Hometown Hope: A Small Town Romance Anthology

by Zoe York

  And he liked her anyway.

  He liked her, in part, because of the crazy ideas and things that she typically used to keep people at arm’s length.

  And she was vulnerable because she was in love with him.

  If she did this with him, her heart would be involved in a way that it had never been before.

  And she was going to die if she didn’t do this with him.

  “Touch me,” she finally said, her voice a little hoarse.

  He lay down next to her, stretching out on his side. He lifted a hand and ran it over her hair. “Oh, I intend to. With my hands and my tongue and my lips. Every fucking inch.”

  She swallowed. “Good.”

  “But it’s going to take me a while. You just get comfortable.” He gave her a smile that shot straight through her, heating her blood and making her toes tingle.

  She thought about reminding him of the twenty-minute time limit, but then he kissed her. And she forgot about time altogether.

  Chapter 12

  He did exactly as he’d promised. He started with her face. His fingers tracing over each spot before his lips did. He kissed her eyebrows, her cheekbones, lingered on her lips and returned there often. He even kissed her earlobes. Then he moved down her neck, over her collar bones, and down the valley between her breasts. His fingers primed her nipples, rolling and plucking until she was writhing, then he lowered his mouth and licked and sucked until she was on the verge of an orgasm just from that.

  His fingers continued down her body as his mouth was occupied higher. His fingers trailed over her stomach, making the muscles jump and tighten, then lower, stroking her thighs, and then finally her slick folds. Cori whimpered as he ran the pad of his middle finger over her clit. She arched up, trying to get closer to his touch.

  “That’s it. Come and get it, darlin’,” he said gruffly against one nipple, giving it a flick of his tongue as he circled her clit.

  She opened her legs farther and pressed against his hand as Evan continued kissing and licking his way down her body. He licked each rib on both sides as he continued to tease her clit. Cori gripped the comforter as he dragged his body down hers, the heat and friction of his hot skin on hers winding her tighter and tighter.

  When he settled between her knees, his shoulders making her stretch even wider, he moved his hand out of the way of his tongue. But as his mouth settled over her clit, his fingers slid into her.

  Cori gasped as sensations sparkled along her nerve endings. The sweet, deep thrusts of his fingers with the achingly perfect suction of his mouth started her climbing toward the crest of an orgasm.

  “Evan!”

  “Best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth,” he told her as he suddenly moved, turning her to her stomach. But his hand stayed between her legs, his fingers filling her.

  “Oh, God,” she moaned as he began moving up her back, giving each vertebra a hot kiss.

  “Every fucking inch,” he reminded her in a gravelly voice that made goose bumps trip down her spine.

  When he got to her neck, he moved her hair to the side and placed his lips against her skin. His fingers miraculously still moved in long, slow thrusts right where she needed him, keeping her close to the brink of an orgasm, needy and wanting so much more, yet somehow feeling satisfied, like she’d never been touched like this and it was completely right. He kissed the back of her neck, then dragged his mouth up and down the side of her neck, his beard scraping deliciously. His body pressed into hers from behind, his cock against her ass, and she rocked back into him. The hot length of him combined with the deep groan that rumbled through her from his chest, and his fingers dancing skillfully over her clit, started the hot, glorious climb toward climax again. Cori pushed up onto her hands and knees, dropping her head forward.

  “Holy shit, Cori,” he groaned.

  She was completely at his mercy and wanton at this point, but she didn’t care that he’d gotten her here without a single bit of garnish. Just lips and hands and fingers and an incredible amount of…adoring. That’s how she felt. Adored. And that was way more powerful than any friction-heated-body-gel she’d ever encountered.

  “Please, Evan, please,” she gasped.

  “What? Tell me, Cori. I want to hear it.”

  “I need you. Inside,” she managed. “Come with me.”

  He muttered something under his breath—it sounded a little like rain boots and sprinkles—and the next thing she knew, he’d flipped her onto her back again.

