Slow & Steady #2: A Shameless Southern Nights Novel

by J. H. Croix

  “We won,” Austin exclaimed.

  Jeremy frowned, then laughed. “It was only practice little man, but you did do well.”

  “I’m biased, so I’m not saying anything,” Marie said, sliding in with Jeremy and Austin across from Sonny. “How was work? You catch the bad guys?”

  Sonny grimaced, glancing at Austin. “Without going into detail, it’s tough to know who the bad guys are sometimes.”

  Jeremy narrowed his eyes, searching Sonny’s before glancing down at Austin beside him and letting it go. “Let’s order. I think our little T-ball player is probably starving by now.”

  Austin clutched his stomach and nodded enthusiastically. “I deserve a large pizza all to myself tonight.”

  “Is that so?” Marie asked, trying to hide the smile on her lips.

  I was aware of the exchange going on around me, but this was the first time I’d seen Sonny in his uniform in a while, and it was hard to concentrate on anything else. He looked hot—panty-melting, scorching hot.

  Even more distracting was his warm hand on my thigh, idly tracing patterns on my skin over the swingy skirt I was wearing.

  As dinner progressed, he kept it up. Eventually even hiking up the skirt so his hand was on my bare skin. It skated up and down my thigh, at times going so high he almost reached my panties.

  I ate a few slices of pizza; I barely tasted a thing. All I could concentrate on was the throbbing ache between my legs and Sonny’s teasing fingers driving me crazy.

  By the time we were done with dinner, I was so worked up I could barely see straight. My cheeks were flushed, glowing with heat. I could only hope the others thought it was on account of the one glass of wine I had with dinner.

  My panties clung to me as we walked out to the cars, wet all the way through. My clit pulsed, pounding with each step I took. Sonny kept his hand in mine, glancing at me with heat in his eyes. He knew exactly what he’d done to me. Wicked, wicked man.

  I was so going to tackle him the second we got back to his place.

  Chapter Nine

  Sonny

  Niki was on me as soon as we walked into my house. I didn’t even have time to turn on the lights before she spun around, grabbed the front of my shirt and kissed me. Hard.

  I kicked the door closed and kissed her back, wrapping my arms around her and undoing her braid so I could wind my hands into her hair. She tasted like sunshine and crisp white wine, her skin warm against me.

  Over dinner, she looked so fucking hot with her flirty skirt, her hair windblown, and her cheeks pinked from being out in the sun all day. I couldn’t keep my hands off her. I knew it was turning her on; I could feel her pressing her legs together and squirming all the way through dinner.

  Knowing the effect it had on her and that it was neither the time nor the place didn’t stop me, it only spurred me on. Her responses notched up the need burning inside of me.

  If it got her to kiss me like this, it was totally worth every minute I’d had to wait to be alone with her. She was clawing at my shirt, trying to lift her leg to my hip as we kissed.

  Practically climbing me. And that was fucking hot.

  I lifted her against me, walking her back until I had her up against the wall. Holding her in place with my hips, I helped her fumbling fingers tear at the buttons of my shirt and undo my belt buckle. She managed my button and zipper, using her feet to shove my pants down around my hips. My cock was so hard, it ached.

  Not once did she stop kissing me with her hips rocking against me, letting out little gasps and moans that made me wet. Fuck me.

  Her flowing skirt rode up to her waist from her position against the wall, bunching between us. My cock sprang free when Niki pushed my pants and boxers out of the way, more than ready to join the party.

  With the way we were pressed together, her soaked panties were slick against my raging hard-on. It took some maneuvering, but I managed to get to my wallet in the pocket of my pants now hanging around my knees and used one hand to pull out a condom before dropping the wallet to the floor and letting the pants fall with them.

  Ripping the foil with my teeth, I held the condom out to Niki. She hesitated for a beat, but then took it from me and very meticulously for our position, rolled it onto me. Feeling her warm hands on me triggered a growl to rumble in my chest.

