by Bree Dahlia
“Killmer Field.”
“Okay, I’ll come out and sit with you awhile before I need to meet up with Stephen again. I’ll bring the smelling salts in case you pass out from swooning so hard.”
“Sounds good, Perry. See you then.”
I turned around to see Chase leaning against the doorway, naked and hard. Fuck.
“You really like me, huh?”
My eyes traveled over his body. I felt like I’d received my favorite Christmas present every time I looked at him. “And that turns you on?”
“You have no idea, Wild Horses.” His voice added more intensity to the throb. He held out his hand, and I went to him. I wasn’t going to waste my remaining time sleeping. He pulled me tight against him. “You have no idea,” he repeated into my ear.
I had some idea.
A touch on my shoulder made me swing my head around. “Hey, you made it!” I said.
“Of course I did, silly.” Perry sat beside me on the bleachers just as the opposing batter struck out. She wrapped her arms around mine and pulled me close. “Damn, he’s hot.”
“Who?”
“You know who.” She rolled her eyes. “Who, she asks. Your boyfriend, who do you think? Although, in your defense, there are several hot, sweaty guys out there.”
“He’s not… Never mind. And what are you doing looking at them? You’re an engaged woman now.”
She eeked, squeezing and making my arm go numb before letting go. “Look,” she said, thrusting her hand in my face.
I lowered her fingers, then tilted them back and forth. “Beautiful. It really does look like it was made just for you. Sitting in a box doesn’t do it justice.”
Perry nodded. “God, I’m so happy. I love him so much, Jills.”
“I know. Talk about a date yet?”
“Probably next summer. You know you’re going to be my maid of honor, right? You don’t have a choice, so congratulations, you’re it.”
“But what about your sister?”
“She’ll be standing up too, but you’re the one I want beside me. You’ll have to deal with all my craziness, of course, and I’ll be dragging you around everywhere for the next year. You’re going to be eating so much cake you’ll puke, with enough thick, sugary frosting to choke an elephant. Then you’ll have to sit through at least five hundred dress changes and be brutally honest about each one, even if it makes me want to stuff a veil down your throat to shut you up. So basically, you’d better keep seeing Chase because he makes you happy, and the last thing I’m going to want is a bitchy maid of honor.”
A tear rolled down her face, and I gave her a hug. “Oh, Perry. It sounds perfect. I’d be honored.” I knew my brother loved her as much as she loved him, but for him to make her this blissfully happy made me want to cry along with her.
“Well, then.” She wiped her eyes. “It’s settled. I’m the law now, and I’m making you and Chase celebrate with me and my fiancé on Friday.”
I shook my head. “Perry, that’s not a good idea.”
“Don’t worry about Stephen, okay? Please do this. For me?”
I stood up and clapped when Chase snagged a line drive in center field. “I’ll think about it.” I could not imagine it happening. Sure, we had feelings for each other, but we weren’t technically a couple. Why put all of us through an uncomfortable night unless we were serious? And if we were serious, that would freak out my brother even more. It looked like any scenario wouldn’t bode well.
“You guys do anal yet?”
I slammed myself back down on the bench so fast I got lightheaded. “Fuck, Perry,” I whispered. “What is wrong with you? Keep it down.”
She waved her hand. “Pfft. No one’s listening. So, have you?”
“No, we haven’t.”
“You should. Let him take your partial ass virginity and make up for the freak show Mike put you through.”
“I don’t like it. That’s not going to change just because it’s a different cock.” I couldn’t believe we were talking about this here. I was just as bad as she was, but at least I was quiet about it.
“Bullshit. Of course it’ll be different. Everything with Chase is different, is it not?”
I nodded. She was right about that, but still… I shuddered, thinking about the first and only time Mike and I tried anal sex. He’d made it halfway before I wanted to cut off his dick and shove it down his throat. So yeah, not such a pleasurable experience.
“I bet he’d make it sexy. You already said how fantastic the sex is. You never once said that about your ex.”
