Alyssa extended her hand, and Bennett took it. “The author.” Her smile widened in recognition. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” she said. Then she glanced at me. “If you don’t need anything else, I’m gonna head out.”
“Absolutely. Thank you. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Alyssa walked backward toward the door, stopping a few feet away. “I can open up in the morning if you need some time…”
My eyes moved from her to Bennett. He smiled a crooked smile that made his eyes gleam. I see your gleam, Bennett Kane, and I’ll raise you one of my own.
“See?” I told him. “Lifesaver.”
“I’ll be here at five. You come in whenever,” Alyssa said. Then she pointed to the bottom of Bennett’s legs and winced. She mouthed the words, what is that? Then she backed out the door.
I looked down and laughed. “You wore socks and sandals.”
He remembered my soul mate comment.
He tucked a loose hair behind my ear. “And pushed on a door that says pull.”
I shrugged. “That’s an awfully big coincidence.”
He took a step forward so that our bodies touched. He reached out and laced his fingers with mine. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“What do you believe in?” My voice barely broke a whisper. We were so close. His touch vibrated from my fingertips all the way to the tingle in my stomach.
“I used to believe in nothing. Now, I’m not so sure anymore.”
I used to believe that real life could never live up to fiction. Now, I wasn’t so sure that real life wasn’t better.
Korie Lawson was the kind of beautiful that stood out on its own. It didn’t compete with other beauty. It didn’t have to. It wasn’t manufactured, like an elegant mansion or painted masterpiece. It was like the sunrise over the ocean or a waterfall on a tropical island. It wasn’t something people stopped for a moment to stare at then went on about their day. It was something that settled inside your soul and changed you forever.
I couldn’t pull my eyes away. When I stood next to her, I had to touch her. Some primal instinct inside of me had to let her know she was mine.
“I should lock up so we can go,” she said.
I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to let her go. “Okay,” I agreed, against my better judgment.
She let go of my hands then turned off all the lights except those in the corner where she sat reading a few moments ago. I followed her out and waited as she locked the door.
“So, where to now?” I asked.
“Well, since you’re early…” She leaned against a black iron lamp post and narrowed her eyes at me.
I moved in front of her and grabbed hold of the post above her head. Her eyes widened and she looked up and down both sides of the street. “Bennett,” she warned, but I didn’t move. I didn’t care if someone saw us. She was lucky I didn’t have a hand full of ass and her tongue in my mouth right now.
I looked down at her and smiled when her cheeks flushed a rosy pink. “Yes?”
“I thought we could go to my place so I could change.”
“What’s wrong with what you’re wearing now?”
She looked gorgeous in a hot pink T-shirt and jeans.
“I just… I had something else in mind.”
I let go of the post and took a step back. She huffed a sigh, probably of relief.
“Okay,” I said, and she grinned.
“Okay. And please tell me you brought an extra pair of shoes.”
I looked down at my feet. “Why? What’s wrong with these?”
Korie rolled her eyes and walked to her car a few spaces down. “If you don’t know the answer to that, we can’t be friends,” she said then she opened her door and climbed inside.
I laughed to myself as I got into my own car. If I had my way, before I left Hickory Falls, Korie and I would be a whole lot more than friends.
Thirty minutes later, I sat in her living room answering emails on my phone while she “freshened up.” I’d just finished responding to the last client when Korie’s bedroom door opened.
She walked out wearing the black dress from her Instagram post, and my phone fell to the white shag rug beneath my feet. I didn’t even look to see if it shattered. I didn’t care. I jumped up, nearly bumping my shin on the wooden coffee table in front of me. She chuckled when I stumbled to keep my balance.
“Is this better?” she asked as she leaned against the door frame.
Her dark brown hair fell over her bare shoulders, and her bright red lips matched the polish on her toes. I loved that she was still barefoot even though she’d put so much effort into the rest of her appearance. Those lips. They hypnotized me.
I moved around the table and across the room, swallowing hard when I stopped right in front of her. “Better than catching a four-hundred-pound blue marlin off the coast of Costa Rica. Better than landing a one-eighty your first time on the slopes. Better than seeing your name at number one on the New York Times Best Sellers list.” I ran the back of my index finger from the bottom of her jaw, down the slender curve of her neck, and across the top of her shoulder. “This is better than anything. Better than everything.”
Her lips parted as she sucked in a breath. “You’ve done all those things?”
I had. And I thought nothing could compare to the high I felt when I did them. Until now.
I smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I feel extremely underdressed. Where are you planning on taking me looking like this?”
“I thought we’d drive to Atlanta. Have dinner. Go out. I know small towns aren’t your thing…” She shrugged one shoulder.
“You’re my thing. We don’t have to leave Hickory Falls, Korie. This is your home. I want you to show it to me.” I trailed my finger across her collarbone. “We don’t even have to leave this room.”
“So that’s how it’s gonna be?”
She played coy but her body was begging to be fucked.
