20. Wade
20
WADE
Now what?
I pulled up to the curb behind the bug and stared at the large box truck backed into August’s driveway at an angle, crowding Myrtle and taking up all of our other usual parking spaces. Was she getting a delivery? And why hadn’t Bernie told me about it? She’d texted me about every other move they’d made all day, for some mysterious fucking reason.
Bernie: Yoga with August. You need to take another class to stay flexible too. Just in case.
That had come first thing in the morning. Then?—
Bernie: Road trip with A! Don’t worry, I have a plan and she’ll love it.
And—
Bernie: She spilled the beans. Proud of you for not Wade-ing. * winky face*
Followed a few hours later by?—
Bernie: Almost home. We had a DAY.
That last one was accompanied by a picture of August removing her helmet beside a go-kart, looking sweaty and flushed but beautiful. Bernie had taken her all the way out to the MSR track?
My sister was a menace, but a clever one. Letting August get a feel for the location was smart, and though I never would have thought to start her training with the go-karts, it was an ingenious, lighthearted way to safely get her in the right mindset. I was impressed.
What I hadn’t been sure about was August’s expression, which was all it had taken for me to leave work early to check on her. I had three employees who could handle the last few hours before closing and the icehouse would call if there was a problem. I needed to be home.
Yeah, I caught that. Home .
My phone buzzed while I sat there.
Bernie: You aren’t going to believe what her friend Chick sent her.
The picture attached to that message had me out of my pickup and storming toward the truck, which was thumping with a loud bass beat. He’d sent her fucking strippers?
“I wish my deliveries came with that kind of service.”
I spared a glance at the neighbor across the street, who was standing at the edge of her driveway and watching the show on the far side of the truck with undisguised envy. I didn’t know what to say to that, so I nodded and kept moving.
When I rounded the hood of the truck, August and Bernie both had their backs to me, and the two men in front of them were holding a dresser between them. Their shirts were missing.
“This is a brilliant business model,” Bernie was saying in clear admiration. “Do any of you do yoga? Because this is giving me all sorts of promotional ideas for my hot yoga classes.”
“You’re such a cougar,” August told her.
I stopped to listen to their conversation, feeling not an ounce of shame. If they were going to ogle strippers on the lawn, they deserved what they got.
“And what are you?” Bernie asked archly. “It hasn’t escaped my attention that two men have decided to move in with you, each bringing their own bedroom set. Did you start one of those reverse harems without telling me? Bring your own mattress to apply?”
“Reverse harem?” August sounded scandalized. “How do you even know that term?”
Good question.
The two guys paused on the front porch, looking August over with interest. I crossed my arms to keep from dragging her behind me and glared at them, but they were already moving toward the front door.
“I’m not starting a harem, reverse or otherwise,” she informed them loudly.
Damn right, she wasn’t.
“Too bad,” one of them said to the other as they crossed the threshold. “I’m a great team player and rent is fucking brutal lately.”
Bernie buried her face in August’s shoulder as they both started laughing hysterically.
“Want to let me in on the joke?”
The girls spun around in surprise, laughing harder when they saw me standing there with my arms crossed over my chest.
“Big brother has arrived,” Bernie wheezed. “We’re in trouble now. ”
“Tell him Chick did it,” August ordered while fighting to catch her breath. “I’m fine throwing him under the bus since he bought furniture without asking for permission first.”
I frowned. “Weren’t you planning to put the queen in there until you could take him mattress shopping?”
August nodded adamantly, finally getting a handle on her giggles, though her eyes still gleamed with humor. “He knew that, and trust me, I gave him an earful when I called him about it. He said letting him do this was a favor for him, since he wouldn’t be able to sleep on the queen and I’d feel guilty about sending him to the chiropractor’s office. I’m not sure why an entire bedroom set was necessary though. I’ll have to pay him back for that.”
She wasn’t talking revenge—she would actually pay him back the cost of what looked to be top-of-the-line furniture. If he didn’t accept it, she would slip it into his wallet as he slept. I spoke from experience. Any time I’d purchased a tool or supplies for one of our projects, she’d insisted on reimbursing me one way or another.
I couldn’t blame the man for not wanting to sleep on that bed, but he had to know she wouldn’t like this, and he sure as hell wasn’t winning any points from me with the naked delivery guys.
“Miss Sunshine, ma’am? We have a placement question.”
Her smile dropped and she looked at Bernie. “Did he call me ma’am?”
“Go on, Miss Sunshine,” Bernie said, pushing her toward the house. “I’ll fill Wade in and then I have a few classes to run, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”
August hugged her tight and my mood temporarily lightened at the sight.
“Thank you for today,” she said fervently.
