City Minute

by Liz Peters

  She kept her focus on what she was doing, enjoying each moan it dragged from his half opened mouth, until he gave her hair a gentle tug, letting it go so that it fell down her back in a cascade. She leaned back, sitting on her heels as she looked up at him.

  “Get up here, Baby Girl.” Reid kept his eyes trained on her as he worked to unbutton the shirt he’d worn out to dinner, draping it over the arm of the nearby couch. She used her hand on his stomach as a brace to help her rise in front of him, reaching behind her to tug down the zipper of her skirt and let it fall to the floor leaving her in nothing but her bra, panties and heels.

  “Tell me what you want, Legs.” He ran a hand down her side, following the curve of her stomach into her hip with a light touch that sent a shudder through her frame.

  “You.” She locked eyes with him, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth. Sam could feel her heart beat in every inch of her body. Her face was flaming like she’d been standing in front of a fire, and her lips were swollen and pouty.

  “I’m all yours.” He tugged her into him and claimed her lips in another kiss until she wasn’t sure where he started and where she began. He’d already taken her breath, and she was only able to get out a surprised half-squeal when he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder to carry her off to the bedroom, kicking the bedroom door closed behind him just as he had the apartment’s front door when he got them inside.

  He threw her down on the bed, fanning her hair out underneath her as she bounced onto the soft white down comforter. Sam leaned up on her elbows, watching Reid move between her knees with a hungry look in his eyes.

  “See something you like?” she grinned up at him.

  He moved down to his knees this time, planting a kiss on the inside of her knee just before he hooked his fingers in the waist of her underwear to peel them slowly down her legs. She moved to help him, lifting her legs just enough to let him toss them down to the floor and hook his elbows under both her knees. One swift move, and he tugged her down to the edge of the bed, moving his face in between her thighs with a soft growl as he spoke.

  “Oh, I see a whole hell of a lot I like, Legs. Now be a good girl and try not to wiggle too much.” He laughed and ran his tongue along the full length of her labia, drawing a gasp from her parted lips. Her head fell back and her back arched off the bed, moving her hips against him and creating even more friction while he explored her with his tongue.

  She felt like she could barely catch her breath as he worked his mouth against her clit and gave up even trying to keep from moaning out loud with each expert flick of his tongue across the heat of her core. But it was all over when he decided to slip two fingers inside her, pulling a cry from her as her hands knotted in the comforter and pulled it up into twin mounds on either side of her body.

  “Reid!” She strained up from the bed, back arching again as she cried out his name, then fell back into the soft blankets trying to catch her breath while she rode out the high that roared through her with the orgasm.

  He was patient, watching her along the length of her body until she was spent before he crawled up over her. Sam’s body moved backwards with his until they were back in the middle of the bed, ruining the blankets as they crashed into each other. Sam’s legs wound around Reid’s waist to pull him in closer. At the moment, she wanted nothing more than to have him inside her. He clearly wanted the same thing and didn’t waste a moment before he moved into her body, pulling another cry from her.

  His arms moved to gather her body up against his, keeping her back just inches off the bed, but her chest pressed to his. Sam loved this. She could have spent the rest of the remaining time they had together in his arms. She gasped again, dragging her nails lightly along his back when he moved in, seating himself deeper inside her pussy. His lips found her throat, teeth grazing across the vein that was pounding just above her collarbone. The combined sensations were driving her a little crazy with need. She needed him, all of him that she could get, and she intended to make the best of the time they had together. No more of these stupid plans that didn’t take into account that all the two of them needed was each other.

  Chapter Six

  Reid woke to the sunlight streaming through the window early the next morning. He moved to roll over in bed, reaching out across the bed for Sam and coming up empty handed. He sat up, rubbing a hand across his sleep blurred eyes, and looked around the room. He was a little confused and not just at the fact that he was waking up in a strange bed. It only took a moment for him to register that he wasn’t in the place where he was used to waking up, and he remembered that he was in Sam’s apartment with a little more than a week to go.

  He’d been here for a few days, but his body still hadn’t quite adjusted to the fact that he wasn’t back in the bunkhouse style cabin that he shared with his best friend Matty back at the ranch. But he was growing more used to that fact every day. It helped when he woke up and Samantha was curled into his side. The realization was instant then when he could tug her close and bury his nose in her hair to breathe in the fresh scent of her shampoo. That scent was going to linger in his nostrils long after he left. He knew because it had when she’d left the ranch.

  Even after only two days, it had hit him at the most unexpected times. He would be walking across the grass in one of the cow pastures or climbing into the shower, and the scent of her would flood his senses, lighting up memories of things he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to be able to get. It had started to be a struggle to clear his thoughts when he needed to most. It was even worse when he climbed into bed at night. His sheets had smelled like her since the night she’d slept in them. It was getting to the point that he wasn’t sleeping because of the thoughts that were running through his head. That was one of the reasons he’d known he needed to come here.

  Reid looked around the room, listening carefully for any sign of life in the apartment. Maybe she’d just gotten up earlier than he was and headed to the bathroom to begin getting ready for work, but there were no sounds coming from the other room to indicate any sign of life in there.

