Wild and Free: A Second Chance Romance (The Wilder Brothers Book 1)

by Nicole Elliot

  “How long has this home been here?” I asked.

  “Since before the Civil War,” Lucas said.

  “Does anyone live here?”

  “Not as of yet. I know there are some people interested in purchasing it, but we need to restore it first before it’s listed and advertised.”

  “How long does it usually take all of you guys to restore a home like this?”

  “A month? Two, tops if the weather doesn’t go our way,” he said.

  “Do you guys specialize in anything? Or do all of you know it all?”

  “The latter,” he said, grinning.

  “Ah, so a bunch of know-it-alls. I bet that made for an interesting childhood.”

  Lucas chuckled again and the sound weakened my knees. “You could say that,” he said.

  “For a place that isn’t lived in, there’s a beautiful garden out back,” I said.

  “The house is still owned and tended to on the outside. It simply isn’t lived in. There’s a gardener, a landscaper, and an all-around facade-cleaner.”

  “A what?” I asked.

  “That’s what I call them. It’s a couple that comes and tends to the rest of the edifice of the home and the accoutrements of the place.”

  “Oh, sounds fancy. What kind of accoutrements?”

  “Like the in-ground pool and the hot tub.”

  “There’s an in-ground pool and a hot tub that’s kept up even though no one uses it?”

  “Want to take a walk and see them?”

  I gazed up into his eyes again and saw a playfulness that drew me in. His stature was massive. Looming, but not in a predatory way. It made me want to go with him. I enjoyed talking with him, but I knew someone would find this staircase and stumble up to us eventually.

  But if we got lost in the garden…

  “The garden is one of the only parts of the home that has truly survived the times. There are flower patches and bushes back there that have continuously sprouted since the Civil War. There are trees that line the property at the far edge that backdate even the house itself,” he said.

  “Then I’d love to see it all.”

  He plucked my empty glass from my hand and offered me his arm. He ushered me back down the stairs and walked me around all of the commotion on the second level balcony of the home. I caught a small glimpse of Bianca in that same corner, only this time she was entangled in the man she had been talking with. I smiled and shook my head as we walked by, and slowly Lucas guided me through the house. Through the hallways. Out the back door and onto the cement patio.

  Once he closed the patio door behind us, it was as if all the riff-raff had been stuffed into another universe.

  “Why is no one else out here? It’s beautiful,” I said.

  “Because the food, drinks, music, and beds are all inside,” Lucas said.

  “Well, I prefer it out here.”

  “Then you’re in luck, because so do I.”

  I slipped my arm from his and the two of us started for the hedge maze. The entrance loomed off in the distance, darkened by the nighttime sky that hung above us. I slid my fingertips along the perfectly-trimmed hedges while Lucas followed beside me, taking his time and keeping in-line with my steps as I took everything in.

  “Do these hedges bloom into anything?” I asked.

  “Nope. They are evergreen, though. So even if Charleston experiences a harsh winter, the backyard still seems full of life.”

  “I bet the winter snow looks wonderful on green hedges.”

  “I bet it does.”

  “What’s at the center of it? It has a center, right?”

  “Want to follow me and find out?” he asked.

  I looked over at his outstretched hand and every part of me wanted to take it. To thread my fingers with his strong, callused hands and have him guide me to the center of it. I wanted to get lost with him and I didn’t even know why. I hardly knew him. I hardly knew anything about him.

  But it felt as if I had known him for ages.

  I slipped my hand within his and he tugged me faster down the aisle. We raced around corners and I kept up as best as I could, giggling as we ran throughout the maze. His strides were long and it took two of my steps to keep up with one of his. He held my hand tightly as we came closer and closer to the middle, and I could hear the sound of rushing water.

  “What in the world is that?” I asked, panting.

  “Come on. We’re almost there.”

