Chapter 17
“Hey Jessie.” I press a kiss to my sister-in-law’s cheek and peek over her shoulder. “Whatcha makin’?”
My brother’s wife grins tiredly, but happily. “Just chili and cornbread. Nothin’ special. You have a good day at work?”
I grab a beer from the fridge and crack it open. “I did. Same shit, but nothing major happened. Where’s Corb?”
Jessie points her wooden spoon toward the back door. “He’s out there on the phone. Go tell him we’re gonna eat in fifteen, would ya?”
I nod and head through the house, stopping to pat my niece, Jennice, on the head. She tries to smack me, and I laugh as I jump out of the way, then slide the back door open. My brother is on the steps of the deck, and I only catch the tail of his last sentence.
“…thing that I saw. No one was there except ol’ Mrs. Danielson.” He pauses as he digs a stick into the crack between the boards, then huffs out a laugh. “I don’t know. But I think you got nothin’ to worry about. I’ll drive by again tomorrow, but it’s a waste of time… Yeah, I got you.”
I sit down next to him, and he lifts his chin in greeting. “Fin just got here, so I’m gonna let you go. You want us over for the next race?” Another pause and he checks with me as he says, “I think we can bring drinks for us. If you want us to grab you anything, just send a text. I’ll let Jessie know we’re eatin’ there. Alright, see ya later.”
“Clay?” I ask, grabbing the stick from his hand.
“Yup. Wanna go watch the next race with me?”
I have no intentions of saying no to any invitations to go over there. Admitting to my brother I’m counting on them to get so wasted they don’t notice me slipping up to Edith’s is a no go, but I’m most definitely looking forward to seeing her again. Not quite sure what the draw is, but the other night when we laid together as she read her book was fantastic. Plus, that kiss…
“Yeah, I’ll come along. What were you two talkin’ about? Oh, and Jessie said dinner will be ready in fifteen.”
He jerks the stick back from my hand, so I jump up to grab one from underneath a bush and settle back in, enjoying the evening breeze.
“Clay’s got some bug up his ass about his kid workin’ over at that church thing where they’re building that barn. Fuckin’ Thorton is heading up the job and when I drove by the other day, I mentioned it to him. Don’t think he knew, but he kinda lost his shit and wanted to know if Thorton was messin’ with her.”
“Doesn’t your kid work for Thorton?”
“Yeah, but it’s office work, and she said he’s never there. Plus, she got the damn job without even tellin’ me. Can’t really have her quit just ‘cuz of shit that happened back in high school. I just don’t bring it up to Clay.”
I frown, not liking that she’s mixed up with Jaxon on top of Mason. Plus, it sounds like a double standard the way Corbin talks about it. Something doesn’t add up, but before I can put my finger on it, my brother continues.
“Plus, you know who else was there when I drove by? Fuckin’ Mason Cooper! Not sure why, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t see him volunteerin’ out of the kindness of his heart. Anyway, Clay asked me to just check on her from time to time when I’m headed to work.” He bumps my shoulder and grins. “You should too. That kid don’t need to get mixed up with either of them.”
I don’t disagree with him, but it bothers me he’s been watching her. “You know, she’s been an adult for a few years now. I think Clay’s bein’ a bit of a dick for her just doin’ her own thing.”
Corbin shrugs his shoulders and stands up. “Not my place if a dad wants to protect his kid. Let’s go eat. I’m fuckin’ beat after today and I’m sure you are, too.”
The two of us work out at the same ranch as hands, but while he works with the animals, I tend to focus on the maintenance shit. Not that I mind animals much, but I prefer to not have to fight with my job.
I follow my brother inside, and we spend the evening hanging out; me giving shit to his kid before I head out to my place. I’m thankful they never have a problem with me coming by each night to eat, but lately I’ve been picturing Edith at my place and the two of us sharing a meal together alone.
