Heartwood

by J. H. Croix

I needed to get a good feel of him—a thorough reminder of just how delectable his body was. He let out a little hum of satisfaction when I slid one of my palms up under his shirt to map the planes of his chest, glorying in the warmth of his skin and the dusting of hair there. I could feel the hard press of his arousal at the cradle of my hips.

  As before when I was with him, things moved really fast the second our hands were on each other. Everything became a blur of sensation, one touch rolling into the next as the sparks scattered through me.

  He yanked my T-shirt off, letting out a growl of satisfaction. I dragged my eyes open to find his dark gaze on me as he ran his tongue along his teeth. He let out something between a growl and a low moan that ended with, “Belle.”

  Before I could even formulate a reply, he dipped his head and his warm, wet mouth closed over a nipple, right through the black lace of my bra. I cried out at the piercing pleasure that zinged to my core. My pussy clenched, and I felt the slick moisture there. My hips rocked restlessly.

  He deftly unhooked my bra, cupping both breasts. He took his time, teasing one nipple and then the other with his lips and teeth. I was incoherent, pressure already tightening inside of me. It had been a while since I’d been with a man and actually had an orgasm. I was no prude, and I even had a favorite vibrator, although I didn’t name it. I wasn’t that ridiculous. No judgment though to those who did. I was needy and desperate for release.

  To make matters more desperate, my last few experiences with sex had been a major let down. Yet, I knew the promise of Ty’s touch. I yanked at his shirt, gasping, “I need to feel you.”

  He straightened, hooking a hand behind his head and tugging his T-shirt off in a quick motion. Then, I had the glorious feel of his bare skin against mine. He wasted no time, his palms sliding up my calves, the calloused surface sending hot shivers through me with goosebumps chasing in the wake of his touch.

  “This skirt is convenient,” he murmured against my lips before he took my mouth in another devouring kiss. One kiss tumbled into another and then another. There were so many kisses, I lost count.

  He pushed my knees apart, the fabric of my skirt rumpling around my hips. I was clenching tight for him and so wet, my hips rolled restlessly. He chose now to torture me.

  He straightened, his eyes dropping down. I was pretty careless when it came to clothes. I did like a comfortable skirt, but otherwise I usually wore jeans and a T-shirt. My one and only penchant was lingerie. I liked silk and lace because they made me feel sexy.

  He murmured something indecipherable and teased his fingers over the damp silk. My hips arched toward him, and I let out a frustrated whimper when he immediately drew away.

  He lifted his eyes and rested his hands on the counter on either side of my hips. His gaze was searing and intense, and my belly flipped. I was trying to catch my breath, but I couldn’t. It came in short, sharp pants.

  “We’re almost to the point of no return.” His voice was low, the vibration of it thrumming through my body.

  “Don’t you dare stop,” I gasped. As orders went, it was kind of weak with my voice raspy and breathless. But I meant it. I would do him bodily harm at this point if he tried to stop.

  Ty’s lips curled in one of those slow grins, sending heat in a swift wash through me. Every little thing was fuel poured on the fire of our desire.

  “Yes ma’am,” was all he said before he dipped his head and caught one of my nipples in his mouth.

  I cried out when he gave it a hard suck right when his fingers pushed the silk out of the way between my thighs and teased into my dripping wet folds. I was so close, so frantic for it, that my climax surprised me.

  He sank two fingers inside me, knuckle deep, his thumb teasing over my swollen clit. I came hard and fast, trembling as the climax burst through me, pleasure rushing in a fierce wave.

  Before I had fully recovered, his mouth was on mine, and we tumbled into another commanding kiss. I reached between us, needing more already, needing him.

  I fumbled to get his jeans unbuttoned, letting out a sigh of satisfaction when I slipped my hand in to find his cock hard, the skin velvety and warm under my touch. Ty murmured something on my neck. He was teasing me on that sensitive skin behind my ear, but I was undeterred, rolling my thumb over the tip and swiping a drop of pre-cum.

