by Jaycee Ford
I winked at her as we walked to the truck. I unlocked the passenger side door and grabbed her flats. Before she could even move, I bent down and slowly slipped off her one of her heels and replaced it with one of the flats.
“You’re really getting into this gentleman thing.” She steadied herself by grasping my shoulder.
Staring at her legs, I slowly grazed the tip of my fingers down her calf to find her other heel.
“There are a dozen thoughts going through my head. Being a gentleman is the absolute last thing on that list right now.” I slipped on her other flat and let my eyes drink in her entire body.
I slowly stood, letting myself get lost in her stare. Her lips separated and she slowly pushed out a breath. I tossed the heels into the front seat and slammed the door. I slipped my hand into hers and led her down First Street, toward Dixie’s.
“I don’t think you’ve ever seen me dance.”
“Really?” She squeezed my hand and tiptoed over an area of broken sidewalk. “That seems weird that I haven’t.”
“Just fair warning, country boys know how to move,” I told her as we approached the door. Inside, the music switched from country rock to hip-hop.
“I’m excited to see what those cowboy boots can do.” She winked as I pulled open the door. Both of us were taken aback by the amount of people crammed into Dixie’s tonight.
“Looks like we’ll be dancing close,” I whispered in her ear.
She placed my hand on her hip, pressing into me. “I won’t mind.”
I smirked and took in the room, looking for my boys from the station. The pool tables in the back had been cleared away to make room for a stage for the band, only now there seemed to be about twenty people standing on the stage and holding their own dance party. I spotted Tanner near the back, his arm high in the air to wave me down. I took Grace by the hand and led her through the crowd.
“Hey,” I hollered at Tanner. “What happened to the band?”
“A big snow storm rolled through Asheville and the band got stuck in it. It’s supposed to be headed this way, so you might want to drink moderately. Harris is around here somewhere. I’m sure he can fill you in.”
Grace’s hand slipped from mine. I turned around to see Lara standing there, handing her a glass of champagne. They instantly started chatting.
“Hey, Peterman.”
I turned around to see Grayson as he shoved a beer in my hand.
“Where’s everyone at?”
“Heavner’s at the bar with Blair and Murphy. Heavner’s buying shots while Murphy tries to get Megan’s attention.”
“I think it’s a little too busy in here for Megan to find time to flirt. And is Heavner sure that getting the county coroner shitfaced is a bright idea?”
“Probably not, but he dared her to. She doesn’t back away from a dare.”
I looked over at Grace. She was still chatting with Lara when Caleb walked up, his arm wrapped around Angie. Paul, his brother, followed behind them, walking alongside, his wife, Ellie.
“Lara,” I hollered to my partner. She peeked away from her conversation. “Come meet Ellie.”
Her eyes widened as she gasped. “Like the Ellie from Ellie’s Boutique Ellie?”
“One and the same.” I beamed.
Lara hurried over to meet Ellie, fangirling through every moment of her interaction with the boss’s sister-in-law.
“I’ll be right back,” Grayson said as he moved through the crowd and headed straight for a tall brunette who was way out of his league.
I watched them closely as I leaned over to ask Tanner, “Is that his therapist?”
He nodded and rolled his eyes. He lifted up his water as a toast, ending any further discussion on the subject.
“I put your coat on the back of the chair in the corner,” Grace said, coming up behind me. “I figured it could avoid any beer spillage there.”
“Thanks, Gracie. Can we dance now?”
She laced her fingers between mine and pulled me toward the dance floor. I drowned out everyone around me and focused on her ass, a guiding light leading me wherever it wanted to take me. She stopped, but before she could turn around, I glided my hands down her sides to find her hips. She pressed her back into me as her body caught the beat of the music, our hips moving together in perfect rhythm. She moved her body in just the right ways, gliding hypnotically up and down against mine, her hips never stopping. My head tilted back and I swore I didn’t think I could take this all night. She pushed away from me and danced among the crowd, multiple glistening bodies jumping around her. I could barely move. I could only stare at every movement of her body as it vibrated in front of me. She stepped closer to me, lifting on her toes to my reach my ear.