  Sweat dripped down the back of my neck as my feet stumbled underneath me. And before my knees even hit the ground, I felt a pair of strong arms scoop me up. Suddenly, I was being raised up, floating in midair as my body rested against something firm, stout, and strong.

  “Are you all right?” Lucas asked.

  The rumbling tone of his voice made me physically sigh into his neck. His beautiful neck that held my face in the crook of it so nicely.

  “Mhm,” I said. “I’m okay.”

  “We’re almost there. Let me carry you.”

  The second the smell of chlorine hit my nose, I knew exactly what was in the center of the hedge maze. What I wasn’t prepared for was how beautiful the layout would be or how incredible the hot water would feel against my skin.

  Or how eager I would be to feel Lucas’ skin against mine.

  SIX

  Lucas

  I couldn't believe I’d found the girl from the tavern standing there, looking beautiful and peaceful amongst the old books of the home. But as I cradled her against me and walked her into the center of the garden, my cock began to throb. Feeling her breath against the skin of my neck was too much for me. The heady feeling and the way desire for her poured through my veins was too much for me to bear. I took a peek at her ankles to make sure she hadn’t actually hurt herself, then I walked us the rest of the way into the garden. I knew she would enjoy it, if only she would look up.

  “We’re here,” I said.

  “Hmm?”

  “The center of the maze. We’re here.”

  “Why do I hear water?”

  “Why don’t you come out from your cocoon and see?”

  “Don’t make me. It’s comfortable.”

  She snuggled closer into me and I bit back a groan. My God, she felt incredible. Her small frame in my arms. Her lips against my neck. Her blonde hair fluttering with the wind as it blew past us, tickling the exposed skin of my face and neck. My eyes fell onto the fountain that poured into the swimming pool. The angelic statue lent an old-fashioned beauty to the modern-day in-ground structure. But that wasn’t what I had my sights set on.

  The hot tub was what I wanted.

  “Kick off your shoes,” I said.

  “What?” Jessica asked.

  “Just trust me. Kick off your shoes.”

  I toed out of mine as hers hit the ground, then I walked with her in my arms over to the in-ground structure. I took each step gingerly, acclimating to the heat of the water before I slowly descended into it. Jessica gasped into my neck before her head whipped up, and I grinned as her eyes widened.

  “The pool and the hot tub are in the center of the maze?” she asked.

  “They are,” I said as I sat down on the edge.

  “Oh, this water feels so good.”

  “You wouldn’t think so in the middle of a South Carolina summer, but it actually does,” I said.

  “And the fountain is filling up the pool!”

  I chuckled at the way her eyes lit up. So innocent. So new to everything that surrounded her. I’d long become accustomed to things like this. Over-the-top elegance and expensive things for the sake of showing off monetary status. But watching Jessica take in such beauty for the first time reminded me of how I felt when I first understood the amount of money and work that went into my own surroundings. Being raised with this kind of money came with a muted appreciation for what was around me most times, but not for someone like Jessica. I enjoyed the way her eyes lit up.

  “All of this is so incredible,” sh
e said.

  Her legs straddled my lap as her eyes looked over my shoulders.

  “Are those the trees you were talking about? They’re massive. I probably couldn't even get my arms around the trunk of it.”

  “Are they at the edge of the property?” I asked.

  “They look far away. The hedges are too high for me to see anything other than what I already do.”

  “Then those are probably the trees I was talking about.”

  “Are you sure nothing sprouts from these hedges? I see little buds on the ones around us.”

  “The outer ones I know don’t sprout anything. The ones on the inside that surround the center of it all might sprout with something. I know the gardener was trying to bring a lively perspective to some of the plant life back here, but other than that I don’t know.”

  Her eyes widened while she took everything in. My gaze danced around her face, taking in the shock and awe of it all. With each movement she made, her hips caressed my growing groin. She had no idea what her innocent beauty was doing to me, and it made me want her even more. I took a chance and placed my hands on her hips. Curled my fingertips around her petite frame while she slowly swiveled her head to take in all she could.

