by Miley Maine
“I miss my mother constantly. It’s just a part of my life now. Every day, I think about how much she would have loved being a part of Ian’s life, and with each milestone he hits without her being here to see it, it hurts like a gaping hole in my life.”
“I’m sorry. She was an amazing person.” I didn’t know what that was like, having a warm, maternal figure at home. Mary was nice, but where I was concerned, she automatically went along with my father.
We sat in silence for a few minutes until Bree spoke again. “I have to ask: what’s the update on the case?”
“It was a small disruption, and it wasn’t a cyber-attack. Someone physically damaged one of the poles that connects to a transformer, so it’s affecting a small area.”
“I’m surprised I didn’t hear about it.”
“We called the power company directly. We didn’t want any first responders getting hurt.”
“Is that good?” she asked. “Or is it bad that this was a physical attack instead of a cyber one?”
“It’s good in that damaging a pole or even a transformer only affects a small group of people. A cyber-attack could damage the entire state of Texas.”
“When can we expect the power to come back on?”
“Shouldn’t be much longer,” I said. “The damage was no more than you’d get in a bad storm.”
“So why bother?”
“A warning. Disruption.”
“Isn’t the point not getting caught?”
“Not always,” I explained. “Some groups like to play cat and mouse.”
“Like a serial killer leaving a calling card,” Bree said.
“Yeah, it’s a little like that.”
“So now what?”
“We keep investigating.”
She looked up at me. “How long will you be here?”
“Why?” I nudged her with my elbow. “Are you ready for me to leave?”
I expected her to laugh or make a snarky joke, but she was quiet.
“No,” she said after a long pause. “I was just curious. It’s not so bad, having you here.”
I grabbed her ribs and started tickling her. “That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement.”
She laughed. “What’s gotten into you? You’ve never tickled me before. Not even when you were ten.”
“I guess Ian’s had a good effect on me.”
She quit laughing then and her bright smile faded.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing.” She rubbed her face and blinked a few times. “So,” she said. “We’re all alone out here.”
“Not really.” I inclined my head toward the tent, and then up toward my father and Mary’s open window. “As much as I want to, there’s no way we can sleep together right now.”
Her soft cheek brushed over mine, which was probably covered in stubble by now. “Well, we won’t be sleeping,” she said.
“Don’t tempt me,” I said. “I don’t know if I can control myself. You smell so good,” I said.
Her forehead wrinkled in an adorable way. “I figured I smelled like fire and outside.”
“No.” I inhaled. “You smell like citrus and strawberries. And there’s something else, something sweet, and you’ve always smelled like that. Even when we were kids.”
“I don’t think anyone’s ever called me sweet before,” she said.
“I didn’t say you were sweet. I said you smelled sweet.”
“Nope. Now I have proof that you think I’m sweet,” she said as she cuddled up to my side. She fit perfectly in my arms.
Why had I left last time? Yes, she’d told me to leave, but I’d given up. For that matter, why had I accepted it when she broke up with me?
Yes, I’d been furious and heartbroken at the same time when she’d tossed the ring I bought her in Laurel Bay Lake, but I could have tried to talk to her. Instead, I’d left for college early and tried to put my entire life in Laurel Bay behind me, including Bree. And to be honest, almost every part of my life had included Bree. Up until the night I proposed, I’d never imagined a life without her.
And maybe I still couldn’t, which is why I’d gone five years without ever getting serious with another woman.
Why hadn’t I tried harder to make it work with her? Pride? Embarrassment? The thought that I’d be working out of a field office in New York City, far away from Texas? None of it seemed clear now.
“What’s with the melancholy?” she asked.
I shook myself out of it. Tonight wasn’t the time for us to discuss serious topics. We’d already come so far, considering how she’d reacted when I arrived.
“No melancholy,” I replied. “Just glad to have the rest of the night off with you.”
She turned her head to the side and nuzzled into my neck. “If we were here alone, I’d unzip your pants,” she breathed against my ear.
“Uh,” I said. “And I would let you, if we were here alone.” I had to reach down and adjust myself in my jeans. “Then what would you do?”
“I’d slide my shorts down. And I’d straddle you, and then I’d sink down on your big cock.”
I let my head fall back.
She did straddle me then, but she had her shorts on. “If we were out here alone, I wouldn’t be wearing any underwear.”
I swallowed hard. “Is that so?”
“Yep.” She lowered her hips so that her bottom just barely skimmed over the front of my jeans, making my cock so hard it was ready to burst out of my pants.
She tipped her head forward, letting it rest against mine. “Do you like lingerie?” she asked.
“In general? Or on you?” I asked, but it was getting hard to think. Our bodies were barely making contact, but the promise of her bare sex exposed to me again in the future had me so aroused I couldn’t think.
And now, she’d brought up lingerie. I’d never seen her wear any, but if she was willing, I’d buy her whatever she wanted.
“On me,” she breathed.
“I would like any type of lingerie you wear.”
She scooted back, sitting on the ground next to me, but still keeping her legs spread open across mine. I ran my hand over her smooth, bare thigh.
“Hmm,” she said. “What about black? Or red? Or do you prefer pink?”
