“And one for me,” Joey reminded her.
“Absolutely. One for each of you.”
They visited for a long time with Levi and Joey, and then Levi had to leave to take Joey to a birthday party, but not before Joey said goodbye to all of her Dark Knight uncles, which was every member of the Dark Knights, giving Chloe a chance to take more cute pictures. Joey gave Chloe a big hug, too, but not nearly as big as the one she gave Justin, who informed her that Joey had whispered to him, “Don’t forget we’re getting married.”
A little while later, Justin took Chloe, Harper, and Gavin for a stroll down the boardwalk before meeting up with everyone again and getting ready to leave. There was a loud round of goodbyes with manly embraces and many promises from Chloe to come back again sometime with Justin.
Several of the Dark Knights from Harborside joined them as they continued their afternoon motorcycle ride. They drove out of Harborside and through other nearby towns, but her favorite part was cruising along the roads that ran parallel to the water. The group stopped at a roadside café for dinner, taking up every open table and booth.
By the time they arrived back at Chloe’s cottage, the sun was starting to set. She felt like she’d lived a month in the past twenty-four hours, and she couldn’t wait to do it again.
They walked slowly up to the door arm in arm.
“I had such a good time,” she said as they stepped onto the porch. “Everyone is so different than I imagined. I’m glad I got to know them better. Zeke told me that he used to teach special education, and he told me how he lost his job. I had no idea. I thought he’d always worked with your father.”
“He’s a smart guy, and an excellent teacher. He still tutors kids.”
“He told me. I really like him. Did you know that Dwayne called Sid to check on Snowflake while we were at dinner? I never would have imagined him doing that, unless he was really calling because he has a thing for Sid.”
“I don’t think it’s Sid. He called Steph while we were at the Taproom. She was helping Sid at the rescue today. He cares about the animals.”
She dug out her keys, and as she unlocked the door she said, “So do you. I heard you asking Baz about Shadow over dinner.”
He drew her into his arms with a longing expression. She went eagerly. It was the only place she wanted to be. “I don’t want to say goodbye to you, Chloe.”
“Then don’t,” she said softly.
His lips curved up. He touched them to hers and whispered, “What have you done to me?”
“When you figure it out, let me know, because I don’t want to say goodbye, either.”
“Then come home with me tonight. Grab whatever you need for work tomorrow and stay at my place. We’ll go for a walk by the pond, or watch television, or make love in the moonlight. I don’t care what we do. I just want to be with you.”
A warm glow of happiness flowed through her. “Okay. I need to get my laptop to check the book club forums because I just announced the new book and there will be questions. And I want to bring my photo printer. I got great shots of everyone, and I was able to sneak pictures of their hands. I can’t wait for you to see them. Oh, and I got a couple cute shots of Levi and Joey together and of Joey and her uncles—Levi’s cousins Jesse and Brent, and the other guys, of course—that I want to include when I send her the picture of the two of you. I think I’ll make her a little album.”
“She’d love that, baby. I like your nervous ramblings.” He kissed her again, slow and sweet. “Bring whatever you need. In fact, bring enough clothes for two days.”
“Isn’t it a little soon for that?” she asked, and immediately regretted it. She’d said what she thought she should say, climbing right back into that restrictive, safe skin she’d so happily shed earlier today.
Before she could take it back, he said, “I’ve waited so long to be with you, darlin’, as far as I’m concerned, nothing is too fast.”
Chapter Fifteen
CHLOE AWOKE MONDAY morning cocooned by Justin’s hard body. Very hard, she mused, feeling his erection against her ass as he spooned her. And then it hit her. It was a workday, and she wasn’t starting it in her cottage. That was a first, and it was a big deal. A huge deal. It was the mother of all deals. Her nerves tingled, and she quickly ran through a mental checklist to see if she forgot to bring anything that she needed for work. She closed her eyes, relieved she hadn’t forgotten anything, and tried to calm her jitters. She took stock of her emotions, searching for the discomfort of regret or fear, but they were nowhere to be found. There was only happiness. She reminded herself it was okay to feel jittery about staying there on a work night and allowed herself to revel in the moment. Her hand lay over Justin’s on her belly, and his breath warmed her shoulder. Her gaze moved to her bag by the bedroom door, where all her belongings had been discarded when they’d come in last night and had fallen into each other’s arms. They’d been insatiable for each other, as if taking separate vehicles from her cottage had been too much time apart, and everything else had fallen by the wayside. She glanced at his dresser, where the pictures they’d printed after they’d sated their desires were spread out beside her laptop and photo printer.
