Talk Dirty to Me

by Dakota Cassidy

  Em came up behind her, throwing a sweater over her shoulders. She spun Dixie around to face her. “I’m despicable.”

  Dixie couldn’t resist the temptation to tease. “The despicablest.”

  “That I ever in a million years thought you could do something so horrible to us.” Em shook her head with disgust. “Well, I’ll have to bring you lattes for a million years to make up for it.”

  “And some of that pizza with anchovies,” Dixie said on a giggle.

  “I’ll bring you all of the Backstreet Boys, if you’ll forget all the horrible things I said.”

  Dixie pursed her lips in mock thought. “Only if it’s Nick Carter. I’ll settle for nothing less.”

  “Done.”

  Dixie threw her arms around Em’s neck and squeezed her tight. “It’s okay, Em. Really. I get why you thought it was me. What I don’t get is, who was it?”

  Em swiped at a tear, escaping down her cheek. “Know what? I’m gonna let the hero in all this tell you all about it. If looks could devour a person, from the way Caine looks at you from across that pool, we won’t have time to talk anyway.”

  Caine came up behind Dixie, slipping his arms around her waist. “Let’s blow this Popsicle stand, huh? We have business to attend to,” he murmured in her ear, sending a shiver of anticipation along her spine.

  She leaned back against him, sheltered, warm, accepted. “We’ll talk tomorrow, Em?”

  Em blew her nose into a tissue and flapped her hand at them. “You two go do unseemly things to each other. I’ll be at the offices tomorrow.” She blew them a kiss before making her way back through the shrubs and disappearing.

  Dixie turned in Caine’s arms, planting small kisses on his jawline. “I believe we have a date, Candy Caine. Lead the way.”

  “I know the perfect place.” He grabbed her hand and began walking in the shadows.

  Dixie ran behind him, forcing herself to focus on the road rather than his perfect butt in tight jeans.

  When he finally came to a stop, Dixie had to muffle a giggle. “You remembered,” she said with a breathy sigh.

  He planted a quick kiss on her lips, rubbing his nose against hers. “I’ll always remember. Now hurry it up, Dixie Davis. I need you naked, but I know you’re gonna make me wait until you have all the answers to your questions just like a typical female,” he teased.

  Dixie cocked her head at him, planting her hands on her hips. “A typical female, huh? I’ll have you know, I’m anything but typical. Race ya to our spot!” she shouted before she took off running toward the dirt road.

  Caine was hot on her heels, his footsteps thundering behind her until he caught up, looping an arm around her waist and carrying her the rest of the way to their favorite tree.

  Dixie’s laughter rang out when he plunked her down on a warm plaid blanket where glasses and a bottle of wine sat. “You had this all figured out, didn’t you? Presumptuous much?”

  Caine dropped down beside her, raising himself up on one arm while slipping the button of her jeans open. “I sure as hell am,” he teased, rimming the outline of her mouth with his tongue.

  Her nipples beaded, tight and hungry, just as her fingers threaded through his hair. “But wait,” she moaned. “You promised me answers.”

  His sigh was ragged, but his fingers didn’t stop moving. Pulling up her shirt, he dragged it over her head. “Right, answers,” he repeated, unhooking the clasp on her bra with nimble fingers and cupping her breast. “What am I answering?”

  “What about Miami?” Please don’t go back.

  “Well, now, you don’t think I’m going to go back to Miami when there’s this hot, rich, totally awesome Southern belle right here in Plum Orchard? Why work when I can lounge by the pool and watch you work?”

  Dixie laughed, snuggling closer to his broad chest. “I’m being serious.”

  “I’m giving up the real-estate business. If this trip taught me one of many things, it was that I miss the hell out of my mama’s pecan pie. Oh, and you. And PO and life here in general. That’s why I was in Miami—to close up shop. So is there anything else? Or can we get to the business of tearing each other’s clothes off. If I’m not inside you soon, it’s gonna get ugly.”

  Dixie almost forgot everything but the firm warmth of his hand, his thumb as it caressed her nipple. “Who took those pictures of Clifton? How did they get mixed in at the Founder’s Day celebration?”

