Chapter 10 Cooper
COOPER
Spring had finally arrived in the Four Forest area.
Trees that had been bare for months were budding, and determined daffodils had pushed their way through the stubborn patches of snow still clinging to the ground.
Ice had all but melted on Lake Norman, wildlife had begun to crawl from their winter resting places, and birdsong filled the crisp late March afternoon on an ordinary Wednesday.
I’d come home early to greet Silas and felt a little silly for it. But that might have just been nerves. I was anxious to see him. It had been two months, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew what I wanted, though, and I hoped we were on the same page.
“Look at you in a sensible four-wheel-drive vehicle,” I snarked, my arms folded across my chest.
“I learned my lesson.” Silas beamed as he stepped out of the red Jeep, tilting his stubbled chin to the heavens and sucking in a deep gulp of forest air. “Damn, it’s freaking gorgeous in spring. Who knew?”
“I did. I would have warned you, but sometimes it’s more fun to figure it out on your own.”
“Ha ha.”
I smiled and reached for Silas’s suitcase. “You didn’t bring one of these last time.”
“I’m hibernating, remember? My season might be off from bears and squirrels or—” He wrinkled his nose, hiking his carry-on strap over his shoulder and closing the Jeep’s hatch. “Do squirrels hibernate?”
Fuck, I wanted to kiss him. Right here, right now.
Silas the soon-to-be-un-retired football star looked mighty fine in faded jeans and an unbuttoned gray flannel shirt worn atop a snug black tee.
His hair was longer, and his thick scruff could almost qualify as a beard.
I drank in the sight of him, lingering on his full lips before meeting his eyes.
Electricity sparked and sizzled in the air. I cleared my throat and replayed his question in my head. Squirrels?
“I don’t think so, but I’ll let you google it. Lead the way, hot stuff.”
He flashed a winning grin and led the way to the front entrance of his buddy’s grand log cabin. The lock required a password code access. Silas fumbled through his phone for the information.
“Eureka!”
The house had been cleaned and opened in preparation for a visitor. The fragrance of lemon-scented furniture polish and dishwashing detergent drifted into the foyer from the great room. I left his suitcase next to the console table and stuffed my hands into my pockets, unsure what to do with them.
“It’s positively sparkling in here. You can see your reflection in the—oomph!”
Silas dropped his bag on the floor and lunged for me, pushing me against the wall and crashing his mouth over mine.
There was no reason to pretend this wasn’t going to happen.
We could reset expectations later, but for now…
I’d take anything and everything he offered.
I cupped his neck and devoured him, sucking his tongue and nibbling his lips.
Silas wound his fingers in my hair, molding his body to mine.
I could feel his muscular abs and his cock hardening through two layers of denim.
I switched our positions, tilting my chin to deepen the kiss as I slipped my hands under his tee and splayed my palms on his stomach. His skin was so warm. I wanted to lick every inch of my football boy. Stat.
I shoved Silas’s flannel shirt off his shoulders, yanked his tee over his head, then dealt with his belt buckle.
“Too many clothes. I gotta touch you,” I grunted, feasting on his neck and tugging an earlobe between my teeth as I unzipped his jeans and slipped my hand inside his boxer briefs.
“Oh, fuck. Yeah, that’s…God, yes. Please.” He’d been reduced to incoherent mumbling, but I got the gist.
I stroked his cock while I licked his collarbone and sucked on the meaty part of his shoulder. “I’ve been thinking about you…like this…for months.”
“Months,” Silas repeated in a punch-drunk tone, pressing his palm on my crotch.
“Months and months of thinking about this perfect fucking dick of yours,” I hummed in his ear.
Our lips still fused, I freed my aching cock, shoving my jeans and briefs over my ass in a rush. My belt buckle clanked loudly in the cavernous space, hitting the hardwood floor with a thud. I barely noticed.
I couldn’t get enough of Silas. I licked his lips and trailed my fingertips along his pecs, pausing to tease his nipples.
He moaned as he fisted me in a firm hold. My hips moved automatically. I wanted to fuck his hand, his face, his ass. Or Silas could fuck me. I would have gotten on my knees for him, but there was no stopping us now. We needed instant release. We could take it slow later.
With that in mind, I broke the kiss to spit on my hand, then gripped us both, stroking in time to the thrust of our tongues.
Silas came first, spilling his seed in my hand. I released him and used his cum as lube, watching him stare at me in wonder through hooded eyelids. I gritted my teeth and tried not to cry out as my orgasm shook me.