I stuck my other hand under her T-shirt, loving the feel of her warm skin under my palm. I ran my hand up to her shoulder blades. I sucked in a breath. “You don’t have a bra on.”
“Nope,” she said. “No bra tonight.” She pursed her lips. “Tell me what kind of lingerie you like.”
“I’d like you in black lace,” I said. “Black lacy bra, black panties. I’d like to be able to see your stomach.” As I spoke, I moved my hand from her back to her front, running my hand over her flat stomach.
“You’ve never seen me in lingerie,” she said. “I’ll have to order some. Although maybe I’d be better off going to Dallas and buying it in person. Mary opens all the packages that come here.”
“Yeah, that would not be good,” I said. “But I’d be happy to order you some.”
“Yeah? I could have it sent to the hotel,” she said. “And then I could model it for you.”
I grabbed her and pulled her close, smashing my mouth against hers. She met me with just as much passion, licking over my lips then opening her mouth for me. I pushed my tongue inside her mouth, tasting cool peppermint and marshmallow. Finally I pulled away. “I can’t take much more,” I said.
“I don’t really want to spend the night out here,” she said. “I’ll carry Ian to bed, and then I’ll meet you in my room.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. You gave him the camping experience he wanted, so he’ll be fine. I’d rather him get a good night’s sleep anyway.”
“If you want, I can take him camping for real sometime when I get a week off.”
She lowered her eyes, looking away from me for a second before she responded. “That would be great.”
Did she think I w
ouldn’t follow through? “I mean it. As soon as you’re ready, let me know and I’ll take him somewhere fun. You’re welcome to come, too, of course.”
“I’d love that,” she said. She pressed her lips to my cheek. “I’ll see you upstairs.”
I unzipped the tent and helped her get Ian out of the sleeping bag and into the house. While she got him tucked into bed, I put the fire out and covered the ashes with dirt. I grabbed the sleeping bags but left the tent up, figuring Ian might want to play with it tomorrow morning.
If we started dating, I wasn’t sure what that would look like. Would she move? Would I move? Would we try to make a long-distance relationship work? I could probably get a transfer to the Dallas office, but I liked Houston and wasn’t sure I wanted to give it up unless Bree and I were a sure thing. I adored Ian and I wanted to include him, but it was clear that dating with a kid was very different. Just like earlier, when Bree had me so wound up I could have levitated, but we had to stop so she could put Ian to bed. That wasn’t a problem for me. It was nice, the idea of having someone else to look out for, someone other than yourself.
While I waited, I brushed my teeth and changed into a fresh T-shirt and stuck a condom in my pocket in case she wanted to keep going. Within seconds, Bree was back. “Mmm,” she said as she kissed me. “You’re all minty fresh. I should brush my teeth, too.”
“No.” I didn’t let her pull away. “You already taste good.”
“If you say so.”
“I do.” I kissed her again, this time running my hands through her hair while I devoured her mouth. I pressed her up against the wall and pushed my hand into her shorts. I skimmed my fingers over her folds while I nipped at her neck with my teeth.
“Feel how much I want this?” she asked.
That answered my question about whether or not she wanted to keep going. I shoved her shorts down and off her legs. I grabbed the condom and unzipped my own pants, getting the condom on in record time. “I don’t want to wait,” I said.
I pushed her shirt up over her breasts, and I lifted one of her legs and propped it on the chair. I guided my cock to her pussy and pushed in.
She let a low moan before remembering to cover her mouth. I drove my hips up, rocking her body with my cock. I sealed my mouth over her bare breast, sucking.
The standing position made her wet pussy feel even tighter as it hugged my cock. I thrust into her, over and over. I pulled my cock out and spun her around. “You’re going to bend over for me, so I can see this lovely bottom again,” I said, putting her hands on the arm of the chair.
She thrust her hips out, curving her back while I got behind her again. As I pushed my cock back into her waiting body, I found myself wondering again—how had I lived five years without her?
17
Bree
I wasn’t sure where this side of James came from, but I liked it. Maybe it was age, maybe it was experience, or maybe it was something he’d picked up from the FBI, but it was hot.
When he’d grabbed me and spun me around, pushing me forward so he could fuck me from behind, my stomach flipped over and my core ached to be filled.
He was commanding, and I liked it. It was so damn hot when he took charge in the bedroom. I’d never had sex like this, standing up from behind. Heck, until a few minutes ago, I’d never had sex standing up at all. The times we’d made love when we were younger were all straightforward, textbook missionary position.
At the time, I’d really enjoyed it. James had always been careful and thoughtful, and he never spoke one word that could be considered dirty talk. Compared to the stories my friends told, that was preferable to the inconsiderate ways they were all treated.
But this? This was much better. The dirty talk really worked for me.
Standing behind me, he’d thrust in once and pulled out, and now he was rubbing the head of his cock over my clit, teasing me.
“I love how wet you get for me,” he said.
“I like how you fuck me,” I said. “Which means you should do it soon.”
“I like making you wait.”
I pushed my hips back, grinding against him.
“You need to be fucked every day,” he said.
“Yeah? Who’s going to do it?”