  Caine’s hands stilled for a moment, almost eliciting a whimper from her. “Louella Palmer hired an investigator from Atlanta to take them.”

  Dixie sat straight up, astonished. “But how did she know? How did you find out it was her?”

  “Sanjeev called me in Miami to tell me you were leaving and why, and when I heard the whole story, I knew it was her.”

  “You really believed I had nothing to do with it?”

  Caine cupped her jaw, bringing her in for a brief kiss. “Don’t look so surprised, Dixie. Of course, I didn’t believe you had anything to do with it. I saw how you defended Em at Madge’s. I was there when you took out Louella, remember? I gotta confess, all those talks with Walker, all that honesty, stung, and it made me see what a judgmental prick I’d been. All this time you were beating yourself up, and I was still angry with you. Angry about what happened. Angry about wanting you even after what happened.”

  Dixie let her hands thread through his hair, loving the silky feel of it. “I get it.”

  “That has to stop, Dixie,” he grated. “Stop thinking it’s okay for anyone to treat you badly because of something that happened a decade ago. It’s not your due, and if I damn well see it happen, whoever it is, is going to wish they’d stayed the hell in bed.”

  His overprotective stance left her breathless. Dixie gazed at him intently, loving him so completely. “I think Walker hashed that all out enough for one lifetime, don’t you?”

  Caine’s face went from hard to soft in seconds. “The baby. Jesus, Dixie. If I’d known...”

  She shook her head, the hot swell of tears pricking her eyelids. “Please, please don’t,” she whispered up at him, caressing his cheek. “It’s done now. I just have to let it heal the rest of the way, okay?”

  “But I need you to know I see what an ass I was being.”

  “Oh, I’ve seen,” she teased, reaching for the buttons on his shirt. “Just tell me how you figured out it was Louella. How could she have possibly found something like that out when only three people here in Plum Orchard knew?”

  Caine gave her a smile of satisfaction. “I did what every good golden boy does, I plied her with wine over a late lunch today, cornered her and got it out of her. She overheard you and Em talking about it one night outside of Call Girls when you were by the pool, according to her.”

  Dixie fell back on the warmth of the blanket, pulling Caine with her, but she couldn’t hide her surprise. “You made Louella Palmer confess? I didn’t think Jack Bauer could get her to confess.”

  “Oh, you’d be surprised at my interrogation tactics. I know things about Louella she wouldn’t like getting out. I hated to resort to it, but I was willing to do whatever it took to prove you were innocent. To prove to Em you were innocent. Next, we work on damage control so Em and the boys don’t suffer. I’ll do the best I can to keep the gossip mill from percolating.”

  That wasn’t enough for Dixie. No good would come from the entire town seeing that picture of Clifton. “But it’s Plum Orchard. The gossip mill is set on percolate.”

  “You know what, sweetheart, you don’t give everyone in Plum Orchard a fair shake because you’ve been on their bad side for too long. When someone’s struggling, they don’t just gossip about it, they rally together, bake a cake and gossip about it while the batter sets. Sure, plenty of them are small-minded, especially the Mags, senior and junior, but those are ju
st the loudest hens in the henhouse.”

  “And they rule the roost. I’m worried, Caine.” Dixie shook her head, incredibly sad for Louella. “She went too far. This involved children, Caine.”

  “If there’s fallout, we’ll help Em and the boys. Together. Now, can we get back to what’s important here?”

  “What’s that?” she purred, pushing his shirt out of the way to allow her hands free rein over his pecs.

  “You. Naked,” he muttered, closing his mouth over hers.

  She tore her lips from his. “Hold that thought for one second, Golden Boy.”

  “Woman, if you aren’t naked in ten seconds and counting, I won’t be held accountable for the lack of foreplay.”

  “Just one more thing. And it’s really, really important,” she said, bracketing his face with her hands.

  “Nine...eight...”

  “Thank you,” she murmured, her eyes filling with tears for this new beginning. “Thank you for trusting me. You’ll never know what that means.”

