“Did you put any precautions on that list that Reese took to the store today?”
Gwen smiled against his neck, getting the gist of where this very brief conversation was headed. They wouldn’t be talking for long.
“No,” Gwen answered with a laugh, not expecting him to set both hands on her ass and hoist her over his shoulder. “Chad! Put me down!”
“It’s a good thing they were on mine.”
Chapter Fifteen
Chad had stretched the truth when he’d said that he stood outside of his truck for a good ten minutes. He’d spent nearly twice that standing there weighing the pros and cons of taking Gwen up on her offer. The thing about small town living was that a lot of choices made didn’t affect only one person. And in their case, that was the absolute truth.
The breathtaking vision of Gwen’s blue eyes staring up at him from her bed had been the catalyst.
The thing of it was that his fantasy had nothing on actual reality.
“Oh!”
Gwen dug her fingers into the pillow and let out that small exclamation when he slowly ran a hand up her inner thigh. He was positioned in between her legs, but he wasn’t nearly ready to proceed without appreciating the view before him.
They’d quickly shed their clothes the moment they hit the bedroom door. Her bed had been made, but he’d quickly pulled back the country-style comforter she’d chosen as part of the rustic décor. He was a little too busy to admire what she’d accomplished since this morning.
“Chad, would you just—”
“There’s that city girl shining through again,” Chad teased, resting her bare foot against his chest as he pressed his lips against the sensitive part of her ankle. She was lying open to him in the most vulnerable manner, yet that vicious streak of independence shone through those baby blues of hers. There was no doubt that she was in as much control of this moment as he was, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun. “Us country boys like to take our time when it comes to such things.”
A bubble of laughter surfaced, but it quickly changed to a moan of pleasure when Chad reversed his touch. The closer he got to her core, the more her lips parted in anticipation…the same red lips that he’d tried his damndest to smear. He’d been unsuccessful in that endeavor, but he wasn’t a quitter.
The last thing he was expecting was for Gwen to use the leverage he’d given her by placing her bare foot against his chest. She all but knocked him over backward until he was lying on his back and she was straddling him in victory.
“I’m getting a bit tired of you calling me city girl,” Gwen murmured with a smile, showing him that she didn’t mean a word of what she said before placing those red lips on his chest. “Let’s see what this country girl remembers about country boys, shall we?”
Chad wasn’t even remotely done exploring her body, but she began her descent. Her heat was like a warm blanket on a cold night. He soaked in every light touch and feathered caress.
“We like rodeos,” Chad managed to remind her right before she settled herself between his legs.
Gwen didn’t respond with a witty reply, but he didn’t mind. She’d wrapped her hand around his cock. It was as if her hand was literally made of fire. He quickly changed his mind when she licked his tip with her tongue.
Damn.
He wasn’t sure he was going to survive to give her that rodeo ride.
Every day for two weeks he’d imagined this very moment, telling himself that it would never come to fruition. A Kendall and a Schaeffer? The world must have spun backward.
Yet here he was.
Gwen drew him into her mouth, gliding those red lips over his tip and down his shaft. He couldn’t drag his gaze away from the mesmerizing sight. She took him to the back of her throat at the same time she cupped his balls.
Chad closed his eyes involuntarily, which only served to heighten the overwhelming sensation of her swallowing. Her tongue pressed against his shaft and then released, starting the process all over again.
Had he really thought this moment in time had been avoidable?
“I think I’m ready for that ride,” Gwen whispered longingly before reaching for the condom he’d set on the nightstand.
“You can think all you want.” Chad had her flipped over onto her back by the time he was done with his sentence, but not before her fingers had closed around the square foiled package. Her laughter drifted away when his thumb skated over her hardened nipple. “Like I said, us country boys like a slow and steady ride.”
Chad took his time loving her, not worried about time or outside influences. They’d both made the decision to be in this moment together, and he would savor every second of it. He didn’t leave one inch of her body untouched before turning his focus on the most sensitive parts.
Gwen’s breathing became a hiss of arousal when he stroked his tongue over her clit. Her fingers were buried in his hair, tightening the more he pleasured her.
There was no need for words or clever banter.
They were past that point, only existing in each other.
Chad slowly slid his middle finger inside of her, never once giving her clit a reprieve. She was saying his name over and over, but the chant became inaudible when he began to rub the pad of his finger over her sweet spot.
The exact moment he added a second finger was the instant her sheath tightened. So as not to let her lose the momentum of her release, he continued to manipulate her clit while adding pressure to that delicate area.
She cried out as the pleasure engulfed her. He began to slowly bring her down until she gradually relaxed against the comforter beneath them. Her breathing eventually evened out, and he proceeded to kiss his way up her body until he was able to reach for the condom she’d dropped on the bed.
He was grateful they’d left the bedside lamp on, but not because the golden hue made it easier to find the contraceptive package lying there on the sheets. There was nothing more beautiful than the sight of Gwen after having been pleasured.
