Just One Touch

by C. A. Harms

  “I can feel it,” he confessed, thrusting upward, chasing after my release. “Let go,” he groaned out, his voice husky with determination. “Come for me, Em.”

  ***

  We laid completely still in the darkness of the room. Clayton remained seated inside me, our foreheads pressed together, both of us with our eyes still closed. Somewhere off in the distance you could hear the faint sounds of crickets chirping and it was crazy how such a sound could be classified as peaceful. But it was.

  Being here with Clayton and his family, with the exception of our trip to the grocery store, was the most peaceful I’d felt in a long time. They’d all accepted me and Ethan so easily. They’d also accepted Palmer.

  Clayton gently rubbed his thumb over the side of my neck. He lifted his forehead off mine, and I opened my eyes to find him looking down at me. “You’re amazing, Em,” he whispered.

  “She’s amazing, you’re amazing, we’re all amazing,” Palmer said and both Clayton and I froze. “And I feel like I just experienced the most erotic sensual form of porn blindfolded. All the whimpers and moans, it was excruciating when I’m stuck in a country town with Corbin as the only form of relief.”

  I laughed and hurried to bury my head against Clayton’s chest.

  “Busted,” Clayton whispered near my ear, only furthering the humor.

  “Next time can you two take it to another room, please?” Palmer said her voice muffled. “It’s just a cruel game of teasing when you force me to listen.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Clayton

  We arrived home to a house full of people and I instantly regretted not choosing to drive halfway and stay somewhere overnight to drive the second half. That or staying over at Emelie’s instead of coming back to the house.

  The music was loud; the people were even louder.

  The living room was subjected to some type of Nerf gun war and I’d been hit with flying bullets from all directions.

  Jay and Blake cornered me in the kitchen, and when Blake shot, I was hosed with water instead. “What the fuck?” I wiped away the moisture from my face.

  “We missed you.” Jay chuckled before offering a wink to Blake. “Blake and I have been going a little stir crazy. No one around here is as fun to fuck with as the two of you."

  “What about X and Eli, or hell, even Brent? There’s plenty of idiots to harass.” Blake wrinkled her nose. “Eli makes me pay for my harassments, and though I do like his form of torture, a girl needs to recover too.”

  It was my turn to wrinkle up my nose in disgust.

  “How did your trip go?” Blake asked as she lowered the weapon. At this point I was already soaked and uncertain if this was a truce. Knowing them, it was a simple tactic to get me to let my guard down. I noticed the way her finger continued to tap at the trigger, even though the barrel was pointed to the left.

  “It was good,” I told her as I pick up the red Solo cup that sat upside down on the pile near the liquor. “It was nice to get away and my parents loved Emelie and Ethan. But I didn’t doubt for a minute that they would.” I could see that Jay was very observant of my movements, but Blake was distracted as she looked around at the commotion near us.

  Guys were getting rowdy, girls were laughing and squealing.

  I grabbed a bottle of water and unscrewed the top, still looking at Blake as she laughed at something behind her.

  “I’m glad it was a good trip,” she finally said, turning back to face me. “I know Emelie was nervous.”

  Picking up the cup, I lifted it to my mouth and took a small sip to play out the role. It was cold from being in the fridge, which made the plan even more perfect.

  “Corbin made it entertaining with his continuous hassling of Palmer.” I lowered the cup, holding it in front of me. “He annoyed the hell out of that girl to the point where I started to fear for his safety.”

  This made Jay and Blake laugh.

  “Corbin annoys everyone,” Jay interjected, still watching me close. I nudged my head to the side, hoping that he understood it was his warning to move away. He grinned, sidestepped, and was careful to keep it less than obvious.

  From that point, it all fell into place. Blake looked behind her when someone hollered, I lifted the cup out in front of me, and just when she turned back around, I tossed it. She jumped back, yelling out a few profanities of her own. When she looked up at me, her nose was flaring and her hair was plastered to her forehead.

