along my chest in what I think is an attempt to get me to move forward. Oh fuck, she is killing me. I lay on top of her and link her hands in mine.
“As badly as I want you right now, the sun is shining and we aren’t exactly secluded here,” I say looking around. “If you want to go back to my place or your place, I have no problem with it.”
“Let’s eat first and see how the rest of the night goes. Is that all right?” she suggests, pressing her hands against my chest as she leans forward to sit up.
“Anything you want is fine by me.”
We eat in silence, and I look around the field thinking back. “Kendra?” She turns to look at me trying to force a smile. “If you were any other girl, I wouldn’t have thought twice about fucking you in this field, shit I’ve done it countless times.” I take a deep breath, and she looks at me confused.
“Uh, thanks?”
“Let me finish. There is something about you, Kendra. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t want to just sleep with you. I want something more. I know it sounds ridiculous because everyone should want that before they sleep together, but I never have.”
I run my hands through my hair and groan. “Shit, this is all coming out wrong. I’m probably scaring you off with every word I say.”
She laughs and surprises the shit out of me when she climbs onto my lap. “Wyatt, when was your last serious relationship?”
Oh fuck, come on. My dick is brick hard.
“Honestly?”
“No, lie to me,” she says, rolling her eyes.
I chuckle and search her eyes. “Never,” I admit, whispering.
She sits back a bit to gauge my reaction and when she realizes I’m telling the truth, she looks into my eyes. “How is that possible?”
“I never wanted one before.” I can’t believe I am telling her all of this.
“But you do now?” she asks.
“I know that I don’t want to just sleep with you and say goodbye afterward. I can’t do that with you. I won’t.”
She smiles after my admission. “Will you tell me about your time overseas?”
“Is it important?“
“I think so. It’s part of who you are and you don’t talk about it. Makes me wonder why.“
I suck in a breath and let it out slowly. “There isn’t much to tell,” I say, stalling for a way to tell her some of my most horrible memories are of that place.
“Were you scared?”
“Every day,” I tell her the truth because it was one of the most frightening things I’ve ever experienced.
I was in a specialized Army division called Overwatch. They gave us some of the more difficult assignments and I saw things that I wouldn’t wish on my own worst enemy.
Keeping our country safe is not for the faint of heart. Not knowing if you will live or die at any moment. Watching friends get hurt and watching some die was enough to make me want to come home and never return.
“Are you glad to be back?” she asks me.
“Absolutely,” I sigh. “Listen, I know I’m not telling you much, but believe me, Kendra, war isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. There are no heroes in war. There’s no happiness. We just all go over there and try to complete our missions, try to survive, and try to keep as many of us alive as we can. I will never forget the men I fought with. They’ll always be there for me.”
A look crosses her face I’ve never seen before, and it’s sexy as fuck. “I’m glad you’re back safe.”
“Me too.”
The heat grows between us.
“Take me home, Wyatt.” She stands up and starts packing everything away. “Now.”
Chapter Eleven
KENDRA
My nerves are tingling as I pack everything up. Hearing Wyatt tell me about his time overseas explains so much. I think he lives his life every day as if it were his last. Sleeping with all the women he has. Creating a sanctuary at the grotto to find a bit of peace. I think I understand him more. He’s wounded. He’s guarded. He’s a man that I find myself wanting to hold and never stop.
When he told me he wanted something more with me, I didn’t know what to say. This is all moving at the speed of light. Sure, he’s not a total stranger, but in many ways he is. I know Wyatt the scrawny kid. Friend of my brother. Not Wyatt the hot, military man.
The crazy part is that now I think that I want more with him, too. I at least want the time to explore what “more” could look like. I can’t let go of this attraction for him. It won’t stop. It’s like this fire has been burning since I first saw him in the bar. God, I’m acting like a horny teenager.
Wyatt didn’t say a word as we packed up and still nothing on the short drive home. I’m hoping it’s because he’s as turned on as I am; I can hardly think straight. My body is burning with need, a fire he started and only he can put out. A desire that runs so deep I don�
��t know how I’ll ever survive from it.
We pull up to my place and he throws the truck in park then turns to look at me. “Kendra, are you sure about this? I don’t want you to feel like I’m rushing you.”
“This is you rushing?” I ask playfully. “Because you’ve barely touched me,” I say, opening the door and climbing out.
I walk up the steps to the small trailer and look back over my shoulder. He winks playfully as we step inside and close the door. Suddenly, closed in the small space just me and Wyatt, I feel nervous. He’s known for his promiscuous ways, and while I’m no prude, I’m just concerned that I won’t live up to the playful romps in the sack he’s used to.
While my partners have always been cautious and boring, the kind of women Wyatt’s been with are sex kittens. At least that’s what I imagine. I know just from kissing him that sex will be mind-blowing and he will be expecting the same.
He lifts my chin up, forcing me to look at him. “What’s going on in that brain of yours?”
I shake my head nervously as he searches my eyes.
“Listen, if we want something to come of this, you need to be honest with me. Are you having second thoughts?” he asks.
I blow out a breath and pick at the hem of my dress. “No second thoughts. It’s just..”
“Your brother?“
“Wait, what? Malik? No, he has nothing to do with this.“
“Then what?“
I pause for a second to build up my courage. “Well, the guys I’m normally with are, well, nothing like you. And I know I’m not the kind of woman you are usually with. What if I can’t, you know, do the kinds of things that you’re used to?”
Without a word, he grabs my hand and leads me to the bedroom. He flips on the light and stands in front of my bed. Pulling his shirt over his head, he drops it to the floor and my body starts to feel the slow burn again, seeing his muscular chest.
Still without saying a word, he unbuttons his jeans and lets them pool around his ankles. I can’t move. I can’t breathe. Seeing him with nothing on but his black boxer briefs and a smoldering look in his eyes has my nipples pebbling under my dress.
