Hometown Hope: A Small Town Romance Anthology

by Zoe York

  Dru was rising, and from what little I knew about her, I figured she was about to tear my friend apart, and by the look on his face, I wasn’t sure if he’d let her, or strike back. Wanting to keep the peace was part of my nature, and I really didn’t want what had been a great night out to end with bloodshed or tears.

  “Let’s go grab you a drink,” I said too loudly as I practically leapt out of my seat and grabbed Jericho by the bicep. “Another round?” I shouted over my shoulder, not bothering to wait for an answer.

  I saw Dru and Millie gather around Tasha, while the rest of the table looked from them to Jericho and me in utter confusion.

  “Are you okay?” I asked first. He was my friend, after all, and I didn’t know what happened between him and Tasha, but it was obviously something painful for both of them.

  Jericho looked to me, running his fingers through his hair as he leaned against the bar.

  “Maker’s neat,” he told the bartender, then sighed and said, “Not really. I’ve done my best to avoid her … It was a shock, walking in and seeing her there.”

  “I’m sorry, man.”

  “Ty invited me, said you guys were getting together for a night out. I figured it’d be like the others, I didn’t know…”

  It wasn’t unusual for Jericho to meet up with Ty, Rob, and me on one of our nights at the pub. This was the first time we invited anyone other than the group of us, so I could see why Jericho was blindsided. And, since the plan had only changed this week to include the women, Ty had probably invited him beforehand. Heck, he wouldn’t have thought anything of Jericho being included with the women, since Jericho had never mentioned Tasha or any kind of past relationships to us before.

  “Sorry, Ty didn’t tell me, or I would have given you a head’s up.”

  And I would have, to both Jericho and Millie.

  “I don’t know what to do,” Jericho began as he took a healthy swig of whiskey. “If I leave, I look like a pussy, but … I don’t know if I can be at the same table as her.”

  My eyebrows rose at that. Whatever had gone down between them must have been pretty bad, if they couldn’t even stand to be in the same room.

  I looked over my shoulder to see Millie hugging her sisters before they grabbed their things, said goodbye to my friends, then left the bar. Thankfully, Millie sat back down and smiled at something Jan was saying.

  “Looks like you don’t have to worry about it, Tasha and Dru left.”

  Jericho swung his head around, as if searching the bar to make sure they weren’t hiding somewhere, then muttered, “Fuck.”

  We went back to the table, with Jericho taking the seat that Dru had abandoned and me sliding next to Millie.

  “I hope it’s okay that I stayed,” Millie whispered, her hand warming my forearm. “I told them you’d give me a ride home.”

  “Of course it is,” I replied with a smile, dipping my head to run my nose slowly against the length of hers, before dropping a quick kiss on her lips. “I’m glad you stayed.”

  “They’ve been like this all night,” I heard Rob joke.

  I lifted my hand and gave him the finger, then tucked Millie as close to me as I could and looked at my friends’ smiling faces. Well, everyone except Jericho, that is; he still looked like he’d been hit in the gut with a crowbar.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you guys were going to be here. Your sisters didn’t have to leave, I would have,” Jericho told Millie.

  “No, it’s my fault,” Ty put in, his face showing his regret. “I didn’t know there was a history. It never occurred to me to tell you guys that Jericho was coming, or him that you were…”

  “It’s okay,” Millie said softly, her face kind as she addressed not just Ty, but Jericho. “Tasha will be fine, she was just surprised. You guys should probably stop avoiding each other and hash things out, especially since not only do we own businesses across the street from each other, but now, we share friends.”

  Her hand found my thigh again as she spoke, and while her words warmed my heart, that hand was bringing something else to life.

  “I know,” Jericho said, his eyes dropping to the amber liquid in his glass.

  “Great,” Millie replied, then I almost jumped out of my seat again when her hand began to move upwards at a slow, torturous pace.

