“She’s a damn good cook, that’s for sure.”
“And Rosie owns the diner at the edge of town?”
“She does, but I do the cooking when we’re at her place or mine most of the time.”
“I can’t believe you’re settling down, man. I’m not surprised at all about Buck, but you? I thought for sure you would die single.”
“I did too. Rosie wasn’t part of the plan.”
“She is now, though?”
“She is,” the man said firmly.
“I’m real happy for you and Buck. Real happy.” Cort turned his head to look out the window. The mild north Georgia night was unlike any other night in any other place he’d ever been. It was still and quiet save for the engine in Decker’s beat-up work truck, but something about the quiet area off the beaten path got to him in a way he wasn’t comfortable admitting. It felt like home. It was inviting and warm and welcoming and everything he hadn’t felt since Alicia had moved out. He could get used to a place like this.
“Thanks. We got lucky.”
Cort couldn’t argue with that. A few miles down the road, Decker turned to the right and followed a long dirt drive to the cabin he sometimes shared with Rosie. It too looked warm and welcoming, and the softly rounded woman that stepped out onto the front porch made it even more so. Decker had the engine off and was out of the cab before Cort got his hand around the door release.
“You been home long, baby?”
“Nope. Had some help tonight. Hi, Cort.”
She waved at him over Decker’s shoulder and smiled. He returned both. “Hi.”
“You want some coffee?”
“No, I think I’m going to head on back to Decker’s.”
“You sure? You want to sit a spell out here on the porch? It’s a nice night.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I’m beat and stuffed.”
“Well okay, then, but just know you’re welcome to stay for a while.”
“I know. Thanks.” He turned and stepped off the porch, but Rosie’s soft and full of concern question stopped him and had him looking back at her.
“Are you and Blue going to be okay?”
“I don’t know.” He wanted to say yes, but he couldn’t. He and Blue needed to talk some more and until then, he couldn’t say if they were going to be okay or not. He hoped they could at least come of all this with an understanding, if not a future.
Rosie nodded her understanding. “Well, either way, I really appreciate you taking a look at her place and being willing to help her. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect when Decker brought up that you were an electrician, one that specializes in historical homes too.”
No, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. “Not a problem. I’m happy to do it.”
“You sure you don’t want to take the truck back?” Decker asked, sliding his arms around Rosie from behind.
Cort’s chest ached at the sweet, loving sight. “Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll walk. Night.” He crossed over to the path Decker had carved out between his and Rosie’s property. It was lined with solar lights and being as unfamiliar with the north Georgia landscape as he was, he was happy to have the guide.
It really was a beautiful area. He’d been to a lot of places that some would say were more beautiful, but he hadn’t been kidding when he said something about this Southern place made him feel different, like he was home. He’d never thought to feel that way anywhere, much less in a part of the country he’d never been to before.
The stars were out in the black sky. His last job had been in Montana, and he’d spent many nights out on the balcony of the lodge looking up at the stars. It was different here, though. They were closer, almost touchable, and that didn’t make any sense to him either. He wasn’t fanciful. He wasn’t a dreamer. He liked cold, hard facts, life in black and white with a little gray thrown in for good measure, structured business, and structured relationships.
The outline of Decker’s cabin appeared through the darkness, and unconsciously his steps quickened. He was anxious to be inside, to be surrounded by four walls and not the openness of the Southern night. It was quiet, and while he liked the quiet, this was too much for his taste. It gave him too much time to think. Decker and Buck didn’t do a lot of thinking. They were more action oriented. Jump in headfirst and give whatever it was their complete attention and focus. But Cort was the thinker, the one who looked at something from all angles before dipping his toe in. It’s what had built his professional reputation. He thrived by knowing all the ins and outs of a project. Since Alicia and more recently since Blue, it’s how he approached women too. Only now with Blue, he couldn’t do it that way. If he tried to analyze it or scope out the exits or handled things with kid gloves, he was liable to lose her a second time. He didn’t want that.
Once inside the cabin, Cort emptied his pockets onto the small table beside the door, then headed for the kitchen. He took a beer from the fridge and popped the top off before making his way up the stairs for a shower. His mind drifted to the two women his friends had fallen in love with.
Rosie and Caroline. From what he’d heard and seen with his own eyes, one was feisty and needed a strong hand to rein her in, and the other one was sensual, passionate in everything she did. Decker and Buck adored them. It was plain as day, and he could certainly see why. Neither man had ever settled on just one type of woman. They’d loved whatever attracted them.
He felt like he was at some sort of crossroads in his life, and he didn’t really understand it. He hadn’t felt it when he left Montana, but the second he’d driven over Ol’ Man River, it had settled itself in his chest and hadn’t let up. It was like something was tugging at him. He didn’t believe in signs or superstitions, and he’d never once read his horoscope, but there was something different about this small town in the northern part of Georgia, something he felt deep down inside. He figured now it had everything to do with the woman who was a few miles outside town.
Shit.
