Kentucky on the Rocks

by Gwendolyn Grace

  “Josette,” he mumbled against my neck. “Are you wet for me, baby?” I nodded and my inner muscles clenched involuntarily at the huskiness of his voice. “Can I touch you?” he asked, and I immediately nodded. When Aidan slid his fingers into my panties and rubbed at my wetness, I nearly cried out.

  “Shh,” he said against my lips. “Quiet.”

  I was faintly aware of the fact that we were in a public place, but I felt that no one would see us unless they were really focusing on us and not the concert, but then again, I was beyond caring at this point. All that was important to me at that moment was the way his fingers felt sliding along my wet folds and occasionally dipping inside.

  “Aidan,” I breathed when his thumb started to circle my clit, and I parted my legs wider in order to rock my hips, but he stilled my movements.

  “Shh. You have to be still,” he reminded me. “Can you do that? You want me to make you come?” I nodded and pulled his mouth to mine as he thumbed my clit in delicious torture while I tried my best not to circle my hips against his hand. Our tongues slid together as he muffled my cries, just as I felt my orgasm reaching its peak, and then I was clenching and convulsing around his fingers. He gradually slowed his hands as he helped me wring out every sensation, until I collapsed, resting the back of my head against his neck. When I opened my eyes, he was staring at me with fascination.

  “You are so hot,” he said as he slowly slid his fingers out of my panties. He held my gaze as I watched him put those same fingers into his mouth. No, that was hot.

  Suddenly the music from the concert felt too loud and penetrated our lusty bubble like a bucket of cold water, and I really wanted to leave.

  “Want to get out of here?” Aidan asked as if reading my mind.

  “Yes.” I stood up while smoothing down the skirt of my dress. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the aisle and down the staircase.

  “I’m going to go to the ladies’ room real quick, but I’ll meet you at the front, okay?”

  “Okay,” he replied and pressed a kiss to my lips before letting my hand go.

  I took my time as I tried to gather my thoughts while I fanned myself in the mirror. I took a few deep calming breaths as I thought about what I was doing and what it would mean to sleep with Aidan tonight. Was I capable of keeping this casual? He didn’t seem like a one-night kind of guy, and I wasn’t sure if I was capable of promising him anything more. Judging by the fact that I’d just had the hottest experience of my life, I knew either way that it would be hard to forget Aidan Ross.

  As I exited the ladies’ room and turned down the narrow hall, I was shocked to see Derek leaving the men’s room. My breath caught, and I stopped walking immediately. He was wearing a pair of worn jeans that I’d washed many times and the blue and red gingham pattern button-down I’d just given him for his birthday in March.

  Before I knew it, my feet were moving, and I was following him down to the first-floor dance area. He stopped when he reached a group of people, none of whom I’d seen before. My stomach twisted as he wrapped an arm around a girl’s waist in a way that seemed very familiar. The thing that stood out to me the most was her short hair. He’d always told me how he liked my hair long, and her hair was cut into a bob. I couldn’t pull my eyes away. Why her? She wasn’t even that pretty, and she had some sort of pink fruity-looking drink with an umbrella in her hand. Where was the Jack?

  I’d spent six years trying hard to be everything he wanted, the cool girl who wore her hair how he liked, drank what he liked, fucked the way he liked, and kept my mouth shut the way he liked. What I got in turn was the privilege of standing there watching him grind and kiss on a girl who appeared to be the exact opposite of me, who I thought he wanted.

  That was the moment I realized that Derek was never really going to be mine.

  At least not in the way I wanted him to be.

  All the feelings of inadequacy, hurt, and jealousy became too overwhelming. My chest felt tight, and I knew I was in danger of bursting into ugly tears right here in the middle of a crowded concert. I turned around and my eyes immediately locked on a pair of green eyes that, for some reason, made some of the ache in my chest go away.

