by Nikki Ashton
We turned from the bar with our drinks and looked around for somewhere to sit.
“Oh look,” Bronte said instantly moving away from me. “There’s Hunter.”
Before I even had time to say anything, she’d gone and positioned herself at Hunter’s table. He had his head in his hands, a bottle of beer almost empty in front of him.
“Hey, Hunter,” Bronte said brightly. “Can we sit with you.”
He looked up at me and then Bronte. “I’m waiting for Carter.”
I frowned at the sound of his voice. He sounded sad, and most definitely didn’t look like he wanted the two of us for company.
Bronte, however, had other ideas.
“We know,” she replied as she pulled out a stool. “He told us to tell you he’ll be here as soon as he can.”
“Why, where is he?”
Hunter’s eyes hit mine and there was questioning behind them. Shit he knew me too well. I immediately felt myself color up.
“He’s checking out Rodrick, my cat.” Bronte leaned in close to him. “He’s shitting for America. I’m pretty sure he could get it through the eye of a needle in one.”
Hunter grimaced and took a drink from his bottle, his gaze still on me. “Nice image.”
“Yeah. I’ve no idea what his problem is. He was fine one minute, eating some food Ellie put out for him, then the next, there’s shit everywhere.” Bronte spread her hands out to indicate how far the shit had spread from one little cat’s ass. “And the smell. Damn it was awful.”
“Ellie fed him eh?” Hunter’s eyes narrowed. “And he got the shits right after?”
“Yeah.” Bronte scrunched up her perfect little nose. “About fifteen minutes later. His food must have been an old can, but I didn’t think pet food could go off. Carter’s taking care of him now though.”
Hunter pushed up from his stool, rounded the table and grabbed me by the elbow.
“We’ll be one minute, there’s something I need Ellie’s advice on.”
Not even questioning him, Bronte nodded. “Take your time, I got my wine, so I’ll be good.”
I trailed after Hunter as he strode across the bar, only stopping when we got to a door at the back wall; a door which led to the storeroom.
“Oh no,” I said with a shake of my head. “That’s not a good idea. Carter could be here at any minute.”
Hunter looked at the door as realization sparked in his eyes. “Well unless you’ve finally decided on my incentive, I’m withholding all favors for a while. Hot sex in the storeroom included. Oh, and for the record, showing me your tits is not recompense for all my efforts. I’ve already seen them, remember.”
I nodded, the memories pretty clear in my mind, which was why Hunter being adamant nothing further would happen flooded me with disappointment. Despite his protestations, I could see the lust and want in his eyes, and I was pretty sure if I pushed it, I could persuade him otherwise. The problem with Hunter though, specifically sexual shenanigans with Hunter, was that it was addictive and I had to cut myself off if I was to survive without extraordinarily expensive rehab. All told, him withholding wasn’t a bad thing – not really; okay it damn well sucked.
“What the fuck did you do, Ellie?” he ground out, stooping to look me in the eye.
“Nothing.”
“Liar. Now tell me what the hell did you do to Bronte’s cat? Because I know you did something.”
“What do you care? It’s just a cat. Anyway, you gave me the idea when you said you’d dropped Carter some laxative at Belinda Jennings’s party.”
“I was joking, and Carter is dislikeable most of the time, so would deserve it. This is Bronte’s damn pet which she actually loves.” His nostrils flared.
“Oh, don’t be so judgey.”
“If you’ve harmed it just for this stupid plan of yours, I’ll…” He trailed off and rose to his full height, running a hand through his hair. “Shit, Ellie, you’re insane.”
He turned away from me and cursed some more.
“He’s fine,” I protested. “Carter is an incredible vet. I mean I know he’s only a couple of years out of veterinary school, but he was fast tracked his last year so he’s—”
“Enough,” he snapped as he turned back to face me. “You are certifiable, you know that? What the hell did you do to the damn cat?”
I shrank back and sucked my lips between my teeth.
“Ellie?” he growled.
