“I was just coming to talk to you too.” She didn’t sound angry or cold. If anything, she sounded almost scared. My heart melted.
“Are you okay?”
Her head tilted side to side, her long, damp hair swaying. “Apart from acting like a psychopath and disappearing like a criminal this morning, then worrying all day about what I’d done, yeah, I’m good. You?”
I chuckled. She sounded as neurotic as I felt. It was oddly comforting. “I spent the whole day worrying too.”
Her brow furrowed, and she made eye contact for the first time. “I’m sorry, Sam. I’m such a mess. I’m…” Her hands rose and then dropped at her sides.
I wanted to touch her so badly I ached, not just in my body, but deeper. My soul hurt. “It’s okay if you’re a mess. I’m far from flawless.”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure about that. I haven’t seen any flaws yet.”
“Years of practice at hiding them. I assure you, they’re there.”
“Well, you’ve been pretty fucking perfect to me. And I freaked out on you. I didn’t mean to. I’m just… I’m not good at the relationship thing, especially with people I like.”
Wait, what? “I’m confused. Does that mean you’re better at relationships with people you don’t like?”
A groan rumbled in her throat. “See? I told you. I’m a mess. But yes, if I don’t like someone, then I don’t have to worry about hurting their feelings or them hurting my feelings. It’s just easier. That probably doesn’t make sense to you.”
It made far more sense than I wanted to admit. “I know what you mean.”
“So I spent all day worrying I’d hurt you, and when I didn’t hear from you, I just freaked out more. I don’t want you to hate me.” Her voice quivered, and I had to shove my hands in my pockets to keep from pulling her into a hug.
“Phoebe, the last thing I wanted to do was freak you out, but it was clear that you were totally freaking out, so I figured that meant you needed space. Look, I get it. I’m not really in the market for a relationship. I had one very long, very serious relationship, and when it ended, it nearly destroyed me. I’m not looking to duplicate that experience. But I like you. I like spending time with you. I freaking love your cooking. And I don’t want to do anything that’s going to stand in the way of us just hanging out together and…”
“Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“I’m not freaking out anymore. We’re on the same page. I like you too, and I love hanging out with you and cooking for you. And you were really good at the sex stuff.”
“Likewise.”
“So can we keep doing all of that without it getting…weird?” She looked up at me, eyes hopeful and bright.
“Well, I don’t know… Weird is kinda the Vermont way of doing pretty much everything…”
And then she kissed me. Not a quick peck, either. She popped up onto her toes, took my face in her hands, and pulled me toward her so fast I nearly lost my balance. Her tongue was doing that thing that made me feel as if my veins were filled with lava.
She pulled away, both of us breathless, and gazed into my eyes. “I’ll try not to be weirder than required by state law.”
Her hands slid behind my neck, and she gave me another kiss. Quicker this time, but no less passionate. Her body curved into mine. “Would it be weird if we went back to your bedroom and got naked?”
“Not at all weird.”
“What if we brought last night’s leftovers with us?”
“Still not weird. Bed picnics are totally a thing.”
“What if we bring the…”
I cut her off with a kiss, and the way she pressed against me told me neither of us was going to eat anything until after we’d had sex. And even though I’d barely eaten all day, that was absolutely fine with me.
23
Phoebe
I woke up in Sam’s bed for the second day in a row. Only this time, instead of panic, I felt…calm. I curled and stretched, rolling over in hopes of gazing at his sexy, sleeping face, to find that the only other creature in bed with me was Puck.
He nuzzled my face and began to purr. Sweet, but not exactly the warm fuzzy face I had in mind.
“Where’s Sam?” I asked as I scratched under his chin and behind his ear.
As if he understood me, he jumped off the bed and walked to the door. I put my shirt and yoga pants back on and followed him, noticing the dense aroma of bacon in the air. “You’re not trying to help me out. You just want bacon.”
He rubbed on my leg. “That’s not a no, my friend.”
