Chapter 7: Chapter 6

I’D DROPPED off Selena at her house after she’d pushed hard to come over and spend the night. She’d said she wanted to take care of me. I was probably confusing the hell out of her. I was always upfront about what I had to offer.

But I sure as hell hadn’t delivered on that this time.

We hadn’t had sex, which was usually all I was offering. A fun night, which often meant dinner and drinks. A few laughs. And a good fuck.

I loved pleasing the lady I was with.

Hell, it was my calling.

My gift.

There was nothing hotter than getting your woman off. Making her feel good.

If there was a professional sport for that, I’d be the talk of the town.

They’d call me The Orgasm MVP.

It was a title I’d wear with pride.

But lately, I just wasn’t feeling it. Tonight, I’d used the excuse of the bee sting when I’d taken her home. I’d said I just wanted to be by myself and thanked her for the offer.

I grabbed a beer and dropped to sit on my couch before taking a long pull. Thoughts of Saylor flooded my mind, because I was a needy bastard when it came to her. The way she’d pursed her lips and blown that warm breath right above my dick nearly had me coming in my pants like a fucking horny prepubescent teenager.

I wondered if she’d gone home with that douchebag in a Speedo.

I reached for my phone.

I chuckled. She was so damn cute.

So damn off-limits.

I shouldn’t ask, because it was none of my business. But I was curious.

Fuck. I knew this would come up. I was glad she didn’t ask in the bathroom when I was under duress. I’d probably have confessed the whole sappy truth.

I sure as hell didn’t want her pity. And I needed to keep these lines in the sand very clear. There was no room for gray area where Saylor Woodson was concerned.

So goddamn sweet.

I turned off my phone and decided not to respond. I headed for the shower, needing to clear my mind.

Why the fuck couldn’t I get the vision of Saylor on her knees, pressed between my thighs, out of my mind?

Aqua blue eyes. Plump lips.

Begging for my cock.

Good Christ.

I was a sick fucker.

I needed to get her out of my system. I turned on the shower and let my forehead fall against the wall as the hot water beat down on my back. I wrapped my hand around my dick, ever eager for a stroke. This was the only place I’d ever allowed myself to be inappropriate with Saylor.

It was my secret, and one I’d take to my grave.

Being attracted to my best friend’s little sister wasn’t a sin. Acting on it would be a different story.

But fantasizing about it alone in my shower? I could live with myself.

I gave a few quick strokes as I imagined her on her knees, between my thighs, teeth sinking into her plump bottom lip as her heated gaze locked with mine.

I take her chin between my thumb and my pointer finger and lean down to cover her mouth with mine.

I kiss her as if my life depends on it.

Tasting and teasing, as her little breaths come hard and fast against my mouth.

She pulls back, her tongue swiping out slowly along her bottom lip.

I stroked harder.

“I want to taste you,” she whispers.

“You want me to fuck that sweet little mouth of yours?” I ask.

She nods as her mouth covers my swollen cock, taking me all the way in. My head falls back as she moves up and down in perfect rhythm, knowing just what I want.

What I need.

My fingers tangle in her hair as she takes me deeper.

My hips buck in response, loving the feel of her lips sealed around me.

“Fuck,” I grunt as I come hard.

Grateful that I was in the shower, I continued pumping myself under the hot water, my head resting against the shower wall.

I made a silent promise to myself that I wouldn’t fantasize about Saylor after today.

Having her back in town these last few months was complicating things.

I needed to get my head straight.

This was the last time I’d let my mind wander there.

It was happening too often, and it needed to stop.

The last two weeks had been a blur. I’d been putting in long hours at the bookstore, and I’d stayed true to my promise about not getting off to thoughts of Saylor Woodson. I’d gone out a few times, but I’d yet to take a woman home. I’d let Selena know that I thought we were better off as friends, and though she’d made it clear that she was disappointed, she appreciated my honesty.

I’d never had such a bad case of blue balls in my life. It didn’t help that I couldn’t even rub one out now, because my mind automatically went to Saylor.

So, I threw myself into work.

Once I finished this job, I would be able to put some distance there. This was a phase, and it would pass.

I met the guys over at Romeo’s gym. We had lunch every week together, and it was our time to catch up on everything.

“I thought I was going to have to come pull you out of there,” Nash said when I walked in.

Romeo tossed me my sandwich, and I dropped down to sit. “Nah. Just finished getting the molding on the last bookshelf. Things are really starting to come together.”

“You’ve been putting in long hours, huh? I’ve barely seen you these last few weeks.” River reached for his soda.

“Who’s the clingy fucker now?” I teased as I unwrapped my turkey on wheat and took an oversized bite.

“Always you.” He laughed.

“Thanks for pushing so hard to get the doors open for Saylor. Means a lot, brother,” Hayes said.

“Of course. You know I’d do anything for her.” It was the truth.

“Well, considering she pulled a stinger out of your dick, it’s the least you could do,” Nash said over a fit of laughter.

“Hey, now. Don’t talk about my dick and bees in the same sentence. Anyway, that stinger was several inches from my package, but it was still scary as shit.”

“Don’t be having my little sister go anywhere near that filthy cock of yours,” Hayes said, a wicked grin on his face.

