“For two kids who had to get married.”
Austin shook his head as if he was wrestling with a painful memory and it wasn’t the one they’d been discussing.
“Austin, I know you have a farm with animals, would they be okay if you laid down for a little bit. I think you need to rest.” Merryn didn’t think he had a concussion or physical damage from the accident, but his emotions were ripping him apart. Exhaustion marred his face. She doubted the little shots of liquor were behind his wobbling state.
“I don’t want—”
“Look here, big strong man,” she said as she put a hand on either side of his shoulders. “I’m ordering you upstairs. I’ll call Aaron to add your truck to his list of items to handle today.” She led him up the stairs to her apartment.
His gait became more unsteady as he wobbled and collapsed on her bed. The more he fought with his exhaustion the heavier his eyes became.
Merryn worried he might just have a concussion. Soon, he was passed out. She unlaced his boots and pulled them off. The reminder of Iowa money hit her nose and she sprayed them down with Febreeze before placing them in the bathroom with the vent on. He’d already unzipped his heavy camel colored snowsuit. Lined with flannel it was the kind all the farmers had around town. Her intention was to just get him out of the suit.
Then she thought about how uncomfortable it would be to sleep in jeans. He didn’t flinch when she popped the button and slowly unzipped his pants. Peeking, she saw a swath of cotton and assumed it was from underwear. A pair of boxer briefs that helped to define and hug a tight ass and muscular thighs.
Who knew?
Merryn nibbled on her bottom lip as she stared at him and the scent of winter mixed with his musk. A warmth shot through her and she had to steady herself as she folded up his worn in jeans. Placing them on a chair, she reached for her extra quilt, right as he stretched and scratched at his belly exposing a pretty nicely formed abdomen.
He wasn’t the type of man who would be on a poster with the explanation of a hard man being good to find. Instead, he had a smooth belly with just enough definition to make out a bit of a V.
She covered him up and returned to the kitchen.
Chapter Four
A dull light mixed with soft hum had Austin floating between a dream and reality. His eyes, still heavy, were finally able to lift just enough to look around. The light came from an arch that peered into a room he didn’t recognize. Then again, he was laying in a bed he didn’t know, although the smell of pizza was familiar. The modern pattern seemed out of place. With interlocking squares in blue, green and tan, the overstuffed chair did look comfortable. More importantly, his jeans were folded and on the seat and his snowsuit was laying over the back.
Jeans! Lifting the blanket the haze of exhaustion was replaced with the realization he was only wearing a t-shirt and boxer briefs. He reached to the side and snatched his jeans. Staying silent, he took in his environment. It took him forty years, but he’d woke up with little to no memory of how he got into bed. He was above the Triple B. Between the smells and his last clear memory being her helping him up the curved staircase that led to her apartment, he was sure that’s where he’d landed.
Having only zipped his pants about half way, he followed the light hum which was coming from a TV on low in the front room. Although there weren’t any real doorways in the apartment except one. The apartment was open with archways leading from the bedroom to the living room and another archway that led to the kitchen.
On the couch, he saw Merryn with her hair down. Flickering light from the TV was capturing and highlighting strands of her deep brown tresses. Her finger absently ran through her hair and tucked it behind her ear. Silhouetted along her jaw, he saw her bite at her bottom lip then she flipped open her computer.
When he stepped closer, he saw she only had a camisole on top with a blanket covering her legs. “Merryn,” he said softly.
She jumped a bit. “Sorry, what time is it?”
“About seven.”
She stood up wearing a pair of pajama pants that hung low on her hips. Confusion turned to desire as she approached him. Merryn swept back his hair with her right hand, but her left had came to rest on his stomach right above his hip. “You had me worried, but I didn’t feel any bumps on your head.”
“Concussions can come from just shaking your melon too hard,” he said. “But I don’t have a headache. Thank you for taking care of me.”
“Not a problem.”
“Can I ask you something?” he asked feeling the heat of her body as she stayed close to him with worry on her face.
“Sure,” she replied, now with both of her hands resting on his hips.
“How did I end up in my underwear?”
“Oh?”
Even in the dark, he could see her blush a bit.
“I hope you don’t mind. I stripped you down.”
“Better you than me doing a striptease I didn’t know about.”
“Damn, I could have really messed with your head. I hate when I miss opportunities like that.”
“How much of a punch does a mini beer have compared to a regular one?”
“It’s not that strong.”
“Merryn,” he said softly as he leaned closer to her.
“Yes.” Her voice was airy and the light danced around her eyes.
When she replied, he felt her breath tickle his lips and the proximity sent a jolt directly to his groin. Then her tongue lightly licked at her lips and he felt a crazy urge to take her in his arms. He wanted to taste her lips and explore her body. A weight had been lifted from his shoulders and he couldn’t help thinking it was because of her getting him to talk.
When his hand cradled the side of her face and his thumb brushed along her bottom lip, her breath hitched. His completely halted. Was he dizzy from lack of air, residual effects of alcohol or proximity to this woman he’d fantasized about for years? In the darkened room, he couldn’t tell from her eyes how she was feeling. No matter the cause, he needed to make a decision. His hand began to tremble and he closed his eyes when a buzz went off.
