by Vivian Arend
They were both smiling pretty hard when they rounded the corner to the backyard. The rest of the family was already there along with a dozen or more neighbours. Janey gave Len’s fingers a squeeze then let go, taking her own offering for the potluck toward the house. A long picnic table waited there, the surface already covered with casserole dishes.
Katy turned from organizing cutlery. “Hey, you finally made it.”
“Umm, we had to…” Janey sputtered to a stop, floundering for words. It was too late to stop the heat that rushed to her cheeks.
Her best friend gave her a wink. “You’re supposed to think of an excuse ahead of time, but trust me, there is no hiding the satisfaction on your face. I know why you’re late.”
Which meant everyone in the yard had probably figured out they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. What the hell. And yet, she didn’t really care if it was common knowledge they’d had sex before coming to the barbecue. All she cared about was that look of extreme pleasure in Len’s eyes as he’d stared at her—before, during and after.
That was what mattered.
Janey grinned as she looked around the yard to see who was there. “Good turnout.”
Katy nodded, sliding the tray of deviled eggs Janey had brought onto the picnic table. “It’s nice to have the good weather and be able to have people outside. We need to do some major work inside the house before we can start having parties in the winter.”
Janey made a face. “I would have loved to do that job. Why couldn’t you have decided to change things up last year?”
“You still planning on heading to Calgary once you sell your house?” Katy asked.
Sadly, Janey nodded. “There is a lot more work in housing in the Calgary area, so even though I’d prefer to stay here, I don’t see how I can make a go of it.”
Not with the competition. Brad Jons had been trying to get a hold of her all week about something important. Janey admitted she’d been blowing off returning his calls. The guy himself was nice enough, but it was likely something to do with his uncle, and she couldn’t get over her suspicions something weird was up there.
Besides, she now had other things to focus on. She let her gaze linger on Len.
“You’re drooling.”
She snapped up the bird at Katy, who simply laughed. “Just saying. That’s a pretty contented smile on your face.”
“Not much different from the one on yours.” Janey checked out her friend. “You know I should hate you. You had a baby a month ago, and you look like this?” Janey gestured at the trim jeans and T-shirt Katy wore, no sign of baby body remaining.
“Hey, it’s not as if I don’t have plenty of opportunity to burn off calories.” Katy pointed toward where her partner Gage was standing with the guys, their baby tucked into a snuggly on his chest. “I get a workout at night dealing with Tanner.”
“And a workout with Gage anytime he can get you,” Janey teased.
Katy’s eyes grew wide. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. There is no such thing as sex after kids, don’t you know?”
“Ha! I called bullshit, but if that’s true, all the more reason why I’m never procreating.”
Her best friend smiled. “Yeah, we’re having to be a little bit creative these days, but I’m not at all unhappy.”
Creative was good.
Janey kept her mouth shut. Len’s secret wasn’t hers to share with anyone, especially not with her BFF. But in the coming days, she could totally see them using their creativity in the sack to satisfy everything Len had ever dreamed of doing.
Which would be fine with her. He hadn’t mentioned the specifics of why he’d still been a virgin, but whatever had caused the delay hadn’t held him back an hour ago.
She and Katy joined the group of women seated in lawn chairs in a circle by the fire pit. There were so many familiar faces. Janey waved at Shannon and Liz as she settled into the empty chair next to Nicole Adams.
“I didn’t know you were back in town. Great to see you again,” Janey offered.
The dark-haired woman offered a smile. “I’m back for good. School’s done, and I got a job at the local law firm.”
“Awesome.” Janey glanced around the yard, her gaze lighting on Nicole’s twin brother, Mike, discussing something seriously with Len’s brother Troy. “I bet the family is glad to have you around.”
Nicole nodded. “My Lord, you would’ve thought I had opened every one of their veins and left them to bleed out the way they carried on when I told them I was going away to school.”
“I can believe it, only I got that reaction when I told my family I wasn’t going away.”
Two of them shook their heads in sympathy for each other. “It’s tough at times to follow your own path, but it’s worth it in the end,” Nicole said. “I didn’t want to work for the family feed mill my whole life. Doesn’t mean I don’t like spending time with them.”
Janey agreed completely. “Exactly. It just means you want to have your own life.”
They exchanged high fives. Nicole paused before raising a brow. “Hey. I heard this rumor about you and a certain quiet fellow. Is it true?”
Oh no, Janey wasn’t falling for that one. “All depends what you’ve heard.”
Nicole smiled. “And that’s all I needed to know. It’s as good as a confession.”
“Shut up,” Janey drawled, but she was smiling as she accepted the drink Katy offered her.
“I wanted to make sure of my facts.” Nicole glanced around the yard. “Damn, the dating pool is getting shallower by the minute. Why did I decide to come back to Rocky Mountain House?”
“There are plenty of guys in town still.”
Nicole held up fingers as she called out names. “Katy nabbed Gage—good one there, by the way. Anna Coleman must’ve used her handcuffs on Mitch. Now I see Len grinning like a fool, and it’s all because of Janey here.”
