Cold Shoulder

by Sophie Stern

  “You bought the old Thomas place,” I say. She just shrugs.

  “I wanted it. It was available. I got approved for a loan and slapped on a new coat of paint. Good as new.”

  “Do you remember sneaking into the backyard when we were teenagers?” I ask, following her up the sidewalk to the front porch.

  “Of course,” she laughs. “They had that hot tub back there and they never kept the enclosure locked. You, me, and every teenage couple in town knew about this place. It was perfect.”

  “Is the hot tub still there?” I ask, wiggling my eyebrows up and down in a move I know is anything but seductive.

  “Sadly,” she chuckles. “It’s been gone for awhile now. I’ve got something better, though.”

  “What could be better than a hot tub for two?”

  She unlocks the front door and we step inside. Harper closes the door behind us. I take a quick look around the entryway. It’s absolutely stunning. There’s a large staircase leading to a second floor and there’s a living room to my left with an office to the right.

  “This,” she says, and when I turn back around, she’s completely naked.

  “How did you strip down in less than five seconds? That’s impressive, Harper.”

  “I really, really want your cock, Blake,” she says. “Please. Don’t keep me waiting any longer.”

  Who could resist that? I certainly can’t. Maybe that makes me a bad person or maybe I just lack self-control. I don’t know. Either way, I kiss Harper and pick her up, cradling her in my arms.

  “Where’s your bedroom, baby?”

  “Upstairs,” she murmurs, kissing me. She runs her hands through my hair as she touches me. I have to focus on walking up the stairs one at a time, but Harper gets to play with me and by the time I reach the top of the stairs, I’m ready to fuck her in the middle of the damn hallway. “To the right,” she says, and I head down the narrow hallway and push open the first door.

  Sure enough, it opens into a bedroom. Like the rest of her home, the bedroom is decorated all in purple.

  I carry her into the room and set her carefully on the bed.

  “Take off your clothes, Blake. I want you to make love to me.”

  8

  Harper

  I don’t know what’s got me acting like such a wanton today. Maybe it’s the fact that my entire life basically turned upside down over the course of 24 hours. That’s not a lot of time for you to go from single to in a committed relationship. That’s not a lot of time for you to go to the hospital, fire your office manager, and rekindle a romance with your ex-beau from nearly a decade ago.

  My heart feels fine, but my mind is racing.

  I need to slow down, to breathe, but I can’t. I can’t seem to stop because right now, all I want is Blake. I want him touching me. I want him inside of me. I want all of him and everything.

  I need him.

  He strips slowly, seductively. He gives me a teasing little show as he carefully takes off each item of clothing.

  “What kind of work did you do in Kansas City?” I ask. “Dancing?”

  “No, I worked at an accounting firm,” he says. “But I was quite a hit at all the Christmas parties.”

  “I bet you were. You probably made good tips, too.”

  “Especially when I did this,” he turns around and wiggles his hips as he pushes his pants down, revealing a very toned, very tanned ass.

  “It’s just wrong that your butt looks so good.”

  “Yours looks just as nice,” he sounds surprised.

  “Do you shave your butt?” I ask, staring at it without shame. Hey, a good tush is a good tush. I’m not going to let this view go to waste.

  “It’s called ‘manscaping’ for a reason, love.”

  “And what reason is that?” He tosses the rest of his clothes aside and comes over to the bed. Blake stands in front of me and runs his hands up and down my thighs. Then he kisses my neck.

  “The reason is so that when I have a chance to make love to a beautiful woman like you, I’m ready. I’m going to make this a night you won’t forget, Harper.”

  “I couldn’t forget it if I wanted to,” I say, but my voice comes out breathless and needy.

  “Lay down on the bed.” His words are gentle, but the command is obvious. I scoot back so I’m in the center of the bed and I lay back, closing my eyes.

  “What are you going to do to me, Blake?”

  “Everything.”

  I feel the bed shift as he climbs up with me, and then Blake starts kissing my legs. He moves upward slowly, teasingly. By the time he reaches the tops of my thighs, I’m soaking wet and so ready to be touched I feel like I might explode.

  He doesn’t disappoint me, though.

  Blake slides his tongue along my thigh and over to my lips. He kisses me and teases me, tasting me.

  “You’re delicious,” he murmurs, and I spread my legs a little bit wider. I know many of my friends get embarrassed when someone wants to go down on them, but I’ve never been that way. I love it. I love the way this feels. I love the way he looks between my legs. I love seeing him worship my body with everything he has.

  I love the way this makes me come apart.

  My orgasm sweeps over me like a rollercoaster. I cry out, grabbing his hair. I thrust up into his face and lose all control over my body. I’m flying. I’m gliding. I’m free.

  And then Blake is kissing my mouth, bringing me slowly back to reality.

  “That was fucking hot, sweetheart,” he whispers. “But I want more.”

  “Tell me what you want, Blake. Tell me what you need.” The words slip off my tongue: a promise between lovers that I’ll be what he needs, that I’ll give what he wants because right now, in this moment, I would do anything.

  “Spread your legs, baby. I want to make love to you.”

