Misters of Love: A Small Town Romance Boxset

by Piper Sullivan

  “Something really stupid that I guarantee we’ll both enjoy.” My mouth crashed down on hers in a storm of lips and tongue and teeth. I was like a man possessed, tasting every inch of her mouth until my blood boiled and my whole body was tense. Hard. Throbbing.

  I thought Stevie might put up a token protest, if for no other reason than to maintain her tough-girl image; instead, she shocked me by melting into my embrace and wrapping her arms around my neck. When her tentative fingertips brushed the hair at the nape of my neck, a shiver shot through me. The kiss went on, right there on the small patch of grass outside of Stevie’s cottage with nothing but the moon and Hershey watching us.

  My hands roamed, touching every bit of her they’d longed to since she’d landed in my office. Uninvited. Now, though, that seemed so long ago and I couldn’t seem to remember why I had objected so much, especially with the soft dip of her hips nestled perfectly in the cup of my hand and the way her ass was made for squeezing. Up and down her petite frame, my hands glided and explored until it was all memorized.

  Stevie pulled back with a gasp, wide eyed and panting. “What… what was that?”

  My heart thundered as rapidly as the pulse at the base of her neck, which I found fascinating. A wide smile lit my face, and Stevie’s lit in response. “That was a damn fine start, Stevie.” And because I couldn’t help myself, my lips found hers again, this time plundering until her hands tightened around my shoulder and her soft breasts were smashed up against my chest, the sound of her heartbeat merged with my own.

  Then, Stevie was airborne, flying through the air until we were face to face and her legs wrapped around my waist. “Much better,” she said on a breathless smile and then dove in for another kiss that was hotter and more out of control than the previous two.

  My feet began to move toward the open entry to the cottage, my body already decided on the outcome. I hesitated at the door, giving Stevie a chance to tell me to get lost in her own special way and when her fingers wrapped around my hair, I had my answer. With her petite frame in my arms, I was no longer able to control my need for her. As soon as the door slammed shut behind us, she slid down my body and I removed her clothes and stared. “Shit, Stevie.”

  She grinned at me even as a pleased blush stained her cheeks, and wiggled her hips. “Thanks, but I think one of us is now a tad overdressed.” Her gaze slid over my body as if she was already imagining me naked, and that heated look in her violet eyes turned my blood to fire and my cock to stone. Stevie closed the small space between us and let her hands slide up my chest and over my shoulders before they went down my back, squeezing my ass.

  “Stevie,” I groaned but she only laughed as her hands made quick work of my clothes, undressing me until I stood before her in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs.

  “I approve, Scotty. I definitely approve.” The teasing smile on her lush lips, or maybe her cheeky use of my nickname, was what finally sapped the last of my willpower because I had her in my arms, my mouth searing her flesh with fiery kisses and soothing them with my tongue. “Yes!”

  That was exactly the level of enthusiasm I was hoping for and I kept it up, letting the sounds of her pleasure guide me as I lowered us to the bed and devoured her mouth. It was like someone cranked up the heat in the cottage—suddenly, we were slicked with sweat, limbs moving frantically like it was some kind of race. “Slow down.”

  Stevie froze and looked at me, licking her lips slowly. “Why, when fast is so much more fun?”

  I couldn’t deny that, but still, if she kept moving her hands the way she was and grinding against me, this would be over before it even got going. My hands went to her hips to slow them and she let out a sexy little pout that only made me harder, made me want her more.

  “I agree,” I told her and flipped us so I was on top of her, my weight pressing her into the mattress, my cock nestled in the cradle of her thighs. “Yeah, that’s better.”

  “Much,” she groaned and wiggled her hips, bucking up into me. “Feel free to get moving.”

  My lips twitched in amusement, but there was nothing funny about the way she tempted me beyond all reason. I teased her for several long minutes, kissing her neck while my fingers tested the sweet damp heat between her thighs. Stevie was ready, and knowing she wanted this so badly made me want her even more. “I will.” Eventually.

  Watching Stevie squirm with unsated desire was like watching live erotica, the way her tits jiggled every time she tried to urge me to move, the way her scent wafted between us as I stroked her. “Scott, please.”

