Trouble Brewing (In Ashwood Book 2)

by Kinney Scott

  In fact, the first thing she noticed had risen near her hip. She pivoted slowly, pressing along the entire muscular length of his body - his chest, abdomen, thighs, and calves against her back, curved butt, and trim legs. She slid tight against his sleep-warmed physique.

  He was almost too hot, so she squirmed her ass against his length to wake him. Wade held still, fully alert from the time she had begun this sexy demonstration. Frozen in place, he wanted to see what her next move would be. When she slid her hand back to locate his rock hard cock, he held back a groan. She stroked her slim fingers along his silky length, a pearl of wet arousal emerged from the tip.

  Without a word, he took over the sensual torture. He grasped her hand beneath his own, teaching her where he liked an increased amount of pressure. With their fingers laced together, they pulled his steely length. He pushed his hips into her long hard strokes.

  Shifting her hand forward over her hip, fingers still snared in his own, Wade directed her to explore the soft folds of her own wet arousal. Their shared touch explored her moist heat. Iris moaned, and pressed the sway of her ass against his shaft. When he circled her bundle of nerves with his sex-slick fingertips, she begged in a throaty whisper, “Fill me Wade, I need you.”

  In one smooth movement, he stretched her body under his, as he pivoted over her prone sexy curves. Grasping her hips, Wade lifted Iris to her knees, positioned her perfect ass high in the air and spread her legs wide, to expose her moist pink flesh. He could not resist dipping his fingers in, to test her arousal. The clenching of her body around his touch pulled a moan from his throat, “Damn, your tight,” he had to have her now.

  He paused giving her room to grab a condom from her side table. She quickly passed it along and he sheathed his length and plunged slowly in. “So wet, so sweet,” Wade whispered in a low growled voice that mixed with her gasp of pleasure. “Are you okay?” he asked, concerned she may be a little sore.

  Every position last night was hotter than the one that came before. First in the shower, teasing her with the massager settings, followed by taking her standing against the cool tile. After they dried, but never found clothes, he had Iris straddle his hips while he sat on the couch. She took her time bringing them both to a slow, sexy climax. Later, he bent her supple body over the back of a soft leather chair, and watched her climax in the flickering blue television light as he plunged into her wet heat.

  This morning he promised himself to leave her alone, even when he woke early with a raging hard on. He sighed in relief when she took over where they left off the night before.

  “Wade - it’s so good,” came her gentle cry. He grasped her supple hips in his hands and moved faster, deeper, and harder. Her back arched to seek the release that was slowly increasing. A burn coiled tension in her belly, radiating out in delicious tendrils. Every nerve focused on that elusive pinnacle. Her breath became choppy as Wade wrapped around to caress her slick folds. His teeth and tongue nipped the blue iris tattoo on her shoulder, as his skilled attention brought a climax that left her in a state of incoherence. She pushed back against his hips seeking every ounce of pleasure from a long sustained release.

  Wade lifted her hips slightly higher, thrust a fraction harder, his balls slapping forward against her soaked soft pussy with each powerful thrust. Heat built down his spine, drawing his skin taut as he rushed headlong into a molten release. His strength left him. Unable to maintain the stance any longer, their bodies shifted, sweaty and satisfied in heaps on her mangled sheets. He traced the graceful lines of her neck and twisted the waves of her tangled morning hair between his fingers. She looked so beautifully disarrayed.

  ***

  Wade rolled into Mosquito Creek Brewing, the Ashwood location, about an hour later than intended. His sister waited for him in Whitewater Home’s large office. Amanda worked at a second desk that Seth recently had added to the space. Sitting on the comfortably broken in leather couch, Linnea checked her personal e-mail on her tablet, glancing up as her brother entered.

  Her sly smile met him as his shadow darkened the door. His sister was the only person who knew he had spent the night in the arms of Iris Green, instead of his home an hour outside of town.