  “Like this,” he told her. “Good old missionary.” He moved between her legs, which she willingly spread. He looked down at her, drawing a deep breath in through his nose. Then he braced a hand beside her head and reached for the drawer in his bedside table. He had a condom on in seconds and then he moved over her. “Who needs vibrators and flavored massage lotion?” he asked, running one hand up her inner thigh.

  She laughed breathlessly. “That’s what all this has been about? Not all that sweet nonsense about there being more under the whipped cream. You just wanted to prove that you’re good enough to not need that stuff?”

  “Well,” he said, sliding his hand higher and brushing over her clit. “I am good enough to take you all the way without all of that stuff.”

  She moaned quickly as he drew a lazy circle over her clit, his eyes locked on hers.

  “But then again,” he said. “I knew that from the front seat of my truck the other night.”

  It was hard to even be fake irritated with a guy who was slowly but surely winding you up toward an orgasm, but she tried to frown. “Sure, let’s bring up that embarrassing moment right now.”

  His finger stopped and he dipped his head, putting them almost nose to nose. “Don’t you ever fucking be embarrassed about being the sexiest, sweetest, most amazing woman I’ve ever met. You coming for me in my lap, just like that…Cori, that was the hottest moment of my life. Until now.” He slowly slid one long finger into her and Cori felt pleasure streak through her.

  She caught her breath and had to clear her throat before she said, “It would have been even more amazing if you hadn’t tossed me out of the truck two seconds later.”

  He curled his finger and she gasped.

  “Yeah, well, I was freaked out by how much I wanted to keep you in my lap, with me buried deep, for about fifty years or so.”

  She wasn’t sure if it was the words or the way he pumped his finger deep at the same time, but her head was spinning and she felt her orgasm building hot and fast. And all she could really concentrate on was that she needed him. All of him. Now.

  “How about we go with that buried deep thing first?” she asked, pressing up against his hand and rotating her hips.

  He groaned and gripped her hips, stopping the motion. Then, with his eyes on hers, he positioned himself and eased forward.

  Slow and easy was nice. Being adored was wonderful. She could happily spend hours in this man’s arms. But right now, she needed…more. Cori wrapped her legs around his waist, put her heels into his butt, and pulled him close.

  He sunk deep and they moaned together. He filled her perfectly, stretched her deliciously. Cori felt her whole body melting and molding around his.

  Evan paused, for just a moment, dragging in air. Then he said, “Okay, darlin’, here we go.”

  Hands on either side of her hips, he pulled back and plunged forward, thrusting hard and deep. He withdrew and thrust again, hitting a spot that made every nerve ending shout yes! Cori gripped his sides, lifting against him, meeting his strokes, and it was mere minutes before she was spiraling toward the climax she’d been chasing since he’d taken her hand in the park.

  “Evan!”

  “Best thing I’ve ever heard,” he ground out as he continued to move.

  “Evan, please.” She sucked in a breath. “Yes, more. Please.”

  He was such a nice guy. He picked up the pace and a minute later, the orgasm swept over her. Her whole went body hot and tingly and tight, followed by waves of s
oftness and satisfaction and an overwhelming sense of…rightness.

  Okay, that was weird. But accurate.

  “Cori!” He shouted as he came, clutching her tightly, holding her close as his orgasm swept through him.

  He held her like that, breathing raggedly against her neck for several long moments.

  Then he rolled to his side, taking her with him. He settled a hand on her ass, took a big satisfied breath, and said, “Now that’s what I call sprinkles and a cherry on top.”

  She laughed and snuggled in close. “I had no idea that sex could be like that without whipped cream.”

  He gave her butt a pinch. “Don’t make me take that whipped cream gun away.”

  “You can try.”

  He rolled on top of her, tickling along her side. But she was saved a moment later by his phone ringing from the pocket of his jeans. Evan sighed. “Hang on. That’s Parker’s ring tone.” He crawled to the edge of the bed and reached for his jeans. He pulled his phone out and answered, “Hey, I’m taking the after—” He was clearly cut off as his eyes got wide. “Oh, shit.”