  The sound of that particular word coming from her mouth was what finally pushed me over the edge. I shifted back, cock in my hand, and stroked it while I looked down at her and inhaled the scent of her arousal. “Please?”

  She nodded. “Please. Now, please.” Stevie flashed a cheeky grin and reached between us to wrap her fingers around my cock. “Please.” I let her guide me in, because I was powerless to do anything else with her hand on me, sliding me slowly into her body.

  “Oh, fuck!”

  “Yeah, that’s better,” she growled and arched into me, digging her heels into my ass.

  I smiled—Stevie was a talker, but very few words were said after that point. We came together in a firestorm of grunts and moans, arms and legs, bodies smacking together as we chased down pleasure, hard and fast, until we were both sated and happy, maybe a little delirious from our encounter. “Wow.” I looked over at Stevie, surprise and maybe even a little bit of wonder on my face. “That was… incredible.”

  “No kidding,” she agreed with a breathless laugh. “It was definitely a ‘wow.’”

  She was wrong. It wasn’t just a ‘wow’ kind of thing, it was more than that. So much more than that. It wasn’t just good or erotic or hot as fuck, it was something else, something I couldn’t quite name, almost as if the word or emotion was just out of my reach. It was a scary feeling and I didn’t want to ruin the moment, the afterglow, by thinking about it.

  So I turned to Stevie with a wicked smile on my face. “Maybe we ought to do that again, just to make sure it was wow.”

  Stevie looked at me seriously and then a husky laugh erupted from her, making her tits jiggle beautifully. I leaned forward and pulled a hard, raspberry-tipped nipple into my mouth, getting her revved up for round two.

  Stevie

  Waking up the morning after you’ve had the most reinvigorating sex of your life feels like waking up… reborn. I know how it sounds, all sappy and cheesy and over-the-top poetic, but it was true. Maybe it was because I hadn’t had sex in more than a year, maybe longer, but after a while you kind of just stop counting. Or, maybe, it was the man. Scott was an incredible lover, the kind who went out of his way to make sure you were completely satisfied before he looked after his own pleasure. And last night, he’d done a damn good job of looking after my pleasure, so I returned the favor. Happily.

  But it was time to push all thoughts of sexy time out of my mind and get to work, so I unfolded my sore muscles from the rumpled bed sheets and took a quick shower, as hot as I could stand it until the scent of Scott was no longer on my skin. Then I got dressed, put on a cup of coffee courtesy of the one-cup pot that was in the cottage when I arrived, and was out the door with fifteen minutes to spare.

  The office was quiet, which meant Scott hadn’t left my bed to get into the office early. That meant he’d just left. And that was just fine with me. I wasn’t well-versed in morning-after etiquette, and I’d rather not embarrass myself in front of him. Or anyone. That made things easier for me, actually, because now I didn’t have to worry about what last night meant. Was it the start of something, or just a one-time thing? The answer was clear.

  And that clarity put a pep in my step—or maybe it was the four orgasms from last night. Either way, I moved about the office with purpose, full of energy and efficiency. When the first appointments began to arrive, I slapped on a professional smile and played the role of dutiful assistant to a tee.

/>   “All set, Elka?” The strawberry blonde was about twenty months pregnant, with a small brown bunny tucked under her arm.

  “Yep. Scott says he’s all clear. Just a small case of getting more than he bargained for, when he went snooping in the woods behind the house.” Her laugh was pretty and feminine, just like the woman—a stark contrast to the tall, dark, and brooding man waiting for her by the door.

  “Awesome. I’ll put the bill in the mail. Enjoy the rest of your day.” She gave me a short wave and waddled out of the office to greet her man with a kiss hot enough to make me blush, even through the thick window.

  Lunch came and went, but both Scott and I were too swamped to even stop for food, so when Eddy showed up with two greasy bags from Big Mama’s, I was happy to see her. Mostly. “Hello, Stevie. How are you today, dear?”

  I smiled and looked up at her as if nothing at all was wrong, because nothing was wrong, despite the gorgeous blonde standing beside her with a chihuahua pup in her arms. Actually, it was in a small leather cage. Or maybe it was a purse. “I’m good, Eddy. What brings you by?”