It’s a few days before the next race arrives and I spend hours with Clayborn and Corbin, shouting at the TV. The whole time I’m checking the door to the kitchen to see if Edith will sneak through. She never shows up, but I hear a random creak of the floorboards from time to time, and dinner shows up on the counter as if a ghost snuck in and laid it out.
Again, she doesn’t eat with us. Neither Corbin nor Clayborn mention a thing about it. I’m tempted to ask, but I keep the questions to myself. I’d rather not draw any attention to my interest in her and have them start keeping a closer eye.
Our evening ends the same as it always does, Corbin heading home before he’s too drunk to drive and Clayborn passing out in his chair, rattling the walls with his snores.
Quietly, I collect our dinner plates and rinse them in the sink, then check once more on the man sleeping his drink away. Seeing he’s out cold, I sneak as quietly as possible up the stairs to her room.
This time, when I knock softly, she almost immediately pulls it open. I can’t hold back the gust of air whooshing out in relief when I don’t find her all bruised up for the second time.
“Evenin’, darlin’. I came for some more story time. And before you ask, your daddy’s dead to the world.”
She snickers and shuts the door behind me, pushing a laundry basket in front of the door as if that would keep someone out. “Do you really want me to keep reading?”
Finding my spot on the edge of her bed, I grin up at her. “I mean, I do, but if you got some other ideas in your head, I wouldn’t object.” Then I wink, making her blush just before she turns from me to pick up the book lying on her tiny bookshelf in the corner.
Before she has a chance to sit, I slide back on her bed and pat the space between my legs and lean against her headboard. “This way I can follow along.”
Edith raises a brow like she knows my game and hums under her breath, clearly not believing me. But she still climbs onto her bed, albeit a bit awkwardly, and sits cross-legged between my spread knees.
Chuckling, I bend forward and wrap an arm around her to tug her back. “I’m not gonna bite. Just relax and read. Where’d we leave off?”
She wiggles a bit as she gets comfortable, then starts to thumb through the pages. “We’re at the part where Edmond and Mercédès are supposed to get married.”
“Ahh, then the great betrayal,” I say a bit dramatically.
Giggling, she nods and peeks at me over her shoulder. “You got it. Ready?”
“Ready.” I lift my knees so she can balance her elbows on my thighs and hold the book higher, giving me a clear view of the pages as she reads.
In truth, I only wanted to have her read because I like the way her voice gets theatrical during the exciting parts of the story, but the longer she gets into the story, the more into it I get. It becomes more and more fascinating, and I’m shocked when Edith leans her head against my chest and looks up at me.
“It’s after eleven. We’ve been reading for over two hours.”
My eyes fly to the clock on her nightstand, and I grunt in surprise. “I’ll be damned. That went fast.”
“Are you enjoying it?”
Neither of us move, having gotten pretty fucking comfortable with pillows. She even has a leg thrown over mine, her foot swinging slowly back and forth as if we’ve spent years just like this.
I make a noise in agreement and wrap my arm around her, squeezing gently. “Very much, but I should get out of here so you can do all the things girls need to do to get ready for bed. Plus, we both have work tomorrow.”
She’s silent, and we stay just as we are, a soft breath escaping her lips. Deciding I don’t want to get up either, I don’t say anything else, and we relax even more with tangled limbs and contented sighs.
Her finger touches my arm to play with my skin, seemingly deep in thought. Finally, she breaks the silence. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.” My answer is quick, and she giggles again.
Her next words are mumbled, but I still understand them. “It’s a little embarrassing.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m not here to judge and there’s no one else around.” I catch the slight shift of her head as she gazes toward the bedroom door, and I assume she’s thinking of her dad downstairs, but I don’t remark on it.
“Last time you were in here, you kissed me.” She pauses and I keep my mouth shut, thankful she can’t see the grin forming. I assume she has more to say, and I’m proven right. “I was just wondering, was that sort of an accident or one-time thing?”
Thank fucking God her ass is a bit forward and not pressed into my lap because my cock twitches as I remember the way it felt to kiss her. I do my best to hide the need from my voice, but I know I don’t succeed when she shivers at my question. “Why are you asking, Edith?”
