Maintenance Required: A small town romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 1)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

“You know, what does it matter? You probably wouldn’t approve. It most likely wouldn’t meet your high standards that you set for everyone.”

  I was a little taken aback by that. “Seriously? Is that what you think of me? That I wouldn’t approve of your job choice?”

  “Well, yeah, Eric. You put all these expectations on everyone.”

  “All I expect is that you get a job and pay your own way. As long as that job is legal, I really don’t give a shit what you do.”

  He watched me for a moment, like he really didn’t believe me.

  I rolled my eyes. “Just tell me what you’re doing.”

  He sighed and pulled up the sleeve of his shirt, showing off almost a full sleeve of ink. “I work with Decker.”

  “That tattoo guy?”

  “The same one that gave you that tat,” he nodded to my arm.

  “At a biker shop?” I tried not to let the judgement seep in, but obviously I didn’t do a very good of it.

  Joe shoved his sleeve down and huffed in irritation. “See? Apparently, that’s not a good enough job for you. But I like it, and I’m good at it.”

  “Alright,” I said quickly. “If that’s what you like, then that’s great. I just didn’t know you were into all that shit.”

  “You know I like to draw.”

  “Yeah, but I thought you would…draw pictures and shit. Like…flowers or something.”

  “I’m not a teenage girl. I draw cool shit, and if you bothered to pay attention, I’ve been doing this for a long time.”

  Well, now I really felt like an asshole. “Look, I’m sorry. If this is what you like to do, then I’m glad you have it.”

  “Good, because I’m saving up for my own shop.”

  “Really?” I asked, a little surprised.

  “Yeah, well, that’s why I’m still at home. It’s not like I stay here for your cooking.”

  “I’m a good cook,” I said defensively.

  “No self-respecting man lives at home at my age.”

  “Hey,” Andrew snapped. “Why should I have to leave? Just because I’m a grown man doesn’t mean I have to live on my own. Besides, he’s still a bachelor,” he jerked his head at me.

  “Yeah, but not for long.”

  “Are you planning on marrying her?” Andrew asked in surprise.

  “Well, it’s still a little early for that, but I’m hoping it’s going in that direction.”

  “Wait, so you proposed to her as soon as you found out she was pregnant, but now that you’re dating her, it’s too soon?”

  I glared at Joe for pointing out the flaw in my logic. “Hey, I never said I was perfect. But she’s pretty great, right?”

  “Yeah,” Joe nodded. “I mean, I don’t know what she’s like in bed, but-“

  “Can you please knock it off with that shit? And stop going through her lingerie. It’s creepy.”

  “I did that once, and I came upon it by accident. It’s not like I was digging through her drawers and started jacking off when I found her lingerie. I was only thinking of you, man.”

  “That…doesn’t make it any better,” I grimaced, thinking of him picking out my woman’s lingerie.

  I walked over to the stove and started pulling out stuff to make breakfast. With a glance at the clock, I knew I didn’t have too much longer before Kat would be up. I opened the cabinet to pull out the pan when a mouse jumped out at me. I fell back with a shout and watched as the little fucker ran across the floor.

  “What the hell was that?” Joe asked.

  “A mouse.”

  “It’s by the fridge,” Andrew pointed. “Quick, grab the broom!”

  I snatched it from the corner and darted toward the fridge. Andrew grabbed the cereal box, like he was going to trap it in there.

  “Here, I got this,” Joe said, picking up the mop and turning it around. “Okay, I’ll shove this under the fridge and chase it out. You be ready to either kill it or shoo it into the cereal box.”

  I nodded in agreement. Andrew got down on the ground, ready to slide the box in any direction the mouse ran. I got in a fighting stance, ready to beat the shit out the mouse.

  “Alright, one, two, three!” Joe shoved the stick of the mop under the fridge and violently started swinging it from side to side. I watched, my heart beating out of control as I waited for the fucker to run out. But nothing happened.

  “Damnit, it must have gone up into the fridge coils,” I snapped.