I turned toward her. “Don’t you think it’s strange how good he is? I mean, it’s not like he’s had a lifetime to perfect his technique. He works my body like he’s owned it forever.”
She shrugged. “He’s on the younger side, but it’s not like he’s sixteen. There could have been dozens of women already. Maybe he was a total slut before he met you.”
“Thanks.”
“Ha! You do get jealous.”
“No, I don’t. I don’t care how many he’s slept with. It’s just weird thinking about, that’s all.”
“Uh-huh.” I shifted in my seat, dodging a small cramp. Luckily, they were mild and only lasted for the first half day. “Or maybe the reason he’s so good is because he’s just that into you.” I rotated my hips in the other direction. “What is the matter with you?”
“Just a few twinges.”
“Oh, right. You got your period. At noon.”
“Actually twelve fifteen.”
“That’s some freaky shit, Jills. I don’t know how you know this stuff.” I didn’t know either; I just did. My superpower, I guess. “Okay, I need to take off. I trust you’ll be okay if I leave you with Chase?” I gave her a look, and she laughed. “See you both Friday. Love ya.”
She left, and I went back to watching the game, wondering how I was going to get out of it. I’d still go, but bringing Chase with me sounded as harmonious as a flute with no holes.
I felt a person sit close beside me, and I turned. “Perry, what’d you—”
“Hey, firecracker.”
My stomach rolled, and I moved down a bit, brushing off all the bugs that had just landed on me. I did my best to ignore him and focus on the field, but his energy was oozing over. I’d probably make it too big of a deal to get up and go somewhere else, so I just stayed put. We were in a public area anyway.
Trevor scooted toward me. “Now, why do you have to go and be like that? I only wanted to apologize for my behavior the other day. It wasn’t cool to get all alpha on you. Obviously, you’re not into that shit.”
That wasn’t alpha; that was jackass. “Apology accepted.” Now stay the fuck away from me. Once again, I moved down and once again, he did the same.
“Come on, baby. You’re hurting my feelings here.” He clutched his chest. “Just give me a chance. Soon as you’re done with Chase, let me in on the action. I’ll let you take charge. I like… experienced women.”
I stood up, not caring if I was making a greater issue of it. He needed to be stopped. “Stay the—”
“What the fuck are you doing?” Chase surprised both of us, seeming to come out of nowhere. He was right in Trevor’s face.
“Hey, bro. Just watching some ball and getting acquainted with your lady here.”
Chase’s fist connected hard with Trevor’s jaw, knocking him back into the stands. The vibration almost sent me down as well. “Chase!” I yelled. What the hell’s going on? The game had stopped, and everyone was looking at us. I felt like an idiot.
Trevor was struggling to get up, and I worried that Chase was going to lose his shit again and keep him down. He was standing over him like he wanted to rip his head off.
“Dammit, stop!” I was so frickin’ irritated. If he wanted to play this crap, I wasn’t going to stay around and watch.
I grabbed my purse and stormed off. “Jillian, where are you going?” Chase was soon behind me, catching up. “Jillian.” He latched o
n to my arm.
“Are you finished? Or do you need to go back and get another shot in?” I could have been overreacting, but I didn’t think so. Maybe it was just hormones pushing my limits, but I didn’t think that either. It was something else.
Chase pulled me against him. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” My muscles loosened in his embrace, but my blood was still pumping at a frenzied pace. “Trev was fucking with you, and I didn’t like it.”
I squirmed away, keeping him at arm’s length. “Chase, I don’t need you to defend me. I can take care of myself. I handled him the first time, and I was capable of handling him this—”
“What do you mean the first time?”
Fuck. “Don’t worry about it.” Me and my goddamned mouth, but that still didn’t make the point any less valid.
“Do not tell me not to worry about it, Jillian. What did he do to you?”
His voice was even and controlled, but I could tell he was boiling under the surface. I didn’t want to give his testosterone another reason to strut its stuff.
