by KB Winters
Who says men don’t talk about their feelings?
I sank back and landed hard on my ass, my legs stretched out in front of me. Even on the cement it felt good to sit down. Aaron was right. I’d been pulling crazy hours and busting my ass. It was the only way to keep my mind quiet. If I slowed down or even pumped the brakes, even for a minute, my mind zipped right back to worrying about Holly and the future. I came up with nothing but questions and uncertainty, so I decided not thinking at all was a better solution. If I pulled a twelve, fourteen hour day, I’d go home, scarf down whatever leftovers I found in the fridge, and then pass out beside Holly before my mind could kick in. Then I’d wake up the next day, cuss at my aching muscles, and then throw myself back into the rhythm all over again. It was coping. It wasn’t supposed to be pretty.
“I think Holly’s gonna leave me.”
Aaron’s face dropped, registering the shock of my blunt words. He dropped to the ground beside me. “Damn. I guess I should have skipped the coffee and gone right for the top-shelf whiskey.”
I laughed but it sounded hollow and tired.
“Let’s back up,” Aaron said, turning to face me. “Where’s this coming from? You two have a fight?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Well, at least not recently. It’s more of an Arctic freeze.”
“What happened? I mean you guys just got engaged.”
I sighed and dropped my face into my grimy hands. I scrubbed them down my cheeks, not caring if they left streaks of grease behind. I was too damn tired to care. “Things were good in Germany. Really good, man. We spent every weekend together, traveled all over the country, did food and beer tastings, stayed in kick-ass hotels and even a fucking castle one night. It was fun and fresh and exciting. But since we got back—it’s different. I mean, fuck, I’m not even the same person anymore. I’m in the fuckin’ reserves. Can you believe that? And…and this job—” I stopped and glanced up at Aaron. “Not that I don’t appreciate it.”
Aaron clapped me on the back. He knew. I didn’t have to say it.
“Anyway, she’s been working to get her accounting business back up but it’s slow and then all the shit with buying the house. That was a fuckin’ fiasco and a half.” I stopped and dragged in another heavy sigh. “Suddenly, the weekends of adventure were traded for house hunting and then going to every Crate & Barrel on the goddamn West Coast. I went from being the best fucking pilot the US Navy has ever seen, to being a scout on an absurd mission for the perfect coffee table. Like what the hell, man? What the fuck happened with my life?”
Aaron chuckled under his breath. I shot him a scowl and he held up a hand. “I’m sorry, man. Really. I am. It’s just…don’t you at least find this a little ironic? Rewind the tapes two years and we were on opposite sides of this. You were Mr. Happy go lucky in love and I was dreading turning in my little black book to Gemma.”
“You’re saying you wouldn’t bitch if all of a sudden Gemma started texting you pictures of throw pillows and chandeliers instead of bikini shots?”
Aaron winced and mocked a shudder. “The horror.”
I smiled. “Exactly.”
“Sounds like you guys need a weekend away. You know, go to some fancy day spa or something. Let her get pampered all day and then you can fuck her all night. Remind her how it used to be.”
“I wish it was that simple.”
Aaron shoved into me. “Come on, Boomer. You’re no damned quitter.”
I chuckled but it faded quickly. “It’s not me I’m worried about.”
Aaron sobered. “You really think she’s gonna leave?”
I shrugged. My heart twisted inside my chest at the very thought. “She had a job interview a few days ago. She called me afterward all lit up. Like…like the Holly I used to know. She was talking about the office and this guy. Noah something or other—” I paused at the expression on Aaron’s face. “What? You know who he is?”
“Noah Scoville? Fuck yeah. He bought out all of O’Keefe’s properties. Here and in Stallion Bay. He’s a multi-billionaire with a certain reputation.”
“For what?”
Aaron rolled his eyes. “Have you seen the guy?”
I shook my head.
“Oh.” Aaron sipped his coffee. “Well, he does all right with the ladies. Let’s just leave it at that. Even Gemma got all giggly when we ran into him down at the grocery store a few weeks back. He’s a real GQ kind.”