  “Do you know Clara? This is Clara Cartwright, and she just moved to Langley from Dallas.” Eddy smiled proudly, as if she or Clara had built one of those cities instead of just hailed from one or both of them.

  “Nice to meet you, Clara. I assume you’re here for this guy?” The puppy was friendly enough, sniffing me and licking my finger.

  “Yes. Ralphie is about three months and it’s time for his next round of shots.”

  “Perfect. Fill this out, and I’ll get you back as soon as I can.” I handed her the paperwork and Clara took the clipboard before teetering her way to the chairs in three-inch heels. I turned to Eddy with a grin. “Please tell me one of those bags is for me?”

  She set both bags in front of me and I hurried and pulled them behind the desk to avoid greasy paperwork. “Yeah, one’s for you. Big Mama said you didn’t come in today.”

  “Thanks, Eddy.”

  “Thanks for what?” Scott, of course, chose that moment to make his presence known, and his grandmother’s face lit up.

  “Eddy brought us lunch.” I handed one of the bags to him without looking and peeked inside my own to see what I would be eating when and if this place cleared out for more than five minutes.

  “Thanks.” He grinned and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the older woman’s cheek. “You’re the best, you know that?”

  “Of course, I do,” she cooed like a flirty teenager. “Do you know Clara?” Eddy went through her whole spiel again, but when she added extra details, I was on to the old lady. “Clara is an attorney over in Langley. Just joined that big firm.”

  Scott’s blond brows dipped into a confused vee. “Okay. Nice to meet you, Carla.”

  My lips twitched behind the computer screen as Eddy let out a disappointed groan. “It’s Clara, Scotty.”

  “Clara Cartwright,” I added with a cheeky grin. “And her puppy Ralphie.”

  Clara chose that moment to join the conversation, a broad smile on her face and her ultra-tanned cleavage pushed out on full display. “That’s right, I’m Clara, and this is Ralphie. Nice to meet you, Dr. Henderson.” She purred the words, like an actual purr, and I wondered if I’d missed that day at school because I couldn’t do that. She put one delicate hand in his, iridescent pink nails shimmering under the fluorescent lights.

  “You, too.” He turned to me for a rescue but not only was I not a particularly jealous person—unless we’re talking about Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos—I was also having too much fun watching it all play out. Clara was gorgeous and thin with giant boobs, well put-together and she seemed nice. Oh, she was also a lawyer, which meant she was beautiful and accomplished. If Scott was interested in Eddy’s newest attempt at matchmaking, he could do worse.

  “They’re here for Ralphie’s round two immunizations.”

  Relief flashed briefly and he clutched his lunch bag even tighter. “Uh, okay. Do we have room in the schedule?”

  “Yep! I’ll get her set up in exam room three while you take notes on the last appointment,” I told him, glancing down at said sandwich bag. “Fifteen minutes?”

  He nodded and I hopped up like my backside was on fire, rushing away from the suddenly awkward foursome—five, if you included Ralphie—to prep the exam room. I took my time and when I returned to take Clara and Ralphie to the room, Eddy was still there.

  “She’s nice, isn’t she?”

  “She is. Pretty, too,” I added just to let the old girl know I was on to her schemes.

  “Very. Accomplished also. A lawyer.” Eddy did a terrible job of hiding the smirk on her face.

  “At that new firm over in Langley,” I added with a short laugh. “I know what you’re up to, old woman, and I don’t like it.” I pointed at her, noticing that unlike Clara’s, my nails were short and jagged—desperately in need of a manicure. I was about a lifetime overdue.

  She blinked and a small laugh escaped. “I don’t know what you mean.” To her credit, she didn’t even try to look innocent. Yet.

  “You’ll have to work a lot harder at being believable, Eddy. You know what you’re doing and so do I.”

  The crafty old bird notched her chin in the air and sniffed. “You’ll have to be more specific, Stevie.”

  She wanted specific? Okay. “If Scott is interested in Clara, that’s his business. I have no claims on him, despite all of your meddling.”

  “You could have claims, if you’d stop acting so damn independent. Now, don’t get me wrong, a woman needs to be able to take care of herself without a man, but you act like you don’t need anyone—and a man needs to feel needed.”

