And I get an instant craving. A craving to taste her. At any capacity I can. This random desire doesn’t subside when the tip of her nose turns bright red, and she wipes it with her sleeve. It gives quite the opposite effect. I want, no,need, to warm her up. I need those cheeks and nose to be pink from warmth and not from the biting Maine cold.
“Do you like it here?” She suddenly whips her headtoward me, and her hair flies around her shoulders. “Where did you come from by the way?” she asks with furrowed brows. “We haven’t even talked about anything other than local stuff.”
I clear my throat before speaking. “All over the place. I work as a contractor, and I travel around a lot with my crew.”
“And now you decided to put roots down?”
“Something like that.” Turning away from her, I stare at the sky too, contemplating if I should keep talking. I’m not the one to share shit about myself—I’ve never felt safe doing so—but now I want to. Even though I’m not sure if I want to talk to her or just share something with someone so all these things are not as bottled up as they are.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want.” Her voice is quiet, and when I turn to her I don’t find the offensive posture I expect to see. Because this is what people usually feel when they say things like that, that’s what I feel. Instead, she looks genuine. Fuckingsupportive.
“I just—” I clear my throat again before talking because I sound too forced even to myself. “I’ve always been sort of between places or on the road. Never owned something to call my own other than my work trailer.”
“A trailer is a good home,” she says carefully. “I know plenty of people who live in trailers, and they’re much cozier than any mansion would be. It’s just up to you to make it home, you know.” Fixing a lock of hair behind her ear, she smiles shyly. “I know you are a big boy to know all of that yourself, but home is not just a building.”
Swallowing a hard lump in my throat, I croak, “I’m beginning to understand that.”
“I hope you like it here.” She sighs, wiping her nose again. “It’s a good place to build a home.”
“I do,” comes out as whisper.
“What?” She turns to me with a smile.
“Like it here.”
I don’t know what comes over me, but I move forward and place my lips on hers. More like smack since my movements are awkward and she’s totally unprepared. Our noses bump, teeth clank, and the whole thing turns into an embarrassing moment of a first high school kiss.
When her lips freeze under mine, a wave of embarrassment washes over me, making me pull back instantly. If I thought kissing her was awkward, it had nothing on the moment when I see her shocked face with a slightly open mouth. Her whole demeanor screamswhat the fuck.
I move to get on my feet and run away to hide somewhere in the mountains when her hand shoots up and grabs my jeans. With a mighty force I don’t expect from her, she jerks my pants, and me along with them, making me land hard on my ass right next to her.
Then her hands land on my shoulders as she pulls me into her, smashing her lips on mine. The awkwardness of the first landing is about the same, but the impact is harder. This time I know she is into it too. So I meet with the same force.
My tongue instantly searches for the entrance, and she’s not stopping it. She meets it with a force of her own, making my eyes nearly roll to the back of my head. I don’t recall being so fucking excited just from a five-second kiss, but I’m ready to throw her on this porch and rip her clothes off. Right here, in the frigid cold.
I don’t notice how my hand goes between the edges of her blanket to her front, and she gasps when it lands on her chest. I deepen the kiss while her fingers dig into my shoulders. I’m ready to grab h?—
The sound of a car engine stops me from doing something I wouldn’t have a way back from. We jump from each other like we’ve been electrocuted.
With wild eyes, Nora starts pulling the edges of her blanket back, so she’s completely hidden from me. I rise to my feet, trying to discreetly adjust my cock because it’s bentunder such an uncomfortable angle that I don’t think I can make it home without breaking it.
“It’s Cheryl’s cruiser.” Her voice sounds coarse, making the ache between my legs intensify. She sounds like that because of me. How coarse can she get when she screams my name? Fuck. That was a very wrong thing to imagine.
“I’m gonna go.” I jerk my thumb behind my back, not knowing what else to say and mentally admitting that I don’t sound much better.
“Yeah.” She nods and rushes back inside the house.
As the cruiser pulls to a stop, I give it a wide berth and make my way quickly to my front door, not daring to look inside. I go straight to the shower where I can let my imagination go.
18
Nora
Cheryl’s sipping her hot cocoa in the kitchen, and by sipping, I mean slurping it with a loudoosh, making every single pull as loud as humanly possible. Knowing I hate that, she’s waiting for me to blow up. It’s been our game for as long as I can remember.
Another loud sip makes my eye twitch, and I almost forget about the scorchingly hot kiss I was indulging in ten minutes ago.
“How is Granny?” I ask, hoping talking will stop her from making this horrendous, soul-wrenching sound.
