Page 26 of Down & Dirty (Holden Cove #1)

CHAPTER 26

CORY

N othing compared to waking up with Skylar on my chest. Pleasure rocked through me when I felt her nestled into my side. Her breath was skittering across my skin, and her slender fingers were curved adorably around my ribs.

She was attached to me, skin on skin, and I was powerless against the ache in my chest; I’d never wanted a moment to last as much as I did that one. Especially after last night, she wasn’t just any woman to me now. Something had shifted.

Telling her about my mom—the whole story, not just skimming the surface of that ugly truth—I’d been both sliced open and held together at the same time. I felt safe sharing it with her, and the rarity of that sensation was spellbinding. She hadn’t looked at me with pity or given me an inch to assume the blame. I’d carried that guilt my whole life, and on my darker days, it still won out. But Skylar refused to hear it, and I let myself be convinced by her, because it felt so good to put that down, even just for one night.

This thing between us was special, whatever it was, wherever it was going. I wasn’t going to rush it. Seeing her hesitant to share a bed hadn’t worried me. I’d take my time. However long she needed. She was like the last gift on Christmas, the one you want to ope n slowly, because it’s precious and you want the magic to last as long as possible.

And Skylar was magic.

Pure, potent, straight-to-the-vein kind of magic. Seeing her under the stars last night had sent my head spinning. And then kissing her? Really kissing her. Fuck it all, I’d been thinking about that like a song on a loop since the night of the premiere. But as much as the marriage tied us together contractually for a year, I hadn’t been sure if it changed things between us. If it took this physical attraction off the table. Judging by that kiss last night, though, those extra pieces of paper were nothing compared to this chemistry we had.

Of course, thinking about our chemistry was a stupid idea while she was still plastered to my body, her hand mere inches from my semi just itching to be stroked to life. I ground my teeth, trying to fight the memories that were zipping through me. I didn’t need her to wake up with an erection in her face. But the harder I fought it, the more likely that reality became.

Especially when she sighed and stretched, her elbow grazing the tip as her leg curled around my thigh.

“Morning beautiful.” I was breathing through my nose, trying to stem the blood rushing south.

Her eyes fluttered open, her long lashes tickling my chest, before she gave me a lopsided grin. “Morning.”

She shifted, her leg riding higher on my thigh, and her knee tucked right up under my balls. I tried to bite back the groan in my throat, but the touch, even as light as it was, sent me. My eyes drifted closed, every cell focused on the growing urge to move.

Sky’s breathy chuckle drew my attention. “Sorry, I didn’t see that there. Though I’m not sure how I missed it.”

I took that as a compliment, not that the size of my dick had ever been an area that needed bolstering. “Anatomical hazard,” I bit out, flexing my hands as I stretched my arms overhead. I had to do something with them to keep myself from trailing them over the le ngth of her body. Because after my hands, it would be my mouth, and after that...

“You sleep okay?” I asked, desperate to get my mind to change directions. Plus, I was a little nervous about unloading all that on her. It wasn’t exactly a happy bedtime story.

“I did.”

She rolled away from me, and I exhaled harshly, partly hating the distance between us and partly relieved. I might have half a chance of remaining a gentleman without her touching me.

“You sound surprised.”

“I am. I figured you’d be a bed hog, or a snorer or something.”

I laughed, grateful to see her humor back. This felt like normal. Like us. “You thought I’d carry my ego into my sleep.”

I said it matter-of-factly, no doubt that I was right. It was the amusement in her eyes that kept that idea from bothering me. I was pretty sure Sky’s opinion of me had changed since we met. And I was thankful for that. I’d never cared much what others thought of me, but I’d started to give her judgment more weight. Knowing she’d given me a chance to show her who I really was meant more than she probably knew.

Her grin was wide when she replied. “I mean, I wouldn’t say it like that.”

I shot across the bed, digging my fingers into her sides, tickling her. As she squirmed, I put my mouth to her ear and asked, “Then how would you put it, smarty pants?”

Between squeals and laughter she got out, “You live alone. Everyone is a bed hog when they live alone.”

I let her fight me off so she could catch her breath. “You must not have felt the dip in the mattress the night you stayed in my bed.” I frowned when I thought back to how upset she’d gotten that night. It felt like years ago now, we’d come so far since then. “I’m a one side of the bed guy.”

“Always so eager to share,” she cooed, mockingly.