“Come with me first.” I took his hand and led him into the rec building. It was sometimes used for concessions, but right now it was empty. “It’s not a big deal, Chase. When I went over there, he was a little out of hand, but it lasted all of thirty seconds. I told him to back off, and he did.”
He took a deep breath. “Why didn’t you tell me about it?”
“Because it wasn’t a big deal! Chase, I told you, I can take care of myself.”
He grabbed me tight and held me close. His body was solid, unyielding. God, he was strong. I loved that, but I was so conflicted over all this macho crap.
“Jillian.” He stroked my hair, breath hot against my neck. “Whatever involves you is a big deal to me. Do you understand that? Don’t ask me to stop defending you because I won’t do it. If I ever think you’re in harm’s way, I’m going to react.”
I rolled my head gently across his chest, inhaling him. This was all so foreign to me. I wouldn’t say that Mike liked it when other guys came on to me or made lewd comments, but he didn’t go off attacking them.
“Chase.” I looked up at him. “Doesn’t the age difference bother you, even a little?”
“We’ve been through this before, Jillian. No, it doesn’t.”
That tune could easily change if we started making more public appearances together. The thought of him getting provoked by all the snickers and mother-son references was exhausting.
He gave me a whisper kiss, then caressed my cheek. “Stop searching for things that aren’t there. It’s about you and me, not about the years between us. When I first saw you, I didn’t think you were gorgeous for an older woman. I thought you were gorgeous, period.”
My mom started out beautiful to my dad too. Until she wasn’t. Maybe my period was making me a little emotional. I dug into my purse and found a makeup cloth. Then I rubbed it all over my eyes.
“What about now?” I said.
Chase gave me one of those funny looks I was getting so accustomed to. “What about now?”
“This is what I look like on two hours of sleep. I don’t bounce back as easily as I did fifteen years ago. Back then, I could pull all-nighters no problem and look like I just came back from a day at the spa. You think you’ve really seen me before? You haven’t. I always fell asleep with my makeup on. This is me, bags and all.”
Perhaps emotional wasn’t the right word. Fucking insane fit me better. I’d just pointed out the flaws that I spent a full hour covering up.
“Still gorgeous.”
I shook my head. He was insane too, but at least we had that in common. Unlike our peer group.
He started laughing. “Is this another way of trying to scare me off? You’ll have to do better than that.”
I flattened my lips together, and he seemed to find that humorous as well. This guy was an enigma, but I really, really liked him. And if he truly didn’t care about my age, I’d try to ignore it too. It’s not like we were going to be together for the long haul anyway. Daniel was hopefully coming home in four months, and I wasn’t going to visibly grow much older in that time period.
So, in the meantime… I pulled him behind the counter. There were a few bags of paper coffee cups and napkins stacked on the shelves, but for the most part, it was cleared out until used again. I kneeled down in front of him.
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?” I still hadn’t sucked him dry yet. The night before, it’d turned back to me again, and although I was very, very happy, I wanted to do something solely for him.
I tugged at his zipper, but he stopped my hand. “I’m not going to have you do this here.”
“Your cock disagrees with you.” He could argue all he wanted, but the hard-on right in front of me didn’t lie. “And you’re in a perfect place to keep watch.”
He groaned when I freed him, and all of a sudden, his half-hearted attempts to stop me weren’t working any longer. No one could see me; I was sheltered all around. If anyone walked in, they’d only see Chase from the waist up.
I slipped him past my lips and into my mouth, and he fisted my hair. For a moment, I thought he was going to yank me off, but he pushed me deeper. I took him as far as I could into my throat, twirling my tongue around his pulsing skin. He tasted divine.
“Fuck, Jillian.” He thrust into my mouth. “So good.”
It didn’t take long at all. My jaw was stretched to accommodate him, but it didn’t even have a chance to ache before I felt the first hot spurts. I swallowed him down. And swallowed. And swallowed. It kept coming, and I couldn’t get it down fast enough. Was there such a thing as asphyxiation by ejaculation?
