Page 39 of Smut Lovers

Chapter One

Briggs

I t might have been the coward’s way, but I had to skirt the main thoroughfare. Happy as I might be to have come home, no one really knew I was here. The whole point was some peace and quiet, not to be recognized and either getting coddled or more puck bunny nonsense.

Problem being, this place is home, and I miss it when I’m gone. It was late enough that I thought it’d be safe to take a stroll through the familiar streets, maybe even walk the few miles to old-town, where I knew the streets would be emptier because of the burlesque at The Hangman’s Inn.

Unfortunately, the streets were too busy, and it was too hot for a hoodie. Tourists walking through the bars and theaters cut my walk short. Damn, when had this place gotten popular again? Last time I’d been home, which was admittedly five years ago, they were going through a tourist lag.

When Aspen, my lifelong best friend, had asked me to house and dog sit while he took a rare vacation right during my off-season, I’d jumped at the chance.

I hadn’t even told my parents I was coming home yet.

The plan was to surprise them in a couple of days once I’d had some time to settle in and enjoy the quiet.

Of course, I’m so unused to quiet that it got under my skin fast. I’d had the itch to go out and walk.

Aspen’s home gym was good for burning energy, but it didn’t compare to soaking in the crisp mountain air.

I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed it until I’d stepped out of the rental car at Aspen’s place.

I paused in the back alley I’d been skulking through like some creep to take in my surroundings.

If I cut through the between the two buildings a few yards down, I’d only have to cross one more of the streets within the vicinity of the town square to get back to the neighborhood behind.

It was a risk I had to take. I was pretty sure someone had already seen me, but I disappeared quickly enough that, hopefully, they dismissed me as a figment of their imagination.

I’d get back to Aspen’s place, crack open a beer and watch one of his hundreds of movies.

Halfway down the alley, I could see some glittering light.

What the hell was that? I moved closer, staring in confusion at the pristine and wildly bedazzled hot pink cowboy hat perched on top of a dumpster.

I turned a full circle to scan for the person it belonged to.

No one in sight. I didn’t see any sign of vomit on the ground either, which meant my one valid suspicion of some drunk chick setting it down to clear her stomach of alcohol.

Scratch.

“Shit.” Even in the curse sounded musical from the light, feminine voice.

I turned my circle again, then looked up at another scratching sound.

Two legs, attached to a fantastic ass in worn short shorts, hung from a second-story window.

The worn through areas of the shorts revealed peeks of flesh.

The round, firm ass made me hard just looking at it.

Her boots’ toes gripped the wall as the top half of her body emerged. A hot pink shirt suspiciously like the obscene hat wrapped around delicious curves, revealing just a sliver of skin between it and the shorts.

One toe of her cowboy boots stretched downward, then in my direction. “Where did the dumpster go?”

I cleared my throat. The way she stilled, her toe still outstretched, had me biting down a laugh. “Problem?”

“Uh, maybe. Have you seen the dumpster that was right here? I knew it rolled a little, but it sounded like it was only a foot or two.”

“It’s about three feet this way.”

“Could you push it back?”

“Depends.”

She let out a huff of frustration, her body wiggling as she tried to resituate her grip, perhaps even trying to pull herself back up. Dark, wavy hair swung back and forth. “On what?”

“What, exactly, you’re doing crawling out of a second-story window.”

“It’s kind of a long story and really fucking hard to tell when I’m barely hanging on here.” To push herself upward, she braced her toes against the brick wall and readjusted her arms.

“Fine, fine.” I didn’t bother with the dumpster, but stepped under her, grasping her feet to get her to stop.

This building’s location, nestled into the small hill of the new town, meant the first floor was half-submerged.

I only had to reach up half of my arm's length so I could help brace her on the way down. “Come down nice and easy, I doubt I’ll be able to catch a sudden fall.”

Her weight alternated between her feet as her shoulders eased back out of the window. I kept hold of her feet, maneuvering to stand directly below her until her feet hit my shoulders. Unable to resist the temptation, I slid my hands up the boots to curve around her calves.

“What are you doing?”

I grinned at her breathless tone. That, at least, was familiar to me, if helping a possible criminal wasn’t. Getting girls hot and bothered with my touch was familiar territory, it wasn’t usually this simple. “Steadying you. What else?”

“Give me your damn hands. I can get down from here.”

“Is that so?”

One hand waved impatiently in my direction. “Hands.”

I complied, if only so I could finally see the woman’s face. She crossed her arms, grabbed my hands and after a small pressure on my shoulders, jumped down in a twist to face me.

All blood drained from my face with the cold shock of reality that hit when her amber gaze landed on me. Of all the people to run into, it had to be Aspen’s sister. Last time I’d seen her had been when I left for college and she was still a gangly sophomore.

Gangly no more. I scanned from those boots, up her legs, along the curve of her hips, slim waist and breasts I imagined I could cup in my hands perfectly. By the time I finished my perusal and made it back to her features, her painted pink lips pursed in a grimace. “What the fuck, Mo?”

She glared. All traces of her surprise disappeared under the nickname. “Don’t call me that. It’s Moorely, or even Sky. Not Mo.”

“You hated Moorely.”

“Precisely. Hated. When I was a kid. You can’t become a total stranger and act surprised when people change, can you? I know you don’t go by Randy anymore. It’s Briggs, more macho and all that bullshit. Now.” She wiped her hands on the scrap of denim passing as shorts. “I have somewhere to be.”

“Hold on.” I pulled her close before she could finish grabbing the nearby hat. Her soft curves pressed into me deliciously. Gods, when did she get so fuckable?

She stared at me; one brow quirked. “Well?”

I had to shake my head to clear away the haze of lust coursing through me at her proximity. Well, what? Oh, right. “What in God’s name were you doing up there?”

Her delicious lips quirked into a bit of a smirk. “Wouldn’t you like to know? I’m going to be late.”

I didn’t stop her as she twisted her elbow free of my grasp to grab the nearby hat. “I would like to know.”

“Sorry. Mom told me to never talk to strangers.” She disappeared into a gaggle of women that passed the end of the alley wearing similar hats, one glittering white hat in the middle of the group.

What the hell just happened?

It didn’t matter. I should just go back to Aspen’s, keep myself secluded and just visit my parents. That’s what my brain was saying. Another organ seemed to be in control of my legs, because I’m following that group anyway.

Moorely had my interest piqued. I don’t know if it’s because she’s not swayed by my celebrity status on the Chicago Tsunami hockey team like so many puck bunnies. Or if it’s just the forbidden nature of her being my best friend’s sister.

All I knew was my hands still tingled from the feel of her skin as I held her calves. My body felt cold without her warmth pressed against it. I want more, even if Aspen kills me for it in the end.