Page 30 of Down & Dirty (Holden Cove #1)

CHAPTER 30

CORY

“ Y ou’re going to enjoy this, Skylar,” Jake was saying from the back seat as I pulled onto the main road. “It’s not competitive by any means, but it’s a riot watching Mack and Cory try to keep up with a professional athlete.”

Skylar’s eyes slid my way. She’d already picked up on my father’s opinion of my profession, his disregard didn’t sit well with her, but at least she knew it didn’t bother me. Much.

“I don’t know, I think the Ellis brothers might be...” she stalled out, her eyes fixed on the old Jordan farm as it came into view. The yellow paint was flaking off, and the front stoop leaned at an unsettling angle. But with the blue sky behind it and a giant weeping willow out front, I guessed it had a certain appeal. I’d never given it much thought. It’d been vacant and rotting for so long.

Jake leaned forward between the seats. “That place is a real gem. Josh Jordan’s folks raised, what, six sons in that house? It’s got more history than the Heisman trophy.”

Skylar couldn’t stop staring, turning in her seat as we passed the wide-porched, two-story farmhouse with fields rolling away from it like it was perched on an island in the middle of a sea of tall grass .

“It’s like out of a book or something.”

I tugged on her coat, trying to get her to sit right. “Hands inside the vehicle ma’am.” She laughed, swatting me away as she settled back in her seat. “Farmhouses like those are a dime a dozen in these parts,” I covered my mouth as a burp slipped loose, taking the turn into the high school. “We’ve got a titch more history than you West coasters,” I said, holding up my hand and pinching my forefinger and thumb. She reached to snatch it out of the air, but when she missed, she leveled me with a look that was anything but impressed.

“Not all history is good history.”

At that moment I had a very current example to offer. “I know. I shouldn’t have had that extra turkey leg,” I mumbled, sliding out of the rental car with a groan.

“I told you, you were being a glutton,” Jake said from behind me, closing his door with a hearty laugh.

“But it was so good.”

I held out my hand to Sky and she took it like it was habit. Like this thing between us wasn’t fake or new. Like that was where it belonged. We’d slipped into a space in the last few days that I’d never known before. And it felt fucking amazing.

She jostled our hands, a sweet grin spreading across her face. “It was delicious.”

The Ellis men had cooked for her all morning, bringing her refills on her drinks like a queen. She’d laughed every time one of us doted on her. Especially Mack. His scowl never lifted, but I could see the way he shook his head, as if he was holding it in. Why the guy couldn’t just let himself go was beyond me. But I’d stopped fighting that battle years ago.

“You already griping?” he asked, walking toward us from his truck. “Planting the seeds for why you’re going to play so bad.”

I balked. “We’re not even on the field yet and you’re giving me shit?” I shook my head. “We’re on the same team!”

Mack sniffed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I’ll trade your ass in a heartbeat if you wuss out on us. ”

Spotting Grady across the field, I gave him a wave. He was standing beside his friend, Joey Jordan, a county sheriff, and Joey’s brother, Cash. The three of them had kicked our asses last time and I wasn’t in the mood to get another year of bullshit texts.

“Where’s Jesse?” I asked, feeling my competitive nature starting to kick in. I’d never cared about winning anything but motos for years, but when this tradition started up again after Grady got traded back to a nearby team, I’d enjoyed the chance to mix it up.

Mack looked at his watch. Jesse Montgomery was one of the guys on his construction crew that had become a good friend. He was rarely late.

“Right there,” Mack said, cracking an uncharacteristic smile as he pointed across the lot. Jesse was jogging toward us, his big goofy grin visible even from the distance.

It sucked that Beau wasn’t there. But he’d missed enough of these games over the years that Jesse was happy to fill in. Plus it gave Jesse’s brother Hank, and Suze, Hank’s daughter, some time to do their own thing.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” Jesse said, breathing hard in the frigid air.

“Jesse, this is Skylar,” I said, my arm around her shoulders.

