by Ann, Natalie
The coast is clear. He read on his phone.
On my way.
He pulled into her driveway in record time. Thankfully she’d left the garage door open for him, so he pulled in next to her SUV, climbed out and hit the button to close the door behind him.
The minute he opened the door to the house he was assaulted with the smell of bacon. It was just like walking into his parents’ house. Every time you opened the door, the smell of food hit you.
He didn’t realize it, but this morning he’d noticed the same thing when he returned to Brynn’s. He’d opened the door and smelled the muffins she was cooking. At that time he was just too focused on getting his hands on her again to think about what she had been up to.
“Something smells good.”
She jumped from the crouch she’d been in, in front of the open refrigerator, when he walked in and made that statement. “Just bacon to start.” Walking over, she handed him a beer, then pulled it back. “Payment first,” she said.
“How much is this going to cost me?” he asked, his lips twitching.
She ran the tip of her tongue around her upper lip in a slow precise move. It was going to cost him everything in the end—he realized it at that moment. Something about her pulled him in so far and so fast. He was beyond caring and definitely beyond fighting it. He moved forward and placed his lips over hers in a kiss meant to be light and welcoming.
“Payment is higher when you’re late,” she said, laughing.
So he pulled her forward by her hips and kissed her the way he really wanted to do when he saw her standing there looking like she was welcoming him home for the day, all soft, comfortable and inviting.
A timer going off pulled him out of the sexual haze the kiss had yanked him into. “Does that cover the cost?”
“For now,” she said, sashaying past him to look in the oven after she handed his beer over.
“What’s for dinner?” He figured he needed to get his mind on something else right now or they would be having a burned dinner, whatever it was.
“My mother’s special burgers with roasted red potatoes, a pretty simple dinner. I like to cook, but I’m not a gourmet cook by any means.”
“Simple works for me and burgers are always a hit. What makes them so special?”
She finished stirring the potatoes in the oven, then turned to him after she set the timer again. “Secret recipe,” she said, her eyes twinkling.
“I didn’t know burgers had secret recipes.”
“Guess you are going to find out.” She pulled a cookie sheet off the counter that had been covered with a towel and he now noticed big juicy burgers that looked to have been handmade.
“Those are huge.”
“What’s the point of a homemade burger if it’s small?”
She had a point. “Okay. So what is so special then?” He followed her out to the back deck where he could see the grill was ready to go.
After placing the large burgers on the grill and shutting the top, she turned to sit in a chair. “Aside from the spices I mixed in with the beef, they are stuffed with pieces of bacon and blue cheese crumbles in the center. Then I’ll top them with more bacon and more cheese.”
“Sounds awesome.”
“It is. It was my mom’s specialty, like I said. My father always wanted these burgers for his birthday or Father’s Day. He was a simple man, but it’s a nice hearty meal. You remind me of my father, so I thought it was an appropriate choice.”
He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, that he reminded her of her father. He guessed good. Why else make her father’s favorite meal? He was touched, whether she meant for him to be or not, so he asked, “How do I remind you of him?”
“He’s a good man,” she said. “He cares about his crew and his family, and always does the right thing. That’s you, isn’t it? You always look out for other people first.”
No one had ever said those things to him before. It was him. It was who he was, and how he was raised. Those that were close to him knew that, but those he dated never did. For some reason, no one ever got that. He was always putting others first. Half the time the women just took it for granted.
Until this moment, he never realized how it would feel to have someone recognize that about him, and so soon.
“Anyway,” she continued. “I wanted to do something for you. You’ve done so much for me, even if you don’t realize it. I know dinner is a simple thing, but I wanted to cook a dinner for you. Just to let you come over and relax and enjoy something that I did for you.”
He was speechless for the moment. He watched her face flush after she explained that, almost like she was embarrassed, but she didn’t say another word. “I haven’t done that much,” he argued.
“Yes, you have. Letting me live here for free. Giving me so much freedom and responsibility in my job right away. That might not seem like a lot to you, but it’s huge to me. Mainly for the reason that it means you believe in me and my ability. Too many times I’ve been pushed aside for being a woman. You don’t see me as a woman, you see me as an equal. Alec, that alone is enough.”
His heart was pounding in his chest. All those thoughts about her being the one magnified. No one ever made him feel a need to protect as much as she did. No one ever made him feel as much of a man as he felt right now. Her simple words—from actions he did that he didn’t even know were important to her—resulted in something that obviously meant a great deal to her.
Now more than anything he understood why she didn’t want what they had to affect her job, and he wouldn’t let that happen.
He needed to change the subject and fast. He smiled, trying to wipe away the deep emotional turmoil he felt. He was nowhere close to letting on what he felt. “I most definitely see you as a woman.”
She laughed at him, her eyes lighting up a fraction, more carefree now. “I expect you to show me how much later tonight.”