“You promised me a ride,” Gwen whispered, finally opening her eyes to reveal the satisfaction in those baby blues of hers. The gorgeous smile that graced her lips had him hardening even more. “I just need a minute to recover. That was…”
Chad had already tossed the torn foil onto the side table. She wasn’t going to get her way tonight, but there was always tomorrow. He quickly and efficiently rolled the latex over his tip and down his shaft until he was covered.
“That was only a taste of what is to come,” Chad promised, keeping his tone soft so as not to disturb this intimate aura that surrounded them. He was really enjoying this side of her—a woman who he’d barely scratched the surface on. “There are no rules here, Gwen. Let’s enjoy the—”
“Were you going to say ride?” Gwen asked amusingly, wrapping her arms around his neck as he settled himself over her.
Chad took the time to brush away a few of those black strands that had gotten caught against her skin before answering. No, he hadn’t been going to say the word ride, but it was impossible to keep from returning her smile. The only thing that could erase it was to bring up time, because she immediately withdrew into herself to ruminate in a remorse she’d created all on her own. He understood it was something she still needed to work through, but there was no room for that tonight.
“How about we just enjoy each other,” Chad muttered, having gradually arched his hips until the tip of his cock was at her entrance. He ever so slowly breached her heat and didn’t stop until he was fully seated inside of her. “You are so fucking tight.”
Chad hadn’t meant to blurt that out, but her sheath stretched around him like they’d been made for one another. She pulled her knees higher until she was able to wrap her legs around his waist. So much for thinking she’d taken all she could, because he was able to thrust a fraction deeper.
He was leveraging himself on unsteady elbows, because it was all he could do to keep from coming. Evening out his breathing helped a bit, but she had to g
o and ruin what little control he had.
“Chad…” He’d heard that tone before, and that was right before she came the first time. “Please. Fuck me hard.”
Chad pulled out and drove back into her. She rewarded him with nails digging into his shoulder and pressing her heels into the muscles of his lower back. He didn’t stop, either. He pounded into her over and over again, until they were both calling out each other’s names.
Their cries of pleasure were eventually drowned out by an unexpected shrieking alarm that had both of them scrambling off the bed. This sure as hell wasn’t how they’d planned the rest of their evening, but something had set off the fire alarm…or someone.
“Gwen, get outside to my truck,” Chad ordered, scrambling to pull up his jeans he’d managed to grab from the floor. He wasn’t sure what the hell he was going to do about the used condom, but all he could focus on was getting Gwen to safety. “Take your weapon and phone. Lock yourself in my truck and call 9—”
Gwen was laughing by the time she ran out of the room, not bothering to grab her clothes.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Chad asked, disbelief and anger combining in a manner he’d never experienced before. He snatched his shirt off the floor and quickly followed her down the hallway. Some psychopath had set fire to the house, most likely luring them outside for some fucked up game of murder, and she was laughing? “Gwen, did you hear me? I said—”
“It’s the lasagna, Chad. I left it in the oven.”
Gwen had already made it down the stairs and was still laughing as she entered the smoke-filled kitchen. She waved a hand in the air, as if that useless gesture would actually clear a path for her to see the buttons on the stove. He could only stand there in disbelief as she opened the oven and pulled out a charred square of what had once been a pan of lasagna.
He remained standing in the doorway with a used condom still on his dick, his jeans unfastened, and a shirt in his hand. It took a moment for the adrenaline to leave his bloodstream, but in that time the smoke began to slowly dissipate to reveal a very naked, yet smiling, Gwen Kendall.
“Oops. I wonder how long we have before the fire department responds.”
Chapter Sixteen
“I heard the fire department was called out to your new place the other night, Gwen.” Jeremy Bell was sitting in his usual spot at the bar. She hadn’t spent much time at The Cavern, but she was now slowly acclimating to being home. Just this morning, she and Chad had breakfast at the diner before she went into work. She’d forgotten how many tongues could wag at the first sighting of a new couple in town. She couldn’t get mad at Jeremy, given that anything was probably a nice diversion from being swallowed by the grief of losing his daughter. “Everything okay out your way?”
Everything was wonderful, and that was part of the problem. She was wary of how easy it had been to return to home, give or take the occurrences of guilt that popped up every now and then. She’d been prepared for the remorse of missing her mother, but she hadn’t thought in a million years she’d be ready for such an intimate relationship…and with someone from her childhood to top it all off.
Gwen also didn’t want to say anything that Jeremy could take the wrong way. She was still here, while his daughter had been brutally murdered.
Life wasn’t fair, but Jeremy wasn’t a man to be coddled, either.
“Yes,” Gwen replied reluctantly, having had enough ribbing from her family who’d discovered the truth about the fire alarm through Patty. The woman worked for Mitch as a dispatcher, but she saw and heard everything from the other public services. Jeremy had probably run into her at the diner today. “A little mishap with my lasagna recipe, is all.”
Her dad and Miles both coughed, not covering up those strangled laughs in the least.
She bumped her hip into her dad’s stool, who ended up clearing his throat and talking about another subject that she’d rather skip over. It was hard to miss the newspaper in front of Jeremy. The front page revealed the contents of the latest letter that had been sent to Charlene Winston.
