“Did what?” I asked, while attempting to pull my mind out of the gutter.
“Hang out in a field and drink beer.”
The setting sun cast shades of pink, purple, and orange across the sky, reminding me of a rainbow sherbet. Once we’d gotten her father’s blessing, we left the chili cook-off and escaped the over-crowded town, venturing off down one of the dirt farm roads to find a spot to park and relax. It was something we’d done a lot in our high school days. It’s been a pastime for many of the kids growing up in small towns around here.
“Sounds like you haven’t been living much then,” I teased.
She lowered her eyes, a weak smile hiding her thoughts. “You’re probably right.”
“Hey,” I said, gently knocking her shoulder with mine. “I’m only messing with you.”
“I know. It’s just…since I’ve been home, I’m realizing how much I missed out on.” She looked over at me. “I mean, take Ricky. I had no idea he could sing and play the guitar. I didn’t even realize he was interested in music. I knew he always looked up to Bobby—” She bit down on her bottom lip, hesitant to continue.
With only the sounds of singing crickets filling the heavy silence, I swallowed past the dryness in my throat, forcing my pride and jealousy down. “You can talk about him. I never want you to feel uncomfortable around me after…you know…” It was me biting back my words now.
She shook her head adamantly. “It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
She hesitated a moment. “It’s that I don’t want to talk about Bobby period. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”
“What do you mean?”
She looked away from me again, keeping her eyes on the sunset as it slowly slipped away into the dark.
“Con? Did something happen?” When she still didn’t answer, I probed some more. This conversation was long overdue. “Why isn’t he here, Conley? Are you still together?”
Another lengthy pause followed as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt, twisting it around her fingers. My pulse throbbed in my neck as I waited for her answer.
I wasn’t sure what I was hoping it to be. My emotions were all over the place. A part of me hoped she wasn’t, so some of the guilt from having kissed her would fade away. But a vast part of me feared that same answer. If she were single, I wasn’t sure how we’d navigate things between us from here. She was still my employee. She’d still been a buddy of mine’s girl for nearly two decades, even if he wasn’t the best of my friends. And I wasn’t sure if I had room in my life right now for a woman like Conley. She deserved the best, and I wasn’t sure I could give her that, no matter how much I wanted to be the one to. I also didn’t want to be her rebound, though, I couldn’t say I wouldn’t do it anyway just to have her be mine for any amount of time.
“Bobby and I… Things are complicated.”
“There’s nothing complicated about my question. Either you are or you aren’t,” I said, doing my best to tamp down my frustration.
She looked me square in the eye, and I held my breath. “We aren’t,” she finally said. “But it’s not something I’m allowed to say right now.”
A million thoughts flew through my head as I processed what she’d just said. They weren’t together. For the first time since that day she walked into my garage, they weren’t together. But they weren’t telling people… “Why?”
“Because I have a non-disclosure agreement. I have to wait for his publicity team to announce it first.”
“Why haven’t they? You’ve been home for nearly two months.”
“I don’t know…”
She didn’t know? The way her eyes dropped to her legs told me she did. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Conley let out a long breath, her gaze moving to stare out over the grassy landscape, her forehead wrinkled with frustration. “You know Bobby. He always thinks he can easily fix things, no matter how bad he messes up. He’s probably stalling, hoping I’ll change my mind.”
“Is that why he called the other night? He hopes he can change your mind?”
She slipped her hands under her thighs, sitting on them. “Probably…”
“And can he?”
“No,” she stated firmly.
Despite the lack of hesitance and confidence in her answer, I studied her profile, looking for the truth. “You sure about that?”
“As sure as I can be,” she said, meeting my gaze again.
The surrounding air shifted and sparked as she waited quietly for me to take the lead. And hell if I didn’t want to. The only thing I’d wanted to do since hearing they’d broken things off was to slip my fingers through those soft, black strands of hers, pull her to me, and taste her once again. But despite my wants, I had to think about hers. I wouldn’t be reckless with her heart the way Bobby always had been.