  I walked directly to Aidan and didn’t spare a glance over my shoulder as I let him lead me away as what was left of my heart shattered into a million pieces. It only confirmed that I needed to get as far away as I could from Kentucky.

  Chapter Seven

  “So, was that him?” Aidan asked as we were pulling away from the Fish Tank Freddie’s parking lot.

  “Yeah.”

  “Are you alright?” His voice lowered an octave, and I knew he asked that question out of obligation.

  “I want to say yes. I really do.” I kept my gaze to the right as I looked out of the window. Seeing Derek tonight helped me to remember all the reasons I wanted to leave Kentucky, and while Aidan was a great distraction, he was a little too good at it. I didn’t want to risk sticking around and accidentally bump into Derek again. My heart couldn’t take it, and I didn’t think I was strong enough to see him anymore knowing that he wasn’t mine.

  We were pulling into the driveway of my place when I spoke again.

  “Aidan, I’m going to accept the offer that was made on my condo this morning.” He put the car in park and wrapped both of his hands tightly around the steering wheel.

  “So what are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that in about thirty days I’ll be on a plane to San Diego, but in order to make that happen I have a lot to do—”

  “And I’ll just be in the way,” he interrupted but didn’t look in my direction.

  “Yes,” I answered quietly, feeling like the biggest asshole. “I think you’re great, but I think I’m going to have to finish the article research on my own.” In my mind, it really was the only thing to do. To cut all ties with everything here and start over someplace else.

  “Research?” Aidan ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Not even twenty minutes ago, you were moaning in my mouth and coming on my hand. Was that research, too?”

  “Aidan!” I gasped, to which he responded by opening his door and getting out of the truck. I watched him storm a few feet away where he paced back and forth a couple of times. When I walked up to him, he stopped.

  “Josette, I’m sorry for saying that.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “No, it’s not.” He closed the distance between us until I was forced to tilt my head back to look up at him.

  “I thought I had more time with you.” One of his hands lifted and he brushed away a stray strand of hair that was covering my eye. “Just give me three more days for three more dates.”

  My heart was beating out of control, he was doing that thing where he invaded my personal space and caused me to lose all rational thought again.

  “I . . . I can’t,” I said as I tried to back away, but he only followed my movements, still keeping him well within range of rattling my thoughts. “Just one night then. Tonight.”

  I was instantly shaking my head, but my body was screaming Yes, God, yes.

  “Stop running away. You have more power over your circumstances than you know. Can’t you see that? All you have to do is say what you want. What do you want, Josette?”

  What did I want? I wanted to press rewind and never have met Derek Vaughan. I wanted the ache in my chest to go away. I wanted the man I loved to love me back instead of knowing with every fiber of my being that I would never have that.

  As for right now, I didn’t want to feel anything at all except Aidan’s hands on my body.

  He must have sensed my decision too, because I barely had time to lift my face before I felt his lips brush lightly across mine, the softness soon replaced with the wet tip of his tongue gliding across my lower lip, coaxing me to open my mouth. I was instantly relieved at the contact. The carnal reaction my body had to his wasn’t something I had to think about or analyze. I just let it happen.

  A
idan pulled back to press soft, openmouthed kisses against my throat and collarbone causing my hips to twitch forward slightly against his. His hand skimmed back up my body and stopped at one of my breasts where he thumbed my nipple. I was barely able to hold back a moan. Then he started speaking.

  “God, you feel amazing. I love your body. The way your breasts fit perfectly into my hands, how your tight little nipples pucker for me. How your hips felt grinding against my cock while you danced tonight.” He reached behind to cup my ass and pressed me harder against him. I couldn’t quiet my moan as he rocked against my wet center.

  “Listen to the way you moan when I touch you. Tell me you want me, Josette,” he whispered against my ear. I pulled my lower lip between my teeth and whimpered. He bit down firmly on the side of my neck just at the curve before my shoulder. This time I cried out.

  “God, Aidan.”