His hands came down and locked over my hip bones. “It better be me,” he growled.
“Are you sure you’re up for the task?” I taunted.
He thrust in, hard and fast, making it one long motion. He hit my sweet spot immediately, hammering against it as I clung to the chair.
“I’m close,” I said. I’d never been close before when he wasn’t touching my clit. “Don’t stop.”
“I’m not stopping until you come,” he said.
He pushed his hand between my legs and brushed his fingers over my clit with just the barest amount of pressure.
Stars burst behind my eyes as my pussy clenched around his cock. I fell forward, limp, as electric pulses washed over my body. My brain went fuzzy and I closed my eyes as pleasure raced through my veins with each beat of my heart.
“Keep going,” I muttered, barely coherent, once I realized he’d paused his thrusts.
He paid attention and kept up, rolling his hips into my body. Even though I was done, his cock felt good inside me.
He stiffened suddenly and distantly, I felt the pulse of his cock as he groaned. Moments later, he pulled out. He lifted me, holding me close to his chest before he laid me on the bed and pulled the covers up.
“Love you,” I muttered.
My eyes flew open. Shit, shit, shit.
Had I said that out loud?
Apparently I had, because James was standing by the bed, still naked, staring at me. His eyes were as round as mine must have been. He was frozen, one arm still held out from his body from to fix the bedspread.
“Uh.” What was wrong with me? We’d said I love you to each other thousands of times from the time we were fourteen until we were eighteen. It wasn’t the end of the world. I hoped. “Just pretend I didn’t say that.” My face was flaming hot, but I was going to pretend like it wasn’t. “It was post-sex hormones. Good post-sex hormones,” I said.
I attempted to make my face look normal, which wasn’t easy, since I wanted to leap from the bed, jump out the window, and then maybe stick my face in some really cold water until it cooled down.
He sat down on the edge of the bed. “Did you mean it?”
With the lantern and the help of the moonlight, I could see most of his face. It was blank instead of horrified, so that was something at least.
“Did I mean it?” I sat up, aware of how naked I was, but since he was, too, it was less awkward. “It’s complicated, I guess. I do love you, I always have, even when I was so angry I could barely stand it.” I grabbed onto the covers and held on tight, desperate to get the words out. “But should I have said it right now? Probably not.” I gave him what was probably a very lopsided smile. “It just came out.”
“I feel the same way,” he said. His expression was still blank, but his eyes were warm as he stared at me. He pulled me closer, holding me against his chest. “I love you, too. And I always have.”
Well. That was certainly startling to hear. I didn’t even know what to say. “So. That was unexpected.”
He kissed the top of my head. “It was for me, too. We can talk about it later. It’s late and we both have to work tomorrow.”
“Good plan,” I said, unable to think of anything more profound to say. Just then, the power clicked back on, bringing with it the buzz of the air conditioner and the hum of the overhead lights.
We both cringed at the bright bathroom light and he pulled his pants on. “I’ll go close all the windows,” he said. “Except in my father’s room. He’s on his own for that.”
I laughed. “Thank you,” I said. “I don’t think my legs are going to be working anytime soon.”
He crossed back over to where I was sitting. “Good. That’s what I like to hear.” He put his hand on
the back of my head and kissed me. “I love you,” he said against my cheek.
So we were doing this now? Was I overthinking it? “I love you, too. And I need to tell you something,” I said. I needed to get this out. I couldn’t tell him I loved him and hold onto this secret that was so important; it wasn’t fair to Ian, and it wasn’t fair to James.
“Tell me tomorrow,” he said. “I don’t want to quote my father at you, but all the cool air is escaping.”
I laughed and snuggled under the sheet as he went off to find all the open windows.
I had to tell him the truth tomorrow. I couldn't put it off any longer.
“Today’s breakfast is much more enjoyable that I thought it would be when the power was off last night,” I said, as I slathered butter on the pancakes James and I had made together. Ian was dancing around the living area in his Power Ranger costume.
“I thought we’d be having cold bread and jam,” Walter added. “Not that your jam isn’t wonderful,” he said, patting Mary on the hand.
She smiled back at him, then looked at James. “Why did the power come back on so quickly?”
He explained to them what he’d told me last night, then he cleared his throat. “I have a proposal,” he said.
Ugh. That word still gave me hives after all these years. I’d had one proposal from this man, and I’d reacted by throwing his ring in the lake. Thank goodness that wasn’t what he was talking about right now.
“This power outage was minor. But we don’t know what this group is planning. They may be less interested in large-scale terrorism and more into crippling a local economy or disrupting the town’s livelihood. It may be a form of protest or it may be personal. We just don’t know.”
“So what do you propose, son?” Walter asked.
I watched James carefully to see if he bristled at being called son, but it didn’t seem to faze him.
“I think the four of you should go to Houston and live in my condo until this is over,” James said.
“What if it goes on for months?” I asked.
“There’s no guarantee it won’t,” James said.
“I can’t,” I said. “I’m the one who insisted we start the volunteer fire department. And my boss needs me at the vet clinic, and the ranch is already struggling. If I leave now, it won’t survive, even if I could find someone to take care of the animals.”