by Gorman, A.
Dee turned on the seat to face him. “Is that why you joined the Sheriff’s department?”
“Yes, ma’am. I couldn’t save my brother from himself, but I can try to make a difference in this town.”
“And that’s why you tried to get to Mikey before he actually hurt anyone.”
“Yes.” He squeezed her hand. “I’ve been alone a long time, Dee. Once I got out of the Army, I needed time to process. Losing my mother and my father checking out of reality were one thing, but visiting my baby brother in prison? That was, well, there are no words. I’ve kept to myself. No friends, no relationships.”
“Plenty of one night stands though, I bet.”
He shook his head. “Not a single one. In fact, until that night in the parking lot, I hadn’t kissed a woman in years.”
She looked shocked. “You’re too damn hot to be celibate. I don’t believe it.”
Brady chuckled. “I’m not sure if that was supposed to be a compliment, but I’ll take it as one. Thank you.”
“I’m not sure either.” She pulled her hand from his and put both of hers in the pockets of her jacket. “Maybe we need to start over. I make a mean pot of coffee. Once this frozen version of hell is over, want to drop by and I’ll pour you a cup?”
Brady rubbed his hands together. “Fall in the mountains does have a certain bite to it, doesn’t it? Coffee sounds good. I’ll be by about noon. I can bring Michael home for you if you want? Then you don’t have to sit here and freeze.”
“I need to keep an eye on him. He’s a runner.”
That made Brady laugh. “I think it’s a family trait. I promise not to let him escape.”
Dee glared at him, but he saw the twinkle in her eyes. “Maybe. Make sure he behaves, and if he doesn’t, let me know. I’ll get Jonah to kick his ass.”
A quick memory of the night in the alley caused a flush in his face and a pool of heat in his lap. Dee winked at him as she stood up, and he watched her walk away, thinking about all the things he’d rather do with her than drink coffee.
By eleven-thirty, the park looked pretty good, and the five teenagers in his watch were tired but smiling and joking. Well, all of them but Michael. He looked around the park and scowled. “Leave it to my stupid aunt to be late picking me up.”
“Oh, she’s not late, son. She never left when she dropped you off. I finally sent her home with the promise of delivering you to her myself.”
“Figures.” Michael shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked at a rock.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Brady asked as he directed Michael to his patrol car.
“Come on, you saw her trying to cut the grass.”
“You need to lighten up on your aunt, boy. Dee is doing the best she can. How do you think you would survive if you were suddenly thrown into a situation like that? She’s never raised a teenage boy before, and you aren’t exactly making it easy on her.”
“Easy on her? Do you know how it feels to lose your mother?”
“Actually, I do. Mine died a long time ago.” Brady opened the passenger side door for the boy.
“Oh,” Michael replied, getting into the car.
“Look, you’ve been dealt a bum hand. I get it. Your mom taking off like that was a crappy thing to do. But your aunt Dee stepped in without giving it a thought. She gave up a career and a life in Tinsel Town to come out here to Mayberry and take care of you.”
Michael snorted. “I guess that makes you Barney Fife.”
“Pay attention, kid.” Brady turned the car on and pulled away from the curb.
“I get it. I’m an asshole.”
“No. I don’t think you are. But you have been acting like one.”
He slouched in the seat and crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine. I’ll be nice to Aunt Dee.”
“Good.”
They rode the rest of the way in silence, and when Brady parked the car, Michael was out of it and in the house before Brady had the keys out of the ignition. He walked slowly to the front door and raised his hand to knock, but the door swung open.
“I thought you’d never get here.” Dee looked absolutely beautiful with her long, blonde curls hanging loose around her shoulders. The flush in her cheeks brightened the blue of her eyes, and there was a sparkle there he hadn’t seen before. “Michael’s in his room. We won’t see him again until dinner time.”
“Ah, when he comes out of the cave to hunt?” Brady teased.
“Something like that.” She took his hand and pulled him in the direction of the delicious smell of fresh-brewed coffee. When they reached the small kitchen, she closed the door behind them.
“I’ve never been in a kitchen with a door.”
“Me either until I moved here, but it’s handy, don’t you think?” She smiled up at him as she handed him a steaming mug.
“Yeah. I’d have to agree with that.” They both took a sip of coffee. Brady watched Dee carefully. She was up to something, and he hoped he knew what it was.
She set her cup down and leaned against the counter. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what I said the other night.”
“Oh?” Brady set his mug down as well and stepped in nice and close to Dee. He actually saw the shiver that passed through her, and it made him want to wrap her in his arms, but he held back.
“I want to say I’m sorry for accusing you of—well, you know.”
“Being a video voyeur? Or filming porn on my department-issued body camera?”
“Yeah. That.” Her face turned bright red, and she looked at the floor. “I don’t know where I come up with stuff like that.”
“Well, you are an actress.” He chuckled. “And it confused the hell out of me. I mean, it’s like you’ve never actually been liked by a man before. And I don’t live under a rock, you know. I’ve seen you on the arm of some good-looking guys in the magazines at the supermarket.”