  “I got this,” Andrew said, standing up and walking over to the fridge. He hefted the fridge back, getting it to tip back on its hind feet before letting it slam to the floor.

  Katherine

  I woke right before the alarm went off. I didn’t want to get out of bed. I had been thoroughly fucked last night, and now I just wanted to call in sick and stay in bed all day. I moved my hand over to Eric’s side of the bed and sighed, wishing he was still in bed with me. I heard a loud bang from downstairs and sat up in bed, brushing the hair away from my face. When I heard another bang, I got up and quickly threw on a t-shirt and raced to the stairs. When I got to the bottom, I saw something that made my eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

  “Get it!” Andrew shouted. He was holding the fridge in a tilted back position, but let it slam to the ground. Joe started shoving the mop under the fridge while Eric was slamming the broom down on the ground.

  “Right there!” Joe shouted, pointing to something. Andrew grabbed a cereal box that was laying on the ground and slammed it down on the ground.

  “I got it!”

  “Move,” Eric commanded. He lifted the broom over his head and slammed the broom down on the cereal box over and over again, violently beating the box to death.

  “I think you got it,” Joe said, carefully peeking at the box.

  Andrew released the box and Eric slowly lowered the broom to the ground. Andrew slowly lifted the box up and looked into the opening. He leaned in a little closer and shouted, jumping back from the box. A small mouse jumped out and landed on his face. Andrew screamed again, swatting at his face just as Eric brought the broom down on his head. The mouse jumped from his face and scurried across the floor, back under the fridge.

  “Goddamnit!” Eric shouted, slamming the broom down on the floor. “That’s three times that fucker has gotten away from us!”

  “You didn’t have to slam the broom into my face,” Andrew groaned, holding his face. “I think that fucker scratched me.”

  “Well, if you had just taken the box outside, it wouldn’t have jumped out at you.”

  “Hey, I thought that the man that swings a hammer all day could at least kill a rodent,” Andrew argued.

  “Oh, so this is my fault?” Eric shot back. “It probably got in here because you always leave the door standing open.”

  “Because I’m the one that always carries in the groceries and you guys never help,” Andrew spat.

  I could see this wasn’t going to end anytime soon, and as much fun as it was to watch the inner workings of the male brain, I had to get to work. “Hey!” I shouted over the chaos.

  All three of them turned to me, Joe and Andrew’s eyes bugging out while Eric looked like he was ready to murder me. I glanced down, realizing that I had come downstairs in only Eric’s shirt. Eric grabbed Andrew and Joe by the collars and marched them out onto the front porch.

  “Don’t look at my woman’s breasts.” He shoved them out and slammed the door, locking it behind him. The guys started banging on the door, but Eric only had eyes for me. “Could you please not walk downstairs anymore in just my t-shirt?”

  “You don’t like it?” I asked playfully.

  “I do, but I don’t need my brothers seeing you so…naked.”

  “I’m not naked.”

  He fingered the sleeve of the t-shirt. “This t-shirt hides pretty much nothing on your gorgeous body.” His hand slid from the t-shirt to cup my breast through the fabric. He ran his thumb over my nipple and groaned. “Fuck it. I can be late again.”

>   He grabbed me suddenly, lifting me off my feet. I screeched in surprise, but he didn’t stop as he hauled me back upstairs to his bedroom.

  “Eric! I’m going to be late for work!”

  “You should have thought about that before you came downstairs looking like that.”

  “I heard banging. I thought something was wrong.”

  “And you were going to help in just a t-shirt?” He laid me down on the bed and lifted my shirt, sighing slightly. “And no panties. Yes, I can see how you would have been helpful.”

  I didn’t have a chance to say anything. His fingers were on me, sliding inside me and filling me so quickly that all I could do was gasp. I was powerless against him, and when he slid inside me just minutes later, I decided that being late to work was totally worth it if I woke up like this every morning. Well, minus the mouse bashing.

