Chapter 21
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
HE GAVE ME A HEART BONER, DAMN IT.
Dash
“What the fuck? Get it off me! Get it the fuck off me !” I shout, violently swiping at my shoulder, my gloved hand moving over the rotted finger over and over. “Oh god, it’s stuck!” I scream.
“Calm down—” Juniper starts, but I can’t calm down.
The stench of that death cave is burned into my nostrils, and the feel of that dead finger beneath my palm is freaking me out. “Get it the fuck off!” I shout, swiping a few more times before reaching for my shirt, tearing it off over my head.
Only, in my panic, I forget I’m wearing a baseball hat, so my shirt gets stuck over my head, the putrid finger squishes against my cheek, all rotten and disgusting.
“Pull my shirt off!” I scream, flailing my arms as I completely and utterly freak the fuck out. There is a rotten wormy finger touching my face, and the more my brain circles that fact, the harder I lean into freak-out mode. Sterling reaches into the balled-up shirt, yanking off my hat. He pulls again and rips my shirt clean off, taking the finger with it. Only, he yanks so hard and I’m so unsteady on my feet, I crash into him, sending him heels overhead, backward down the small hill leading to the creek.
Instinctually, I reach for him, but because I’ve been freaking the fuck out for the last thirty seconds, I’m not careful and I lose control of my footing. As I slide and twist down the hillside, Sterling does the same and in a split second, I’m on top of him in the water, both of us fully submerged.
He pops his head up without thrashing, and I do the same. We’re able to stand at this part of the creek, thank fuck, so we do, the water circling right below our pecs. Sterling’s taller, so a little more of him peeks out of the water.
He’s coughing, rubbing the back of his head and heavy drops of water plunk from his clothed, drenched elbow to the surface of the creek.
Finally, we both catch our breaths. I blink at him wearing a lopsided smile. “I may have slightly overreacted about the finger.”
His chuckle warms me from the inside out, even though the creek water has my nipples hard enough to cut glass.
“You think?” he asks, surveying the hillside we just slid down. A moment later, Juniper appears at the top. When she spots us, her hands come to her chest with relief.
“Jesus,” she breathes from about forty feet up. “Are you guys okay?”
Sterling lifts a hand from the water and waves her back. “We’re okay, sweetheart. Stay up there. We’re climbing out.” He faces me again. “You okay?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
He looks up at where Juniper waits then back to me, a slight smirk on his lips. “Don’t you deal with this stuff as a cop sometimes?”
I snort and send a splash of water to his face. “I moved to Bluebell so I wouldn’t see shit like that. I mean, small, Hallmark towns don’t have a lot of murder, you know?”
He nods. “True.” He wades toward the edge of the creek, using the strength in his powerful quads to climb out. I follow in his steps, but find myself slipping on the silt, falling back into the creek. He laughs, outstretching a hand to me. “C’mon.”
I clap my hand in his and he yanks, only he must not take account for how wet it is, because he pulls hard. Hard enough that I fly toward him as he falls backward, our bodies colliding on the ground with a wet thud. From above, Juniper’s soft giggle sweeps over us.
“Fuck. Sorry, man,” Sterling says, shaking his head for a second. His strawberry hair is streaked with mud, and some is smeared through the stubble on his chest. Beneath me, his chest presses into mine with each deep breath he takes.
Something hard and thick is pressing against my thigh, and I’m only just now realizing it. And I realize at the same time that Sterling does, his eyes widening in what seems to be embarrassment. He pushes me off, sending me to the damp grass next to him. Getting to his feet, he dusts himself off and casts me a brief glance. “C’mon, we gotta get those remains.”
I trudge up the hill behind him, smiling. “You got a gun on you?” I ask, chewing the inside of my cheek so I don’t laugh. Sterling’s so private. It’s really kinda fucking hot. He stops, glaring back at me as my lips twitch.
“It was the friction,” he replies, because we both know that was his hard-on pressing against me.
Juniper fills in the silence as we reach the top. “I cleaned up. We’re ready to head to the next site.” She points to the empty drum where she’s stashed the bags, sealing in the deathly stench. “Let’s see if we can get to the oak tree before Hud and the guys come around. Right now, they’re out to pasture.”
I nod, and without discussion, Sterling and I each take a side of the drum, loading it carefully onto the back of Juniper’s ATV before tying it down as best we can.
As I’m collecting my shirt, Juniper, her hands in pink gardening gloves, peels the finger off my filthy shirt and stashes it in a Ziploc bag. “Can’t forget this, or all that,” she says, motioning toward the well, “wasn’t worth it.”
She hops on the ATV after slipping the finger into the drum, and nods toward the property miles away. “Meet you guys at the oak.”