  “Hey, Wade, good morning,” came the quick greeting from his cousin, “there’s fresh coffee and muffins from Goldfinch Bakery.”

  “Thanks Amanda,” he poured himself a cup, and skipped the muffin. He had fried up some eggs for himself and Iris before he left her place this morning. On the way over his mind had shifted to work, and he was ready to get Linnea up to speed on the most important details to be accomplished.

  “Linn, why don’t we head over to the tiny house. I’ve got my laptop set up there.” He held the door open for his sister as she gathered her coat and tablet. “We won’t be too long Amanda, see you later.”

  Wade led the way. He could hear the sharp shot of a nail driven air hammer. The space was still cold, but a shop heater whirred overhead, doing its best to cut the chill from the damp morning air.

  Linnea longed to ask her brother about Iris, but kept quiet as they crossed through the echo of the shop. She didn’t notice why the nail gun had stopped. Rick had to steady himself at his perch on the roof of a tiny home. She was here? Now? As far as he could remember, Linnea wasn’t returning to Ashwood until June. He watched her leave through the side door, her lush hips swaying, and slowly regained his equilibrium. Rick had to wait several minutes before resuming his roofing job.

  Settled inside the tiny home, his sister took a spot at the fold out table. It already held his computer, and a stack of papers, invoices and lists scratched out in Wade’s messy handwriting. He waited. Until her curiosity was satisfied, they would not get anything accomplished. “Spill it, brother. I’m guessing you talked to Iris last night?”

  “Yeah, we figured things out.”

  “Are you seeing her? Are you telling anyone?”

  “I’m going to leave that up to Iris. My schedule will put me out of town, and she may not want to deal with the prying questions at work.”

  “I’d like to get to know her.”

  “You will, in a town this size you won’t have any choice. She owns the place with the best food in town. Believe me. You will spend plenty of time at Northside Grill. Can we get to work now, sis? Have I answered enough of your questions?”

  “Just one more, how do you feel about her?”

  “I respect her, she’s smart. We have a lot in common, similar backgrounds and I like that we both run our own businesses.”

  “That would be interesting if you planned to hire her.” Linnea teased.

  His smile slid across his face, “If you give me a list of questions that you need to have answered, I’ll see what I can find out.”

  “Shut up, Wade,” Linnea watched her brother for a moment. She would have to get to know Iris on her own. Not a problem, as a newcomer to Ashwood, she needed to make some new friends.

  Wade pulled up his calendar. “I’ve got a brewers conference in Las Vegas next week. I’ll be honest. I’m not ready for my meeting with Coalition Craft.”

  “Just let me know how I can help,” she said, focused on his calendar. The color-coding sent her head spinning with the names, tasks and necessary correspondence filling each date.

  “After I get back, we travel to Yakima. We will be there a few days to get the new hop variety in the ground. That should give you time to pack and visit friends.” He said absentmindedly jotting down a few notes for the Yakima trip.

  “I’m sure dad will want me on a tractor for planting.” She said. Visiting friends was not a priority. She’d rather make new connections here in Ashwood.

  “Once we return the festival season picks up. Unfortunately none of this includes the escalating schedule of the build, opening the taproom, or wrapping up the summer batch that will come out of Old Mosquito.”

  “You should have called me sooner, Wade,” his sister said.

  “I regret that I didn’t,” he agr
eed raking his hands through his lengthening hair, “I haven’t even had time to get this unruly mop trimmed.

  “Leave it, you look like the bad boy of brewing,” she laughed. He didn’t normally care if his hair got long, but the upcoming Vegas meeting with the execs had him second guessing everything from his appearance to his summer beer roll out.

  “How do you feel about giving me access to your e-mail and calendar? I won’t change anything, but it would help if I had a better feel for your time and the correspondence you’re receiving.”

  “Thanks, yeah that would be great.” In a few moments, she had his email pulled up on her tablet.