  I open up and Blake positions himself between me. He moves my legs up so they’re dangling over his shoulders. I feel open, exposed, but not in a bad way. I feel good, ready. He slides his dick over me, rubbing against me. This just makes me even more excited, even more needy for him.

  By the time Blake finally gives me his cock, I’m on the verge of another orgasm. He slides inside of me, filling me. A wave of peace washes over me as he makes love to me. There’s no mistake that this, what we’re doing right now, is meaningful. It’s important. It’s special.

  It’s far different from the quick, hot fuck we had earlier in the office. That was incredible, but this is something else entirely, and my heart soars as Blake plays with my breasts, kissing my mouth as he gently slides in and out of me.

  “Are you going to come for me again, princess?” He murmurs, reaching one hand between us. He rubs my clit softly, gently. “I want to feel you come with me.”

  “Yes,” I groan. “Please, just don’t stop.”

  Blake keeps touching me and as my orgasm builds, I’m swept up in waves of emotion and pleasure. Sex hasn’t been like this with anyone else and the realization that I never stopped loving Blake dawns on me. It’s always been him for me. It’s always been us. This is fate. It just has to be.

  We’re destined to be together.

  There’s no other explanation.

  We come at the same time, whispering each others’ names as we do. I open my eyes in time to see the peaceful expression on Blake’s face as he fills me, as he marks me on the inside.

  “I love you,” he whispers. He doesn’t even open his eyes as he says it. “I love you, Harper.”

  “I love you, too, Blake.”

  The words don’t sound scary or forced or wrong. They don’t feel inappropriate or strange. They don’t feel out of place.

  They feel perfect, like this moment, and right now?

  Right now, I feel like the luckiest damn girl in the world.

  Epilogue

  Blake

  Six months later

  The restaurant is supposed to be closed tonight for maintenance. At least, that’s what I had Melanie say w
hen she called Harper this morning to tell her not to come in to work. Instead of heading into the restaurant, the two of us decide to spend the day at the lake fishing.

  Shortly after my return to Raven, Harper hired me on as her new full-time manager. With the leadership skills I gained in the military, we realized I was the perfect fit for the job opening. Now, the two of us live together in her little Victorian on 2nd Street. We spend our days in the restaurant and our nights reading together or watching movies. Recently, we started going fishing together. We’ve also signed up for a dance class specifically for couples.

  Things are going better than I hoped when I first returned to Raven. Oh, I was determined to make things work between us. I was certain I could win her heart eventually. I hoped I could, but to be at this place after only six months?

  That’s a miracle even I wasn’t brave enough to hope for.

  After we get home from fishing and shower, I text Melanie a smiley face. She knows that’s the signal to get me and Harper to the restaurant as quickly as possible. Melanie didn’t tell me exactly how she plans to get us there. For all I know, she’s going to call and say there’s a fire, but I’m hoping it won’t be quite that dramatic.

  Sure enough, after a minute, Harper’s phone rings.

  “Are you going to get that?” I ask.

  “It’s only Melanie,” she says with a shrug and a smile. “I’m sure it can wait.” Harper comes over and wraps her arms around me. “Besides, there are a few other things I’d like to do tonight.”

  “Maybe you should get the call,” I say hastily. “You know, just in case there’s a problem with the restaurant.”

  “Yeah,” Harper says with a look of regret. “You’re right.” She reaches for her cell. “Hello? Melanie? What’s wrong? Okay…okay…I’ll be right there.” Harper hangs up and looks at me. “You were right,” she says. “The maintenance guys found a new problem and they need me to come out and look at it.”

  “What sort of problem?” I ask, reaching for my keys. “I’ll drive.”

  “Babe, you should just stay home and relax,” Harper shakes her head. “It was a long day and I know you’re tired. You deserve to take a break.”

  “Come on,” I take her hand and kiss it. “We can get ice cream after.” Harper giggles, but lets me guide her outside and to the car. We hurry over to the restaurant. The drive takes only a few minutes.

  “That’s odd,” Harper says as we pull into the parking lot. “It looks like the lights are out. Melanie said the guys were here and needed me to sign something giving them permission to do extra work.”

  “Let’s go see,” I say. “Maybe the electricity is out and that’s what they need to work.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” Harper agrees, but only half-heartedly. She walks slowly toward the front door of the restaurant and reaches for the handle. Then she opens the door and walks inside. As soon as she steps through the doors, she stops walking, and I know exactly why. Melanie has done her part. She’s done what she promised.

  “What is this?” Harper asks, looking around the room. Each table in the restaurant is covered in rose petals and has a single candle lit. “It’s so beautiful.” She stares for a second, taking in the room, and then Harper turns around and sees me.

  I’m down on one knee, holding out the ring I chose for her all those years ago. I finally went and bought it and I just know it’s going to look beautiful on her hand.

  “Holy dragons,” she whispers, clapping her hands over her mouth. Then she just shakes her head, as if she can’t believe this is really happening, as if she can’t believe we’re finally about to make this thing between us official.

  As if she can’t believe I’m going to ask her to be my wife.