  That was all the invitation he needed before he pulled me to my front door as I fumbled for my keys in my purse. Once we were inside, I pressed the code onto the security panel while he twisted the dead bolt lock. Then his open mouth came crashing down on mine, and I met his tongue stroke for stroke. He pushed me against the wall and lifted my arms above my head. I wanted to grab on to him so badly that I rubbed myself against his hardness in hopes of alleviating some of the ache pooling there. His hand moved under the hem of my skirt and further up my thighs until my hips were fully exposed, putting my panties on display as wetness drenched my thighs.

  “You’re so wet,” he murmured as he continued to devour my mouth, and I moaned again as soon as he brushed my swollen button through the lacy material. “I want you so badly. Do you want me?”

  “Yes, I want you. God, Aidan, I want you now.” Aidan released my wrists and wasted no time grabbing on to both sides of my panties, ripping them away. He sank to his knees and pressed his face to the juncture between my thighs, and inhaled. I felt the warm brush of his breath and the stubble of his jaw against my skin as he parted my legs. When the tip of his tongue touched my clit, my knees nearly buckled. Aidan’s firm hands kept me up as he licked and sucked. My fingers grabbed handfuls of his hair, and I rocked my hips against his face.

  His ability to set all of my senses on fire until I felt nothing but want and desire blew my mind. He pushed away from me, got to his feet, and led me to my bedroom. I immediately began working on the buckle of his belt and pushed his pants down his hips as we walked. When we reached my bed he shoved me onto the mattress and covered my body with his.

  Aidan plucked a condom from his wallet just before he tossed his pants away, and I wrapped my legs around his waist, using my feet to push down his boxer briefs. His thick, rock-hard erection sprang free. He had just enough time to sheath himself and spread my legs wide before plunging deep inside of me. We both cried out on impact.

  He grabbed a hold of my ass and lifted me to him, pulling me up to meet every thrust. I wrapped my legs tighter around his hips and kissed his neck. He stopped moving only long enough to unzip and pull my dress over my head, tossing it to the floor. He resumed his rhythm as he pulled one breast out of the cup of my bra and covered my nipple with his mouth. I let my head fall back and placed both hands above me to rest against the headboard in order to give myself leverage for slamming onto his throbbing cock. I was so close to coming it was scary. Never had I been turned on so fast and so completely before. I opened my legs wider, wanting to have all of him inside of me, filling me so completely we would become one being.

  His movements became faster and harder as he groaned against my breast before releasing my nipple with a pop. Then he slowed his paced slightly and pulled out almost completely, just letting the tip rest briefly at my entrance. I whimpered and wiggled my hips trying to get him to push forward. He rewarded me with a hard deep thrust before teasing me again.

  “Fuck, I love how we look together, you pulling me inside of you.” He focused on the joining of our bodies. “God, you feel so fucking good, Josette. The way your tight little pussy is squeezing my cock.” I never liked dirty talk during sex, it always seemed cheesy and pornographic, but with Aidan it was hot, so hot that I felt more wetness gush from my center and onto him. My body was on fire, and the tightening low in my belly was close to releasing.

  “You’re close baby, fuck, I can feel it. Wait for me.”

  “I can’t.” I panted, my orgasm was approaching fast. I didn’t think I could control it. He responded by putting one of my legs on his shoulder and pounding furiously into me, causing me to scream out and bury my face into the pillow. Aidan turned my face back to him.

  “I want to see you.” His green eyes were so wild and intense. “That’s it. Now, come for me now!” I was all too happy to comply and screamed his name as wave after wave took over, and my body convulsed around him.

  “Josette,” he shouted and pumped three more times before going still. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” He groaned, with his gaze still locked on mine as I felt him pulse deep inside of me.

  I was completely screwed, and in more ways than one.

  ****

  Aidan had asked for three more days with me to finish what we’d started with the dates. I couldn’t think of a reason to deny him, and it also didn’t help that he was using his tongue between my legs to convince me. I decided that three days wasn’t going to change anything. I wasn’t going to have anywhere to live in a month, so moving home to San Diego was now a definite.