Merryn broke their embrace, or lack there of. “I made a pizza.”
“I like p-pizza,” he stumbled with the words as she went to the kitchen and he flopped on the couch. His elbow rested on his knees as he planted his face on his hands. He couldn’t read signals on a clear day. An emotional, blizzard of a day and he was shit out of luck. He looked into the kitchen to see Merryn cutting a homemade pizza into squares then gathering plates. Nothing in her body language even acknowledged what almost happened. Had it all been in his mind? A one sided electric draw? I like pizza. Maybe he was twelve.
* * * *
Every nerve was on fire as desire tore through Merryn’s body. She’d wanted to strip every stitch of clothing off her body and run around naked. Maybe then, the electricity attacking her body would calm down. Looking back into her living room, she saw Austin quietly staring back at her. Nope, there was only one thing that could possibly calm her down.
This was a small town. You don’t just sleep with someone. It never works out that way. Even a stolen kiss between one grade schooler to another might as well be front page news on the Braden Bugle. Sure, the newspaper was a weekly, but there was more community news on those pages than you’d ever find in a metro area. Then…there was Darryl Cox who seemed to be a fly on every wall in town.
She couldn’t just hook up like when she was in LA. What had Austin said before? There’d been enough gossip about him to last a lifetime. “I hope you like pepperoni and mushroom,” she said with a nervous smile. “I have some soda and milk.”
“Not mixed together I hope,” Austin gave a half smirk then came into the kitchen.
“I figured we could eat in the living room,” she said.
He closed the distance between the two of them. Stalking her with a predatory gaze his rich dark eyes became liquid.
It wasn’t dangerous looking, but every sense had he
r feeling his desire. Merryn felt the size difference between them as he stood over her. Her nipples perked and pressed against her camisole. Why hadn’t she put on a bra?
Austin looked at her breasts and smiled. “Merryn,” his voice was husky.
She reacted instantly. “Please,” she gasped.
He claimed her lips as his hands cradled her face. His kiss was full of need and hunger.
Placing sex on the back shelf for years before her marriage had ended, Merryn found the hormones rushing to every nook and cranny of her body. Her hands could only go to his waist, as he hadn’t fastened his jeans yet, and they began to slide. Turning herself toward the bedroom, she back peddled with his tongue stroking hers as their lips released, only to become one again.
The back of her legs hit the mattress and their embrace broke enough for the gasping, would be lovers, to take a beat. Assessing the situation and what was about to take place, their eyes locked, and both gave consent to cravings stirring inside the two of them.
Austin put his hands on her hips and lifted her up on the mattress of her slightly raised bed. Her legs spread, giving his hips a place to nestle in close as he nibbled at her ear, then down to her neck. “Merryn,” he purred against her throat. “There’s so much I want to do to you.”
She bit her lip as he tugged off her pajama bottoms and panties. Her hands pushed his pants over his nice little derriere. Just enough to release his full erection. Straining against the soft cotton of his boxer briefs her hand surrounded the length and he moaned. Her core clenched imagining the penetration. She needed the stretch and stroke against the heated flesh.
“Stroke me,” he growled as his knee butted up against her thigh angling him for a smooth entry. “Make me hard.”
Make him hard? What the hell was this small town boy packing? Already, her hand was full and had room to maneuver. Roaming over the tip, she retrieved lubricant in the form of precum that helped to slide it over the smooth velvet skin that surrounded a thick hard shaft.
A growl came from him and he did get thicker. He placed his hand over her, then guided himself inside.
Merryn’s fingers fisted the sheets as he filled her until his balls smacked against her ass cheeks.
Instead of stroking in and out, Austin rotated against her. A gust came from him and he looked down at her in panic.
Her heartbeat pounded against her chest as she saw sweat begin to bead on his forehead. She unhooked her leg from his hip but he pulled it back there. He rocked a few times hitting her clit when he did and she bit at her lip. The mere slide of him inside her had her at the brink and damn…if she wasn’t ready to experience the rush of an orgasm again.
“I’m so sorry,” he admitted as she felt him soften, although she was still filled. “I’ll—oh fuck.”
Oh fuck, was right.
“It’s been…” His words halted.
She grasped his face pulling him more on top of her as she claimed his lips. “Shhh,” she whispered. “Just stay inside me.” The fullness was amazing and although she’d like the rhythm of good hard pounding, at this point she was enjoying the weight of a man on top of her.
“This is embarrassing.” He tried to pull back again.
“How long?” she asked keeping his eyes focused on hers.
“Four or five years.”
“Good.” She smiled.
“Good?” he asked as he pulled out.
She suddenly felt empty as a chill raced up her back.
He flopped next to her on the bed and they both stared up at the ceiling. “Exactly how is it good that I came within five seconds.”
“If you had sex regularly, it would mean I have the most amazing pussy in the world and you’d fall prey to it every time.”
“What does it mean that I’ve been a damn monk for years?”
“It’s just pretty damn fantastic and the next time we have sex, it’s going to be amazing.”
