Chapter 13 #4
“Let me pack these up, at least.” She throws eggs and bacon onto the toast with a slice of cheddar and wraps them in foil. “Eat them quickly or the bread will go soggy.”
I give her a hug. “Thanks, Mom.” To Earl, I offer a handshake. “I’ll see you tomorrow for the install.” Not a question, but he nods in agreement, man to man.
Courtney is grinning like the cat that got the cream and gives her a friendly girl-hug. “It was so good to see you again, Ms. McWarren.”
“Donna or Mom will work just fine, young lady.”
With a groan, I show Courtney out the door. I swear I hear Mom and Earl laughing inside. As I open the car door for Court, I say, “Well, that’s my mom.”
And she laughs too as she gets in. “What’s wrong? Wanted to miss your nomination for sainthood? I was looking forward to the ceremony. Figured it came with the toast.”
“Whatever.” I’m cringing hard, but secretly, I’m glad that Mom and Courtney were getting along, even if it was at my expense a bit.
I’m too embarrassed to say much as I run Courtney back to her apartment. “Come on up,” she says when I pull up.
I should say no. Going upstairs is a dangerous proposition. But if we were dating for real, I wouldn’t give it a second thought, and that wars inside me. “Okay,” I say before I talk myself out of it.
Courtney’s apartment isn’t on the top floor, which is a little surprising, but when she opens the door, I have to be impressed.
It’s almost entirely white, but instead of looking sterile, it’s cozy with lots of texture.
And she wasn’t lying. I can see at least six pillows on the couch and three blankets just from here.
Something about the idea of her curled up on the couch in a nest is ridiculously adorable.
What does surprise me is the amount of house plants. “Wow. These ferns are nice. And this cactus is huge.”
“Thanks,” Courtney calls out as she heads toward the kitchen. “It’s around twenty years old. Most of them were gifts from Abi, and I enjoy babying them because I’m too busy to have a dog or a cat. They listen when I need someone to talk to.”
I don’t like that, really, Courtney talking to plants. It sounds too lonely.
“You want a beer? It’s not what I would usually serve with breakfast sandwiches, but I’m out of orange juice.” She holds up two bottles and I take one.
We eat standing up, each leaning against a counter and facing one another. “So, tell me about your mom,” Courtney demands, shoving a piece of bacon into her mouth.
I give her the basics, how amazing she is and how she taught me so much. “It was different than how you grew up, I know that. But it was good. Hell, it was great.”
“I don’t think it sounds that different. I mean, obviously, there’s a money difference, but my mom and dad are pretty great too. Though I might be biased since I’m the baby.” She grins and her eyes twinkle.
“Well, at least you’re not the golden child,” I tease, knowing that she’s well aware of her big brother’s reputation. “I could never compete with that asshole.” I say it lightly, but there’s a kernel of truth in the joke. There always is.
Courtney stills, then swallows the last bite of her sandwich. Mine is long gone, along with my beer.
“It was never a competition. Not to Ross, anyway. I wasn’t aware of stuff like that when you two were younger, but at Andrews .
. . I never thought you were equal.” She says it so casually, as if her words didn’t just cut down to my very core, the dark pit where all my doubts and insecurities fester beneath a facade of cockiness.
My head falls and I wince. But I’m not going out like that. I clench my jaw and bite out, “Ouch.”
“That’s not what I meant. Look, I know my brother, obviously.
Ross is a good guy with the smarts to back it up.
I’m not taking that away from him. But you were the one making all his passes look good, you were the one preparing all those presentations at the office and doing the research behind the scenes.
He’s the arrow, but you’re the bow. He’d be nowhere near what he is without you behind him, helping him.
You two are a team, but I know it’s . . . ”
I’m staring at her mouth, watching the words form one by one and memorizing them as they pass her lips.
I don’t know why it’s so important to hear that she understands me.
I’ve worked relentlessly for years to be invisible, to stay in the shadows, but I don’t want that with her. I want her to see me.
“It’s what, Court?” I growl, needing her next words like I need oxygen. Like I need her.
“I . . . I . . . I know it’s you. You’re more than you give yourself credit for.”
She looks at me, eyes burning with fierce heat, daring me to disagree. I’m across the small kitchen in two steps, pinning her to the counter. “Say it again,” I order.
Courtney’s lip trembles, her body arching to press against mine more fully. “Kaede, you’re more. You’re . . . everything. Mysterious, brilliant, and bold. Sexy. I—”
I cut off her words with a kiss, cradling her jaw to angle her the way I want so I can plunder her mouth. She tastes like bacon, beer, and truth, which is a heady combination. Her arms go around my neck, and I push my knee between hers, spreading her legs for me.
I trace my hands down her sides, finding her hips, where I squeeze the flesh that drives me so fucking crazy.
She moans, her head falling back, and I take advantage of the opening to taste her neck.
Her skin is tangy with sweat, earthy and natural, a scent that is pure Courtney, and I can’t get enough.
She shudders, from her heated core, which is resting against my thigh, out to her limbs. As her hands roam, working their way under my shirt, I push and pull her against my leg. “That’s it, honey. Use me, ride me and get yourself off.”
“Fuck, Kaede . . . fuck!” She pants as I slide a hand up her shirt and yank her sports bra down. I find her hard nipple and pinch it. She cries out, kissing me hard. We grope each other blindly, falling further into pleasure and desire and each other.
“Fuckin’ beautiful,” I moan into the hollow of her throat. “You’ve had me so damn wound up.”
“I . . . I’ve wanted this for years,” Courtney moans.
The admission fuels me, and I slip my hand down into her shorts and between her warm thighs to find the hot, wet slit of her pussy.
Her clit’s a tiny nub, a pearl that I find and slip my fingers over, rubbing her with circular strokes that quickly have her humping my hand, desperate for release.
“Kaede!” Courtney cries out as she shatters, a hot gush of liquid covering my hand. Her fingers claw at my back, and she arches her neck, and I’m stunned by how gorgeous Courtney is when she lets go.
“Yes, fuck, Court,” I manage to strangle out, on the edge myself as I slowly tease out every bit of pleasure with feather-light swipes across her clit that make her convulse spasmodically.
She’s weak, her knees threatening to give out, and I prop her up as she catches her breath. Her eyes beg me—to do that to her again? To never do that again?
“Holy shit, Kaede. I never . . . that was . . .” She blinks slowly, like the fog in her mind is also clouding her vision. But with that blink, her eyes clear, and she looks down my body, licking her lips. “My turn.”
She goes for my shorts, her gaze locked on the thickness that’s been grinding up against her, and I have never wanted anything more. Which makes it a damn fucking inconvenient time for my conscience to speak up. “We . . . we can’t, shouldn’t . . . Ross.”
Courtney stops, her eyes filled with hunger, desire, and now pain. “I don’t want to talk about my brother when you have my orgasm on your fingers.”
I shudder at her words, slipping the fingers into my mouth and groaning at the taste of her. “Court.” Even the one word takes all my strength to force out.
Her eyes move slowly up my body to meet mine, and I lean forward, pressing my forehead to hers. I tell her the truth, even though I hate myself for it. “I want you so fucking badly. I do. But I can’t. I’m sorry.”
Weak as I am, I kiss the shocked O of her mouth before stepping back.
“I should go.”