“Carrie,“ his voice strained thickly as his hands ran over the back of her smooth thighs, her shorts having run up her thighs.
“Hmm,” she moaned, her face now tightly tucked into his neck, licking and kissing his skin, marking him deeper than just his skin. She was driving him crazy as her body writhed against his chest. He wanted to take his own shirt off to feel her skin to skin.
“Shit, baby,” he groaned, his hands moving into her hair and tugging gently so he could see her face, then pulling his face up to kiss her. The need to taste her was larger than his strength to stop himself. His hands dug deep, gripping her beautiful, silky hair as he swallowed her pretty little moans and whimpers.
“More,” she purred, and he couldn’t stop himself. He rolled them over, until her body was beneath his. He slipped his thigh between her legs, the exquisite heat making him squeeze his eyes shut tightly. When his knee shifted higher, she rolled her hips into him. “Joel.” Damn, that tone of her voice was going to have him embarrassing himself before they started doing anything if he didn’t find a way to keep his shit together.
His hands moved away, trying to get the hem of his shirt, but her hands got in on the effort, both trying to pull his shirt up and over his head. He got tangled for a second, but when the damn shirt was off, he threw it to the floor and looked down at her. Her chest was heaving. Her perky breasts rising and dropping with every breath she took created the need in him to explore. So he did. He leaned until his mouth was at the lace-encased breast, taking a quick yet somehow steady swipe at her nipple.
He looked up at her, his hands roaming the line of her thighs. She didn’t blink. The tips of his fingers roamed higher, playing with the edge of her shorts before dipping under. Her eyes closed as she threw her head back, digging deeper into the pillow under her.
“This okay, baby?”
“Yes,” she whispered when his fingers reached their intended destination. The soft sounds of the pleasure he was making her feel as he skimmed the warm but wet material of the gusset of her panties made him want to beat on his chest like some crazy Neanderthal.
“You’re so—“ He didn’t say another word when a loud knock sounded from the front of the cabin. They both froze.
“Was that a knock?” she asked, her voice cracking, and he ran his nose along hers.
“Yeah,” he growled, not wanting to stop. Not when he was so close to his personal bit of heaven on earth.
“Expecting company?” she asked, and he shook his head.
“Not even one little bit,” he grunted.
“Oh…” she sighed, and he watched her lick her lips. “Maybe you should answer that.”
“Maybe they will go away,” he muttered before kissing her, his fingers moving away, tracing the skin at her thighs, but he stopped as the knock sounded again. With a deep breath, he took his hand away and rested his lips on her forehead. Who the hell could that be?
“Doesn’t sound like they’re going anywhere,” she whispered. He could hear the smile in her voice.
“This isn’t funny,” he grunted and watched her press her lips together to mask a smile, which only made her even more adorable.
“I didn’t say it was,” she quipped, and he looked at her with a scowl.
“You’re smiling.”
“I am.”
“This isn’t funny,” he muttered again as another knock sounded. Her hands cupped his face.
“I can’t help but smile around you,” she whispered then pulled herself up so their lips could touch.
“Smooth, Blue. Stay in bed. Don’t forget where we were. Okay?”
“Yes, Sir,” she sassed. He simply shook his head and rolled off her, picking up his thermal off the floor as he walked to the door.
After peeking through the peephole, he hit his head on the door.
“I can hear you in there!” his mother muttered. “Open the door, Joel, it’s freezing out here.”
“Mom,” he said after opening the door. She slipped past him, shaking off her coat.
“You usually don’t wait to call me when you get here! What’s going—“
“Mom, geez, relax.”
“You call, asking me to stock the fridge because you’re planning on coming out. Then no phone call. I’m not a housekeeping service, Joel!”
“Mom, look, I’m fine, but—”
“And it’s past ten in the morning.” Crap, is it that late? “You are always an early riser. Why are you still in your pajamas?” she asked as she looked at him. He shut his eyes. This is not happening.
“Mom,” he started to say, running his fingers through his hair. “Can I call you—“
“You seriously need a haircut. How your boss puts up with you all hairy like a sasquatch…” He squeezed his eyes shut for a second when his mom started to bitch at him.
“Geez, Mom, and you wonder why I didn’t call the second I got here?”
“You should have called me. I could have brought dinner.”
“You know, I know how to cook.”
“You haven’t seen your sister in a while. She could—“ His mom stopped talking, her eyes no longer on him but most definitely over his shoulder. Turning around, he couldn’t hide his smile. His girl had changed into black yoga pants and what looked like his red Anaheim Angels hoodie, which swallowed her up, making her look beyond adorable.
“Carrie,”—he broke the silence between them—“meet my mom. Mom, this beautiful woman is Carrie Blue.” He walked toward his girl, holding her hand and pulling her to his side, happy she went with him easily.
“Carrie Blue,” his mom repeated, her expression blank. He knew she was looking at the first woman he had ever introduced to her.
“Hi, Mrs.—“
“Please, call me Tina.” His mom extended her hand, but he could see by the twinkle in her dark eyes, meaning she liked his girl.
