Before we fall, p.4
Before We Fall, page 4
I’m frozen in place until he closes the door. Then, I quickly move to lock the door. I slide down against it, my butt hitting the floor and all the time I’m wondering just one damn thing.
How on earth did things get so out of my control tonight?
Unfortunately, I don’t have any answers.
Chapter Seven
Ben
“Evening, Junie.”
“I uhh… What are you doing here?”
“Your brother and Luna invited me to a cookout,” I respond with a grin.
Damn, my girl looks good. She’s wearing faded jeans and a shirt with long sleeves that probably shouldn’t be sexy, but it is. It hugs her body, though not snugly. Yet, it does show off her tits, hugging them tighter than the rest of her. It’s a dark brown that reminds me of coffee with creamer and for some reason, it makes her blonde hair shine.
“You never come to their cookouts,” she mumbles under her breath, obviously not wanting anyone to overhear us.
“I’ve never had a reason. Now I do,” I respond simply, enjoying the blush that steals over her face.
“What game are you trying to pull here, Sheriff?”
“Who says I’m playing a game, Junie?”
“I do. I’ve always been to these cookouts. I’ve only missed one. Do you want to tell me that now you just found a reason to show up after a year?”
“I was giving you space, Junie. The minute you accepted another man’s offer to take you out, all bets were off.”
“What does that mean?” she cries, losing control.
“Is there something going on over there?” Lodge asks, his voice gruff—definitely big brother vibes coming off of him, but I don’t give a fuck. Junie is mine.
“Nothing, Gavin. Just talking to the sheriff about the vandalism at the dock last night,” Junie says, obviously not wanting Gavin to know about our conversation. I can go along with that. I don’t exactly want Lodge butting into my relationship with her. We won’t always be a secret though, and she needs to understand that.
“I don’t think I’d call a wet behind the ears kid a vandal, Kingston. Quit trying to scare my sister.”
“A kid?” She yells and I barely stop myself from laughing.
“It was still vandalism. A kid can do as much damage as a grown man, Junie. Hell, most of the time worse,” I tell her in what I hope is a professional voice that doesn’t betray my laughter.
“You’re an asshole, Sheriff,” she mutters.
“You still like me,” I return, pushing her limits.
“An asshole with a huge ego.”
“That’s not the only thing that’s huge and you like that too.”
“I’m walking away now,” she says, backing away from me.
I bring my beer up to my lips with a smirk.
“Go ahead, Baby. I’ll be here,” I respond, for her ears only, my lips nearly brushing the top of the beer bottle.
She studies me for a minute and then walks away. I watch her go, because it’s a damn good show. Plus, I wasn’t kidding. I’m staying here, and I know eventually that I’ll get Junie alone again.
I’m so engrossed in Junie that I don’t notice when her asshole brother comes to stand beside me.
“What’s going on with you and my sister, Kingston?”
“We’re friends,” I tell him, not really lying, but it sure as hell isn’t the full truth.
“Looked like you were upsetting her to me,” he responds. He really is an asshole. I don’t know why I like him. Probably because I can be an asshole too.
“Friends do that.”
“You’re right,” he says, surprising me by letting it go that easily. “I mean, hell, look at you. You upset the fuck out of me and still I let you keep breathing.”
“Are we friends now?” I ask him, figuring it’s true, but not sure how it happened.
“It was either that or kill you, and I’m not about to go to jail now that I got Luna back in my bed every night,” he says. I’d think he was doing that to just dig at me and maybe that is part of it. He’s also watching me to see if it still bothers me. The hell of it is, that it doesn’t. If I look back on shit, I’m pretty damn sure it was my ego that was hurt the most when Luna chose Lodge over me. I liked her and we could have had a good thing together, because we had similar wants out of life. But, I’m not sure we had that much in common. Luna is not the kind of girl I’d take out on my bike, park, look out over the water, and then lean her over it and fuck her. I have a wildness inside of me that very few people see. I can’t let it out freely and still be the Sheriff that the people expect. I reserve it for a select few to see the real me. I never once hesitated with Junie to let her in.
Damn.
“Probably a good thing. Our kind doesn’t really mix in general population,” I tell him, playing his little test off, while realizing that Junie slipped through more than I knew a year ago. It’s no wonder I’m so set on claiming her now.
My gaze moves over to find Junie. She’s playing this giant Connect Four game with Joshua and a couple of his buddies. The buddies are eyeing her like she’s a centerfold on a Playboy magazine they have hidden under the mattress. Junie doesn’t see that, but fuck if I don’t. It’s a good thing for them that they’re just kids. My face still goes tight at the way they’re staring at her breasts. I’m going to have a talk with those little assholes on how you respect a woman.
“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you without blinking.”
My head jerks up to see Lodge looking at his sister. The bastard knows I’ve got her in my blood. I’m surprised he’s not going ballistic on my ass. Instead, it kind of sounds like he’s giving permission—at least conditional. I wasn’t asking for it, and I don’t give a fuck what he says, but I won’t deny that I appreciate it just the same.
“Fuck, I guess this means we really do like each other,” I grumble, the idea tasting sour, despite how true it is.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Lodge laughs and I join in.
