by Ali Parker
Layla carried the pot to the table herself, then ladled out portions into little gold and silver bowls she’d apparently found on a trip to India. It astonished me how non-braggy she could sound when casually mentioning things like a trip to India.
I’d never ever been to Indiana. Frankly, I’d never traveled for leisure at all.
“Dinner is served, darlings.” She took a seat at the head of the table, but it still didn’t feel like a formal dinner. “I hope you’re both hungry. No one is going anywhere until it’s all gone.”
Kayla winked at me when my eyes widened at the size of the pot. “She’s not serious. It’ll all be gone by morning, but it’s not only for us. It’s for the staff too. They’ll come get some in a few minutes.”
So the lady of the manor cooks for all her staff? I’d barely had the thought when others started trickling in. She didn’t only cook for them. She also dished up for every person and invited them to join us. They didn’t look surprised about it, either. Which meant that it wasn’t something she was only doing for show.
There was lots of laughter, but eventually, we were alone again. Layla took a sip of her water and turned her gaze to mine. “So, Haven, tell me something. Why veterinary sciences? How did you get into it?”
I told her my story in more detail than I’d ever told it in before, and she seemed enthralled by every word. She asked questions, told me more about herself, and soon, I found myself confiding hopes and dreams I had for the future that I’d never shared with anyone before.
“I’d love to eventually own some land with my own horses, but that will have to come in later years. I’ve got what I need for now, and it allows me to help the community out since I don’t have to push every cent I earn into paying off a property.”
“Kayla told me you do charity work. That’s something we’ve got in common.” Layla’s eyes lit up when she spoke about the organizations she was involved in.
Dinner ended far too early, but then I realized it was already almost midnight. When Kayla walked me out after I said goodbye to her mom, I literally hung my head in shame.
“God, I’m so sorry. I judged you and your mom so harshly and I was so wrong. I hope you can forgive me.”
“There’s nothing to forgive.” She gave me a tight hug. “There’s a reason why people think we’re assholes, and it’s because most people who live in houses like this are. I’m just glad you gave us a chance anyway.”
“You have a beautiful family. Make sure you tell them every day how much you love them.” I returned her hug, holding on for a little longer than usual. “Thank you for being you.”
“Likewise, my friend.” She didn’t seem to mind our lingering hug, eventually stepping back with tears shining in her eyes. “Thank you for being honest with me about what you thought about us before. Most people wouldn’t have had the courage to fess up. But you really aren’t most people.”
“Neither are you.” I said goodnight to her and drove home feeling a sense of belonging that I hadn’t felt in years—definitely not since my mom passed, but maybe even before that.
Finally, it felt like things were coming together in my life. Like maybe, just maybe, happy days would come again.
Chapter 24
COLTON
“Colton?” Ross called when I walked past his office, ready to leave for the day. “Would you come in here for a second?”
I frowned. His voice sounded strained, and that really wasn’t like him. Turning in my tracks, I walked back to his open door and leaned with my shoulder against it. “What’s up?”
“Can you come in?” He motioned to the door. “We need some privacy for what we’re about to discuss.”
My frown deepened and my heartrate kicked up a notch or two. “Okay. Is something wrong?”
After I closed the door, he let out a sigh and rubbed his palms over his jaw, squeezing his eyes shut. “It’s been more than a week since we talked about how I really need something new from you. Have you got anything except for the writeup you did about the music at Yellowstone?”
“Not yet.” I dropped into a chair and looked him in the eyes when he opened them again. “Is that what this is about?”
“Yep.” The lines around his eyes seemed more pronounced today. His usual carefree expression was replaced with one of worry. “I’m sure the summer bash was a huge success. You certainly seemed to have enjoyed it.”
“I did.” I smirked. “Especially the way it ended.”
“I’m sure.” The corners of his mouth pressed in. When he didn’t take the bait I’d put out, I realized how serious he was and my stomach clenched into knots. Ross was hardly ever this serious, and when he was, it meant big shit was happening. “Did you investigate anything at the party? Is this the first in a series in which we’re going to give people the scoop about how the vendors were ripped off or the food was rotten?”
“No. Why? You wanted an article and I wrote one. I know it’s a feel-good piece, but it’s for the community.”
“Feel-good pieces are fine, but they’re not what you get paid for.” He closed his eyes again and massaged his temples with his index and middle fingers. “Do you know what you get paid for, Colton? Investigative journalism. I was hoping having your name on any kind of byline would ease the pressure I’m getting, but it hasn’t.”
“What are you talking about, easing the pressure?” I rolled my eyes at him, even though those knots in my stomach were making me feel sick. “I’ve had breaks longer than this between articles in the past.”
“Yeah, but they’ve been while you were investigating something else. That’s the difference.” His blue eyes turned hard. “Don’t fuck around with me just because we’re friends. People don’t want to read fucking fluff pieces about live music from you and you know it. What’s going on, Colton?”
Sighing as I dragged both hands through my hair, I linked my fingers at the back of my neck and let my head roll back. “I’m not trying to fuck around. I’ve just been off recently. Tip after tip comes into my inbox, but none of them have panned out. Even my contacts are coming up dry. You told me to find a story and I’ve been looking. I just keep missing the mark.”
