by J. H. Croix
Boone tried to protest. “Grace…” he began, his words trailing off when I dipped my head and swirled my tongue around the tip of his cock.
The salty, tangy flavor of his pre-cum danced over the surface of my tongue. Another swirl, and then I took him in my mouth. If he meant to argue the point, it was lost in a rough groan as I brought him in deep, until his cock bumped the back of my throat.
Chapter Twelve
Boone
All of my awareness was centered on the feel of Grace’s warm, slick mouth, and the gentle suction when she drew me in deep. I meant for this just to be for her, but she yanked the reins of control away from me.
I collapsed into the pillows, one hand fisting her hair and the other the sheets as she drove me to the brink with her naughty mouth. After she dragged her tongue along the underside at one point, dropping wet kisses when she reached the crown, she murmured, “All you have to do is tell me to stop, Boone.”
Grace, with that naughty note in her tone and her precise, southern drawl, nearly made me come right then. With an effort, I dragged my eyes open and found hers in the moonlit room.
She paused, her tongue darting out to swirl around the tip of my cock yet again. “You know I can’t,” I managed on the heels of a ragged breath.
Grace’s smile was slow before she sucked me in again. In a fiery second, my release raced through me, coming out in rough spurts as she drank every drop.
Daybreak came in fragments—thin light filtering through the sheer curtains in Grace’s bedroom windows. A little later, a bright splash of gold across her shoulders when I opened my eyes. The soft rhythm of her breathing, her breath warm on my shoulder. Emotion spun like smoke around me—a piercing sense of regret struck me, along with an immense feeling of relief.
As I had fumbled and stumbled my way through the choices I felt I had to make in the weeks of that fateful summer and autumn that tore me away from Grace, I hadn’t known the right thing to do. At all. With doubt upon doubt jostling for space in my mind, and my heart firm in its resolution that I wanted nothing more than to return to North Carolina to be with Grace when life didn’t seem to be offering that option, I had simply panicked.
The happiness shimmering on my horizon slipped out of grasp. Just like that. Between my father’s diagnosis and Diana lying to me about allegedly being the father of her baby, I’d felt completely cornered. After my father died and I did all the things one has to do after that—a labyrinth of logistics for anyone who loses someone they love—I had known I would always come back to Stolen Hearts Valley. Not only because my mother was here. I’d known I wanted to come back for Grace and to claim the chance that slipped away from us once before.
Although my parents hadn’t stayed together, they’d stayed on good terms. My mother had fully supported my decision to stay with my father during those last few years. Once he was gone though and there was nothing left tying me down, I had hoped upon hope I would get a second chance with Grace.
Here she was now, warm and soft beside me. My cock swelled slightly, nudging my awareness. I ignored it. Grace had already pushed me further than I wanted to go.
I wanted to claim her—body, heart, soul. I absolutely did. But I didn’t want to blow it, so I had to fight to take it slow.
Grace had never liked being rushed. In fact, the Grace I knew simply dug her heels in if she felt pushed too far. Not that I’d been wondering, but I now knew with certainty our chemistry hadn’t lost its spark. If anything, it had only strengthened in its force. Yet, I didn’t want that to be the thing that brought us together, not that alone.
I heard a slight shuffling sound outside her bedroom door and guessed it was the cat. If there were ever a moment when I did not want to get out of bed, it was now.
My body was clamoring for me to stay and slide my hand into the waiting heat I knew I would find between her thighs. But not yet. She needed to know I was solid, and that I wasn’t just here because of the fierce need driving me.
If a person could have their own personal force of gravity, Grace was it for me. Getting close to her had just pulled me right in. Now that I’d had a taste of her again—and, holy hell, was that taste sweet and hot—I didn’t intend to let go.
Rolling my head to the side, I saw that the clock read six-thirty a.m. No matter what, I needed to get into the station within the hour. We had a few drills to run today and a training session this afternoon. Turning back to Grace, I gave in to the temptation to let my fingers slide through her hair, smiling at the purple streaks. I swept my hand down the silky skin of her back to cup the delectable curve of her bottom.
I dusted a kiss across her lips and was drawing back, sternly ordering myself to climb out of bed and go, when Grace’s eyes fluttered open. The second I was caught in her silvery gaze, I couldn’t look away.
Her cheeks were pink from sleep. After a quiet moment, she lifted a hand from where it had been resting on my chest and traced along my jaw with her fingertip, the touch tingling over my skin.
“Good morning, Boone,” she said, her voice raspy.
“Mornin’, sugar. I was just about to get up. How’s your head?”
She arched a brow. “Like I told you the last time we were awake, it’s fine.” Her lips curled with a small smile, but there was a thread of stubbornness in her tone. Lord knows, I wanted to press, but I sure as hell knew now wasn’t the time. “I’ll make you breakfast,” she said next, surprising me.
“You don’t—” I began.
“I know I don’t have to, Boone,” she said, her words clearer now, that tidy pronunciation turning me on. Who knew someone talking could be such a turn on? But then, basically everything Grace did was a turn on.
And so it was that Grace made coffee and scrambled eggs with bacon for breakfast. It was all quite mundane. So ordinary as to be entirely unremarkable. And yet, the time felt so real.
