by Emery Rose
“The stars aligned, and the universe is conspiring to make us happy. For a little while,” I added. Because we both knew something like this could never last.
“If that’s the case, we’d better make the most of it. We’ve already wasted too much time.”
My thoughts exactly.
He didn’t give me what I asked for. He gave me the opposite.
His hands skimmed up my sides, bringing the silk material with it and I sat up, so he could slide it off my body. He tossed it on the floor, his eyes roaming over my naked torso before he gently pushed my shoulders and my back hit the bed again. Slowly, so slowly, he slid my silky shorts down my thighs and over my calves, lifting one foot and then the other, planting them both flat on the mattress so I was spread out before him in all my naked glory. I pushed myself up on my elbows.
“Look at you,” he said softly. “You’re fucking perfect.”
I was far from perfect, but I worked hard to keep my body strong and toned so I accepted the compliment. Using his hands, he spread my thighs and pressed them against the mattress and when he lowered his head between my legs and his mouth caressed my inner thigh, his tongue making lazy circles, I gasped.
His pace was maddening, a slow torture that had my clit throbbing and my hands pulling his hair. He laughed, his lips against my skin, so close to where I wanted him, but not quite.
“I said hard and fast.”
“I’m not your big boy,” the charmer said. “I’ll do whatever the fuck I want, and you’ll thank me for it.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and balled my fists in frustration. He stopped at the crease of my thigh, his soft breath teasing me and just when I thought I’d get what I wanted he bypassed my clit and paid the same careful attention to my other thigh. I growled, my legs clamping his head, making him laugh again, his fingers digging into my thighs to keep them spread for him.
He looked up at me, a wicked grin on his face, and with his eyes still pinned on mine, he licked me from slit to crack, making my hips buck off the mattress. He did it again. And again. And again. My hands fisted the sheets, and my legs wrapped around his neck, thighs trembling. “Mmm. Your pussy tastes even sweeter than I imagined.”
Then he dove in, one hand cupping my breast and squeezing the nipple as he thoroughly fucked me with his mouth and teeth and hands. Speeding up. Slowing down. Biting my clit, mixing sweet pain with pleasure. Driving me out of my freaking mind.
When I came, temporarily blinded, he crawled up my body and kissed me hard, his tongue sliding into my mouth, so I could taste myself on him.
He rolled onto his back, bringing me with him and I kissed his neck and bit his earlobe, his belt buckle digging into my hips. I moved down his body and unbuckled it, my fingers fighting with the top button of his jeans. He pushed my hand away and did it himself.
I rolled off him, and he kicked off his boots and pushed down his jeans and boxer briefs, his big, thick dick springing free. And as far as penises go, I thought his was beautiful. Getting onto my knees on the mattress in front of him, I wrapped my hands around it, the skin velvety soft, and I guided it to my mouth, my tongue darting out for a taste. I licked the slit then wrapped my lips around the head.
His hand went to the back of my head, fingers tangling in my hair. I watched him from underneath my lashes as I licked the underside and felt the weight of his balls in my hand, gently rolling them. His eyes were hooded, chest rising and falling, his breathing getting quicker.
I took him into my mouth as far as I could take him and sucked on him, my cheeks hollowed.
“Fuck,” he growled. “I don’t want you like this.”
I didn’t listen. I kept sucking his dick, my hand squeezing his balls, waiting to see what he’d do.
He pulled away, reached for his jeans on the floor and came out with a strip of silver-foiled packets. Ripping one off, he tossed the others on the bed.
“How... ambitious of you. You’re quite the optimist.”
“I’m a realist.”
I laughed and took the condom out of his hand then flung it across the room. “You don’t need it. I’m on the shot and I’m clean.”
“Yeah, I’m clean too. But I never go bare.”
“All the more reason why you should. Live dangerously.”
His eyes narrowed. “You sure?”