  He pushed up from the bed with a groan, stretching his muscles and letting everything go that had tensed overnight. He was sore in the best ways, and he had been ever since he’d walked through the door to this apartment. It was most certainly due to the fact that he’d spent his evenings using muscles that he didn’t customarily get to use every single night. Sam gave him a chance to work all of that out from the moment she walked through the door after coming home from work.

  Ever since that first night when they’d tried to go out on an unsuccessful date, the two of them had been more than satisfied to stay at home, alternating between takeout and walking together down the street to either Woody’s Diner where he’d grabbed a cup of coffee on his first morning here or to one of the other local restaurants that were on every block around her neighborhood.

  One of the good things about being surrounded by so many people was the fact that food of about a thousand different types was available within walking distance of wherever they were. Back at the ranch, if you wanted something other than what the cook had slopped together in the ranch kitchen on the nights when there were no guests around, you were going to have a drive of around twenty or thirty minutes on your hands just to find a burger and fries. Anything more exotic was going to mean a lot longer search.

  Here was a whole other story. The two of them had the world at their fingertips with nothing more than a walk of a few blocks. Half the time, they were able to get the food delivered without even having to walk farther than the front door. Between that and the fact he’d fallen asleep with his girl in his arms every night, Reid was starting to feel spoiled.

  He was also getting used to waking up to her every morning, and it was starting to bug him that he wasn’t able to hear her anywhere around the apartment. He headed into the bathroom, looking around and finding nothing there, then headed into the living room and kitchen. They were both empty, to his d
isappointment. Sam was nowhere to be seen in the apartment.

  He’d glanced at the clock on the kitchen stove before he walked back into the bedroom, sitting on the side of the bed and looking out the window to take in the city for a long moment. She should have been here. It was long before the usual time that she left for work. The sun was barely up, and the sky still held the pink and yellow hues that it always took on at sunrise. At least that was the same here as it was back at home in the country. It was in that moment that he noticed the piece of folded blue paper on the night stand with his name written on the outside.

  He didn’t know how he’d missed it before. The bright blue stood out against the white wood like a sore thumb, but he hadn’t been looking for it before. He’d been looking for Sam. Maybe the paper held some kind of clue about where she was, but he had his ideas. He unfolded it, resting his weight back into the bed to read what was written there.

  Hi Reid,

  Sorry I had to take off so early this morning. I got a text from work about something that they needed me to come in for before business hours, and I didn’t want to wake you. You looked too peaceful in your sleep. So, I left a little early and only stole one kiss goodbye before I left.

  I should be back in at the normal time tonight, so start thinking about what you want to have for dinner tonight. We can still try that place with the awesome deep dish pizza my friend Debbie told me about around the corner if you want. Just let me know.

  I’ll miss you.

  Love, Sam

  Reid grabbed his phone off the nightstand, thinking immediately about texting Sam, but dropped it at his side. What was he going to text her? That pizza for dinner was fine? She was clearly having a busy morning already. Distracting her with something stupid like that wasn’t going to make it any better. He suddenly felt a wave of uncertainty wash across him. It wasn’t something he was used to.

  Why would someone like Samantha want to have anything to do with him? She had her whole life together, a career that meant everything to her and that she was amazingly good at. He didn’t have to set foot in a law firm or know anything about being an attorney to know that. All he had to do was watch the way her eyes lit up when she talked about her work. It was one of the times she really looked alive. It was obvious that she was meant to do what she was doing.

  And then there was Reid. He’d barely finished high school, and he’d never even set foot on a college campus, much less attended a class. The closest he’d gotten was hooking up with a few of the girls from the community college back in Morristown whenever he wandered into town. To be honest, banging girls who were studying to be nursing assistants wasn’t anything like going to law school and landing a job with a prestigious law firm before she’d even graduated.

  Honestly, he had no idea what she saw in him, but he knew exactly what he saw in her. She was a lot more than just a nice set of legs. She was smart, funny and gorgeous — the full package. He’d have been a moron not to see that in her. Everyone else had to see it. She probably could have dated anyone she wanted, and here she was coming home every night for at least the next couple of weeks to a cowboy with a high school diploma and enough money to his name to put a down payment on a used Buick.

  Reid sighed and shook his head. He needed a cup of coffee. He needed more than just a cup of coffee. He needed a pot, and there was no chance of getting that in this apartment. It meant he was going to have to head out into the world and find something for himself. Woody’s Diner immediately popped into his mind. At least he knew it was somewhere that he could get a decent cup of joe. It just meant that he was going to have to crawl out of this bed and put on clothes before he headed out the door and into the world beyond. Even though that idea sounded less than appealing, his need for a shot of caffeine outweighed his desire to stay in bed a little bit longer.

  It was easy enough to rummage through his suitcase sitting at the foot of the bed and pull out another pair of jeans and boxers, pulling them on one leg at a time as he tried to avoid thinking along the same train he’d started on back in the bed. It was going to be easy for him to get down on everything that they had going on if he kept it up. Probably the only good idea he’d had all morning was getting out of the apartment and heading down for a cup or five of coffee and some breakfast.