With Wayne watching from the windowsill as we ate, I fell a little bit more in love with Grace. Just as I was putting the plates in the dishwasher after Grace shooed me away from the sink where she was scrubbing the pan, there was a sharp knock at her door, and it swung open.
Grace’s mother called out as she walked in, “Good morning, darling.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I took in the once familiar sight of her mother. I’d seen Colleen a few times since I’d been back to Stolen Hearts Valley, but only in passing. Her long, light brown hair was flecked with gray and tied up in a loose knot on top of her head. She’d stabbed a bright blue chopstick through it.
Colleen gave off a charming hippy-dippy vibe, with her long flowing dresses and brightly colored clothes. Today, she wore a blue skirt to match the chopstick and a cream colored blouse. She had stopped to greet Wayne and was leaning down and murmuring something to him.
When I glanced over at Grace, her cheeks were stained pink. I sensed she hadn’t expected her mother to stop by and was probably doing gymnastics in her brain to try to figure out how to explain my presence.
I wished we had considered this possibility. Colleen had always been the kind of person who just dropped by. At that moment, she looked up, straightening as her eyes landed on Grace before bouncing to me.
“Morning, Mom,” Grace said with a smile. “Boone came over for breakfast.”
Colleen practically beamed as she crossed the room, leaning her hip against the kitchen island counter. “Isn’t that lovely? I knew it was perfect that you ended up renting this place. I’ve been telling Grace that you two need to move on from that whole—” she paused, circling her hand in the air, “—whatever you want to call it.”
“Mom,” Grace said, a hint of warning in her tone.
It had occurred to me before that Grace’s tendency to be quite private was almost a reaction to her mother’s tendency to be the exact opposite. Colleen wasn’t a gossip, but she laid everything out just as it was. She didn’t hesitate to walk right up to uncomfortable topics and examine them.
If Colleen had a reaction to Gra
ce’s tone, it didn’t show. “I just thought I’d pop in and say good morning. I’m on the way into the bank and the grocery store. Either one of you need anything?”
This was so like Colleen. If needed, I could probably give her a grocery list, and she’d happily get me everything.
Grace rolled her eyes. “Nope. I’m all set. I’m sure Boone is too.”
Her mother smiled again. “All right then. Now tell me, what did the doctor say when you went last week?”
“Oh, everything’s fine, Mom. Don’t even worry about it.”
Colleen’s face tightened slightly as her eyes narrowed. “I am going to worry about it. Those migraines are frightening.”
“Mom, I promised I would tell you if there was something to worry about, and I will.”
Chapter Thirteen
Grace
The tray on my shoulder was heavy with plates as I moved through the busy restaurant that evening. After my mother’s unannounced visit this morning, she was here for dinner with a friend, her presence dragging my thoughts back to Boone and what she could have interrupted.
Reaching the large table of the family I was serving, I unfolded the tray stand with one hand and deftly eased the tray off my shoulder. I moved on autopilot. Waiting tables was the perfect job to have when you were knee-deep in a doctoral dissertation. Or so I thought. I liked it because it paid the bills and didn’t require much thought.
“Okay,” I began, “I’ve got the steak right here.” Holding up the plate, my eyes caught that of the mother who lifted her hand. I quickly began setting down the plates, hurrying away to get another glass of wine after everyone was served.
After I took care of that family, I served another table before checking on my mother and her friend. “How are y’all doing?” I asked, slipping the small computer tablet we used to take orders into my apron pocket.
My mother smiled up at me. “Everything is delicious, but then it always is.”
Her friend smiled as well, adding, “You’ll have to thank Dani for us. She has done such an incredible job here.”
“I’ll be sure to let her know. Do y’all need anything else?”
After they glanced at each other, they shook their heads in unison. “I think we’re all set. I was just telling Claire that you and Boone finally made amends,” my mother said with a pleased nod.
I bit back a groan. Dear God. I didn’t think I would ever get used to my mother constantly airing every detail about my life so casually. I thanked the universe for the small favor of her arrival after we were fully dressed. I made a mental note to begin to lock my front door, so I could at least buy myself a few minutes when she showed up.
Claire caught my eyes, understanding contained in her gaze. “You don’t need to tell me all about it,” she said. Close as she was to my mother, she knew my frustrations with my her.
“Good to know,” I said, casting a friendly glare in my mother’s direction. “We’re neighbors now, so, you know, I’m just trying to make peace.”
I saw another customer lift a hand. “Duty calls. I need to run and check on that table. I’ll drop your check off in a few minutes.”
I hurried away and stayed busy for the rest of the evening. After the rush had finally ended and Evie cleaned up after the last group of customers departed, she found me in the laundry room in the back where I was folding a giant load of clean napkins for the morning shift.
The dryer tumbled quietly in the background as I placed one napkin on top of the other. The repetition of the activity was soothing. I also liked the quiet after evenings filled with noise.
Of course, the downside to peace and quiet was Boone strolling into my thoughts almost immediately. He was like my mother in that way. Not that my mother strolled into my thoughts. But she did have a penchant for showing up unannounced.
