by Noelle Adams
Her mother wasn’t here now, when it felt like she might be starting to fall in love.
But Chris had come back. Her father was right. It was entirely different with Chris.
She wasn’t going to let her old fears and insecurities keep her from something really good.
She nodded at the birdhouse, feeling a surge of determination again.
She was going to talk to Chris.
***
When Heather returned to Preston’s Mill, she was so fluttery she was having trouble breathing. It felt like something important was about to happen, but she wasn’t even sure what it was.
She tried to stay quiet as she walked down the hall, but she must not have been quiet enough. Estelle poked her head out the door just as Heather was passing.
“What’s going on, young lady?” Estelle demanded, her hair wound tightly in her standard pink sponge curlers.
Heather jerked to a stop. “Good evening, Mrs. Berry,” she managed to say with her normal politeness. “What do you mean?”
“Something is going on. I’ve been feeling vibes. Your young man has been stalking around for a couple of days, like a bear who’s lost its honey, and you look as jumpy as a rabbit who wants to get a carrot but is too nervous to cross the fence.”
Heather didn’t actually appreciate being referred to as a rabbit, but she had to admit that Estelle had picked up on the vibes correctly. The woman might be wacky, but she was also strangely insightful. “It’s…nothing to worry about,” she said at last, having no idea what else to say.
“I’m not worried,” Estelle said with a scowl. “I’m tired of all this tension in the air. Figure it out with your young man, would you? I’m old and I need peace.”
Then the old lady slammed the door in Heather’s face.
Heather stared for a moment, not sure whether to laugh or blush or be annoyed.
She ended up doing none of those things. She just kept walking toward her own apartment door.
When she entered, Chris was in the kitchen, loading some groceries into the refrigerator. He glanced back as she stepped inside. “What was that?” he asked. “It sounded like a door slammed.”
“It was Estelle. She was…” Heather trailed off, shrugging. “She was being Estelle.”
“She gave me a little lecture when I came in,” Chris said, turning around and leaning against the granite counter. “She told me she was too old to put up with vibes, and I was to stop emitting them immediately.”
Heather giggled, leaning down to greet an ecstatic Lucy. “She told me the same thing.”
Suddenly feeling better about everything, she put down her purse, scooped up Lucy, and walked into the kitchen area to join Chris.
Chris’s eyes were soft on her face, as if he recognized her altered mood. “So I guess we need to stop emitting vibes,” he murmured.
“Yeah.” She cuddled Lucy, partly because she wanted to and partly because it gave her something to do with her hands. “I guess we need to work on that.”
“How do you suppose we do that?” He stepped closer to her, looking handsome and sexy and fond and irresistible.
“I…I don’t know.”
“Don’t you?”
Heather swallowed. “I, uh, actually I’ve been thinking.”
“About what?” His expression changed slightly, tightening with something that looked like hope.
“About…us. My dad says I’ve been holding on to a grudge against you for no good reason, and I’m wondering if he’s right.”
Chris took a moment to process this, and then his gaze grew even softer. He lifted a hand to stroke her cheek with his knuckles. “And is he right?”
Heather swayed toward him, trying to make her mind work with any degree of coherence. “I think maybe he is. It’s…it’s hard for me to trust. I have a few issues with people leaving me, after what happened with my mom.”
“That’s totally understandable. And I know I did walk out on you and your dad, when you both trusted me. I’m not going to do it again.”
“I hope not.” She swallowed hard again, suddenly terrified by what she seemed to be saying. “I’m not saying that I’m all in or anything. It’s still early for us. But I do think we’re good together, and I’m willing to give it a try.”
His hand grew still, cupping her cheek. “When you say give it a try, do you mean…”
“Us. Like this. I’m willing to give it a try.”
He gave a little groan and pulled her into a kiss. It was warm and urgent and emotional, and Heather was lost in it almost immediately. She wrapped one arm around his neck, still holding Lucy in the other—and opened her mouth to the advance of his tongue.
She wasn’t sure how far the kiss would have gone had Lucy not decided that something very strange was happening. The dog stretched up and gave Chris’s jaw a hard jab with her muzzle, the way she did when she was checking out a possible threat.
Chris broke off the kiss with a huff.
Heather giggled and leaned over to set Lucy down, giving her a few reassuring strokes. “It’s okay, Miss Lucy,” she murmured. “He’s not doing anything wrong.”
Chris reached down to pull Heather to her feet. “I sure hope not. But maybe I could use some more practice.”
Heather smiled at him, washed with excitement and pleasure and something akin to hope. “More practice will have to wait. Lucy needs to go out, and I’m kind of hungry.”
“What about if I take you out for dinner?”
Heather’s eyes widened. “Like a date?”
“Yes, like a date. I thought that’s what you meant when you said you’d give it a try.”
“It is what I meant,” Heather admitted, nervousness mingling with all of her other emotions. “And I’d like to go out with you.”
She was also kind of scared, though. If they went out, then everyone in town would know.
And that would make this thing between them real.