“Nice to meet you.” He offered her a warm smile. “If I’d known there was going to be a cheerleading squad I’d have asked my girlfriend Tara to come.” He laughed, and so did I.

I knew Tara Harris, and she was a hardcore athlete. Being called a cheerleader would have offended her as much as Sky, who stiffened against me.

“I think we both know they’d have taken over the game and kicked all our asses, before they’d have pulled out any pom poms.”

Jesse laughed harder, giving Sky a sheepish look. “Just kidding.”

“It’s okay,” she said, closing her arm around my waist as we started for the field .

Playing three on three wasn’t easy. It was man-to-man defense and unless your quarterback was fast on his feet, the ball never moved down the field. But Jesse was quick. And he had Mack to buy him time. Which left me to receive.

We’d gotten an early lead, but then Joey Jordan tossed a hail Mary pass the length of the field and Grady outran me to catch it. I stopped short, watching him sail into the end zone and sucking at the air.

“What’s wrong Drafty?” Grady asked, wearing a smug grin as he jogged casually back to me. “Can’t keep up?”

“I think you barely tying up the score would indicate otherwise.”

Grady barked out a laugh. “Yeah, but you look pretty winded there. Sure you have it in you to get the lead back?”

I straightened, enjoying the inch or two I had on him. “Don’t you worry about me, Hollywood. My stamina is just fine.”

He dipped his head, laughing under his breath. When he looked back up, his eyes drifted past me, to where Sky and my father were sitting on the sidelines with Joey’s wife, LeAnn.

“Should I ask her for confirmation on that?”

I followed his eye line, a smile cracking across my face the minute I saw Skylar. She was leaning over to look at something on LeAnn’s phone, her head nodding along like they hadn’t just met an hour ago.

“Not if you still want the use of both arms,” I replied, my eyes never leaving Sky.

“Come on, she seems like she could take a joke.”

“Drop it, Grady.”

He paused, and I thought he was going to listen for once. But then he smacked my shoulder. “Holy shit, you haven’t slept with her yet.”

I let out a sigh, my breath finally even. “No. We’re still new. I’m not in any rush.”

“Man. I never thought I’d live to see this day. Holy fucking shit. ”

He sounded so shocked, I turned to see his wide eyes trained on me and his mouth hanging open in a bewildered grin.

“What?”

“You. You’ve never so much as hinted at being serious about a woman before. Like, the real deal. But you’re gone for this one. I can see it all over your face.”

Since when had my friend gotten so soft? “I’ve liked plenty of women, Grady, come on.”

“No, you haven’t. You’ve enjoyed them. You’ve accepted them and whatever they offered you. But you’ve never given a shit whether they stuck around. You’re not in any rush now? You brought her home? Man, that’s big.”

It was big. It was massive. And even though I hadn’t really known just how big when I’d invited her, I did now. It wasn’t just about getting Sky away from the team, or California, or work. It was about this place. Being back didn’t hurt so much with her next to me. And I had never been happier. I knew it was only a couple of days, but Grady was probably more right than I’d ever admit to him; I was gone for her. But I was also gone for us , and before her, I’d never even considered the possibility of being an ‘us’ with anyone.

“You two Nancys gonna play or start a fucking knitting circle?” Mack called from midfield.

“I’m happy for you,” Grady said when I didn’t reply. I didn’t need to; he knew me well enough. His voice lowered as we headed toward the others, “I hope it works out.”

“Thanks,” I said, keeping my head down. “Me too.”

The next play, Mack gave me a nod and I knew it meant he was going long. I pretended we were going to run the ball again, and then as he stepped back, I turned and started to race down the field.

But my top speed racing down the field is like Grady doing a warm up. He was on my heel as Mack let the ball fly and I lost sight of where I was. I searched the sky above me for the ball, but just a s I was about to catch it, Grady caught up to me, and with both arms around my chest, took us to the ground.