At that moment, I heard my name and glanced over my shoulder as Evie poked her head around the door into the laundry room. “There you are,” she said with a smile. “I don’t know about you, but I never had a chance to eat anything tonight. Dani made a fresh loaf of garlic bread with her yummy spinach dip. Want some?”
My stomach chose to answer for me with a loud growl. I laughed. “I was going to say yes, but if you were wondering, I’m starving.”
Evie giggled as she leaned over to scoop up the basket filled with napkins and dishtowels beside my feet. “Let’s fold them out there while Dani finishes getting everything ready.”
I lifted the other basket sitting on top of the washer and carried it as I followed her down the hallway. “Did anyone else stay late?”
Evie’s dark ponytail swung back and forth as she shook her head. “Nope, just us.” She pushed through the swinging door from the back hallway into the staff kitchen, holding it open with her shoulder as I filed past her. “Even the line cooks are gone. I guess they’re headed to Lost Deer Bar.”
“They’re missing all the fun,” I said with a wink as she shifted to walk beside me with the door swinging shut behind us.
“Exactly what I said,” Dani called. She was standing over by the ovens running along the back wall. “I just wasn’t up for the drive out there. It’s been a long day for me.”
“Same here,” I commented. “Where’s Wade?” I set the basket of clean laundry on the stainless steel table running through the center of the kitchen and slipped my hips onto a stool.
Dani opened an oven and peered inside. “He’s on call tonight, and he doesn’t like to be out and about when that’s happening.”
“Have you two officially moved in together yet?” I asked as I resumed my folding while Evie sat across the table from me and did the same.
Dani slid a loaf of garlic bread out of the oven onto a large wooden tray. Turning, she grinned in our direction. “We’re still sorting that out.”
When Dani approached the table, Evie and I shoved the laundry baskets and stacks toward the end of the table.
“I’ll grab some plates,” I said, standing and hurrying over to the row of shelves above the sinks. Returning a moment later, I set plates in front of each of us while Dani sliced the fresh bread. The scent of butter and garlic wafted up to me, and I sighed. “Oh my God, that smells so good.”
Dani flashed a grin, brushing a loose brown curl out of her eyes. After she finished slicing the bread, she hurried over to the oven again. She returned with the warm creamy spinach dip that she liked to pair with garlic bread and some sliced meats from the refrigerator.
“Wow,” I said when she set the bowl of dip and the plate of meats down in the center of the table. “You’re spoiling us tonight.”
“That’s what friends are for,” she teased.
“Wait, we don’t have wine!” Evie exclaimed, leaping up and jogging across the kitchen to snag a bottle of wine from the rack under the counter.
We dug in quickly. Once the edge of my hunger was abated with the delicious fare, and I’d made it to my second glass of wine, the amped-up energy unspooled inside of me as I finally relaxed after the busy night.
We joked about a few things as usual before Evie swung her eyes to me, arching a brow. “I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to hear that your mother let me know you and Boone have patched things up,” she said with air quotes around her last three words.
I laughed softly, finishing off a bite of garlic bread. “I’m surprised she didn’t announce it publicly in the restaurant tonight.”
“Do tell,” Dani said, leaning over to pick up the bottle of wine from the center of the table and top her glass off.
“We’re trying to be friendly. Now that he’s rented the other side of the duplex, I might as well try to make peace.” I felt my cheeks heating and knew my friends were going to know I wasn’t giving them the full scoop.
Evie lifted her glass of wine and took a swallow before proving my point for me. “What gives? You’re definitely not telling us the whole story.”
I sighed. “Okay, okay. We finally talked, and—” I paused, sobering. “Well, t
he whole situation is a mess.” I quickly re-counted what Boone had told me about what happened the summer and fall when he broke up with me long distance.
Dani’s mouth fell open. “You mean she lied about the baby being his and never told him? Even after the miscarriage?” she asked, her tone disbelieving, and her eyes wide.
“Wow, that’s seriously shitty,” Evie said flatly.
“I know, right? It’s just awful. And while all that was going on, his father had cancer.” I paused, shaking my head. I started to lift my glass of wine, only to realize it was empty. Dani held the bottle aloft, and I stretched my arm across the table for her to fill my glass.
After a sip, I continued, “I guess you could say I didn’t really have all the details before.”
“How come he didn’t say something sooner?” Dani asked. “I get that knowing all of that now changes things, but it’s not like he couldn’t have said something back then, or right after he moved back here.”
“He said he panicked. Honestly, he didn’t find out the baby wasn’t his until I think, something like a year later. Her mother told him because she felt bad about it.”
“Why didn’t he explain it to you to begin with though? You two had decided to do whatever you did that summer, so it’s not like he did anything wrong,” Evie said.
“I know. I don’t know that I would’ve known what to do either. Between thinking he was about to be a father and his own father dealing with cancer, I’m guessing he was overwhelmed.”
“So, how are you feeling now?” Evie asked.
My mind skipped a track, taking me right back to the feel of Boone’s lips mapping my body and his hands holding me close. A rush of emotion washed through me. “Boone wants another chance.”
“Tell us something we don’t know,” Dani said, cocking her head to the side and laughing softly.