  She didn’t even seem phased by my touch.

  “I bet it’s even more beautiful out here during a sunrise. Or a sunset.”

  “I think this is the most beautiful time there is,” I said.

  “You enjoy the night?” I asked.

  “No. I enjoy you.”

  That caught her attention. She whipped her eyes back over to mine and I grinned as her lips parted in shock. I reached up and tucked a strand of wispy air behind her ear, allowing my thumb to linger on her cheek just a little bit. Her skin flushed automatically. Her milky skin tinted with my touch and it made my cock ache for her. My jeans were strangling me, keeping my groin from growing to the size it wanted to be. It was possibly the only thing saving me from looking like an ass with such a beautiful woman in my lap.

  “You hardly know me,” she snickered.

  “I don’t have to. You helped save me, Jessica. You comforted me. Coaxed me. Held me in the palm of your hand until help arrived. It’s all I need to experience about you to know the kind of person you are. The kind of woman you are.”

  I crooked my finger underneath her chin and slowly pulled her face closer. I felt her breath pulse against my lips. Felt her body move in time with my lead. She slid her hips closer to mine and it was all I could do to suppress a growl rising up my throat. I nuzzled her nose with the tip of mine as my lips ghosted against hers.

  “May I kiss you?”

  Without hesitation, her lips fell against mine. My hands slid underneath her and cupped her ass, drawing her even closer into me. Her arms threaded around my neck as our tongues connected, wasting no time in taking what we wanted. The straps of her dress fell down her shoulders and the skin of her body called to me. I broke our kiss and dropped my lips to her collarbone, nibbling and licking at the dip in her shoulder.

  That was when I saw it. The bird tattoo on her left shoulder.

  “What is that?” I asked.

  I heard her panting as I kissed her neck, drawing my gaze back up to hers.

  “The tattoo?” she asked breathlessly.

  “Yeah. The tattoo.”

  “Do you not like it?”

  I squeezed her ass and ground her intentionally into my cock.

  “Does it feel like I don’t like it?” I asked.

  Her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of crimson that matched her soaked yellow dress wonderfully.

  “It’s a crane. They symbolize love, purity, and hope. I grew up around here, and the small pond by my house had a couple of cranes that mated together every season. So, there were always baby cranes to gawk at when I was a kid.”

  “Sounds beautiful,” I said.

  “It was. Some of my favorite memories are sitting at the window and watching the baby cranes swim behind their mother. Or trying to fly. Or generally being clumsy in what they did.”

  “Are you clumsy?” I asked, chuckling.

  “More than I enjoy admitting sometimes.”

  Her giggle was fantastic. It blanketed me in a sense of peace that was ironic, given the tattoo she chose for herself. I slid my hands down the backs of her bare thighs, taking in her smooth skin against my rough, callused hands. She gasped at the touch and her forehead fell to mine, then I slid my hands up her dress and cupped the perfect handfuls she had sitting behind her. The lacy panties drove me wild.

  “Do you have any others?” I asked.

  “Any other tattoos?”

  “Mhm.”

  I hooked my fingers into the sides of her panties and slid them down her legs.

  “I don’t know whether to disappoint you or whether to tell you to go looking,” she said.

  I let out a groan I could no longer hold back as her panties floated off to the other side of the hot tub.

  “Please let me explore,” I said. My eyes caught hers and a darkness blanketed them that made my cock scream to be released.

  “Then by all means, go and try to find them,” she said.

  I cupped her bare ass cheeks and slammed our lips together. I lifted her out of the water and turned her around, settling her onto the edge. Her fingers trembled as she tried to undo the buttons of my shirt. The more she struggled, the more it made me grin. I kissed down her neck and felt her hands falter. She abandoned the job to fist my hair, drawing me down toward her clothed bosom. I mouthed over those tits I felt puckering against her dress. I wanted them in my mouth. I wanted to lap my tongue across her engorged nipples. I reached back and slid the wet shirt off my back, feeling the water pour down the slats of my muscles and drip off the edges of my body.