I hit first, with his body landing on top of me, crushing me into the frozen earth. At first, I couldn’t breathe, but then when I did, a pain in my back shot through me like a spear and I rolled on the ground, grabbing fistfuls of frozen grass as I groaned.

“Shit, Ellis, you all right?” Grady scrambled to get off, but stayed on the ground beside me.

“Fuck,” I got out, pounding my fist as I tried to catch my breath.

“I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean to take you down like that.”

I laughed, realizing too late the foolishness of it. “Sure you did, fucker. You hate to lose.”

Grady sighed with relief. “Like you don’t?”

It had to have only been a second, but suddenly I felt a soft hand in my hair, and warm breath on my cheek. “Cory, are you okay?”

It was Sky. The distress in her voice made it sound shrill, and I crawled toward her.

“I’m fine,” I exhaled shallowly, wrapping my hand around her leg as I rested my head in her lap. “Just taking a little rest.”

“He told me earlier that he though the field looked cozy. I think he just wanted to test it out.” Grady was joking, but when I finally opened my eyes to look at him, I could see the concern on his face.

The pain was already evening out, so I knew this wasn’t as bad as before. “I’ll be okay. I just need a sec.”

“I’d give you all day, if you’d have caught the damn ball,” Mack said, from somewhere behind me.

And damn it, even knowing it would hurt, I laughed again. “Next time throw it better and I will.”

Jacob appeared next to Grady. I realized everyone was gathered around me, and I didn’t like it. The only reason I didn’t force myself upright was because Sky’s fingers were still in my hair, and that was the single point of comfort in my body .

“Catch your breath, and then let’s get in one more down before we call it,” Jacob announced to me and everyone else, using his steely authoritarian voice as if he was the ref for the game. I hadn’t heard him take charge in a long time, but judging by the grin on his face, he was enjoying himself.

The others began walking away and I sighed, staring up into the most beautiful face I’d ever seen. “Hey gorgeous.”

Sky’s expression was still creased with worry. “Hey handsome.”

My mouth dropped open, all pain momentarily forgotten. “ Now I get a nickname? It took me breaking in two to finally get one?”

She exhaled harshly, looking to the sky in exasperation. “How do you know I haven’t called you all sorts of things in my head?”

I reached up, stroking my thumb across her cheek. “I’m quite sure you have. And I bet they’d make a sailor blush.” She turned, kissing my palm, and my back suddenly wasn’t the only thing that ached. “But I like this one, so feel free to use it anytime.”

“I think I can do that,” she said, combing her fingers through my hair again.

When she licked her lips and looked down my body, I knew she was still worried. I wanted to put her mind at ease, but the truth was I was nervous myself. My back had been healing and getting stronger, but that hit had landed me wrong, and even though I didn’t think a trip to the ER was necessary, I was a little scared to get up.

“Ready to try and stand?”

I closed my eyes, taking an unsteady breath. “Sure.”

She rubbed my chest, bringing me back to her. “Let me help, okay?”

I outweighed Sky by almost a hundred pounds, but her simple request rushed through me like a wave of hopeful adrenaline, and I nodded.

Together we got me sitting upright and the daggers in my back started to fade as soon as I wasn’t flat on the ground. A minute later I was standing, working to catch my breath again, as she draped my arm across her shoulders.

“You’re not seriously thinking about playing more?” she asked, looking up at me incredulously. No need to ask her if she thought that was a good idea or not.

“I think I can deal with Mack being pissed at me more than I can if you are. So, no. I’ll bow out and let them decide who wins this round.”

I didn’t like to lose, but I had other things on my mind. The most pressing of which was staring up at me with an appreciative grin and her hand slipping under the hem of my shirt.

“I’m okay,” I reassured her as she started to come around the car to help me back at the house. The pain had dulled considerably, thanks to the heated seats warming up the muscles. “I think a heating pad and you playing with my hair some more will do the trick. Fix me right up.”