  “Mess with the bull…” I shrugged without finishing the sentence and it only seemed to piss her off more.

  “You are so gonna regret that.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I leaned back against the counter and crossed my arms over my chest. “What do you plan on doing, pipsqueak?”

  We stood there in the kitchen staring at one another for a few seconds, me smiling, of course, and her growing angrier with each passing second. “I’m telling.” She arched a brow and I laughed harder.

  “Aww…” I poked the tiny bear a little more. “Am I gonna be grounded?”

  “No, but you will be running away like a scared little girl.” She dropped the gun, spun on her heels, and as she moved away, she yelled out for Elijah. And my heart hit the fucking floor.

  “You better run, man.” Jay hunched over laughing. “Like, now.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Emelie

  I tried not to laugh, honestly I did, but how could I not?

  “Go ahead,” Corbin said, “laugh it up. I’ve got purple hair.” He lifted his hand and ran it through his hair.

  “And a mohawk,” I added, covering my mouth.

  “Jay and Blake apparently had time to plan their attack while we were gone. I was guilty by association, even though Clay was the one who tormented them. I can’t win for shit, even when I’m the good guy. Just wait until you see your boy.” He lowered his hand and moved away from the doorway. “He’s in the bathroom, with a razor.”

  “What?” My eyes widened in horror; I knew because I could feel the fear racing through me as I imagined what he was doing with a razor. He could not shave his head, I needed his hair. I had times that called for me gripping that hair.

  My legs were now moving fast as I walked toward the stairway and began running up the stairs.

  “Clayton…” I knocked. “…open the door.”

  “No.” He didn’t sound pleased. I could almost picture him pouting in my mind. He pouted like a little boy when he didn’t get his way. Sometimes it was cute, others not so much.

  “You do know that I could just get Blake and have her get Eli’s keys, right?” There was still no answer and no sign of movement. “Okay fine, I’ll just go get—”

  Before I could finish the sentence, the door came flying open and there stood Clayton with pink hair. It was almost so pink I swear, if we turned off all the lights he just might glow.

  “It’s fucking pink, Emelie, and it won’t come out. I’ve washed it ten damn times and still nothing.” He flipped the razor and began lifting it. “So I’ll just shave my head to get rid of it.”

  “No, you won’t.” I reached out for the razor and he leaned away, small little pieces of his hair floating through the air as they fell.

  “It’ll grow back.” He held me back away from him, lifting his hand once more.

  “Drop the razor.”

  His hand froze in the air as he arched a brow at me.

  “Now, Clayton.”

  “Emelie.”

  I said nothing, only crossed my arms over my chest and waited.

  “What do we have here?” Xavier asked as he stepped up behind me, only I didn’t look away from Clayton. He was having some type of meltdown and I wanted to laugh, I did, but I couldn’t. If I laughed, he would take it as me accepting the situation and he’d shave his head. He could not shave his head, absolutely not.

  “Blake,” Clayton said that one word as he pointed to his head.

  Corbin stepped up on the opposite side of me, taking a big bite of
an apple; the noises he made were obnoxious. He didn’t seem to be affected by his new look, in fact he was owning it quite nicely. “Look at it this way…” I felt the juice of the apple splatter my arm and closed my eyes tightly to fight off the urge to mother him. The boy was so close to being a grown up, so so close. “People can tell us apart easier now.”

  “Seriously,” Clayton dropped his hands to his side, “they can tell us apart now because I’m the one with the damn sense. You’re like an overgrown kid.”

  Corbin shrugged, walking off like he knew this to be true and whistled as he went.

  “Vitamin C,” Xavier added, and both Clayton and I looked at him. “You remember that year Red dyed my hair green, orange and blue?” Oh, my hell, what was wrong with these people?

  “I Googled it and found that vitamin C powder mixed with shampoo helps to remove hair dye out of hair. Just make sure you don’t get the toning shampoo, because it doesn’t turn out so well.”