She shrugged. “In the business, you never know if people like you or what being with you can do for them.”
This time, he did step in close, grasped her waist, and lifted her to the counter so he could step in between her legs. The hardest part of him was in such close proximity to the softest, wettest part of her, he almost forgot how to form words. “I’m not in the business.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him in close. “I know.”
He felt her breath feather across his lips as she whispered those two little words. Before he could think about what was happening, she had her lips on his.
“Dee—” He ran his hands up her sides and cupped her breasts. She pushed forward into his palms. The small action made him dizzy with need.
“Shhh…don’t talk. I want this. I want you.”
He reached down and pulled her shirt up over her head, returning his hands to the lace-covered perfection of her breasts. “Oh, I wasn’t going to talk you out of anything. I was just going to mention Michael is home.”
Dee reached behind her back and undid her bra, pulling it away and tossing it on the floor. “Yeah, and I locked the door when we came in here. You ever made love in a kitchen before?”
Brady lowered his head and sucked one of her nipples in between his lips, nipping the hard bud lightly with his teeth. “Nope. But I’m about to take that off my bucket list right now.”
“You sure as hell are.” Dee tugged at his t-shirt, yanking it up his body. Brady pulled it over his head and tossed it to the growing pile of clothes on the floor.
“I’d like to thank the dumb-ass contractor that put a door on a kitchen.” Brady moved to her other breast and made a couple passes over the rock-hard nipple with his tongue before kissing a path down her abdomen. With a swipe of his tongue around her belly button, Dee threw her head back and moaned.
“I think maybe he knew something we didn’t.” Her breath came in gasps as Brady fiddled with the button on her jeans. She reached over and undid his. He didn’t wait for her to try, just pushed his pants down and kicked them off his fe
et before working Dee’s jeans down her hips. Once he got them off her completely, Dee wrapped her legs around his waist. Now that only a little bit of fabric separated them, Brady’s body turned rock hard, all of his need heading straight to his cock.
He brought his lips back up to hers, plunging his tongue in the warmth of her mouth and passing it in and out, emulating the motion he really wanted at the moment.
“I have protection,” he whispered against her throat.
“You better,” she whispered back, panting. “This whole foreplay thing is cool and all, and I’m willing to give it a go later, but I need you inside me. Now.”
“A woman who knows what she wants. A total turn on. Your wish is my command.”
He trailed the fingertips of one hand down her abdomen until he found the place he wanted to be. She pushed against his palm as he cupped her. “Brady, you tease.”
“Just wanted to be sure you were ready for me, darlin’. And yup, I’d say you were ready.”
“I was ready two weeks ago!”
Brady took her mouth with his at the same time he took her body. The scream she let out as he sunk himself deep inside her heat caught in his mouth and echoed through his body. They moved together, as one, like they were always meant to be in that place at that moment.
Thoughts fled his brain, replaced with only feeling. Overwhelming, heart pounding, sensation that set his nerves on fire. Grabbing her backside, he pulled her as close as he could, sinking himself into her over and over again. Dee clutched at his shoulders, the sting of her nails as she gripped him adding to the sensation. He felt the moment she orgasmed. Her muscles clenched around his dick over and over as she rode it out. He never stopped moving, never broke the rhythm even as his own orgasm roared through him. His muscles twitched, his dick throbbed, and his legs buckled, taking them both to the cold linoleum floor. Dee landed sprawled across his chest, her blonde hair spread over her. His breath came in heaving gasps, as did hers. They lay that way for a long time, not speaking. Brady listened to the sound of their heartbeats as they slowed and kept pace.
“Wow,” Dee said.
“I know. What the hell was that?”
“I’m not sure but…wow.”
Brady pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and ran a finger over her soft lips, swollen from kissing. “How far is your bedroom from here?”
“You need a nap?”
“Nope.”
“You want to go again? Okay—but I need a minute.”
“Oh, I want to do it again. And again. And about two dozen more times after that. But I think I have a spatula poking me in the ass.”
“And that doesn’t turn you on?”
He laughed. “Not so much.”
She lifted her head to look at him and smiled. “I think that is a good thing.”
Brady sat up and pulled her into his lap. “This was more than just sex.”
She nodded. “Yes, it was. I’ve never felt this way with anyone else.”
“Me either. I kind of want to see where this goes.”
Dee looked up at him, her expression serious. “I’m a little unpredictable.”
“I’m counting on that to keep things interesting.”
“You got it, Sheriff.” She pulled his head down so his lips met hers. When they parted, she asked, “You ready to test the locks on my bedroom door now?”
Without a word, Brady stood up and pulled Dee with him. Like two school kids trying not to get caught, they ran to Dee’s bedroom.
For the first time in a decade, as he held Dee close, Brady felt totally relaxed and at peace. He’d long since given up on love, but maybe, just maybe, love hadn’t given up on him.