Justin pressed his lips to her shoulder and said, “I could get used to this.”
His voice was low and craggy and so sexy she nestled deeper into the curve of his hips. “Me too,” she whispered.
He trailed kisses along her shoulder and neck, moving his hand up her stomach, and fondled her breasts. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of him. His tender touch and his openmouthed kisses along her neck and shoulder alighted all of her senses. He spread one hand over her belly, holding her tight as he whispered sweetness in her ears. “Love waking up to you…” His hand moved down her hip and thigh. “So soft and beautiful.” His hips rocked slowly and sensually against her. Her insides hummed with desire, and his hand moved between her legs, stroking her so perfectly she could barely breathe.
He made the most appreciative, sexy sound and said, “So wet for me.”
“For us,” she whispered, rubbing her ass against his hard length. His manly scent wound around her, drawing her into a deeper awareness of the rest of him. His legs curled behind hers, the hair tickling the backs of her legs, his hard length pressed into her flesh, and his rough fingers moving inside her as he thrilled her with his mouth along her neck, nipping and licking, until she was on the verge of coming.
“Yes. Us, sweetheart.” He slicked his tongue along the shell of her ear and said, “I adore us. I want to get lost in us.”
He guided his cock to her entrance, pushing in unhurriedly. She reached around them, holding his hip as they fell into a slow, sensual rhythm, so different from their lustful devouring of last night. She bent her head back, giving him better access to her neck as he made love to her, using his hand to heighten her pleasure. His cock throbbed inside her like a second heart.
“God, Chloe,” he said in a hot breath against her neck. “You’ve gotten under my skin.”
The emotions in his voice took her higher, and she moved her hips quicker.
“That’s it, baby, you feel it, too. We’re so fucking real.”
He sealed his mouth over the curve of her neck, sucking exquisitely as he moved inside her, and his fingers hit all the right spots. Her eyes slammed shut as her climax crashed over her, and “Justin!” flew desperately from her lips.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart.” He grazed his teeth over her shoulder, sending sparks down her core, catapulting her up to the peak.
She dug her nails into his hip and panted out, “Come…with me.”
He withdrew, and in the next breath she was on her back and he was perched over her, burying himself deep with one hard thrust. She cried out in sweet, heavenly agony. He claimed her hands with his, gazing deeply into her eyes, and she tried to keep her eyes open, wanting to hold on to the emotions staring back at her, but the blinding pleasures were too intense. Her eyes fluttered open and cl
osed as ecstasy consumed her. She saw him in flashes, like an old movie, getting glimpses of the tension in his jaw and the lust brimming in his eyes. Then he crushed his mouth to hers in a devastatingly passionate kiss that had her craning up to enjoy every second of it, her whole body craving more. He quickened his efforts, his thick cock burrowing faster, deeper, hitting all of her pleasure points with lethal accuracy. She tore her mouth away, gasping for air, clawing at his back. His every thrust stole her breath anew. He pushed his strong arms beneath her, cradling her like she was precious. Nothing had ever felt so right. There was no separation, no beginning or end to either of them as they moved in perfect harmony, and he ground out, “I’m yours, Chloe. So fucking yours,” sending them both soaring up to the clouds.
CHLOE FLOATED THROUGH the rest of the morning as they kissed beneath the warm shower spray, washing each other, learning every dip and curve of the other’s body. He lovingly dried her with a towel, looking like he wanted to devour her again as she put on her panties and bra, and he stepped into a fresh pair of boxer briefs. Those tingles in her belly turned to full-on fireworks. He eyed her lasciviously as they brushed their teeth, and he was a beautiful sight, leaning against the bathroom doorframe, shirtless and sated, that crooked grin fixed in place, as he watched her put on her makeup and dry her hair.