  Xavier walked away, and the next thing I knew Clayton was handing me his wallet. “What?”

  “Vitamin whatever,” he shook his wallet at me, “I need it. Get all you can find and the biggest damn bottle of shampoo.” When I just stared at his eagerly shaking hand without grabbing for the wallet, he sighed. “Please, Em, I can’t leave like this.”

  “You are such a baby.”

  “Fine.” He sagged back against the bathroom vanity. “I’m a baby. I’m ridiculous and everything else you wanna throw at me, but I need you to get me that stuff.” I watched as his eyes widened just a small fraction as if something triggered in his mind. “Or I’ll be forced to shave my head.”

  Oh, so we’re playing that game, are we?

  “Shave your head,” I shrugged, “but don’t plan on sharing my bed with me until it grows back.” I leaned forward, kissed his cheek, and turned to walk away. “By the way, I came by to tell you that Palmer is taking Ethan with her to her parents’ for the night and we have the entire apartment to ourselves. Plus, I bought something new in the form of lace that I’d like to show you.”

  “That’s cruel, Emelie,” he shouted after me, but by the tone of his voice I could tell he was smiling. “What about the stuff?”

  “I think you know where the store is.”

  Maybe it was a dick move on my part, but I kinda liked the idea of him having to face his stupidity. This house and those who accompanied it were off-the-wall crazy. Come on—piercings, tattoos, and hair dye. The list went on and on; it was like a torture chamber for the scammers and jokester driven.

  As I stepped off the last step and into the entryway, Blake peeked around the corner with caution. “Oh, it’s you.” She seemed relieved. “I was hiding from Clayton. The boy is so testy. Who knew he was such a perfectionist about his hair?”

  “He spends longer than I do getting ready.” It was true, he did.

  Suddenly Blake’s eyes widened and her body grew rigid. “I gotta go.” Then she was gone, no goodbye, no see ya later.

  Arms I was very familiar with circled my waist before I was lifted into the air. “You’re coming with me. If I have to look like an idiot out in public, you have to look like one for being with me.”

  I was tossed over his shoulder and we were moving toward the door. “I kinda like your pink hair.” Lies, they were all lies. “It’s like a statement or something.”

  “Yeah, look at me, I’m a dumbass,” Clayton said as he lowered me to the ground next to his SUV. “I’d show up on radar with this color. Why the hell did Corbin get the purple? It’s less obvious.”

  He was so unbelievably scorned by this new look, and all I could do was stare at him.

  “What?” he asked as I climbed into the car and watched him with a smile. “This isn’t funny.”

  “Oh yes, it is,” I stated, and he narrowed his eyes at me. “We’ll see if you feel the same way when you wake up fucking glowing one day.”

  “I wake up glowing every morning after you spend the night in my bed.” I tried not to smirk, but it was hard when I found him fighting his own grin.

  “Well played.”

  “I know.” I shrugged before fastening my seatbelt and leaning back into the seat. “I’m hungry.” I stretched out my legs. “I think we should go out for lunch.”

  Wait for it.

  “I’ll make sure you’re full later, we’ve got things to handle first.” A wink and a cocky smirk told me he wasn’t referring to food.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Clayton

  “I should buy new lingerie daily,” Emelie said in a breathy sigh. “Maybe even walk around in it, cook in it.”

  “If Palmer is fine with seeing me manhandle you and take you on the kitchen counter, then by all means, please.” She laughed as she rolled her now naked body toward mine.

  It was hard to believe that she and I had been together for close to six months. I’d said it before and I’d say it again: I felt like she and Ethan had always been in my life. They were my life. I wanted them with me always, sharing the dreams I had for myself.

  I’d always wanted to return to Kentucky one day, maybe not Morehead itself, but definitely some place close. I wanted them with me when I made that move, I wanted to give them both all the things they didn’t have now and more.

  “I don’t think we should make her witness our ravishing ways again.” Emelie tilted her head and looked up at me. “I still can’t believe she was awake that night at your parents’. I feel so bad.”