  Since getting her panties off was near impossible without letting her down, which wasn’t an option for me, I pulled them aside. Niki watched me, her hungry eyes half covered with her heavy lids.

  Breathing like we were running a marathon, I gripped her hips and sank into her creamy clench. Her channel was slick around me, already pulsing.

  “Fuck,” I said groaning, pulling back to thrust into her.

  Niki closed her eyes, her head thumping against the wall. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, the picture of ecstasy.

  I nearly lost it right there. Between teasing her, and myself by extension, over dinner, her raw need and that look, this was going to have to be fast. “I’m not going to last long.”

  “Neither am I,” she panted, rolling her hips and threading her hands into my hair to claim my mouth.

  My balls tightened, my entire body tensing as I drummed into her. She moaned, the sound mingling with our heavy breathing and the low growls that kept ripping from my throat.

  Reaching between us, I brushed my fingers over her hard clit. It set her off. She trembled in my arms as I kept going, my name falling from her pink, swollen lips like a chant.

  Her body went rigid, her walls spasming around me as she came. I couldn’t hold back even if I wanted to, a well of pressure deep within me ruptured in a slow surge of pleasure that sent electricity shooting through me.

  “Fuck, Niki,” I whispered against her lips, our chests rising and falling fast as we both tried to catch our breath. “That was awesome.”

  A dazed smile pulled at her lips; her head pressed back against the wall. “It was your fault for teasing me at the restaurant.”

  I pushed a damp lock of hair behind her ear, holding her to my chest as I walked us to the bathroom, still inside her. “I’ll take the blame for that any day.”

  Niki giggled, resting her head on my shoulder. “Where are we going?”

  “Shower,” I told her. “Then to bed so we can do that all over again.”

  “I support that plan.” She sighed as I slipped out of her to set her down on the counter while I got the shower started.

  When I turned to face her, she lifted her arms for me to take off her shirt, baring her perfect breasts to me. Her nipples were a dusky pink, still erect. Lips swollen from our kisses with her blond hair mussed, she looked so damn sexy I had to remind myself I needed time to recharge before I took her again.

  We took a slow shower, steam rising around us as we soaped each other. Afterward, I wrapped her in a fluffy towel I’d bought especially for her the same day I asked her to move back to my place.

  Falling into bed with her, I spent the time before we finally fell asleep worshiping and tasting every inch of her body. The following morning, I woke up with Niki’s body so entwined with mine, I knew it would be impossible to move without waking her.

  She looked up at me when I stirred, her eyes sleepy. “Sleep well?”

  “Like a log,” I told her honestly, running my fingers through her silky hair. My morning wood twitched when the movement caused the sheet covering her breasts to slip and reveal her creamy mounds. “You?”

  “I always sleep well next to you,” she murmured lazily, then froze as her eyes popped open wide. “I just meant—”

  “I know. I always sleep well next to you too.” We never talked about what was going on between us, but somehow when little slips like hers happened, we were always on the same page. “Breakfast?”

  Her hand slid down my side, and I sucked in a breath. Smiling as she pressed a kiss to my shoulder, she cupped her palm over my cock. “Sure, as long as you mean I can have you for breakfast.”

  I hissed whe
n she squeezed me, clamping down to keep my hips from bucking into her hand. “Shouldn’t I be the one saying cheesy lines like that to get you in bed?”

  Chuckling, she started stroking me. Holy fuck.

  “Men don’t have a monopoly on cheesy lines. We can use them too, so get in line. Also, I’m already in your bed.” She got up on her knees, shimmying down until she was beneath the sheet with her head positioned above my cock.

  I didn’t answer her, too aware of her breath ghosting across my tip.

  “Now let me concentrate. I’ve always wanted to try this.”

  I groaned, my breathing already speeding up. “Don’t let me stop you.”

  “Wasn’t going to,” she said, then swirled her wet tongue around my head.