He held my gaze, his nostrils flaring. “You just keep missing the mark? What fucking mark? If I’d seen even a mark from you recently, I might’ve been able to help you.”
“Help me how? It’s only been a few weeks. Surely, no one can be that pissed about a few weeks.”
“A few weeks?” His fingers closed into fists and one slammed down on his desk. “It’s been almost two fucking months. Let’s call a spade a spade, shall we? You’re burned out.”
“I’m not burned out. I’ve just lost some steam.”
He scoffed. “You haven’t lost some steam. You’ve lost all steam. I need you to get your steam back. The paper needs you to get your steam back.”
“I will. Just not if you keep breathing down my fucking neck. Jesus. Give me a break.” Agitation coursed like an angry, living thing through my veins.
Ross exhaled heavily, a humorless laugh coming out of him. “It’s funny you should mention that because that’s exactly what’s happening. We’re giving you a break.”
My heart raced, and blood rushed in my ears, but I met his gaze dead on. He knew how much I needed this job, but I wasn’t going to beg or grovel for it. “A permanent one or a temporary one?”
“A temporary one for now.” The expression in his eyes finally softened. “I managed to convince the suits you’re just burned out, so we’re giving you some time off. Take it, figure out what’s going on with you, and when you come back, you need to be the old Colton.”
We stared at each other for a long time before I nodded. I really didn’t know what was going on with me or how to figure out how to fix it, but I knew I had to. My career would be over if I couldn’t get out of this slump. “Maybe I do need a break.”
“Good. I’m glad you understand.” Ross stood up and held out his hand. “Keep in touch, yeah? I r
eally need you fighting fit when you come back from this thing.”
“I will be.” I shook his offered hand, promised I wouldn’t fall off the face of the earth, and left the office.
As I climbed into my car, I realized my hands were shaking. I shook out my fingers, but nothing helped.
“Fuck!” I punched my steering wheel, then let my head drop forward against it. I hit my forehead so hard it was probably going to leave a bruise, but I didn’t give a damn. “What the fuck is wrong with me?”
While I sat there alternating between pulling my hair out and punching the steering wheel, an image of Haven popped into my head. As if ice water had been dumped over me, my rage, confusion, and irritation with myself subsided and left me feeling fucking empty inside.
For years, my career had been my sole focus. I’d been on top of my game, on top of the world not so long ago. Now I was on forced leave because even my best friend thought I couldn’t cut it.
What a fuckup.
Another image of her appeared behind my lids when my eyes fluttered closed as I fell back against the seat. She was laughing in this one, and hearing the sound—even in my own head—made some of the knots of tension loosen in my stomach.
It was then that I knew I needed her tonight. A quick glance at my console told me the clinic had already closed. I just fucking hoped and prayed that she didn’t have other plans.
I needed to lose myself in her, or else I was just going to fucking lose myself. My heart, mind, and soul didn’t want to let me believe that I’d become a fucking failure.
But it was in every thought I had. I could hardly believe that it’d been so long since I’d written anything real. Ross was right. Music festivals were a far cry from my usual. How did I—
I cut myself off and dug my phone out of my pocket, suddenly desperate to get to Haven. It was that same feeling I got when I thought about Mom’s illness, that sense that my lungs just couldn’t expand enough to get air into them.
“Hey, you,” she said in a singsong voice when she answered. “I just got home. Can I call you back? I’m still in the garage and I need to get Mae sorted.”
“Can I come over?” I asked instead of replying to her, my voice sounding hoarse and ragged even to my own ears.
“Sure. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m leaving the office now. I’ll see you in a few.”
I hung up and drove to her house in a daze. She must’ve been waiting for me because her door opened before I’d even fully parked.
Her brow was furrowed with concern when she met my eyes, and her arms were around me as soon as I was out of the car. “Colton? What’s going on? What happened? Is your mom okay?”
I hugged her close and buried my face in her hair, just breathing her in and letting the steady beating of her heart against my chest calm me down. “I’m fine. My mom’s fine. I just need you tonight. Is that okay?”
She pulled away from me just far enough to be able to look into my eyes and let me see the questions in hers, but she didn’t ask them. She just nodded and jerked her head back in the direction of her house.
“Sure. It’s more than okay. Let’s go inside.”
I let her take my hand and guide me up the few steps into her home. The sound of her door closing behind us almost startled me, but then I blinked and realized I’d made it here—to her.
And she’d accepted that I needed her without asking a single question. She’s my fucking dream girl, I swear.
I hadn’t come to her for sex, but I kissed her like I just might have. The truth was that I wanted to drown in her, to lose myself in her body, and never find myself again. Possibly the most overwhelming need I’d ever felt slammed into me when I kissed her, and I let her feel it with every swipe of my tongue and hear it in every sound I made.
Haven’s lips were soft but unrelenting against mine, giving as good as she got and making me understand that somehow, without a word having been said about it, she understood what I needed better than I did.