  The diner was a quick walk away. He knew the path pretty well since he’d taken it half a dozen times by now. He could make the trip without even really thinking about it if he tried. The morning air was crisp and fresh, but it lacked the smell that mornings like this always held back at home. He missed the way the ranch smelled like dirt and grass and animals this time of day. The scents were replaced by car exhaust and the stony smell of the sidewalks and buildings that never went away. It changed depending on the time of day, but that underlying scent was always there.

  He walked into the diner, the bell that hung at the top of the door signaling his presence to the waitress behind the counter who looked up with a smile. It was the same girl who’d been there on his first morning in the city.

  “Well, hello there, Cowboy. I haven’t seen you in a bit. I was starting to think you’d run off back to the country.” She put out a coffee cup and filled it nearly to the brim with black coffee without him saying a word.

  Before he’d met Sam, he would have been flirting with her before she finished filling the cup, but he cared too much about the woman who’d crawled out of his arms before the sun rose that morning to do that to her, even if he did doubt himself and how in the world Sam could give a damn about him. Instead, he looked up at her with a grateful nod before downing the first swallow of the coffee she’d poured him. Her nametag said Katie. He hadn’t noticed it before when he’d been here.

  “Thank you, Katie.” He exhaled the words as soon as he was done swallowing the first mouthful.

  She didn’t wait for him to ask before she topped it back off and turned to put the pot on the other side of the counter so it would be close by. She could tell he was going to need more before she could walk away and come back.

  “Help yourself to more there if I’m not around. So, tell me if I’m being too nosy or rude or whatever, but you look like you’ve got something on your mind.” She stood up, sliding her hands into the pockets of the pink dress that was the uniform for all the waitresses in here. It was one of those stereotypical diner uniforms. It looked corny, but it was also familiar, exactly what you would expect in one of these places so it didn’t put you on edge.

  It had the effect that made Reid feel at home. It was why he’d chosen this diner in the first place, besides the fact that he knew he could get a real cup of coffee here. It also meant he felt a lot more comfortable talking to this waitress than he would have some stranger on the street. He was pretty sure she heard a million stories standing on the other side of that counter every day, but she’d asked. He just felt like he really needed someone to talk t and calling anyone back at the ranch wasn’t going to be an option today.

  “Yeah, I’ve got a lot on my mind this morning, and all of it is probably pretty stupid.” Reid leaned on the counter and glanced up at her with a smile that only looked half serious before he returned to his coffee.

  “Listen, I hear a lot of stupid stuff every day.” Katie grabbed a cloth to start wiping down the bar on either side of him. “I may be a waitress but this diner does have a bar, and there’s something about sitting on a stool and drinking something, even if it’s just coffee, that makes people want to spill their souls. I’m a good listener, if you need an ear… Umm, sorry I don’t think I caught your name.”

  Reid thought about it for a moment. He was pretty much alone in the city, at least while Samantha was working, and this wasn’t exactly something that he was going to be able to talk to Sam about. He didn’t know this woman from Adam’s housecat, and he was probably never going to see her again after he went back to the ranch, so he figured he didn’t have much to lose.

  “Name’s Reid.” He started in, not pausing in case
he decided not to say what he was thinking. “I came here to visit a woman. Someone I just met, and it’s been damned good since I got here, except for one thing. I kind of came unannounced, and she just got a promotion at work, so I’m kind of stuck around here alone while she’s working. She left early this morning without waking me up, and I’m trying to avoid whining and moping around like a spoiled two year old while she’s gone. It just seems like maybe her work is the most important thing in her life, and I don’t know if I can compete.”

  That was the first time he’d voiced his fear out loud. He’d kept it so pushed down that he hadn’t even realized that’s what it came down to. Maybe he was selfish for wanting to be first. He’d just met Sam, and she barely knew him. But here he was expecting to be put over the thing she’d worked her entire life to get. He was going home in a few days, and she would be left here to keep living the life she’d set up for herself before he ever came along.

  Reid felt a little stupid, but it was still there. That fear that he wasn’t good enough to come first for anyone. He’d taken time off his job to come here and find out if things with Sam were going to work out. He just wasn’t sure if she was going to want to overcome the obstacles that stood between the two of them, and there were a lot of them when it came down to it. It was probably the scariest thing that he’d ever been in for.

  Katie shook her head and brushed a stray strand of hair back off her forehead, dropping the rag on the countertop.

  “Well Reid, just tell me if this is none of my business or if I’m dead wrong, but something tells me you haven’t said any of this to your girl. She took you into her place, and you guys have been having a good time. But everything is kind of new. You care about her. I can see it in your face when you talk about things. I could have figured out you were in love when you walked in the door. Just seems to me like she’s under a lot of stress with a new job and all. Maybe, you need to plan a night for her so she doesn’t have to think about a damned thing other than you when she walks through the door. I mean, I know I’d love if someone did that for me. Because I’m pretty sure if you’re the one who’s visiting her, she’s spent all day working and all night feeling like she’s got to entertain you.”