“I’ll be right back, sweet thing.”
He kissed her and she watched him tug on a pair of jeans. She enjoyed the view of his low-riding jeans hugging his butt as he made the bed. He moved the rest of her things that they’d left by the door to his dresser, and then he left the bedroom. She went to the closet, unprepared for the thrill of seeing her clothes among his.
Justin sauntered into the bedroom carrying two cups of coffee as she buttoned her blouse, and stopped to watch her slip her feet into her high heels. He whistled and said, “Mm-mm, darlin’, you are gorgeous,” sending those butterflies in her stomach into a frenzy.
“You made coffee?” He’d made her coffee yesterday morning, too, but she’d thought it might be a one-time thing.
“And you look like breakfast.” He closed the distance between them with a wolfish grin.
Her blood coursed through her veins like an awakened river. “You’d better stop looking at me like that or I’ll never get out of here.”
“Sick day?” he asked with a lift of his brows.
“I wish I could. The students from the new program will be there today, and I have work to do on the puppeteering proposal before I meet with Mads tomorrow.” She glanced at the clock, and her stomach sank. “I hate to say this, but—”
He kissed her cheek and said, “Let me put your coffee in a to-go cup and I’ll walk you out to your car.”
“You don’t have to walk me out.”
He cocked a grin and said, “You’re my girl—I’m walking you to your car.”
Her heart did a happy dance. As he went to swap cups, she straightened her things in the bathroom, feeling another thrill chase through her at the fact that she was leaving her things there. Should she put them back in the bag she’d packed? She had no idea what the etiquette was on this type of thing. She grabbed her phone to text Serena, but heard Justin coming into the bedroom, so she slipped her phone into her skirt pocket.
“Here you go, beautiful.” His brows slanted. “Why do you look uneasy?”
She glanced at her things on his sink. “Should I put this stuff away? It feels funny to invade your space like this.”
He set her cup on the sink and gathered her in his arms. “I like you invading my space, and you know I want to invade yours.”
The honesty in his voice was everything. “Okay. Thank you for the coffee.”
“Thanks for getting out of your own way and finally giving us a chance.”
When he walked her out to her car, she said, “You’re very different than I thought you’d be.”
“So are you, princess.” He opened her car door and drew her into his arms. “We’ve only scratched the surface, babe. Hold on to all this goodness. It’s been a long time coming.”
He pressed his lips to hers in a sweet kiss that quickly turned ravishing. She came away breathless, and she knew she’d think of nothing else all day.
“See you tonight, sweet thing.”
She turned to get in the car and he gave her ass a quick slap.
She scowled at him. “Seriously?” she said as she climbed in and started the car. “I told you not to slap my ass.”
He leaned into the car and said, “You also told me you’d never go out with me. You’re just lucky I’m not hauling that pretty ass of yours over my shoulder and back to the bedroom.”
Her insides flamed. She squeezed her thighs together before she needed to change her panties and tried to stifle a laugh as she said, “Stop! I have to go.”
“I’ll text you later.”
He shut her door and she rolled down her windows and said, “Do not sext me at work. It makes it hard to concentrate, and I’m already going to have a difficult enough time getting this morning out of my head.”
He bent so they were eye to eye and said, “Should I go get you extra panties, just in case?”
She flamed from the inside out. “Justin!”
He laughed. As she drove away, her mind raced in a hundred different ridiculously happy directions. “Call Serena,” she said through her Bluetooth. Serena answered on the second ring.
“Hey, sis. What’s up?”
“Guess where I am?” Chloe said far too giddily.
“Driving…?”
“Yes. To work from Justin’s house!”
Serena squealed. “On a school night? Aren’t you a naughty girl.”
“Yes, and I promised him I’d stay tonight, too!”