I slipped my other hand around her waist and pulled her against me. My lips feathered her neck. “That’s exactly how it’s going to be.” I kissed the skin just below her ear. “I told you, Korie Lawson. I’m going to fucking ruin you.”
She leaned into my touch and let out a soft moan. “I should… We should…”
I lifted my head and smiled. She’d gone to all the trouble to get ready. Even though my dick got just as hard seeing her in a T-shirt and jeans. This all started with the promise of a dinner. I owed her that.
“We should go to dinner,” I said.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. But afterward, I’m having my dessert.”
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and blushed. Jesus, the things I wanted to do to this woman. The sooner we left, the sooner we’d get back. The sooner we got back, the sooner I could bury my face between her fucking thighs.
“I should change,” she said.
She turned toward her bedroom, but I grabbed her hand. “No fucking way. I want to show Shane Fredericks exactly what he’s missing.”
Her eyebrows scrunched together when she looked back at me. “Shane? What does Shane have to do with—”
I laughed and shook my head. “Nothing. I’m ready when you are.”
Bennett parked near the circle in the middle of town, right next to the gazebo where Shane and his band played every Friday night during the summer. The fact that he’d been in town all of five minutes and already knew about my dating history should’ve given me flashbacks of a Criminal Minds episode, but I couldn’t stay away from him. Somebody really needed to run interference.
It was a little after three o’clock—past lunch but not quite time for dinner. Bennett took my hand as we walked across the open lawn. I’d slipped my sandals off and he’d offered to carry them. The black leather shoes dangled from his free hand while we walked past colorful beds of daisies and petunias. The lush green grass tickled the bottoms of my bare feet. We stopped at a black iron be
nch under the hundred-year-old oak.
“Before I made the little corner in the coffee shop, this was my favorite place to read.”
Bennett splayed his arm along the back of the bench behind me and looked around. “It’s beautiful.”
You’re beautiful.
“What was it like growing up in a city like Houston?” I question.
His fingertips traced circles on my naked shoulder. Tiny goosebumps covered my skin even though it was one-hundred and eleventy-seven degrees outside. “I didn’t grow up in Houston.” I waited for him to elaborate but it seemed as though he wasn’t going to. Finally, he said, “I left my hometown as soon as I graduated high school.”
“Leaving a trail of broken hearts behind you, I’m sure.”
His mouth twitched like he wanted to smile but fought it. “You want to talk about my dating history?”
“Why not? You know all about mine… obviously.”
He leaned back and cocked his head to one side. “Obviously?”
“Isn’t that why you brought up Shane?”
“So, you did date him.”
“For like… five minutes in ninth grade.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Wait. You didn’t know? But how—” Realization hit me. “You’re staying at the B&B.”
Bennett grinned. “I am.” His gaze fell to my lips and his eyes grew dark. “Has he fucked you?”
What?
“No. God, no. I told you it was five minutes in ninth grade.”
He inhaled a deep breath, seemingly satisfied with my answer. “There was no trail of hearts. I didn’t date.” He swallowed hard. “I don’t date.”
“Me either. But you’d laugh if you knew why.”
“Try me.”
I cleared my throat. “Well, as you know, I read a lot.” He nodded. “And reality has just never lived up to the fantasy.” I shrugged.
Translation: I’m a fifteen-year-old daydreamer in a twenty-seven-year-old woman’s body.
Hopefully he didn’t speak idiot.
“Never?” he questioned.
“Okay, so, maybe not never.”
He leaned in, pressing his forehead to mine and my heart almost jumped out of my chest. My thoughts bounced around like a squirrel on Red Bull. He’s going to kiss you. What if people are watching? Try not to slobber. Where’s a Tic-Tac when you need one? I bet his lips taste like cinnamon.
“Korie.” Someone called my name from the not-too-far-away distance. I looked over Bennett’s shoulder to see Mrs. Stephenson walking her dog on the sidewalk path. She waved and smiled when we made eye contact. “Thank you for the muffins. The ladies at the library always enjoy them.” The labradoodle on the end of her leash jerked her thin frame forward.
Bennett sighed.
I laughed. “Anytime, Mrs. Stephenson. Have a good day.” I waved and giggled as the dog continued walking its owner.
She waved over her shoulder then yelled, “Slow down, Jasper. I’m not thirty anymore.”
That was it. The moment was gone. Although, I was sure it would live on thanks to Mrs. Stephenson’s fascination with town gossip. She probably pulled out her phone the minute she moved out of my view. She probably didn’t even eat my muffins. She just wanted to get a good look at the man whose lips were responsible for the death of all my brain cells.
I slipped my sandals back on my feet then stood and reached for his hand. “I guess we should finish our tour.”
“Is the final stop somewhere between here.” He brushed his finger along the tip of my nose. “And here?” He tilted my chin.
“I think your tour guide can work something out.”
He grinned and ran his thumb across my lips. “Then by all means, lead the way.”
Bennett linked his fingers with mine and we walked all the way down Main Street. I pointed at windows as we passed Iced Dreams, home of the best banana split I’d ever had. I smiled and waved at Jennie Graham when we passed the window of her designer boutique. Mr. Jensen gave us a nod as we passed him just as he walked out of George’s barbershop.
