I flicked the end of his nose with my thumb and forefinger.
“Clearly, you’re lonely, too.”
“I guess I am.” He grazed my lips with his. “Want to be lonely together?”
A smile slid up my face as I reached over Owen to turn off the lamp, his hands already roaming beneath my camisole before I answered.
“Sounds perfect.”
Round one happened on the couch. It was an appetizer of what was to come. Owen flipped us over and took his time exploring my body. His lips skated over every inch of my flesh. God, those lips were skilled. Skilled enough to make me shudder and quiver under them repeatedly.
He lifted on his arms and looked down at me with hypnotic eyes. “Feel good?”
How a laugh escaped when there wasn’t enough energy for another breath I didn’t know.
“I feel like a boneless body.”
He crawled up and lay on top of me. The weight of him was like a perfectly heavy blanket.
“But a happy boneless body, right?”
I raised my hips and wrapped my legs around his waist. The rough denim of his jeans rubbed against my tender skin. Skin that no doubt showed the burn and abrasion from his whiskers between my thighs.
His heavy hardness pressed against his jeans while his hips ground into mine.
He’d had me naked within seconds, but short of his T-shirt, which I’d tossed to the side immediately, he was still clothed.
“You’re wearing too much.” I nipped at his lips.
“You’re wearing nothing, and it’s fabulous.” He covered my mouth with a hot kiss. Owen was a lip biter. He was an all-encompassing man who settled for a nibble when he could devour all of me. When my lips opened, his tongue darted inside to sweep against mine. We sparred for dominance, but it was me who gave in and let him win because by submitting to his power, I was the recipient of his control, and all the skills he’d perfected over the years.
“I want you. All of you.”
“What does all of me include?” Something powerful and profound was happening. In my mind and heart, it was more than sex, and even if it wasn’t, it was the best sex I’d ever had, and we hadn’t even gotten to the actual sex part.
He lifted from my body and scooped me into his arms. “Where’s the bed? I need more room.”
“So you can have all of me?”
“Yes, and you can have all of me. Every. Single. Hard. Inch.”
I shuddered as I directed him upstairs.
He laid me softly on the comforter before he let his jeans drop.
“Wow, that’s a lot to take in,” I said as I stared at his endowment. Owen Cooper had it all. Talent, good looks, a skilled mouth, and a huge—
The tear of the condom wrapper centered me. I watched him roll it on his length. My entire body tingled with excitement.
“I’ve been thinking about this since the day I met you.” His voice was top-shelf whiskey smooth. His words warmed my insides. Positively heating my core.
“I was wearing oil-stained overalls that day.”
He ran his scruff along my jawline. “You were stunning then, prettier now in nothing.”
I reached between us and lined him up. “I bet I’ll look good wearing you.” My hands fell to his narrow hips and tugged him inside. Slowly, he sank into my depths, filling me completely. Everything about Owen was perfect, from his kiss to the way he moved inside me.
There was no urgency. He took his time, and while his impressive length stroked my insides, his hands went to work on my body.
In the soft glow of the moon that spilled light through the seams of my blinds, I watched him. The hard planes of his face softened. The blue of his eyes deepened. His voice hummed. He pushed me in a thousand directions. Licked, laved, and loved on every inch of my flesh until I was a mass of raw nerve endings. A live frayed wire in need of grounding.
“After you, sweetheart,” he said when my thighs shook, and my body stiffened. I reached for the pinnacle of pleasure that was fast approaching.
“Oh, God,” I moaned as the crest washed over me, and undulating waves arced off my body. “Owen,” I whispered softly as I came down, but that’s when he hit his peak. His pace picked up until he stilled inside me. His release pulsed with the rhythm and beat of his heart.
“Lord almighty,” Owen said before he collapsed and rolled to my side. He slid off the bed to dispose of the condom and returned right away to pull me into his arms. “Carla, that was …” He pulled me tightly against his body. “I have no words.”
“Epic.” I melted into him.
“No.” He wrapped his leg around mine like I might escape. “It was everything.”
Chapter Seventeen
Owen
I woke to the sound of someone softly breathing next to my ear. It was an odd experience since sleepovers weren’t part of my mode of operation, but it wasn’t an unpleasant one. On the contrary, it was more than I could have hoped for.
I had slept with Carla, and it was amazing. I resisted the urge to whoop with glee. Though we had convinced ourselves that we could practice restraint until the end of the month, it didn’t surprise me in the slightest that the two of us had been lying to ourselves.
Now that we’d finally slept together, I cursed the fact we hadn’t done it sooner. Last night had been one hell of a night. A damn perfect night. “Epic,” she had said.
I was tempted to wake her up for another sexy session, my body eagerly responding to my rapidly escalating memories of the night before, but as I looked at her relaxed, peaceful face, I realized I couldn’t bear to bother her.
So, instead, I hopped into my jeans, padded out of her room and down the stairs. It took a second to find my shirt before I went to the kitchen in search of coffee.
Several rummages through cupboards and drawers later brought up nothing. There was not a single grain of coffee to be found in the entire kitchen, something that defied belief.
I stood there incredulous, wondering what to do, when Carla appeared out of nowhere, curled her arms around me and laid her head against my back.