Full of Wonder
“That was the best burger I’ve ever had,” Alec said, wiping his mouth on a napkin. She watched him eye the last two on the plate.
“I made plenty. Have another,” she urged him.
“I’m tempted.”
“They’re good leftovers, too,” she said.
“Then maybe I’ll hold off and have it for lunch tomorrow.”
“You could do that,” she replied, fighting her grin. She watched him looking at her coyly, almost as if he was waiting for her to say, no, he couldn’t spend the night. But she didn’t say a word and wasn’t uncomfortable at all. This weekend was for them, if he wanted it to be.
“Tell me your father’s name.”
She stopped in the process of biting her potato and placed her fork down. “Where did that come from?”
“You talk about your father all the time, and you said I remind you of him, which I think is sweet. You obviously care for your family a great deal, but you’ve never said his name.”
She’d never realized that before. “Andy. Andy Palmer.”
“Is your brother Drew named after him?”
Smirking, she said, “Sort of. My father wanted him to be Andrew Junior. My mother said no way, that everyone deserves his own identity. My mother often got her way, so the compromise was Drew.” She watched the soft look in his eyes when she explained.
“My mother gets her way too. So does Kaitlin. They both know how to wrap us boys around their fingers.”
“You boys and your father love every minute of it,” she said.
“You would be right.” He paused and took a drink, then tilted his head. “Tell me about your mother, if you don’t mind. You never say much, but when you do, there is never any sadness behind it. Lots of love, but no sadness. How long ago did she pass away?”
It didn’t hurt to talk about it, not anymore. She was surprised he asked, but shouldn’t have been. “My mother’s name was Colleen. We looked a lot alike. I took after her in stature too. My father isn’t as tall as you, just under six foot, but muscular.” Sh
e stopped and grinned. “Just like you, all those years of construction.”
“I’ve noticed you like that,” he said, laughing at her.
“I do, very much.” She shook her head with a grin, then continued on about her mother. “My mom was a dental hygienist. She was coming home from work one day, about thirty minutes away. There was a snowstorm, bad roads, and a tractor-trailer was going too fast for the conditions. He lost control on the highway. My mother was a few cars behind, and from what we were told, she managed to stop, but several cars around her didn’t. Her small car was sandwiched between two SUVs. She died instantly.” At least Brynn wanted to believe that.
“I’m so sorry, Brynn. How long ago was it?”
“Seven years ago. I’ve said it before, and it bears repeating: she was my biggest champion…but she never got to see me graduate from college. The accident happened a few months before the end of my senior year in college.” She wiped the tear from her eye and forced a smile. “She was the glue that held us together, or so we thought. But we’ve held together pretty well since she left. So I like to think she built a strong enough foundation. You know how important foundations are. I’ve got such wonderful memories of her. Those are the ones I choose to think about.”
He stood up and walked over to Brynn, then pulled her out of the chair and into his arms. “You are the most amazing woman. I bet you take right after your mother.” She almost dissolved into a puddle at that moment. She always thought she was so much like her mother, personality-wise. Her father and her brother often said so. It was nice to hear it from someone else. Someone who didn’t even know her mother other than through stories.
She leaned her head back. “Okay, enough with this talk. It’s not a very good first date with me crying. I bet this is one for the books.”
He knuckled the last tear from her face, then leaned down and kissed her on the cheek and returned to his seat. “It’s not a first date, not even close.”
“Really?” she asked. She hadn’t thought so, but thought maybe it was a good way to broach the subject. Were they dating?
“Hardly.”
“Then what is it?”
“Probably more than either one of us is willing to admit right now.”
He hit the nail right on the head.
***
Alec turned his head to watch Brynn sleeping next to him. She was so full of surprises, so full of wonder.
He didn’t know what possessed him to say that what they had was more than they were willing to admit, but he was glad he did. She’d held his stare for seconds, then finally nodded her head to him. They didn’t say another word after that, not about relationships or her family. Instead they talked about work and then cleaned up dinner.
He had joked with her about wanting to take control of everything. From labeling everything in the office, to all the detailed notes she took. He hadn’t understood the look that came across her face with that comment. At first she laughed it off, but he said it again later on in the night and she turned a bit more serious, almost as in thought.
She finally replied with, “I like to be control. Starting right now.”
Then she’d taken his hand and walked him up the stairs to her room. Mesmerized, he let her have her way. He told her yesterday she could be his fairy carpenter and give him everything without asking. She seemed to take that to heart and proceeded to do just that.
Slowly, she undressed him. Lifting his T-shirt over his head, she tossed it to the floor, then quickly rid him of his shorts and boxers. When he tried to reach for her clothing, she brushed his hands away and knelt in front of him.
He held his breath and she reached forward, trailing one long finger down the length of him, then up again. Another pass with her fingertip, then she gripped him tight and leaned forward. Her tongue came out to taste, then to tease.
She played him like never before. How he remained standing there while she worked him over was beyond him. He only knew it didn’t take long before his hands were in her hair and he was barely holding on.
