Page 28 of Take Me Slowly, Part 1 (Aurora Hollow duet #1)

CONNOR

"That was brutal." I threw the washcloth in the sink and went to lock the door behind the last of the patrons. We'd called last drinks an hour ago, but it took that long to get them to leave. The till was overflowing, but I was wiped out.

"Time for a couple hours of sleep before we do it all again," Riley said.

"Fuck." I groaned and ran a hand over the back of my neck. "Yeah."

"You okay?" He looked worried. Like maybe if he poked me with his finger I'd break. He should know better.

"Course I am." I pushed myself off the side of the bar. "Let's get out of here."

"Okay," he said slowly.

"What?" I pushed out the back door and took in a breath of fresh air. Pine and rapidly approaching fall was better than stale beer and sweat. What wasn't?

"I dunno." He closed the door behind him and waited for me to lock it.

Like I always did, I double checked to make sure it was secure, and the alarm was on.

"I'm too tired for bullshit, Ri. If you've got something to say, just fucking say it." He must have been as exhausted as I was. My patience was paper thin.

"It's nothing." He looked away down the street.

"It's not nothing. Come on, spill." I tucked the keys into my pocket and gave him a light shove in the direction of our places.

He staggered half a step before righting himself. "Hey. What the hell, bro?"

"Just some gentle encouragement. What's going on?" A few lights were still on in town, but apart from that it was just him, me and the occasional passing car. "You thinking about Leah's mouth?"

Her sucking him off right beside me was borderline painful. I had just enough self-control to keep myself from losing my load while driving. I wanted to pull over to the side of the road, bend her over and bury myself in her, to the hilt. If I wasn't working at the time, I would have.

"It's hard to forget," Riley said. "She has a talented mouth."

"Better than mine?" I asked. Not insecure, just curious.

"As good," Riley said.

"Then what's the problem?" I asked. "You ready for more?" By the time she left with my sister and her friends, Leah was unsteady on her feet. From the alcohol, not from her arthritis. I was an asshole, but I didn't take advantage of drunk people.

"I'm wondering where she fits," Riley said. "In town, with us."

I stopped him, my hand on his shoulder. "I'm not leaving you for her. This is you, me and her."

"What if she wants more?" His gaze drifted toward where the mountain rose above the town, invisible in the darkness.

"Did she tell you she wants more?" I squeezed his shoulder when he didn't answer straight away.

"She was talking to Josiah Lachance," he said, still not looking at me.

My brow furrowed. Fucking Josiah. That prick lurked around town more than he had a right to. What would it take for him to understand he wasn't welcome?

"Josiah was talking to Leah?" My jaw tightened. I clenched my teeth together, barely containing the urge to punch a wall. Breaking my hand wouldn't help anything.

"Yeah, outside the grocery store." Riley nodded in roughly that direction. "I saw her follow him out."

"Fuck." I exhaled hard out of my nose and forced my teeth apart. "What were they talking about?"

"I didn't hear." He turned his face toward me. "She said something and he got into his truck and left. I reminded her she belonged to us and she…"

"She what?" I pressed.

"She said we don't own her and if she wanted to be interested in him, or someone else, she would."

I'd be first in line to punch Josiah. From the look on his face, Riley would be right behind me.

"She's stubborn," I managed to say, pushing my anger down into a smaller ball.

"What if she does want him?" Riley asked. "Or some other guy?"

"I'm not giving her up," I said slowly.

"She might decide to return to the city," Riley said.

"Did she say that?" I stared at him.

That didn't make any sense. If she had, he should have told me sooner. What would I have done? Confronted her, definitely. Beyond that…

I tried to ignore the stab of panic. Everyone fucking left, why would she be different?

Everyone except Riley. I worried that some day he'd decide this wasn't enough for him.

He was smart. He could go to university and do whatever he wanted with his life.

Sometimes I wondered why he stayed here. The life he could have if he left?—

I shoved the thought away.

"No," Riley admitted. "I think she likes it here as much as we do. But she's a city girl. She might decide a small town like this is too stifling for her. Too, I dunno, small."

"Is that what's eating at you?" I asked. "Is Aurora Hollow too small for you?"

He looked confused. "No. I love it here. I guess I feel like… I dunno, she's tipped everything upside down. I want her, but I don't know which way is up anymore. I don't know if she's going to stick around, or run off with Josiah or some other dickhead. Or leave and never look back."

I hooked my hand around the back of his neck. Brought his face closer to mine. Inhaled the scent of bourbon and leather.