  Cori sat up and was already reaching for her panties on instinct.

  “How did he know?” Evan asked Parker. He paused listening. “Great.” He didn’t sound happy. “Yeah, we’ll be right there.”

  Cori scrambled off the bed as he hung up.

  “We have to go.” Evan grabbed his boxers.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Your sister is pretending to be you.”

  Oh. Crap. “Which one?”

  “Ava.”

  “Why?”

  “Because my grandfather is at the shop. And Ava is supposedly here with me.”

  She paused halfway through pulling her skirt up. “How does he know that?”

  “Because he stopped by the office and Claire told him we were together. So he stopped by the shop and there were people there who saw us together at the park. And then leaving the park.”

  “Well…crap.”

  They got dressed and five minutes later walked through the door of Blissfully Baked together.

  “Hey, everyone,” Cori greeted, as if there was nothing at all out of place or worth feeling guilty about.

  She met Ava’s gaze from where her sister was positioned behind the display case that now held six pies, each of which was missing at least one piece. But Cori didn’t have a chance to really enjoy that fact. Ava had her hands in the pockets of her apron and a smudge of flour on her face, and it was clear that she was trying to act natural even though she was obviously tense from head to toe. Parker was there too, leaning against the counter behind the cases, his arms folded, not looking happy. Cori gave him a frown. What was his problem?

  The only other person in the shop at the moment was a tall man in a suit and tie. He had nearly white hair and light blue eyes. Eyes that his grandson had clearly inherited.

  “Welcome back,” Ava said. “I was just telling Evan’s grandfather that you might not be back since you’d decided to take the afternoon off.”

  “Evan,” the man greeted.

  “Hi, Grandpa.” Evan steered Cori to the table with a hand on her lower back. He reached a hand out to shake his grandfather’s. “I didn’t know you were coming to town.”

  “Just a quick trip to pick up some books your grandmother wanted from the house.”

  “Grandpa, this is Ava. Ava, my grandfather Judge John McCormick. He’s a District Judge for the 20th District. He and my grandmother moved to Great Bend about five years ago but they keep their house here and visit periodically.”

  “It’s very nice to meet you Judge McCormick,” Cori said, extending her hand and giving him an Ava smile. A judge, district or otherwise, wouldn’t intimidate Ava. But Cori thought the guy was a little imposing even seated on a blue cushion with yellow ruffles.

  “You too. I came by specifically for that pleasure,” he said, shaking her hand and not even bothering to tell her to call him John rather than Judge. “Not only because you’re… dating…my only grandson, but because I’m very curious about the women I read about in Rudy’s trust.” He lifted his cup for a sip of coffee, watching her over the brim.

  She didn’t appreciate the way he’d emphasized ‘dating’ as if they were doing something else entirely—even though they totally were—but she was too distracted by the rest of what he’d said. “You know about the trust?”

  “Rudy and Evan had me look it over to ensure they hadn’t missed any details,” John said with a nod. “It’s really a fascinating and unique document.”

  Well, she’d agree with unique.

  “If we’d known you were stopping by, we would have been sure to be here,” Evan told him. He pulled a chair out for Cori, then took the seat next to her.

  “Would you?” his grandfather asked, setting his cup back on the table. “It sounds like you were busy.”

  Cori was startled to feel herself blushing.

  “Roger was here when Judge McCormick first came in,” Ava said. “He told us that he saw you in the park together and then headed to Evan’s.”

  Cori wasn’t sure if anyone else would be able to tell, but Ava was pissed. Ava didn’t like being caught off guard. She didn’t like having meetings she was unprepared for. And she didn’t like when the person she was meeting with knew more than she did.

  And this was Cori’s fault. If she’d been here, then Ava wouldn’t have to be faking everything. She would at least be facing all of this as herself.