He really is a damn asshole.
Chapter Eight
Junie
That’s not the only thing huge, and you like that too.
Damn Ben Kingston. Those words keep replaying over and over in my head. I think about them when I’m trying to listen to Luna. When I’m talking to Gavin and even when I’m playing with my nephew and his buddies.
It’s all I can think about.
I wasn’t kidding when I told Ben that I was going to buy stock in batteries. A vibrator is less complicated than a man and you’re not going to get hurt or have your heart ripped out. It’s a good plan. It also sucks, because a vibrator is not like a man—a man who knows how to touch you and can lower that voice and talk so dirty that you swear you might orgasm right then. And Ben? Ben knows how to talk dirty, and he can back it up. I can say that, and we never did go all of the way. A fact my body knows and must hate me for, because just feeling the weight of his stare has me wet.
“We’re out of cold water and soda,” Luna murmurs.
“I’ll get it,” I volunteer. If I’m inside, that’s at least a small break from Ben.
“You sure?” Luna asks, sounding concerned
“Definitely.”
“It’s awful heavy. Hey, Ben? Can you help Junie fill the coolers back up before Wally and Meghan get here?”
“Luna, stop. Don’t bother Ben. I’m more than capable. I do this kind of shit for a living.”
“You got it, Luna,” Ben agrees before I much more than get my protest out. He comes up behind me, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he presses his body into me. I am afraid to move, as I feel the hard, rigid outline of his cock press against my ass. There’s no mistaking what it is—despite our clothes being in the way. Ben is aroused, probably as turned on as I am—maybe more. That’s the last piece of information that I needed to know. Just the realization alone, has a new wave of wetness, sliding against my panties.
Jesus.
Ben moves around me and picks up the empty cooler.
“What are you doing? Wouldn’t it make more sense to fill the coolers up out here and just bring out the stuff to put in it?”
“Maybe, but the ice is melted. It’s just as easy to pack it and fill it up with ice from the fridge in the garage.”
“It will be heavy,” I tell him, something he probably already knows.
“Don’t worry, Junie. I’m not just a pretty face. I have some muscles too.”
Jerk.
“Whatever. If you hurt your back, it’s on you.”
“Your concern is appreciated,” he says, drolly.
“I mean, did you know that some back injuries can cause anal leakage?” I ask helpfully, fighting my smile and instead trying to sound concerned.
Ben comes to a complete stop and turns to look over his shoulder at me. I shrug helplessly, making my eyes go round and what I hope appears innocent.
“I’m just saying. You’re not getting any younger. It might be hard to attract women and anal leakage would be a big turn off.”
“I’m only trying to attract one woman and if she keeps trying to give me hell, I’m thinking I’m going to spank her ass until she begs me to stop.”
I don’t have to fake my eyes going round now. I’m too busy coughing because I swallowed my damn gum. Ben grins—a really sexy grin. Then, he walks away, leaving me to follow after him.
And again, I hear him in my head.
That’s not the only thing huge, and you like that too.
Shit.
Chapter Nine
Ben
“I’ll drain the cooler from what’s melted and then we can stock it. That okay with you?” I ask Junie. I’m hiding my smile at the jittery way she enters the garage. I have her on edge. She’s giving off signals that tells me she wants me—maybe as much as I want her, but that is doubtful.
“I live to serve,” she mumbles.
“If only that were true,” I reply, shaking my head.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
I finish draining the cooler, putting the stopper back in, and then turn to look at Junie. She’s standing in front of the fridge, her hair is pulled back into a ponytail now, high on top of her head. It shouldn’t look sexy, but hell if it doesn’t. Then again, everything about Junie is sexy to me.
“It means if you were really here to serve me, you’d be on your knees, helping with this ache in my dick you’ve caused.”
“I’ve caused?” she questions, disbelief so thick in her voice—or maybe annoyance—that her voice comes out screechy.
“Baby, when you bend over, that denim material caresses those ass cheeks of yours….” I let my sentence go unfinished because I figure she can figure out the fantasies I’m having. “You’ve been torturing my poor dick.”
“Will you stop!” she exclaims, her face flushing with color.
“Turn around, Junie,” I tell her, my voice dropping down as I let the tight control I have on my hunger for her slip.
“What?” she asks, her voice soft and even with the small distance between us, I can see how her chest moves as her breath begins to go ragged as she forces it out.
She definitely wants me.
“You heard me, Junie. Turn around.”
I wait for her to tell me to go to hell. I fully expect it. She has no idea that I’m already in hell. I need her so much that I wasn’t lying to her. I am aching. It’s physically painful to keep denying my body what it wants. If I could go back to a year ago, I’d kick my own ass. She still wants me. I just need to remind her of all the things that attracted us to each other in the first place. It wasn’t all sex. It was so much more and like the idiot I am, I didn’t even notice it until she was gone.
“Ben…”
Ben. Not sheriff, not asshole, but Ben. I don’t know why that feels like a huge victory, but given the hunger, the heat, and the emotions flying around us… it does.