She’s kicking up dust and dirt in a matter of seconds, and when I turn to face Sterling, I find him sitting on the ATV. He pats the back of the seat behind him. “C’mon.”
He doesn’t have to tell me twice. I hop onto the back and loop my arms around his center. My groin slides into his ass, there’s no avoiding that. We’re wet and sticky, but I’m comfortable as he takes off, chasing after Juniper.
The way his body shifts and moves beneath my arms as we take every bump and curve, our bodies pressed together, has me stiff as a nail. Sterling pulls up to the oak tree a few minutes later, right next to Juni. He kills the engine, and twists over his shoulder to quietly whisper, “Do you have a gun?”
“ It’s just the friction .”
“I just saw Hudson and Carl,” she sighs, peering around to make sure no one sees us. “It must already be close to four a.m. if they’re already out.” She chews the inside of her cheek. “I think we have to roll the drum under the porch and hit the oak tree in a little while.”
I nod, still thinking about the way Sterling openly acknowledged he felt my cock against him.
“Wait it out?” Sterling asks. “How long?”
“Just till early afternoon. After three in the afternoon, he’s not out here anymore. He works in his barn or over the creek, at the stable. Then after five, he’s in for the night. Dolly won’t let that man leave the house.” She grips the edge of the drum, once again looking around to make sure the coast is clear.
“All right, well, until then, what?” I ask, stepping in to grab the drum, along with Sterling. We duckwalk it around the back and stash it under the patio as Juniper says, “Let’s go inside. Shower. I’ll make us some food. Let’s just stay here and rest until later, okay?”
Sterling wipes sweat from his forehead. “I’m good with that.” He lifts his arm, playfully taking a sniff. “I could use a shower.”
Juniper steps up the back patio and slides open the door. “I have extra fluffy towels and homemade lavender soap.” Sterling smiles as he walks past her, into the house.
“I bet you do, sweetheart.” The way he gently squeezes her hip as he passes makes her flush, and when I make my way up the porch to her, I can’t help myself.
I touch her cheek and smile. “It’s been a weird few days but the best days I’ve had.”
She wrinkles her nose. “It feels so wrong to agree with you because, you know, the dead bodies. But I feel the same way.”
I nod inside, where Sterling is. “Think he feels the same?”
She grins. “I know he does.”
“Know?” I repeat, sweeping my thumb along her bottom lip. It doesn't even feel strange to freely touch her like this. Looking back, it feels strange that I never could before. Whatever is happening, I hope it never ends. “You sound so sure,” I say, pressing my lips to hers for a short kiss. The first casual, non-sexual kiss. It’s a risk, because we haven’t kissed this way before now but as I stare into her eyes, wide and shining, it’s clear she enjoys it. She’s so sure Sterling wants us the way we clearly want him. How does she know he does? Does he? I hope he does.
“I know Sterling, but don’t worry, you won’t have a single doubt after tonight.” With those words, she winks and drifts through the open door, and I’m left on the patio deck, my cock hard, my chest heaving, wondering what she has up her sleeve.
After taking a minute on the patio to shake off my hard-on, I close the sliding door behind me and turn to find Juniper in the kitchen, an apron covering her dirty clothes.
“Sterling is in the shower. I put his clothes in the wash. I left the washing machine door up so if you want to toss your stuff in, you’ll have clean clothes in less than two hours.” She smiles as she drops a pinch of salt into the bowl she’s currently got trapped to her chest with an arm.
“What do I wear until I shower… and after?” I ask, knowing that Juniper’s biggest sized t-shirt would probably be a skintight crop on me. Wouldn’t even make it over Sterl’s shoulders.
“I left a robe out there for you. Fortunately for you both, I have a few bathrobes, so I put one in there for you, and Sterling took the other with him to the bathroom.”
Getting out of these damp, dirty clothes sounds incredible, so I strip down in her garage and slide into the pink terry cloth robe adorned with butterflies, and head inside. Juniper’s lips twitch as she fights a giggle at the sight of me in a small pink robe.
“You’re right, though, way better, even though I look like a clown.” I cinch the tie at my waist and send her a cautioning glance. “Excuse me, Juniper Sky, but please respect the tie,” I say, making a show of knotting the tie around my waist. “Don’t try to see what’s under here,” I tease, making her laugh as she drops spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet. “Whatcha making?”
Pointing her spoon toward the oven, she says, “I’ve got sandwiches toasting, and then I’m making thumbprint cookies.”
My stomach rumbles. “What is a thumbprint cookie?”
“Sugar cookie with jam in the middle.” She lifts a jar of her jam from the counter, showing me the label. “Blues and Berries,” she reads off the label. “It’s not a popular one for me, which is so sad, because it’s so yummy. Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries. It’s so good.”