“Come back to bed,” she murmured, still half-asleep.
I turned around and kissed the top of her head. “Maybe after a coffee.”
“That seems counter-productive.”
I flashed her a wicked grin. “Not for what I have in mind.”
She let out a sleepy laugh. “You won’t find coffee here. We ran out last week.”
I stared at her in shock. “How could you go for over a week without caffeine? I thought you swore by your mochas—”
“Oh, God, guess there’s no hiding anything from you anymore.” She wrinkled her nose, and it was adorable. “I hate coffee. Can’t stand it. I’m a chocolate person. Rich tells me drinking hot chocolate as an adult—in public—seems wrong. It makes me look like a kid.”
“So, the mochas …?”
“Are a front. There, I admitted it. I’m a fraud.”
I shook my head in dismay. “And here I thought you had no faults whatsoever, and the biggest, most unforgivable flaw of all is you hate coffee. Could be a deal breaker,” I teased.
Carla planted kisses across my chest, getting up on her tiptoes to trail them along my collarbone and up the length of my neck.
“Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”
An obvious physical reaction in my jeans gave Carla her answer. Grinning, I scooped her into my arms and carried her back upstairs.
Two hours later, after I’d temporarily sated my Carla addiction, I was desperate for a caffeine fix.
“I’ll take you out for coffee and breakfast,” she said as she tied her hair up. She glanced at her cell phone. “More like brunch. My treat.”
“How generous of you.”
“Do you want to use the shower first or together?”
“I’m all about sustainability. Why waste water when we can share?”
Thirty minutes later, the two of us walked to the diner. It wasn’t far from Carla
’s house because she lived central to town, only confusing me further about how I’d never run into her.
“I’d kill for bacon and eggs with pancakes and hash browns,” I told her as we walked past Reilly’s Bar, Rizzoli’s Italian Eatery, and the Wilkes’ Corner Store. An incessant urge to hold her hand overtook me, but I pushed it aside. It would have been presumptuous of me—not to mention something that would be noted immediately by Frazier Falls’ residents.
“Do you eat anything else?” Carla joked. “You made me a big breakfast when I stayed over the other week.”
“Twice in as many weeks isn’t that often. If I have the time, I like to cook. I hate grabbing stuff on the go. Is that so wrong?”
She shook her head. “Definitely not. I’d be crazy to complain about a guy who cooks—oh, sorry,” she exclaimed in surprise as she bumped into someone coming out of the hardware store.
“Not a problem. Owen?”
Oh, great. It was Pax.
His head swung between the two of us as if not sure who he should look at. “Hey, Carla.” He looked at Owen. “Interesting to see you two here.”
“Very interesting,” came another male voice—Eli.
I suppressed a groan.
“Why are you two together?” I didn’t bother to hide my grouchiness.
“We’re bonding,” Eli said. “Is that so wrong?”
“You’re hilarious.”
I looked at Pax, who said nothing, but he was grinning at Carla and me as if he couldn’t believe his luck.
“What are the two of you doing together on a Saturday, anyway?” Eli asked.
“We had some business to attend to,” Carla said, sounding entirely unconvincing.
Eli frowned while Pax visibly repressed a chuckle.
Then it dawned on Eli. “You’re his secret woman, aren’t you?”
She blushed. Something I was pleased to see.
“I guess you could … yeah, I guess I am,” she said as she looked at the sidewalk. “Now, I’m no longer a secret.”
“Aw, look, she’s embarrassed to be seen with him,” Eli teased. “Can’t say I’m surprised. She’s definitely settling for a six when she’s plainly an eleven.”
“You’re a dick,” I said, though I knew Eli was joking. There was rarely anything serious behind his taunts. He enjoyed making them for the sake of getting a reaction.
“I do try.” He looked at Pax. “So, how long have you known?”
“Known for sure? Only a day, but I’ve had a feeling for a while now.”
“Of course, you have.” My words dripped with skepticism.
“Only so many women in Frazier Falls,” he explained. “Law of deduction.”
“Guess you’re right. Anyway …” I was desperate to bring the conversation to a close. “Now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag, I feel absolutely no guilt in telling you to piss off. I’m clearly on a date.”
“In yesterday’s clothes?” Pax asked. “Classy.”
I resisted the urge to punch him in the face.
“Let’s say yesterday’s date isn’t finished yet,” Carla suggested, ever the diplomat.
Pax grinned. “Sounds like a reasonable explanation. If you ever tire of him, you know where his much more interesting brothers are.”
They left before I could curse at Pax, leaving me with a quietly amused Carla as we continued to make our way to the diner.
“Okay, I can see why you wouldn’t be able to live with them. You must drive each other nuts.”
“Only around eighty percent of the time.”
She paused for a moment, considering her next question. “Does this count as a date?” she asked. “All of our date-like evenings together have been entirely accidental.”
“Keeps things interesting.”
“I suppose that’s one way to look at it.”
When we reached the diner, a sigh of relief whooshed from my lungs. My favorite corner booth was open. Being out of the way would keep down the inevitable gossip.
