Audrey’s Inn

by Aycart, Elle

  She rolled her eyes. “Please,” she said as they both got into bed. Then it dawned on her, he was doing to her what she always did to him: distract him to get him to relax. Clever man. But she couldn’t find it in herself to admonish him. “I’m not that spectacular,” she muttered.

  Without any hesitation, she snuggled against him, and he wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. “Yes, you are, little girl.”

  “You aren’t going to stay the night with me, right?” she asked in a whisper. “After I fall asleep, you’ll leave. Again.”

  “Sorry.”

  She took a deep breath. There was no need for Con to apologize. “Let’s get the cottage finished soon. There are two bedrooms there. If you feel apprehensive sleeping with me, you can sneak into the other room. Even if you don’t sleep the whole night with me, I want you close by. I hate waking up and not knowing where you are.” She didn’t want him sleeping on the grass or on that uncomfy couch, afraid that if he was by her side, she’d get hurt.

  She realized her words revealed too much, but she didn’t care if he found out about her feelings.

  He tightened his embrace. “Okay. Let’s move into the cottage.”

  It took a moment before his words computed in her head. “Con? It might be the endorphins talking, but did you hear what you said?”

  She lifted her head from his chest to find he’d zonked out.

  * * *

  “Okay, this is almost done,” Mike said as he and Con were wiring the last outlet in the kitchen. “Basic, but taking into consideration the inn’s got a kick-ass kitchen right around the corner, it’ll do. What’s the hurry in getting this place ready?”

  “Audrey needs her room free for guests.”

  “That’s right,” Audrey said, walking into the cottage with two suitcases in hand. “Since Amantis was here, we’ve become kind of popular.”

  Between that and the fact that summer had arrived, Audrey had had to hire another person to man the bar and the pool terrace, because Red and Suzy couldn’t handle it all anymore.

  After Audrey left her bags in a bedroom, she joined them, a bright smile on her face. “Do you guys need anything? I can stay to help. Or bring you drinks if you’re thirsty.”

  Connor kissed her. “We’re good. Go take care of your inn.”

  “Thank you, guys.” She walked to the front door—only to run back and leap on him, kissing him.

  “You’ve been extremely happy. Now I see why,” Mike said, smiling.

  “Do you have a problem with me being happy?”

  “Nope. Not a one. On the contrary. You moving in together?”

  Hmmm. He didn’t know. Probably? He was already staying with her every night, at least until she fell asleep and he sneaked out. Or he fell asleep and then woke up in a panic and sneaked out. Either way, they spent a significant amount of time together. “We’ll see.” Although, who the fuck was he trying to kid? The more time they spent together, the more he craved her company. He was hooked, not about to give up on her now.

  Connor’s cell beeped with a voice message. “Someone called and I didn’t notice,” he said, checking the screen.

  Mike shook his head, tsking. “You know how you’re hyperaware of your weapons when you’re a soldier? You always know where they are, and you’re always ready to grab them? Well, a cell is the same thing to a civilian.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Con said, listening to the message.

  “The OGs in trouble?” Mike asked.

  “Nah, it was from the animal shelter,” Con answered. “The OGs are with Rachel, last I heard.”

  “So what’s with the animal shelter?” Mike asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Audrey…”

  Mike laughed. “I knew it had to do with her.”

  “She found out barking was one of my triggers, and she talked me into volunteering to walk shelter dogs.”

  “Is it working?” Mike asked, his voice now serious.

  “Yeah.” He didn’t freak out at barking and growling as much as before, and he was enjoying the dogs’ company. Go figure. After his ordeal, he would have bet that dogs and him were finished forever.

  All and all, he was doing much, much better. His appetite was back, his moods were more stable, and he was sleeping for longer stretches. Most importantly, he wasn’t having nightmares. He was tempting his luck sleeping by her side, though. He still tried not to, but more often than not, he woke up in bed instead of leaving it before closing his eyes. He was getting too comfortable. Too relaxed.