A nice hot shower was in order; afterward, he’d take a look at the blueprints of the plantation house. She’d had some survey work done, had firm from Atlanta come up and do an updated blueprint. In all honesty, he couldn’t wait to get into the work itself. He loved opening up walls and ceilings and sometimes floors to see what was what, what was there, what he could do to make it better. He would install an up-to-date electrical panel and see if he could get Blue to agree to central heating and air. From what he could see, it didn’t have either feature, and she’d need it for a bed and breakfast. They could have that work being done too while he was working on the wiring. He wondered if she’d already had the plumbing updated and would make it a point to ask.
He took a swallow of the beer and set the bottle on the counter beside the bathroom sink. He was damn excited about plantation job, and he was man enough to admit, a lot of that excitement now centered around the woman who owned it.
Blue.
He flipped on the faucet in the shower and waited until it was near scalding before stripping and stepping into the stall. The water felt great on his tired and tight muscles. He lowered his head to his chest and let the massaging showerhead rain down on the back of his neck. The sigh he heaved echoed around him. Before leaving Blue’s place earlier, he’d been relaxed, near sated, and happy. Then Neil walked in and all that changed. He knew the other man wasn’t a threat, but the sheer fact that he’d fucked Blue before just clawed at Cort’s insides. Sure the man was gay now, and sure Cort didn’t have issues with other men or women seeing her naked. God, she was fucking beautiful from head to toe. While he himself wasn’t an exhibitionist and generally kept his clothes on, she was comfortable in her nudity. That was evidenced by not only the pictures on her walls but by the fact that she hadn’t been one bit shy or embarrassed to walk around her house naked with him or with Neil there. Hell, she’d even stepped out onto her front porch naked. He tamped down the memory of his words as he left her. Talk about screwed up. He’d told her to get dre
ssed, as if she should have something to be ashamed off. He knew better, and so did she. He was just at such a loss as to what to say. They were so close to some understanding before being interrupted and everything shattered. He needed to get back out to see her, to talk to her.
He scrubbed his face with his hands. He was tired. Bone deep tired.
He was also hard. He wanted relief, but he didn’t want his own damn hand. He wanted to sink into a wet pussy; for once in the last few years, he could finally admit he wanted a specific pussy. He wanted to wrap his hands around her soft hips and pull her beautiful round ass against his body and fuck her. Her.
The more he thought about it, about Blue, the more he realized there’d be nothing but restless sleep waiting for him if he didn’t take care of it.
“Shit,” he muttered, even as he wrapped his palm around the shaft of his dick. He fisted himself tight and began to stroke with long, even pulls, closing his hand over the head. He might not have wanted to masturbate, but it damn sure felt good.
Planting his other hand against the wall of the shower stall, he opened his stance. His balls were heavy between his legs, and all he could think about was pounding away at her tight, slick cunt.
“God,” he groaned, tightening his hand. He needed her. He needed her sweet, willing, and giving mouth, hands, body. He needed this woman, this one woman who set his nerves on fire, who drained him of every lick of sense, who warmed him, and gave so selflessly to him, to his pleasure. His dirty mind craved her, his heart ached for her. He wanted her insatiable, his to tease and torment, his to turn into a squirming mass of creaming Southern slut. And then he wanted to love her, slow and soft and easy.
The image of Blue on his lap from earlier, the look on her face when she’d come all over his balls, filled his head and slid all the way down his torso to his cock, to his seed-filled nuts. He jacked his penis until he couldn’t hold it in any longer. He grunted as his cum sprayed across the shower tiles. He stroked until every last drop was drained from him and he slumped backward into the wall under the water.
He watched as it slid down the drain. “What a fuckin’ waste.” It should have been inside her, not being washed away.
Blue was the first woman since Alicia with whom he’d actually slept with. He’d have stayed the night had Neil not shown up. He’d have spent the whole weekend in her bed, in her body. Instead, he was getting off in the shower alone. He wanted to sleep with her now. He wanted to crawl into her bed and sleep with her tucked against his body.
Scrubbing a hand over his face again, he decided he needed to get finished and get to bed. He grabbed the soap and quickly washed his body, gave his hair a washing with a small bottle of hotel shampoo he’d packed up a few nights ago, then rinsed off. He turned off the water and stepped out, drying himself from head to toe with the fluffiest towels known to man. Rosie had to have been the one to supply them because he knew Decker. That man would dry off with a piece of sandpaper or drip dry.
Cort padded naked across the hall to the guest bedroom for his pajama pants. Usually one to sleep naked, he was a guest in his friend’s home, and since his friend had a girlfriend, he didn’t want to be caught naked should she show up. Not that he’d ever wander around someone else’s place in his birthday suit, but still…
The bed was comfortable with crisp sheets and light blankets. Rosie must have helped Decker get the room ready for his stay because Dec wouldn’t have a clue how to make anything feel homey and welcoming. Cort would have to thank Rosie when he saw her next.
He pulled one of the pillows from the other side of the bed toward him. He told himself it had nothing to do with wanting a woman next to him. Nothing to do with that at all. It was just that he didn’t know what else to do with his arms. Yeah, that was it. He didn’t know what to do with his arms.