Another tiny tremble and her fingers work harder against my skin nervously. “I, umm, I was wondering if we were going to do that again.”
I pull my arm from under her hand and tilt her face toward me. My eyes dart over her and although she’s feeling embarrassed for asking, I can see her desire for me as well.
Lowering my voice, I ask, “Would you like to?”
“Yes.” Her breathy response fans over my face, and I move both of us until she’s lying on her back and I’m hovering above her.
Dipping my head down, I whisper, “You sure?”
“Yes.” Her answer is so quick that I don’t wait and drop my lips to hers. Last time, our kiss was slow and careful, like I was making sure she was okay with each new part of our kiss, but not tonight.
Tonight, Edith’s mouth parts almost immediately and we go from barely touching to tongues twining together, heads tilted to get closer. Without thinking, I let my body drop and press between her legs, keeping her heavily pinned as she wraps her arms around my back.
With her nails digging into my skin, I brace my arms around her and cup her face to turn her the way I want as I fuck her mouth the same way I want to fuck her body.
My hands slip up until my fingers thread through her soft locks, deep enough for the strands to wrap around my wrist. There’s no holding back my groan of pleasure when she tightens her thighs around my hips, her toes tickling against my calf.
Trailing my mouth from hers, I kiss across her cheek, pausing just a bit where the bruise used to be, then over to her ear. Edith’s panting changes into a hiccupping cry as soon as my mouth opens over the side of her neck and I quickly cover her mouth with my hand, muffling her sounds before she gets louder.
“Shit, darlin’. You make sexy as hell sounds, but you gotta stay quiet for me.” Although I’m practically whispering, it feels like my voice carries throughout her entire room.
Her eyes are heavy lidded as she nods at me, and I kiss her swollen lips briefly before lifting only my head up to stare down at her. “I really want to stay, but this shit is about to escalate if we keep at it. I wish I could have you alone so we didn’t have to worry about noise.”
“I don’t think that’s possible,” she whispers, her voice trembling either from the intensity of the moment or disappointment that she can’t offer a solution.
I purse my lips in thought and when an idea pops into my head, I kiss her again, softly biting her bottom lip before ending it. “Corb’s goin’ out of town for the night next weekend. I’m supposed to go with him, but I’ll get him to offer the cash to your dad. That ol’ man won’t turn down an easy paycheck. Won’t require much work, just the drive. They got rules about how long one person is allowed behind the wheel and they’re on a time crunch.”
Edith’s mouth drops open in surprise. “You’re going to get my father out of town? Just… just for this?”
I flash my teeth at her, waggling my eyebrows. “Absolutely I am.” Pushing up to my knees, I drag my eyes over her body splayed out underneath me. “And you’re fuckin’ worth it, too.”
She sits up and, for the first time, she takes the initiative and kisses me. It’s sweet and slightly unsure, but I can’t help smiling against her lips before joining in and taking control for another few moments.
“Alright,” I groan, standing quickly from the bed before I strip her and say fuck it if Clayborn hears us. Adjusting my cock so it’s not aching as bad, I bite my cheek to stop my laugh at her face when she sees what I’m doing. “I’m gonna sneak out. G’night, darlin’.”
She lifts her hand to wave, still focused on my cock, and I wink before shoving the basket aside to slip out of her room.
I realize I’ve left my wallet and keys in the living room, so I do my best to stay as silent as possible, but Clayborn wakes just as I sneak in to grab them.
“Still here?”
“Yeah. Fell asleep on the couch. Gonna head home.”
His mumbled “Night,” is slurred and I watch him haul his ass out of his chair and stumble into the wall before he rights himself and practically falls into his room.
I frown at his retreating back, battling with wanting to keep him drunk so I can get my fix of Edith, but it seems as if his drinking is more regular than just our game nights. I’ll have to talk to Corbin about it tomorrow. Maybe he can talk to him when I organize my little plan of getting Clayborn Hughes out of town so I can play with his gorgeous daughter.