“I bet,” I say, moving around her to the fridge where I pull it open and grab a bottle of cold water. “You have some water? We’re all pretty dehydrated.”
She winces, shaking her head. “I just washed up and got to making you guys food.”
I glare at her, untwisting the lid, then bring it to her lips. Slipping my other hand to the back of her head, my big fingers tangling in her soft blonde hair, I press the bottle to her mouth as she tips her head back and begins to drink. When she’s done, I can’t help myself. “My good girl.”
She licks her lips as we hold eye contact, and in the distance the sound of the shower stops. “But Sterling called me a bad girl,” she breathes, her voice husky and alluring.
“You can be his bad girl and my good girl,” I tell her, reaching past her to pinch a piece of cookie dough from the bowl. I drop it into my mouth and moan, making her grin.
“You like it?”
My brows flatten. “Of course.”
She rocks to her toes, kissing my chin as she waves her spoon toward the hall. “Go, shower. I have plans for us and none of them involve you being stinky and dirty in my robe.”
“Fine,” I scoff playfully, my nerves spiking as I head down the hall toward Juniper’s bedroom.
The hallway walls are littered with old, framed photos of the Ellington women at various stages of their lives. I pause to take in a photo of Juniper in a silk dress, her hair pinned in curls atop her head, a big sparkly necklace around her neck. She’s smiling, braces on her teeth, her hand uncomfortably resting on some kid’s chest. He’s got a flower pinned to a rented suit jacket and she’s got one on her wrist. In the corner of the photo, in gold letters, it reads A Dream to Remember, Bluebell High Prom 2010 .
I find myself smiling at the photo of Juni, so young and innocent. She still feels that way, despite her transgressions. I think that’s what drew me to Juniper the first time I laid eyes on her. She’s so wholesome and kind. For Christ’s sake, she makes jam. Aside from a kindergarten teacher, it doesn’t get more wholesome than that.
Minus the whole murder thing.
Hearing rumbling from Juniper’s room, I continue on and slowly push inside, trying not to invade Sterl’s privacy. I find him standing at the side of her bed, his body covered in a bright purple bathrobe that quite honestly looks like Barbie clothing shoved onto the Hulk. Along the shoulder blades, in groovy yellow lettering, flowers all around, the robe reads GIRL POWER .
“Girl power,” I announce, startling Sterling.
He turns, a framed photo in his hands. He lowers it to the night table again and nods toward the shower. “Fuck, that felt good.”
My eyes drift to the photo and I know he watches me.
It’s a photo of us. Me and him. And beneath it, the frame reads, “My loves.”
“Yeah,” I breathe the word, trying to stay cool. I never doubted Juniper when she told me that she feels for me what she does for Sterl. Still, seeing proof after ages of yearning and wondering, it fucks me up a little. “I like that photo of us.” It feels like I just asked him to go steady as I anxiously await his response. He glances back at the photo then his eyes come to mine, stormy and beautiful.
“It’s my favorite.” He slips past me, toward the door leading to the hall, but braces his arm on the doorframe and pauses. “It wasn’t just the friction.” With a smile, he heads down the hall, leaving me in my butterfly robe, heart racing, a goofy smile on my lips.
After the best smelling shower in the prettiest damn bathroom ever, I head down the hall, ruffling my fingers through my hair, proud that I only showered.
The temptation to jerk off for the second time today was definitely there. But Sterling’s subtle admission left me in an emotional dog paddle, grinning as I metaphorically swim circles around his words, basking in them.
He gave me a heart boner, damn it.
When I see Juniper feeding Sterling a bite of her jam cookies, her full lips pulled up in a genuine smile, her breasts pressed against her apron, she gives me an actual boner, which I adjust from the shadows in the hallway like a creep. She dusts crumbs from the corner of his lips, leaning in to casually kiss him. Seeing them has my body on fire, despite the fact the moment is not tawdry but quiet and tender.
Their kiss breaks, and she twists to face me, as if she heard me. “How was it?” She beams, approaching me, bringing a warm cookie with her. She feeds me a bite and kisses my lips the very same way she did to Sterl, then feeds her fingers through mine, guiding me to the kitchen bar.
After swallowing, I reply, “The shower was incredible.” I notice now her hair is wet, and I pluck a piece, rubbing it between my fingers. “You showered?”
“Yeah, while Sterling ate. I used Ivy’s.” She wipes a crumb from my lip. “How was that?”
“Even better than the shower.” I take the last bite. “I love the Blues and Berries .” Sterling sips a cup of coffee, nothing but crumbs left on his plate as Juniper slides me mine, a sandwich waiting.