  When she hit the top of my thigh and began to move closer to where my cock was getting harder by the second, I tried to school my features and keep my tone light as I said, “Whelp, it’s been fun, but it looks like I need to get Millie home.”

  Millie

  The ride home wasn’t frenzied, with groping hands and heated looks. I thought it might be, after the way Jackson’s body had reacted to my touch at the pub, but no. Instead, the cab of his truck was filled with anticipation.

  It was like twenty minutes of foreplay, with barely any touching. Just the soft stroke of his thumb over the top of my hand, the rapid beat of my heart, and the occasional flash of his dimple when he clenched his teeth.

  After we parked, I took Jackson’s hand and led him up to my apartment. I didn’t even spare a glance at my sisters’ doors, even though I knew Tasha was upset about Jericho. I wanted to be there for her, I did, but she had Dru, and I’d go to her first thing in the morning.

  Tonight, was about Jackson. Me and Jackson.

  I closed the door behind us, locked it, and turned to him. My arms went around his neck as he lowered his face toward mine and brought his hands to clutch my waist, bringing me flush against him as our lips met.

  He was hard, yet gentle, and the way his mouth worked mine had me moaning softly against his lips as I pressed my body closer to his.

  I hadn’t felt this in … ever. The rush of heat in my veins, the way my bones seemed to soften as my body became pliant and ready for him. The kiss was smooth and sweet, long and deep … It felt like we could stay that way forever, kissing in my entryway, but I wanted more.

  My hand trailed down his arm, feeling the muscles bunched there, then moved lower until I reached his hand, pulled it from my waist, and captured it in mine. I broke away slowly, loving that look of desire on his face, the wetness on his lower lip, and the way his eyes were practically glazed over.

  Smiling softly, knowingly, in what I really, really hoped was a sexy come-hither look, I guided him toward my bed.

  I maneuvered him until he was sitting on the edge of bed in front of me, then I backed up a step, my eyes never leaving his. I was wearing a sleeveless button-up white blouse with a teal skirt that flirted above my knees, which swayed a bit with each movement. I pushed my long brown hair off of my shoulders, behind me, then started with the top button of my blouse, which was even with my cleavage, and began to free each button slowly.

  Jacksons gaze were rapt on my fingers, he chest heaving with each breath he took.

  I left my shirt hanging there for a moment, open but showing only a strip of skin, before slowly revealing my lace, see-through bra underneath as I pushed the shirt off and let it fall to the floor.

  Then, bending at a torturing pace, I reached under my skirt and slid the matching lace boy shorts down my legs and stepped out of them.

  “Come’ere,” Jackson said gruffly.

  So, I stepped in between his legs, until my breasts were even with his face. Jackson’s hands hit the back of my thighs and slid up under my skirt until his fingertips hit the curve of my bottom.

  We both groaned at the contact, and I became even louder when Jackson’s lips sucked my hardened nipple through the lace in front of him, his hands caressing as he explored me. He moved to the other breast, and I widened my stance when he moved his exploration lower. Deeper.

  “Jackson,” I whispered, my head falling back as he teased my clit.

  “Like velvet,” I heard him say softly as he stroked the fire that had lit within me.

  I was starting to float, getting swept up in the moment, as his finger entered me and my body began to rock in response. I reached around for the clasp of
my bra and removed it quickly, then braced myself on his shoulders as another finger joined the first.

  Finally, his hot, wet mouth was on my breasts with no interference. Licking, sucking, nipping across my sensitive flesh. The assault on my senses was almost too much; it had been too long, and never this good, and I was already fighting the need to come after just minutes of his ministrations.

  My head fell forward as he worked me harder, and Jackson had to move his head back quickly before I hit his glasses.

  “Sorry,” I managed, a giggle bursting out of me as I thought of how horrible it would have been if I’d made contact. The giggle disappeared on a strangle as his thumb hit my clit and began rubbing circles as his fingers pumped in and out of me.

  That took talent, I thought, right before I lost the ability to think.

