by Jessie Evans
He shook his head, dropping his gaze to the hand he was using to massage the sensitive muscles above her knee. “Don’t feel bad. And no, it wasn’t easy, but I’m not a quitter. So even when I was feeling sorry for myself, I never stopped doing my PT or working my ass off to get back to where I was before the crash. I think that made adjusting easier for me than it is for some people.”
“That you’re stubborn as hell?” Phoebe asked, her heart skipping a beat when he looked up at her, grinning so wide his dimple popped.
“Yes,” he said, squeezing her knee at the ticklish place, making her giggle. “I’m lucky that I’m stubborn as hell, and that once the stump healed, I haven’t had much pain. Nothing unmanageable at least.” He glanced down, lifting his injured leg into the air, revealing what looked like a thick sock pulled over where his leg ended just below the knee and up over his thigh. “I’m used to it now, but I know not everyone is. Mom still gets upset if I take my leg off to hang out on the couch after dinner at her house. So I leave it on and make it easier for her to forget.”
Phoebe rolled over, pushing up on her elbows. “Is that why you asked me before? Because you worried it might upset me?”
He shrugged. “It freaks some people out. I was with one girl, right after I got back. I guess I was pretty drunk and I forgot to warn her about it before clothes started coming off. When I popped my prosthetic free, she screamed. I didn’t have time to explain what had happened before she was out the door.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Phoebe said, frowning. “But probably serves you right for going to bed with a woman who knew virtually nothing about you and vice versa.”
“Thanks, Phoebes,” he said, reaching up to curl a lock of her hair around his finger as he laughed. “I can always count on you to put riding my ass above feeling sorry for me.”
She blinked, trying not to read too much into the affection in his voice. “You don’t want me to feel sorry for you.”
“No, I don’t. And I don’t mind you riding my ass.” He paused before adding in a wicked whisper, “Though I prefer you riding my cock.”
“Oh stop,” she said, batting his hand away from her hair. “No dirty talk.”
“You don’t like dirty talk?” he asked, eyebrows floating up his forehead as he brought his hand back to her thigh. “How can you not like dirty talk?”
“I just don’t,” she said with an uncomfortable shrug. “It feels crass.”
“That means whoever was dirty talking to you wasn’t doing it right,” he said, hitching her thigh over his hips while he slid his other hand beneath her ribs, pulling her on top of him.
Phoebe blushed as she straddled him, not sure she was ready for this much naked interaction when they weren’t having sex. Come to think of it, she’d never just hung out naked and talked with a man after. She’d always either fallen asleep or hurried to get dressed, feeling shy after the initial rush of wanting had faded.
“Now you just relax,” Colton said, threading his fingers through her hair as he guided her head down to his chest. “You just lie here on me and let me talk dirty to you until you like it.”
She made a dubious sound, but closed her eyes and relaxed against him, breathing in the smell of sex and sweat and Colt, an unholy trinity she knew could quickly become one of her favorite scents on earth.
“First, I’m going to tell you how hot it made me to lick your pussy,” he said, in a husky voice, summoning a nervous giggle from her throat.
“No laughing, Page.” He swatted her bare bottom lightly, sending an unexpected clutching sensation spreading through her pelvis.
“Yes, sir,” she said, biting back an excited grin. She’d never been spanked before, either, but she’d always been intrigued by the idea. Maybe once Colton realized she was never going to be a fan of dirty talk they could explore other previously uncharted territory.
“Good, now keep that pretty mouth closed while I tell you how much I loved fucking your pussy with my tongue,” he said, smoothing his palms up and down her bare bottom, stoking the fire building low in her body. “I loved the sounds you made while you were trying not to come and the way you wiggled against my face.”
She closed her eyes, this dirty version of a bedtime story growing on her a little.
“I loved your nipples in my mouth, too,” he continued. “I loved sucking and biting on them and feeling you grind on my cock because you wanted me inside you so bad. I could feel how much you wanted me to fuck you, Phoebe. How you were dying for me to spread you wide and take you deep and hard.”