It wasn’t like I didn’t understand wanting bacon. Now that I’d smelled it, I was suddenly ravenous. We trotted down the stairs together. Sam stood at the center island, wearing only sweatpants, and whisking a bowlful of eggs. Bacon sizzled on a griddle behind him. “Your furry roommate told me there was bacon.”
“Oh, he did, did he?”
“Yep. He didn’t mention there’d be eggs too.”
“Don’t get too excited. After you’ve eaten these eggs, you’ll have had my full repertoire of culinary delights. Anything beyond eggs, bacon, and grilled meat is above my skill set.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed his shoulder. “That’s not true. I seem to remember you rocking some pretty awesome potato salad.”
“Damn. I forgot I’d already made that for you. That really is my entire repertoire.”
I shrugged. “I guess after this, I’ll just have to settle for ogling you in your sweats.”
He grinned. “Ogle away.”
“If you’re good, maybe I’ll teach you some new tricks.” I batted my eyelashes and sauntered to the coffee machine.
I took a personal inventory as I poured a cup. Still no panic. No urge to run. Appetite for food, strong. Appetite for Sam in those sweatpants? God help me. I stirred in sugar, poured in half and half, then sipped as I watched Sam flip the bacon.
“You should probably wear an apron. Bacon splatter and half naked is a risky combo.”
“That’s why the bacon’s on the rear burners. I’ve made that mistake before.”
Sexy, yet practical. I liked that. A lot. “Want me to do the toast?”
“Sure.”
I dropped four slices into the toaster and grabbed a jar of pear honey. “You like honey butter?”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
Sam took the bacon off the griddle, and Puck stood on his hind legs, trying to reach the plate. “Buddy, chill. You’ll eat when we eat.”
Puck meowed in protest, then hopped onto a barstool to wait. I noticed a plate of crumbled goat cheese and what remained of the fresh dill. “Pretty fancy eggs for someone who claims to not know much about cooking.”
“I grew up with an herb garden, and my grandmother is friends with several local cheesemakers. I picked up a thing or two.”
“Speaking of herb gardens, any chance we could stop by, and I could take some samples from her greenhouse?”
Sam poured the eggs into a skillet of sizzling butter and started stirring. “Sure. We can go today if you want. Iris and my grandmother are visiting a friend in Burlington for the day, but I can take you over, and you can get whatever you need.”
“They won’t mind?”
“Trust me, they’ll be thrilled. They both really like you.”
That was new. I hadn’t had very many relationships that involved meeting the family, but the few that had… Let’s just say the parents didn’t like me. Not that I could blame them. They probably sensed that I was never in love. I couldn’t fault them for wanting better than that for their kids.
“Did they say that?” I asked.
The eggs were fluffing nicely and Sam dropped chunks of goat cheese into the pan and continued stirring. “They did. They seemed to think we clicked.”
Huh. I mean, we did. I’d never hit it off with anyone like this. But it was still odd someone else—two someone elses—had noticed. “I liked them too.”
&nb
sp; I mashed butter in a bowl and poured honey over it, stirring until it was smooth and creamy. The toast popped and I smeared the honey butter on the still-warm slices, then put them on the plates Sam had set out. He brought the pan of eggs over, spooned some onto each plate, and I sprinkled them with the fresh dill. I’d worked with kitchen professionals for months before being as in sync as I was with Sam. Maybe it wasn’t that hard for others to see we “clicked.”
Sam carried our plates to the center island while I grabbed my mug and the plate of bacon and followed. Puck was still waiting patiently as I slid into the barstool next to his.
“Your roommate looks awfully hungry.”
“He’s always hungry.” Sam broke off three small pieces of bacon and set them in front of Puck, who purred instantly and gobbled them up. “Keep an eye on your plate. He’s a known thief.”
I took a forkful of eggs. “These are really good.”
“Thank you.” Sam munched a strip of bacon.
“No, thank you. And not just for breakfast.”
His eyebrows flew up.