***
Chris took her to eat at one of the nicer restaurants in town. Nothing in Preston was particularly fancy, but this restaurant had good food and a pleasant, quiet ambience, and it wasn’t very crowded on a weekday evening.
Chris was charming the whole time, and she could tell he was making an effort to show her what a good date he could be. It was almost exhilarating, the knowledge that he wanted her so much, that it was important to him that she continue to go out with him. He told her funny stories, gave her subtle, thoughtful compliments, and gazed deeply into her eyes. His smile was making her giddy, and his warm laughter was making her melt.
By the time they’d ordered dessert, Heather was well on her way to being swept off her feet. She’d had two glasses of wine, but she’d been afraid to drink anymore, for fear her inhibitions would be lowered so much she’d do something stupid.
She was going to give this a try. It was obviously what both she and Chris wanted, and her father was right about her not holding on to her resentment when Chris didn’t deserve that.
But she also didn’t want to jump headlong into a relationship that might end up hurting her.
As she’d expected, they saw several people they knew, and Heather tried to ignore all the interested looks from people who hadn’t expected her and Chris to be dating.
That was the problem with a small town. One date could suddenly blow up into a full-fledged relationship in the town’s eyes.
As they were leaving the restaurant, Chris asked, “Do you want to walk a little? It’s a nice night.”
“Sure.” She smiled as he took her hand, and they started down the main street of Preston. It was dark out now, but the town had done a good job with street lights, and there were several other people out, walking to their cars or just taking a stroll down to the river.
“Chris! Heather!” The voice called out from the opposite side of the street, and Heather turned to see Jace and an attractive brunette getting into the town truck that Jace drove.
Heather recognized Isabella, whom sh
e remembered from high school, and she waved over at both of them.
Jace and Isabella seemed to be going somewhere, so they didn’t stop to chat. When they’d driven off, Heather said, “They seem to hang out a lot for people who aren’t dating.”
“I’m thinking that Jace wants to change that.”
“I don’t think Isabella has ever thought about him as anything but a friend.”
“Yeah. That makes it kind of awkward for Jace, doesn’t it?” Chris seemed more amused than sympathetic.
“You shouldn’t laugh at someone else’s romantic woes,” Heather chided, smiling up at him rather sappily. Her excitement had definitely outpaced her nervousness, and she couldn’t look away from his familiar face.
“Yeah, but my romantic woes seem to have taken a definite upward swing.” They’d reached the side of the river, where the town had built a cute little boardwalk. Chris reached out and put his hands on her hips to pull her closer to him.
“Remember we’re taking this slow.” She said that mostly because she thought she should. She didn’t want to take it slow at all. She wanted him to kiss her, touch her, make love to her. She never wanted him to stop.
“I remember,” he murmured. He leaned down and spoke in a thick, enticing voice against her ear. “I can go as slow as you want.”
Her breath hitched, and her hands moved of their own accord, pressing eagerly against his chest and holding on to his shirt.
He was smiling as he leaned into her. “Is this too fast?”
“No,” she admitted. “This is just right.”
He kissed her, and her nerves and her lingering fears of abandonment were completely forgotten.
Twelve
The last time they’d made love, it had been wild and frantic.
This time, Chris wanted slow. He wanted to touch and learn and savor every inch of Heather. And as far as he was concerned, sleep was highly over-rated. They had all night.
And it looked like part of it was going to be spent trying to get home with a raging hard-on.
As much as he hated to, he ended the kiss. Resting his forehead against hers, Chris took a minute to catch his breath. “I know the walk here seemed like a good thing, but right now, all I can think about is…”
“The long walk home?” she said with a soft laugh.
“Do you think anyone would notice if we just ran across town?”
“This is what happens when we laugh at someone else’s romantic woes. Remember that.”
Chris laughed, and then reached down and took one of her hands in his. “Come on. Let’s go home.”
Home. He hadn’t allowed himself to think about having one of those in over three years, and right now it just seemed to fit perfectly. The apartment with Heather—while not perfect—was a home in every sense of the word.
And if they didn’t get there soon, he was pretty sure they’d get arrested for doing something indecent in public. Behind him, Heather giggled as he walked briskly—no doubt reading his mind. He wanted to comment on it, but that would mean wasting time.
By the time they reached his truck, he was a little out of breath. When they climbed in, rather than starting the engine, he leaned in and kissed her again. And even though he swore he’d go slow, it didn’t seem to be what either of them wanted right now. It was deep and erotic and oh-so-wet. The feel of her tongue teasing his nearly had him pulling her into his lap and making good on the thought of them being indecent in public.
“Chris?” she murmured against his lips.
“Yeah?”
“Drive,” she said, even as her nails were raking against his scalp and leaning in for another kiss.
“Baby,” he growled softly, “I’m gonna need to keep my eyes on the road for that.”
“Well, damn.”
He knew exactly how she felt.
Clearing his throat, Chris pulled back, quickly got situated and pulled out of the parking lot. They drove in silence, even as he was mentally cursing every red light and stop sign. Ten minutes later, they pulled up to Preston’s Mill, and as soon as the truck was in park, they were quickly climbing out.