“I thought you knew how to dance.”
“I do.” I barely managed to form the words.
“It doesn’t look like you’re dancing.” She tried pulling away from me but I took her by the waist and held her in place.
“As you can plainly feel, it’s a bit uncomfortable for me to move right now.”
Her lips parted as I reached my hand up to touch her cheek. Her hands grazed down my chest to my hips, holding me against her. My hips began to move along with her rhythm. I wanted nothing more than to claim her lips right now, but it wasn’t time yet. New Year’s would arrive soon enough.
A faster song came on over the speakers, but our arms remained tightly wrapped around each other. We danced to our own music. We were in our own world. Nothing else mattered. There was no one else but us.
“I’m so glad you asked me out tonight, Gracie,” I whispered in her ear.
“You’re the only person I want to be with.”
I wrapped my arms tighter around her, pressed my cheek against hers.
“You’re the only person I want, Gracie. I want only you.”
The crowd around us started screaming.
“Ten!”
I moved my cheek away from hers and stared into her eyes.
“Nine!”
I searched behind her eyes for any sign of doubt and found only beauty.
“Eight!”
I pulled her close.
“Seven!”
Her eyes flickered down to my lips.
“Six!”
“Gracie,” I whispered.
“Five!”
Her eyes locked in on mine.
“Four!”
I glided my hand to her cheek. Her head tilted in to my touch.
“Three!”
I breathed out slowly and leaned forward, my lips inching toward hers.
“Two!”
“Stop.” Grace pushed me away.
“One!”
She shook her head and dashed for the door.
“Happy New Year!”
My shoulders sagged in defeat. I headed back to the table and grabbed my coat, pushing my way through a sea of endless partygoers grabbing whoever they could kiss. I yanked open the door and headed outside. I checked up and down Main Street and then down First Street where I found Grace slowly walking down the sidewalk, her arms folded across her chest. She stopped at the edge of the building.
“Gracie …” I called out, running up behind her. I threw my coat over her shoulders. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m so sorry. I won’t push you if you’re not ready. We can just be friends. Just don’t hate me for trying. Please.”
I held onto her shoulders and rested my face against the top of her head, inhaling her scent, possibly for the last time. I’d blown it. I’d ruined everything. But I couldn’t lose her. I had to make her understand that.
“Grace … Please, I’m so sorry.”
She spun around, grabbed my cheeks and pressed her lips to mine. I closed my eyes and savored the moment, one I never wanted to forget. This was the first and possibly only kiss I would receive, and I would be damned if I let myself forget the way her lips grazed so slowly over mine; how her tongue tasted like the strawberries in her champagne; how her body molded to fit mine.
I would never forget how undeniably happy I felt at that moment.
She pulled away suddenly, and I didn’t know if I should smile or weep.
“I couldn’t share our first kiss with the whole town watching,” she explained. “I needed it to be just us.”
My breath caught. I blew it out as a smile spread my cheeks. I slowly grazed my fingers under her chin.
“Are you sure you want this?”
She nodded without any hesitation. I leaned down and kissed her lips again.
“Is this for real?” I needed her to tell me. “Is this really happening? You don’t hate me?”
She giggled and nodded. “I could never hate you. That’s the absolute opposite of what I feel for you, Wyatt.”
Our lips met again as I wrapped my arms tightly around her. I never knew our bodies would fit so well together. Mike might always come first, but I was okay being her second pick. I was happy she picked me at all.
“Take me home, Wyatt.”
THE TRUCK IDLED in front of her house. I watched her watching the fireworks popping off in the distance. I was okay to just tell her goodnight here and figure out the rest in the morning. I was fine with anything she wanted. She’d spent her New Year’s Eve with me and kissed me just after midnight. I couldn’t ask for anything else from my life right now. I was drunk on her.
