He finger-combed his hair back and studied himself in the mirror. “Wow. I do look like somebody, don’t I?”
“You look good enough to take to a club and eat.” She hooked her hand around his arm. “Let me put my things away. Now, it’s my turn to experience a date with a country boy.”
“Prepare to be amazed.”
Chapter Eight
Ginger tried not to look amazed at Sapphire Falls’ cute town square. It was covered with snow, but dressed up with pink and red banners, full of hearts and arrows, and everything sugary sweet. White and pink twinkle lights winked in the bushes and hung in the gazebo at the center of the square.
“Is this entire town lovesick or what?” Ginger affected a snooty New York accent.
“There does seem to be a contagion of love recently,” Marsh admitted. “Starting about five years ago, the town was struck by a rash of romances. Suddenly, everyone was falling in love so fast it gave the town whiplash. About a year ago, four couples got married in one day. Makes avowed bachelors like me and Mike feel like oddballs.”
“You make it sound like a zombie apocalypse hit the town.”
“Did Honey and Max tell you about Halloween and the zombie and slayer paintball game? A bunch of couples got hitched from that one. Then there was Christmas when Candi hooked up with Troy. They weren’t the only ones. I know of at least five engagements stemming from the Gala Ball.”
“How’d you escape?”
“It wasn’t easy.” Marsh shrugged, but didn’t elaborate.
“Guess you still have a lot of wild oats to sow,” she remarked, wondering if his trip to New York was the reason he didn’t want to settle down.
“Yep. I’ve lived here all my life. I know everyone for miles around. Kind of hard to get interested in someone you finger-painted with in kindergarten.”
“It’s not impossible.” She wandered with Marsh up the steps of the gazebo. “Oh, look, people are leaving love notes for each other.”
“Yeah, public displays of love are everywhere, and women here are always expecting it.” He pointed to a note. “I mean, look at that. If some poor sap doesn’t post a sugary sweet note on this bulletin board, you can bet he’s going to be shut out of the bedroom.”
“I can see how it would cramp your style. Raises a woman’s expectations with all these Romeos running around.”
“Yep.” He steered her away from the love notes. “In the summer, we have a large festival here with a ferris wheel, booths selling everything from crafts to food, a kissing booth, and even a haunted house.”
“I’ve been in the haunted house for Honey’s bachelorette party right before Christmas.” Ginger took Marsh’s hand and together, they swung their arms toward a spooky old, three-story historical house complete with steep roof, dormer windows and a central gable. “I don’t think it’ll look too spooky in the summer.”
“It’s an excuse for boys to get frisky.” He tugged her closer. “Lots of nooks and crannies to get lost in.”
“Care for a love potion?” a man shouted from a drink stand they were walking by.
“Hey, Ty,” Marsh said, greeting another handsome specimen of Sapphire Falls manhood. “How’d you get stuck with this?”
“Hailey.”
Both men laughed, as if Hailey were an inside joke.
“You going to introduce us?” Ty asked, giving Ginger a wink.
“Sure, Ginger Myers, Honey and Candi’s sister.” Marsh put his arm around her, almost protectively, now that another man had noticed her. “And this is Ty Bennett, whose family sort of runs this town. Big brother’s the mayor, and their family goes way back, just like mine.”
“Yep, way back to the town founders. How about a love potion?”
“Sure, you want one?” Marsh asked Ginger.
She checked out the ingredient list, and it did contain alcohol, but for one dollar a cup, she didn’t figure it would be too much.
“Okay.” She nodded. “But only because I like cherry drinks.”
“You don’t have to explain,” Ty said smoothly while he poured two small plastic cups of the potion.
They were red, because of the cherry flavor and fizzed from the lemon-lime soda mixed in along with the rum.
“Proceeds go to a good cause,” Ty reassured her while Marsh paid. “It’s said if you drink the love potions with your arms hooked around each other, you’ll be married in a year.”
“We definitely don’t want to test that theory,” Ginger said, laughing.