“Fuck.”
Aaron slapped me on the shoulder. “Come on. He’s got nothing on you.”
“I can’t exactly compete with private islands, helicopter rides, and pricey jewelry.”
Aaron frowned. “Who says that’s what Holly wants?”
“I don’t know what she wants anymore,” I said under my breath. “That’s the whole damn problem.”
Aaron leaned back and braced his weight against his arms as they rooted to the floor behind him. “She was over at the house the other day. Her and Gemma were catching up.”
“What did she say?”
Aaron laughed. “All those two ever talk about is wedding stuff.”
“Great. Another department I’m failing in.” I shook my head. “She’s pissed ’cause I won’t set a date.”
“So set a fuckin’ date! Lock that girl down. You know, back in the day, you were the brains and I was the good-looking sidekick. What happened to you, Boomer?”
I shoved him off balance but all he did was laugh. He pushed up from the floor and brushed his hands together. He retrieved his coffee cup and took a long drink, still giving me a self-satisfied smirk from behind the cardboard cup. “Come on, I’m kicking your ass out.” He reached down. “Go home to that fiancée of yours.”
I let him pull me up from the floor.
For a split second, I considered telling him another reason I’d been busting my ass was because I had a job interview lined up for the following week and didn’t want to leave him in the lurch in case I got hired on. But he flashed me a smile and my resolve melted away. Aaron was more than my best friend. He was my brother. I couldn’t bear to let him down too. Not on top of everything else.
We walked out together and said goodbye in the parking lot. I booked it down the hill and stopped at the market. The florist next door was already closed for the night so I settled on a bunch of roses from the floral case beside the deli counter. They were a coral pink color and I knew Holly would love them. Aaron was right. I just needed to get home and remind Holly why she was in love with me. We’d find our way back to each other.
We had to.
Chapter Six
Holly
Three days had passed and I still hadn’t heard back from Noah. I was starting to wonder if he’d agreed to interview me on the assumption that I was single. I remembered back in my college days, and right out of college, when I’d first entered the work force, there were certain types of men who were far more likely to hire someone they thought they had a chance of hooking up with. Noah hadn’t struck me as that kind of man, but in the deafening silence following the interview, I started to wonder. The image that kept replaying in my mind was the look on his face when I mentioned Jack. He’d taken one look at my engagement ring and in my recollection of the rest of the interview, I decided that was the breaking point. Had he finished the interview and done the tour as a professional courtesy, all the while knowing I was no longer a candidate? But then why did he go to the trouble of showing me the office?
I sighed heavily. None of it made sense. My life didn’t make sense anymore. I was sitting at the dining room table, drinking a bottle of cab for dinner, twisting my engagement ring around my finger. It was a gorgeous round solitaire diamond in a white gold band. Jack and I hadn’t officially picked out the wedding band, but I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like and could easily conjure up the image in my mind as I looked at my hand. The only problem was that I no longer knew if we would make it that far. Would I ever stand at the altar, in front of a minister and a crowd of our fr
iends and family, and pour out beautiful vows to Jack, all the while staring up into his adoring eyes? Or would we dissolve and fall apart sometime before that day came? That’s certainly what it felt like.
I chugged back the rest of my wine and quickly poured a second glass, not bothering with propriety as I filled the glass to the brim. Hunter and Princess lay at my feet under the table. I could feel Hunter’s warm belly pressed up against my toes. I didn’t hear anything, but suddenly both of them bolted up, their nails clicking on the hardwood floor as they scrambled for the door. Seconds later, the lock clicked and the front door opened. My eyes flew to the large clock on the kitchen wall. It was half past seven. Earlier than Jack usually came home. At least these days. I debated getting up to greet him with a smile and a kiss but decided against it. I was just fine where I was.
“Holly? You home?”
I heard him shuffling at the entryway, likely taking off his coat and work boots and soothing the overeager pups. I sighed and threw back another drink of wine—a huge drink. “In here.”