About the Author
Science teacher by day, writer and mom by night, Carolyn LaRoche lives near the ocean with her husband, two boys, and two cats. She loves baseball, books, and trying new recipes. The beach is her happy place, and snow is her arch enemy.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolynLaRoche
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7734909.Carolyn_LaRoche
Twitter:
https://www.twitter.com/@CarolynLaRoche
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Carolyn-LaRoche/e/B005OKHIDI
Hog-Tied
By J.D. Wright
Chapter One
Nessa
“How many are there?” I call out to Howard while shielding my eyes against the sun overhead.
It’s hot for October, and I’m wishing it would just cool off already. But that’s North Carolina for ya. The weather here is as sporadic as my mood lately. Especially this time of year. It’s fair season, and I’m much too busy for this nonsense today.
“There’s two of ’em,” Howard yells across the field. He points his finger at the pair of runaway horses my other farmhand, Donald, is leading toward the barn.
“That damn man can’t keep his dogs or his horses on his own property,” I grumble.
“Miss Nessa, you want me to take ’em back?”
I think about it for a minute. It’s only two days before we need to leave for the fair, and I know my obnoxious-as-sin neighbor is just as busy as I am. He’s been my top competition ever since I took over the farm. If I can do anything to throw him off his game, this might work out well for us. I know I shouldn’t mess with him this way, but I can’t help it. When did I become so spiteful? Oh, that’s right. When he broke my heart in high school. Asshole.
“You know what, Howard?” I shout from the porch. “Just leave them in the barn. I think I’ll make my neighbor sweat it out for a while.”
Howard shakes his head at me, but there’s a smile on his face. I know what he’s thinking. The entire town knows the sort of relationship I have with the farmer next door. We’ve made the town paper at least once a year when our feud has gotten a little out of hand. And it does, more often than not. What can I say? Getting on my neighbor’s nerves has become a favorite pastime.
Just then, I hear the phone ring from inside. It’s a large house, exactly what you’d expect to find on a century-old farm. I refurbished it some after my parents died and left the land to me, but the walls are still as paper thin as they’ve always been. I can hear the shrill phone chime from clear across the yard.
I take my time getting to it because I know, ten-to-one, who’s on the other end of that line. I wet my lips before picking up the receiver, preparing myself to hear his voice. I know damn well that it’s going to affect me. It always has.
“Hello?” I ask, sweetening my tone.
“I know you have them. Bring them back.”
“That’s not how you greet your neighbor, Jesse Anderson.” I ignore the shiver that runs over me when I say his name. For years, I’d thought his name would become my own, but that’s neither here nor there at the moment. “I know your mama raised you better than that. If I tell her you’re being rude to me, she’ll tan your hide.”
I hear a deep sigh followed by, “Good morning, Vanessa. How are you doing today?”
“I’m right as rain, sugar. In fact, I’m better than that because I have something you want.”
“Ness…” he growls in warning, and I feel it all the way to my toes. “If you don’t return my horses, your hide will be the one getting tanned, darlin’. Nice and red.”
Holy shit. That turned dirty real quick. I absentmindedly rub my behind because I can almost feel his rough hands on my cheeks. Damn, I miss his hands. And those thick arms, his muscles golden from working every day in the sun. The way he used to lift me up like I weighed nothing and carry me to the back of the barn where he’d strip me and—
Focus, I scold myself and try to remember why I hate this man.
“I don’t think you’re in any position to be threatening me, sweetie pie. If you want your horses back, I want something in return.”
“No.”
“You don’t even know what I was gonna say.”
“Doesn�
�t matter. Whatever it is, you can’t have it.”
“That’s no way to negotiate. Your daddy would be disappointed in you.”
There is silence on the other end for a moment, and I wonder if I’ve gone too far by bring up the old bastard who used to make all of our lives a living hell. I know I’m not the only one who was relieved when he went to an early grave.
“I don’t have time for this,” Jesse barks into the phone, and I resist the urge to cringe. “You’ve got until sundown to send those horses back across the creek.”
“Or else?”
“Or else I give Sheriff Starr a phone call that I just know he’s gonna love.”
“You’d bring my brother into this? How mature.”
“In a heartbeat.”
“No, you wouldn’t.”
“You sure about that, babe?”
I pull my lip between my teeth and chew on it for a moment. Any other time of the year and I would call his bluff. But I can’t have any delays in the next forty-eight hours. If we don’t get everything loaded up in time, we won’t make it to the fair before check-in starts. We’ll be cutting it close as it is. I can’t take a chance on my brother sticking his nose in my business, because it always seems to cause more problems than anything.
“I’ll consider your proposal,” I say and hang up before he can reply.
Without a doubt, I know that Jesse is cursing my name right now. Good. Let him. And while he’s at it, let him remember why I hate his frickin’ guts to begin with.
We used to be perfect. After our first kiss in the creek on my fourteenth birthday, we’d immediately become a couple. Our relationship had lasted all through high school. They used to call us Jesse-Nessie. We had a damn couple’s nickname, for Pete’s sake. Every one of our classmates had been jealous of our relationship. I thought nothing could tear us apart.