I cleared my throat. “Ricky really killed it up there, didn’t he?” I asked, breaking our eye contact, needing the change in subject while I tried to organize my thoughts.
Her whole body deflated beside me. It wasn’t what she was hoping for, but it’s all I was ready to give. A half-smile lifted the corners of her mouth as she thought about her brother again. “Yeah. Where did he even learn to play like that?”
“I might’ve given him some pointers…” I admitted on a shrug.
“Shut up! And you didn’t tell me?” she squealed in shock.
“It wasn’t my place. Plus, he wanted to keep it quiet to surprise Mia.”
She huffed. “I know… I get it… It’s just sometimes, I wish we were closer, and he confided in me like that, though.”
“Give it some time,” I said, lacing my fingers behind my head and lying back in the truck's bed to stare at the darkening sky as it unveiled the stars it held. “He’ll come around. Most guys his age aren’t eager to confide in or hang out with their much, much older sisters.”
“Watch it.” She poked at my stomach, her mouth quirking.
I laughed, snatching her wrist, and pulled her down with me. Her breath caught on her laughter as her body fell on top of me, her hair falling in her face. A cool breeze swept across us, sending them swirling around. Without thought, I brushed the strands away, tucking them behind her ear, my hand stalling there before slowly slipping to the side of her neck.
“You’re older than me,” she said breathlessly, the tip of her tongue darting out and swiping over her lips.
“Only by a few months,” I said, my gaze zeroing in on her mouth as I felt her fingers curl into my shirt. Her chest heaved with a labored breath, her head slowly lowering toward mine.
Headlights flashed in the distance. And instead of her lips meeting mine, her forehead pressed against mine as she released a heavy sigh. “Do you ever feel like the world is working against us?” she whispered.
Every. Damn. Day. And if I were a smarter man, I’d heed its warnings.
“I just want to be alone with you, does that make me a terrible person?” Before I could answer either of her questions, she lifted her head and pushed off of me.
The two of us sat back up. I glanced at her as tires crunched over the dirt and gravel road, headlights shining on us. I wasn’t sure if her words had been for me or thoughts she’d unknowingly spoken out loud. Either way, it scared me knowing how in sync they’d been with mine. And how there was little keeping me from acting on all my other thoughts when it came to Conley.
A sheriff’s jeep slowed to a stop a few yards away. Roger climbed out of the vehicle, decked out in his county sheriff’s uniform.
“Gotta admit, wasn’t expecting to find you two out here when making my usual rounds,” he said as he closed the door to his jeep and strode our way. “The last time I busted a Logan out here, it was your little brother,” he said, glancing over at Conley before giving me a handshake and a fist bump.
Conley cringed. “Do I even want to know what he was getting up to?”
“Same as you two…” Roger raised a brow. “You know, drinking
with his friends.”
We both knew Roger had probably seen enough to make his own conclusions on what he’d just interrupted. And as much as it annoyed me on one hand that he had the worst timing in the world, it might have saved me from doing something all too soon.
“Seems he’s the talk of the town tonight. Him and that girlfriend of his I caught him out here with,” Roger went on about Ricky.
“Yeah, he was amazing, wasn’t he?” Conley said with pride.
“The kid’s got some lungs on him. That’s for sure,” Roger said as a call on his radio came in. He turned down the volume before turning his attention back to us. “Well, duty calls. You two be safe driving back into town.”
“Will do, man,” I said, giving him a chin jerk before he turned and headed for his jeep. When he’d driven away, I looked over at Conley. Trepidation was etched into her expression while she watched him drive away, her shoulders set as if bracing herself. “Come, on. I’ll take you home.”
Once again, I felt the weight of her disappointment, even as she nodded her head to show her assent.
14
Tim
If there was one thing I hated about owning the bar, it was dealing with finances. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose as I tried to focus on the paperwork in front of me before the Saturday night rush started. There wasn’t much I could focus on these days other than Conley Logan.