  “I’m glad, man, because the way you’re training your woman to kick your ass, it was starting to look scary.”

  True. They were still training at the gym, and she was good.

  “Do you have to go to the shelter now? Is that what the message was about?”

  “No. They asked if we would be interested in taking foster dogs. Some strays need more attention than a shelter can provide, so they’re placed in foster homes temporarily.”

  “Are you going to take one?”

  Con shrugged. “I’ll ask Audrey.”

  Mike laughed. “Man, you’re pussy-whipped already.”

  “That’s the pot calling the kettle black,” Con said with a snort. “Kyra’s been gone for a couple of days, and you don’t know what to do with yourself anymore.”

  “Can’t deny that,” Mike confessed. “Summer is going to be hard with her touring, but she loves to dance, so I’ll just fly back and forth. Sam loves spending time with Toni and Josh and Alexa—not to mention Wata and the security team. She told them she knows karate now, so she can help.”

  “Sam couldn’t be more like you if she were biologically yours.”

  “That’s right,” Mike said, looking fucking proud. “I feel uneasy when they aren’t with me. I know they’re safe, but I’d rather be with them.”

  Connor understood what Mike meant. Since finding out Audrey wasn’t Audrey, he’d started feeling itchy if he didn’t have eyes on her. During Amantis’s party, he’d been on full alert. After that, he’d been checking the net and social media for any pics of her, but so far there weren’t any. Con had also been tracking that human trafficking ring and Andy. No movement there either, or none that he could find. “Mike?”

  “Yes?”

  “Nothing,” Con concluded, deciding it was best if he didn’t burden his friend. Ignorance was bliss, after all.

  Mike stopped and turned to him. “What? Come on, talk.”

  “If Kyra wasn’t who you thought she was, or if she had some dark shit in her past—”

  “It wouldn’t matter to me,” Mike said, not waiting for Con to finish talking. “Whatever she did or didn’t do in the past, it wouldn’t change the fact that she’s my woman and I’m in her corner. Always.”

  Connor shook his head. “Talk about pussy-whipped.”

  Mike wasn’t that easy to fool. “Is there something about Audrey I should know?”

  “No.” Con had everything under control.

  Mike might not have let that pass so easily if there hadn’t been a knock at the front door and Connor’s mom and dad didn’t just walk in. Con totally forgot what they had been talking about. “Mom, Dad, what are you guys doing here?” he asked as his mom ran to him and attempted to murder him by hug. After her came his dad, clapping him on the back and smiling from ear to ear. “So glad you’re back for good,” his mom said. She turned to Mike. “Hi, Mike.”

  Mike smiled at them. “Mrs. and Mr. Stonewell, welcome back.”

  “How were the holidays?” Con asked.

  His mom waved a dismissive hand. “California’s overrated. And your aunt talks nonstop. If you had told us you were coming home, we wouldn’t have left.”

  Con’s dad harrumphed but said nothing.

  “What are you doing here?” Con’s mom looked around. “We just made it home. Neither you nor your grandma were anywhere to be found, so we went looking for you. Mike’s dad told us you were here.”

&n
bsp; Better to address the elephant in the room. “So, Dad, did you hear the message I left you about the shrink?”

  His dad harrumphed again, this time louder, and his mom laughed. “He sure did,” she said, shaking her head. “He hasn’t stopped growling since.”

  “What were you thinking?” Con asked.

  “Your grandmother is impossible. She’s totally out of control,” his dad replied. “I’m being a responsible son.”

  Con’s mom rolled her eyes. “You’re being an ass.” Then she addressed Con. “You know him. It pisses him off that your grandma is not falling in line.”

  “She’s a public menace,” Con’s dad grumbled. “Can’t she, I don’t know, stay at home and bake a pie? Do some crochet?”

  Con and Mike looked at each other, trying to stifle laughter. “Crochet they do, Dad. They even post pictures of it.”

  “We have it all under control, don’t you worry,” Mike added in an attempt to placate the cranky man.