Cassy Reilly, John’s daughter, approached. She’d been waitressing at the diner for years, but usually worked the night shift. I expected her to recite a quote of the day like her father did at his bar, but all she said was, “What’ll it be?”
“Can I have the breakfast sampler and a black coffee, and a—”
“Hot chocolate, and an egg and cheese bagel, please,” Carla added, pulling out her purse as Cassy walked away.
I held a hand up. “Let me get this.”
“Not a chance, mister. I already said this was on me, didn’t I? Are you going to pull a macho, the-man-always-pays move?”
I chuckled softly. “I guess not. You win. You can pay for my sustenance since you’re the one who worked me into such an appetite.” I waggled my brows.
“Do that again, and I might slug you.”
“Never considered it before, but I might like it.” I gave her a wink.
Cassy walked by, dropping off the beverages.
We sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, content to sip on our drinks, and stare out the window as the residents of Frazier Falls hauled themselves out of their houses to run errands.
Eventually, Carla asked, “Do you plan to tell your brothers about the exhibit?”
I cringed. “No. Not yet. Even if none of my reasons are valid, telling them now would be such a setback. You saw how they were out there. I’d never get the plans completed. They’d hover around me like flies on trash, but they’d be curious flies, loud flies that would ask lots of questions.”
“You have such a high opinion of them.”
“I do, but I also know what they’re like.”
She let out a laugh. “I suppose you’re right. So …”
“So?”
She smiled. “So … what’s going on between us? Was last night a one-time thing?”
I snapped my head back in surprise. “I hope not.”
“Let me finish. Was last night a one-time thing until after your exhibit, or is it something we’ll continue?”
“Um … I hadn’t thought about it, in all honesty,” I admitted. “What would you be more comfortable doing?”
Carla stirred her hot chocolate as she considered her answer. “I think it would feel weird to pull back now. I mean, we lasted all of two weeks not sleeping together before we gave in. That was before we knew if it’d be any good. And now …”
“And now what?”
She grinned. “And now we know how good it is. At least, I do.”
A low rolling chuckle rushed out. “Seconded. You want to continue?”
“If you’re open to it, yes.”
I reached my hand over to interlace my fingers with hers. Her face flushed beautifully in response.
“Definitely. Absolutely, one hundred percent. What are you doing tonight?”
She looked at me. “Coming over to your house?”
“Good answer.”
“I take it you agree with my plans?”
“Oh, I don’t know …” I said, looking away as I pretended to consider my options. “Let me see. An intelligent, funny, articulate, smoking hot woman willingly wants to spend the night at my place, with the implication that things might get physical? I’d have to say that’s a hard no from me. Sorry, you’ll have to find other plans.”
She pretended to look pained. “Look, there goes my self-esteem. Never again will I put myself out there. I’ll die a spinster.”
The two of us descended into childish laughter, then I leaned over the table and kissed her.
“Screw it if people talk about us. I’d absolutely love for you to stay the night at my house. Besides, I’ve got coffee.”
“It’s good you have your priorities sorted,” she replied sarcastically and kissed me back.
“It’s the little things.”
“You know it.”
My lips found hers again.
I couldn’t believe that two weeks ago, I’d had no idea Carla Stevenson existed. Now I couldn’t
imagine my life without her. I wouldn’t question it. She was real and in front of me. I wouldn't ruin a good thing. Last night had been exceptional, and I was enthusiastic to relive the experience.
One thing was certain after we pulled apart from our kiss and found the entire ten-person Frazier Falls Walking Club pressed to the glass beside our booth; our relationship was no longer a secret.
Chapter Eighteen
Carla
My phone wouldn’t stop ringing. Even though I knew who it was, I glanced at the screen every time, desperate for it to be my brother.
But it wasn’t.
It was Mr. Smith.
He hadn’t stopped calling all week. The deadline on Frost’s offer for the mill was fast approaching, and he was antsy to seal the deal. There were nine days left. Nine days and Rich was still ghosting me, but I kept my head down and focused on the task at hand.
There were six days until Owen’s exhibit. Six. No pressure at all. I could almost laugh; it was so painfully funny. So much rested on one speech. A speech that I had to make but hadn’t started. Something wasn’t clicking. All I could think about was how everything was at stake if I failed. Not only for me but for Rich, Owen, and his brothers too. It wasn’t a great headspace to inspire creativity.
By this point, I was familiar with Owen’s entire plan, so there wasn’t an issue with not being able to memorize facts and figures and quantities and measurements. I didn’t know what to say.
It was a frustrating position to be in because Owen’s plan was fantastic. His house was beautiful, both inside and out, and the model homes were like some otherworldly plants sprouting to life right before my eyes. I couldn’t believe how quickly the Cooper brothers and their crew worked, not to mention that as soon as the clock hit five, Owen would switch to working on preparing for the exhibit.
The man never stopped. Though I had stayed over most nights, there’d been nothing romantic or date-like about our moments together. Staying over was the natural way to maximize our time while working on the project.
Well, that and I didn’t want to stay at my house without Rich. The massive house was lonely with him gone. Every wall and available surface was covered in photographs of our family. Pictures of the two of us growing up, side by side. We looked like nothing could tear us apart, no matter what happened.
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