“There does seem to be something in the water,” Katy teased. “You’d better be careful, or you’ll be the next to fall prey to the Thompson charm.”
Now that was an intriguing thought. “You got the oldest and youngest to pick from. Who’s it going to be? Clay or Troy?” Janey offered up her best friend’s brothers like sacrifices.
Nicole seemed to seriously consider the question, her gaze trailing over the two men. “Troy is best friends with my brother. I’ve seen the two of them going gaga over girls for too long to take him seriously. But Clay? He’s one fine man. I’d take him any way I could, anytime.”
Katy made a rude noise. “Forget I ever brought up the topic. What is it with you and Janey wanting to tell me about how sexy my brothers are? Gross.”
Nicole and Janey exchanged amused glances. Teasing Katy was too tempting to resist.
Janey purred for a moment. “If you really want to watch someone squirm, just mention cock size and—”
“Good grief, you do that one more time, and I swear I will get even with you, Janey Watson.” Katy glared threateningly.
Janey laughed as she got to her feet, ready to head farther into the yard. “That’s my revenge for all the disgusting things you shared about pregnancy and childbirth.”
Katy stuck out her tongue, but she was smiling.
Everyone at the party was familiar to Janey. She waved often, offering greetings as she slowly worked her way across the yard.
One of the good parts of living in one place her entire life—in some ways, she was always home. There was always that sense of the familiar, even if it was simply coming around a corner to bump into people she’d seen last week, and the week before. And the same people she’d see down the road. The consistency was something rock solid.
It kind of made up for the parts of familiarity that weren’t as much fun.
She’d planned to sneak up on Len, but it was no use. She turned from chatting with a couple who’d recently returned to the area, and discovered his gaze on her. A satisfied smile tugged the corners of his mouth.
&n
bsp; The entire way to his side, his eyes never left hers.
She snagged her hands around his elbow and tucked in close to his side.
“You keep looking at me like that and we’ll have to find a shed or something to fool around in,” she whispered, shivering as he rumbled in approval.
“If that was a threat, you need to change tactics.” His lips brushed her cheek as he spoke softly in return.
Then damn if Clay didn’t go and interrupt a lovely little daydream she was working up that involved sneaking away with Len. “How is Margaret doing?” he asked, his dark eyes steadfastly fixed on her.
It took a second for Janey to figure out what he was asking. “Oh, you mean Margaret and Cam? Haven’t you talked to them yet? I thought you went to school with her.”
Clay shrugged. “Haven’t made it across the yard. I noticed you were over there with them, and thought I’d ask.”
That was weird. “She’s starting at the school in the fall, and he’s with the public works department.”
Len’s brother shifted from side to side, nodding slowly before straightening up. “I need to grab something.”
He vanished before she could figure out exactly what was so strange about the whole situation. She turned to Len, but his expression was as confused as hers must’ve been. “You have any idea what that was about?”
Len shook his head. “Clay isn’t always the easiest person to understand.”
They joined in conversation with another group, people’s curiosity at the new relationship between them tempered by long-lasting friendships. People were used to seeing the two of them at events.
Them, together?
That was something slightly different, but in this group Janey felt safe. The teasing was all good-natured, and the lingering glances were more about gloating than anything else.
They found lawn chairs next to Gage and Katy for supper, baby Tanner gurgling contentedly in his car seat as Gage rocked him with his foot.
“You’re good at that,” Janey teased.
“Multitasking.” Gage grinned. “We’ve learned if he’s rocking, he’s not squawking.”
They filled paper plates with the potluck offerings. Burgers and casseroles. Twelve kinds of salad, and an endless array of squares. In the background, country music played loud enough to satisfy the good old boys gathered around Len’s dad by the barbecue.
The sense of contentment in Janey’s heart grew.
Len rested his hand on the back of her chair, his fingers playing over her shoulders and neck even as he used his other hand to dig into the feast precariously balanced in his lap.
Janey raised a brow at the sheer volume of food on his plate. “Do you always eat this much?”
Gage laughed loudly for a moment. “Sorry, but I thought for sure you knew. Len’s a legend. He’s been the champion of every eating contest I’ve ever attended since I met him.”
“I’m a growing boy,” Len joked.
“You are the biggest of all the Thompson boys,” Janey agreed.
Katy shot forward in her lawn chair, covering her mouth and giving Janey a dirty look as she fought to swallow the sip of soda she’d just taken.
“What?” Janey asked.
Her friend leaned closer, dropping her voice to a whisper. “I swear you are such a brat.”
Janey was totally lost until she remembered the earlier teasing about cock size, and this time it was her turn to scramble for air. “Oh my God, you have such a dirty mind. I wasn’t talking about that at all.”
The conversation kind of went downhill from there.
Happiness washed over the entire evening as Janey enjoyed the company of friends and the man at her side who couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her.
Dusk was beginning to fall, and a fire had been lit. Roasting sticks and marshmallows appeared out of nowhere.
Len caught her fingers in his. “I have something to show you.”
They strolled past Troy and Mike who were laughing uproariously about something. Troy gave her a wink, but other than that didn’t bother to tease, which was good because she had an idea where Len was taking her, and she didn’t want to be interrupted.