“You’re pretty scary when you’re angry.”
Hunter let out long sigh of frustration and I knew he’d reached the end of his last nerve.
“I gave it a laxative,” I replied with a wince. “I mean now I think of it, it does seem pretty bad.”
“You think so.” Hunter shook his head and stepped closer to me, lowering his mouth to my ear. “You poisoned her fucking cat just to get her in the same room as Carter. Does that not seem ridiculous to you?”
“No,” I affirmed as I took a quick glance around the bar to check we weren’t being listened to. “She had coffee with your dad in Jennings Bridge.”
“So what?” he questioned. “She’s known him since she was a baby. He’s a family friend, why wouldn’t she. I took out a book from the Library and your mom stamped it, that doesn’t mean I want to have sex with her.”
I grimaced and shook my hands in front of me. “Ugh, nasty visual, Hunt. And how long have you been a member of the library? I didn’t know that about you.”
He sighed heavily and closed his eyes for a few seconds. “Stop changing the subject, and I can damn read you know.”
“I know, I just never imagined you in the library searching through all those books is all. What was it a murder mystery, or some sort of science fiction?”
“It was Jim Warvell’s autobiography.”
I shrugged, having no clue.
“The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame inductee?”
“Nope, sorry.”
“He and his—fuck will you stop distracting me,” he cried. “Just admit what you did was crazy and give my pop some damn credit. He’s not interested in Bronte, and if truth be told, you know that deep down.”
“I know no such thing,” I replied haughtily. “She’s pretty, she’s twenty-four, why wouldn’t he be interested?”
“Because he’s forty-eight, and still grieving my mom. He just wants some damn fun, Ellie. He’s not going to risk his life-long friendships for a quick fuck-fest with Bronte.” He moved closer to me, his breath ghosting over my skin and setting me on high alert. “Now, you’re going to go over there and tell Bronte you’re stepping out for a few and then you are going over to see Carter.”
His words forced me onto the back foot. I put a hand against the wall to steady myself as my heart thudded wildly in my chest.
“I can’t,” I whispered. “He can’t know I poisoned a cat. He’ll want to know why and then I’ll have to reveal the plan and he’ll go batshit crazy on my ass, then he’ll tell Bronte and she’ll be mad and then I’ll—”
“Okay, okay,” Hunter ground out. “But you should take responsibility for your actions.”
Lots of hot and sexy ways that Hunter could make me pay whizzed around in my brain. I gave myself a little fan with my hand.
“Sorry, baby,” he whispered getting closer to me. “Not those sorts of things. I told you I’m withholding until you realize what I want in return.”
“I-I-I have no idea what you mean.”
Hunter smirked. “I think your thighs pushed together and those pretty little nipples of yours poking in my direction tell a whole other story.”
I looked down and my nipples were indeed sticking out far enough for Reverend Booth to hang his cassock on.
“How do I pay then?” I asked, coughing to disguise the want in my voice.
Hunter wiped a hand backward and forward over his mouth, his gaze bore into me. “I think it only fair you offer to help Carter out.”
“Help him? How?”
Grinning Hunter took his phon
e out of his pocket and punched his long finger at the screen before holding it to his ear.
“Hey, Carter. Just thought I’d let you know that Ellie is on her way over… yeah,” his eyes held mine, “she felt bad that she’s here and you’re having to take care of Bronte’s cat when she was the one who fed it.” He laughed and then stared at me with a glint in his beautiful brown eyes. “Yeah, that’s what she said…he is, woah sounds bad…well Ellie can do that she’s used to it…he will, that’s great man. So, if she comes over to watch the cat, you want to take her place and drink some beers… excellent. See you in a few.”
He pushed his phone back in his pocket and looked at me. His face full of amusement and victory.
“What?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Carter says Rodrick’s just had another round of the shits, but it was a big one, so he reckons that’s the last one.”
“Well that’s good.” I actually breathed a sigh of relief. Who knew two little laxatives could cause one pussy to splash so much turd around? “So, I don’t need to go over?”