  I rushed into the hospital and tossed my purse in my locker before hurrying to clock in. I was pulling up my hair when I saw Chrissy walking toward me, tapping her watch.

  “I know.”

  “You’re lucky that Charlene is in a meeting right now, or you’d be getting your ass reamed.”

  “I couldn’t help it.”

  “Did your Jeep break down? I keep telling you to get a new vehicle.”

  “No, it wasn’t that.”

  “You overslept?”

  “Not exactly.”

  She put her hand on my arm to stop me. “You were playing handyman with Eric?”

  I flushed bright red, but ignored her comment.

  “I wouldn’t have been late, but there was a mouse and then I’m not sure exactly what happened. One minute I was downstairs and the next I was upstairs with a huge dick inside me.”

  She grinned wickedly. “So, you’re spending the night now. Two nights in a row, that’s pretty serious.”

  “It’s not serious. It’s just…”

  She quirked an eyebrow at me.

  “Okay, it might be serious, but I don’t want to jinx it.”

  “Right, because saying that you like the guy, the same one that is obviously obsessed with you, is going to make the whole thing go up in smoke.”

  “You never know.”

  “Mhmm,” she smiled.

  “Remember when he picked me up for our first date and you gushed over how hot he was? Remember how that turned out?”

  “Yeah, but that was before, when you were both acting like assholes. Now you’ve found your rhythm.”

  “And I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “So, have you thought about it?”

  I stared at her in confusion. She was biting her lip, like she was so excited that she just couldn’t hold back whatever she was thinking.

  “Thought about what?”

  “Marriage,” she said exasperatedly. “Geez, you’re in love with your baby daddy-“

  “My intended,” I corrected.

  “Your what?”

  “Well, I couldn’t just keep calling him my baby daddy. It has a weird vibe.”

  “Okay,” she said slowly. “Anyway, are you thinking about marriage?”

  “Chrissy, it’s way too early to be thinking about something like that. Yes, I think I’m falling for him and he’s so much more than I first thought, but this is still the honeymoon phase of the relationship. Everything’s good now, but what about in six months? We already have a baby on the way. Eric was right, we need to take this slow. If we mess this up, it’ll screw up our whole family.”

  She sighed and picked up her next chart. “Girl, sometimes you just have to take a chance on love. This might have started out as the date from hell, but you can’t deny that you’re building something amazing with him. And if you hold back too long, you could do just as much damage.”

  She walked away without another word. I wasn’t sure if she was right or not, but I knew that I didn’t want to screw this up with Eric. He was the first guy that I really wanted to be with, but with all our baggage, I just couldn’t rush it.

  Eric

  The last two months had been absolutely amazing. I went to the doctor with Kat and heard our baby’s heartbeat, and that seemed to solidify something inside me. We were supposed to be together. She spent most of her time at my house, though there were times that I spent the night at her place just to have some space from my brothers. But they didn’t seem to bother Kat. She actually enjoyed hanging out with them, which pissed me off. They would joke around and watch movies together. She was only supposed to watch movies with me. I knew that was a stupid way to look at our situation. My brothers really liked her, so I should be grateful they got along so well, but I wanted her to myself.

  We both agreed to do something the other liked once a month. The first month, she made me try mushroom risotto. I think it was payback for that first date. I hated it, but I ate that whole damn thing just to prove to her that I could. I made her help me replace the windows on the house. She didn’t actually do all that much because I was paranoid she would hurt herself, but I did make her stand and watch me work. I liked the way her eyes watched my body. It made all the hard work worth it when I took her upstairs and fucked her at the end of the night.

  Last month, she took me to a fair and made me get on the freaking ferris wheel. I tried to argue that it wasn’t safe for her. Pregnant women shouldn’t go on rides. We both knew that a ferris wheel wasn’t dangerous to her, and she argued the point in front of the whole damn line of people. By the time she was done, even the other guys in line were giving me crap. She grinned at me with satisfaction, knowing that the only reason I didn’t want to go on the damn ride was because I hated heights. I squeezed her hand the whole damn time, terrified that we were going to plummet to our deaths.