Since that night of the chili-fest a week ago, she’d been on my mind even more than usual. I hadn’t made a move or told her I wanted more. I was still trying to sift through all the confusing-as-shit emotions I was having. She had said nothing either. But it hadn’t stopped either of us from finding ways to discreetly touch one another as we worked. The flirting between us had been hot as hell over the last week, making me have the longest lasting case of blue balls in my life.
A soft knock came from the doorway of my office. Conley appeared in the opening, sexy as ever, leaning casually to the side as she crossed her arms, a slight smile on her face. “You know…there’s been a rumor going ‘round.”
“There usually is,” I said, lowering my eyes back down. Focus.
“Yeah, but this is the first time I’ve been interested in the rumor.”
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” I asked absently, keeping my sight on the invoices I’d been entering in a spreadsheet.
“Because it’s about you…and me…”
That got my attention. I glanced up at her, waiting for her to continue. She pushed off the doorframe she’d been leaning against with mischief playing in her eyes. “I think it’s about time we made it true.”
What the hell was she talking about? “Conley, what are you doing?” I asked as she stepped fully inside my office, closing the door.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” She flicked the lock.
Gripping the back of my neck, I swallowed hard. “We can’t do this,” I insisted, despite wanting nothing more than to do this. The stiffening of my dick was proof enough I wanted nothing more.
Planting her palms flat on the desk, she leaned forward, her sight on my lips. “Kiss me, Tim.”
Hell, I wanted to. My throat dried up as I stared at the determination in her eyes. “I can’t.” I forced the words through my strangled vocal cords.
“You can. You’ve done it before, and I’m asking you to do it again.”
“That’s not what I mean. We can’t do this.”
Her face fell. Backing away, she stood upright, losing some of her confidence. “Why?”
“Because you work for me. And what about things with Bobby?” The excuses felt weak even to my own ears.
“Then I quit.” She gripped the edge of her shirt, lifting it over her head and tossing it to the floor. I forced another swallow down, my eyes homing in on the pebbled nipples barely covered by the black lace of her bra. “And as far as Bobby…” She walked around the desk, dragging her fingertips lightly along the smooth surface as she went. My eyes tracked her as I spun the chair slowly to face her. She stopped at my knees, wedging them apart with her own so she could step between them. “I’m not sure I was ever really his.”
Damn.
There was no way I was resisting her when she was looking at me like that, half-dressed.
Lifting my hand, I skimmed my fingers down the silky skin of her arm and over her tattoo, wrapping them around her wrist and raising her hand to kiss the inside of her palm. Her chest heaved at the contact.
“You sure about this, Con?”
Her eyes locked on mine, and the gentlest smile curled her lips. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”
That was all I needed to know.
I released her wrist, then thumbed open the snap of her jeans. Slipping both hands into the sides of her pants, I gripped her hips and pulled her closer. She was warm and soft and everything I’d ever dreamed of. Kissing slowly across her stomach, I lowered to my knees, pulling her jeans and panties down with me to the floor.
She tensed a little as I did, her fingers threading through my hair and scraping along my scalp, but she didn’t squirm or pull away. She was confident and unashamed as I admired the most intimate parts of her.
“God, woman.” I let the words that were both a curse and a prayer fall from mouth. “What you do to me…” I pressed a kiss to her hipbone, skimming my knuckles along the inside of her thigh before placing a kiss there too.
She held her breath in anticipation. Tentatively, I flicked my tongue and circled her clit—tasting, teasing, wanting to savor it all before I lost all control and patience.
“Tim.” My name came out as half-breath, half-moan. Her hips rolled forward, her grip on my head tightening.
I latched onto the bundle of nerves, sucking hard, delving deeper. Every moan she released, every greedy swirl of her hips, spurred me on more. I ignored the throbbing of my cock against my jeans, wanting nothing more than to focus on her pleasure, to be the one to bring her to the release she was chasing. She was close. I could feel it as I slipped my finger inside her and alternated between quick flicks of my tongue and sucking.