Hunter shook his head and smiled, giving me a wink. “Oh no, you need to go. Carter said there’s shit everywhere, he didn’t get to the kitty litter in time.”
I held my hands palms up in question.
“It’s pretty rank over there, so I offered your services to go clean it up.”
I shook my head and laughed hollowly. “No, no. Not happening. I won’t be allowed in anyway. It’s strictly qualified people in there, surely.”
“You take care of sick kids. How can it be so different? It’s after hours so there’s no one else around, and like I said to Carter, it’s something you’re used to.”
I started to protest, but Hunter turned me around by my shoulders and pointed me toward the exit.
“Off you go,” he said, his lips whispering against the shell of my ear. “Go and clean up Rodrick and his shit. I believe he may need some clingers removing from his ass fur too.”
“Hunter, no,” I complained trying to turn back to him, but he was too strong.
“Ellie, yes,” he replied, and I knew he was smiling. “Because if you don’t, I might just have to tell your brother and your best friend about that damn crazy plan of yours and as you said, they won’t take it lightly.”
The bastard knew he had me. He knew I wouldn’t risk having a row with my best friend – Carter I couldn’t give two shits about, but Bronte was another matter.
“I hate you, you know that, right?” I jibed.
“Hmm, you may hate me, but you love my dick, so it’s a pay-off I’ll take.”
He then tapped my ass and gently pushed me toward cat shit hell.
Hunter
With my hand firmly around my dick, I pumped it harder. My eyes were closed, yet the images of Ellie were sharp and bright in my head.
I damn well ached for her, but she was clearly going to take some persuading to even talk about what was happening between us. Honestly, her sass made my piss sour at times, yet I damned well loved it too. No wonder I went to sleep hard and thinking about her and then woke up just as hard and still thinking about her.
As I pulled at my hard-on, I imagined her licking along the V of my abdomen, right next to, but not quite on my dick; it made me pant with anticipation. The idea of slamming into her and roaring her name as I came, made my balls tighten. One more pull alongside a memory of Ellie’s tits and I came, hard and long all over my stomach.
“Shit,” I ground out breathlessly. “Fucking shit.”
She wasn’t even in my bed, yet she still gave me amazing orgasms.
Reaching for a discarded tee-shirt, I wiped the jizz from my belly and flopped back against the pillow and stared up at the ceiling. The thought running around in my head was how the hell I’d got so caught up on Ellie after years of knowing her. The physical aspect was most definitely a factor in my huge turnaround. I guess you didn’t have sex with a girl in a storeroom and then finger fuck her in a wicker basket without catching some feelings.
Then again, I’d gotten Rayna Demata off with my fingers once and fucked her twice in in the woods at Summer camp in eleventh grade, but she didn’t take over my every thought. I vaguely recalled having told her I loved her at the time, but I was sixteen. Sixteen-year-old boys lie, especially when they want to have sex with a girl who has big tits.
“Hunter, son.”
Pop’s voice startled me, and I pulled the sheets up over my dick, just in case he came in.
“Yeah?”
“Breakfast is almost ready.”
I picked up my phone and noticed it was almost five-thirty. “Yeah, I’ll be down in five.”
He didn’t say anything else, but I heard his feet padding along the landing toward the stairs. Doing an ab pull I sat up and dropped my legs to the floor and set about getting dressed. Maybe a hard day’s work would banish Ellie from my head.
As soon as I walked through to the kitchen, I realized what day it was. The fact that I’d forgotten was also a sharp reminder that Ellie had started taking up too much space in my brain.
It was my mom’s birthday and the single, long-stemmed, red rose in the vase on the table was what reminded me. Pop did it every year on her birthday and their anniversary. It was his way of honoring both, rather than go over to the cemetery and putting anything on her grave. He kept it clean and tidy, but rarely put flowers there. According to him that piece of ground wasn’t where she was, this house, our home was where her soul lived, so that was where he wanted the memorials of her to be.