I winked at her, but from the top of the porch steps, she glared down at me, unamused. “While I do think I have magic hands, you need more than that. You could hardly breathe back there.”

I’d hoped she hadn’t seen how bad it was. I trusted Sky, but any comment about my back around the team or coaches could start a ball rolling downhill I wasn’t going to be able to stop. I considered telling her that I needed to keep this under wraps, but pointing that out would only send up a flare, drawing her attention—and curiosity—to my busted body even faster.

I started up the stairs slower than normal just to be careful. “I promise, it was just a rough hit. I’m fine.”

“You look it,” she muttered with a smirk.

I handed her the house keys, and leaned against the rough log siding while she opened the door, thankful Mack would be taking Jake back to his place to watch the game once they were done at the field .

“Is this the first time you’ve hurt it?” she asked as we stepped into the warm house, the fire in need of a fresh log.

I considered my answer carefully, trying to find the best way to be honest without giving too much away. “No, but it’s already feeling better.”

She nodded, her expression earnest. “Okay, so what do you usually do?”

“Sky, it’s fine.”

“I saw the look on your face, it wasn’t fine,” she said, her eyes wide with concern.

I rubbed my hands down her arms, trying to ease her fear. “I promise you, it’s nothing. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“You promise?” she asked, bargaining in her tone.

“I promise,” I repeated, feeling a sharp jab of guilt. My busted back wasn’t nothing. But it was nothing she needed to worry about.

“How about I run you a bath, and then we put you on a heating pad.”

I sighed, considering that a win. “Sure. And the hair playing?” I asked, flattening the humor out of my expression as best I could.

Sky closed her eyes, fighting for strength. “Sure. I’ll braid it for you, okay?”

I wasn’t exactly sure how she’d do that, but it sounded lovely. Anything with her hands on me sounded divine.

Sitting on the bed while she got the water running, I almost laughed at how quickly our roles had reversed. She came back into the room, rolling up her sleeves, one hundred percent focused.

“Shirt off,” she said, flicking her fingers at me.

I raised my arms over my head, grateful it didn’t hurt more to do so. “This is not the way I imagined this going the first time,” I confessed with a playful grin. Skylar stripping me naked for any reason was not unwelcome, but I would have liked to be doing the same to her, if you know what I mean. But my disappointment was al leviated by the way she rolled her lips inward and her eyes dropping to the floor. “You either, huh?”

Sky stared at me, hesitation churning alongside the same desire I felt every time she was near me. She didn’t answer, but after she helped me tug my shirt over my head, she stepped in between my legs and her fingers landed on my bare shoulders. She trailed them up my neck, cupping my face and lifting it to hers.

“No. But like you said last night, we’ve got time.”

I wrapped my hands around the back of her thighs, yanking her toward me. She giggled, biting her lip.

“We’ve got time now.”

“You’re broken.” Her bottom lip stuck out in a pout that only made me want to kiss her more.

Those words coming out of Skylar’s mouth felt a hell of a lot different than they did when the doctor said them back in Maryland. He’d been wrong then, just like she was wrong now.

“Not the parts we need to work.”

She took a handful of my hair and gave it a tug. “Get in the bath, handsome.”

It wasn’t fair, her using my nickname now, making it impossible to argue with her. The sound of it, spoken even stronger than before, rang through me like some sort of elixir. As if this woman didn’t already have enough power over me.

She left me to turn off the tap, and throw in some Epsom salts, and I managed to get my pants off. In nothing more than my boxers, I leaned into the doorframe, crossing my arms over my chest as I watched her.

“You don’t have to do all this.”

She froze, holding my gaze as she came toward me. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“You have enough people to worry about, Sky. You don’t need to take care of me.” My pulse ticked up; as much as I wanted to do that for Skylar, the reverse wasn’t something I had much experi ence in. It felt like something it would be dangerous to get used to.

“I take care of the people that matter to me, Cory,” she said, frowning. “And that includes you now.”