  Linnea glanced over the lengthy list, many needed to be dealt with soon. “If you like, I can flag and code these emails into categories, that way you can focus on one task at a time.”

  “Perfect, would you like to work here or in Seth’s office? Our office area will be finished in about three weeks, until that is complete you can set up where you feel comfortable.”

  “Here is great. Once I’ve got this figured out I’ll move over to work near Amanda. Right now I need to focus.” She bent her head to take a closer look, already zeroing in on her task.

  The stress began to release from his shoulders. He trusted Linnea, she had his best interests in mind. “If you don’t have questions for me I’d like to talk to the guys working on the tap room and brewery.”

  “I will have plenty of questions when you get back. Take your time and do what needs doing.” She said, waving him out the door, her eyes only glancing up from her screen for a moment. Wade moved on, feeling better immediately.

  ***

  Ducking behind Whitewater’s large shop, he hugged the tree line that defined the back of the property. With the warming air of spring, green tender buds formed on native willows. Small purple wildflowers popped up through the snow along the edge of the graveled lot. The air smelled different. Spring was fighting against the last snowy gasp winter dumped on Ashwood.

  As Wade drew close to the brewery, he could hear hammers and loud voices raised over the din of a chop saw. Seth suggested repurposing original wood to save cost and add character. His cousin had been spot-on. The space managed to look both modern and vintage. A low wall doubling as a standup counter was already in place, separating the brewery from the taproom.

  A local furniture artisan was fulfilling an order for long wood tables with benches. Carlos would help his longtime friend complete this large purchase on time. Amanda and her close friend Annie were working with an antique dealer from the farmers market to locate lumber related signs and small décor. Now that Linnea was here, he would give her authority over the taproom decisions.

  Wade knew, down to the last detail, precisely how he planned to layout his brewery. The steam boilers and refrigeration components went in this week, tanks and vessels not long after. His vision of a larger more productive brewery would finally go from diagrams and sketches to a tangible facility in Ashwood.

  Until yesterday, he planned to visit his home on the creek, but two women had him questioning his schedule. Linnea may need direction to adjust to the demands of her new position.

  And Iris - he struggled to define exactly where he stood with Iris. but, he knew he wanted her. He had never understood people who enjoyed the early anticipation in a new relationship. Wade wished he could skip to the part when a woman settled into her natural state. Anything to quiet the questions swirling in his head.

  Pulling out his phone, he typed a quick text to Iris: Would you like to get together for lunch today? I may need to head home to my Old Mosquito location and won’t be around for two days. He waited for a moment, but didn’t hear back. A large delivery arrived from Fed Ex, caused him to forget about the text message.

  Just as he was about to check the order against the invoice, her reply came through: Sorry, I don’t have time to get together today. Have a good drive. See you when you get back. He chuckled. Maybe he finally found a girl willing to skip over all the awkward stuff.

  His quick reply: Great, I will see you after I return.

  Back to his task of checking the order, Linn walked in and leaned over the delivery. “Wade, does it look like the shipment is correct?”

  “Yeah, what do you think?”

  “These faucets for the bathrooms look great, I like the design. But, checking this against the original order looks like something you can delegate to me. Unless you need this dull-mindless task to relax.”

  “No, I’m just used to doing everything myself.” He glanced from the pile of boxes to his sister. “You’re right. Let’s stack the order. I will show you where all the shipments are stored. One rule, if a load is too heavy, get one of the guys to help you lift it.”

  “No problem.” She had one muscular man in mind, if she needed help.

  Amanda wandered in followed closely by Kent. His hand hooked on her belt loop. He pulled her to a stop with his index finger. The pair asked Linnea if she was taking a break for lunch.

  Wade wondered what Seth felt about the growing connection between his younger sister and his employee. Kent never seemed to linger with one girl for long. He hoped Kent was willing to take things slow for Amanda’s sake.

  When they asked her to go to lunch, Linnea looked to her brother and he asked, “Can we keep working? I’m leaving for a couple days and want to accomplish as much as we can by five tonight.”