I didn’t know how to word what I wanted to say. “I know I can be a pain in the ass. Just, thank you for being patient with me.”
“You’re a lot of things, but pain in the ass is not one of them.”
After breakfast, I ran to my place to take a quick shower and change. The air was surprisingly warm and humid—I always thought of Vermont as being so far north it would be cold year round, but it wasn’t. I slid on a short cotton dress and flip flops and put my hair up in a messy bun.
I opened my door to leave just as Sam was about to knock. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”
“No, we don’t.” I popped up and kissed him. His perpetual five o’clock shadow had grown into a softer scruff that tickled my face, and he tasted of bacon and honey butter.
“You’re just using me for my herb connection, aren’t you?”
“Yep.” I winked as I sashayed past him.
24
Sam
It had only been twenty-four hours since I’d been sitting on the porch getting a talking to from Iris and my grandmother, but I felt like a whole different person. The conversation Phoebe and I had seemed to have calmed us both down, and now I felt closer to her than ever. I parked in the driveway and watched as she walked into the back yard, looking every bit as goddess-like as she had the other night in her floral crown.
“Has she always had the greenhouse?”
“It’s been upgraded a few times, but yeah, it’s been around since I was a little kid. The stonework around the base was added when I was maybe six or seven? I remember helping her and Iris do that brickwork. And a tree fell on it, shattering a lot of the glass, back in ’05 or ’06. Big ice storm.”
“Oh wow. That sounds awful.”
“That took a while to fix, but it’s a lot sturdier now.”
“I didn’t notice all these hydrangea bushes the other night. They’re my favorite flower. I’ve never seen them so blue.”
“There’s a trick to that. It’s all about the acidity level of the soil.”
She bent down to sniff one of the giant blooms, her short dress riding up just below her shapely ass. My entire body took notice. “Gorgeous,” she whispered to the flower.
Gorgeous indeed, but I didn’t mean the foliage. “Take a few home when we leave. They’ll be in bloom all summer.”
“You sure she won’t mind? I feel like I’m stealing all her hard work.”
I chuckled. “She grows all these things to share them. She’d be thrilled to know you took some with you.”
I held the door to the greenhouse, and Phoebe stepped inside. “This is amazing.” She did a slow turn.
I followed as she strolled up the first row and then back down the other. “What on earth does she do with all these herbs? I haven’t even heard of some of these things.”
“She and Iris do like to cook, and they have parties with their friends quite often. The more unusual things, and some of the standard ones, they use for tinctures and for spellwork.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “Like actual spells?”
“Yep. Not like Harry Potter or movie magic stuff, but yes, they both do all sorts of spellwork. Don’t worry. Only white magic. Everything is respectful of free will and only done with the intention of being for the highest good of all involved.”
I knew it sounded weird to people who hadn’t been around it, but she seemed to consider what I said and take it in stride. “That’s kinda cool.”
“They know way more than I do and they love to talk about it, so feel free to ask them questions, just be prepared for a lengthy conversation.”
“I’ll definitely ask. Maybe your grandmother can teach me some of it when she shows me her pie crust secrets.”
“You’d make her entire week if she got to teach you pie crust and some herb tricks. Speaking of herbs. See anything you’d like? In the market for some limes or lemons?”
Phoebe looked like a kid in a candy store. “I want some of everything.”
I handed her a wicker basket and a pair of gardening shears. “Clip anything you like.”
She started with rosemary, and the pine-like scent wafted in the warm area as soon as she snipped the first branch. Next came sage, with its citrusy, earthy aroma. And oregano’s tanginess. Then basil’s minty-fresh scent. “Can I really take lemons and limes? I can make scones, or lemon curd, or margarita mix…”
I nodded, watching the hem of her short dress rise as she reached up, plucking the yellow and green fruits. I’d been trying to let her focus on the garden, but I couldn’t resist touching her for even one more second. My hands skimmed the soft cotton of her dress. “Is it weird that I get hard when you talk about food?”