  Just when I thought I was going to get to take charge, he lifted me, carrying me swiftly across the room and around behind the screen at the other end of the barn. Next thing I knew, he was stretching me out on a bed. I kicked my boots off over the side of the bed and heard the thump of his shoes following. He shucked his jeans and boxers and produced a condom from somewhere, rolling it on swiftly.

  “Hurry,” I demanded.

  Ty chuckled as his knee pressed on the mattress between my thighs, and his weight came over me. Oh God. He felt so good, every inch of him was muscle. And he was warm, so warm.

  When I felt his cock between my thighs, the pressure of his thick crown right at my slick entrance, he paused, brushing my tangled hair away from my face. His elbows were resting by my shoulders.

  “Are you—” he began

  I cut him off. “I’m absolutely sure.”

  Curling my legs around his hips, I drew him closer, and he filled me in one swift thrust. I cried out. He held still for several beats of my heart, and, in all honesty, I needed a moment to adjust. Ty wasn’t just tall and broad shouldered, he was big all over, and he filled me thoroughly.

  After a moment, he drew back, filling me again in increments, and I moaned at the delicious stretch. He settled into a rhythm, a smooth pull and glide, sending pressure spiraling inside me again, cinching more tightly with every stroke. His skin was damp against mine.

  My skirt was bunched at my waist, and I didn’t even care. With each stroke, I rose to meet him, the wave curling tighter and tighter inside me until he thrust into me one more time, slow and deep, just as he reached between us and did something magic with his fingers. The pleasure burst, raying through my body like liquid fire as my channel rippled around him. I didn’t even know how it was possible, but this climax was more intense than the first.

  He buried himself inside me once more, letting out a rough cry before he bowed his head, shuddering in the embrace of my legs. After a moment, he eased to my side. His hand moved in a slow pass over my belly before he drew out and rested beside me.

  It was all over but for our ragged breathing. It felt as if I was coming down from a crazy high, two earth shattering climaxes leaving me replete. His thumb traced in a lazy circle around my belly button, and I rolled my head to the side. His eyes were closed, but his lashes swept up the moment I looked his way. The second I met his heavy-lidded gaze, I felt a deep pull in the center of my chest, and a tug low in my belly.

  13

  Ty

  Belle’s wide brown eyes held mine, and I wanted to lean over and kiss the freckles on her cheeks. Uncertainty flickered in her gaze, but it passed quickly. She surprised me by lifting her hand and smoothing a fingertip over one of my eyebrows. Her lips curled in a small smile as her hand fell to rest on my chest. “It was messy,” she explained.

  “My eyebrow?”

  She nodded, blinking as her cheeks went a little pink.

  “Well, thank you then,” I offered somberly.

  She bit her lip and laughed. I took the moment to let my eyes absorb the sight of her. With her flushed skin, her bright eyes, and her swollen lips, she was disarmingly delectable. Hell, I could’ve gone another round right then. I hadn’t been living as a monk, but I also hadn’t exactly found much time of late for women, much less women who got to me the way Belle did.

  If I was being honest with myself, no woman got to me like Belle. She was singular in her ability to set me on fire. We were just that good together. It was easy and fucking hot.

  Just then, I noticed she was still wearing her skirt. I chuckled, and she asked, “What’s so funny?”

  “We never got your skirt off.”


  She grinned, and a sly look entered her eyes. “Maybe not, but at least I got my panties and boots off.”

  I laughed, and she traced circles on my chest with a fingertip. I lifted a palm, needing to touch her. I smoothed it over the sweet curve of her shoulder, my eyes landing on the tattoo at the top of her shoulder blade. With her angled toward me, it was just visible. “This is new.” It was a heart, drawn as if carved into wood, the lines of the grain etched in varying subtle shades of brown and gold. “It’s beautiful,” I added.

  “How do you know it’s new?” Her big brown eyes lifted to mine, a saucy hint contained there.

  “Because I would remember if you had it before. I didn’t forget anything about you.” The moment I said that, my heart gave a tricky kick. Belle had this way of sliding right through my defenses. I revealed perhaps too much with that comment.

