A Carpino Series Collection, Books 1-3

by Brynne Asher

  Sounding like she’s straightened her backbone, she replies, “Well, I don’t know, Jude. I’m sure you had a life before you met me. Don’t you have anything else to do besides babysit me every night?”

  Well shit, what is up with her? I climb in my truck and start it up, sitting back to concentrate on her. “Babe, we’re gonna have a talk tonight.”

  “What?”

  “Tonight. You and I are gonna get a few things straight.”

  “Like what things?”

  “What are you making for dinner?” I decide to change the subject.

  “Dinner?”

  “Yeah, dinner. What are we having?”

  Hesitating again, she says, “Pork chops, roasted potatoes and…um…a salad,” she ends quietly.

  Smiling to myself, I say out loud, “Sounds good. I’ll stop and get you a bottle of wine. What sounds good?”

  Sighing, she says, “I know you’re supposed to drink white with pork but I don’t like white wines, I like cabs. Any cab is fine.”

  “Gotcha. I’ll be there in twenty. Do you need anything else?”

  “No, I’m good.”

  “All right, Gabby, I’ll see you soon,” I say, hanging up the phone.

  Yeah, we’ve gotta talk tonight. I know she hasn’t been with anyone in years, but she’s gotta have a fucking clue as to what’s going on here. I’ve taken it easy on her since she got home from the hospital, not just because of her physical injuries, but more so because of what she experienced. I want to move us to the next step when she’s ready, but after what happened to her at the hands of Harper, I don’t know when that’ll be. We’re gonna talk tonight and she’s gonna know where I’m at, come hell or high water.

  After hitting the liquor store, I make my way through Gabby’s neighborhood. We’re into the second week of September and the weather has taken an earlier than normal shift to fall. The humidity is gone and temps have dipped to a comfortable level. Being from Colorado, summers in Nebraska are brutal. I head into her house, trudge through the mess thinking she has a really great garage, but she needs to do something about all this shit. I hear Gabby talking to Lizzie as I walk in being attacked by the dog, who I ignore, and head straight for Gabby. She’s wearing a thin, pink long sleeve hoodie with some faded cut-off short-shorts, ragged around the legs. Her hair is pulled to the back of her head in a mess and she’s makeup free. She looks at me as I approach and her face lights up.

  Beautiful.

  I go straight to her side, putting my stuff down on the counter, and wrap my hand around the side of her neck. As she turns her head up to me, I meet her for a soft kiss. “Sugar.”

  “Hey,” she breathes.

  I turn to her aunt. “Lizzie. Thanks for coming.”

  “Not a big deal. I love my Gabby time, so now I get to hang around without worrying that I am cramping her style,” she replies as loudly as usual. “But I need to be on my way. Tony and I are playing in a Twilight Couples round of nine holes tonight at the club. I can’t seem to keep him off the fairways with this nice weather. We’re gonna grab dinner there, so you two enjoy, I’m off.”

  Gabby and Lizzie say their goodbyes as I uncork Gabby’s wine and pour her a glass.

  “Did you find out anything about Trevor?” she asks.

  “His operation is shut down for now and we got some major players—but no Harper,” I say, looking at her. “Yet. We’ll find him, Gabby. He’s got too much at stake, he’ll flush out eventually. Don’t worry, you’ll get to go shopping again someday,” I add, trying to lighten her mood. She doesn’t need to worry about Harper coming after her again, reliving that experience over and over.

  “Well, if I can’t go shopping by myself, someone’s going to have to take me,” she says grinning, raising an eyebrow at me. “I do have clients you know. My job is all about shopping and I can’t keep them waiting forever.”

  “How did you get into it?” I ask, as we fill our plates and sit down at the island to eat.

  “Get into what?”

  “Decorating. Not a lot of people go from accounting straight into decorating, babe. Opposite sides of the brain and all.” I take a swig of my beer.