  “I don’t know if I told you this, but that’s what someone does when they love you.”

  “I love you, too, Caine.” So, so much it might have hurt if it wasn’t so sweet with fulfillment.

  “So quiet time now?” he asked with a smile before he didn’t give her the chance to answer.

  Caine planted his lips on hers, and Dixie responded by rearing up against him, stroking his tongue, reveling in his hot skin.

  His lips slipped away, moving along the column of her throat until he was skimming her breasts, tonguing her nipples to sharp peaks, pushing at her jeans until they were off, and she was naked.

  Caine’s head lifted, his eyes hungry, devouring her as he slid his fingers between the folds of her flesh, thumbing her clit. “Christ, Dixie, you’re so wet and hot.” His voice, husky and low, sent a thrill of pleasure through her.

  His words always stirred something in Dixie she couldn’t quite define. Something wicked and untamed. Pulling at his shoulders, she dragged him upward, fumbling with his jeans until he was free of clothing, and his cock was hard against her hip.

  “I say we skip the foreplay,” she managed to squeak out on a whimper. “I can’t wait.”

  Caine’s response was primal, his growl of pleasure from somewhere deep in his chest. He pushed her legs up high around his waist, and without another word, drove deep within her.

  Dixie’s head thrashed, pressing her hips hard against his until he was embedded in her slick heat. She fought a scream of pleasure at his first thrust, writhing, clutching his back, begging him with her body to make her come.

  With each thrust, Caine’s cock scraped her clit until she was swollen and so needy, tears seeped from the corners of her eyes.

  Dixie opened her eyes briefly to watch Caine as he thrust into her, his muscled back under the moonlight, her fingers digging into his solid flesh, his body calling to hers to be one with his—forever.

  At that very moment, she understood what it was to love someone so completely—so deeply—she felt it in her pores, her bones, her heart, her mind.

  “Come, baby,” he said, brushing his lips over hers, his words ragged and raw. “Come hard.”

  With those words, she tensed around him, moving faster beneath him until she exploded with a sharply sweet burn of release. Her head reeled with the pleasure roaring through her veins. Her pride swelled at his hot release.

  And then there was the heave of chests, crashing together to pump air back into their lungs, and Caine was enveloping her in his arms, crushing her against him, pulling her closer, burying his face in her neck.

  Her soul was full again, heavy with the piece of her she’d been missing all these years.

  Full and finally complete.

  * * *

  Sanjeev awaited them at the wide front door of the big house, Mona and Lisa at his feet. “I see we’ve thoroughly debauched one another?”

  Dixie’s face turned red, and she buried it in Caine’s shoulder, running her guilty fingers through her mussed hair.

  “You missed a leaf,” Caine remarked, winking at Sanjeev before he picked it out of her hair and let it flutter to the ground.

  “Well, now that you’ve taken care of that,” Sanjeev said on a smirk, “we have at least an hour before you absolutely must continue your mad race to procreation. This leaves us time for the final bit of business to tend to. Follow me, sex-starved lovebirds.”

  Sanjeev began making his way down the marble-floored hallway to Landon’s study.

  Dixie had avoided this room almost the entire time she’d been here. Everything about it screamed Landon at the top of its lungs. From the large desk made of cherrywood, to the wall with dozens of pictures of all of them together, smiling, laughing, loving each other, to the teak giraffe figurines and African masks.

  She inhaled, savoring the smell of his cologne, closing her eyes and remembering his warm hugs, his deep voice full of excitement about his next adventure.

  Sanjeev motioned to the chocolate-colored leather couch. “Sit. I have a message from Landon.”

  Neither Caine nor Dixie spoke. She couldn’t if she’d tried anyway. Being so near Landon’s things brought back a sharp pain—one that reminded her he wasn’t here to see who she’d become—how far she’d gone—and that she’d finally landed right back in Caine’s arms. Where she belonged.

  “What’s going on, Sanjeev?” Caine asked, sitting next to Dixie on the sofa and drawing her close to him.