I was fighting to steady myself, but everything about her threw me off balance. She stopped just in front of me, her hands landing on my chest, and I wondered if she could feel my heart pounding under her touch.

“Now, get in while I go make some tea.”

As soon as I lowered beneath the surface of the water, I knew Sky had been right. My whole body started to relax, tension and soreness easing out of me like the steam rising into the air.

But the real painkiller wasn’t found in a bottle or a bath. She was about 5’8”, with icy blue eyes that stole my breath as much as they made my heart race. Just thinking about Sky, helping me up, cradling my head in her lap, it made my chest too tight. It scared me how much her presence was affecting me, but I’d never let fear stop me before. And I wasn’t going to start with her.

“You decent?”

I looked down at my cock, distorted by the water, but still half-hard. “Yep.”

“I brought you tea,” she said, slipping into the room, her eyes well averted. “And a beer, because I knew the tea was a long shot.”

As she leaned to put the drinks on the floor beside the tub, I darted my arm out, catching her by the thigh.

“Stay.”

She swallowed, her eyes fixed on mine, as she took a shaky breath. “You need to soak.”

“So, soak with me.”

In a split-second slip of her control, Sky’s eyes flicked to my lap, her mouth snapping shut before she tilted her head to the ceiling.

She was trying so hard to deny it, but I could feel the way the room s hifted, the pulse of desire drawing us toward each other. “Come on. Get in here with me. We’ll be good.”

She leveled me with a stare that told me just how much she believed that. But I could see the same heat in her eyes. We’d gotten cut short last night, but the fire we’d lit was far from out.

Trailing my fingers up the seam of her pants, I flicked the button of her fly open. She stood stock still, her chest rising and falling on deep, measured breaths, her eyes never leaving mine. When she didn’t tell me to stop, I slowly tugged the zipper down, tooth my tooth. The sound of it was the only one in the room, and when my cock twitched with anticipation, Sky’s eyes shot to the ripples in the water.

“Take them off.”

Looking back at me, Sky slipped her pants down and stepped out of them, putting her sexy red thong at my eye level, and just about making my head explode.

“Good girl.”

Her cheeks pinked, and I licked my lips. My girl liked a little praise. That was fucking lucky.

“Now, the shirt.”

“Sure you don’t want to do it?” She cocked a brow at me, but she was already yanking it over her head.

A laugh rumbled out of me, sloshing the water over my chest. “Smart ass.”

She gave me a wide grin, proud of herself. “Smart everything.”

“Don’t I know it,” I sighed, leaning my head back against the wall to take her in. Perfect tits, hardened to a point beneath a silky red bra. An ass just calling out for my fingers to dig into it, and a pussy I already knew was going to taste like fucking heaven.

My eyes trailed over her body with greedy abandon, elation coursing through me at finally getting to feast on the sight of her. I cupped her hip with my hand, skimming it over her side and up toward her ribs, spotting a long scar just below them .

I scowled, a spike of unease at the painful looking mark. “What’s this from?”

“Fell out of a tree.” She shrugged. “Took a branch in the side on the way down.”

“Jesus,” I said, covering it with my hand and tugging her toward me. “No more trees.”

Her laughter was like music, her fingers sweeping my hair from my forehead. “No promises.”

But we had made promises. Hadn’t we? Contracts and a marriage. Legal promises. But none of those mattered now. Not with Sky literally in my hands, every cell in my body aching to take her. Not with her looking at me like she wanted that too.

“Get in here, gorgeous.”

She did away with the last scraps of fabric covering her, and I bit my lip to keep from groaning like a goddamn animal. She was better than every fantasy, every wet dream, every naughty dalliance my imagination had taken in the last three months. Those shower hand jobs were fucking nothing compared to the woman who was dropping into the other side of the tub.

“You’re too far away,” I said, hearing the roughness of my voice as I fought the urge to stroke myself. She was driving me insane, and she knew it, a smug grin on her face as she watched my control fray.