  “I know you do your best, son. It’s Rachel I’m worried about. She’s a loose cannon. Like Wilma.” Con’s dad wasn’t Rachel’s biggest fan. The OGs remained motorized thanks to her, and that was something Grady Stonewell wasn’t going to forget or forgive any time soon.

  “Rachel got engaged to the sheriff while you were away. You know Adrian is a stickler. He’ll make sure Rachel’s brand of crazy stays within acceptable limits,” Mike said, lying his teeth off.

  Con nodded.

  Horns blaring outside interrupted them.

  “What’s all that ruckus?” Con’s mom, Hope, asked. Intrigued, all of them went outside. It seemed to be coming from the entrance of the inn, so they walked toward where a crowd of people were gathering.

  Con had a bad feeling. The closer they got to the murmuring people, the louder the exclamations became. And the bigger that bad feeling grew.

  Then they saw that damn motorcycle with the sidecar approaching. Rachel was at the wheel. Wilma was riding behind her, and Greta and Rebecca were stuffed into the one-person sidecar. All of them wore aviator sunglasses and World War II-era helmets. Greta and Rebecca had their arms up. It wasn’t clear if that was on purpose, like when riding a rollercoaster, or because they didn’t fit inside the tight sidecar.

  When Rachel spotted Con and Mike, she waved at them, stopped with a flourish, and honked loud and long. “Look, guys. The OGmobile is ready!”

  Con’s dad turned to his son and Mike. “Within acceptable limits, you said?”

  * * *

  “What are you reading?” Con asked Audrey as he sat in bed beside her.

  “I’m not sure you should know,” she mumbled, her back propped against the headboard, her gaze never leaving the tablet screen. “I finally got around to reading a book for the romance book club Rachel got me into.”

  As a deterrent, telling him that much didn’t do squat. On the contrary, he seemed even more interested as he peeked over her shoulder. “Smut,” he concluded. “Kinda hot. I doubt that position is anatomically correct or even possible, gravity-wise, but it’s kinky.”

  She concurred. “I’m not shocked at the smut. I’m shocked at the thought that the OGs are reading it too.”

  Cursing, Con closed his eyes and grimaced. “Now you’re traumatizing me.”

  He was so cute, going for prudish. “Come on. Your grandma must have had sex to have your dad.”

  “Not that kind of sex she didn’t,” he stated.

  Audrey broke into laughter. “Now you sound like your dad.”

  “I know, right?” he said, looking horrified.

  “Come here.” She left her tablet on the bedside table and opened her arms to him.

  Con moved between her legs while she hugged him. “What are you doing with those ancient OG pics?” Con asked, motioning to the box she’d also left on the nightstand. “Aren’t those the ones I brought you?”

  She nodded. “I’m choosing which ones to hang in the inn. Now that Audrey’s motorcycle is up and running, the OGs will take an after-pic, so I’ll put it with the original pic and hang them together.”

  “Don’t talk to me about that bike,” Con said, rolling onto his back and looking up at the ceiling. “My dad didn’t take well to seeing the OGs on that deathtrap, as he called it. And on his first day back home.”

  Audrey laughed. The motorcycle had caused quite a stir at the inn. Everyone had loved it. So much so that half her guests had wanted to take pictures with the grannies and the OGmobile. All that commotion, of course, hadn’t helped Con’s case with his dad, who had left in a huff soon after that, muttering under his breath and shaking his head.

  Talk about a way to meet your in-laws, right? Audrey chastised herself at that thought. Yes, Con had introduced her as his girlfriend, and since then she’d been at his parents’ place once, but she was getting ahead of herself. In-laws sounded… formal. Permanent, and her boyfriend still escaped to sleep on the couch whenever he could. In other areas, they were making headway. For example, his back, she mused as she massaged his shoulders. He used to flinch and avoid her touch. Now he didn’t.

  “The OGs said they want to take a picture of the grandchildren on the bike too.”