She bolted from the bed before I could grab her again, the sparkl e in her eye like a magnet drawing me in. Tugging a sweatshirt over her head, she padded for the door.

“You want some coffee?”

I shoved the covers off and followed her, adjusting myself in my flimsy flannel pants as I went. “I’ll get it. I don’t know if Jake set up the pot last night.” I swiped a Henley from my bag and headed for the stairs as she ducked into the bathroom.

As I passed through the living room, I spotted the woodstove already stoked and raging. Someone was up early besides us. I rounded the kitchen and found Mack sitting at the table, a steaming mug in his hand.

“Who’s the girl?” he asked, his voice rough and low.

It wasn’t just from the morning. That was Mack all the time. You’d think the guy was perpetually miserable if you went by his face alone. When you added the harsh voice to it, you’d think he was pissed off, too.

In both cases, you might have been right. My brother avoided fun like an infection.

I grabbed a mug from the cabinet. “What girl?” I asked, my back to him as I took a sip, no doubt missing the trademark darkening of his scowl.

“Another actress on the payroll?”

I almost spit out the coffee in my mouth. Instead, I inhaled it straight into my lungs, and had to bend over the sink to catch the hot liquid as it exploded out of me in a violent cough.

There was no way Mack knew about my other “girlfriends.” Right ? How could he?

“What the fuck does that mean?” I asked, wiping my mouth with a towel as I turned around to face him.

He’d cocked his head to the side, but the grin on his face was one of amusement. “That’s the only way I’d imagine a woman being willing to suffer through a holiday with you. How much is she charging?”

Now he was really laughing, and I let out a long breath. He’d been c racking a joke. First, Dad is cooking. Now, Mack is joking around. What the hell was happening around here?

“Real funny, asshole. Don’t be a dick and make her uncomfortable.”

He put up his hands, his expression opening innocently. “Like I would do any such thing.”

“Don’t make me remind you about Shelby Winterson.”

As expected, the mention of that name stole the glint right out of Mack’s eye. He sat back in his chair and took a long pull from his mug.

“Fuck you.”

The poor girl had such a crush on Mack in high school she’d tried to ask him out for almost a year. For some reason she mistook his rough exterior to be some sort of sign he needed the warm and gentle approach. Well, she learned one morning before the first bell just how far was too far to push Malcom “Mack” Ellis.

She’d shown up with a handful of wild flowers from her garden, all tied up with a bow. She’d given them to Mack when she asked him out for the millionth time. But when Mack saw the football team watching the exchange, he decided enough was enough. He’d crushed the flowers with his bare hands right in front of her, and dropped the mangled petals over her head. She never asked him out again.

It was a shitty thing to do, and I knew Mack regretted it. But there wasn’t a man in this house that wasn’t capable of being a dick to women. And in that moment, I needed him to remember that. Because Skylar was too important for him to forget himself and put her in any sort of uncomfortable position.

I rarely fought with my brothers, because nothing ever mattered to me. But she did. And now he knew that.

“Her name is Skylar. She’s my girlfriend.”

“The one from the photos?” he asked, his voice cautious, unsure how I’d feel about mentioning them .

“Yeah,” I sighed, leaning my hip into the counter. “We got scooped on that one.”

“Looked like it.”

“Should be easier to avoid that kind of thing here. “

“I’d imagine.”

Mack of many words. I laughed under my breath, turning to grab another mug for Sky.

“How’s the business?” I asked this question every time I was home, and every time he gave the same response.

“Same shit, new day.”

Hearing the pat reply made me laugh harder today. It wasn’t just the rugs and furniture that refused to change around this place. But instead of bothering me, I found a comfort in it. It made it a lot easier to bring Skylar home, knowing exactly what we’d find when we got here.

My father’s exercise apparel notwithstanding.

“You here all weekend?”

I paused in the threshold, taking another sip of my coffee. “Yep. We fly back Sunday morning.

He nodded, and I thought he was done, when he stopped me short again. “I’m hitting the store later. You coming?”

The Ellis family tradition that had lasted the longest was the last-minute trip to the store. The chaos in the aisles of our local Hannaford less than twenty-four hours before Thanksgiving was the exact kind of madness—and hilarity—that we couldn’t resist. It helped that none of us were planners to begin with, and half the time we only decided the day before whether or not to actually celebrate the damn holiday at all.

“Like I would break tradition?” I was almost offended he had to ask.

“She coming?”