“Tina. Hi, it is really nice to meet you.” Carrie smiled when she shook mom’s hand, and he watched two of the most important women in his life meet.
***
Standing in the kitchen, looking out toward the living room, watching his girl and mom laugh, getting along great as they spoke made him more than a happy man.
After his girls were introduced, Carrie excused herself so she could shower and change while he sat through his mother’s third degree, which thankfully ended the moment Carrie stepped back into the living room. His breath caught in the middle of his throat when he saw her wear a pair of faded skinny jeans that made her legs look endless and a long-sleeved pink thermal, all of it paired up with camel-colored boots.
Together, Carrie and he prepared brunch for the three of them as his mother sat, much to Carrie’s instance. They ate as easy conversation flowed, and when he brought up that Carrie enjoyed romance novels as well, he was quickly forgotten and out of their conversation as they spoke about not only traditionally published authors, but something called indie authors. Since he had no clue what that was, he insisted they drink coffee in the living room while he cleaned up the kitchen.
With every dish hand-washed and dried, as much as he loved his mom, he wanted time alone with his girl.
“I know that look,” his mom said out loud, and he chuckled, taking in the confusion flashing over Carrie’s face.
“I didn’t say a word.”
“No, but I know what you were thinking,” his mom retorted just as he stepped out of the doorway and into the living room, standing behind Carrie. He put his hands on her shoulders, enjoying the way her fingers covered his as if she sought out his touch. “Carrie, I can’t tell you how happy I am to meet you,” his mom said as she stood, Carrie following suit.
“I am very glad to meet you too,” she said smiling.
“Don’t forget to make him take you to Read Between the Lines in town. You will fall in love!”
“It’s on our schedule,” he shared, and his mom frowned at him.
“And you…I’ll miss you. When do you guys head back?”
&nbs
p; “Tomorrow.”
“Sunday,” they answered at the same time and looked at one another, but his mom’s laugh broke their gaze.
“I can’t wait to tell your sister! Hailey is going to flip.” The giddiness in his mom’s voice made him laugh as they walked toward the door. After good-bye hugs and promises to call more often, his mom left, and they were finally all alone once again.
Chapter Thirteen
Carrie
“That was your mom.” Carrie broke the slightly awkward silence after Tina left them waving good-bye to her from the driveway.
“That was my mom.” He grinned and shook his head. “I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t think she would just come over. I should have called her and—“
“She’s pretty awesome.” She looked at him and enjoyed how easily he moved even closer to her, bringing his arms around her waist.
“She is,” he whispered, wrapping her tightly to his body, and she couldn’t help but sigh at how great it felt to be in his arms. “So are you,” he continued before he kissed her.
“I don’t know about that. But seriously, she’s…amazing.”
“What’s your mom like?” he asked. She knew it was a simple question with a difficult answer.
“The opposite of Tina,” she shared honestly and hated that his carefree smile faded away as quickly as it had graced his handsome face. She sighed.
“That came out wrong. She wasn’t bad. She is just… she isn’t very involved.”
“Involved?”
“Or… maternal.”
“I’m sorry, baby,” his voice timbered at the top of her head and she felt his lips kiss her hair and almost wanted to cry at how beautiful he was. How caring and sweet.
“It’s just how it was, no big—”
“What about your dad?”
“Same.” She laughed, and even in her ears it sounded fake as if she tried to lighten the mood.
“I suck at asking you questions, don’t I?”
“No, they’re good questions. I just don’t have very good answers. My parents were flighty, Joel. Unreliable. They could have been worse. Others had worse,” she told him, and he nodded.
“How about we go check out that bookstore? If I remember right, I owe you,” he suggested, and she knew he was doing it to make her happy.
“You owe me more than a trip to the bookstore,” she flirted and liked the heat that flashed back at her.
“I do, don’t I?” he mumbled deeply, which gave her a girlish thrill thinking of the possibilities. His face moved closer, his nose skimmed over hers, and she moved her head so she could kiss him.
“Go shower. Maybe we can get some coffee from that place we saw, Brewed Awakenings. My treat.”
“Coffee is a yes. You paying is a no,” he told her like he was laying down the law. She rolled her eyes.
“Sexist.”
“Gentleman, actually.” He winked before they both walked back into the cabin.
***
Holy lumberjack fantasy come true.
That was all she could think every time she glanced at him. Used to seeing him in nothing but designer three-piece suits, seeing him so casually dressed made her double check to see if she was drooling.
He was dressed in faded denim jeans that fit like a dream, highlighting his powerful, muscular thighs and great assets, and a red and black plaid flannel shirt that looked so soft and warm all she could think about was snuggling her face into his chest and breathing in the scent of his body wash and Joel. If that wasn’t enough, the tan work boots he had paired his outfit with were the cherry on top of her lumberjack fantasy sundae.
“Do you know what you want?” he whispered as they stood in line at the cute coffee shop off Main Street, Brewed Awakenings. She closed her eyes at the way his voice rumbled in her ear, a shiver running down to her toes.