  She blinked as a wash of pink bloomed on her cheeks. She swallowed, her lashes sweeping down again. “I didn’t have it before. My father’s a woodcarver in his spare time. I always loved watching him on the weekends when I was little.” Her lashes lifted again, vulnerability flickering in her gaze for a flash. “It’s to represent heartwood. That’s the densest and strongest part of the tree.”

  I absorbed that as I traced the edges of the heart with my fingertip. “It’s beautiful,” I repeated.

  Quiet spun out between us. She dipped her head, nipping lightly on my shoulder. I shifted closer and laid another kiss on her, for no other reason than that I loved kissing Belle. She had a sassy tongue, and she never hesitated to throw herself into kisses.

  When I drew back, she asked, “Is this when I find a way to gracefully depart?”

  “Hell, no. I’ve got you for the whole night.”

  Her throaty laugh rang out, and I pulled her on top of me, kissing her again because I wanted her, and I wanted to dive into her fire. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to think too hard about just how fiercely I wanted her to stay.

  “You’re going where?” Belle asked.

  She was standing just outside the doorway that led to the stairs. Her cheeks were pink, and her hair was damp. I wanted to drag her back to bed and stay there all day. But I actually had somewhere to be, and apparently, she needed to get into Speakeasy for a morning meeting with the kitchen staff. Seeing as I had driven her out here with me last night, I was her ride back to town.

  “I’m going to help my sister. She needs a little help with some shelving in her new place,” I explained.

  “Oh, where does your sister live?” she asked as I held the door open and we walked through together. I didn’t bother locking it behind me. Break-ins weren’t something people worried about all that much in Vermont.

  “Burlington. She’s getting her Master’s there. She’s ecstatic to be living on her own.”

  “How old is she?”

  Belle gave me a little eye roll when I held the door to my truck open for her. I shrugged. “I have manners.”

  She hopped in quickly, and I rounded the truck, answering her question once I was in the driver’s seat. “Jess is twenty-two. She attended college near where we grew up, so she stayed at home then. My mom worries about her a lot.”

  “The usual worry, or something extra?” Belle asked.

  “Something extra. She was burned in a car accident when she was little. Nobody died, but the car caught fire.” I started the truck and headed out my driveway. “Anyway, she was in the back and got burned.” Pausing, I shook my head. “The guy who caused the accident was driving drunk. He’d gotten out of a prior DUI due to a technicality, and he’d stolen the car he was driving. He never should’ve even been driving, but it changed my sister’s life permanently.”

  Belle gasped, and when I glanced her way, she looked horrified. “She’s okay, I swear,” I offered.

  Belle nodded jerkily, and I continued. “Jess almost died from infections from the burns and was in and out of the hospital for a bit. My mom was crazy protective for years. Long story short, I’m going to go help Jess put some shelving up. She’s too fucking stubborn to ask anybody else for help.”

  When I stopped at the end of my drive and glanced to Belle, her eyes were still wide. “You are a good brother,” she said.

  “I try.”

  A few minutes later, I dropped Belle off. When she looked across the seat at me, I had the urge to kiss her. But she moved swiftly, unbuckling her seatbelt and hopping out. When she looked my way again, her cheeks went a little pink. “Thanks for the ride.”

  We stared at each other, and the air felt heavy for a few seconds. “Anytime.”

  After she hurried up the stairs to her apartment, I aimed for the highway.

  14

  Ty

  Hands on hips, I stared down at the shelving parts Jess had ordered online. “All right, we can have this together pretty quick.”

  My sister snorted from where she stood a few feet away. I glanced up, my lips tugging into a grin. “What?” I prompted.

  She pointed to the side of her neck and then mine. I raised a brow in question because I had no clue what she meant.

  “You have a hickey.”

  I rolled my eyes. “So, what if I do?”

  “Who’s the lucky girl?” Jess asked, lobbing a question right back at me.