  “I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I started college and I’m good with numbers, always have been. I told you my mom taught high school math. So, I guess accounting made sense since I was good at it. When I graduated with my accounting degree I wasn’t real excited to get a real job yet, so I decided to stay in school and got my MBA. When I graduated my parents decided it was high time I got a real job, so I started at a CPA firm. I hated it. It was seriously boring and my days were long. I started helping my friends with their house projects just for fun. It was more like a hobby, I guess. I helped my mom when she gutted the kitchen here, then I helped a friend redo her bathroom and she insisted on paying me. Once I found I could make some money at it, I quit my job and started decorating full time. That was about six months before my parents died. It’s a lot more fun, I get to work for myself and set my own hours. It just sort of happened, all my business is word of mouth.”

  “This kitchen is all you?” I dig into my dinner and look at her plate that’s over half covered in salad.

  “Well, my mom and me. I like being here, it reminds me of her.”

  “I’m glad you have that, babe. I’ve never seen you in action with numbers but your kitchen’s the shit.”

  “Is that a badass compliment?” she asks. I just grin at her and continue eating. “Well, if that’s all I’m going to get from you, Jude, then I guess I’ll take it,” she adds sarcastically.

  I put my fork down, snag her behind the neck and pull her over to me. Trying to keep her balance from my quick move, she leans her hands on my thighs. “Yes, that was a badass compliment. But don’t worry, Gabby, you’re gonna get a whole lot more from me. I promise you that.” I kiss her quick before letting her go. Her eyes go big again so I try and keep the mood light. “And what is up with you and salad?”

  Recovering from my last comment, she shrugs. “I don’t know. You like meat, I like salad. And it’s a good thing, too. I’m not a runner because I love it. Carbs and I don’t jive. So, I eat salad and I run. But not just any salad, I like fancy salads.”

  “Fancy salads?”

  “Yeah, you know with good cheeses, unusual veggies, fruit, stuff like that. It’s not a big deal, just my thing I guess.”

  “Good to know,” I mutter as we are finishing our dinner that apparently included fancy salad. Now that I think about it, I realize our salad tonight had pears, walnuts, some kind of dried fruit, a stinky cheese, and I’m pretty sure there were roasted red onions in some kind of vinaigrette. I lean over to kiss her and say, “Thank you. Dinner was great, fancy salad and all.”

  “No problem, Jude.” She grins back.

  “Grab your wine and go sit down, I’ll clean this up.”

  “I can help clean the dishes, Jude. I’m feeling really good. My ribs only hurt when I poke around on them, so as long as you don’t tickle me, I can help clean the kitchen. I’m so sick of being in this house,” she says with a sigh. Then in a quiet voice, she goes on, “So, if you think Trevor’s left town, do I still have to be under house arrest?”

  “Just because we think he could have left town doesn’t mean he has. I’d feel better if you’re at home, not alone, and have on your security system.” I get close to her, pull her into me gently and talk low. “I about came undone last week when I found out you were vulnerable and hurt the way you were. Not to mention what your family went through. If I allowed it to happen twice by not taking every precaution, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. I know you hate it, but please, for me, just cooperate. Okay?”

  She looks up into my eyes and I can tell she’s working over something in that head of hers. She starts chewing on her lip and finally spews the same shit she asked me over a week ago. “Why are you doing all this? I mean, we’ve known each other for all of a week and a half.”

  I’ve abou
t lost my patience with this. I wanted to wait until later to have our talk, but it needs to happen now. I turn, grab her hand and pull her to the sofa. I sit down, turn her grabbing her hips and pull her down onto my lap.

  “Jude, what are you doing?”

  I turn her sideways in my lap and we are looking almost eye-to-eye. “We need to have a talk. I’m tired of you questioning me, so it’s gonna happen now.”

  Affronted, she asks, “What? How am I always questioning you?”

  I drape one arm across her legs and rest my hand on the side of her ass and the other hand goes up her back into her hair to hold her tight.