He came around the corner into the main living room and my heart jumped at the sight of the bouquet of soft pink roses in his hands. I set aside my wine glass, wishing I’d had time to hide the now-empty bottle, and stood from my chair. “What are these for?” I asked, reaching for the bouquet.
He handed them to me with a sheepish smile. “I never congratulated you on your interview. I know it was a big deal and I didn’t…well, I didn’t handle it well.”
I took the flowers to the sink and grabbed a pair of kitchen shears. I clipped away the cellophane and rubber bands and then cut the stems under running water. “Thank you, Jack. They’re beautiful.”
“The florist was closed, but I thought you’d like these.”
I looked over my shoulder and smiled at him. He had his hands in his pockets and my heart ached, the distance between us suddenly sharp and apparent. “I love them.”
He smiled and this time it almost reached his eyes. “I’m glad.”
I breathed in the fresh, springtime scent, even in the middle of winter, and hurried to put them in a vase. When they were arranged, I placed them on the center of the dining room table and then went to Jack. He folded me in a warm embrace and I sighed, releasing some of the pent-up tension from my musings over the bottle of wine. “Although, I don’t know if the interview was a success.”
Jack chuckled. “The guy would be an idiot to let you get away.”
His words struck me and my heart squeezed again. Was he saying that he would be an idiot to let me get away, too? Or was I reading into it? Did Jack even feel the distance between us the same way I did? I certainly felt alone in my lost wanderings, but maybe I wasn’t.
As if reading my mind, he pulled back just enough so that he could look down into my eyes. He reached up and brushed a finger down the side of my cheek. His eyes searched mine, though I wasn’t sure what they were looking for. After a long silence, he dipped lower and kissed me. It started soft and smooth but ignited with heat as his tongue slipped over the seam of my mouth. A breath caught in the back of my throat, startled by the flutter in the depths of my stomach. Jack’s lips and tongue devoured my mouth, my knees buckled and I gave myself over to him.
“I missed you,” he growled against my neck as his lips wandered along my little sweet spots. He knew each of them well. Like a map of stars. I shivered against him as his teeth grazed my warm skin. “I want to be us again.”
I nodded, trying not to cry, but unable to find the words as he kissed me. His fingers wound through my hair, looping it around his thick fingers until he had a fistful. He tugged, just enough to drop my head back so he could get a better angle as his lips and tongue and teeth worked down the side of my neck. His other hand slid up the front of my shirt and went to tease my breast. My nipple went hard against his open palm and Jack instantly reacted, sliding his thumb over it.
“God, baby…”
He chuckled softly. “It’s been too long, lover girl.”
All I could do was nod. He released my hair and wrapped his hand around my neck. He kissed me soft and slow and then his tongue slid back between my lips and tangled with mine. A desperate, needy moan vibrated at the back of my throat and Jack moved against me. He was rock hard and I ached to free him from his clothing. I wanted to feel his skin against mine. We’d had enough barriers lately.
The button on his Carhartts released easily. They were old pants and well worn. I slid the zipper down and reached inside his boxer briefs. My hand moved down, stroking his rock hard shaft and he growled low into the kiss. He pulled away panting and then we transformed into a tornado. Clothes went flying in a flurry of hot kisses and muttered curses until we were both naked on the living room couch. I sat on top of him, his hands on my hips, as I lowered myself onto his thick cock. We both moaned when he was fully inside of me.
Jack leaned up and took one of my nipples between his lips while I started to rock back and forth. God, he felt amazing. “Damn, baby, you look so fucking sexy right now,” he said pulling away from my breasts. He stroked his fingertips across my breasts and then down my stomach. I gasped and rocked faster against him. He moaned and dropped his head back against the couch. He watched me through heavily-lidded eyes as I ground my pussy on his cock.
“You do too, lover,” I gasped, moving my hands to his chest that could have doubled as a cement slab. He’d obviously found time to hit the gym even with his hectic work schedule. Jack had a runner’s body but he hit the weights a few times a week to keep from getting too lean. His legs were strong and corded with muscles. I ran my hands over them and then back up his sides, over his flat, segmented stomach, and then back up to his chest. I couldn’t have picked my favorite feature if I tried. I loved all of it. All of him.