Phoebe swallowed, her breath coming faster and her body sizzling to life.
“It made me want to bend you over the side of the bed and fuck you from behind. I’d wrap my hands around your waist and watch my cock disappear inside of you and come out all wet and—”
“Stop,” Phoebe whispered, breathing so hard she was starting to get dizzy.
“Still not a fan of dirty talk?” His hands slipped around her bottom and tugged her knees up, shifting her until her bare sex brushed against the base of where he was hard again.
He was hard again. Already.
Thank God.
Her eyes fluttered open as she braced her hands on his chest, pushing up until she could look down into his hooded eyes. “I think you may have converted me.”
“Oh yeah?” He watched with obvious interest as her hand moved between their bodies. “That fast?”
“That fast.” Her fingers wrapped around his cock, stroking him slowly up and down. “You were right, I had never heard dirty talk done properly.”
“Now it’s your turn,” he said, his palms smoothing up her thighs to circle her waist. “Talk dirty to me, Phoebe. Say something filthy with that pretty mouth.”
She blushed. “I don’t know that I’m ready for that. How about I show you how much I liked it and work up to the dirty talk?”
“That sounds like heaven,” he said, watching her position him at her entrance. “And that is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Phoebe settled on top of him, slowly, inch by inch, watching him watch the place where they were joined and knowing he was right. This was the sexiest moment of her life.
She had never felt more beautiful, more powerful, or more turned on than when she braced her hands on Colt’s chest and began to ride him. She went slowly at first, holding his gaze as he cupped her breasts in his hands, teasing her nipples between his fingertips. But soon the pressure twisting inside of her grew so intense that she had to move faster, sliding up and down his length with increasing urgency, her breath coming in swift pants.
“God, Phoebe, yes, don’t stop,” he said, urging her on with his hips, lifting her into the air as he thrust harder, meeting her on the way down. “You’re so beautiful, baby, you drive me crazy. Don’t stop, please don’t stop.”
Her head fell back as she moved faster, chasing the edge with Colt right beside her. His hands were everywhere and his words swirled through her head, turning her on every bit as much as his touch until they reached the wall and broke through at the same time.
Their simultaneous orgasm seemed to last forever, spinning tighter and tighter in seemingly infinite spirals of pleasure before Colt’s hips finally dropped back to the bed and Phoebe fell forward, collapsing bonelessly onto his chest.
They were still lying there, sweaty and spent, when the door downstairs slammed open and Daisy called out, “Phoebe where are you? I’ve been waiting at the store for half an hour. Are you okay?”
Phoebe’s eyes flew wide. “Oh. Shit.”
Chapter 10
Colton
By the time he had his boxers back on and reached for his jeans, Phoebe was already wrapped in a bright pink robe and dashing toward the door.
She paused in the doorway to spin back to him and hiss, “Stay in here and don’t say anything. I’ll get rid of her and be right back.”
“But I—”
She cut him off with a rapid slicing motion of her hand a
cross her throat. “No talking, no moving. Try not to breathe more than you absolutely have to or she will know I have a man up here and she won’t stop until she figures out exactly who it is.”
“Phoebe? Is that you?” Daisy called.
“It’s me, I’m sorry, I took a nap and overslept,” Phoebe called out in a falsely cheery voice he doubted would fool his sister for a second. “Be right down!”
With a final wide-eyed look in his direction and a finger pressed to her lips, she turned and fled down the hall.
Colt heard her footsteps pounding down the stairs, catching his sister before she made it past the landing. He wasn’t sure it was such a big deal if Daisy discovered that he and Phoebe had been upstairs together—after all, Daisy was the one who had decided to play matchmaker—but he believed in giving the women in his life what they wanted as often as possible.
Especially a woman who had just made him come so hard he wasn’t sure his cock would ever be the same.