  Coming up with something to do with her was even harder. She didn’t seem to mind watching me work. In fact, she liked it quite a lot. So, I picked something that I thought would drive her insane. I took her to a foreign film. Turns out, she loved it. I was bored out of my mind the entire night. The only good thing that happened was that she was so turned on by the French accents that she played out her own Parisian fantasy when we returned home that night.

  So, now it was time for us to do it again this month. I had been wracking my brain, trying to come up with something that would get to her the way she got to me. It turned out, I seemed to be the only one that really had to step outside my comfort zone. Nothing seemed to phase her. It was like I was an old car that she was slowly fixing up.

  She rolled over in bed and wrapped her arms around me, snuggling into my back. “Morning.”

  I rolled over so I could look at her and smiled. She was so beautiful in the morning. I could wake up next to her forever, and that thought didn’t even scare me. I knew I was falling harder and harder for this woman every day, but I didn’t say anything. I worried that she would run away as far and as fast as she could. I always managed to fuck things up when something big was on the line. I fucked up our first date and pretty much everything after that. Now that we had our rhythm, I was scared to death that something I did would tip the scales and she would slide away from me.

  “Good morning, beautiful.”

  She smiled up at me brightly and slid her hand down my chest. “So, I was thinking…” Her fingers trailed further down my chest until they skimmed over my growing erection. Thinking was out now. There was absolutely no thinking once her hands were on me. “Today is the day.”

  She gripped my dick and squeezed slightly, stroking me up and down. I swallowed hard. “Uh-huh.”

  A wicked grin crossed her lips as she moved down the bed, shoving the covers out of the way as she took my cock in her mouth. The nerves in my brain were misfiring as the warmth of her mouth coated me. Up and down, her head bobbed, but her eyes never left mine. She pulled back, giving my dick one long lick.

  “So, I’ve been thinking about your challenge for this month.”

  “Yeah,” I groaned as she took me deep in her throat.

  She stroked my cock,
tilting her head to the side. “And I was thinking that I wanted to do something that would give you pleasure.”

  “Please tell me that my challenge is to see how many times I can fuck you in one day.”

  She chuckled and swallowed me whole again. “No, I was thinking that there’s something you can do, something you might be uncomfortable with, but it would heighten your pleasure. And mine.”

  My hips thrust up as she took me again, sucking me harder this time. She was an evil seductress. “Tell me what to do.”

  She jerked me faster. My heart was pounding out of control. Whatever she wanted, I would give it to her.

  “I want you to get a Prince Albert.”

  I moaned as she sucked me hard, working my cock with both her mouth and her hand. I was so close. Just a few more strokes and I would be coming hard.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yeah,” I moaned. “Fuck, whatever you want.”

  She grinned wickedly at me and then took me in her mouth one last time, shoving my cock all the way down her throat. I shot off inside her, my hips jerking violently as she held me to her. I was panting hard as she slowly licked my cock clean, then sat up with a smile.

  “I already made you an appointment for this afternoon, so you should shower and then we can get some lunch before we head over.”

  I snatched at her hand, wanting to return the favor, but she just gave me a saucy wink and strode away. I grinned, flopping back down in bed as I stared at the ceiling. I tried to remember what she had asked me to do, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember. Something about a prince. It didn’t matter. If she gave me head like that every morning, she would have me jumping out of a plane within a few months.

  I quickly showered and dressed, then went downstairs for breakfast. Joe and Andrew were sitting at the table while Kat made breakfast. I loved seeing her in my kitchen. I had been doing most of the cooking, but every once in a while, she insisted on doing the cooking. And she was fantastic, even if she hated cooking. Hell, if she wanted to stay home and take care of our child, I would have no problem with that. She could do all the cooking and I could come home every day to images of this. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her, kissing her neck as my hand slid over her very small bump. She was getting close to the five month mark and I couldn’t wait until she was further along and showing more.