  “No problem, do you want me to run and grab sandwiches and bring them back?

  “That would be awesome,” he handed her a twenty and she dashed out the door just behind Kent and Amanda. While she was back in less than twenty minutes, Kent and Amanda disappeared for more than an hour.

  Linn laid out sandwiches, macaroni salad and cookies on Wade’s tiny house counter. He took a bite of the roast beef and swiss, as they poured over travel arrangements, expected shipments, and questions she had about his brewing business. “Wade, I thought you needed to spend most of your time brewing. How do you ever get anything done?”

  “This is more chaos than I could ever anticipate. I’m thankful for Erik and Trish. With Dillon’s part time help, they keep Old Mosquito running smoothly. I feel guilty for needing to lean on them so hard right now. Hopefully this pace won’t be permanent.”

  “After you get back from Vegas, I will take on as much of the festival planning as you are willing to delegate. Most of that is logistics and administration. I’m assuming you have notes from the previous years that I can use as a guide?”

  “Yes, but not as organized as you would hope. Feel free to revamp my system if you see room for improvement.”

  “Are you sure? I’m not that familiar with the business,” she said, happy her brother was willing to give her so much trust from day one.

  “Positive, Linn. I just hope you the workload doesn’t scare you off. I’d like you to stay for a long while. Thanks for making such a big life change to help me out.”

  “I’ve missed you, and I’m happy to be here.” she smiled at her brother.

  FIVE

  Natalie arrived early for girls’ night out. By the end of the evening, she hoped to know Linnea a little better. Standing, she waved Kels over from the bar.

  “Why are we sitting in the restaurant section?” Kelsey asked, disappointed to be far away from the pool tables where the guys usually hung out.

  “Amanda’s joining us, and she can’t sit in the bar.” Natalie told her just as Linnea caught her eye and snaked through tables moving their direction.

  Wades sister smiled and took a seat. Her nerves jumped hoping the night would go well. “Thanks for inviting me. I love sharing dinner with Amanda’s family, but I know Sandy and Bill appreciate an evening alone.” Linn tried to steal a glance at Iris,who was busy at the bar. As soon as Amanda joined them, Iris wandered over to take their drink order, but didn’t have time to introduce herself, the place was far too busy.

  Linnea was curious about this woman, and decided to try to stick around on her own late
r. If she sat at the bar, perhaps she could talk for a while with Iris. She didn’t want to pry into her brother’s life…too much.

  “What do you think of Ashwood so far Linnea?” Natalie asked to get the conversation going.

  Her tight smile eased a bit, “The change to a smaller town hasn’t been that difficult. I do miss my friends, those who stuck around and didn’t take off to go to college, but I spent too much time at home. This time of year our hop farm feels deserted.”

  Kelsey asked a few questions about hop farming and Linnea filled her in on the basics of her family farm. Natalie spent most of her life on the west side of the state and was surprised to learn more about this industry - how rapidly the bines climb the trellis, and how quickly the hops go from the field to dried bales. “You both should visit during harvest, it’s exciting. For a few short weeks the place is buzzing with activity.” Linnea encouraged.

  “I just might take you up on that, it sounds interesting.” Natalie agreed, remembering the relaxing weekend she and Seth spent camping on the east side of the state.

  Amanda’s head swiveled during the conversation. Farming didn’t interest her, but Kent Thomas did. She was obviously checking the place for him.

  Kelsey had been curious about the connection between her friend and Amanda. She decided to dig a little deeper, because Kent had been surprisingly quiet about his new interest. “So, Amanda,” she asked, “I’ve been trying to get hold of Kent. He has some gear I need to borrow. Can you let him know I need to meet up with him?”

  Amanda’s face turned pink, as her lips tightened with irritation. “Just send him a text. I know he will give you whatever you need.” Her younger friend made an easy comeback tempting, but Kelsey stopped her teasing barb as it hung in the air.