I picked her up in my arms, never taking my mouth off hers as I carried her to her bedroom. When I set her down not-so-gently on the bed, she shook her head and stood up again, pushing me down instead.
“Let me,” she whispered against my lips before pulling all the way back.
She stood in front of me in her usual work get-up of jeans, sneakers and a T-shirt, but she was still fucking gorgeous. Moving with slow but deliberate actions, she gripped the hem of her shirt and yanked it off, letting it fall to the floor at her side.
Kicking her shoes off, she sashayed out of her jeans but kept her light purple bra and panties on. Her hair cascaded past her shoulders and down her back when she pulled the elastic free and she tucked the front strands behind her ears. Her lips were slightly parted, that cute little mole above them capturing my attention for a second as I drank her in.
A low groan echoed in the room, and I knew it had to have come from me. Haven took my hands and put them on her hips, then stepped between my legs where I sat on the bed.
“Kiss me, Colton,” she whispered as she tugged on my hair and dipped my head back. “Kiss me, and I’ll help you make it go away.”
Chapter 25
HAVEN
Colton looked at me like he was dying of thirst and I was the only source of water within a hundred miles. There was such pure need in his eyes that I was powerless to it, but there was also something haunting in that look.
A penetrating, desperate kind of sadness that rocked me to my very core.
I didn’t know what happened to put it there, but I was willing to do just about anything to take it away. Then, once he was feeling better, I would find out what it was all about.
His fingers splayed over my hips, flexing when he dropped his head back to kiss me. The kiss was as fast and furious as the previous one had been, as desperate for release, or escape, or something.
Regardless of the obvious emotion behind whatever had driven him here, my body reacted with raw, unadulterated lust. He pulled me into his lap until I was straddling him, my knees and legs on the bed on either side of him. The bulge pressing against my aching center told me my body wasn’t the only one excited by the intensity in the room. I was ready to screw his brains out.
I didn’t even mind that he’d come to me for this distraction, escape, or whatever it was. It didn’t make me feel used. It made me feel needed. Like he was letting me into some kind of dark moment in his life and trusting me to help him get through it.
Or maybe I was romanticizing a booty call.
Somehow, I doubted it, though. It felt like there was a lot more to it than that.
He let out a rough moan into my mouth, drawing me out of my head. Rolling his hips beneath me, he ground himself against my soaked panties. “Fuck, Haven.”
The words came out in a hoarse voice murmured between kisses. One of his hands traveled up into my hair, gripping it at the base of my skull to hold me to him.
I reached between us to start on his shirt, but he sat back a little, using his other hand to yank it off over his head. He let me take care of his pants, leaning back as I lifted myself up a few inches to be able to roll them off. A few kicks of his feet later, he was completely naked underneath me.
Lowering my head, I traced the shell of his ear with my tongue and felt him shudder against me. His arms wrapped around me, and he unhooked my bra, but I didn’t stop what I was doing. Keeping my movements slow and unhurried, I ran my tongue along his jaw and nipped his lower lip before giving the other side of his face the same treatment.
I’d told him I’d help him take it away. Realistically, I could really only distract him from it for a while, but I was determined to drag the distraction out as long as I could. I kissed a path down his throat and sucked lightly at random spots.
When I reached his chest, I circled my tongue around each of his nipples before blowing cool breath over them. Soft groans kept coming from his throat, and I pushed him back until he was lying on his back
on the bed.
Tucking the hair that’d come loose back behind my ears, I continued my descent. My mouth and tongue caressed every inch of his muscled torso, finally getting to explore those dips and ridges the way I’d wanted to since the first time I saw them.
His thighs were quivering by the time I reached his prominent erection. His stomach dipped, and his hips gave little thrusts I suspected he couldn’t control. Wetness leaked from the tip of cock, and I smiled when I came face to face with it.
I glanced back up the length of his gorgeous body to find his eyes screwed shut and his fingers digging into my comforter. I think the distraction is definitely working.
My core was aching and needy, and I could feel myself leaking wetness too, but I ignored my own need for now. Wrapping my lips around his broad head, I sucked him in as deep as I could and used my fingers around the base of his shaft.
His hands soon flew into my hair, gripping it so hard it was almost painful. “Haven. Fuck. You have to stop soon.”
I shook my head without letting him go, bringing my free hand to his hip to tell him to stay when he tried to scoot back. I felt him pulse against my tongue.
His voice was strained when he tried to warn me again. “Haven. I can’t—I’m too—” His thrusting became erratic and he stopped trying to hold back, finally filling my mouth with his hot release before going slack on the bed. “I didn’t want it to happen that way.”
I released him but kept my hands and mouth on his body as I kissed my way back up to his lips. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you there again. When we do, it can happen however you want it to. Wherever you want it to.”
“Next time, I’m in charge,” he growled before taking a deep breath and flipping us over. He repeated what I had done to him, planting kisses on every bare inch of my body, making me squirm before he even removed my panties.
“Yes,” I agreed breathlessly, moving my hips from side to side in a bid to get his attention. “You’re in charge.”