I couldn’t stop smiling. I was so happy that Robert was going to get his way. I really liked Anna, not just as my office manager, but as my future sister. It was going to be great. “Word to the wise, don’t go to the same place Kat and I went. I’m not sure I’ll ever get over being pushed off a bridge.”
“You had a safety harness on.”
“Still, I wake up in a cold sweat. Free-falling to your death is scary as hell.”
“You weren’t free-falling to your death, and if you didn’t want to do that, you should have just told Kat you wanted to get married in a church.”
“Then the whole town would have shown up.”
“Yeah, and you would be married right now instead of trying to figure out the date for your next wedding.”
I grunted and turned for the door. She was right, even if I didn’t want to admit it. I headed for my truck so I could get over to Mrs. Cranston’s, but before I even pulled out on the road, my phone rang and my arch nemesis’s name appeared. Well, that was going a little far, but still…
“Corduroy, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Well, I thought you would want to know that not only is your brother in jail, but so is his woman.”
I frowned, immediately thinking of Josh. “What did Josh do? Is this about Jack?”
“Not that brother.”
“Will? What the hell did he ever do to you?”
“Not Will either.”
“Well, I just left Anna in the office, so-“
“Joe, you idiot. I threw him and Sofia in jail.”
My mouth dropped open. “What?”
“Yep. Just thought you should know.”
He hung up before I could ask any more questions. “Goddamnit!” I threw my phone on the dash and put the truck in reverse. I was about to take off when I saw Corduroy sitting in the diner at the counter, eating his lunch. Shifting back into park, I shut off the truck and marched into the diner, determined to find out just what the hell my baby brother had done to get himself thrown in jail. The bell jingled overhead as I walked through the door, and Corduroy turned to me with a grin.
“Well, if it isn’t the oldest Cortell brother. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“You just called me, asshole.”
“Oh, that.”
“Yeah, that,” I said, taking a seat beside him. “Why the hell would you arrest Joe?”
“He punched me. That’s attacking a police officer.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “You’ve got to be kidding me. What the hell are you pulling here?”
“Nothing. I simply suggested that if Carly and Sofia wanted to start another fight, there should be a jello pit.”
I was about to call him an idiot, but then I paused. “And that was when Joe hit you.”
“Yep,” he said proudly.
And it all clicked into place. Corduroy, the man that was supposedly in love with Anna, practically sabotaged his relationship with her by outing her pregnancy. Then he walked her down the aisle at her fake wedding. And he was always getting involved in some way with other people’s relationships, egging someone on when there were problems. He wasn’t stirring up trouble. He was a matchmaker.
I turned fully toward him and waited for him to look at me. When he did, he sighed and dropped his sandwich back on his plate.
“Alright, what’s that look for?”
“You locked them up so they could work out their problems.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “You’re insane. You think I would go to all the effort and time during my day to help a couple work out their issues?”
“That’s exactly what you did. You baited Joe, knowing what would happen, and then you locked them up and walked away. You wanted to help them get together.”
He shook his head at me and took a drink. “Think what you want. There’s no way I would ever help a Cortell.”
“Right, because you hate us all.”
“Exactly.”
“Then you’ll have no problem taking me down to the station so that I can see my brother behind bars.”
He grinned at me. “You just want to see if my plan worked.”
“Ha!” I pointed my finger at him, catching him in a lie. “So you admit that was your plan.”
He sighed and stood, tossing down some cash for his meal. “Alright, let’s go.”
Since the station was just down the road, we walked there. I was nervous as hell, wondering what we would find when we got there.
“I sure as hell hope that this plan of yours worked.”
“Why wouldn’t it?”
“You’re so damn cocky. Do you even know anything about this chick?”
“Chick? Since when do you use such derogatory terms when it comes to women?”
“Whatever, chick is not derogatory.”
“Maybe not, but you’re always the gentleman. And I know this worked because you could cut the sexual tension in the bakery with a knife. And I’m not talking about one of those bread knives. I’m talking about the sharp ones that you use on steak.”
“You mean a steak knife?” I asked, laughing internally at him.
“Whatever.”
“How long have they been in there?”
“Well, I left them about an hour ago. I would say they should be pretty well acquainted by now,” he grinned.
“I hope so,” I muttered as I walked into the station behind him.
I wasn’t sure that Sofia was the woman for Joe, but if he settled down, I wouldn’t be too upset about it. I wanted my brothers happy, and now that there were just two of them left, I wanted it done. I hated worrying that they wouldn’t find the right girl to settle down with. And I worried even more because I knew how much Ma wanted grandkids. At the rate we were all going, you would think there would be a ton of little ones running around. Life just didn’t work out that way sometimes.
“Come on! Is that all you’ve got?” I heard Joe’s voice. I ran around the corner just in time to see Sofia pull back and slug him right in the face. He dropped to the ground like a ton of bricks and Sofia stood proudly above him.
“What the hell are you doing?” Corduroy shouted as he ran up to the jail cell. “You weren’t supposed to beat the shit out of him!”
Joe rolled over, holding his face. But when he sat up, he was grinning like a fool. “You got it right that time.”