“Oh, god…Tim,” she gasped again, then tugged my head back, her eyes filled with lust and desperation. “I need more. Now. I need you inside me.”
Wiping the back of my hand over my mouth, I nodded and jumped to my feet as she took a step back. She stepped out of her shoes and jeans and removed her bra. I quickly pulled my shirt over my head and discarded it. I swallowed, my heart thumping harder, as I drank in the full vision of her. All lean, delicate lines that flowed into the most beautiful curves. She was a work of fucking art.
“Tim,” she said, pulling me out of the daze I’d fallen into. My eyes met hers. “I’m gonna need you to lose the pants. Now. Before the world tries to come between us again.”
I grinned, removing my wallet from my back pocket and tossing it on top of my desk while slipping off my boots. Then, with a flick of my thumb, I undid the snap of my jeans, pushing them down my legs, my cock springing free. Leaving them in a pile on the floor, I strode toward her, desperate to have my mouth on her once again. It was her turn to drink me in and that she did—unabashed and with greedy intent. Shaking my head at the pure perfection she was, I cupped her breast, rubbing my thumb over the pebbled nipple. She arched into my touch, her head lolling back as she gripped my shoulders.
“Please,” she begged, driving her hips forward, desperate for friction.
“Patience,” I demanded, even though my own was hanging on by a very thin thread. I dipped my head, dropping a gentle kiss on the tip of her shoulder, following the path up that silk column I’d wanted to lick and kiss for so long. She moaned again, giving me better access. I reached between her legs, sliding a finger into her slick heat again, then two, readying her. She rode my fingers hastily, while her hand snaked down to grip my cock and stroke.
I hissed at the contact. It felt so damn good—but it wasn’t enough.
“Okay, sweetheart,” I said through a smug
smile, drawing my hand out of her and reaching for my wallet. “You win.” I pulled out the foil packet and ripped it open. Rolling the rubber over the tip and down my shaft, I held her eyes. She licked her lips, her cheeks flushing.
With my cock in one hand, I gripped the back of her hair in the other, while walking her backward. When her back landed against the wall, she hooked a leg around my waist and lifted to her toes on the other, helping to line me up. Our eyes locked for the briefest moment, so much being said in that one look. We’d waited half a lifetime for this moment. For us to be together.
I lowered my mouth to hers as I eased the tip inside. Her lips parted with a tiny gasp, and I swept my tongue inside, gliding, tasting all of her. As I pushed in deeper, her head rolled back, landing with a slight thump on the wall. The tips of her fingers dug deep into my shoulders, her nails biting into my skin. Needing to feel more, wanting to drive deeper and harder, I cupped her ass with both hands, hoisting her up in my arms. She hooked her other leg at my waist, clenching around my shaft as she did.
I growled, pumping faster now as she met me with every thrust, using the wall as leverage. Her tits bounced in my face, and I couldn’t help but take one in my mouth, teasing the nipple with my tongue. When I grazed my teeth over it, she let out a loud moan. She was being too loud, but I couldn’t stop her. She was closer to spiraling. Knowing I wouldn’t last much longer either, I braced her using one arm and the wall. Then slipped a hand between us to rub the pad of my thumb against her clit. Seconds later, I felt her body tense and her walls clamp down around me as she arched her back. She released the breath she’d been holding in fast pants, shuddering with her orgasm. The feeling of her throbbing walls quivering around me drove me to my own. With two final deep, hard thrusts, I laid claim to her body—she was mine.
I felt it in the way she clung to me afterwards as I lowered us to the ground. I felt it in the way she sighed into my neck with a peaceful satisfaction. In the way she kissed my shoulder and over to my pec before pressing her cheek flush against me. She was mine. Finally. And I would be hers always.
Tempting Tim: A Small Town Friends to Lovers Romance (Billingsley Book 4) Page 13