“It’s good, right?” she says, passing me a cup of coffee, too.
I arch a brow, playfully joking as I say, “As long as there are no secret ingredients.”
Sterling snorts as he takes a sip, casting me a sideways smile. I laugh, too.
But Juniper doesn’t laugh. She places her palms on the counter, a serious expression storming her beautiful features.
“Baby, I was joking,” I clarify, getting to my feet. She motions for me to sit back down, and lifts her chin to keep her tears at bay. I look at Sterling, who now looks as concerned as I feel.
“Sweetheart,” he starts. “He?—”
She shakes her head. “He’s right. I know it was a joke.” She looks at me, cupping her hand over mine on the counter. “I know you were joking. I’m not upset with you.”
“Then why are you upset?” I ask.
She sighs, the overhead light casting a glow around her golden hair. “I have all this energy inside of me, you know? My entire life I’ve just… had this spirit, this ball of passion inside me that needed to do something. Making jam was it for a while and don’t get me wrong, I love making jam. But it stopped being enough. And when I have a surplus of energy, that’s when I get myself in trouble.” Suddenly her eyes fill and her chin dimples, her voice wobbling. “I don’t want to kill men. I don’t. I know that I was not assigned by God to get rid of all the bad men. I know that. And I want to stop. But I’m realizing in the last few days that I need more from my life, more to give myself to. So I can stop.”
Sterling crumbles a napkin between his hands, resting his forearms on the edge of the counter. I think I could watch this man lace shoes or stir soup and still lose my breath. “What do you want for your life, Juni?” he asks thoughtfully.
Lifting cookies from the cooling tray to a plate, one by one, she nibbles her bottom lip a moment before casting her gaze on me, then to Sterling. Looking between us, she says, “I want to live at my family home forever, to run my jam business at the farmers market and watch my sisters live with their loves, and raise families of their own. I want to see all my loved ones continue to thrive.”
Sterling reaches across the counter and steals her hand. “You have that, sweetheart.”
She smiles, her green eyes going stormy. She gave me that look on the patio. My pulse skips as I realize, the time is now. She said she was going to show me tonight, to prove that she knows how Sterl feels. My palms grow slick against the counter.
“The last part is you,” she says, looking at Sterling, then me. “Both of you.”
Sterling clears his throat as I watch his profile, Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows, searching for words. “Juniper… We’re… That’s…” But he can’t find the right words.
She comes around the counter, and we swivel in our barstools to face her, backs to the counter. She offers us each a hand, which we both take, waffling our fingers together. “I’m not asking you to be anyone you’re not, either of you. But we’ve been spending time together for so long and… not only did I fall for both of you but… I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.” She splits her gaze, waiting for one of us to make an admission.
I already laid it out there, more or less, so I stay quiet, afraid as hell of overstepping and losing them both. Sterling’s voice is rough and husky when he asks, “What do you mean?’
She tugs on our joined hands, getting us to our feet. “I’m pretty sure you two fell for each other, too.” My skin burns as her words fill the space between the three of us. Heat sears my spine, sweat bubbling my brow as I slowly look at my best friend.
We share a simmering moment, no words, all looks, his eyes glittering beneath the dim lights.
Juniper doesn't wait for a response, and tugs us down the hall. Our hands bump together, and his thigh brushes mine. By the time we’re in Juniper’s bedroom, I’m already hard and standing upright behind my butterfly robe.
Reaching behind her, she unties the apron and lifts it off over her head.
Her eyes come to me and I reach for my robe, pulling the tie, letting it fall open. I look at Sterling to find him unknotting his robe.
Juniper takes the straps of her nightie, previously covered by her baking apron, and shucks them down her shoulders. She shimmies, and the silk fabric pools at her feet, leaving her completely naked.
With a shake of my shoulders, the robe slips off my body and falls to the floor, leaving me completely naked and very fucking erect.
Next Sterling does the same, shirking off the GIRL POWER bathrobe, revealing his naked body.
I’m not the only one hard.
Juniper steps to him, wrapping her hand around the head of his cock, squeezing as she rocks to her toes and kisses him.
When she’s done, she uses the same hand to grab my cock and give me a tight squeeze as our mouths come together.
Her lips are so soft and pliable, her moan so sweet that it hurts my groin. She pulls back, and even takes a few steps backward. Linking her hands together in front of her groin, she blinks between the two of us, not speaking.
I know what she wants.
I want it too.
I also know I have to make the first move.
Turning, I face Sterling, whose cheeks are flushed, strawberry hair rumpled, the stubble along his jaw unkempt and thick. Despite the fact that nerves have stolen my breath, I reach out, and stifle a groan as I wrap my hand around his cockhead, lean in and kiss him.