“It’s about frigging time. Better watch out, sis. You know what they say—once you bite the forbidden fruit, there’s no going back.”
“Hm. Biting his fruit. Now, there’s a game I haven’t played.”
They both laughed, and as Chloe shared her joy and her butterflies with her sister, she realized she hadn’t climbed back into the conservative skin she’d once found so perfect and safe. The skin that had become a little too confining since coming together with Justin.
But she hadn’t shed it completely.
Justin was helping her develop a new, different layer—a better one that wasn’t driven by hiding from the past, but rather looking forward to a future.
Chapter Sixteen
MUSIC BLARED IN Justin’s studio late Tuesday afternoon. He was totally in the zone. He brushed his thumb over the stone, wiping dust from the cheekbone of the face he was carving. His mind trickled back to making love with Chloe that morning, when he’d touched her cheek and she’d looked at him like he was everything she could ever want. He’d been spoiled having her in his bed the last few nights. He’d loved every sensual, fun moment of it. But while he wanted her there every night, he had a feeling Chloe needed time to get used to them. As much as he hated it, he was giving her space by not making plans to see her tonight or tomorrow night. His memories of having her in his bed were going to have to hold him over for a few days. He thought about how sexy and adorable she’d looked sitting in the middle of his bed wearing only his T-shirt Sunday night after they’d thoroughly ravaged each other, when they’d gone through pictures she’d taken over the weekend.
He hadn’t realized she’d taken so many pictures on Saturday when they’d first gone to the rescue. She’d captured shots of his mother’s and Preacher’s hands when they were sitting by the bonfire and his grandfather’s hands as he’d pet Snowflake—before they’d even realized he needed pictures of their hands, as if the decision of what to make for the suicide-awareness rally had been fated to be. She had taken dozens of shots of Justin with Shadow and with his family members. But his favorite was a selfie of him and Chloe with Shadow in her lap. He’d thought he’d romanticized how happy she’d seemed that night, but the pictures had confirmed his memory. She’d taken more bea
utiful pictures on Sunday at Gavin’s house and in Harborside. She had the most amazing eye, capturing people when they were lost in thought and from angles he’d never even think to try. Through her eyes, he’d seen his family and friends differently than ever before. Hell, he saw himself differently through her eyes.
He knew she was seeing him differently, too, as evident in how comfortable she was in his house and in his arms. She was sharing more of herself with him. While the pictures had printed, she told him about when she’d began scrapbooking and why. And later, as she’d answered posts on her book club forum, she’d told him about how the club had come to be and how much she enjoyed it. She even told him about the book they were reading. He’d enjoyed hearing about all of it. He wanted to know everything there was to know about her.
He took off his goggles, and as he set down his tool, his eyes drifted to the inspiration board Chloe had made for him using the pictures she’d printed. The board itself was a work of art. She’d shown up last night with supplies. She covered a large canvas with burlap. Then she wrapped it with twine, creating crisscrosses. She hung pictures of his family members from the twine, securing them in place with tiny clothespins. Beneath each picture she’d hung another photo of only their hands. She’d added embellishments around each of the photos, like a tiny image of a mother with her arms around several children next to Reba’s, and an old man waving a cane beside Mike’s, the perfect curmudgeon. Around Preacher’s picture she’d put several metal pins with men on motorcycles, and one that said family. She’d put tiny animals around Gunner’s pictures. The board was covered with dozens of other trinkets, each one perfectly thought out. Most people would have just given him the pictures, but Chloe cherished good memories as much as he did, and that was only one of a million reasons he adored her.
His phone rang, drawing his attention to where it lay on the table. Violet was calling on FaceTime. He turned off the music and answered the call. He was glad to see Violet’s face as she appeared on the screen. Her jet-black hair was pulled back with a tie-dyed headband. Her skin glowed with the bronze of a fresh tan, and her narrowed eyes and smirk told Justin that the Real Housewives of Bayside, which was what he called Serena, Emery, Desiree, and Daphne, had been gossiping again.
A Little Bit Wicked (The Wickeds Page 23