  I cried out as I came, Jackson milking every last bit out of me until I was ready to fall into a puddle at his feet. Before I could go completely boneless, Jackson urged my skirt down and lifted me, turning and laying me back on the bed.

  I watched through my haze-filled eyes as he took off his clothes, enjoying each new expanse of skin as he unveiled them to me. He was tall, toned, and gorgeous, with a smattering of dark chest hair that V’d off as it trailed over his abs and beneath the boxer briefs he was currently taking off.

  I knew I was smiling up at him like a drunken fool, even though I’d only had two drinks at the bar, my eyes tracking his every move as he rounded the bed, laid his glasses on my night table, and opened the condom he somehow had in his hand. I watched greedily as he smoothed it over his generous length, then climbed into bed.

  Not next to me, no, Jackson moved until he was planking over me, his skin just a whisper above mine. And the sight of him there, above me, ready to claim me, become one with me, had my body waking from its languid slumber, eager to lose itself once again.

  I opened my legs and brought my knees up as he settled there, his weight still on his forearms as I felt the hard, hot length of him against my core.

  Jackson shifted his weight to one arm so he could bring his hand to my face, where he brushed my hair back from my forehead, then ran his fingertips over it. Caressing my cheekbone, the length of my nose, and my chin, before tracing my lips, as if he were memorizing the structure.

  “Now a soft kiss - Aye, by that kiss, I vow an endless bliss,” he said softly, before taking my lips and kissing me as if savoring every sip.

  I sighed as I melted, his words affecting me just as much as his kiss, maybe more so.

  When he broke the kiss, I whispered, “Who said that?”

  “Keats,” he replied, then moved to press his lips beneath my ear. Along my jaw. To the underside of my chin. Then, Jackson held my eyes as he slowly slid inside of me, neither of us breathing until he was fully seated and my legs wrapped around his waist.

  “You feel amazing,” Jackson managed, his breath labored as if he’d just ran five miles.

  “So do you,” I admitted, then smiled so widely at him I almost cried.

  In that moment, I felt things I hadn’t imagined I could.

  I was falling for him so hard and so fast that the weight of it scared me, even as it thrilled me. His beautiful, kind face, with those dimples flashing, grinned back down at me, then he shifted and we both lost our smiles as we moaned at the delicious feeling of him inside of me.

  With my legs around his waist, one hand in his hair and the other on his shoulder, Jackson began to move. Slowly at first, then faster, harder, until we were both lost, chasing our release, not knowing where he ended and I began.

  It was the most beautiful experience of my life.

  Jackson

  I woke slowly, feeling more rested and sincerely happy than I’d felt in a really, really long time. Millie’s bed was extremely comfortable, so much so that I was thinking of asking her what kind of mattress it was, and where she’d gotten the down comforter I was currently snuggled under.

  Millie wasn’t beside me, but I could still feel the warmth of her body, and smell the perfume of her hair as I stretched out across the most comfortable bed ever made.

  Suddenly, I heard footsteps running toward me, before Millie landed right on top of me with a laugh and started pelting my face with kisses. I happily accepted the assault, then rolled smoothly until Mille was cradled half underneath me, and I was looking down at her gorgeous eyes, which were currently a deep green.

  “Good morning to you, too,” I murmured, then lowered my head to give her a deep, lingering kiss.

  When I finally came up for air, Millie brushed her hand through my hair and said, “I made breakfast.”

  I immediately dropped her, jumped off the bed, and headed toward the door, which made Millie burst into a fit of laughter that had me grinning back at her over my shoulder.

  “What are you waiting for?” I joked as I watched her climb out of bed and walk toward me as I pulled on my boxer briefs.

  She looked amazing. Long dark hair tussled after a night with my hands wrapped in it, her body encased beautifully in a knee-length floral nightgown that looked more like a dress than any pajamas I’d ever seen, but the real kicker was the look on her face. Or, more specifically, the way she was looking at me.