  “That feels so fucking good.” For all the time we spent in bed, Niki was still coming into her own, and I didn’t push her, wanting her to do things at her own pace. I’d gone down on her plenty of times, but this was a first for her.

  She was a thorough woman and teased me to madness as she slowly explored me with her lips and tongue—she licked and sucked until I was ready to explode. I stopped her before it happened, pulling her up to straddle me. We stayed in bed until we were both sated, flushed and lazy.

  Niki rolled out of bed first. “I’ll get started on the food part of breakfast.”

  I laughed, admiring her lush ass and the smooth curve of her hips and back before she donned a robe. “In that case, I’ll get the coffee.”

  Spending a lazy morning together, she cooked omelets while I made coffee and kept her company as she cooked. Mundane stuff, really, but I was struck by how much I loved it.

  Back when Jeremy and Marie started up, I used to tease him about it mercilessly. It rolled off him like water from a duck’s back, and I was starting to realize why. I didn’t give a shit what anyone said right now either. Niki was coming to mean a lot to me, and strangely, that was okay with me.

  “You don’t talk much about your family,” I remarked, thinking about how mine were with her and how it made me feel to see her with Jeremy, Marie, and Austin last night.

  “There’s not much to say,” she told me, cracking eggs into a pan before adding some chopped up tomatoes, cheese, and mushroom. “You know I’m an only child. My parents were only children too, so no aunts, uncles, or cousins to speak of.”

  “What happened to your parents?” It felt like something I should know about her, but like with everything else, I didn’t want to push her. If she said she didn’t want to talk about it, I would leave it alone.

  She paused, turning the spatula between her hands before sighing. “My mom had cancer, and my dad died shortly after she did from heart disease.”

  “That’s tough.” I couldn’t even begin to imagine what she must’ve gone through. My mom’s death ripped our family apart in so many ways. Most people believed it was her death that pushed my dad over to the dark side. I couldn’t argue because I just didn’t know. But at least I still had my brothers. “Cancer got my mom, too. I don’t know what I would’ve done without my brothers.”

  “Our moms were in oncology in Savannah at the same time,” she told me, flipping the omelet she was busy with.

  “They were?” I didn’t remember ever seeing her around the hospital, but that didn’t mean anything. That time was such a blur for me.

  Niki nodded, smiling sadly. “I only remember you because there were five of you around when you came to visit. It’s hard to miss five teenage boys in a ward the size of that one.”

  “I guess.” I moved from the kitchen island to go to her, but she waved me off with the spatula and slid an omelet onto a plate.

  “Don’t. If you hug me, I’ll probably start crying, and I don’t want that. I don’t cry about it anymore. It was a long time ago. Eat instead.”

  I nodded and took the plate she offered. “I get that. I haven’t cried about my mom for a long time either, doesn’t mean it hurts any less to think about her.”

  “You cried about her?” she asked, sliding an omelet onto a plate for herself before she came to join me.

  “Of course,” I told her, biting into the fluffy eggs. “She was my mom.”

  “I guess I didn’t think you’d admit to crying,” she said, sipping her coffee before tucking into her breakfast.

  I shrugged. “Women get to use cheesy lines, and men get to admit to crying when the situation calls for it.”

  “Look at us being progressive,” she said with a laugh. “I like it.”

  So did I. Surprisingly, since I didn’t talk about my mom or that time with anyone, not even my brothers. “I can’t believe I don’t remember you from there, and hardly from school.”

  “I didn’t go there for very long. I grew up in Linkin Creek.” A town nearby I knew of and worked in now from time to time, but back in school I never went there. “I was only in school here while my mom was in the hospital because it’s closer to Savannah. My dad could come get me after school and take me to the hospital without driving the extra forty minutes to Linkin Creek.”

  “You didn’t go to school in Savannah?”

  Niki shook her head. “Dad wanted me to have the small town school experience instead of the city.”

  “Makes sense. What made you decide to move to Cypress Creek? Didn’t want to stay at home in Linkin Creek?”