“Positive. And trust me when I say I’m not looking to get pregnant. I’d never trick you.” I crossed my heart and scooted up the bed away from him, forcing him to chase after me. He crawled up the bed and I let out a yelp when he grabbed me and flipped me over, sliding his hand under my stomach and lifting me onto my hands and knees. I looked over my shoulder at him. “Is this how you want me, Cowboy?”
He pulled my back against his chest and skimmed his hands down my arms then guided my hands to the headboard. “Hold on tight.” He scraped his teeth across my shoulder. “It’s going to be a wild ride.”
I swiveled my hips and wiggled my butt. His hand met the flesh, and I felt the sting of the slap before he pushed my legs further apart and slid his hard cock between my slick folds, the head rubbing against my tight bundle of nerves as I angled my hips, so he would hit just right.
Oh God.
“You’re so fucking wet. I could slip inside you so easily.”
“Do it,” I panted. My muscles clenched, and I gripped the wood of the headboard more tightly as he guided his tip to my entrance with one hand, and yanked my hair with the other, forcing my head back, my neck arched. God, I loved this.
He drove into me in one fluid motion until he was fully seated. Without giving me a chance to get used to the fullness, he thrust deeper. In. Out. In. Out. Fast and hard the way I said I wanted it. I white-knuckled the headboard, meeting him thrust for thrust, his hand fisting my hair, his other hand rubbing and squeezing my clit.
It was wild and frenzied, the headboard banging against the wall, sweat coating my skin. And with every thrust, he hit that magical spot that made me cry out.
“Oh God, I’m going to come.”
He rubbed my clit harder and faster and I fell apart, my muscles clenching around him and my arms giving out. With my ass still in the air, my head collapsed to the pillow and I’d barely come down from my high when with one final thrust, I felt his body shudder and he let out a guttural sound, half groan, half growl.
“Fuuuck.”
Which was exactly what we had just done. We’d fucked, and it had been glorious.
We collapsed on the bed and lay next to each other on our backs, catching our breath for a few seconds, his hand on my thigh. I turned my head to look at him and for reasons I couldn’t explain, we both started laughing.
“Shit, that was fun.”
I rolled onto my side and propped my head on my hand, trailing my fingers down his sweat-slick chest. “So much fun. I can’t wait to do it again.”
And then we both laughed again, and he pulled my head down to his for a kiss that tasted like cinnamon and me. For a brief moment I pretended we were a real couple, and this was my real life.
Chapter Sixteen
Brody
“I need to stop and buy something,” Shiloh said from the passenger seat. I glanced at her as I drove the back roads. Whenever possible, I avoided the main roads. There were too many shitty drivers on the road and having to stop at red lights made me impatient, so I preferred to take the back roads where the scenery was better, and the air was cleaner without all the pollution from the exhaust fumes. Today Shiloh was wearing a faded black cotton tank dress with silver studded black sandals tied around her ankle. Even in casual clothes, she looked edgy. Rock n roll. But hot as hell in whatever she wore.
“Nobody expects you to bring anything.” I was taking Shiloh to our Sunday family dinner. Another first for me. This morning, Kate had called and insisted I bring her so here we were. Meanwhile, I couldn’t get the mental images of last night out of my head. If I could, I’d turn the truck around and take her back to bed. Hell, we didn’t ev
en need a bed. I’d fold her over the back of my truck and fuck her from behind.
“I can’t show up empty-handed.”
“You could draw a picture for Grandma,” Noah piped up from the backseat. A vocal reminder of why I couldn’t pull the truck over and fuck Shiloh in the field we were driving past. “She loves my drawings.”
Shiloh smiled and turned around in her seat to look at Noah. “I should have thought of that sooner.”
“You can do it for next week,” he said confidently, as if this was going to be a weekly thing and Shiloh was a part of the family now.
“Brody. Stop!”
What the fuck? I checked my rearview mirror then pulled over and screeched to a halt. “What’s wrong?”
She checked her side mirror. “There’s a farm stand back there. Maybe we can buy some fruit or something. Oh, it looks like they have honey. How about some honey?”
Jesus Christ. The way she’d shouted at me to stop I thought it had been an emergency. “I told you not to worry about it.”
