One Night Charmer: Hometown Heartbreaker Bonus (Copper Ridge Novels)

by Maisey Yates

  “Are you going to join me?”

  “I have work to do,” he said.

  “Swim with me,” she said, smiling such a beautiful smile that it wasn’t any trouble to look up at her face rather than down at her body.

  “You’re crazy.”

  She moved a little nearer to the shore where she could touch instead, water sluicing down her bare skin, the drops rolling over her bare breasts, down her slender waist. “Yes. I am a little bit crazy. But don’t tell me you don’t want a piece of this crazy.”

  “You’re going to start something we can’t finish.”

  “Who says we can’t finish? I came prepared.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Of course. I left you a note, didn’t I? I knew you would come down here. I knew you would come find me.”

  Her words settled between them, heavier on impact than she had likely intended for them to be. “Of course.” His answer landed heavily, too. But whatever meaning was woven deep into the fabric of it, it was the truth. If she needed him to, he would come find her. For all the good it would do her to have some burned-out farmer’s son come for her. But it was all he had to offer, so he would offer it.

  “Big talk for someone who’s kind of leaving me hanging right now.”

  Without thinking he stripped his shirt over his head, then made quick work of the snap and zipper on his pants and tugged them down his legs, along with his underwear. He kicked his shoes off, too, looking behind him just to make sure no one was coming. Casey might be comfortable with outdoor nudity. He was not.

  “Now, that’s the best view I’ve seen all day,” Casey said, a smile curving her lips.

  “Are you going to admit that I make you blush yet?”

  Telltale color flooded her cheeks and she sank back down beneath the water, paddling away from the shore. “No,” she said.

  “Why not?” He stepped into the water, getting in as quickly as possible, breath hissing through his teeth as the cold hit him with the force of a tractor-trailer. “Damn.”

  “I didn’t even think about all of the man problems this could present.”

  “Such as?” he asked, making his way deeper in, the water going up over his chest now. He was afraid it might stop his heart. If she didn’t stop it first.

  “Shrinkage is a thing.”

  “Nothing is shrinking over here, babe.”

  She laughed. The minx laughed at him after implying his dick was going to shrink. And it made him smile. “I like it when you talk dirty to me, hayseed.”

  “Well, I’ve never done it before, so I’m glad it works for you.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “How is what possible?” He dipped forward, swimming toward her, wrapping his arm around her waist and tugging her against him, making the most of their height difference, since he could still touch the slightly slick bottom and she couldn’t.

  “How is it you haven’t dirty-talked your way into a hundred beds? I’ve been a lot of places. Met a lot of guys. Let me tell you...you’re the only one who’s ever tempted me.”

  “How is that possible?” he asked, echoing her question.

  “I’ve never been with a man just because I wanted him,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck, her legs tangling with his. “I always wanted a bed. Or a ride. Or just to not feel so alone for a month or two. But you... I just wanted you. There was nothing but want. You were like chocolate.” She leaned in then, kissed him gently. “Something I can’t usually afford,” she said, her mouth still pressed to his. “But you’ve been so worth it.”

  He didn’t feel worthy of that compliment. Didn’t feel like he’d risked a damn thing to be with her when he could feel that this was costing her. And what the hell was he giving her?

  He got to hold this wild, spectacular creature, if only for a moment, and she just got him.

  “I think we should get to shore, don’t you?” he asked.

  She nodded. He kept his hold on her, drawing her tightly to his chest, gathering her in his arms and walking them both toward the shore. “Towel,” she said, pointing feebly toward a sandy patch off to the left.

  He walked in that direction and laid her down on the towel, positioning himself over her. He looked to the left and saw the brightly colored packet partially hidden in a patch of grass. “Well,” he said, “you did come prepared.”

  “I told you I did.” She smiled, completely pleased with herself. There was something joyful about it, different than the types of smiles he was used to seeing from her.

  “Yes, you did.”

  “Wait just a second,” she said, wiggling herself into a sitting position. She kissed his neck, his chest, lower. He knew exactly what she was going to do. She was pretty generous when it came to handing out pleasure, and he never refused.

  But now, it didn’t seem right. Not when she was so beautiful and perfect, a gift that he didn’t deserve. She should have torrents of praise lavished on her. Should be worshipped like the goddess she was. Her life had been void of indulgence, and all he wanted to do now was indulge her. If this was their time-out from the harsh reality of life, then he was going to make it the best damn time-out anyone had ever had.

  “No,” he said, capturing her chin in his hand, “you wait.”

  She slipped her tongue between her lips, slipped it over the edge of his thumb and a lightning bolt of pleasure shot straight to his cock. Testing his resolve. Testing his control. But no, here in this perfect storm of recklessness, he would act with intention. Even though pleasure raged inside him, even though he felt like he was caught in the middle of a hurricane, he would hold steady. He would give her everything.

  “Lie down,” he said, his words a command, leaving no room for argument.