  “What in the hell do you think is going on here? I’m not here for shits and giggles, I’m here because I want to be here. I like you, I want to be with you, I think about you when I’m away from you and I want to get to know the real you. Not the ‘you’ you put on for people to make them think you’re okay, but the real you who loves your family, cares about her friends, and dotes on her silly-ass dog. I want to know everything there is to know about you, sugar. I gotta say, I like sleeping up next to you at night, so that’s as much for me as it is for you. So, quit asking me if I’m gonna come to you at the end of the day, because as long as this is good, I plan on coming to you. And for the love of all things holy, quit asking me why I’m doing this, because I’m doing this for selfish reasons. I want to see how good this can be, because so far, with break-ins, flooded basements, gun smugglers on the loose, Fantasy Football drafts, your crazy family, and even you fucking getting hurt at the hands of Harper—I think this is pretty damn good. I can only imagine how good it can be without all that extra shit going on.” I sigh, look her in the eyes, lower my voice and keep going. “I don’t know how much more I can spell it out, Gabby. I’m here because I want to be with you.”

  She’s staring at me. I use my arms to pull her closer and her hands go to either side of my neck. We’re close so I give her a gentle squeeze. “What do you need from me? What can I do to make you believe me? Tell me.”

  She gives her head a little shake and says, “Nothing. You don’t need to do anything Jude. I’m sorry, I just…” she pauses and looks away and bites her lower lip.

  I give her another squeeze. She looks back into my eyes and leans her forehead against mine, closing her eyes with our noses lying side by side. She says low, “I’m sorry I keep questioning you. I like this so much that I’m scared at how much I like it. It scares me how easy it is and that it might not be easy someday. It scares me to think about losing it.”

  Damn, that jackass really did a number on her or she’s scared of losing someone after losing her parents. Either way, I can’t have her feeling that way about me.

  “Gabby, I’m not going anywhere. Let’s see how easy it can be.”

  She lifts her head a couple inches, as far as I’ll let her, looks me in the eyes and gives her head a small nod.

  With that, I pull her into me, kiss her lightly and she kisses me back. Her hands go slowly around my neck and then into my hair. I can feel her arching her back to get as close to me as she can. She heats up and deepens the kiss. I’ve never felt her like this, I’m always the one struggling to control myself. I can’t take it anymore.

  Maybe it’s all these nights sleeping together, holding her close to me or maybe it’s seeing her vulnerable and hurt. Or maybe it’s that she just told me she’s scared and I know I’ll turn myself inside out to keep her from feeling that way, but I can’t hold back another second. Without breaking the kiss, I turn her in my lap and lay her down on the sofa and fit myself into her good side. I let my hand trail down her side and dip under her t-shirt, my hand hitting its target immediately. I cup her tit, filling my hand perfectly and she arches to push herself into me. Running the pad of my thumb over her bra, her nipple hardens to a peak. She sucks in a breath and I put my fingers together, this time for a gentle twist.

  “Am I hurting you?”

  Arching her back again to get closer, she breathes, “No, don’t stop.”

  I pull her shirt up and my finger dips inside her bra to pull it down exposing her to me. For the first-time skin to skin, I barely run my finger over her to feel her hardened nipple and circle it with my finger. I give it a pull and her breath comes out in a whimper.

  That’s it. I lean down to finally get my mouth on her, roll her nipple with my tongue, feeling it hard and excited. I bite it gently and her hands come to my head. I suck her into my mouth for a long pull and she lets out another mew, holding my head to her even tighter. Starting to lose any control I have left, I return back to her mouth to kiss her deep, tasting her and not getting enough. I lightly move my hand down to her leg, and with light touches, I start stroking the back of thigh, from the back of her knee going high and under her short shorts. She lets her knee fall to the side even farther and I take advantage and dip my finger inside her shorts.

  Fuck.

  Her panties are soaking. Full of need, she lifts her hips to get more contact from my light touches.

  “Sugar,” I whisper on her lips, “what do you want?”

  She says nothing, but I do get a moan.

  “I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t know what you want. Tell me what you want, Gabby.”

  I lift my head and wait for her to open her eyes. Looking straight into mine she says with need, “You. I only want you.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Tell Me You Get Me

  Did I just say that?