  I let her words sink in for a long moment and nodded, because she was right. More than one relationship had ended because I wasn’t needy or clingy enough, and usually I watched them go with a relieved smile. “If that’s the case, I hope he and Clara are very happy together.”

  She let out an annoyed sigh and smacked her hand on the closest flat surface. “Dammit, Stevie.”

  I held up a finger to stop her explanation and grabbed the ringing phone with a smile. “Henderson Animal Clinic, how may I help you?” I flashed the toothiest grin I could in her direction and Eddy glared.

  “You’ll regret this,” she mouthed to me and left with a harrumph.

  I smiled and spent the next hour and a half answering phone calls and shuffling patients in and out of the lobby and exam room. The rest of the afternoon flew by so fast I didn’t have the time or the energy to think about anything more important than what I would have for dinner tonight.

  Not Scott.

  Not Scott and Clara together.

  Not me and Scott. Naked. Together.

  Nope, all I thought about was an ice-cold beer and a big plate of Buddy’s beef and black bean nachos.

  Scott

  “What’s with the frown?” Ty set down a pitcher of dark beer and took the seat across from me, his ever-present stoic expression firmly in place.

  I shrugged, feeling out of sorts as I scanned the after-work crowd at Black Thumb, watching single men and women circle each other while couples canoodled near the digital jukebox, danced too close on the tiny dance floor, or made out in the dark corners surrounding the pool tables in back. “I don’t know. Today has been weird.”

  Ty let out a laugh, waving over Derek and Antonio as they entered. “This is Tulip, every damn day is weird.”

  He was right about that. This little town could best be described as quirky, and something odd was always happening, but since the Hometown Heroes calendar became a town-wide thing, the weirdness factor had only increased. “I know that, but Eddy came in today and she brought in this woman. Clara.”

  “Was she hot?” Ty asked just as Derek and Antonio arrived at the table with another pitcher of beer, wearing the smiles of the well loved and satisfied man.

  “Was who hot?” Antonio’s dark brows dipped into a suspicious vee.

  “Clara,” T
y answered with too much glee. “The woman Eddy brought into his clinic today.”

  “Woman?” Now it was Derek’s turn to look confused. “What happened to Stevie? Maxine said that’s who they had their eye on for you.”

  Though it was nice to hear confirmation that I wasn’t going crazy, that part didn’t make sense. “That’s what I was thinking, too—I mean, Eddy brought her here and hired her without my knowledge, so what’s with Clara?” Women were already confusing, and trying to figure out the logic of a group of meddling middle-aged matchmakers was impossible.

  “Maybe they realized Stevie isn’t your type.” Derek’s lips quirked and I knew he was thinking about Maxine, so different from him but, somehow, he’d managed to make her fall for him.

  “She isn’t,” I barked a tad too loud. “But that’s not the point. Clara was handsy as hell. I had to keep her yapping dog between us as a barrier to prevent her from shoving my face into her cleavage.”

  Ty barked out a laugh. “Sounds horrible. A gorgeous woman is throwing herself at you.” He rolled his eyes. “Give me a break.”

  “Give your brother a break,” Antonio insisted. “He’s attracted to a woman he’s convinced is all wrong from him and worse, the whole town is in on it.”

  “The whole town?” I’d assumed Eddy and her crew were in on it, but the whole damn town?

  Ty nodded. “Guess you didn’t see the Hometown Heroes Facebook page today?” With the giddiness of a teenage girl meeting her favorite pop star for the first time, Ty pulled out his phone, swiped a few times, and turned the screen so I could see it. “Take it.”

  I did, and the image staring back at me was… electric. Even the static capture that should have come across as flat and lifeless was hot. Fiery and filled with sexual tension. Looking at the photo of me and Stevie in Eddy’s kitchen, it wasn’t hard to predict what had happened later that night. “Janey.”

  Derek and Antonio both laughed, because they’d both been caught in similar situations by the pesky photographer we all loved… until this year, anyway. “She’s sneaky. You gotta keep your guard up, man.” Antonio shook his head, but it was quickly forgotten when Buddy dropped off more beer, wings, onion rings, and sliders. “Thanks, Buddy.”