“I hope you’re still saying that tomorrow when your muscles start aching.”
“Too late. But I’ll take a bath tonight.” August sent me a suggestive look before following another half-naked gym rat into her house. Without me.
“Fill me in on what? Did something happen you didn’t tell me about?”
Bernie shrugged. “She had to deal with some cocky teen drivers, but she handled it. Her skills are fine too; she just needs to get over her nerves. You don’t have to worry.”
“Who’s worried?” I watched two of the shirtless dude-bros strut outside in time to the music. They caught me glaring this time and gave me a wide berth to get to their truck.
Bernie put her hand on my arm. “You don’t have to worry about them either. These boys are pure himbo goodness, and not after your girl. They’re not her speed, anyway. She likes grumpy old men covered in dirt, for some reason.”
I looked down at myself and grimaced. I’d washed my hands and face before I left, but as usual, my shirt and pants needed degreaser and a run through a car wash before I got close to anyone. Compared to these kids, with their shaved chests and oiled-up eight packs, I wasn’t winning any beauty contests.
“By the way,” Bernie said, “Chick told her he changed his flight and he’s coming in tomorrow so he won’t miss the Lemons meeting. If you hadn’t come home early, I would have called to give you a heads-up. You’re about to be invaded.”
Damn it. Tomorrow night was supposed to be my time with August, our last night together before she had company for an extended visit and everything kicked into high gear with the race. Once the meeting was done and the VW was the team’s official vehicle, I’d be starting six weeks of extended hours at the garage to get the car ready, my sister would be teaching August everything she needed to know behind the wheel in her free time, and Gene would be micromanaging everything in his. I wouldn’t be surprised if the three amigos became regulars in her backyard after they agreed to her terms, at least until the race was over .
And where exactly would Chick fit into this chaotic picture? Sam had mentioned him multiple times in her newsletter, but all I really knew about him was that August talked to him daily, he wrote movies I didn’t want to like, and he’d already offered her a room at his beach house in San Diego.
Other than one slip-up a few days ago, she hadn’t talked about leaving or selling her place for a while now. Not even when we worked on the house in between lovemaking sessions. I wanted to believe it meant things had changed, but I wasn’t that much of an idiot. It had only been a month.
She told me she was focusing on living in the present and enjoying the moment, but Chick Martin was bringing the future with him, and I couldn’t help worrying that our moment was almost over.
I resented his shit timing because we’d finally gotten ours right. She’d been out of my reach for years, and now I was in her life and in her bed. It wasn’t just the sex, though that was even better than I’d imagined. It was all the little details I noticed each day. How adorably out of it she was until she had her coffee in the morning. The way she leaned in to my simplest touch. Her humor, and that out-of-practice filter that had her saying whatever was on her mind. She was bright and beautiful and, for the moment, she was mine. I wasn’t ready to lose her yet.
“Wade.”
Bernie stared at me with unexpected understanding. “I don’t like the face you’re making, but I really do have to go. Alice the Dragon Lady can’t run the evening classes without me. Are you good?”
“Yeah.” I swallowed hard and nodded. “Thanks for keeping me in the loop today.”
“I did it because you’re my brother. And because I’m counting on you to be on my side at the testosterone-laden team meeting.” She pointed at me, thankfully from a safe distance. “Don’t you be mean to those boys when I’m gone. Imagine that they’re working their way through college or trying to support their elderly parents or something. I have a date with the tall one and I’d like him to remain intact.”
There was a tall one? They all looked the same to me. “They’re children, Bernie. What happened to the Hawaii guy?”
“He bought us tickets, even though I said no. You know I don’t like presumptuous men who think they can make decisions for me.”
Poor chump. He’d probably thought he was being romantic. I tore my attention away from the door long enough to smirk at her. “So, you thought you’d try getting one young and training him right?”
She whacked my arm. “I thought I’d go dancing with someone who knows how. Mind your own business. You’re the one who left the object of your affections alone with four practically naked bits of beefcake. Not that you have to worry—you should have seen her blush when I figured out you’d already made your big move.”
I opened my mouth and she shook her head. “I know, I know. Don’t tell anyone but Phoebe. Based on her side of that phone conversation, I’m guessing Chick knows about your new status too. As someone who has had secret assignations before, I can tell you with authority that neither one of you is being that subtle. If you don’t want another family night like the last one, I suggest you think about giving Morgan some warning on the new development.”
The fact that Chick knew about me made me feel moderately better. The idea of telling Morgan didn’t, but I knew Bernie was right. “Thanks for the advice.”