“Yeah?” Sofia said excitedly, shaking out her hand. “Are you sure, because my hand really hurts.”
“Well, that’s part of boxing, sweetheart.”
“Are you…” Corduroy started and then shoved his hands through his hair as he looked at them in bewilderment. “You weren’t supposed to be teaching her to box! You were supposed to be-“
“Supposed to be what?” Joe asked. He pushed up off the floor and walked over to Corduroy. “What exactly were you hoping for when you put us in here?”
“Yeah, Corduroy. What were you hoping for?” I grinned.
He glared at me and then pulled out his keys to the cell. “You know what? Just get the hell out of here.”
“You mean, we’re free to go?” Sofia asked. “Just like that? No hideous jumpsuits or paving roads?”
Corduroy looked at her in confusion. “What did you think you would go to prison for?” Her mouth dropped open and Corduroy sighed. “Just get out of here.”
Joe and Sofia walked out of the cell while Corduroy hung his head. I gripped his shoulder and squeezed. “Don’t worry, man. You can’t win them all.”
Joe
By the time we were released and got back to my apartment, I only had a few hours before I had to get downstairs for work. The shop opened later today, but I had a shit ton of paperwork to deal with. But first I had to deal with Sofia’s hand. She had punched me harder than expected and I could already see her hand swelling slightly.
I walked over to the freezer and grabbed an ice pack for her, pulling her over to the table to sit down. She winced when I covered her hand with the ice pack and
I smiled.
“You’re having quite the week. A black eye, busted up ribs, a bruised hand…”
She smiled, laughing slightly. “It’s been a pretty rough week for me.”
“I bet right about now you’re wishing that you were off on your honeymoon.”
“I don’t know. As sore as my body is right now, I don’t think I would have had quite so much fun on my honeymoon.”
“Really?” I asked, a little surprised by her answer.
“Well, I mean, look at all that’s happened. I went camping for the first time ever-“
“In your underwear.”
She smiled wide for me. “In my underwear. I shopped for the first time in a thrift store, got in my first fight, slept on the most uncomfortable couch in the history of couches, had my first job, and got locked in jail for my first time.”
“That’s a lot of firsts.”
Her eyes flickered up to mine and something changed. The way she was looking at me, it was like she was trying to ask me for something, but I didn’t know what that was. I gently brushed my thumb across her bruised knuckles, then did something crazy and brought them to my lips. Her breathing picked up and her pupils dilated as she watched my lips move across her skin.
“Joe-“
I slowly lowered her hand, thinking she wasn’t too happy about me kissing her. I should have known. We had this intense chemistry, but I was fooling myself if I ever thought that there was something more between us. I swallowed hard, realizing for the first time how much I wished that our lives were different. I wished that she wasn’t trying to decide this life-altering thing, and that she could just accept me for who I was. But then she shocked the hell out of me.
“What if…what if there was something else that I wanted you to give me…as my first?”
My brows furrowed and my heart hammered out of control. Was she asking what I was thinking she was asking? It couldn’t be that, because if she was asking what I was thinking she was asking, then she was asking for something that was almost too much to ask for. I thought that through again, thinking I fucked that up in my head. Shaking those thoughts away, I decided to ask her instead.
“And what is it you want me to give you?”
I needed her to say it. I needed to be sure that I wasn’t misreading this.
She blushed bright red and dropped her eyes. I slid my fingers under her chin and gently brought her gaze up to meet mine. “You have to tell me what you want.”
Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and she took a deep breath. “I want you to be my first…sexually.”
My mind was racing with a million different scenarios. What if she hated me when it was over? What if she hated herself for handing over something like that without a second thought? What if when it was all over, she didn’t want me anymore? That was the one that really stung. I didn’t want to be used to break some mold she was stuck in, but I also really wanted her.
“Why me?”
Her cheeks heated again and she fumbled with her fingers as she looked away. This wasn’t something that was easy for her to talk about, but I needed to know.
“Because…because everything in my life has been planned out for me. I’m always told what to do and where to go. Nothing has ever been for me. But I’m not under my parents’ thumb right now and I can decide this for myself, who I want to be my first. I feel something with you, and I know you think I’m spoiled and selfish and that I’m naive, but I know that you make me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before, and I want that. I want to know what real passion feels like. I want to feel your hands on me, touching me like no man ever has, and know that it’s my choice, that this was what I wanted.”
My heart pounded in my chest as I played her little speech in my head again. She wanted me, and not because I was her second choice or because she was fulfilling some fantasy. She wanted to choose who she slept with for the first time, and she wanted it to be me, because she felt something for me.
I slowly stood and held my hand out to her. I had to be insane for doing this. For all I knew, she wouldn’t feel a thing for me besides getting this checked off her list before she returned home. But I wanted it. I wanted to be her first, to know that if she decided to go back to her old life, she got to experience this with me, and that she chose it. But most of all, I wanted to have her at least once if she decided to walk out of my life.