He moved carefully and quietly, pulling on his jeans and tee shirt before sitting back on the bed and settling in to wait. Ten minutes passed and then fifteen, but Colt was a patient man. He was also worn the hell out. He probably would have been able to close his eyes and take a cat nap while she dealt with Daisy if it weren’t for one pressing issue.
The issue of his bladder pressing against his other internal organs, insisting it was time to pay the price for drinking two cups of coffee with brunch.
Colt waited another five minutes, straining for the sound of the front door closing, signaling the coast was clear, but he finally had no choice but to reach for his prosthetic. He supposed he could hop down to the bathroom at the end of the hall, but that would make more noise than the click of his pin fitting into the lock.
And Phoebe had shut the door behind her. With a little luck, any small sound he made wouldn’t carry all the way from her bedroom to wherever she and Daisy had gotten off to.
Smoothing his silicone sleeve into place, Colt fit the pin into the lock at the base of his leg and stood up, applying weight until the pin clicked a few times as it found home. It took maybe thirty seconds and the floorboards beneath his feet only creaked the slightest bit.
Satisfied that he had been quiet enough to avoid detection, he crept slowly across the room, his footfalls all but silent on the hardwood. He opened the door and stepped out into the hall, prepared to continue his light-footed sneak down to the bathroom.
But the moment he emerged from Phoebe’s room, his appearance was met with a horrified shriek from the direction of the staircase.
“Oh my God! What the hell are you doing up here?”
Colt’s eyes slid guiltily to the stairs to see his sister’s ponytailed head and scandalized expression just visible in the stairwell leading to the ground floor.
“Um, going to the bathroom?” Colt said with a grin, deciding playing innocent was the best call. At least until he figured out why Daisy was upset. I mean, this was what she had wanted, wasn’t it?
“Going to the bathroom in Phoebe’s room, without your sweater on? Yeah, right Colt, and I was born yesterday.” She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, sending her hair flying. “Argh! I can’t believe you. I mean, seriously, you couldn’t keep it in your pants for two more months out of respect for my best friend? And for me, who has to live here after you’re gone?”
His face went hot, but before he could decide if he was embarrassed or outraged, Phoebe appeared behind Daisy, followed closely by a man in air force battle dress uniform.
“Calm down, Daisy,” Phoebe said, hurrying past his sister and up to the top of the stairs. “I can explain, we were—”
“Tucker!” The name burst from Colt’s lips, his irritation vanishing in a wave of happiness to see his brother. “When did you get in?”
“An hour ago. I took the bus in from Denver.” Tucker stopped behind Daisy, his dark blue eyes flitting between Colt and Phoebe as she hurried down the hall to stand in front of him, shielding him with her body as if he were the one wearing a bathrobe. “I was going to head home for a beer and a shower, but Daisy insisted I come with her to say hi to Phoebe first.”
Tucker grinned, a wider, harder version of Colt’s own smile. “I was afraid D was going to pull one of her matchmaking schemes on me, but it looks like you beat her to the punch.”
“I was going to re-introduce two people who would have been perfect for each other,” Daisy said, scowling up at Tucker before transferring her glare to Colt, where it grew significantly more menacing. “Tucker is actually interested in a meaningful relationship with a smart, sensitive, wonderful woman like Phoebe.”
Colt grunted. “Now, listen—”
“I never said anything about wanting a relationship,” Tucker said, cutting Colt off. “I said I wanted a shower, a sandwich, and a beer with you by the fireplace. When did that turn into wanting to be forced into dating someone while I’m home on leave?”
He glanced up, holding up one hand toward Colt and Phoebe. “No offense to you, Phoebe. You’re a lovely person, inside and out, I’m just not ready to think about anyone that way.”
“No offense taken,” Phoebe mumbled, her cheeks going as pink as her bathrobe while Colton glared over her head as his brother, not liking the fact that Tucker had noticed how lovely Phoebe was.
He didn’t want anyone looking at Phoebe that way except him.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re ready. It’s been three years,” Daisy said, turning to take Tucker’s hand. “You were in love once and whether you know it or not, your heart wants to love again. I know it does. I can sense these things.”