She took a fifty-dollar bill out of her wallet and waved it under my nose. I crossed my arms over my chest, refusing to take it. “Please,” she pleaded. “Just go buy some fruit and honey.”
I ran my hand through my hair and exhaled a breath. “You don’t need to bring anything.”
“Fine. I’ll go.”
Before I could stop her, she was out of the truck and marching along the shoulder of the road. Goddammit. Stubborn woman. I backed up my truck and swung onto the shoulder, stopping in front of the farm stand. She was already talking to the elderly man and his wife who were selling fruit and honey products. Meanwhile, I was staring at her bare legs, remembering how they’d been wrapped around me when I’d pounded into her.
She held up a beeswax candle and sniffed it then turned around to face me, a big smile on her face. “It smells sooo good.”
I shook my head and laughed then cut the engine and settled in for the long haul. I’d been around enough women to know that when it came to shopping, they could happily spend hours doing it. Didn’t matter if it was a fancy boutique or the back of a truck alongside the road, they always managed to find something to spend their money on.
Noah was busy playing on his Nintendo DS, so I closed my eyes and took a nap. After round three last night, we drifted off to sleep for a few hours, only to be woken by my phone alarm. Life on a horse ranch started early so I left her sleeping before the sun had even come up. No use thinking about all the ways I wanted to fuck her from here to next Sunday when there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. A case of blue balls wasn’t on my agenda for the day.
“Daddy!”
I startled awake. “What’s wrong?”
“Hayley’s here!”
Oh shit. I checked my rearview mirror and sure enough, a silver SUV had pulled up behind me with Dale Peterson behind the wheel. Other than having kids in the same kindergarten class, we had absolutely nothing in common. Yet he seemed to think we were buddies. He worked for a big accounting firm in Austin and commuted five days a week. On Saturdays he golfed. On Sundays he took the family to church and spent the day with them. Now he got out of his SUV and walked up to my open window for a chat while his wife and daughter were at the farm stand. Dale was about ten years older than me, and on weekends he wore pressed chinos and polo shirts. Today he was wearing plaid shorts with his polo shirt, a side part in his sandy brown hair.
“Brody. Thought that was you. How’s it going?”
“It’s all good. How’ve you been?”
“Lemme out, Daddy.” Noah had already unbuckled the straps of his booster seat and was trying to get out of the truck. I missed the days when he couldn’t get out of his seat without help. “Stupid child locks,” he complained, jiggling the handle and shoving his shoulder against the door as if that would magically open it. “I want to see Hayley.”
Dale chuckled. “Boy’s on a mission. Better let him out before he hurts himself.”
Inwardly, I groaned then took another stab at trying to keep him from getting his own way. “Just wait in the car for Viv. She won’t be long.”
“But she’s talking to Hayley.” He stared out his closed window then climbed into the front passenger seat.
“Don’t even think about opening that door.”
“I can climb out the window.”
It was a battle of wills. Guess who was going to win?
“Hurry, Daddy, I don’t wanna miss her. I need to tell her something.”
Sure, he did.
Dale took a couple steps back to give me room and I pushed open my door and rounded the hood to let Noah out. My kid was spoiled, used to getting his own way, and here I was giving in to his demands. The longer we stayed at this farm stand, the harder it would be to get away from the Petersons, but Shiloh was still talking to Meredith and Hayley.
As soon as Noah was free from the confines of the truck, he raced over to Hayley who gave him a big hug like it had been years instead of days since they’d last seen each other. I watched him with one eye while Dale joined me next to my truck to discuss the rising cost of real estate in the Hill Country. It was one of his favorite topics. Real estate, sports, and the weather. Thrilling.
“Your ears must have been ringing. I was just telling Meredith that you should turn your property into one of those luxury ranches. A farm to table restaurant. Some rustic luxury accommodations with all the amenities. Hell, you could even put in a spa. City folk pay top dollar to get away from it all. My firm is always looking for venues to host corporate retreats and team-building exercises. You could offer trail rides and hunting.”