That was his last thought as his eyes closed. Sleep would be good. He’d wake up clearheaded, ready to go to work, ready to shake off these strange new feelings and desires, ready to take on a new project.
Yep, sleep was all he needed.
Chapter Ten
Blue heard the truck pull up to her house. She heard the door shut, and she smiled in the dark. He tried to close it quietly, but out here, away from anything and anyone, even the softest sound pierced the silence.
Usually a deep sleeper, she couldn’t find rest for some reason tonight. Neil was asleep down the hall and had been for the last few hours. She’d lain awake, staring at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. She’d arranged them in swirling patterns, and most times when she couldn’t sleep, staring at them helped to relax her mind. Not tonight.
The front door opened, and two footfalls in, it closed. He didn’t say anything as he walked down the hall and into her room. He didn’t say anything as he stood beside her bed and undressed. He didn’t even say anything when he pulled back the covers and slid in beside her.
He pressed himself against her back and draped his arm across her waist. Tense silence filled the room.
“You’re awake, aren’t you?”
She laughed quietly. “I was wondering when you were going to say something.”
“How long?”
“Since before you got here. I haven’t been able to sleep.”
“Why didn’t you say something? I could have been a burglar or a rapist. Hell, I could have been a murderer.”
As he spoke, his arm tightened possessively, and he trailed his lips from her ear down the side of her neck to her shoulder. She’d never had a lover caress her in such a way, talking to her about who could be breaking into her house while kissing his way around her body. “I knew it was you.”
“How?”
“Your breaks squeak a little.”
“Anyone’s breaks could squeak a little.”
He was right, but how could she get him to understand that she just knew it was him? Things with them were so weird already, if she told him she had gut feelings about them, about him, she didn’t want him thinking she was nuts. “True.”
“You should lock your door too.”
“Just like I should put clothes on?”
“I know. I’m sorry for that.”
Blue smiled to herself. Why did the dark always make it easier to say you’re sorry or make confessions? “I like being naked.”
“I know. I like you being naked.”
“I’m naked now,” she said, wriggling against the front of his body.
“Yes you are, and please stop that. I didn’t come here for sex.”
He didn’t make a move to touch her more intimately or shift her over onto her back. He simply kept his hold tight and possessive. He was hard, and she was wet. She would gladly roll over and get dirty with him under the covers, having to whisper like naughty children so they wouldn’t wake the other person in the house. She stayed there, though, spooned against him, with his lips leaving light kisses on her shoulder.
“Why did you come here, then?”
“To sleep with you.”
She fought the sudden tears that filled her eyes. He sounded so sincere in his confession. She couldn’t imagine anything sweeter, and while she’d not considered him as being sweet this time around, she had seen those parts of him the first time. That something had sparked it and brought it up now touched her more than she could express.
She stayed silent and simply nodded.
“I don’t like you naked around Neil.”
She thought he’d started to drift off to sleep and was surprised when at his comment. “You don’t like me around Neil at all.”
“You’re right, I don’t. He’s touched you, been with you like this, and no, I don’t like it.”
His confession sounded grudgingly given, and she smiled. “Then I guess it’s a good thing he didn’t choose to sleep with me tonight like he usually does when he visits.”
Cort lifted his head and everything, including the air, stilled. Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say, but she wasn’t going to lie to him. If he’d w
alked in on that scene, innocent as it would have been, she’d have likely lost him for good. She needed to thank Neil for listening to her when she’d said it was better that he sleep in the guest room. She hadn’t known Cort would show up, but something had urged her to kindly insist. Neil hadn’t questioned her, only nodded and eyed her oddly. She was good with that.
“He sleeps with you?”
“Yes. We watch movies piled up here in the bed and generally fall asleep before the end of the second movie. Before Decker came around, Rosie and I would sometimes do the same thing when I’d beg her to take a night off from the diner. There’s nothing sexual about it. With Neil that is. It’s about friendship and comfort. That’s all.” She waited for him to say something more or get up and get dressed to leave. She waited for some reaction, but a few seconds later, all he did was start kissing along her shoulder again and scoot impossibly closer to her.
“I’m not a prude, honey. You know that or at least you once did. I just don’t like knowing he’s been with you. I don’t like it at all. I don’t like knowing you have the power to evoke these kinds of jealous feelings in me. I’m not a jealous man.”
She wasn’t sure she believed him. He was more caveman than he probably liked to admit. He was possessive but in a way she craved. She wouldn’t tell him she thought those things about him, though. He likely wouldn’t appreciate it, not like she did. “He’s my friend, you know, and he’s not going anywhere. He’ll always been in my life, always be my friend.” Silence fell again but she broke it within moments.
“Okay. I guess I’ll just have to get over it and have a talk with him.”
“Have a talk with him? With Neil?”
“Yes.”
“Talk about what?”
“Some ground rules. Plus, I figure I’ll need to get to know him.”
“You want to set ground rules? With Neil? About me?”
“Yes. I certainly don’t want to come over one night and find him in bed with you. Would make for an awkward situation. I don’t share like that.”
Forever in Blue Jeans Page 14