At the front of the truck, Chris took Heather’s hand and pulled her with him up to the building, inside and up the stairs. Their door was in sight and he was fumbling with his keys when…
“There you two are!” Estelle said, stepping out into the hallway. “I was wondering…”
“Not now, Estelle!” they yelled in unison as they all but ran the last ten feet to their door. Chris hastily unlocked it, and as soon as they were through the door, he slammed it shut and reached for Heather. She instantly stepped into his arms, and this kiss was just as hot and carnal as the one in the truck minutes ago.
And then Chris remembered…slow.
Clearly, that was going to be difficult for both of them because it didn’t take much for them each to lose control. And as much as he hated to—again—he broke the kiss and gave her a lopsided grin. “We said slow.”
Heather nodded, licking her lips slowly. “I know.”
“That wasn’t feeling slow.”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
He was about to make another comment, when Lucy started barking at the two of them. Chris knew the right thing to do—the gentlemanly thing to do—was to offer to take the dog out, but he needed a moment.
“Why don’t you take her out,” he suggested, “and I’ll…I’ll pour us some wine.”
Heather smiled. “I’ll be back in five minutes.” Then she gave him a quick kiss on the lips and reached down to scoop up Lucy.
While she was gone, Chris did pour them each a glass of wine and then carried them to his bedroom. He thought about putting them in Heather’s room, but he had the bigger bed, and in order for him to do all the things he wanted to tonight, he wanted the space to spread out.
He took a minute to straighten up the space, pull down the blankets and turning off lights, leaving only one small bedside lamp on. Looking around, he suddenly felt nervous. Everything looked neat. Clean. He wished he had some candles. Then he thought about setting up his iPhone and playing some music, but didn’t think there was time to figure that all out. Then he shook his head with disbelief. This was probably the first time he’d ever even remotely tried to set the scene for seduction.
And, really, it seemed crazy, since they were both clearly already seduced.
“Nice room,” Heather said from the doorway, and Chris turned in surprise. He’d never heard her come back in.
He grinned and shrugged. “Thanks.”
She walked toward him, until they were toe to toe. They simply stared at one another for a long moment—Chris’s hands on her waist, her arms looped around his shoulders. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
This time when he bent to kiss her, it was slow. The kiss was soft. Gentle. Almost chaste. His hands began to skim up her ribcage, taking her top with them. Lazily, Heather raised her arms over her head and let him take the garment off. She stood before him in white lace, and it looked magnificent.
After looking his fill, he lifted his hands to her breasts and gently caressed them, kneaded them, until she was panting. Her head lolled back, her lips parted, and she looked so damn sexy that he needed to think about lumber inventory for a minute to get himself back in check.
They moved together as if their steps were choreographed—turning together as the rest of their clothes fell away. Chris gently guided her down to the bed and covered her body with his. They both sighed at the skin-on-skin contact.
He kissed her lips, her cheek, her throat.
He gently fondled her breasts before letting his mouth replace his hands there.
And as he teased and laved at her nipple, his hand slid down—memorizing her curves as he made his way down and honed in on where she was hot and wet. For him. He growled with approval at the same time Heather sighed his name.
It was all the talking either of them did this time. Like him, she seemed content to let her hands ex
plore him this time and rather than speaking, they simply enjoyed the sensation of just feeling.
And she felt so damn good.
Sliding one finger, and then two, into her as she slowly pumped her hips was perfect. The way her back arched to press her breast more securely against his lips was beyond sexy. And when he heard the catch in her breath, right before she came for him, it was the most erotic sound he’d ever heard.
He covered her lips with his quickly, right before he reached over to his nightstand for a condom. Leaning back, he looked down at her sprawled naked across the bed. All he could think of was how perfect she looked there and how this was where he wanted her to be, always.
“Chris,” she whispered, a plea. “Please.”
With the condom on, he came down slowly on top of her again, relishing how her legs wrapped around him. Heather’s hands raked up his back and into his hair again, to pull him down for another kiss as he slid into her.
In and out. In and out. Slowly. Each entry was ecstasy, while every retreat was almost more than he could bear. Her hips raised to meet his and he nuzzled her neck. “Let me love you,” he whispered. “Just let me love you.”
“Yes,” she sighed.
Unable to help himself, he quickened the pace—had to. It was almost beyond his control. Heather met him thrust for thrust. Her legs tightened around his waist and Chris pulled back and met her gaze, loving the look on her face as she came.
And only then did he allow himself to go over the edge, crying out her name as he did.
For long moments, neither spoke. They each took that time to catch their breath. Chris rolled to the side, pulling Heather in close beside him. Her hand rested over his still rapidly beating heart, and he held it there.
There was a small noise next to the bed and he looked over to see Lucy sitting there staring at them.
“We’re really going to have to do something about her,” he said softly. “I don’t think I like having an audience every time we make love.”
Heather chuckled softly. “I’ll have a talk with her tomorrow.”
Chris kissed her on her forehead. “Maybe you should do it tonight.”
She yawned. “Tonight? Why?”