“Nothing at all weird. Everyone knows food porn is a thing.” She slipped her fingers into the hair at the base of my skull, sending warm tingles up over the top of my head and racing down my spine. Her hips ground against mine, and I could feel her warmth right through my shorts, which had been bulging for the past several minutes. Her mouth tasted sweet as she sucked on my tongue, making me groan. I lifted her onto the wooden workspace, my hands sliding up her bare thighs.
“You’re sure Iris and your grandmother are out of town?”
“Positive.” I kissed my way down to her neck and sucked until her head fell back.
She rocked toward me as my fingers reached her panties, and I cupped my hand for her to grind against. The fabric was already damp, and I was happy to know I wasn’t the only one walking around aroused as fuck. She groaned as I rubbed her through her panties and kissed the top of my head as I slid my mouth over the fabric of her dress, huffing hot breath until I felt her nipple harden.
“You’re so fucking sexy, Phoebe.”
“I don’t know if it’s the herbs, or what, but I’m so turned on right now it’s obscene.”
“It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.” I pushed her dress up high enough that I could hook my fingers under her panties. She leaned back on her elbows, raising her hips so I could slide them down her legs. “So fucking beautiful.”
She groaned as I traced a path up her thighs then caressed the sides of her pussy with my thumbs. I kissed the crease between her thigh and torso, and she sucked in a breath.
“Can I keep going?”
“Oh god, please.” Her legs spread wider, and I tucked a hand under her butt cheek to steady her as I kissed my way across the neatly trimmed hair of her mound. Trailing my thumb through her folds, I flicked at the hood of her clit with my tongue. She hissed, rocking toward me again. My dick strained at my fly, but I ignored it, laser-focused on all the things I wanted to do to her.
I placed a closed-mouthed kiss on her, feeling her wetness glaze my lips, then let my tongue trace the path my thumb had just taken. She whimpered, rocking again, as I slowly trailed upward until I reached the swollen nub of her clit.
“Yes.” Her fingers rifled through my hair.
I licked and teased and sucked. Fuck writing the alphabet, I wrote a sonnet with my tongue, working her until I could feel the pressure build to a peak. Her thighs quivered as she raked my scalp with her nails, and I lapped until she cried out, thighs flaring wide, then closing around my head.
My dick pulsed so hard I almost came along with her as I continued to slowly lick until she stopped coming.
“That was…holy shit. You’re… Wow.”
She’d lost the ability to speak in whole sentences. When a blowjob did that to me it was always a good thing, so I took it as a compliment. I stood, gazing down at her. Her hair had half fallen from its bun, her cheeks and chest were flushed, and her pupils were so dilated she looked sexier than I’d ever seen her. Between her legs shimmered with wetness. I adjusted my dick through my pants, and she bit her lip. “You need some help with that?”
“I’ll live.”
“I’m on birth control.”
What exactly was she saying? That we didn’t need a condom? “I had a full physical last month, everything tested, all good. And I haven’t been with anyone since.”
She reached for my belt, undoing it and my button and fly. “I was tested last week, right before I drove up. Because asshole ex…”
“We don’t have to… I’ve got condoms at home, I just didn’t think to bring—”
Her fingers wrapped around my dick and now I was the one who could no longer form sentences.
“We can do whatever you want.” She pushed my boxer briefs down so the waistband was right below my balls, and stroked my dick from root to tip, swiping off the precum, then bringing her glossy finger to her lips and sucking it clean.
Fuuuuck. “I want to be inside you.”
She held my gaze. “You’re already inside me. I think you have been since the first day we met.”
That did it. I shoved my pants and underwear down my thighs, then pulled her to the edge of the table. “You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.”
I swiped the head of my dick against her wetness, and she wrapped her legs around my ass, drawing me closer. Sliding inside her bare was pure heaven. Intense heat surrounded me as she flexed her internal muscles in ways that had me panting against her neck. I licked and sucked at her soft, sweet skin, the already humid air hot and dense around us.
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