“Why not?” Marsh handed her a plastic cup and hooked his arm around hers, the way newly married couples drank their champagne at the reception. “It’s just an old wives’ tale, and a myth. I drank a love potion with a girl long ago, and she ran off and married someone else.”
“So it worked, at least for one of you,” Ty said. “Fifty-fifty shot. I dare you.”
Ginger was too city smart to fall for superstitions. “Okay, let’s drink to love.”
“To love,” Marsh repeated.
She tipped her head back at the same time Marsh did and emptied her cup.
A camera flashed.
“Got you two lovebirds,” Ty said. “In case you deny the magic of my Love Potion on your wedding day.”
“Won’t happen,” Marsh said. “She’s my brother’s sister-in-law.”
“And he’s my sister’s brother-in-law. Too incestuous.” Ginger gave Marsh a push as if he had a bad case of cooties.
“Mark my words,” Ty yelled after them. “By Valentine’s Day next year.”
Ginger was still snickering when Marsh opened the door to the town’s only diner.
“Marsh, Marsh,” people greeted him like he was a celebrity. “Will you check out that hair.”
Okay, in a way, he was, thanks to her hairstyling techniques.
“Whoa, boy, look at you.”
“What’s with the earring?”
“Hey movie star, all you need is shades.”
Wolf whistles punctuated the atmosphere, and everywhere Ginger looked, there was a smiling face of someone who knew Marsh and wanted to catch up with him and rib him about his haircut.
He didn’t seem to mind, though, preening and greeting everyone with hearty handshakes and slaps on the arm.
Ginger, also, didn’t escape from attention.
“Are you Honey’s sister?”
“We’re glad you’re here.”
“How are your mom and dad?”
Ginger smiled and greeted everyone, while Marsh introduced her. She was never going to remember all those names, but they all seemed to know her.
“Wish you could cut my man’s hair.”
“Are you setting up shop here?”
After fifteen or twenty minutes of being mobbed, with Marsh turning down invitations to sit with certain friends, Ginger and Marsh finally took a seat in a corner booth.
“How does anyone get anything done here?” She wondered as she perused the menu.
“Believe me, if I want to do business, like serious shopping or buying supplies for the farm, I go to Omaha. Here? There’s no such thing as a quick trip to the grocer.”
“Do you like it though? Everyone butting into your business.”
Marsh shrugged. “I’m used to it. They’re already speculating about us, and by tonight, half the town will be planning our wedding.”
“We did take that dare with the Love Potion.” Ginger studied Marsh’s too handsome face for clues. He seemed attracted to her—that much was true, and last night, if his mother hadn’t interrupted, things could have gone much faster. She was sure he’d take her to bed if she wanted him to, but then, he was a normal red-blooded man and she was available. It didn’t mean he had any special feelings for her.
“Yeah, well, don’t read too much into that,” Marsh said, confirming her doubts. “I promised you the full country experience, so you’ve got the love superstitions under your belt, and now, it’s diner fare. What will you have? Chicken fried steak with mashed potat
oes and peas or country ham with candied yams and parsnips?”
Yep, he was definitely keeping her at arm’s length.
Ginger turned her nose up at the meager choices and said, “I actually don’t see what’s so charming about Sapphire Falls. You all are full of yourselves. All this ah, shucks, country boy stuff is a big fake. I bet none of you are as wholesome as you seem.”
“Oh, but I bet you’re not as fearless as you seem, city girl.” The smoldering look Marsh gave her over the menu pierced right to her core.
If he thought she couldn’t play along with him, because she was some sweet, sentimental woman waiting for a wedding proposal, then he had another thing coming.
He was merely a vacation diversion. Not for a million years would she settle for a guy who was so country, she had to pick hay out of his hair before cutting it.
“I may be a city girl, but at least I belong there. You can take the girl out of New York, but you can never take New York out of the girl.”
“Same with Sapphire Falls, ma’am. Same.” His smirk was both knowing and annoying. But no matter, in three days, he was flying to New York City while she was going to stay here and enjoy a country Valentine’s Day. There were plenty of other men in the town and vicinity.