The garden shed at the back of the property. She knew it all too well from hiding out in it over the years with Katy when they were supposed to be doing chores.
Hmm. Would it be as good of a hideout to fool around in?
Len hauled the door open, glancing over her shoulder back into the yard. Janey peeked as well, pleased to see their escape had gone unwitnessed.
She was drawn into the darkness, and the door closed firmly behind her with a resolute click. She caught hold of Len’s shoulders and eased against him. Strong hands wrapped around the back of her neck as he guided them together. Their lips made contact—a scalding-hot kiss that set her wiggling on the spot, craving more.
“You were driving me nuts,” Len confessed. “Every time you rubbed against me, I got harder. I swear my cock is ready to explode.”
Well, now. “We can’t have random cock explosions interrupting the barbecue, can we?”
He jerked her shirt free from her pants, his big palms pressed to her skin. Sliding up, he shoved away her bra. Janey hummed in approval as he took hold of her breasts, his grip just on the right side of demanding. His fingers on her nipples, pinching them to sharp peaks.
The scent of earth and grass surrounded them as he shoved up her shirt and bent over to suck a nipple into his mouth. Hard and fast, an exquisite sensation to add to everything she’d enjoyed already that evening.
Janey threaded her fingers into his hair. “That feels so good.”
He didn’t answer, not with words. Simply switched sides and sucked. His hands continuing to caress and massage.
As much fun as his attention was, Janey had another idea burning up her brain. She caught hold of his belt and slipped the leather loose, the buckle rattling in the darkness. One more move released the button on his jeans before she caught hold of his zipper.
Len groaned. “Janey, I won’t last.”
“You need to get over that obsession.” She carefully pulled the zipper over the heavy bulge in his briefs. Opening his jeans and sliding them partway off his hips as she settled on her knees. “You have a zero-to-sixty-in-under-three-seconds recovery rate, so who gives a damn how long you last?”
Janey gazed upward. Just enough light flowed in the small shed window for her to be able to see his eyes flash as he stared downward. She rubbed her cheek over his cock, the heat of his shaft passing through his briefs.
He swallowed hard.
She put her teeth against him, dragging down slowly until she had his balls under her lips. “I want to suck your cock. Can I, please?”
If she’d bet he would be shy to respond to her filthy request, she would have lost. He immediately caught the edge of his briefs and jerked the elastic down to release his cock.
He caught hold of his shaft by the base, his other hand slipping into her hair. “Lick your lips.”
She hurried to obey, rolling her tongue over the surface and getting them wet. Before she could haul her tongue back, he surprised her, pressing the tip of his cock to her mouth and getting sideswiped.
A moan reverberated off the walls of the shed, so Janey did it again, swirling her tongue over him and taking in his taste. The hint of salt as precome gathered in the slit.
He used the grip he had on her hair to tug her away slightly. “Close your mouth.”
Janey had both hands on his hips now, holding on tight as he played the head of his cock over her mouth, painting her lips with the moisture leaking from the tip. Then he pushed forward, opening her with his heavy shaft as he filled her mouth.
Oh, yes. She tightened around him as he retreated, adding suction to every move.
Len took control, rocking forward and back, fucking her mouth with infinite care. He pulled the hair back from her face, his fingers tender against her cheek as he angled her head more and continued to thrust f
orward.
Every chance she got she used her tongue. Her lips. Panting noises joined the heavy gasps escaping his lips.
“So fucking amazing,” Len whispered.
His butt muscles clenched under her fingers, and she figured he was close. She increased the pressure on the next withdrawal, and he swore.
“Janey…”
When the first taste of his release splashed on her tongue, she leaned in as hard as possible, swallowing around him. That only dragged another curse free, this one a mash of syllables that made no sense in any language, but the meaning was completely clear. His thick length filled her mouth, her nose pressed to his rock-solid abdomen as he shook. His hips continuing to pulse forward.
Janey swallowed again and again, her body’s aching need ignored because what she was doing was damn pleasurable all on its own.
He slammed a palm against the wall behind her, hovering over her as he gasped for air. Janey pulled back slowly, letting his cock go with a pop, coming back to lick his still semi-erect length. Leaving him with a kiss to the tip.
She rested on her heels, smiling upward. She must’ve looked like a cat that’d gotten into the cream. “You were awesome. And I won’t even ask how you knew to hold my hair and stuff, because, hey, I have Internet too.”
Satisfaction was damn near rolling off him. “That was a million times better than anything I’ve ever watched, because it was you.”
“Awww. You’re sweet.” She winked. “And dirty, which I like. That was so much fun.”
Len grinned. “That’s my line.”
He tugged her to vertical, catching her under her chin and kissing her passionately. She couldn’t stop smiling, her lips curving against his until he had to stop kissing her and instead rested their foreheads together.
His dark chocolate gaze drifted over her face carefully. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
“It will be,” he promised. “As soon as we get home. I have so many things I want to do to you.”
Janey helped him get dressed, because the sooner they rejoined the party, the sooner they could say goodbye. He was right. There were still so many firsts for them to enjoy.