  Connor snorted. “Yeah. In what universe is that going to happen? There’s no way Mike and I will fit in the sidecar. I don’t even think we’d fit on the bike. You and Rachel might make it in the sidecar, but you heard them. They want you behind the wheel.”

  “I know.” She couldn’t refrain from frowning. They said the motorcycle had belonged to Audrey’s grandma, so it was only fair for Audrey to drive it. But, of course, they didn’t know she wasn’t really Audrey’s granddaughter.

  He turned around and pulled her down on her back. “I know what you’re thinking, and I don’t want to hear it.”

  “Really, house elf? Let’s see, what am I thinking?”

  “You feel you’re playing them. The guilt is all over your face, babe.”

  “Wrong! I was thinking I like having you between my legs in this cottage, where I can scream as much as I want when I come.”

  He didn’t buy it. “I know OG Audrey’s birthday is coming up soon, and the OGs want you to celebrate with them.”

  “Will you come with me?” she whispered.

  “Of course, babe,” he said, kissing her bellybutton through her shirt. He then lifted the hem until her boobs were on display. “Now, about having me between your legs…”

  She broke into giggles, which soon transformed into gasping moans as he played with her nipples. “They’re so fucking responsive,” he whispered, flicking his tongue over one and rolling the other, making her sex spasm in anticipation.

  “They weren’t this responsive before, but since you’ve been fucking me, they’re extremely sensitive.” And they were. Swollen and damn needy almost all the time.

  “Really?” He tormented the beaded tips.

  “Yes,” she let out. “Since I’ve had you in my bed, I’m horny all the time.” It wasn’t an exaggeration. He touched her and she got wet, for Christ’s sake.

  “I see.” He continued sucking and pinching her nipples and squeezing her breasts, which by now felt achy and heavy.

  She tried to lift her core to him, but his weight kept her grounded. God. He’d been playing with her tits maybe two minutes, and she was already drenched down there and out of her mind with lust. “Must be the book club,” she said. “It’s true what they say: the more you have sex on your mind, the more you feel like having it.”

  “Who said that?” Con asked, lifting his head.

  “Some lady at the book club.”

  He stared at her, looking affronted. “So, you being extra horny isn’t because of me but because of smut?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  He offered her a devilishly arrogant grin and pulled her undies down.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, lifting her ass to help.

  “Proving to you the real reason why you’re always so horny and ready to be fucked is me, no
t those books.”

  * * *

  Audrey and Connor were standing at the cemetery driveway when the OGs arrived on the OGmobile, driven by Rachel. Mike’s truck was right behind them. Audrey walked to them, smiling like always, but by now Con knew her well enough to recognize that she was nervous. He took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

  After parking, Mike took a picnic basket, a blanket, and three folding chairs from the bed of the pickup. “Okay, people. Ready for this shindig?”

  “LOLO!” was the combined war cry.

  It took a bit to extricate Rebecca and Greta from the sidecar, but once they were free, the OGs surrounded Audrey and gently but firmly pulled her ahead with them.

  “They look pretty excited,” Con noted as he, Rachel, and Mike followed.

  “I keep saying we need padded jumpsuits for them,” Mike muttered to Rachel, who just shrugged.

  When they made it to Audrey’s tombstone, Mike unfolded the blanket while Con and Rachel took care of emptying the basket.

  The OGs were busy pulling weeds and placing the flowers they’d brought against the marble headstone. “Happy birthday, dear Audrey,” Wilma said, opening the chairs and sitting on one. “We brought you the best present ever: your granddaughter. Thanks to her, your beloved B&B is an inn now. It bears your name, it’s thriving, and back in the family. And your bike is by the front gate. They wouldn’t let us into the cemetery with it, but I’m sure you have a great view from up there. Rachel did a hell of a job, and it looks just like it did when you drove it.”

  “Oh, and it appears you and I will end up being in-laws,” Greta said in a whisper that everyone heard. “Remember Con? You loved him. It stands to reason your granddaughter would too.”