Who needed Marsh Wolff when she had the entire town of Sapphire Falls here to make her feel welcome?
Chapter Nine
On second or third thought, Marsh Wolff’s big farmer’s body would do just fine.
He did jeans and boots better than anyone at the diner, and with his newly styled Mohawk, he had a badass edge that got her hot and tingly.
Ginger wanted the country experience, and she was getting it in spades. Despite Marsh’s gruffness at the diner, once their bellies were full and they’d knocked back a few beers, they walked out arm in arm, singing “On Grandpa’s Farm,” an old tune from their preschool days watching Barney the Purple Dinosaur. Every time they got to an animal, they made loud sounds and laughed, especially when they got to the skunk.
The townsfolk walking by joined in and they went dancing and clapping all the way back to Marsh’s truck, which he had parked near the post office.
Once back at his barn, they rushed up the stairs. Instead of heading to his apartment, he took a turn with her to the hayloft.
She’d noticed Marsh locking the entrance door downstairs, and when he lit an oil lantern, she knew why.
A quilted comforter was spread over the loose, unbaled hay, and a blanket was pulled back enough for them to slip under.
“You wanted the hayloft experience, and I aim to please,” Marsh said, beckoning her onto the comforter. “Now, before we crawl in, I do want to get some things straight.”
Ginger had sobered up from the walk, and she didn’t like the sound of that. But then again, he was almost a stranger, and it would be good to lay down ground rules.
“Rules are good,” Ginger said. After all, she was the sophisticated woman of the world. Men, the world over, would do and say anything to get their rocks off, but once they’d gotten what they wanted, the quick and painless exit was always the easiest, especially if they disappeared in the dark of night never to be seen again.
“Yes, they are, because you’re practically family, and if we screw this thing up, we ruin it for Honey and Max.” He nuzzled the back of her neck. “Let’s not beat around the bush. You’re gorgeous, and I would love nothing better than to undress you and crawl under that blanket with you.”
“In other words, have sex,” Ginger noted. “But without it meaning more.”
“Yeah, that’s sort of what I mean.” He rubbed her arms while blowing gently in her ear, and when he wrapped his arms around her like that, it felt like he truly cared.
Buck up, girl. You came here for the country hook up. Don’t go falling in love with the first stud in the barn.
“I’m down with that.” Her voice barely quavered. “It’s all part of trading places. You want to go city, and I want to go country. We hook up, and we both get what we want.”
“As long as there aren’t any expectations or hurt feelings.”
Ginger bristled at his arrogance. “Why would I expect anything from you or be hurt when I’m only looking for casual sex? You do casual sex here, don’t you? Or is it too hard because you see everyone all the time?”
“Yeah, we hook up, but we try to go to the next town over or further to avoid the gossip and speculation. Kind of inconvenient, not like when you’re in a big city where it’s easy to lose track of people.”
“Ah, yes, one of the best advantages of anonymity is never having to say you’re sorry.”
“Not to mention the diversity.” Marsh twirled her hair with his fingers. “Growing up here, I feel like there are millions of people the world over that I’ll never get to know.”
“Or to do.”
“Yeah, so if you’re down for a good time, then, let’s do it.”
She slapped his hand. “How do I know it’ll be a good time? Are you that practiced?”
“You’ll be surprised what us country boys have gotten into.” He moved in for the attack, and Ginger gulped, as she laid herself down on the comforter in the hay, exactly as she had imagined it.
The soft sounds of the animals below, the rustling of the hay, and the earthy scent of the barn brought out a primeval yearning for the simpler life away from the rush and noise of the city.
Ginger let herself succumb to Marsh’s mouth covering her with kisses. He tasted like leather, sweet hay, and the country breeze. She slid her hands over the sides of his head, feeling the contrast of the short buzzed hair with the soft, long strands. The back of his neck was surprisingly soft and his strength rippled through his strong shoulders.