  “Nah,” she said, her eyes misting over. “Linkin Creek hasn’t felt like home since Mom died, but I stayed there to take care of Dad. Then I went to college, and after I graduated, I got the job at the library here. I always liked Cypress Creek, the people here were nice to me whenever I was here. And it was already a familiar place to me, instead of moving away from everything I knew. Did you ever want to leave?”

  I shook my head. “Not really. I’ve lived briefly in other places. College, for a while as a rookie, but I always gravitated back home.”

  Because my family was here, but I didn’t say that. Knowing Niki didn’t have family made that feel too poignant. That layer of knowledge also fed the protectiveness I felt for her.

  “Cypress Creek is a good place to call home. I don’t think I could ever leave here now,” Niki said, finishing her breakfast. “Want to watch a movie?”

  I nodded, taking her cue to drop the heavy stuff. I was off duty today and spending the rest of it lazing around with Niki sounded like exactly what both of us wanted. “Only if there’s an action one in your suggested line up.”

  She laughed. “Always with the action movies. Don’t you see enough action?”

  “No such thing as enough action.” I smirked, following her to the living room.

  Later that night, Niki was sleeping soundly beside me. We spent the day with the curtains in the living room drawn, watching movies together on the couch. She fell asleep during the last one, and when it was done, I carried her to bed.

  Lying on my side facing her, I realized I made it through most of the day simply enjoying my time with her, without worrying about the mess that brought her into my world.

  Miracles really do happen. At least that was what it felt like when Niki was around.

  Chapter Ten

  Niki

  “I want to go back to work,” I told Sonny as he I watched him get ready for his shift on Monday morning. I’d given it a lot of thought, and I didn’t want to hang around the house anymore.

  Sitting on the bed with my knees drawn up to my chest and my arms draped loosely around them, thinking about the day stretching out ahead of me without having anything to do threatened to drive me crazy.

  Sonny fastened his belt, turning to face me. “Not yet. I can’t keep you safe there.”

  “You can’t keep me safe here either when you’re not around,” I pointed out, bracing myself for our first argument.

  He grimaced, reaching for his shirt and doing up the buttons. “But I have a security system that will alert me if anyone tries to get in.”

  I took a deep breath, willing the annoyance and frustration flaring inside
to calm down. “I understand you’re trying to protect me, but the library is a public place, and I’ll be careful.”

  Sonny ran a hand through his hair, a line marring the smooth skin between his eyebrows. “I know it’s a public place, but how will I know if there’s someone there harassing you? Maclin found you there. So did whoever took those files.”

  “They did, but they also didn’t hurt me or harm me in any way. If I see anyone suspicious, I’ll call you immediately.”

  I could see him struggling with it, his eyes stormy. Then he huffed out a deep breath and came over to sit beside me on the bed. “Fine, I don’t want to make you feel like you’re stuck here. Please call me if you see anyone at all that makes you feel uncomfortable?”

  “I promise,” I told him, relieved he relented before we really got into an argument. “Thank you for respecting my decision.”

  A small smile played on his lips as he leaned over to kiss me. “I respect the hell out of you. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to worry about you going back to work.”

  “I understand. I worry about you, too,” I admitted, running my hand through his hair, still damp from his shower.

  “Difference is, I carry a gun and I have backup,” he said, standing up from the bed.

  I got up too, wrapping the sheet around my body, still naked from our early morning activities. “And I have you, so I’m not worried about me.”

  “Good to know,” he said, coming over to kiss me again after grabbing his wallet and keys from his nightstand. “But I will be worried about you, so at least check in every couple of hours, okay?”

  “Okay.” I could compromise. If texting him a few times during the day, which I did anyway, was going to set his mind at ease and allow him to spare some brain power to worry about his own safety, I would do it in a heartbeat. “Be safe.”

  He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You too.”

  Sonny left reluctantly, and I wasted no time calling my boss, telling him I was ready to come back to work. Unlike Sonny, my boss was delighted and told me to hurry back.