  She obeyed, lying back on the towel, lifting her arms up over her head, crossing her wrists and lacing her fingers together. It was a pose of complete submission, one of supplication. She took in a deep breath, her breasts rising with the motion as she let her thighs fall open. He put his hand on her stomach, then slowly slid it down lower, between her legs, testing her readiness. Her skin was cold from the river, but her center was molten hot. Ready for him.

  She gasped, moving restlessly beneath his touch. “You tease,” she said as he flicked his thumb over her clit.

  “A little bit,” he said, “but I think this hurts me more than it hurts you.

  “I doubt it.”

  “Be good,” he said, lowering his head and kissing the soft skin just beneath her belly button, “or I won’t give you what you want.”

  She shuddered beneath his lips. “Is that a threat? I didn’t think nice boys made threats.”

  “When I’m with you I don’t feel very much like a nice boy.”

  “Oh, really?” she asked, gasping as he began to trace the trail down with the tip of his tongue. “What do you feel like?”

  “Just a man. A very, very hungry one.”

  He turned his head, kissing her inner thigh and earning himself a harsh moan, and a short curse. He had never behaved this way with a woman before. Had never teased, had never said things like this. Things had never been this light, or this heavy, with Caroline. He wasn’t sure how that was possible. That being with Casey could make him laugh and make him shake. That he could feel relieved, perfectly at peace, while feeling like everything inside of him was being torn apart.

  He shifted his position, wrapping his hands around her thighs and drawing her down toward his mouth, tasting her deeply. She gasped, rolling her hips up toward him, and he held her tighter, keeping her still to tease her with his lips and tongue. She was shaking, sobbing beneath him, begging him for release. And he lost track of everything. That they were outside. That anyone could walk up on them at any time. That this was temporary.

  All that mattered w
as this. This moment. There was no reason to look beyond it. No reason to look behind it. He was filled with Casey. Her scent, her flavor, the sound of her pleasure. And he didn’t want anything else.

  She grabbed hold of his shoulders, her fingernails digging into his skin, and he had a feeling that she would leave marks behind. But that seemed about right. She was leaving marks everywhere in his life. She might as well brand his skin right along with it.

  She gasped his name, shuddering against him as she reached her peak. And that was about it for his control. He reached over, grabbing hold of the condom that she’d stashed in the grass. He took care of the necessities, then positioned himself above her, kissing her deeply as he slid deep inside. It was like coming home. Cheesy as hell, but no less true because of it. She felt right. She felt like his.

  The farm wasn’t his, no matter how much he wanted it to be. The cabin that he slept in every night didn’t have his name on it, and it probably never would. At least not for years.

  But Casey was his. And right now, that felt sufficient. It felt like everything.

  He buried his face in her neck, pressing himself as tightly against her as he could, relishing the feel of being so close to her, so connected to her. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice a whisper.

  “Just being with you.”

  He felt the flutter of her fingertips next to his face, then she slowly pressed her palm against his cheek. “I like it,” she said, her voice strangled, soft. “I like it very much.”

  “Me, too,” he said, not quite sure how he managed to force the words through the lump in his throat.

  A shiver of pleasure worked its way down his spine, and he couldn’t hold still for another moment. He flexed his hips, pushing in deeper before retreating slightly, establishing a steady rhythm that drove the need between them to a fever pitch. Pushing them both harder, higher than he would’ve imagined possible. Sure, this wasn’t the first time for either of them. Not with other people, not with each other. But it felt like it. It felt like the only time. The only thing that mattered.

  “Aiden,” she said, his name a prayer on her lips as she trailed her fingertips down his back.

  And he lost hold of everything. Of his control. Of the earth. And he gave himself over to his pleasure. Dimly, he could feel her shuddering out her release beneath him, but he was barely even aware of that. Shamefully, all he could do was focus on the need roaring in his own veins. It consumed him, took him over completely, a living, breathing dragon that grabbed him by the throat and shook him, left him limp and utterly spent.

  She curved her hand around his neck, stroking her hand over his hair. They lay like that for a long time, nothing but the sound of the wind in the trees and the slow rush of the current filling the silence.

  He didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to speak. Didn’t want to do anything to interrupt the moment. Because the more time passed, the closer they got to the end of this. To the end of them.

  “Tell me about them.”

  “Who?”

  “The women you didn’t talk dirty to.” She wiggled beneath him, scooting to the side, and he followed her lead, readjusting so that they were lying next to each other.

  “It’s a short story.”

  “Perfect. I have a limited attention span.”

  “Why do you want to know?”

  She lifted a shoulder. “Because I told you about me. I kind of bared my soul to you. Seems like maybe you should tell me about your past experiences.”

  “There was just one woman,” he said, speaking slowly. She was right. She had told him about her past. And it had left him with a strong desire to destroy everyone in it. He wondered what she would think of his. Such as it was. “My friend. Caroline.”

  “Oh. Caroline,” she said, her voice sounding funny.

  “What? You wanted to hear about it.”