  Yes, I did. I just told Jude I wanted him out loud. But everything he’s doing to me and the way he’s touching me is driving me crazy.

  Of course, I want him. I’ve wanted him since the first time he kissed me. And I haven’t wanted anyone in a really long time.

  I look up at him. His eyes are searing into mine and his fingers torturing me feather light on the back of my leg lightly move up farther. I feel him dip inside my shorts again, but over my panties where he touches me between my legs.

  “Ohmygoodness.” I’m breathy and needy. Craving more, I lift my hips but he pulls his fingers away and I moan in protest. “Jude.”

  “Not here,” he rasps, kissing me quick. Placing his hands on either side of me on the sofa, he stands up tagging my hands to pulling me gently with him.

  “What are you doing?” I try to get my feet underneath me and realize he’s pulling me out of the great room toward the hall.

  “I want you wherever I can have you, Gabby, but our first time’s not going to be on the couch,” he growls out as he pulls me into my bedroom.

  Turning to me, he pulls my hoodie off and away goes my bra just as fast. Before I can even think about standing in front of him topless, he leans down to grab my ass picking me up and my legs circle his waist. He turns and puts a knee to the bed and we both go down, but he doesn’t give me his weight. Instead, he lies down on my good side again, his hand comes up to lift my breast and his mouth is on me, sucking long and hard. That long, hard suction shoots straight between my legs and now all I can think about is wanting him to touch me everywhere, needing to be as close to him as I possibly can. His hand trails down my stomach, yanks the button on my shorts and dips inside. Not messing around this time, his hand goes straight inside my panties. I spread my legs for him and he touches me where I want it most.

  “Jude.” It barely comes out as a whimper, more like a plea. As he slides his fingers through me and hits my clit, my hips jerk.

  “You feel amazing, baby,” he whispers in my ear.

  His fingers do another slow circle, then slides one finger inside me and I moan tipping my hips up for more. He pulls out but then adds a second finger while using his thumb on my clit and all the friction plus fingers feel better than I imagined. I start to move my hips with his hand and it starts to build. It’s been so long and it’s coming fast.

  I can’t seem to utter any other words besides, “Jude,” but instead of a plea this time, it’s more like a warning because I want him, all of him, when I come.

&nb
sp; Jude heeds my warning, because he rasps against my lips, “No, baby. I want to watch you.”

  Okay.

  Fine.

  Not caring at this point that I have no control over my own body—in fact needing it so badly, I grasp on to him as I feel it come over me. Pushing my head back while moaning, I come long and hard. Letting my orgasm wash over me, I realize Jude’s very talented hand is gone and he’s up, knees to the bed pulling off my shorts and panties. I look up to see him reach behind his shoulder blades to yank his shirt off from behind, toss it, and then his hands go to the button on his jeans to free himself.

  Barely recovered from Jude’s talented fingers, he leans back over me and with his lips on mine, he asks, “Baby, are you on the pill?”

  “Hmm?” still trying to get my wits about me.

  “Birth control, Gabby,” he repeats. “You on the pill?”

  “Yes,” I whisper and as soon as I do, I feel his whole demeanor change as he slows his movements.

  He lifts his hand to brush my cheek and his middle finger traces my lips ever so slowly. I look up at him, his eyes are burning but he’s not looking into mine, he’s following his fingers tracing slowly down my heated body, over my breasts, rounding my nipples, feather light down my belly, straight between my legs where he slowly starts to play with me again. His eyes come back up to me, not heated this time but full of reverence. My breath hitches and his face lowers to mine.

  “Gabby are you sure I’m not going to hurt your ribs?” he says softly.

  His hand is still between my legs so I’m getting all breathy again and finding myself a little impatient. “Jude, if you ask me that again, we’re going have to have a talk.” To make myself clear, I lift my hips up for more contact and look into his eyes saying, “And I do not want to talk right now.”

  He gives me a grin. His hand stops playing with me and slides down my leg to hitch my knee pulling it up high. I do the same with my other one then I feel the tip of him between my legs. As he looks into my eyes, he slides inside me. It feels so full and so good.