Jack’s cock thickened inside of me and our eyes flashed together. His hands went to my hips and slowed the pace. Neither of us wanted it to be over. “Hang on,” he said. In one sweeping movement, his hands cupped my ass and he stood from the couch. I expected him to flip us over but instead, he headed for the stairs—still deep inside of me.
I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Tired of the couch?”
“I need more space for this,” he replied with a wicked grin.
“Mmmm…” A shiver of pleasure snaked up my back.
We crashed into the bedroom and Jack laid me on our bed. He moved down the bed and I drank in the sight of the bunched muscles in his back. With another devilish smile, he parted my thighs and I gasped as he plunged his finger inside me. Jack knew all my spots. Especially that one. He moved his fingers with expert precision. He knew exactly what would make me moan, beg, plead and probably cry. When his hot mouth went to my pussy, I fisted my hands into the sheets and arched back. I whimpered his name as he sucked and teased and stroked the bundle of nerves. The pressure quickly built to delirious heights and I was bucking like a wild horse against his face as he sucked and finger-fucked me into another dimension.
When he finally let me come, I released with a scream and clawed my nails into his back. Jack gritted his teeth and hissed as I scratched him but didn’t stop fingering me until I’d completely crashed over the edge and then melted to the bed. He chuckled softly as he looked up at me, his face still between my thighs. He pressed a final kiss to my deliciously swollen lips. “Now, as much as I love seeing that beautiful face, roll over.”
“Jack…” I started to protest but he ran a finger over my tender pussy and smiled up at me.
“Trust me, baby.”
I rolled to my stomach and gasped when he lifted my hips and pressed his hard shaft in between my ass cheeks. He teased my asshole with the tip of his cock and I clenched in anticipation. Was he going to do what I thought he was…? He didn’t make me wait long for an answer. After he grabbed the lube from the nightstand drawer, he slicked up his cock and slid the tip inside. Holy hell, mother fucker! Stars burst behind my eyes and the mix of new sensations overwhelmed me. He moved slowly.
Carefully. And I was about to come again from the painful pleasure consuming my ass.
“God, Jack. Yes! Fuck it! Fuck my ass!”
He grabbed my hips and pushed in all the way. Lord have mercy on my sinner’s soul. His cock taking me that way was fucking exquisite. I could tell he was enjoying it as well because after a few thrusts, his cock was bigger than I’d ever felt.
I released a low, primal groan that sounded like it came from some other place. Hell, some other kind of creature. It was animalistic. Foreign. And hot as fuck.
“You good, baby?” Jack asked through a groan of his own as he pushed inside me.
I nodded and bit my lip as I craned around to watch him. “Fuck, baby…harder. This is fucking amazing.”
His eyes flashed, darker than ever as he met mine and I watched as he spread my cheeks wider and fucked me in the ass. I’d never felt sexier or more vulnerable as he moved and thrust. Every movement had me clenching the bed like I was holding onto the edge of a cliff. Jack took his time but by the time he was pulsing inside me, I was ready to scream, having been on the verge of another orgasm since the moment he’d entered me. Jack’s orgasm was all it took to send me flying. He thickened and pulsed and I came undone. Feeling his hot come fill my ass wrecked me. I thrashed and moaned, pushing my ass against him, grinding on his cock. I wanted him deeper and faster. By the time he finished, his hands grasping my hips were the only thing holding me up. Every ounce of pleasure I’d ever felt in my entire life had been wrung from me.
Jacked pulled out slowly and then we both sagged down to the bed, panting and after a moment, laughing together.
“Holy shit,” I breathed.
Jack smiled. “Holy shit.”
Chapter Seven
Jack
“Wow! Where did that come from?” Holly giggled as she rolled over to face me. A sheen of sweat glistened on her brow and I smiled to myself. A sure sign of a good time. She walked her fingers up my bare chest, still smiling like a contented cat.