  Sanjeev located the remote for Landon’s flat screen, covering almost an entire wall in front of them, and pointed it at the Blu-ray player. “Watch.”

  The DVD flickered on, making Dixie gasp at the image of Landon in his hospital bed. His face was drawn and pale, his lips chapped, but the twinkle in his eyes was as bright as it had ever been—the purest of souls reflected in his kind handsome face.

  Dixie stifled a sob, her eyes riveted to the TV. Transfixed by the tubes hanging from his arm, the bottles of medication to the right of his bed, the oxygen mask lying beside him.

  God, I miss you so much, friend.

  When Landon spoke, his voice was thready and weak, but Dixie’s heart clutched it tight to her chest.

  “So, by now you’ve either gotten those fool heads of yours on straight, or you’ve killed each other. I’m hopin’ for the former, but I’ve prepared for the latter. By now, you also know, I set you both up, because how much pinin’ can a BFF take from the two of you?” he said on a chuckle.

  Clearing his throat after a blast of oxygen, he continued. “Ten years is long enough for you both to come to your senses, and if it isn’t, then you shouldn’t be allowed a second longer of precious time on Earth when it could be used by someone who wants to really live.

  “Call Girls was an opportunity I knew both of you couldn’t resist. I know you, my Dixie-Cup. I knew you were in dire financial straits with all those investors. I also knew you were determined not to ask for help. But I couldn’t just leave money to ya, honeybee. First, you’da been mad, and your pride would have ruined everything. Second, you woulda just taken your mound of cash and gone right back where you don’t belong. You belong in Plum Orchard, Dixie, not Chicago. I’m bettin’ it didn’t feel like it at first with all the anger and resentment some feel, but I’m also bettin’ you showed everybody what you’re really made of these days. It was time to heal up your wounds after you lost your little one.”

  A sob escaped Dixie’s lips. That Landon had known, and never said a word....

  Caine kissed the top of her head, pulling her hand into his to hold it tight.

  “I know you’re clutchin’ your pearls in shock right now. I know all about your miscarriage, Dixie-Cup. I don’t have all this money for nothin’. You hurt me bad when I found out about it. But I was off on some trip I can’t rem
ember now, unreachable, so I’m choosin’ to believe you just couldn’t find me instead of believin’ it was a pain so deep you couldn’t even tell me. But you did find Agnes, right? I left a whole bunch o’ money to that Agnes’s grandkids—a nice college fund for takin’ such good care of you.

  “Point is you needed to come home and be surrounded by the people who would eventually love the new Dixie. By the people you love despite bein’ a bunch of gossipy old biddies. You just have to look hard. I put Em in charge because not only did I grow to love her in this last month or so, but also because she’s pretty dang honest. And I knew she’d keep y’all on the straight and narrow.

  “Most of all, Dixie, you needed Caine, and he needed you. In fact, I’m not sure who needed who more at this point. Caine was lost, too, you know. No social life to speak of, work, work, work. And still, he was always thinkin’ about you. He’d never say it. For a while your name was strictly forbidden until I reminded him that my life was a part of yours, and if he couldn’t hear about our friendship, he wasn’t just a sissy, he was gonna be one less friend. Same way I did you.

  “So what’s a BFF to do but die a dramatic death, hatch up a devious plan while he’s doin’ it, and leave behind a will that forced you two to do what you do best—hand-to-hand combat. Then I set up texts to taunt you both—spur you both into some action, let you know I was thinkin’ about you.”

  Dixie and Caine looked at each other with wonder. “You got them, too?” she asked.

  Caine nodded with a grin and a shake of his head.

  “I laughed and laughed when I thought about what your faces would look like when you found out I owned a phone-sex company. Then I laughed some more when I thought about what you’d look like when you both heard the rules of the game. I laughed harder when Sanjeev suggested we make the rule about you both stayin’ in the big house together while you competed.

  “But I didn’t laugh when I considered what you’d get out of this if you’d just listen to your hearts. Dixie, honey. You. Are. Worthy. Of love and trust and all the good things that come with livin’ a clean life.