“It’s nice to give it for a change. I’m enjoying this new side of you, Wade. For the first time in my life, I’m not sure what you’re going to do next. It’s all very exciting, as long as you aren’t planning on getting hurt and making me hate her again. Because I love her and that would suck. Now, I really do have to go.” She popped up on her toes, kissed my cheek and then walked toward the bicycle she’d left leaning against the garage. She owned a car, but unless she had errands to run, an appointment she couldn’t miss or groceries to pick up, she usually rode her bike to work.
I knew exactly what I was going to do next.
Inside, I found Merlin lounging on the couch as if strange men trampling up and down the stairs were an everyday occurrence. “For being so huge, you’re not the best guard dog,” I told him.
When he licked himself in reply, I snorted. He could use some competition, and I knew just the dog I could train to make sure August was safe when I wasn’t at home. The old wizard might hate that, but it was something to think about.
Two more shirtless wonders were coming down the stairs, and when they caught sight of me, they put up their hands in unison, as if I were a cop and they wanted to look harmless.
“Hey man,” one said. “Only delivering furniture here. These are costumes. No funny business, I swear.”
I’d found a flaw in the business model Bernie was admiring—women might love this schtick, but husbands and significant others had obviously given them problems in the past.
“Yeah, yeah, you’re paying for your sick old granny’s medicine. My girlfriend up there?”
They nodded and beat a hasty retreat as I headed up the stairs. Four down, two to go.
When I reached the landing, August was standing in the guest room doorway, sounding shellshocked. “I didn’t expect the throw pillows. Or the pictures.”
“Accessories can make a room,” a man inside said earnestly. “Anybody can toss a mattress down, but add some pillows and a few classy pieces of art? Now it looks like somebody lives here. You should go to the website and check out the living room sets. Um, not that there’s anything wrong with yours. ”
“He forgets we live on tips,” another voice said. “And he thinks he’s a designer. He didn’t mean to insult your couch.”
I walked over and slid my hand around August’s waist, tugging her up against my side. She startled for a moment before relaxing and leaning into me.
“It’s okay. She insults it all the time. We’ll check out the site.”
“We will?” she asked quietly and I tightened my grip on her.
Marking your territory, caveman?
Yes. Yes, I was.
“This looks good,” I said through gritted teeth. The bed was already put together, down to the sheets, a summer-thin sage-green comforter and a shit ton of throw pillows. The dresser and side table were rich dark wood with shiny brass handles. Three framed black-and-white prints now hung on the walls—the Golden Gate bridge, what looked to be a rural farmhouse and a mountain range.
Chick had gone all out—not exactly the actions of someone planning a short, simple visit. Then again, August had mentioned he was old-money rich. I had a few clients like that, and they didn’t think the same way normal people did. Some of them would furnish an entire house for a single weekend.
Some of them could conceivably buy a house from a friend without telling them just to soothe their pride and get them to speed up their timeline.
Get a grip. He’s her friend, not your enemy.
“Are you about finished here?” I asked impatiently.
“Oh, uh. Sure.”
“Did Bernadette leave?”
The one who asked got my silent stare in response, while August chuckled.
“This is Bernadette’s brother,” she warned him, and it was gratifying to see him size me up and go a little pale under his fake tan. “But I’m sure she gave you her number. You can always text her. ”
“Great. Okay.” A young man with more muscles than brains stared down at his tablet and nodded. “I guess that’s it then. We need your initials and then we’ll split.”
While she walked them out, I stayed upstairs, taking off my cap, work shirt and undershirt and dropping them on the office floor. I heard them thank her for the tip and then the door closed behind them, and I couldn’t help the rush of satisfaction I felt when I heard the lock turn.
“Wade?”
“Up here.”
When she reached the top of the stairs, I was sitting in her desk chair and methodically unlacing my boots.
“Planning to use the upstairs shower while you can?” She walked across the office and leaned against the bedroom doorjamb with her arms crossed. “The guys hung new towels in there that match the comforter, but they really should be washed first.”
“Nope.” Without taking my eyes off her, I scraped off my socks and got to my feet. Her pupils dilated as I reached for my belt and she bit her lower lip, clearly interested in what she was seeing.
“What are you doing, Wade?”
“You can’t tell?”
She shrugged. “It’s been a wild day, so it could be anything. For example, are you planning to move any furniture around after you take those pants off? Because I gave the other guys most of my cash, but I do have a few dollar bills left, if that’s where this is heading.”
“If you promise not to talk about other men right now, your day is about to get wilder. Take off your clothes and get on that bed.”
Her eyebrows rose as she glanced over her shoulder. “That bed? The new one I haven’t paid for that isn’t mine?”