  I opened my mouth to say something cutting or dismissive, but then I shrugged. “Nobody you know.”

  There was no sense in pretending like there wasn’t a hickey on my neck. I didn’t doubt there was, it’s just I’d barely even looked in the mirror this morning. And that was because I’d been feeling utterly satisfied after teasing Belle to another climax in the shower. Among other details I recalled about Belle, she was a generous girl. She’d returned the favor and worked magic with her mouth on my cock.

  I wasn’t planning to discuss any of this with my little sister.

  “Do you like her?” Jess asked as I leaned over and began separating out the pieces of shelving.

  I glanced up quickly. “I do.” My answer surprised me. Not because I didn’t know if I liked Belle, but because I said so aloud. But then, if there was one person I tended to share anything personal with, it was my sister.

  Jess took a step, easing her hips to the floor. The burns she’d sustained when she was a little girl had been bad enough that one of her legs was permanently stiff. The skin was tight and deeply scarred around her knee. When she was younger, amidst the various surgeries they had done and in the aftermath of infections, she’d used a brace for a while. She often eschewed using any support as she’d gotten older. She chose to limp around, telling me she preferred that to the looks she got when she wore her brace, although she still used it sometimes.

  I sat cross legged on the floor, glancing over at her. We shared the same coloring, although her hair was straighter and a shade darker than mine. Her eyes held mine as she waited patiently for me to offer more information. “What’s she like? And, how long have you known her?” she pressed.

  I did some quick math in my head. I was now twenty-nine, and I’d been a senior at twenty-two when I met Belle. “More than seven years,” I offered.

  “What?!” Jess reached up to adjust her ponytail, tightening it before her hands fell to her lap.

  I chuckled. “I knew her in my senior year at college. Haven’t seen her since then. But she took a job as a chef at Speakeasy.”

  “Oh. So, were you guys hot and heavy before? It’s not like you would’ve told me.”

  My sister was seven years younger than me, so I definitely wouldn’t have been chatting about my sex life with her. Then, or now. “Toss me that bag over there.” I gestured to the prepared bag of parts for the shelving.

  Jess tossed it over and I opened it, quickly sorting the various pieces. I began assembling the frame for the shelf as I answered, “If you’re asking if we were serious then, no. But, I did really like her.”

  “How long have you been seeing her since she started working at Speakeasy?”

  “Ge
ez, Jess, you’re seriously grilling me.”

  “Well, you’re my favorite brother. If you’re getting serious with someone, I need to meet her.”

  I chuckled. “We haven’t been seeing each other long,” I offered, avoiding the detail that we’d only had one night together since Belle reappeared in my life. Not because I needed to keep that secret, but because it startled me to realize how much I wanted us to be more than a fling. “We’re not serious yet, and I’m your only brother, so no sense in playing the favorites card,” I added.

  Jess shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, but we could hate each other, and we don’t.”

  I grinned over at her. “Very true. You’re my favorite sister.”

  “I’d better be,” she said firmly. “Now, what else do we need?”

  I helped Jess get the shelves done and ran a few errands with her. Just as I was leaving around noon, she caught me lightly by the elbow. “Don’t be afraid to give this girl a chance.”

  I stared at her blankly. Her lips pressed in a line, and she let out a quick sigh. “You know what I mean. We have shitty role models in our parents as far as relationships go. Hell, I’m still waiting for the day that we find out Dad has a secret family that we didn’t even know about.”

  I let out a dry laugh. “Do you mean in addition to his decades-long affair with Cheryl?”

  Jess’s ponytail bounced with her firm nod. “Totally. I’m hoping now that I finally moved out, maybe Mom will get a clue and leave him.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at me and cocked her head to the side. “You know what I mean. You are the master at keeping your distance.”

  My chest tightened a little because I knew exactly what she meant. Maybe Belle shined brightly in my memories as far as hookups went, but that’s why it had been no trouble to let her be nothing more than that back then. Keeping people at a distance came easily to me.

  I looked back at my sister and shrugged. “Maybe so. I could say the same about you.”