  “I didn’t know there was only one. I didn’t know she had a name.”

  He frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “I didn’t tell you the name of the guy I lost it to.”

  “No,” he said, “you didn’t.” He hadn’t really seen it as significant.

  “Because it didn’t matter.”

  “Well, Caroline is a friend. She was before we were together.” She wasn’t really now.

  “I see.”

  “You sound...jealous.”

  “I’m not jealous. I never get jealous.” She sniffed. “That is not how I roll.”

  “You’re upset.”

  She let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m not. Finish telling me about Caroline.” She said her name like it was an illness and not a person.

  “She kind of had it tough at home, too. Her dad used to help out on the farm. I’ve known her for a long time. Neither of us really wanted a relationship, but we both wanted... Well, you know how that is.”

  “Yes,” she bit out, “I do know how that is.”

  “We started sleeping together sometimes. And after a few years I started saving for a house. I started wondering why I couldn’t have something else. Something other than this. And I thought... I thought maybe we could have a future together.”

  “You were in love with her?”

  “No,” he said, knowing that for a fact. “I wasn’t. But I wanted a normal life, and I know she wanted one, too. We cared for each other. We had chemistry—” He faltered on that, because now that he had discovered chemistry with Casey, he doubted if Caroline and him had ever had anything all that exceptional. “I thought it would be enough.”

  “Okay. So why aren’t you with Little Miss Convenience with a picket fence and a kid on the way?”

  She was being prickly. Defensive. Because she was jealous, whatever she said.

  “Debt collectors started calling. And I realized just how bad things were here. That my dad had lost a bunch of accounts. That we were behind on things. And the roof needed replacing, and all number of things just went to hell, right at the same time.”

  “You gave them your money, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, I did. I’m their son. I’m all they have. It’s not my mom’s fault that my dad ended up being worse than a child. I’m young. I have time to rebuild. I don’t think they do.”

  “Still, that was your money, Aiden. It was supposed to be for your life.”

  “I’m well aware of that. But I made a choice. And I told Caroline that things had to go back to how they’d started. No more planning for the future.”

  “Great. So, you told her that she was being put back into the booty-call category. That didn’t go well, I take it?”

  “Understatement. She was mad. She left. I didn’t hear from her for about two weeks. Next time we talked, she told me she’d met someone.”

  “And that was it?” she asked.

  “Yes, that was it. We aren’t really even friends anymore.”

  “No matter whether you loved her or not, I think she must have loved you.”

  Her words made his heart clench tight. “I hope not. I’m not worth that.”

  She frowned. “Why would you say that? Of course you’re worth it. You gave up your future for your parents. You give up everything to keep working this hunk of dirt for them. To spend your nights dragging your dad’s ass back from the bar. Feeding your mom’s strays and taking care of them, so she can feel like she’s doing good deeds instead of wallowing in her life as it falls apart around her. That’s who you are. It’s what you do. How is that man not worthy of love?”

  “Because. I might just grow from this into the same kind of drunk as my father. There are no guarantees, after all.”

  “You don’t honestly think that could happen, do you?”

  “My dad used to be a really great guy. I know you didn’t know your mom before she was an addict. I remember my d
ad before he was one. He laughed a lot. He took care of the farm. He took care of Mom, and me. And then it was like he just let his control slip. Stopped caring about how much he drank. And then he stopped caring so much about what he did when he drank. You break your wedding vows once, it’s not so bad to break them again. And eventually, he didn’t even try to keep them. There was a whole lot of life to your mother before she started using. I know you never saw it, but there was. I’ve never taken for granted that I could turn into that.”

  “It’s easy. You just don’t start.”

  He laughed. “If it was that easy, no one ever would.”

  “I hate her.”

  “Who?”

  “Caroline,” she said, rolling onto her back and looking up at the sky. “And it’s not fair. Because I’m not a virgin. Not even close. But I hate her for touching you before me.”

  “That’s a little bit possessive.”

  “Well, I don’t have a lot of possessions. So, just for a little while, can you be mine?”

  His chest tightened and he studied her face. Open, beautiful, none of that hard cynicism that he was so used to seeing present. “Sure, Casey. I would like that.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  BY THE TIME they headed back from the river, the sun was starting to dip low in the sky. It had been like a vacation from life. The kind that Aiden had rarely taken. Being with Casey was a high all on its own. It wasn’t comparable to anything else, to anyone else.

  He should feel claustrophobic when she said possessive things like she had down on the shore. There were already two people in his life who needed him. Who tore him in every direction and used up his every resource. He couldn’t afford one more. But she wasn’t staying. She wasn’t staying.

  That thought caused a hollow pit to settle deep and low in his stomach. He ignored it. Because there was nothing else to do. He looked over at Casey, who was walking along beside him, turning her head every which way, taking in the scenery around them. He envied her. For her ability to see all of this like it was new. He barely saw it anymore. It was a blur of hard work, sweat and blood poured into dirt that didn’t belong to him.