  Oh and that thing I said about multiple orgasms not being true. I was wrong about that, too.

  Aidan crawled out of my bed just before sunrise. He had a dog that needed to be let out, and we agreed to have dinner at his house in Shelbyville since my third date choice for the article was to have a night in. He gave me a long lingering kiss before he left, then me and my deliciously sore body drifted off into a deep sleep.

  Just like I had every day for the past two weeks, I woke up thinking about Derek, and I didn’t know how long I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling.

  My phone buzzed on the nightstand and I rolled over to look at it.

  Aidan: We’re still on for tonight, right?

  For a brief time, I’d considered canceling on him, and I felt extremely guilty. He was putting his all into these dates, and the least I could do was return the effort. It just felt unnatural to be moving on with my life when Derek had been the center of my world, and everything and everyone else had paled in comparison.

  That was the moment I made the decision to let go of my past and step into my future with whoever may be there waiting.

  Me: Definitely.

  I made a call to my Realtor to start the next steps in getting the house sold. That part didn’t bother me. This place never really felt like a home, and I didn’t have any sentimental attachment to it. I also called Natalie to check in and tell her about my plans. She offered me a room in her house in La Jolla until I could find a place of my own. I told her that I would consider it, because I was looking forward to seeing Natalie and Sam’s six-month-old son, Nolan, for the first time. I purposely left out anything to do with Aidan. I just didn’t want to get into it right now with her. Maybe in a few months, over a glass of wine, after I had time to reflect on my time here and figure out where I was headed in life.

  After my conversation with Nat, I got dressed and drove to a salon in the shopping center near my house and gave the stylist free rein to do whatever she liked to my hair. Two hours later, she spun me around in the chair, and I was pleasantly surprised. The change was subtle but stunning. She trimmed off a few inches and added a warm shade of caramel highlights to liven up the drab brown I’d grown used to. Not only did my hair feel lighter, but so did my spirit, and I was looking forward to seeing Aidan.

  Chapter Eight

  Rendezvous #3: Are you in or out?

  You know where you are and where you stand with your date. Have dinner in or go out. If your choice is to go out, try out a new restaurant and add a twist by ordering something that you’ve never had befo
re. Take the plunge together. If your choice is to stay in, show off your amazing culinary skills or the fact that you are pretty decent at following the recipe you found online. If all else fails, have your take-out menus readily available . . .

  It took me forty minutes to drive out to Shelbyville. After following the directions Aidan had given me, I drove down a long road that wound back into the woods and up a gravel driveway. The sight of the house took my breath away. It was a beautiful timber-frame house with a wraparound porch, complete with Adirondack chairs and a clear view of the lake. As soon as I brought my car to a stop, the front door opened and Aidan emerged. He smiled at me as he pulled his arms across his chest. He was wearing a pair of khaki shorts, a blue T-shirt, and he was barefoot. I never realized just how sexy bare feet could be, but Aidan Ross could make anything look sexy.

  “Hey.” He greeted me with a hug as I reached him in the doorway.

  “Hey.” I smiled up at him, and he set me away from him as he stared at me.

  “You look . . .” He studied me. “Well you always look beautiful, but I don’t know . . . something is different.” I grinned up at him but decided not to tell him about my hair. It was just nice that he noticed the change.

  “I brought an overnight bag. I hope that was okay,” I said as I handed him my bag.

  “I would’ve been offended if you hadn’t.” He winked and pulled me inside.

  The inside was just as breathtaking as the outside. The ceiling was high-vaulted with rustic wood frames. There was a great room with a fireplace, two large brown leather couches, a flat-screen TV on the wall, and a shelf full of DVDs directly beside it. Huge windows covered the back wall and showed more of the lake. I could imagine Aidan, shirtless, tending to the fire while I sat on the couch and admired the view, and I wasn’t talking about the lake.