“He sure as shit wasn’t going to let me take the stinger out.” River raised a brow.

“Dude. You threatened to stab me in the dick. You don’t get to take the stinger out when you use those kinds of fighting words.”

Laughter simmered around the room.

“How’s the wedding planning going?” I asked Romeo, because he and Demi were officially tying the knot in June.

“Things are coming along. She’s doing all the hard work. I just smile and nod, because I really don’t give a shit about a wedding. I just want to marry her, and if she’s happy, I’m happy. So she can have whatever she wants, as far as I’m concerned.”

“Spoken like a pussy-whipped motherfucker,” River said, balling up his wrapper and tossing it into the trash.

“Says the dude who tattooed Queenie over his chest.” Hayes reminded him.

“Hey. I’m a sucker for my girl.” River smirked before turning to Hayes. “I saw you getting awfully cozy with Trish Windsor last week at Whiskey Falls. Something going on there?”

Trish Windsor was a woman who’d moved to town last year, and she was hot as hell. A few months back, she’d shown up at the firehouse when Hayes had been working, wearing a trench coat while completely naked beneath. She’d shot her shot, as they say, but it had not worked out the way she’d planned. Hayes didn’t care for women that came on too strong, and he’d turned her down. We’d all given him shit for it because she’d practically thrown herself at him.

He brushed the nonexistent crumbs from his hands and leaned back in his chair, turning to look at each of us slowly.

This is going to be good.

“How many times have I told you that I don’t like when a woman gets pushy with me?”

“Too many to count,” I said, leaning my elbows on my knees because I couldn’t wait to hear what he was going to share.

“Yeah. I should have trusted my fucking gut and not you cocksuckers.” He reached for his drink. “You were relentless about it, and she was all over me at the bar two nights ago.”

“And…” Nash threw his hands in the air.

“And… I agreed to go back to her place. I tried to take control because I’m a fucking man and I like to lead when it comes to that shit. But this woman—fuck me.” He shook his head like he was still recovering.

“By the look on your face, I’m guessing she didn’t fuck you?” River asked, trying to hold back his laughter.

“Nah. I called that shit off after she took me to her bedroom.” He leaned forward, glancing around the space to make sure no one else could hear. “The room had blood-red velvet curtains and bedding, and there were handcuffs on the posts of the bed frame. It was freaky as shit.”

“I like velvet,” I said with a shrug.

“Yeah. Of course, you do. But she had a bunch of cameras set up around the room. I was trying to process what was going on, and she goes to the closet and comes out with all this… shit. Like clamps and whips. I was not down with it. She wanted to tie me to the bed and film me, and I got the hell out of there.”

I shivered. “Damn. I don’t think I’d be down with that either.”

“Really? You don’t like pain?” River laughed, and he didn’t hide the sarcasm before turning his attention to me. “You got stung by a bee and lost your shit. I don’t think you’re going to let anyone electrocute your dick for kicks.”

I flipped him the bird, even though he was right. “I like a passionate lover, but I don’t do pain. Lick some dark chocolate off my body all day long, but you pull out a Taser, and I’m out the door.”

“Well, let’s just say, I’ve never run my ass home so fast.” Hayes shrugged.

More laughter.

“How ‘bout you? You’ve been blowing everyone off the last few weeks,” Nash said, turning his attention to me because I hadn’t been out in a while.

“Just not feeling it lately. I’ve been working long hours to get the bookstore open, and I don’t know, I’m just beat at the end of the day.” It was the truth.

River raised a brow. “Is this a sign of maturity, or the after-effect of nearly having a bee sting you on the dick?”

I flipped him the bird. “It’s called hard work and long hours, brother.”

“Well, we’re all going out for country music night next week, so you better pull your shit together, or Demi will have your ass. She’s looking forward to all of us having some fun.”

“She texted me about it. You know I’ll never disappoint Beans. Of course, I’ll be there,” I said, calling her by the nickname we used and reaching for my soda.

“You’re still okay with cutting out early and picking up Cutler from school today? I’ve got to oversee the beams that are going in later at the Brighton Ranch, so it’ll be a late one for me,” Nash said.

“Looking forward to spending time with my favorite little dude.” I set my cup down. “And we’ve got his first baseball game coming up this weekend, right?”

“Fuck. It’s a good thing I’m coaching the team,” Nash said as he shook his head. “Cutler is a lot of things, but a baseball player is not one of them just yet. He can’t seem to grasp the concept that you swing the bat before the ball makes contact with it. He waits till it passes, and then swings hard, and then celebrates the hell out of missing the ball, like that was the fucking goal.”

Laughter erupted around the room.

“He’ll figure it out. You weren’t born a baseball star either.” River raised a brow at him because Nash had been recruited to play college ball back in the day. “If memory serves, you were a tall, gangly, awkward kid. You didn’t grow into that body until high school.”

“That’s true. It came later for you,” Romeo said over his laughter. “Demi had shirts made for everyone to wear to the first game, so we’ll meet at the house beforehand on Saturday, and we’ll all head over together.”

“Looking forward to seeing our boy shine,” I said, and I meant it.

This was the shit that I lived for.