Yeah, no. Not fucking happening. Nothing about that sounded even remotely appealing but I took exception to the last part. “Hunting?”
He held up his hands. “It wouldn’t have to be animals.” He rubbed his jaw, considering. “Well, maybe duck or pheasant hunting.”
“Ducks and pheasants are animals.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure. Or you could do clay pigeon hunting.”
I clenched my jaw and breathed through my nose to stop myself from telling him he could shove his plan up his ass. No need to be rude to the guy. Lila was always on my case, telling me I had to play nice with the other parents. And look where that had gotten me. As of four or five months ago, I was put in charge of Saturday morning ‘playdates’ for Noah and Hayley while Dale and Meredith played eighteen holes with another couple. Could have done without those, but it made Noah happy, so I soldiered through them.
“Appreciate your thinking of me, but I’m just fine keeping things the way they are.”
As far as I was concerned, the subject was closed. But Dale kept talking. “It could be a real boost to the economy too. Think of how many more locals you can employ.”
Think of all the money it would cost to turn my land into a luxury ranch I’d never in a million years consider. “I’ll give it some thought,” I said, to appease him.
My gaze wandered to Shiloh who was talking to Meredith. Her smile looked fake, and her laughter sounded forced. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she looked nervous. I highly doubted that Dale and Meredith Peterson would know who she was but maybe she was worried they would recognize her.
Dale might have still been talking when I walked away from him and joined Shiloh. Without thinking, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, feeling like she needed my protection.
Meredith smiled. “You two make a beautiful couple. Don’t they, Dale?”
“Sure do.”
“We’re not—”
Shiloh cut me off. “Thank you.”
Not sure what that was about but she leaned into me and put her hand on my chest as if to steady herself. “You good?”
She nodded, that same tight smile on her face. “I’m fine. I just... um...” She cleared her throat. Her eyes were hidden behind big black sunglasses, but I didn’t need to see them to know she wasn’t fine. “I have to pay for my things.”
“You already pai
d, honey,” the elderly woman said with a small laugh.
“Oh. Right.” She gave the woman an apologetic smile and I stepped forward to take the bags from the woman’s hands.
“You ready to go?”
Shiloh tucked her hair behind her ear with a shaky hand and nodded.
“Viv was just telling me she’s staying in your guesthouse,” Meredith said with a big smile.
“Yup.” I kept my gaze on Shiloh. She was paler than normal.
“Make sure you show her all that the Hill Country has to offer.”
“Will do. I’ll show her all the best things.” Meredith smiled and told Shiloh it was nice to meet her, and Shiloh echoed her words. With my arm still around her, I guided her away. “Noah, let’s go.”
“But I wanna play with Hayley.”
“You’ll see her at school. Say goodbye.”
He exhaled loudly like I was ruining all his fun, but he was smart enough to know when he’d been beaten, so he said goodbye and climbed into the truck. When I pulled onto the road, Shiloh slumped in her seat and let out a weary sigh like the whole encounter had exhausted her.
I side-eyed her. Her face was averted, and she was still wearing sunglasses, so I couldn’t see her expression. She was spinning the silver ring around her thumb. “Hey. You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m just...” She took a deep breath and let it out, shaking her head a little. “I’m fine.”
Something felt off, but since I couldn’t see her face and didn’t really know her, I had to take her word for it. She was so quiet on the drive to Kate and Patrick’s I thought she might have fallen asleep.
Ten minutes later, I pulled into the driveway of the stone farmhouse I’d grown up in and parked behind Lila’s SUV. The first time I saw this house, I’d just turned ten and to me, it had looked like a mansion. Patrick had shown up at the foster home I’d been put in after social services had removed me from my home. The neighbors had reported a noise disturbance and when the police had come to investigate, they’d found me locked in the closet which was usually where I spent my time when my mother was hosting one of her ragers. As it turned out, living with my mother had seemed like a dream compared to the hell of foster care. When the social worker told me I was going to live with my aunt and uncle, my first thought had been, “Where the hell were you when I’d needed you?”