  “You shouldn’t.”

  “Clayton, she heard us having sex.” I shrugged. “Think about it, would you want to hear her and your brother having sex?”

  “I imagine Corbin grunts,” I said with a wrinkled nose, “kinda like a pig or a bull.”

  “That’s disgusting.”

  “Seriously, though…” I turned my body toward hers so I could see her face more. “Do you think they hooked up in Kentucky?”

  “Well, the ride home was much more peaceful than the ride there, that’s for sure.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.” It was a definite shift. “It was almost like she could tolerate him, she even agreed to ride in the front with him while he drove.”

  “But they haven’t talked since we’ve been back.”

  “Maybe,” I said, “or have they?”

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” We were both smiling like a couple of geeks.

  “We need to spy.”

  Excitement rushed through me, but it had nothing to do with spying on Palmer and Corbin. It was because of Em. I loved seeing her like that, so relaxed and carefree. The woman was always so stressed and worried. Times like these though, she let go and had fun, not caring if tomorrow she’d be faced with yet another challenge.

  I rolled over, taking her body beneath mine and hovered over her. She laughed and arched upward, practically begging me to devour her and I did. My mouth collided with her neck, slowly kissing along the side. She whimpered, laughed, and then moaned when I sucked at the base of her neck where it curved into her shoulder.

  “Have I told you today just how much I love you?”

  Another thing I adored was when she tried to get shy on me. Looking toward the ground, or even off to the side as her cheeks grew red with embarrassment, inflicted me with such a rush.

  “You have, but I never get used to hearing that, so feel free to tell me over and over.”

  I closed my eyes as she toyed with the hair at the back of my neck and I realized then why she’d put up such a fight about me shaving it. This was something she’d do often, but it never really stuck out until now.

  “So how long are you gonna be gone?” she asked in a whisper.

  “Just through the day tomorrow.” The way she continued to touch me made me feel so relaxed. “Jay wants to leave about seven in the morning. I would say that we should be back about five or so tomorrow night.”

  “Gonna be a long day,” Emelie lifted her leg and hooked it over my hip. I could feel her bareness
against my thigh, which made it almost impossible to think straight.

  “Most everything should be moved by the time we get there.” I tried not to focus on the way she continued to shift her hips against me. “We just have to move the bigger stuff, the larger furniture.”

  “His sister is older?”

  “Yeah,” even I could hear the husky tone my voice had now taken on, “by two, maybe three years. Her boyfriend, I guess, is a real douche, and she finally realized it herself.”

  “I guess I better let you get some sleep.” If that was what she was truly thinking, she wouldn’t be grinding against my thigh.

  “We’ll rest,” I assured her, “but first we’ll fix your little problem.”

  “What problem?” Emelie smiled knowingly, and I leaned in to kiss along her jaw and neck. Her body arched upward, her legs parting wider. I could feel her growing wet as I glided the tip of my cock over her.

  “This one,” I replied as I pushed inside her, and her pleased moans filled the room. She felt like home, the perfect place, the perfect everything.

  ***

  I climbed inside the cab of Jay’s truck, feeling cranky that I had to leave the comfort of a warm bed and a beautiful girl.

  “Here, princess.” Jay held out a coffee in a travel cup and I took it willingly. “I figured you’d be all sourpussed.”

  “I’m here, ain’t I?”

  “Twenty minutes late. I was just about to come up and beat the door down.”

  I looked over to find him smirking. “I wouldn’t have heard you, I was too busy.”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “Lucky man,” he mumbled, and I didn’t argue. I knew I was, more than lucky, actually.

  The drive to Lakeland was just shy of two and a half hours. It was filled with Jay being entirely too spunky for this early in the morning, but I knew he was doing it to get a rise out of me. Singing along with the radio a little louder than needed and squealing obnoxiously on the high notes. He’d even dance around, waving his hand out in front of my face annoyingly. Dick was loving it way too much.