“I know exactly what I want,” she whispered back, her eyes meeting his head-on, and by the way his lips tipped up and he shook his head, she knew he got her double meaning.
“Later,” he promised against her cheek, his beard slightly tickling but giving comfort.
They ordered their drinks from a beautiful redhead who had not only checked out Joel from head to toe, but had flirted with him. He hadn’t seemed to notice, smiling politely after paying and heading back to Carrie, holding her close in his strong arms. He made her feel like she was the only woman he could see. The only one who had somehow caught his eye, which left Carrie mystified. She knew she wasn’t bad to look at, even if she sometimes felt a little plain. But she never thought of herself as a bombshell beauty that could catch the attention of a man like Joel Vega. Whatever he saw, she had to admit, she was glad. More than glad. She was happy.
Walking hand in hand, even with the sun out, the chill of the snow that surrounded them was more than evident. When they reached the used bookstore, he kissed her lightly and mumbled ‘go crazy’ against her mouth, and she did.
She walked aisle by aisle of the sweet bookstore, perusing each one shelf by shelf as she filled her arms with paperback after paperback. She was giddy and amazed by the books she had found in the romance section alone. She even grabbed a book for each of the girls and a cookbook for Tess’ mom from a chef she enjoyed watching on the Food Network.
Glancing around, she caught Joel looking right at her with a smirk on his face as he took the books from her hands and she walked with him toward the register. There, he insisted he pay and rolled his eyes at every argument of why he shouldn’t pay for the books. The cashier, an older gentleman, smiled kindly and took Joel’s credit card while he told her she should let him do this for her, because a man should take care of his woman. At his insinuation that Joel was her ‘man’ and Joel not correcting him, Carrie blushed furiously and leaned into Joel’s warm body. What would it be like to have him as her man? she wondered as the stepped back into the cold air and the chill made her shiver.
“I got you something,” he told her as he reached into his pocket and took out a small bag, handing it to her.
“You didn’t—“ But she stopped talking when she looked at the grey beanie with the soft pom-pom at the top. With a giggle, she looked up at him.
“Where did you—“
“At Read Between the Lines.”
“How did I miss that?”
“You missed a whole gift section.” He grinned at her. “I don’t think you saw anything past the books,” he teased her with a chuckle, and she smiled.
“I love it. Thank you,” she whispered, and he set their bags on the wooden sidewalk, taking the beanie from her hand and slipping the small plastic bag into his pocket.
Carefully, he took the beanie and put it on her head. As he did that, she knew what Cinderella must have felt like when her prince slipped her glass slipper onto her foot. And she knew that once she shared this with Lucy, she would never live down the fact that Lucy had been right. Fairy tale-like moments still existed. The things Joel made her feel and think about were not at all things she had ever thought she would let herself feel. Though he put a beanie on her head and Joel might not have been crowned royalty, he was most definitely what book boyfriends were made of.
“So, how did you like Read Between the Lines?” he asked as he picked up the bag from the sidewalk and took her hand back in his as they started to walk toward his truck.
“Best. Used. Bookstore. Ever.” She grinned at him, and he laughed.
“I’m surprised you only got one bag of books,” he teased, and she shrugged.
“I love books,” she shared, and then, because he had shared so much with her, she decided to return the favor and give more of herself to him. “My parents, well, they were… very lax in their parenting, I guess. And I was always serious and focused. They used to joke that they were almost sure I had been switched at the hospital,” she recollected, knowing they had only been teasing, though she had always wondered why she hadn’t fit with them. “Anyhow, no matter where we moved, books were the one thing I could c
ount on.”
“How so?”
“I don’t know. The fact I knew I could count on the storyline of books I owned, or the fact that every school had a library regardless of it being big or small, there was always somewhere I could hide and find comfort in a book, or later on with textbooks and an order of how things worked or happened.”
“So, I’m guessing you aren’t close with your parents?” he asked, and she laughed.
“Not even a little bit,” she told him. “They like to travel. They can’t seem to stay in one place too long. But it’s not like they do research of where they will hop to next. They just do things on a total whim. No reason or method to it.”
“That sucks, babe.”
“It happens. Like I said, it could have been worse.” She shrugged as they reached his truck and watched him put the bag into the cab before he looked at her.
“Want to go get a drink?” he asked, and she nodded.
“A drink sounds good.”
“Want to walk or…?”
“Walk,” she immediately answered, enjoying the peacefulness of walking around on Main Street with him.
“Okay, but”—he stopped talking as he grabbed something from the back of his truck— “if we are walking, you need this.” He handed her a black pea coat. She grinned.
“Where did you get—“
“My sister left it behind last time I came out, and I’ve had it back there.” He opened the coat, and she slipped her arms into it. “It’s getting colder. I don’t want you to get sick, baby.” He kissed her temple before grabbing his own coat. She didn’t have words. He’d bought her a beanie and now had put a coat on her. It was such a simple thing, but he had no idea how much they meant to her.
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