“Hey, Pop.”
I walked up to him and pulled him into a hug, holding on for a few extra seconds. He’d been getting better slowly, but that didn’t mean today wasn’t going to hurt him.
“I’m good, son. I’m good.”
He cleared his throat and pulled away to look me directly in the eye and I could see he was. Yes, there was sadness there, but not the bone deep grief I’d seen for years since Mom had passed.
“Where’re the twins?” I asked looking down at the eggs and bacon. The bacon was a little overdone and the eggs were the wrong side of runny. Signs that Pop had cooked.
He rolled his eyes and flung a towel over his shoulder as he turned to pick up the plates.
“Hungover would you believe.”
“What?” I asked, picking up my fork and knife as Pop put the plates down. “How come?”
“Damn Henry gave them a bottle of that peach wine he makes. They drank it last night and now can’t get their heads off their pillows this morning.” His face broke into a grin and he joined me at the table. “Can’t say as I mind though. They’re too old to be getting up before dawn every day just to make us breakfast.”
I bit into a piece of bacon and the snap resounded around the room. “Not sure I agree, Pop,” I replied. “Because got to say, your bacon is way below their standard.”
Still early but having already done three hours work, it was time for coffee. So, when I walked into the house to get the jug on and found my aunts on the sofa watching a film I was a little surprised.
“You’re up,” I said laughing at their pale faces.
“Barely honey,” Auntie L replied. “I know I’m never drinking again.”
“Henry’s never made it that strong before.” Auntie J rubbed at her temples and groaned. “Is it coffee time already?
“Yep, sure is I replied. “Pop’s just penning a cow who’s almost ready to give birth.”
“You want me to make it honey?” Auntie L moved to get up from the sofa, but I laid a hand on her shoulder.
“No, you stay and watch your film. What you watching anyway?” I asked as I pulled my jacket off, having already left my boots on the porch.
Auntie J looked up and shrugged. “I have no idea, honey. My painkillers kicked in after twenty minutes and I fell asleep.”
“I think it’s called the Christmas Elf or something like that,” Auntie L offered.
“Oh, you mean, Elf.” I
grinned. “Great movie. I remember going to the movies with Carter to see it. If I recall Ellie screamed blue murder because we wouldn’t take her with us.”
“But you did, didn’t you?” Auntie L said softly, a small smile wrinkling up her pale blue eyes.
“You remember that?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, honey, but I know you, and I know you would have taken her.”
“You’re a good boy, Hunter,” Auntie J added. “Especially where Ellie is concerned.”
I frowned. “You think?”
“Of course,” she replied. “You’ve always looked out for her.”
“It’ll be that sweet spot she holds in his heart,” Auntie L said. “Although from what we heard in the Stars & Stripes that night, the sweet spot she’s got might just be somewhere else.”
“What?” I swung around to see a huge grin on her face. “You said… that wasn’t… what?”
“You heard me, just like we heard you that night. Sounds like you inherited your daddy’s ability with the ladies, Hunter.”
“Auntie L! You… you can’t say stuff like that.”
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders before turning back to the TV and Buddy the Elf.
“Oh sweetheart,” Auntie J sighed moving her attention to me. “When will you realize you and that girl are destined for each other. You’ve been sweet on her for years, even if you didn’t know it until now.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “I never said I was sweet on her now.”
“Didn’t have to,” my aunt said, looking up at me and grabbing my hand. “It’s in your eyes. Well that and the fact you did unspeakable things to her on singles night.”
“I did not… they were not.”
“Oh, hush yourself.” Auntie J slapped at my hand. “Just make sure you tell her how you feel before it’s too late. Your pop will tell you that life is too short and too darned hard to waste time procrastinating.”
I took a huge breath as the truth of her words hit me straight in the gut.
“And what if she doesn’t want what I want?” I asked, realizing how ridiculous it was taking romance advice from two sixty-four-year old women who’d never been married – never had a man as far as I knew.