I shucked my pants and dropped them to the floor with a clink of change, keys and belt buckle, leaving me in nothing but my boxers as I took a step in her direction. Her gaze dropped, temporarily transfixed by the obvious arousal tenting my shorts.
“It’s in your house,” I told her. “And this might be the only room we haven’t been in over the last few days.”
I’d taken her in the living room yesterday—pulled her onto my lap and had her right there on the couch after reading a scene she’d written. We’d already made use of the kitchen and revisited the pool. Now I wanted her here. On that bed, before everything changed again.
Her eyes narrowed but she licked her lips and fiddled with the hem of her thin shirt. She was thinking about it. “We’re both dirty, Wade. I did yoga and then spent the day in the sun. You were at work. We can’t just…” She fluttered her hand. “On Chick’s new bed.”
Despite her protests, she took another step backward until she was inside the bedroom. I followed.
“We can, and I like you dirty, Gus.”
Her eyes sparked with excitement. “Is this because of the movers? They weren’t really my type you know. The roofers a few weeks ago were way more interesting. Their calf muscles were insane.” As she said it, she whipped her shirt over her head and unhooked her bra, dropping it to the floor.
Jesus. “You like teasing me, don’t you?”
She’d just kicked off her shoes and unbuttoned her jeans when she turned her back on me.
“Hold that thought,” she said breathlessly, grabbing up the comforter and tossing it on the other side of the bed. “Sheets I can clean, but I don’t know if this is machine washa?—”
I bent her over the side of the bed, my chest pressed against her back.
“Oh my god,” she gasped, grappling at the sheet with both hands.
“You know, the woman in your dirty book never thought about the chores she needed to do when her lodger got naked in front of her,” I grumbled against the back of her neck. “You didn’t even pretend to swoon.”
Her laugh was soft and seductive. “The fact that I’m willingly ripping off these covers and my clothes so you can take me here should be a pretty good indicator that I’m feeling swoony.”
Letting her go, I all but dived onto the bed and rolled to my back, lying sideways across the pillowtop mattress. I had to hand it to Chick—these were the softest damn sheets in the world. “No, it’s fine. I get it. You’ve tasted my forbidden fruit—what was it? Boss, babysitter, motor daddy?—and now you’re ready for the next new challenge.”
She pushed off the bed and stepped out of her jeans before climbing up beside me. “Actually, I haven’t had the chance to yet.”
“The chance to what?”
She lowered her head to kiss me. Soft and exploring. Nibbling and playful. I’d just slid my hands over her hips, ready to drag her over my lap, when she raised her head and sat back on her heels. “To taste your forbidden fruit.”
My cock hardened painfully, jerking against its cotton restraint. “That wasn’t exactly what I meant.”
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” she informed me, her hands leaving a trail of fire as they caressed my chest and stomach. Tracing the veins on my forearms and skipping my shorts to gently massage my thighs. Her exploratory touch was making it hard for me to breathe. My eyes couldn’t decide where to land—her flushed face, with its inquisitive blue eyes. Her amazing tits, hanging within tantalizing reach. Her busy hands as they explored me with surprising boldness. God, that felt good.
“You’re so strong everywhere,” she murmured. “You kept me from reciprocating for days before I finally wore you down, and ever since, you’ve still been giving me more than you take. ”
“I don’t think that’s true.” But she could say anything right now and I might believe it. As long as she didn’t stop touching me.
“Agree to disagree.”
It might have been shock that had me lifting my hips when she tugged down my boxer shorts. “You don’t have to do this.”
Please do this.
“I know.” She tossed them aside and finally gripped my erection, staring down at it with undeniable hunger. “But I really, really want to. It’s your turn to say yes now, Wade.”
Aw hell. “Yes,” I said hoarsely. “Whatever you want.”
I slid a tensed arm under my head so I could watch her stroke me.
“You know nothing’s going to change between us tomorrow, apart from where we can have sex. As in, my bedroom or yours. I’m betting Chick will have a date or two of his own lined up before the week is out. He won’t need constant entertaining.”
Of course she’d figured it out. Why I’d felt the chest-thumping need to take her here. “I thought I said no talking about other men—” I grunted in pleasure when she made a little squeeze-and-twist motion with her hand. “I see your point.”
“Good. Because I don’t think we’re done with each other yet. I know I’m not.”
I didn’t mind hearing that at all.
“Fuck,” I growled when her full lips parted over the head and she took me in.
My mind went blank and every drop of blood above my waist went south so fast I saw fucking stars. This woman. This funny, adorable temptress of a woman was trying to suck all my brain cells and every last bit of willpower out through my cock with her mouth.
