by Croix, J. H.
The house sat on Main Street and overlooked a marshy field with the bay and mountains in the distance. The sky was cloudy with shafts of lavender and pink cutting through the clouds from the setting sun. A brisk wind stirred whitecaps on the bay. A stand of birch to the side of the field fluttered, yellow leaves blowing off in the fall wind. The fireweed’s glorious burst of fuchsia had faded with blanched petals scattered on the ground. Bright red and orange leaves from the low bushes dotted the landscape. He glanced to the mountains, wondering when termination dust would fall—the first snow that coated the mountaintops and served as the harbinger of winter.
He followed rustling sounds and found Risa in one of the bedrooms surrounded by boxes. She glanced up and put her hands on her hips. Her hair was in a rumple around her face, dark strands falling across her eyes. She wore a pair of faded leggings that hugged her voluptuous hips, paired with a bright red t-shirt that managed to accentuate her breasts. He got hard just looking at her, and she wasn’t even trying. In fact, she looked irritable and tired. She sat down on the bed with a thud.
“Now I remember why I never pushed too hard to move here. I’ve thought about it for years, but it’s so much work. Good thing I’m here now because if I’d had this day before I got here, I’d have changed my mind.” She stretched her arms behind her back and glanced over at him.
“How was your day?”
Darren tried not to stare at her breasts, but she’d clasped her hands behind her back, which pushed them forward. He forced his eyes up to her face while his pulse galloped and lust thrummed through him. “Pretty good. This time of year is nice because things slow down at the station without so many tourists around. Do you want some help unpacking?” he asked, thinking something to do would help him get his body under control.
Risa let her arms fall and pushed herself up from the bed. “If you’re offering, I’ll take any help you want to give.”
Darren tugged his jacket off and tossed it on a chair by the window. “Tell me what you want to go where.”
An hour later, he discovered he and Risa worked quite well together. She wasn’t fussy or picky about anything and preferred efficiency. She’d given him rough guidance on which boxes went where and was happy to have him unpack however he saw fit. They’d gotten the kitchen almost completely organized and were now working in what would be Risa’s bedroom. He was relieved to be focused on something as he’d gotten his mind off of how good it would feel to run his hands over the curves hiding underneath her leggings and t-shirt. She’d given him free rein to simply open boxes and told him to ask if he wasn’t sure where something could go.
He reached the bottom box in a stack. The label read ‘Bathroom/bedroom.’ With a flick of his pocketknife, the tape split and he opened the box. The top was occupied with obvious bathroom items, such as shampoo. After carting those items into the bathroom, he discovered a towel layered over the bottom portion of the box. By this point, he was on autopilot and simply tugged the towel out of the way. The control he’d congratulated himself on a few minutes ago evaporated. He was staring at what appeared to be her personal toy collection. At a glance, his eyes took in a bright purple vibrator snug beside a pink one with some kind of special attachment. His brain instantly conjured a picture of Risa using one of these. Just like that, his body was hijacked again. His cock was rock hard. He didn’t realize he’d groaned aloud until Risa walked into the room.
“Everything okay? You have no idea how much help you’ve been. The kitchen’s done, the living room’s almost unpacked and I bet we’ll finish these boxes in just a few minutes,” she said, cheerfully oblivious to his current state.
Darren’s head whipped up. She stood at the foot of the bed, her cheeks flushed, and a streak of dirt on her arm. A curious look flashed through her eyes when she met his. She stepped to his side and looked into the box.
“Oh,” she said. The word fell with a soft breath.
She glanced up at him, her pulse beating visibly in her neck. He tried to rein himself in, but what little control he had was shattered when he saw the answering desire in her eyes. Moving swiftly, he tugged her against him. Her head tilted back, her mouth opening under his instantly. He kissed her as if he was drowning, and she was the air he needed to survive.