She placed her hand in mine and stood. I could feel the shake of her hand, the nerves rolling through her, but I could also see the resolve in her eyes. There was no doubt in my mind that this was what she wanted. I led her back to the bedroom and shut the door behind us. She was staring at the bed, so I walked up behind her and brushed her hair over to one side, sliding my lips along her neck. She tensed at first, but as my tongue licked at her skin, she relaxed in my arms.
I wrapped my arms around her waist, giving her support as she started to sag against me. Her hands gripped my arms, holding me to her. I was lost in the feel of her, sliding my hands down her waist to the hem of her shirt. Slowly, I pulled her shirt up, skimming my hands against her soft skin. It seemed so wrong, my rough hands on her smooth skin. I’d never had something so pure and innocent before. I’d never had anyone that felt so breakable.
She raised her hands over her head, allowing me to pull her shirt over her head. I itched to rip off my pants and shove her down on the bed, but I couldn’t do that. Not with her. As hard as I was, I needed for her first time to be more than just a quick fuck.
My hands cupped her breasts, small and round in my large hands. I could feel the strong pulse of her heart. She was scared, nervous, but she wasn’t backing away. I pulled her earlobe into my mouth and sucked on it as my fingers slid one of the cups of her bra down, exposing her nipple to my touch. Her breath caught as I slowly slid my thumb over the tight bud. I wondered if she was already wet for me, if she felt as strung out right now as I was.
I unbuttoned her jeans and pushed the fabric over her hips, but my fingers had a mind of their own, twirling and pulling at her nipples. My body filled with lust as she slid her jeans down her legs. She turned in my arms, determination on her face as she looked at me. Her hands mimicked my own, pulling the hem of my shirt up. My eyes burned as her gaze slid over my body, taking in all my tattoos. When she’d seen me in the past, she had cautiously watched, but right now, she was taking in every inch of my chest. I pulled the shirt over my head and then stood there waiting to see what she would do. Her hands tentatively reached out for me and when her warm hands touched my abs, I sucked in a breath. My eyes slid closed as I tried to calm the burning need inside me.
Her hands slid lower until they settled on my jeans. I opened my eyes and locked my gaze with her. She bit her lip as she flicked the button and slid the zipper down. I took over, shoving my jeans down until I was standing just in my boxers. My cock was pushing hard against my underwear, like it was about to taste heaven. When her fingers teased the hem of my boxers, I lost it. I bent down in one swoop and grabbed the backs of her thighs, hoisting her in the air as I carried her to the bed.
Her arms wrapped around my neck, holding on tight as I laid her down on the bed and wedged myself between her legs. I had to taste her, to feel her soft lips against mine. And when her mouth opened, I slid my tongue inside and moaned as she kissed me back, pulling me into her. Her fingertips lightly trailed down my back, touching the muscles that were straining for control. My hips bucked against her, my cock straining to break free and sink inside her.
Her kisses turned frantic, her breathing heavy and hot against my mouth. She wanted this just as much as me. Kissing down her neck, I let my hands caress every inch of her skin, memorizing every dip and curve of her skin. I slipped my hands behind her back and unlatched her bra, sliding it off her arms.
I stopped, my gaze trailing over her beautiful body for a moment. She was gorgeous. Her breasts were so small, but so perfect. I bent over and swirled my tongue around her nipple, then flicked it over the hard bud
. She gasped and pulled me closer, whispering my name as I slid the flat of my tongue over her, and then sucked her into my mouth. She jolted beneath me, begging me for more. It was goddamn torture.
“Joe, I want you inside me,” she panted, but I just shook my head. I wasn’t ready to take her yet, and she wasn’t prepared for me. I slid my tongue down her chest, then across her hips until my tongue was just barely touching her panties. I could already smell her sweet cream and I was dying to taste it.
I closed my eyes and slowly kissed her through her panties, sliding my tongue lower and lower until I reached the wet spot on her panties. Sliding my hand up, I rested it over her heart, feeling it beat wildly out of control. Her hand gripped mine tightly as I ran my tongue up and down her pussy through her panties.
Her legs were shaking against my shoulders and I knew she was so close to coming, but she wasn’t coming anywhere but on my tongue. Hooking her panties in my fingers, I dragged them down her legs and tossed them away. Just a glimpse of her pussy was all it took for me to lose control. One minute I was staring at those pretty pussy lips and the next I was sliding my tongue across her, tasting the most amazing thing in the world. She cried out, grasping at anything to hold onto. I snatched her hand and interlocked our fingers, grounding her as I let her soar.
Her legs shook hard with every thrash of my tongue and then she was squeezing her legs tight around me, trying to stop the intense sensations rushing through her. Cream flooded my tongue, sliding down my throat as I greedily ate her pussy. I was starving for her, needing every last drop I could drag from her.
I yanked my boxers down and slid between her legs, hiking one of her legs around my waist. I was shaking, needing her so bad that I couldn’t even control myself. I kissed her hard as I positioned myself at her entrance. I slid my hand up and down her leg, trying to ease her as I slowly started to push inside. I knew it would be tight, but hell, she was strangling my cock with her pussy.
“Relax, sweetheart. Let me in.”
She took a shaky breath and laughed. “I don’t know how.”
Priceless Ink: A Small Town Romance Page 14