"Since when are you insecure?" I asked, my voice rough.

"I'm not fucking insecure," he growled. "I'm conflicted. There's a difference."

"Sure there is." I brushed my lips over his, once, quickly before letting him go and stepping back.

"Now who's the insecure one?" His eyes shone in the light of a streetlamp behind my shoulder.

I puffed out a breath. "Both of us." I shouldn't care what anyone thought. Shouldn't let it change the way I behaved. Especially when we were more or less alone.

He opened his mouth as if to challenge my words, but then his shoulders slumped. "Yeah. Let's get out of here. Your balls must be blue as hell by now."

"Bluer." I put my hand on his shoulder again and squeezed.

The only sign I could give right now of my feelings for him.

The only one I'd give if we were alone. Expressing emotions wasn't something us mountain men were known for.

The whole gruff lumberjack vibe lived on in us, even though we only chopped wood for winter.

"Poor baby." His tone was lighter now, but not completely devoid of frustration and, in spite of his protests, insecurity. What could I do to alleviate that for him? I had no idea.

My dad was recovering, but he still needed to rest. I should be insisting he retire, or step back from a lot of the work he'd been doing for the last twenty years.

I should be taking that off his plate. But if I did, I wouldn't be there to work with Riley.

Could the business afford another staff member to replace me?

I didn't want to contemplate it. I hated the idea of walking away. Riley might fucking hate me if I did.

Yeah, there was nothing I could do to help his insecurity because I had enough of my own I didn't know what to do with.

I did what I do best. I elbowed Riley and said, "Who are you calling baby, asshole?"

He grunted a laugh, shoved his shoulder against me, then headed on down the road.

"You want to throw hands?" I said jokingly. "Is that what you want?"

"I'm not throwing hands with you," he said over his shoulder. "You're bigger and meaner than me."

"Damn right I am." I trotted a couple of steps to catch up to him, and shoved my hands into my pockets. "Wouldn't want to damage your pretty face anyway."

He turned around and walked backwards, grinning at me. Fucker was cuter than he should have been.

"You think I'm pretty?" He tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and almost fell over on his ass. At the last moment, he saved himself by grabbing a sign post beside him.

"Yeah, you're pretty," I said. "Clumsy as fuck, but pretty." I grinned at him.

He flipped me off with both hands and turned to walk the right way. "You're not so bad yourself."

"For a mean asshole." I toyed with the keys in my pocket while stepping carefully over the crack.

"Yeah, for a mean asshole." He walked beside me in silence for a few minutes, while the town settled further into their beds. Lights turned off until the only ones left were in storefronts and the streetlights.

No cars had passed for a while now. Times like this, I felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. The only sounds were our shoes on the sidewalk, and the breeze as it wandered past, making me shiver.

In a few short weeks, it would start to snow. We'd be busier than ever. It might be time to contemplate another couple of staff, even if I was going to stick around. Invest in a couple of snowmobiles. A few more snowboards.

I wanted to kick something. This was the life I wanted, not running the fucking pub. I shouldn't be looking for more staff for our adventure tours, I should be looking for a manager to take over the Frosty Brew.

I'd get on that right then if my father wouldn't lose his shit.

The weight of his expectations was almost crushing at times.

It threatened to knock the wind out of me, leaving me gasping for air.

Struggling to breathe, like I was drowning.

Being pulled away by the current and tipped over the falls.

Crashed against the rocks and broken into a million pieces.

Sometimes I envied Riley, not having that kind of connection.

Not having anyone forcing him to stay in town.

What would I do if I left here? I didn't know.

I might shove him and Leah into my car and drive.

I didn't care where. Wasn't that how she found this place to start with?

Driving until she found somewhere to stop.

We could do that. See the whole country if we wanted to.

The whole continent. The whole fucking world.

Aurora Hollow was home, but sometimes it felt like a prison sentence. A noose around my neck that I couldn't pull off. If it wasn't for Riley…

I kept those thoughts to myself as we walked past Leah's rental cottage. The place was in darkness. I toyed with the keys again, tempted to slip into her house, into her bed. Into her pussy.

I would, but not tonight. I'd fucked her when she was sober.

I wanted her to remember every second of it.

My skin against hers. My cock sliding into her while my hands pinned her.

I wanted her to watch me come as I lost my release inside her.

I wanted that to be seared in her mind forever like it would be seared into mine.

When I claimed her, I'd do it fully. Then she'd understand how much she belonged to us.