Without breaking his lips from hers, he wrapped an arm around her waist and turned to sit on the bed, using his other arm to shove everything out of the way in one quick swipe. Risa didn’t hold back, which he loved about her. She pushed him back against the bed, straddling him and circling her hips against his cock. He was so hard, he could barely stand it and groaned against her mouth. He pushed her up and tore her shirt off, reaching around her back to unhook her bra. He paused for a long moment and just looked at her. Her breasts swayed in front of him, her nipples peaked. He reached up to roll them between his thumbs and forefingers.
Her breath came in fitful gasps. Leaning up, he tugged one nipple into his mouth and sucked deeply. She bucked against him, crying out. He did the same to her other nipple. Her eyes were dark and wild when he paused to glance up at her. She pushed back swiftly and stood, tearing at his jeans. In seconds, they were skin to skin, their limbs tangling on the bed as they rolled against each other.
Darren pulled Risa’s wrists above her head, holding them in place with one hand. He paused to look at her. Her breasts rose and fell with her ragged breath. Her nipples glistened from his mouth. Keeping his eyes on hers, he dragged his free hand down her abdomen, savoring the soft curve. Her mouth opened on a gasp when he slid his fingers through her dark curls and dipped into her folds. She was dripping wet, he almost came at the feel of how turned on she was. He’d meant to tease her and then sink into her, but he needed more. Releasing her wrists, he shifted down her body, dusting kisses along the way. He shouldered her legs apart and brought his mouth against her. The salty tang of her desire consumed him. He stroked his tongue through her folds, circling her clit and following the rhythm of her hips, which shifted and bucked under his mouth.
“Darren…I need…”
“This?” he questioned as he slid two fingers into her channel, stroking deeply in and out, just as he sucked on her clit. She convulsed around him, her cries broken by her gasps for air. He stilled his fingers and slowly brought his mouth away. In a quick move, he shifted on top of her, his elbows bracketing her face. He surged smoothly and completely into her. Her name fell from his lips in a groan. Her channel pulsed around him, hugging him in its tight, wet grip. He held still for a moment and met her eyes. The bare intimacy of the moment slammed into his chest. Her eyes widened and vulnerability arced in their dark depths. He cupped her cheek and brought his lips to hers as he began to slowly stroke into her.
He forced himself to give her time to peak again, holding back until she was gasping his name. When he felt her begin to convulse around his length, he let go, coming in a shout against her. He shifted slightly to keep his weight from crushing her. They lay still, a tangle of sweaty limbs and broken breathing. He brushed a loose lock of hair away from her eyes. He felt so close to her, it startled him. He didn’t know what to make of it, so he simply held still inside. When she turned her head and met his eyes with a hint of a smile, he relaxed a little.
“So, uh, that box of yours…”
***
Darren kicked the door closed behind him with his booted foot and strode quickly to the kitchen counter to dump an armful grocery bags. Hallie breezed in the room and immediately came over to start putting groceries away.
“Hey! How was your day?” she asked cheerfully.
“The usual.”
“Does the usual include a date with Risa tonight?”
Darren paused and glanced at Hallie. She grinned and continued putting groceries away. He elected to ignore her question.
After a few moments of silence between them, Hallie closed the refrigerator and leaned on it after she placed the last item inside. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. If he weren’t
so on edge about Risa, he might have laughed. Hallie attempting to look angry was rare and verged on comical. Her brown hair was in a ponytail on the top of her head. She wore her glasses today, the frames bright blue and round. The blue matched the t-shirt she wore. Hallie was generally a cheery sort, so any annoyance from her was uncommon.
“What?” he asked.
“What’s wrong with asking you about seeing Risa? She lives in Diamond Creek now. You’ve seen her pretty often the last few weeks since she moved here. I’m excited for you, and she’s awesome.”