Then she stood up and undressed while he watched her. Slow and steady, holding his gaze. She knew what she was doing to him, he had no doubt. All her moves were too controlled—too precise.
The tiny lift of her shirt over her stomach, then her ribs, and finally over her head. Wiggling out of her shorts, she was left standing there in a matching lace bra and thong, something he totally didn’t expect to see under her casual clothes. If he’d known she’d been wearing that under her shorts and shirt, he might not have made it through dinner.
Getting this surprise after the fact made it much more enjoyable. She was just the perfect mixture of woman for him. She could hold her own with the crew and with him, and then be every part of a woman at the right times.
He stretched a hand forward to help her out of her bra and she stepped back, then shook her head. “Nope. Not yet. You said I liked to be in control, so tonight is all about me controlling you. Are you up for it?”
He looked down at himself, then back to her with a grin. “I think you know the answer to that.”
She chuckled. “Then get on the bed and wait for me.”
So he did as she instructed and waited for her next move. She didn’t remove any more clothing, but climbed on the bed still in her thong and bra and settled over his hips.
Bracing her hands on both sides of his head, she leaned forward and touched her lips to his, her breasts covered in the lace slightly touching his chest. Just enough to let him know she was going to continue to tease him.
Moving her hands to his face, she held him still and kissed him deeply. Her hips started to press into his, rubbing against him. He could feel her wetness through the tiny piece of fabric she barely had covering her. “Brynn,” he moaned out.
“Yes?” she asked.
“I need to feel you.”
“Then touch me,” she whispered against his lips.
So he did. He slid his hands up over her hips to her waist and then further, covering her breasts. Quickly he discarded her bra. He held her tight, massaged her lightly, then gripped her even tighter when she ground into him again.
His heart was racing, his blood running fast and thick. There was urgency in his body right now, a driving force that was so foreign to him. It wasn’t the act; it was her, always her.
He didn’t know what she was waiting for, but he couldn’t wait much longer. As if reading his mind, she grabbed a condom from the nightstand and covered him. He grasped the tiny strings holding her thong together on the side. Rather than lowering it down, he ripped it right off of her.
Watching her eyes go wide didn’t stop him. No, it only made him move faster. Grabbing her hips, he lifted her and lowered her down, then dropped his hands away. “You want to be in control,” he told her, his voice rough with passion. “Show me what you can do.”
She didn’t disappoint. Up and down, fast then slow. Turning herself around and facing the other way, then back again. Everything she did to him blew his mind. He had all he could to hold onto his control. That first time she came, facing away from him, he thought he’d lose it right then and there, but he didn’t, somehow.
When her movements stopped and her breathing slowed, she turned around to face him again, giving him a questioning look. “Keep going,” he urged her. And she did, until the last bit of control was zapped from his body, his shout echoing off the walls, followed quickly by hers again.
He lifted his hand and stroked her hair from her face. He was a goner, but it would be his secret.
Control
Brynn’s eyes flew open with a start. Taking inventory, she realized there was something soft and wet on her hip around her tattoo. She lifted the covers and saw the top of Alec’s head and realized it was his mouth. He was kissing her tattoo.
“What are you doing?” she asked, a grin tugging at her lips.
He stopped and lifted his head, his eyes staring into hers, all heavy-lidded and full of emotion. Passion, maybe
? Or something more? She wasn’t sure and it caused her breath to catch in her throat.
“I’m thanking your fairy. She knew what I needed last night and gave it to me without me asking.” He said it so softly, so carefully guarded, almost like he wasn’t sure he should say it but couldn’t help himself.
She ran her hand through his black hair, more of a caress than anything else. He leaned his head into her palm and held her stare. She wasn’t sure what to say or what to do, but she knew beyond a doubt, it was more than passion in his eyes now. “So it was the fairy you needed to thank?” she said, trying to lessen the serious mood.
He smiled, and it seemed to light up the room. There was something about him when he smiled, bright, happy and so full of love. Love. Was that what was behind his eyes? No, it couldn’t be, it was way too soon. She wasn’t even sure how she felt right now. Definitely more than what she’d felt for other men she’d been with in her life, but love? She just wasn’t sure yet. Everything was clouded right now and moving faster than she could keep up.
He always seemed to know what to say and what to do to pull at her emotions. Now she realized he wasn’t even trying, he just did it. She wasn’t sure if it was in his nature, or if it was her that caused it. Either way, she needed to explore it more, but not now.
“You’re right. Maybe it was more than the fairy. I guess I should thank you too.”
She let out a blissful sigh as he lowered his head and showed her how much he appreciated her too.
***
Alec dropped his head under the water, then rubbed his hands over his face fast and serious. He was shattered. All this time. All this time he’d watched his brothers and his friends fall in love, always wondering how it happened so fast, or if he ever would. Now he knew. How it happened so fast, and that it had happened to him.