“Turn around, Junie. I’m an asshole, but you have to know somewhere down deep that I wouldn’t hurt you. You’re safe with me.”
“You did hurt me, Ben.”
“I’m so damned sorry about that, Junie. God, you have no idea, and I know you won’t believe me, but I hurt myself too.”
“What does it even matter, Ben? That was a year ago. It’s over and done.”
“Turn around and I’ll show you why it matters,” I dare her.
“Ben…”
I don’t back down, I don’t reply.
I wait.
Indecision wars on her face, my chest goes tight because no man wants to think he could hurt a woman so deeply that he causes her this pain a year later. At least I don’t.
I watch as she swallows, the sweet movements of her throat that probably aren’t meant to be sexy, but to me are, because I imagine her swallowing down my cum.
Fuck.
She turns around.
Jesus Christ, she turns around!
I clear my throat, because suddenly it’s tight. When I speak, my voice is hoarse and raw.
“Now put your hands flat against the door of the fridge, Junie.”
“I need my fucking head examined,” she mutters under her breath. She slaps her hand against the fridge and my heart tumbles in my chest at the echoing of the sound. I count them in my head.
One. Two.
My eyes close in relief. Then, they’re open and on the woman that I’ve needed in my arms since the day she walked away from my bed. I get behind her and reach out to drag my hand along the swell of her breast, taking my time to move the pads of my fingers over her ribs and down to finally rest on her hip. I feel the shudder that moves through her and hear the sound of her soft intake of air, betraying the fact that she’s needed this almost as much as me.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” I murmur against her ear as I lean in. I’m rewarded with her body trembling, her hips rotating, her ass pushing out toward me. “I’ve missed you, Junie,” I add, my hand sweeping against her stomach, slipping under her shirt.
Warm, soft, delicate…
“This doesn’t mean anything,” she denies, but her voice is muted and trembling.
“Whatever you need to convince yourself, Junie.”
“You’re just an itch,” she utters, but I smile regardless, because I think she’s lying through her teeth.
“It means something to me, Junie,” I tell her, still keeping my lips next to her ear. I let my fingers creep up to tease the underside of her breasts, wishing she didn’t have a bra on. “You mean something to me,” I growl in her ear. I move my lips to her neck, kissing her pulse point—which is thundering beneath her skin. I inhale her scent deep into my lungs and kiss along the side of her neck, letting my teeth rake against the tender flesh.
“Do you expect me to believe that?” She’s literally moaning as she tilts her head to the side for me.
“Someday,” I admit. “I’m going to prove it to you.”
“Ben—”
“Until then, whenever you have that itch you need scratched, Junie. I’m fucking good with being the man you call to help you out.”
“Jesus—”
“Tell me, Baby, do you need me to help ease that ache between your legs?”
“Yes…”
That word, being moaned out of her sweet mouth makes my body tremble more than hers. I move up to hold her breast, squeezing it, because I can’t stop myself. Junie lets out a long moan that is loaded with the promise of sex, dragged from her lungs so harshly it comes out raw and needy. The sound echoes through the garage, which is silent except our heavy breathing. Somewhere far off, I can hear the others, but I ignore them. I can only think about Junie right now. I keep one hand on her breast, kneading it, as my other one quickly undoes the button of her pants and slips inside. I hook my finger into her panties immediately, pushing them to the side.
“You’re so fucking wet, and I’ve not done anything to you yet. You need my cock don’t you, Baby?”
“Shut up, Ben, before I talk myself out of this,” she snaps and hell if that doesn’t make me laugh.
“I’ll let you win this time, Junie,” I concede.”
“Great,” she mumbles. “Now, can you get busy, before I remember what a bad idea this is?”
I bite down where her neck and shoulder meet, making her cry out. She tries to muffle the sound by pushing her mouth against her arm. I suck on the skin, wanting to leave a mark there. Then, I adjust my hold so I can spin her around to face me. I want to look in her eyes when she comes. Her hand goes to my bite and her eyes practically shoot sparks at me.
“That’s to remind you that I’m letting you win, but I’m not a man you can order around, Junie. No matter how much I’m dying to fuck you.”
“You’re an asshole,” she snarls.
“I know. I can’t forget, because you keep reminding me, Baby. Now, I’m going to make this quick because we’re not completely alone, but someday soon, Juniper Sellers, I’m going to get you in my bed and take my time with you.”
“Not happening, Sheriff,” she sasses, as I push back into her pants and slide my fingers against the wet lips of her pussy.
“It’s going to happen, Junie, even if I have to tie you to my fucking bed,” I growl as I rub my fingers over her clit. At the threat of tying her to my bed, a fresh wave of wetness flows against my fingers, and I fucking grieve that it’s not my face between her legs. “Oh, Junie. Look how wet the thought of being tied to my bed just made you. Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll give you that. I’ll give you any little fantasy you have in that head of yours.”
“Right now, it’s that you quit talking and get busy,” she huffs. “Can you give me that?”
I thrust my fingers into her tight entrance, pushing them as deep as I can and not doing it gentle. I push against her walls, stretching her, before retreating back to fuck her again.
“I’m going to have to tame that mouth of yours soon, Junie.”