Hallie blithely zeroed in on what made him shift uncomfortably where he stood as he wondered how to get a handle on this. Way back when he met Risa and she nearly blew his mind with a kiss, he tried to slow things down because he didn’t want to treat her like some casual fling. But he’d had some crazy idea he could remain rational and in control. With Risa, he was anything but. He drove by her apartment repeatedly every day—not because he purposefully did so, but because she lived smack in the middle of town and being a cop involved plenty of driving around town. An unintended side effect of the mind-blowing sex they had was that every time he happened to drive by, his mind revisited another moment with her, the result being he was in a semi-constant state of arousal.
Meanwhile, he had Hallie constantly dropping hints, Sylvia making feeble attempts to tactfully ask about Risa, and his own conflicted feelings. He thought back to Jared’s quick observation that he should avoid overthinking. Much easier said than done. At the sound of an aggrieved sigh coming from Hallie, he realized he hadn’t replied to her. Because…overthinking.
“Hallie, don’t get me wrong, Risa is awesome. I know you’re excited about us, but give me a little time here. I’m not so sure I’m ready to dive in the deep end yet. I don’t know if she is either.”
Hallie let her arms fall and sighed. “I figured you’d say something like that.”
She looked so disappointed, he felt compelled to explain. “We haven’t even known each other that long…”
Hallie pushed away from the refrigerator, cutting him off with a wave. “Darren, I was just excited for you. That’s all. But don’t be stupid and stand in your own way for something amazing,” she said as she walked off.
Darren leaned against the counter with a sigh. He wished he could get everyone off his back long enough to let him think for himself. Maybe he was standing in his own way. He didn’t question that Risa was amazing. He questioned his ability to be whole enough to open himself up to someone else. Though he was in so deep with Risa, he’d lost control of the situation and had let her much farther inside his heart than he’d ever intended.
Chapter 19
Risa let herself into the gallery and immediately got to work. She’d arranged for the newly painted sign for Midnight Sun Arts to be hung today. Within moments, two men showed up with the sign and got to work. The inside of the gallery was almost ready to go. Ethan and Jack were headed down to Diamond Creek today. Once the sign was up, and they gave the go ahead, they’d open the gallery later this week. She’d hemmed and hawed over whether it was a good idea to open on the tail end of tourist season, but Ethan and Jack thought the holiday sales would get them on good footing. They also insisted they didn’t want to wait through the winter and attempt to open when the hordes of tourists descended in the spring.
As she checked and rechecked the displays and reviewed inventory, her mind kept rubbing thoughts of Darren around. She alternated between pulse pounding fantasies about the next time she saw him and wondering what the hell she’d gotten herself into. Her heart was treading on dangerous ground. She had moments when she wanted to try to talk to him about what she was to him and where they were going, if anywhere, but she found herself holding back. When they were tangled up in each other, so close she couldn’t tell her heartbeat from his, she thought perhaps he felt as she did. But outside of that, Darren’s reserve held. She pondered what Hallie told her, but didn’t dare ask him about it.
The door to the gallery swung open, and Ethan and Jack entered.
Ethan paused in the center of the room and spun in a circle, while Jack walked to her side behind the counter and gave her a quick kiss.
“It’s look perfect,” Jack said softly.
Ethan came to a stop and held his arms wide. “I love it! You’ve done wonders in the last few weeks. Precisely why we wanted you to manage it. We haven’t even had to worry.”
He strode to her side and tugged her into a quick hug before leaning against the counter. Jack had already started perusing through the gallery email on the computer.
Ethan eyed her. “So have you talked to Darren yet?”
“More than once actually,” she deadpanned.
Jack chuckled, but didn’t look up.
Ethan rolled his eyes. “Let me clarify. I meant have you talked to him?”
Risa couldn’t fight the flush that rose up her neck and face. She shook her head quickly.
Ethan eyed her for a long moment. She felt like a coward. Not because of Ethan asking her about it, but because she shouldn’t be so damn scared to try to talk to Darren. That’s what reasonable adults did. But she was half-afraid of his answer and what it might mean for her heart. She’d thought herself recovered from the embarrassment of one of her closest friends basically stealing her boyfriend right under her nose. And perhaps she had in some ways. But her heart was feeling a bit too exposed with Darren. He was too much of everything she wanted.