“Can I walk you to your door?”
“Can you … um …” She looked down at her fingers playing with one of the straps dangling from the pair of heels resting in her lap.
“What, Gracie?”
“Would you stay?” She glanced over at me, willing to expose everything she’d kept hidden.
I nodded and killed the engine. I was out of the truck and helping her before she could even get the door open. I grabbed the heels from her and helped her climb out. I slammed the door closed behind her and reached out for her hand. We walked to the house, where she let go of my hand to unlock the door. My coat started to slip from her shoulders, so I grabbed it and folded it over my arm as we entered the house. I tossed it on the couch while she placed her clutch on the table near the door and kicked off her flats. She reached out for her heels. I took a step forward to hand them to her. Her eyes focused on my lips. I rested my hand on her hip and pulled her into me. The heels took a hard fall to the floor as her fingers glided up my neck and into my hair. My lips pressed against hers with all the passion I could muster spilling out of me. Her back met the wall. I pried her lips open with my tongue as the smallest moan purred from the back of her throat. I dragged my lips down to her neck to her ear.
“I want you.” My lips traveled from her ear to her pulsing chest. My hand cupped her ass so I could lift her up. She wrapped her legs around me as I pressed into her.
She gasped and I claimed her lips again, pulling the hem of her dress up over her hips. My hand grazed under her, gliding against her smooth, bare skin and slipping behind the thin strap of her thong. Her breath quickened as I tugged the dress down from her chest and dragged my lips down her neck. She cried out when I latched onto her chest.
“Bedroom. Bedroom.”
I wrapped my arm around her, staring into her hooded eyes as I carried her down the hallway and into her room. I found her lips again as I took a seat on the bed, her legs straddling either side of me. I reached for the bottom of her dress bunching up around her waist and slowly pushed it up. We broke our kiss only long enough to pull it over her head. She sat on top of me completely naked save for the thin black thong that would soon be removed. I leaned her back and drank in every inch of her bare body.
My fingertips grazed an old scar puckering just above her thong. “I can’t believe I’m here with you right now.”
She cupped my face and pulled my lips to hers. Her fingers worked at unbuttoning my shirt and pulling it out of my pants. I lifted her up and dropped her on the bed. I pulled my shirt off and her hands glided quickly down my chest to find my belt. As she undid my buckle, I dug in my back pocket and pulled out my wallet.
I tossed a condom down next to her. She gazed up at me and cocked her eye. I dug deeper into my wallet and found two more condoms to add to the pile. Her head tilted back and she let out the most beautiful laugh I had ever heard. I tried pulling off my pants, but stumbled when my boots got caught in the denim. Laughter turned into cackles as she rolled back onto the bed. I shuffled around the room until I found a place to sit down on the edge of the bed and pull my boots off.
“Oh, you think that’s funny, huh?”
“I do!” She continued laughing. “It seems so like us to fumble along the way.”
I crawled over to be closer to her. Her laughter ceased, but her grin told me she was as happy as I was.
“Us.” I pecked her lips. “I like the sound of that, Gracie.”
“I do too, Wyatt.” She pulled my lips down to hers. Her smile remained as I kissed her. I glided my hand downward to explore her chest, to trace a line along her navel, and to slip them inside her thong.
“Oh, God …” When she pulled out of the kiss, she wasn’t happy anymore. She was overcome with ecstasy. “Wyatt.”
I hovered my lips over hers as I slipped a finger inside. She breathed out against my mouth, her hands trailing down my back, slipping inside my boxers. I pushed up onto my knees, kneeling over her as I pulled down her thong. I peeled off my boxers next, all the while lost in total admiration for her beautiful body. Her eyes wandered across the landscape of my body as I ripped open the condom wrapper, eagerly rolling it on. I leaned over her, kneeling in between her legs.
“Okay?” I asked as I hovered above her.
