"This entire town," I cried, a manic laugh winding through my words. "This small, insular, homogenous town where everyone is convinced the best days are behind them and the only solution is going backward. And these people who believe the old ways were best and refuse to acknowledge that progress might be a good thing." I stared at him in the darkness. "How do you do it? Because I can't deal."
Jed reached for my hand, layered it between both of his as we walked. "You had a shitty conversation with Denise Primiani. Who hasn't?"
"It's not one person with one shitty outlook," I replied. "It's the fact that many people share that outlook and feel comfortable announcing it."
"I understand what you're saying, Bam, but that's not a Talbott's Cove problem. That's everywhere and you know it." He shifted my hand to his waist while he unlocked the front door. "What's the Cove ever done to you?"
He pushed the door open and I stepped inside, kicked off my shoes. Butterscotch was quick to run up. ”Look around, Jed. The Cove doesn't resemble the rest of the world. It's about as diverse as pasta salad. Noodles and mayonnaise and, if you're lucky, a few bits of color and spice."
"Pasta salad. Okay." His lips twitched as if he wanted to laugh, but he knew enough to hold back. "Owen Bartlett, the chair of the town council, is a gay man. That has to count for something."
"Sure, it counts, but the fact we're handing out brownie points for accepting a native son's sexuality is kind of ridiculous," I replied, pacing the length of the living room. "Not to mention, being able to name one gay man in the whole of this town and trying to pass that off as proof of Talbott's Cove forward evolution is absurd."
"Technically, we can name two because his boyfriend Cole lives with him now."
I held my arms up in celebration. "There we go. Two gay men equals a diverse, inclusive town. Check. Done. Problem solved."
"Perhaps I've mentioned once or twice how I'm working on bringing something new to this town." He perched his hands on his hips. "Jobs, tourists, money. Those things won't wave a magic wand over the town, but they'll get the tide turning."
"And you know I think it's an incredible plan," I replied. "Perhaps I've mentioned how I have money to invest."
"You know I can't do that, sweetheart. Keep your money."
I stopped pacing, stared at him. "Let me see if I have this straight. I can't complain about people with shitty opinions because they're everywhere. I can't complain about the pasta salad because you're solving that. And I can't invest in the distillery because you need a separation between cocks and stocks. Does that sum it up?"
Jed studied me for a moment, his gaze raking up from my bare feet, over my slim black pants and blousy top, stopping at my lips. He tilted his head to the side as if he'd settled a disagreement with himself and brought his hand to my back, resting between my shoulder blades. He nudged me forward, toward the hallway. Toward the bedroom. "You forgot to add in the piece about you rejecting all the local authority you possess by virtue of birthright."
"That's where your calculations are incorrect." I reached for his belt. "Just because my father leaned into the whole Markhams of Maine thing doesn't mean I can or should."
Growling, Jed yanked the shirt over my head. "You backed away from Denise's bullshit tonight. You didn't call her on any of it and you could have."
I scowled up at him as I unbuttoned his shirt. "Because I didn't want to start a brawl."
"A few well-chosen words and Denise would have a fresh perspective on so-called juvenile delinquents." He pushed my pants down to my knees and held my elbows as I wiggled out of them. "If we don't stick around and call out the bullshit when we hear it, this place will always be the same soggy pasta salad it's always been. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for you to put some of your family's leverage to good use."
"You're assigning me more power than I have on reserve, aside from the fact this isn't about me. This town hasn't seen a boom year in my lifetime but everyone is holding out hope we can find our way back to those good old days. If only we could slow down, back track over everything we've gained, and return to a time when the world was a simpler, more oppressive, more restrictive place, and then we'd be on the right track. You make it sound like I should—" I went flying through the air, landing on the bed with a shout. "What the hell was that for?"
Jed climbed onto the bed and settled over me, his knees tucked under my arms and his cock hard between my breasts. "That was for the look you've been giving me for the past few hours." He brushed my hair from my face and cupped my jaw. "It's time for you to suck some dick, sweetheart."
"What about snatching a soul?"
He took my hand, curled it around his erection. "You already did."
"I don't suck dicks," I replied as my hand shuttled over him.
He growled, low and guttural, just the way I loved. "You do now."
I shook my head, the movement causing me to brush my lips over his crown. "Probably not."
"Bam, you can't convince me you don't want this." His hips jerked as I stroked him harder. "I've watched you all night. I saw it in your eyes. Saw how you want to be completely merciless."
"You're selling this rather aggressively."
I shot him an indignant glare as I considered all the creative ways I could explain I wasn't meeting his dick-sucking needs. Instead of offering any of them, I opened my mouth, rubbed him against my lips. He was hot and thick, and throbbing in my palm, on my tongue.
His hand shot behind my head, urging me closer, rubbing my scalp. "Brooke. Fuck.Fuck."
I wrapped my tongue around his head and tasted the bead of fluid waiting there. It wasn't as unpleasant as I'd remembered. The muscles in his legs flexed, tightening against my torso as his body tensed. He twisted my name into groans, growls, and curses while his body arched and shuddered.