“How’s your back feeling?”

“Like it needs your legs wrapped around it.”

Shaking her head, she dug her teeth into her bottom lip, and the last tether of my sanity snapped.

I grabbed her behind the knees and hauled her into my lap, water sloshing all over us. My lips landed on her neck as she let out a startled cry, but it quickly turned to a moan, when I cupped both breasts, twisting her nipples between my fingers like I had the other night. Her back arched, thrusting those sweet tits into my hands as her pussy grazed over my cock.

“You ready for this gorgeous?” I whispered against the shell of her ear .

Taking fistfuls of my hair, she tugged me back far enough to look into my eyes. “Don’t stop.” Her words were airy, but clear, like she thought the spell might be broken if she said them any louder.

I ghosted my lips over hers, clamping my arms around her to stem the longing that rocked through me at the desperation in her eyes.

“Not my style,” I said, giving her a cocky grin to cover the lie. I didn’t have a style when it came to someone like Skylar. I’d never been here before.

The thrum of her racing heart against my chest brought me back. I twisted my hands in her hair and tilted her head, sucking a line down the column of her throat. She tasted like salt and smelled like mint and I dug my teeth into the crook of her neck. I wanted her so bad.

With a bruising kiss, I tucked Sky’s knees next to my hips, slipping my hands beneath the water to grab her ass. She mewled, her hips rocking as I kneaded, my fingers pressed white against her skin. I was lost to the sounds she was making, the way her tongue was tracing the rim of my ear. I was so distracted, a shudder ripped through me when her delicate fingers closed around my shaft.

“Fuck,” I gasped, my body so keyed up from wanting her for months that the slightest touch sent me spinning. She stroked me from root to tip, and I bucked in her hands. “That feels so fucking good, baby.”

She did it again, rubbing the tender spot beneath the tip. My forehead dropped to her shoulder, as I struggled to breathe.

“Like that?” she asked, the words scraping out.

“Yes,” I groaned, my thighs bunching beneath her.

I snaked my arm under her, tracing the edge of her slit with one finger. Her hands tightened around me in response and I did it again.

“I’m going to take you right here in this tub, gorgeous. We’re going to make a fucking mess and it’s going to feel so damn good neither of us will be able to walk tomorrow.”

Sky sucked on my neck, her tongue rolling over my pulse as it beat against the skin like my heart was trying to escape. Her nails scraped through my hair, and she nodded before finding her words.

“I’m on the pill, and haven’t been with anyone in...” she trailed off, and I laughed.

“I trust you and I’m clean, but,” I leaned back. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, please don’t stop.” She rode my hand, still tucked up against her under the water and I growled as desire glowed in her half-lidded eyes.

With one motion I lifted her hips, and settled her higher on my chest, reaching down to notch myself between her legs. I wanted to thrust up into her, to sink into that plush heat I’d dreamt about. But I paused, kissing her long and deep, savoring the press of her breasts against me, the feel of her fingers caressing my face. There was no rush, save the urgency coursing through both of us, and taking that extra second to drink her in sank like a blade between my ribs; being with Sky was so good it hurt.

Without breaking the kiss, she slid down, sheathing my cock inside her, the walls of her pussy already quivering.

“You’re so fucking tight,” I groaned as she wriggled her hips, trying to fit the last few inches. Water slopped over the edge as her brow pinched. “Go slow,” I whispered, combing her hair behind her ear. “I’ll fit.”

She looked at me doubtfully, but when I reached between us, stroking over her swollen clit, her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open.

“That’s my girl,” I said, rubbing her in a rhythm, until her hips started to move, and her slickness eased me in the rest of the way. My breath stalled in my lungs. “You feel so fucking good, Sky.”

“You feel better.”

She tilted her hips, grinding into my hand and stroking my cock a t the same time, and I’d never been so close to coming after one pump in my life.

“Ride me, baby.”