She glanced back at Phoebe, her mouth trembling at the edges. “You and Phoebe are both in serious need of some tender loving care and you would have been perfect for each other. Just perfect. But now Colt’s gone and ruined it the way he ruins everything.”
Colt’s breath huffed out, but before he could ask what the hell Daisy meant by that, Phoebe piped up—
“Stop it, Daisy. Right now.” She looped her arm through Colt’s, squeezing tight. “Colt didn’t ruin anything. I make my own choices. I’m a big girl and I know what I want.”
“But—”
“And my eyes are wide open,” Phoebe barreled on before Daisy’s protest could fully form. “I’m not laboring under any romantic delusions and nothing that happens between Colt and me is going to leave any scars. You don’t have to worry about me or my heart or anything else. And that is as much as I’m going to share with you about it. The rest is between Colt and me.”
She sighed. “Now if you and Tucker wouldn’t mind letting yourselves out, I need to get dressed.”
Daisy pressed her lips together for a long, tense moment. Holding her tongue wasn’t his sister’s strong suit, but evidently she could tell that Phoebe had her mind made up. “Fine. Are you coming over to help paint or should I do it myself?”
“I’ll be over in ten minutes,” Phoebe said, her tone gentling. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting. I didn’t mean to lose track of time.”
“No worries. It happens.” Daisy stood up straighter, her lips peeling away from her teeth in what was clearly a forced smile. “Then I’ll see you soon. And I promise not to say a word about this unfortunate incident or less than wise decision.”
She grabbed the sleeve of Tucker’s uniform. “Come on Tucker, you can borrow my truck to drive out to Mom and Dad’s and come back and pick me up later.”
Daisy started down the stairs, towing Tucker after her. His brother shot Colt one last commiserating look before lifting a hand to Phoebe. “Nice to see you again, Phoebe. Don’t be a stranger.”
“Welcome home, Tucker,” Phoebe said. “See you at bowling tomorrow.”
“At bowling tomorrow?” Colt asked softly as his siblings tromped down the stairs and let themselves out the front door.
“Daisy roped Tucker and me into going to the turkey bowling with her tomorrow,” Phoebe said, letting her hand slide from his arm.
“I tried to beg off as soon as I realized she was trying to set us up, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
She shook her head. “It’s probably a good thing she found out you were up here. At least now, Tucker and I will be allowed to bowl as friends in peace.”
“But I thought you and I were going together,” Colt said, an unpleasant squirming sensation slithering through his chest. He’d just recognized the feeling as jealousy—not something he had cause to feel very often—when Phoebe turned to him with wide eyes.
“Oh, really?” Her lips pulled to either side of her face, showing her tiny bottom teeth. “I thought that was only if you won the race. Sorry. I just…I didn’t even think. I’m sure you can join us if you want. I mean, they’re your family. I can ask Daisy about it when I head over to paint the coffin.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Colton shrugged, determined not to let Phoebe see how hurt and confused he was. “Considering I ‘ruin everything,’ I’m sure Daisy would rather not have me along.”
“I’m sure she didn’t mean that,” Phoebe said, laying a hand on his shoulder. “She was just shocked and mad that her match had fallen through. You know she hates to lose at anything. I’m sure that’s all it was.”
“Maybe, but I don’t get it. I thought she was throwing us together.”
Phoebe shook her head. “I don’t think it even crossed her mind. She said she was just feeling lazy this morning and she had planned to meet us for brunch but got caught up in restocking. I guess after all those years of seeing me crush on you and you barely even notice that I was alive, she just assumed you were immune to my charms.”
She smiled as she moved away down the hall. “I’m going to take a quick shower before I head over to Daisy’s. Stay as long as you like and don’t bother locking up after. I’ll be back before too late.”
Colton watched her go, too shocked to say anything until she had nearly reached the door to the bathroom and by then he, thankfully, had gathered enough self-control to keep his mouth shut.