Running her fingers down underneath his shirt, she explored his broad back and then pushed her chest against his. With a groan, he turned to his side and embraced her. Tenderly, he caressed her upper back, and whispered kisses over the shell of her ear, playfully tugging at the lobe.
Sweet, and much too tender for a one night stand.
She shook off that thought and boldly moved his hand to her breast.
“Ginger.” His whisper stole her breath, making her ache with longing, as he softly massaged her breast before moving his hand to her cheek, bringing her face to face.
Even in the dim light, she could see his eyes, dark and dilated.
“You’re everything I want.” He barely breathed the words, seemingly surprised, or worried, or maybe it was part of his repertoire.
No matter. She was getting what she wanted too, a hot roll in the hay, like she’d always read about. Too bad it was winter, and there were no crickets chirping, no summer heat, but winter hay was good too, especially snuggled up in a down comforter.
“I’m yours for the night, maybe more,” she replied, arching herself against his hard body as she wrapped her arms around him and rolled him on top of her.
“I’d like that.” He smiled into her mouth as he claimed her lips, this time, grinding his arousal against her hips.
Her silly heart went pitter-patter, and she struggled to remain detached—cynical, sophisticated and keep him at arm’s length.
Was he always so gentle with all his conquests? Did he take time with women he might never meet again? Or was it part of his reputation as a lady killer, knowing that small-town women talked and compared notes?
If so, he was taking her breath away. He was thorough in his kisses, and his hands explored her like she was a fine piece of silk, rather than rudely grabbing her tits and ass.
“Ginger.” He breathed her name in a way that drew delicious chills down her spine as he slid his mouth from hers and tickled her neck with his tongue before kissing it.
She unbuttoned her blouse and his work-roughened hand cupped one of her breasts, gently rolling her nipple. She swallowed a moan, silently begging him to unhook her bra and get those greedy lips of his onto her breasts.
As if answering her prayers, he moved his mouth ov
er the cup of one side of her bra. Her nipples hardened, jutting out begging to be touched, and she could contain it no longer.
Slipping her hand to her back, she unhooked her bra strap and he lifted his head enough to let her fling the contraption over her shoulder and onto the hay.
“Wow, Ginger, I never dreamed …” He didn’t finish. He didn’t have to. Like a starving man, he feasted on her breasts, kissing them with such tenderness that she almost wept.
She’d never tolerate another guy in a rush again, no matter how she needed to get laid.
Each stroke of his tongue and caress of his fingers brought heat to the surface of her skin and sent a delicious throb to her clit, and she opened herself up, letting her mind wander as he moved his hand to the waistband of her jeans.
The hay rustled under their bodies, and she shrugged off her jeans, using her feet to slide them off her legs. He licked his lips as he traced the outline of her panties, and with a wicked gleam in his eye, he slid down beneath the blanket.
He kissed the cloth of her panties and nudged her clit with his nose, teasing and kissing the insides of her thighs while his large hands cupped her ass, lifting her like a ripe melon into position.
Using his teeth, he slipped the panties down, exposing her. She was so wet, so needy, she squirmed, begging wordlessly.
As if knowing exactly what she wanted, he lifted his eyebrows and his smoldering eyes burned through her, watching for her reaction as he licked his lips slowly.
“So perfect,” he mumbled. “But where’s the bush?”
“I waxed, uh, I didn’t know you prefer, I mean … I thought …”
“Don’t worry. I could get used to this.” He swirled his tongue on her naked mound, still staring up at her, as if daring her to ask him to kiss her where it counted.
“Marsh?” she whispered.
“Yes, babe?” He hummed into the tip of her clit, making her shudder and swell. “Do you want me, babe?”
“Yes, yes, please.” She wasn’t sure if she could get any wetter. “Tell me how I taste.”
“Gladly.” He lowered his sexy gaze and closed his eyes, as if about to savor a gourmet meal.
Sapphire Falls: Going Hearts Over Heels (Kindle Worlds Novella) (My Country Heart Book 3) Page 5