I swallowed another sip, my eyes on my brother as I took a minute to assess his tone. “I think I’ll give her a break from that shit show. Ellis men only. A guys’ trip. ”

Mack rolled his eyes, but I caught the way his shoulders dropped away from his ears. “Fine.”

Back in my room, I found Sky on her tiptoes, trying to read the quote under one of the photos I’d tacked to the wall. The bottom of her shirt had ridden up, and the gap between it and her leggings revealed an enticing stretch of real estate. Soft, round curves, pale, freckle-less skin. I already knew there was no part of Sky’s body I wouldn’t like, but getting this tiny glimpse only confirmed that.

I watched her for a second, in my childhood room, surrounded by all my stuff. The was a vision my younger self would have had a hard time conjuring. Undeniably better than my teenage fantasies.

“It says, ‘It’s a long season, and it’s better to get second than risk crashing.’”

Sky jumped, but then she gave me a knowing grin. “Good old Ricky.”

I handed her the coffee. “Right?”

Her eyes closed as she took a long sip, smacking her lips when she was done. “Heaven in a cup right there.”

“I made it myself.”

“Liar.”

I drew back, offended. “How do you know?”

“Because you would have had about three more scoops in the machine. I grew hair on my chest after that cup at your place.”

I tossed my head back with a laugh. She was probably right. Measuring out the recommended amount took too long, so my method of pouring from the bag made for variable results.

“I’ll go easier next time.”

“My chest and anxiety both thank you,” she winked at me.

There it was again, that promise of a next time, that hint of a future. It didn’t feel like it was coming from the marriage and the binding language of the prenups. It felt like more than that.

“I’ve got plans for us tonight, but I was thinking you might enjoy a little relaxing alone time before then.” I remembered thinki ng a while back that while she was on call for nearly everyone in her life, no one ever took care of her. Hopefully today would show her what that could look like.

Sky was eyeing me suspiciously over the rim of her mug. “What exactly did you have in mind?”

I stalked toward her, holding her gaze. “An empty house. A long, hot bath, and a playlist of your favorites blasting as loud as you want, without anyone else to hear.”

Her eyes lit up. “I do love to blast my music.”

“I know,” I nodded, my face peeling into a wide smile. “You nearly blew out my ear drums the other day on our way to dinner.”

“It’s just better loud. It wraps around you, and you can sing it out. It’s like therapy the way you can just scream the words...” she trailed off as I stopped just in front of her.

“So, does that sound like a good plan?”

“What about you?”

The corners of her mouth turned down, and I reached out to stroke the edge of her lip. “We have an Ellis family tradition to see to.”

Her innate curiosity unfurled across her face. “Oh?”

I leaned close, as if about to whisper a secret. “The grocery store.” When she reeled back with a frown, I laughed.

“What? Who the hell braves the store the day before Thanksgiving?”

“Three numbskulls who’ve been doing it this way for most of our lives.” I finished off my coffee and went to grab my clothes from my bag. “It started out as an accident. The result of poor forethought and a last-minute change of heart. But it sort of stuck. We’ve been those assholes every year since.”

“So I’m just going to stay here?” she asked, more hopeful sounding than disappointed.

“Not only that, Sky. But tomorrow when it’s time to make the traditional feast, you’re just going to watch. No helping, no preppi ng or cleaning. Just sipping your drink and making rude comments about how we’re doing it wrong.”

She chuckled, because she knew I was right, that’s exactly what she’d do. “ Will you be doing it wrong?”

“Wrong is subjective.”

“But people get sick from doing it wrong.”

I tossed a pair of socks at her, and she caught them against her chest. “I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

A slight rise in her eyebrows told me that wasn’t the most convincing argument. But it was true. I’d never felt better, either.

“You’ll supervise. If we look like we’re about to get worms or something, you can step in. Okay?”

That pleased her. “Okay. But know that I’m happy to help. I didn’t come here thinking I’d be catered to.”

“Of course you didn’t,” I said, grabbing my socks as I went to walk past her. “But that’s only because it’s never happened before.”

She smirked ruefully. “And it will never happen again.”

My stomach lurched, the chance to tell her it could if she stuck around was almost strong enough to make me voice the words. But I knew better. Skylar was easily startled. One thing at a time.

With a flick of my wrist the shirt in my hand whipped out, landing sharply on her ass, making her yelp.

“We shall see,” I muttered before closing the door behind me, her fresh irritation like kindling to the flame.