When he disengaged from my lips, he was still hard, making me wish I liked period sex. I gazed up at his very satisfied expression and wondered if I looked that dreamy after he made me come hard. Which was always.
Chase grasped my arms and pulled me up to him, kissing me deeply, which was one of the most fucking erotic things I’d ever experienced.
“So, teacher,” I whispered when his lips left mine, “how am I doing? Do I need more practice?”
A low rumble came from his throat, reminding me of a growl. “Only with me, Wild Horses.”
He followed up with another kiss, and for a free, take-care-of-herself woman, I felt hopelessly claimed.
“You look nice.”
I lifted my head and smiled. “Thank you.” I finished watering my flowers on the side of the house, then walked over to the fence that separated our yards.
“Done with work for the weekend?” Michelle asked. I nodded, waving to Henry, who was sprawled out on a lawn chair not far from us. Sasha was running around in circles yapping.
“I’m meeting Perry and my brother soon. Just a little celebration. They recently got engaged.”
“Good for them.” She took a long drag. “Tell them congratulations from me.”
“Will do.” I brushed a bit of dirt off my dress. “What about you two—any plans?”
“Nah. Ran out of those little blue pills. Won’t be much happening here.” Why couldn’t they do something else? Although, Henry looked like he’d be sleeping soon. “Speaking of”—she winked—“Your fresh stud muffin going tonight?”
I covered my mouth with my hand and giggled. Stud muffin? “No, just me.”
She peered closer at me, making me feel like a farm animal under inspection. Her eyes roamed over my face. “What’re you using on your skin? It looks incredible.”
“Um, nothing different.” The only thing I was doing new was exceeding my daily allowance of orgasms. I’d heard that they were excellent for increasing blood flow and bringing that youthful glow to your skin. Maybe they were onto something.
“I knew it! You’ve been getting those”—she held her hand up to her mouth—“special treatments.”
Good Lord. “No, Michelle.” If a man was going to come on my face, it wouldn’t be for that reas
on.
“Don’t let her talk you into anything, Jillian,” Henry yelled out, eyes still closed.
My cheeks grew hot. This was awkward. Michelle waved her hand around. “Ah, he doesn’t know anything.”
“I know you spend too damn much on those fancy creams and skin whatchamacallits.”
“They’re called facials, Henry,” she screamed back, even though he was only a dozen feet away. She touched my arm. “Keep doing what you’re doing, honey. You look fabulous.”
“Thank you.”
Enjoy it while it lasts, Jillian.
I walked into Wengo’s, 80s music blaring, and scanned around for their table. I’d seen Perry and Stephen before they saw me, and I had a moment to brace myself. Even though I told her I was most likely coming solo, she still expected me to change my mind.
I navigated through the aisles and gave them each hugs before plopping down on the tall wooden chair. They already had a pitcher of beer and a large basket of wings on the table. I loved this place. Easygoing, great food, live music later in the evenings.
“What took you so long?” Perry said.
“The walk took a little longer than I thought.” I was thinking thirty minutes, but it was more like forty.
“You walked? Why the hell would you do that?”
“I like walking. And it’s a nice night.”
I poured myself a cup of beer while Perry glowered at me. One, two, three. Go.
“Where’s Chase?” Right on time.
“Chase?” Stephen looked dumbfounded.
“I told you I was coming alone.”
“Why would Chase be here?” Stephen asked.
“No, you said probably coming alone. That’s not the same thing. This was your first maid of honor strike.” Perry narrowed her eyes.
I shook my head and grabbed a wing, something to keep my mouth full.
“You said she was bringing her new boyfriend, Perry.” Stephen pivoted his head between us. “What the fuck is going on here? You actually seeing this kid now?”
I sputtered and took a sip of beer. “That wasn’t fair.” I narrowed my eyes back at her. “He’s not my boyfriend.”