  “Harper McBride,” I start to talk. My heart is racing and feels like it’s going to beat right out of my chest. “These past few months have been the best of my life. They’ve been perfect. They’ve been incredible. They’ve been everything I want my life to be and I want this forever.”

  “Blake,” she whispers, but I keep going. I have to say this before my emotions take control of me. I don’t want to cry in front of Harper. I don’t want to cry in front of the woman I want as my bride. I don’t want to cry.

  “Harper, you already make me the happiest man alive. I love you more than anything else in the world. You’re my favorite person. You’re incredible. You’re strong and brave and sweet, and you make me want to be a better man. Please, will you marry me?”

  “Oh, Blake!” She says, and she wraps her arms around my neck and starts kissing me. “Yes,” she whispers with a kiss. “Yes, yes, yes. Forever and always, Blake. Yes.”

  THE END

  Author

  Sophie Stern loves cowboys, soldiers, and shifters. When she’s not busy writing, she’s got her nose buried in a book. Sophie lives with her husband and two little boys who are always keeping her on her toes.

  You can connect with Sophie through her website or on Facebook.

  Make sure to sign up for Sophie’s mailing list here! You’ll receive updates when new books come out and special subscriber stories free before they’re released.

  The Wolfe City Pack

  If you enjoyed this story, check out Sophie’s newest shifter series: The Wolfe City Pack! You can find book one on Amazon or keep reading for a free sample!

  Chapter 1

  Amy

  The rattling sound my engine is making can’t be good, but I ignore it. I’m excellent at ignoring problems. If you ignore something long enough, it goes away. Isn’t that right? Yeah, I think that’s right. I ignore the sound and keep on driving, keep on moving. It’s not something that I can do anything about right now, so I’ll just keep going.

  That’s what you do when you’re having trouble.

  You don’t quit. You don’t give up. You don’t stop. You just move. You have to move or you’ll die. You have to move or everything will fall apart. You have to move or nothing will make sense anymore. You have to move.

  Tears slide down my face as I try to focus on the road. I shouldn’t be running away from my problems, but I am. I totally am. I know that, and I know it’s a bad idea, but I’m doing it anyway because I’m nothing but a big, fat coward who can’t tough it out when things get hard.

  I’m nothing but a loser.

  A failure.

  A huge disappointment.

  I put on one of my favorite songs from my angst-driven teenage years. Down by Something Corporate starts blaring through the speakers and I lose myself in the tunes for just a little bit. For just a little while, I lose myself in the song. I lose myself in the music. For just a little while, I forget what I’m running away from and think about what I’m running toward.

  Freedom.

  Hope.

  Something new.

  I peek at the GPS on my phone to see how much further I have to go. It’s just another hour to Honeypot, Colorado. My cousin Hope is graciously allowing me to stay with her and her family for a little while until I get back on my feet, until I figure out what I’m going to do with my life. She knows what it’s like to lose everything and have to start over.

  She knows what it’s like to have nothing but yourself and your car and a couple of boxes of junk from your childhood.

  I think about the fact that I reached out to Hope when my world fell apart and I think about what she said.

  “Just come to Honeypot,” she told me. “Everything is different here. You’ll see. You need a fresh start, Amy. You need something new.”

  Maybe it will be a fresh start. Maybe it will be exactly what I need, exactly what I hope for. Maybe it will give me everything I long for, but I doubt it. A city is a city and a town is a town. They’re all the same, in the end. Everyone is looking out for number one, and heaven help the person who gets in their way.

  Nobody has time for other people.

  Nobody has time to go out of their way and help.

  Nobody has time for patience.

 
Nobody has time to forgive.

  I start crying again as I drive. I wipe my eyes because it’s getting hard to see out the front window, but then I realize that’s not because of my tears. It’s because the engine has now started to smoke.

  As the clouds billow from the front of the car, my heart sinks. This is it, then. This is the end of my wonderful, grand adventure. This is the part of my story where everything stops, where the heroine realizes she never really had a chance. The whole world was against her. What was she going to do?

  Fight it?

  I pull over to the side of the road and shut off the car. Then I just sit there. It’s dark, and I’m tired, and I’m on the side of a road I’m pretty sure shouldn’t even exist anymore. It’s not even a highway. It’s just some side road I thought would be faster and have less traffic.

  Lucky me.

  Always making the smart choices.

  A quick glance at my cell phone confirms what I already suspected: that I have no towers. I can’t call for a tow. I can’t do anything right now but sleep in my car or walk to the next exit. Something tells me it’s not safe to sleep on the side of an empty road in the middle of nowhere, though, so my choice is easy.

  Walking it is.

  Finally, I get out of the car and open the hood. More smoke billows around me, but I try to ignore it as I prop the hood of the car open. I’m going to be making a journey on foot, and I’m hoping that if I make it obvious the car broke down, the cops won’t give me a ticket for illegal parking before I can get a tow.

  I take my backpack and pull it on. I also grab my wallet, keys, and phone. Then I lock up my car and start walking. There’s other stuff in my car, of course. There are plenty of things people can take and resell, but I don’t really care about any of that. Right now I just care about moving forward, about reaching my destination, wherever that might be.