  Cori gave her sister a tight smile. “I needed his opinion on a new pie.” She worked hard not to grimace at what sounded very much like a euphemism for sex and hoped that everyone else in the shop was much more mature, and less dirty minded, than she was.

  But Parker coughed and she heard the soft choking noise Evan made. Well, terrific.

  “Okay, we’re going back to the kitchen,” Ava said. “We’ll let you get to know John.” Ava grabbed Parker by the sleeve and pulled him with her into the kitchen.

  Cori blew out a breath. Maybe this would be easier with two fewer people trying to keep the lie going. Less chance of someone screwing the story up. She gave John a smile, but just then Evan’s phone rang.

  He glanced at the screen. “It’s…a client.”

  Cori lifted an eyebrow. Bull. That was Parker’s ring tone. Cori gave him a quick frown. He didn’t want his grandfather to know that Parker was calling from the kitchen? Yeah, because that was suspicious as hell. Parker was calling to either tell him something he didn’t want John to know. Or to chew him out.

  No one was happy with Cori and Evan’s mid-afternoon break. Except Cori. And Evan. She hoped. She was feeling a little guilty, she had to admit. Not just because John had showed up and Ava had been forced to lie, but because suddenly facing someone else who knew about the trust, she felt jittery. She wasn’t sure a district judge would agree that the loopholes they’d all found were no problem.

  And she hated the idea that Evan might feel the same way—guilty and jittery. Not the way a woman wanted the man she was falling in love with to feel after sex. Okay, or any man after sex, really.

  “I’ll be right back.” Evan kissed the top of her head and headed outside to the sidewalk.

  Leaving her alone with John.

  Awesome.

  “Rudy would have been thrilled that you and Evan are together,” John said, as the little bell over the door tinkled.

  That definitely got Cori’s attention. “Oh?”

  John nodded and picked up his cup again. “Rudy trusted Evan with a lot of responsibility. The foundation, the trust for the town, his own will and trust. When I called him about it, he assured me that you would keep him in line.”

  Rudy had thought Ava would keep Evan in line? Rudy had known that Ava and Evan would date? “Evan asked…me…out because Rudy wanted him to?” she asked, almost messing it up already by referring to Ava.

  John gave a soft chuckle. “No. Rudy didn’t ask him to date you.” John sipped from h
is cup, then said, “Rudy knew Evan very well.”

  Cori could believe that. It seemed Rudy had been incredibly insightful even about her, and he’d spent a lot more time with Evan.

  “He would have never flat-out asked him to date you,” John went on. “But he planted the seeds. The ways you could be good for him. The ways he could be good for you. He knew that Evan loves being important to people. He loves to make people happy. All your dad had to do was plant the seeds that you needed more happiness.”

  Cori’s heart clenched at that. He was right. Rudy had been right. That was Evan.

  “You and Rudy were friends?” she asked. It seemed John knew her father well.

  “No, I wouldn’t say that. I was suspicious of him. Strange guy suddenly moves to town and becomes fast friends with my grandson. But he respected that. Then I found out his secret. Or his twelve billion secrets.”

  “You knew who he was.”

  “I did. I was, apparently, the only one who thought it was strange that as soon as he showed up, suddenly some company became interested in restoring our buildings and building up Main Street and offering the business owners no-interest loans.”

  “And you looked into him,” Cori said.

  “I was, of course, stunned to find out who he really was. But when I went to him about it, I respected the fact that he wanted a new start, a new life.”

  “You kept his secret.” Something about that made her like John a little more.

  “I did. And I asked him to help keep an eye on Evan. My grandson has never listened to me very well. But he loved your father.”

  Cori leaned in, fascinated. “What did you want from Evan?”

  “I wanted him to be less like his father,” John said. “I wanted him to find a purpose. More than just having a good time.”

  That was crap. Cori was on the verge of telling him so. Evan had a purpose. He took care of this town and the people he loved. There was definite value in making people happy. Instead she said, “But you approved of Rudy’s plan for Evan to date me. To make sure I work less and have more fun.”