Jack turned away from the computer and glanced between her and Ethan, his eyes pausing on Ethan. “Cut her some slack. Risa gets to figure this out in her own time and her own way.”
Ethan’s mouth dropped in mock outrage as he reached over and cuffed Jack on the shoulder. “She’s had weeks already! I bet she’s been getting plenty of action between the sheets.”
Risa couldn’t hold back her laugh. “So what if I have?”
Jack shook his head, his eyes concerned. While he wouldn’t be as bossy as Ethan, she knew he’d worry about her. She wished she could tell him not to bother, but she was worried about herself.
Her laugh faded. “I know I need to talk to him. I’m afraid I’m in too deep already,” she said with a sigh.
***
Hours later, Risa walked along the beach. She’d had a wonderful dinner with Jack and Ethan at The Boathouse Café. After they’d driven away, she’d followed a path from the parking lot onto the beach. Fall wind gusted off the bay. The long summer days were rapidly shortening. The sun was setting in a burst of soft colors—pink, gold, and lavender swirling through the sky. A raft of sea otters floated within view of the shore. She counted eighteen of them clustered together, drifting on their backs in the water. Their furred faces turned her direction when she walked by, and she couldn’t help but smile. Two otters rolled onto their sides and dove under the water, coming up in front of the raft of their companions. They watched her curiously and then rolled onto their backs again, rising and falling in the soft roll of waves.
A bright red lava rock caught her eyes, and she tucked it in her pocket. Her fleece jacket didn’t do much to keep the wind out, so she eventually turned back and drove home, chilled through. When she pulled up at her apartment, her phone beeped. Glancing down, she saw a text from Darren.
Okay if I stop by?
She forced herself to wait, letting herself into her apartment, kicking off her shoes and hanging her jacket before she pulled her phone out again.
Of course! When will you be over?
The thing was, she couldn’t say no. It was him. She jumped at any chance to see him. Her heart did a little happy dance. Her body thrummed with anticipation. She knew she had to talk to him soon, but she wasn’t going to let that interfere with seeing him tonight. Just as she began to wonder why he hadn’t replied, she heard footsteps on the stairs outside leading to her apartment. A quick knock, and she flung the door open. Darren stood there, his chocolate gaze on her instantly, his cheeks ruddy from the cold. His jac
ket hung loosely from his broad shoulders, his muscled chest outlined against the thin cotton of his t-shirt.
Risa grabbed his hand and tugged him against her. “Hi,” she said, her voice husky.
The corner of his mouth kicked up in a smile, and his eyes darkened. “Hi, how…”
She cut him off with a kiss, slipping her hand around his neck and yanking his mouth to hers. Darren didn’t hesitate and instantly swept his tongue inside her mouth, stroking against hers. Kissing him was so decadent, she could have done it all day. He never rushed through it and treated kisses as important as the main act. Actually, he treated every moment when his hands were on her like that. Slow, sensual attention to detail that left her gasping and stole her senses.
Desire filtered around them, sensation teeming in her center and swirling outward. Darren stepped closer, his hard body coming against hers. He kicked the door shut behind him, a rush of chilled air whooshing through the room when he did. Her skin pebbled and he pulled back, sliding his hands up and down her arms.
“You’re cold,” he said.
“I’m okay.”
He glanced around. “It’s freezing in here. Have you turned on your heat yet?”
When she shook her head, he stepped away and walked to the woodstove. He quickly grabbed firewood from the small rack beside the stove and got a fire started. Warmth immediately began to circulate in the air. The sight of the flames through the small window in the woodstove door made her feel warmer. He stood and walked to the door, hanging his jacket up and toeing his boots off before turning to step to her side.