“The next time?” he asked with a slight lilt.
“Oh, yeah, Austin Larsen, I have no doubt in your ability to wield yourself in ways that will make me scream and clench.”
He laughed.
* * * *
“If nothing else, my level of control being in the preteen stage means the pizza’s still hot.”
“That’s the way to look at it,” Merryn said as she sat up and found her pajama pants. “And it will give us something to talk about over dinner.”
“Yeah, that’s what I want to do.” Austin ran his hand over his face wishing he could wipe away the shame associated with the last what…thirty seconds. No that was way too generous.
“I’m only interested in one thing you said pre coital.” Merryn stood in the archway with the pizza in one hand and pair of sodas in the other. “Pull up your pants and scoot up,” she commanded and he obliged as she set the food down and passed him a drink. “What exactly did you want to do to me?”
“What was that?”
“You said there were so many things you wanted to do to me. I’m a girl, I like to hear things spelled out for me.”
Austin took a bite of the pizza, because if nothing else, it kept him from answering the question. The random wet dreams about Merryn should have warned him of the teenage proclivity he was capable of. He had to admit the homemade pizza was delicious and helped with the distraction. Just the right amount of sauce to toppings ratio. Merryn must have a love of cheese because as he took a piece, it stretched the cheese almost to his mouth. “This is really good. You should sell these in the bakery,” he said with a half mouthful.
“And have Buddy bust out my windows, no thank you.”
“What is it with him and you?”
“I needed more than sweets and bread, so I started making sandwiches. For some reason, that means I’m cutting into his lunch crowd by offering a cheaper alternative.”
“Well, see you could say he was stealing your customers because your pizza will cost more than his burgers.”
“That could be my marketing slogan. You’re a genius. Eat pizza at the Triple B, it costs more than Buddy’s bar.”
“I know, you’re in awe of my mad skills now,” Austin said.
Merryn looked down at the pizza. “It is good though,” she admitted. “I’m more in awe of you speaking. I like learning about you.”
“Did you just admit you’re a gossip?”
“No, a gossip would be on the phone to her friends spreading the word that Austin Larsen talked to me.” Merryn held her hands to her chest and collapsed on a pillow. “The Austin Larsen, you know…the hot one.”
“I’ve gone from the creepy old guy to the hot one…not bad.” He reached for a tissue on her nightstand and dabbed his lips. “But I remember that the Merryn Sota promised to divulge secrets in exchange for embarrassing details of my life.”
“They didn’t need to be embarrassing,” she replied and reached up to his face. She pulled him down toward her lips.
He felt uneasy with how well she was taking the whole mishap from before. Instead of shoving him out the door to fend for himself, she’d upped the flirting. Not that he minded because he could kiss her all day and not get bored. “Are you trying to distract me?” he asked as his lips brushed against hers. He was holding back this time. Teasing the truth from her. He kissed the corner of her lips before going back for another piece of pizza. “Because I like talking and stuff too.”
“I can tell by how you chat me up everyday.”
“Let me tell you the gossip I’ve heard about you.”
“Gossip?” Merryn sat up and stared at him. “There’s gossip about moi?”
“Oui,” he replied, correctly he hoped, in French. “You’re from LA and you and Buddy had a love affair that ended poorly.”
“Buddy?” Merryn choked out a laugh. “People think I slept with Buddy? He’s like five years old.”
“And what are you? Twelve?”
“Thirty one, thank you very much.”
“They had you younger, at least the g
uys do. The women figured you’re from LA, so you had work done.”
“Obviously, they’ve never seen anyone who’s had work done.” Merryn reached for a binder and pulled her hair up into a bun.
“I think you look like someone plastic surgeons would have in their perfect product book.”
Merryn raised an eyebrow to him. “As one who lived in la-la land, I can give you a complete rundown of what’s wrong with me.”
“Don’t, it would ruin the illusion.”
“You may not talk a lot, but you do know how to use the English language to its fullest.”
“Okay, so you’re from LA, but never slept with Buddy.”
“Yep. Now, you know everything.”
“Not quite. You said you were married at one time.”
Now, it was Merryn’s turn to use the old stuff the face with pizza to avoid talking.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I’m a really not good at being female.”
Austin looked her over and swallowed hard. Something about a woman, he hoped a woman, from California making a statement like that made him nervous.
Merryn must’ve seen the panic in his eyes. “What if I said I’m not a very good wife, woman…you know the opposite of male, even though I was born with all the right parts.”
Relief washed over him. It would have been hard to imagine Merryn not being all woman. Her curves and his instant reaction to her. Now, he felt like a moron. “I can’t imagine that,” he said as he took a swallow of soda to try to find moisture again.
“My husband wanted a child.”
“And you didn’t?”
“No, I did, very much so.”
“Then what happened?”
“I got pregnant a few times. Usually, with the help of a handful of doctors and nurses.” Merryn sighed and looked lost for a moment. “You know the traditional way.”
“Sounds a bit sterile.”
“We tried the other way, but as you know I’m blessed with a snatch that makes men quake in their shoes as well as other things.”
Triple B. Baking Co. Page 5