“Open your eyes,” he demanded. “Fuck, yeah. Goddamn, you’re beautiful.”
“So are you.” I smiled, resting my head on the wall and gasping for air. “Welcome back.”
He punched my chest lightly and ever so gently kissed my cheek. “Thanks. Just so you know…I’m here for the wood, lumberjack.”
“I’ve got plenty of that.”
We laughed. It wasn’t funny, but it felt so…good. And after weeks of uncertainty, I needed this like I hadn’t needed anything or anyone in longer than I could recall.
By the time we’d cleaned up, the sun had set and though he didn’t want to admit it, Silas was weary from a day of travel.
His cupboards were bare, so we ventured next door.
I grilled steaks for us and put him in charge of salad duty, which required opening a bag of prewashed greens and cutting a few cherry tomatoes.
We sat side by side at the island and ate dinner, our knees brushing as we caught up with basic pleasantries.
“Winter didn’t improve much after you’d left. Another big storm that hit in early February closed a few roads and kept the kids home from school. On my watch this time.”
“How many snowmen did you make?” he asked, his eyes twinkling merrily.
“Three or four. One of them sat on the deck.” I pointed at the sliding door. “Right at the window. Scared the crap out of me in the early morning. Looked like a little round peeping Tom troll.”
Silas snickered. “Sounds terrifying. I’m guessing he didn’t last long.”
“Nope. He returned to nature the minute I got home from dropping them at their mom’s house.” I shrugged. “What can I say? I feared for my life.”
“I get it. Snowmen are notoriously evil.”
I bumped his knee and we shared another laugh.
And soon I was babbling away, unloading two months’ worth of mundane happenings in Wood Hollow. Like the numerous accidents caused by inexperienced drivers on black ice.
The seventeen-year-old from Elmwood who’d nearly wrapped his dad’s car around a pole. Lucky to walk away uninjured.
The awning that collapsed on the sidewalk in front of Dean’s Shoe Repair under the weight of too much snow.
Damn idiot wouldn’t let anyone clear it off for him.
No one used to care about broken awnings in the old days, but Dean would certainly care if someone got hurt and the medical bills were forwarded to him.
And the tourist who’d misinterpreted the “Danger: Thin Ice” sign at the lake to read “Come Skate.”
“Big mistake,” I drawled. “The ice cracked, and his foot was submerged in frigid water. His wife pulled him out, called the medics, and saved the day. My buddy, Reg, is the chief of police here. He said the guy threatened to sue the town for negligence.”
“What’d your friend say to that?”
“Reg can be a little crusty, but diplomacy is part of the job. Knowing Reg, he smiled, pointed at the ‘Danger: Thin Ice’ sign, and gave a sarcastic thumbs-up.”
Silas speared a tomato and smirked. “I was here for, like, five days and spent most of that time naked here with you, but somehow, I’m invested. This stuff is a lot more interesting than anything in LA lately.”
“I doubt that. You were a newly and maybe reluctantly retired athlete in January. You’ve done a one-eighty, and you’re back in the game. That’s exciting stuff.”
“Hmm.”
“What? Am I wrong?”
He chomped his lettuce, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “No, I s’pose not.”
I set a hand on Silas’s shoulder and massaged the tense corded muscles at the base of his neck. “What is it?”
“Nothing, really. I just…I’m tired.”
I didn’t think that was all that was bothering him, but I let it go. “You should rest. Shower here? Or do you want to head next door and—”
“Here. With you. I’ll grab a change of clothes after dinner. Is that cool with you?” Silas asked in a rush of words that took a second to untangle.
I threaded my fingers through his hair and kissed his temple. “Of course.”
We awoke at sunrise and at Silas’s insistence, took our coffee outside to the deck.
“Holy crap. I can see my breath. It’s like ten degrees out here.”
I chuckled. “It’s closer to forty.”
“That’s fucking freezing.”
“Your California is showing,” I teased. “Let’s go inside. We can get dressed and walk to the lake later. I can give you a little tour before I go to work. But first…breakfast.”
We ate scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast, and sat in the same spots we had the previous evening, chatting about the frosty weather, the nearby running path, and wildlife sightings.
Silas furrowed his brow over the rim of his mug. “Shit. You have bears here, don’t you?”
“Sure, but it’s not like they come into town.
They’re out there, but they’re not looking for you.
You’re more likely to see deer, coyotes, rabbits, raccoons, and sometimes moose.
But the thing you see the most in these parts are those annoying woodpeckers.
You can hear them now. Listen.” I opened the glass door and cupped my ear.
“Woody Woodpecker, eh?”