I couldn’t stop my free hand from dropping to tangle in her curls. Not to direct, just to prove to myself that this was real and not another dream. I’d had too many exactly like this, with her taking the lead. Taking the initiative. Sucking me down like her favorite milkshake.
She raised her mouth enough to breathe, meeting my gaze as she licked a line up my shaft and circled the head of my cock with her tongue. “Let me know if I’m doing anything you don’t like,” she said against my burning flesh. “You’re so big I might have to get creative.”
“Flattery like that will land you on your back in the next five seconds if you’re not careful.”
“Promise?”
That was about all I could take without touching her. My fingers slid from her hair, down to her back and between her thighs, finding her wet and waiting beneath her underwear. I slid one finger inside, then two when she moaned around my erection, sending hot, warning pulses through my body.
“Damn, your mouth feels good,” I rasped when my efforts doubled hers. “I’m going to come if you don’t stop.”
She groaned again, still watching me and sucking in a way that had my hips jerking up in an instinctive thrust. I couldn’t come yet. I needed to be inside her. “August, wait.”
I dragged her body up against mine and took her mouth in a kiss meant to worship. She leaned into it, raking her fingers through my hair, pushing her hard nipples against my chest as I yanked her panties to the side and entered her with one deep thrust.
Yes.
This was where I belonged. I felt it every time we came together, but never this intensely. She was squeezing me so tight, her arousal hot and delicious and... “Fuck.”
I clamped an arm around her hips to stop her from moving and she lifted her head, her eyes dark with need and lips swollen. “What’s wrong?”
“Condom.” I hadn’t replenished my wallet yet, but there was a half-empty box of them in her bedroom downstairs. “Don’t move. Give me a second.”
Did she whimper? Why was that sound so damn sexy? Did I really like knowing she was suffering as much as I was?
Maybe a little.
“Do we have to stop? You’re good, right?”
“According to my last doctor visit,” I panted. “But what about protection?”
“I’m still on the pill. Maybe this one time?”
Hell. I gave her mouth one last open-mouthed kiss and then flipped her onto her hands and knees. I got on mine, gripping her hips and entering her again from behind.
“Wade,” she panted, her fingers scrambling on the sheets as if she were desperate for something to hold onto. “That’s so deep.”
It was. It also gave me more control. Not that I had any at the moment. I’d never been inside a woman without protection. Not the first time. Not even when I was married, though that had been because she’d wanted to wait a year or two before having more kids.
How had I gone my whole life without knowing what this felt like? And how could I have forgotten the condoms? Because it was her, responsible Wade had left the motherfucking building without looking back
“Just until you come,” I said roughly. “I need to feel you come around me, August.”
I held one of her hips tight and slid the other between her thighs again as I angled each thrust in the way I knew she craved. I had to focus on her pleasure. I couldn’t think about the fact that I was bare inside her. Nothing between us. Exactly the way I wanted it.
She was crying out my name, the bed frame shuddering with each thrust. I pressed my lips to the curve of her throat and circled her clit with my fingers, slamming my hips against her again and again. I needed her to come. Now.
Please, for the love of God?—
“Wade!”
I swore when she clamped on my shaft in deep, pulsing contractions that threatened to pull me inside out. She was coming hard, and her body wanted me to come with her.
If I’d felt like a caveman before, it was nothing compared to the dark satisfaction I got when I managed to pull out right before my climax hit, flipping her onto her back again to drown in those deep blue eyes and kiss her as I came on her stomach.
Mine.
A few minutes later, collapsed on the recently delivered bed with August curled around me, I felt myself relax for the first time all day. We were good like this. Short and sweet as this time had been without a condom, it was still the best sex I’d ever had. I knew she felt it too.
She’d said we weren’t finished with each other yet. I wanted to tell her we never would be. I wanted her to agree.
“August? Are you still awake?”
She kissed the part of my arm she could reach and smiled with her eyes still closed. “Holy bananas,” she whispered, making me smile.
I’d take that. For now.
“As soon as I can move my legs again, I’ll wash the sheets,” I told her languidly.
She snorted and buried her face in my shoulder. “I can’t believe we did that in here.”
“Give me an hour and we can do it again.”
“Big talk from a man who can’t move his legs.”
I lifted my head to give her a half-hearted glare. “It’s your fault. You and that book you’ve been writing. Hanging out with strippers and throw pillows. Roofer calves,” I tossed in for good measure as her smile widened.
She giggled. “You’ve got them all beat, buddy. After this, I might have to change the scene I was working on, because you’ve outdone my hero too. I’m not sure what you’re going to do to top this.”
I’m going to keep you.
She wasn’t ready to hear it yet, but that had always been the goal.
I should have remembered that saying about the best laid plans.