She gave a consenting nod and I pushed forward, eyes locked with hers. She drew in a deep breath and held it when I pushed in deeper. Her mouth opened and a gasp escaped as I pushed into her completely. I cupped her cheek in my hand as my hips danced back and forth with their sensuous rhythm.
“You feel so amazing, Gracie.”
She thrust up against me, pulling my face to hers. I scooted my knees under her legs, spreading them wider. She let out a loud noise as I thrust deeper. I kissed down her neck, along her ear.
“So amazing.”
“Oh, my God, Wyatt.” Her nails clawed at my back as she raised her hips to match my momentum, each thrust harder and faster than the one before it.
I dragged my tongue across her nipple. She let out a small cry, gripping me closer to her. My lips navigated her neck as she began to clench around me.
I kissed my way up to her ear and whispered, “You’re so beautiful, Gracie.”
Locking eyes, I continued pushing into her as she cried out and clamped around me. Her eyes closed, the moans and cries of pleasure growing more frequent. She buried her head into my neck and squeezed her arms around me, pressing me against her so tight, I couldn’t help but to release everything within me, panting into her neck as our bodies intertwined.
My arms were shaking as I lowered myself on top of her. She kept her legs wrapped around me, keeping me inside of her. I was fine with this for I had no plans to separate. I never wanted to be separated from her. She grazed her fingers along my cheek as I pressed my lips to hers, letting her know we were nowhere near finished yet.
“We can take this slow,” I whispered. “I know this will be an adjustment for Chloe.”
She rolled her eyes and giggled under her breath.
“What?”
“She told me last night that if I didn’t marry you, I was too ignorant to be her mother.”
All I could do was laugh. “I knew I loved that girl.”
I pressed my lips to hers and slowly pulled out. I got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom to clean up. When I came back, she had pushed herself up so her back was resting against the headboard. I climbed into bed next to her, throwing a sheet over me.
“I feel like I need to say something, though,” I confided. “Just so everything is out there.”
Her forehead creased as she nodded. I reached for her hands and kissed t
hem, an attempt to calm the worry crossing her face.
“I’m in love with you, Grace. I’m willing to go at a snail’s pace with you, and I’ll never push you into anything. I’ll be here in any and every capacity no matter what, but I need you to know that I love you.”
She placed her hand on my cheek. I covered her hand with mine and kissed her palm, staring into her eyes. They slowly glossed over as her quivering lips formed a smile.
“I love you,” I whispered again.
She nodded and pulled me to her. With a kiss, she gave me hope that this would work out.
“I’ll get there soon, Wyatt, I promise. I can’t imagine my life without you.”
“It’s okay, Gracie. I’m here. You want me here and that’s all I’ll ever need.”
She leaned forward, pushing up on her knees before straddling me. I ran my fingers through her hair and pulled her on top of me. Her lips grazed down from my lips to my chest, inching slowly down to my stomach. Her hands glided along my legs and I breathed in deep, intoxicated by her touch.
The shrill ring of my cell phone brought an abrupt pause to the moment.
“You gotta be fucking kidding me,” I groaned.
Her amusement at the situation was evident as she crawled off me. I leaned over the bed, feeling around for my discarded pants. It was a struggle to dig the phone from my pocket. Once I succeeded, I saw Caleb’s name glowing on the screen. The time read 2:15.
Something was wrong. This wasn’t normal.
I scooted to the edge of the bed to answer the call. “Caleb?”
“Wyatt!” He grunted heavily into the phone. “You need to come back to Dixie’s.”
“What’s wrong?” I hopped off the bed, reached for my boxers, and pulled them on.
“It’s Megan,” Caleb said with a serious tone.
I turned around. Grace was watching me with a mix of curiosity and concern.
“What happened to Megan?” I asked for her benefit.
Grace’s covered her mouth with her hand.
There was a long pause before Caleb finally answered.
“Megan’s been murdered.”
To Be Continued …
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