  I tossed the wet fabric to the side before I reached behind Jessica, slowly sliding the zipper of her dress down.

  The way she moaned was unlike anything I’d ever heard. It coaxed the animal chained up inside of me. She was playing with fire, and I enjoyed teasing her with my heat. She rolled into me as I slid the zipper down until it stopped, then peeled away the wet fabric from her body. I almost fucking lost it when I saw she didn’t have a damn bra on.

  I laid her down and pressed myself out of the water with my arms. I dripped all over her beautiful body as I gazed down upon her. The length of her neck, red with the suckling of my lips. The perfect handfuls of her breasts and her tits puckered tighter than I’d ever seen. Her stomach jumped with her panting breaths.

  I was going to ruin this woman for every other man that tried to touch her.

  I descended my body down to hers and wrapped my lips around her nipple. She arched into me, her hands fisting my hair as her legs wrapped around my body. Her legs didn’t hardly get around me and I growled at the sensation. The heat of her pussy radiated against my skin as I lapped at her engorged peak. I sucked and hummed. Playfully bit and massaged them. I kissed up her neck and nuzzled the shell of her ear, causing her to quake underneath me.

  But it wasn’t until those filthy words fell from her mouth that I knew what I would do.

  I knew I’d take her, fuck her, then ask her for more. Anything to keep her at my side and see her after tonight.

  “Lick my pussy, Lucas. Please.”

  And I wasted no time in dropping to the edge of the hot tub, spreading those toned legs of hers, and getting a glance at the most beautiful pussy I’d ever seen in my life. I’d make a meal of her before I sank her onto my cock. A delectable appetizer before the main course.

  SEVEN

  Jessica

  His tongue dipped into my folds and I shot up to the stars. It had been so long since I had enjoyed the presence of a man, and feeling his hands pinning my hips down was too much for me. He restricted my movements before making me beg to move. His thick tongue graced over my clit and my toes curled. I felt him grinning into my body as his massive arms curled around my thighs. He pulled me closer to him until my ass was situated
on the edge of the hot tub.

  Between the heat of his lips and the heat of the water, I was done.

  “Lucas. Oh shit. Just like that. Right there. Oh— oh fuck.”

  “Such dirty words for a beautiful woman,” he said.

  I whimpered at the salaciousness of his statement. I propped my heels up onto his shoulders and opened myself for him. The growl of approval that fell from his lips made me shudder against his tongue. He lapped at me, catching my juices that dripped into his mouth. I rocked against him. Bucked at him. Rose my ass off the concrete and begged with my hips for more.

  “So greedy for me,” he said.

  “Harder. Please. I can’t take it. It’s been too long.”

  “No wonder you look so tight.”

  I felt his finger playing at my entrance and goosebumps fluttered across my skin. Was he going to do it? I hoped he did. I wanted him to. But the pressure he put on my clit with the tip of his tongue rendered me speechless. He was amazing. Incredible. Fire shot through my veins as he manipulated my body perfectly. I felt myself quaking against his skin as his finger rimmed the entrance of my pussy, never breaching that beautiful orifice like I wanted him to.

  “I-I-I… oh, Lucas!”

  “That’s right. I want every single person at this party to hear you.”

  “Holy fuck!”

  My hips arched off the ground and his tongue pressed deeply between my folds. His finger sank into my pussy and crooked up, massaging that beautiful spot as colors sizzled in my vision. His tongue lapped at me furiously, jolting me as my entire body locked up. I spasmed and quaked, and an involuntary smile appeared upon my lips. He was fire and ice. Darkness and light. And though I wanted to cry out his name, the only thing I could do was choke on my own sounds.

  My heels slid from his shoulders as my ass hit the ground, and I felt him licking up my juices as he inched his finger from my body.

  “I want a bird’s eye view of that moment,” he said.