“Can you believe one of those nicknames stuck?” Gus shook his head, shifting the toothpick to the right side of his mouth. “The papers are calling him the Blyth Lake Killer. Like that’s what we want our town to be remembered by. It’s a damn sacrilege, is what it is.”
The others gave a chorus of agreement as Gwen caught Brynn’s attention. The pretty blonde made her way over, stopping to grab two bottles of beer. Chad was in the back near the dartboard, waiting for her to join him. A quick glance his way showed that he was still studying the front entrance, waiting for a specific individual who probably wasn’t going to show his face this evening.
“No Irish tonight?” Brynn asked with concern once she’d reached their corner of the bar. Gwen would have thought the bar owner had telepathy, but she was only asking what was on everyone’s mind. “I was hoping he’d finally come out of that apartment overtop of the garage.”
“No such luck,” Gwen replied with a frown. Okay, there were three topics that she didn’t want to discuss. “I know Chad was hoping Irish would make an appearance, but I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. Are we still on for our meeting Monday morning?”
“I’d say I’ll bring the coffee, but word around town is that you have one of those fancy cappuccino machines at your office.” Brynn winked when another round of ohs and ahs went down the occupied stools. “I’m always up for anything that has caffeine in any form.”
“It wasn’t me who ratted you out. It was Beth Ann.” Lance had come up behind Brynn and wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her back against him so that he could kiss her cheek. “Are you trying to get me in trouble?”
“You do that all on your own,” Brynn said with a laugh, untangling herself and leaving him to fend for himself.
“How is Beth Ann working out for you?” Calvin asked, leaning forward so that Gwen could hear him over the music. “Is Harlan speaking to you yet?”
Gwen grabbed the two bottles of beer. It was then she realized there was something she could do that could possibly cut the tension between her and Harlan.
“Lance, could you have Brynn give Harlan’s table a round of shots?”
“Now you’re speaking their language,” Lance said, rubbing his hands together in glee. “See, Dad? It didn’t take her long to adjust back to our way of communicating.”
Gwen carefully made her way through the crowd back to where Chad was waiting for her at one of the high-top tables. She was actually taken aback at the restraint her brothers had shown once she’d casually mentioned that she was having dinner with Chad—and not in the friend zone, either.
Lance hadn’t done his usual I told you so dance, and Noah had only nodded his approval. Jace had been a little reserved in his own way, but it was Mitch whose reaction had surprised her the most. He’d appeared somewhat relieved, which told her that he was more concerned about the current events than he let on even to his own family. But that was Mitch—shouldering all the worries so that the others didn’t have to. He’d been like that his entire life.
Looking back on her homecoming, it hadn’t gone quite as expected. She wasn’t sure why she’d thought it would be different, other than their mother not being at the center of their circle. She couldn’t ignore what had been right in front of her for the last three weeks—they’d all grown up.
The Kendall siblings weren’t children anymore. They’d moved away, matured, and then come back home to complete the cycle of life.
“What’s the sad smile for?” Chad asked, taking both bottles from her to set them on the table. He pulled back her stool, letting her get settled before using one arm to tuck her back in. Never once did he take his eyes off her until she reassured him that all was well. “Everything okay, city girl?”
Gwen still experienced a wave of arousal every time he called her by that nickname. Memories of the first night they made love resurfaced, having her wish they were back at
her place now. His house was closer, though.
“What was the reason we came out tonight?”
Chad leaned into her until his warm breath caressed her ear, preventing her from suggesting they should head to his house sooner rather than later.
“I don’t want your brothers thinking I’ve got you handcuffed to my bed,” Chad murmured, only pulling back slowly once he nipped her earlobe. To anyone looking on, he’d only kissed her cheek in a gentlemanly fashion. “Spill. What happened while you were at the bar?”
“According to Lance, I’m adapting to my roots. Nesting is generally the accepted term these days,” Gwen replied wryly, resting her hand on top of his. She squeezed gently, letting him know that she was okay to stay awhile. How could she explain her realization without sounding foolish? “I’m accepting the fact that my brothers aren’t always going to be those annoying boys they were back when we were growing up. And they all seem fine with…things.”
“Being in our thirties tends to mellow us out. Like a glass of fine blended whiskey.” Chad palmed his beer, but he didn’t take a sip of the cool beverage. He did flash a smile, though. “This is good news for both of us. It means that I don’t have to avoid Noah this week.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Gwen warned, wishing she could lift her right eyebrow the way her brothers did so with ease. “All four of them still have a distinct tendency to annoy me. Lance, especially. Noah might be fine with—”
“Gwen?”
She really should be paying more attention to her surroundings. Maybe it was because of the country music coming out of the jukebox or everyone talking over the other in an attempt to be heard, but Harlan had managed to come up to the high-top table without her noticing.
“Harlan,” Gwen greeted, not sure if her peace offering had done its job properly. She studied the older man, noting the changes in his appearance from the time when she was a teenager just getting ready to leave for boot camp. “How are you and yours?”
Unlocking Shadows (Keys to Love, Book Four) Page 13