  I could get used to a look like that…

  “What’d you make?” I asked, my stomach grumbling at the thought of food.

  “Crepes with berries and cream, scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, bacon, and biscuits,” Millie replied.

  I stopped and stared at her as she walked past me and into the kitchen.

  “How long have you been awake?” I asked as I joined her.

  She just chuckled and handed me a plate loaded with everything.

  I took it, then grabbed one of the cups of coffee she had filled and took my winnings to the table. As soon as she sat down across from me and settled in, I picked up my fork and went to town.

  It started with a whimper, then a moan, and by bite three, I was full on groaning.

  “Just when I thought you were perfect and couldn’t get any better,” I began, absolutely meaning every word. “It’s like you were made for me in a lab.”

  Millie blushed, then looked at me from under her eyelashes and admitted, “I said the same thing about you to my sisters when we met.”

  “Really?” I asked, extremely pleased by this new information.

  When she nodded, her face flushed and sweet, I put down my fork and reached across the table for her hand. She gave it easily, and I leaned forward to bring it to my lips and kiss her lightly on the palm.

  “I had an amazing time last night … No, that only scratches the surface … It was perfect, beautiful, right. Like it was meant to be,” I said honestly. “I know it’s kind of fast, but, Millie, I could fall for you so hard and fast, it’s scary.”

  Millie’s smile was wide, and her eyes grew misty as she replied, “I know, I feel the same way. It scares me a bit, even as it makes me extremely excited to find out what happens next.”

  “I don’t want to ruin the mood, but I want you to know, I’ve filed the paperwork for my divorce and hired a PI to track down Julie. Once he does, she’ll be served the papers, and that’ll be that.”

  “That’s … great news?” She looked unsure of whether she should be happy or sad that I was ending my marriage, and I understood that it was a complicated situation, but I needed her to know that it was what I wanted one hundred percent.

  “It is great news,” I assured her, then released her hand so we could both get back to breakfast. “You’re not worried that I don’t want the divorce, are you, because I assure you, it is.”

  Millie shook her head, then shrugged.

  “I don’t know … you’ve said that you want a divorce, that you’d never take her back, and I believe you, I do. But, you were married for a long time, you were each other’s firsts for everything, and you have a child together. So, even though I believe you’re telling truth, in the back of my head there’s always a chance
that you’ll change your mind.”

  “I promise you, I won’t. Even if I hadn’t met you, and shared what we did last night … which, by the way, is the single most incredible night of my life. It’s never been like that between Julie and I; in fact, I didn’t know that was a thing. I’m afraid now that I know, you’ve created a monster, and I’m never going to let you out of my sight.”

  I could tell my words made her happy, but I could still see the twinge of doubt, and I knew the only thing that would erase that twinge would be to find Julie and finally put an end to this marriage.

  “Well,” I began, needing to get the subject off of my soon-to-be ex-wife for a while. “Now that we both know that we were made for each other, our chemistry is off the charts, and we both want to see where this is going, right?”

  “Absolutely,” Millie confirmed, allowing me to let go of that breath that had stuck in my throat when she brought up her doubts about me and Julie.

  “I think it’s time for you to meet Kayla.” At her look of confusion, I knew I had to let her know what she was getting into. “I know you’ve already met, but that was before we were dating. I want us to do something together now that she knows we are, but I have to warn you, she’s not all that enthused about our relationship.”

  Millie’s face fell.

  “She’s not?”

  “No,” I admitted, my tone conveying my regret. “It’s been just the two of us for a long time now, and like I said, I haven’t seen anyone since Julie, so she’s confused by the whole situation. She’s still hurt by her mother leaving, and is holding on to the hope that Julie will come back and things will be the way they were. I know it won’t be easy, but I think once she gets to spend some time with you, get to know you, and see how we are together, she’ll come around.”

  “Okay,” Millie agreed, although she looked doubtful.

  Something occurred to me, and I figured since we were talking heavy, we might as well get it all out at once.