“Here we are,” I said stopping at the last building on the street.
“Mabel’s Table,” he read as he looked at the sign above the door.
“Best burgers this side of the Mississippi,” I said, also quoting the sign above the door.
He grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. “And you’ve tried every burger this side of the Mississippi?”
I walked inside, brushing against him as I passed. “Maybe,” I said over my shoulder. He laughed then followed me to my favorite table.
The dress made its statement. It had served its purpose, and now it was done. I needed out of Lycra and into cotton. Once we got back to my house (after Bennett admitted that Mabel did indeed make the best burgers this side of the Mississippi), he waited in the living room while I changed into yoga pants and a tank top.
“Can I get you something to drink?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen.
I opened the refrigerator and grabbed two bottles of water. Then I dropped them both when I shut the door and bumped into a hard body. Bennett grabbed my arm to steady me. The bottles rolled across the ceramic tile. I looked up at him, and the water was long forgotten.
“So, this is where the magic happens?” he asked.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I sprinkle magic everywhere I go. Which particular magic are you referring to?”
He smiled and took a step forward. His grip on my arm loosened to a caress. I needed that water right about now.
“I remember a comment about Britney and dancing. There may have been underwear involved. I can’t really remember.” His eyes twinkled with mischief.
I was helpless.
“You’re a little young for Alzheimer’s.”
He moved closer. My breath froze in my lungs even though my body was on fire. He ran his hand down the length of my arm. “You’re right. I lied.” Another step closer. The room shrunk. “The truth is I haven’t stopped thinking about it… or your underwear… since the minute you said it.” He backed me against the kitchen counter.
I held my palms against his chest. His heart beat just as fast as mine, but he didn’t look nervous at all. “Bennett,” was all I managed to say. I couldn’t think straight anymore.
He leaned his forehead against mine. “Hmm?”
I guessed he couldn’t either.
He brought his hand to my neck, resting it just below my ear. His thumb brushed my cheek as our breaths, shaky and quick, mingled together. I slid my hands up his chest to his face and cradled his chin in my hands. “Lying is bad.”
He didn’t answer. He just closed his eyes and breathed me in. I closed my eyes and did the same. “You should use your mouth for better things,” I told him.
When I opened my eyes, I met his intense gaze. His dark brown eyes burned right through me. I wet my lips and stroked his cheek with my thumb. “Remember when I told you that you’d know when I was flirting?”
He nodded once then swallowed hard.
I brought my lips to one corner of his mouth and whispered, “This is it.”
He moved his hands to my hips and lifted me up onto the countertop. His mouth covered mine, and all that existed was me, him, and this moment. He kissed me slow and soft, giving me comfort that no words ever had. He pulled me closer until there was no air left between us. I was drunk on him and I never wanted it to end.
When he finally pulled away, he rested his forehead against mine and caught his breath. “I really like the way you flirt,” he breathed.
I smiled up at him. “I really like the way you flirt back.”
My dress slid up around my waist when he pushed me onto the countertop. One of his hands grabbed a handful of my hair and wrapped it in his fist while the other cupped my nearly-bare ass. “Before now, before we were together like this, did you feel it when I thought about you? Did your body tingle sometimes in the middle of the day? Did you lay in bed and for no apparent reason at all feel your pussy clench i
n the middle of the night?”
I tilted my head back and he ran his tongue along the column of my throat. “Did you?” he repeats. “Did you feel me wanting you like this?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
A low growl came from deep in his chest. “Good. Now you’re going to feel me take you.”
Before her panties ever hit the floor, I was lost in her. I planted kisses along the inside of her thigh, inhaling her scent along the way. She buried her fingers in my hair and arched her back, shoving her sweet cunt right in my face. I pulled her panties to the side and stole my first taste of her. Holy fucking Christ. She was salvation and she was sin. She was the calm and she was the storm. She was everything—more addicting than any drug.
I drew my tongue along her slit and slid one finger inside. Then two. And three.
Fuck.
So wet. So ready.
Her hips rolled and bucked against my mouth and I licked and sucked. I fucked and bit. And I savored every single goddamn drop of her until her thighs clenched around me and she screamed out to God.
No, baby. Just me.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and smiled a lazy smile when I stood to face her.
I hooked her legs around my waist and lifted her off the counter. “Just because you’re smiling doesn’t mean I’m done with you.”
I carried her to the bedroom, then threw her on the bed. I bit my lip as she stared up at me with that innocent, wide-eyed, pleasure drunk stare. Her black dress was still hiked up around her waist, revealing a set of creamy thighs and a pair of white lace panties. White. How fucking fitting.
“Have I told you I love this dress?” I questioned as I climbed onto the bed and up her body.
“You mentioned it.” Her usually sweet voice was raspy… hungry… raw.
My hands peeled the black fabric up her body. She lifted herself off the bed, allowing me to bring it over her head. I tossed it to the floor then pulled myself up and drank her in.
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