My heart thundered in my ears as I kissed Corina. Her arms moved over my arms and wrapped around my neck, drawing me closer to her body. It felt like an eternity passed as we kissed, until we both needed to breathe.
Leaning my forehead against hers, I whispered, “I’ve missed you so much, dove.”
Corina drew back and gazed into my eyes. A single tear slipped from her beautiful baby blues. I gently brushed it away.
With a breathtaking smile, she placed her hands on my chest. “What took you so long?”
“I was a fool, plain and simple.” I chuckled, gently running the back of my hand down the side of her face. “I swear to you, I’ll never hurt you again. Please believe me when I say that.”
Her hands grabbed at my chest as she took a shaky breath. Her eyes were screaming that she wanted to say something, but she looked down for a brief moment before gazing back into my eyes.
“I believe you, Mitch.”
Placing my hands over hers, I laced our fingers together. “You know I’m going to mess up.”
She giggled. “I know.”
“Can we make a promise to each other right now that if something bothers us, or we’re unsure, we’ll talk about it and not jump to conclusions.”
Corina nodded. “I like that promise.”
Squeezing her hands, I kissed her on the forehead. “So do I. Now, let me show you the house before we get some food.”
We walked toward the house, hand in hand. Never in a million years had I thought want something like this, but I did…and, most importantly, I wanted it with her. Every time I thought of Corina, my mind wandered off in a million hopeful directions.
Stepping on the porch, I watched Corina look around. “It’s huge! I can totally see a porch swing with some rockers sitting out here.”
I made a mental note. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to be sharing this house with her. I wanted it to be perfect in every way.
I unlocked the door and we headed inside.
“Oh my!” Corina gasped. “It’s so true to the time period.”
“The previous owners were the original owners. They never changed a thing. When Mr. Robinson passed last year, his son came in and had everything restored, but made sure to keep it exactly the same. The wallpaper in here…”
I led her into the parlor.
“It’s the exact same pattern. He took a piece of the original wallpaper and had it reproduced. It was important for him to restore the house to look the way it did when he grew up. The colors, the fixtures, the flooring…everything is either original to the house, or a reproduction.”
Corina took everything in. “Did they open this wall between the dining and living?”
“It was built with stained-glass doors originally. Seems like Mr. Robinson was the first to come up with the open floor plan.”
“I’d say,” Corina replied with a chuckle.
We toured the rest of the house and ended up on the second floor back balcony.
“Wow. Look at the view.”
“It’s pretty,” I admitted. “Not as pretty as Amelia and Wade’s place, but still good.”
She turned to me and tilted that pretty little head. “I think it’s perfect.”
I placed my hands on her hips and drew her a little closer. With a grin, I replied, “Good, I’m glad you think so. I really hoped you’d like it.”
When her teeth sank into her lip, I had to keep myself from dragging her in for another kiss. “Hungry?”
“I am starved! All that ice skating worked up an appetite.”
With her hand in mine, we made our way to my truck. Opening the passenger door, Corina paused before getting in.
“Mitchell?”
“Yeah?”
She worried her lower lip before those beautiful blue eyes met mine. “I didn’t mean it when I said I hated you that night in the club. I was angry, and I shouldn’t have said that.”
My throat grew thick as I placed my hand on the side of her cheek. “I’m the one who needs to be apologizing for being a complete and utter asshole.” I took a step back. My heartbeat quickened, and I knew I had to tell her the truth. I didn’t want anything false between us.
“Corina, I need to tell you something.”
Her smile faded, and she looked away. I was pretty sure she knew what I was about to say.
“Cassidy?” she asked, not looking at me as she spoke.
Fuck. How did she know?
“It was only once, and it was last February, and I felt like a complete jerk for doing it.”
The way her breath hitched made me feel sick.
“We weren’t together, Mitch. You shouldn’t feel like that.”
“I do, and it doesn’t matter because it wasn’t fair to you or her. I couldn’t get you out of my head and all I wanted to do was get it over with once it started. It meant nothing, and if I could go back and undo it I would, you have to believe me.”
Her head lifted and she pinched her brows together as she held up her hand. “Wait. You only slept with Cassidy that one time? You haven’t…I mean…you haven’t had…”
Her eyes fell to my dick before snapping back up.
I shook my head. “No, I haven’t slept with anyone since then. It’s the longest I’ve ever gone without sex, and believe me, I’ve thought of taking you in every position I can think of. I’ve rubbed my cock practically raw thinking about you.”
Her mouth dropped open and that sweet and beguiling smile moved across her face. She hit me on the chest. “You are so bad, Mitchell Parker.”
“Want me to tell you some of the positions?” I asked with a wiggle of my brows.
She licked her lips, and I knew she wanted to play along with my naughty game. Corina Miller might have been innocent, but after spending one night with her, I knew she had a naughty side that was begging to come out.
“If I say yes?” she asked.
“I’ll tell you one.”
“Just one?” she asked, her cheeks blushing. It made her look adorable as hell.
“Just one.”
She looked me over from head to toe before piercing my eyes again. “Okay, tell me one.”
“Reverse cowgirl, in a canoe.”
Corina stood there with a stunned expression before she busted out laughing. “What? You lost me with the canoe!”
I shrugged. “Don’t you think it would be kind of hot to have sex out in the open? Plus, think about the rocking of the canoe.”
She pulled her lower lip into her mouth before she bit down, causing my dick to jump.
“I’m sure you, of all people, have had sex in public before,” she said.
“The backseat of my truck doesn’t count.”
She snarled. “Note to self: never have sex with you in the back seat of your truck.”
I moved closer. “What if I got a new truck? Would you do it then?”
Her chest rose and fell as I narrowed my gaze to her lips. “Maybe.”
I smiled. “Really?”
“Um, Mitchell. I haven’t had sex since last fall and all this talk of positions is starting to make me a little…um…”
With a tilt of my head, I stared into her eyes. “Horny?”
Corina closed her eyes and whispered, “Yes.”
“You want me to take care of that for you?”
Snapping her eyes back open, she opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
My hand moved to her jeans and when she didn’t stop me, I unbuttoned them. Her entire body trembled when I ran my finger along the edge of her panties.
“Jesus, do you have any idea how fucking sexy you are, dove?”
She shook her head as I pulled her jeans down and slipped my hand into her panties. I let out a long, low growl when I felt how wet she was.
Moving my mouth to the side of her head, I whispered into her ear as I pushed my fingers deeper inside of her. “I can’t wait to hear you scream my name when I make you come.”
Grabbing the truck to hold herself up, she whispered, “Oh God.”
I moved slowly at first, fighting with everything I had not to take her right there.
“Mitchell,” she cried out as I picked up speed and pushed another finger into her tight pussy.
“That’s it, dove. Let it go.”
Her body shook, and I could feel her pulsing on my fingers. She was close, and I knew just the thing to push her off the ledge. “I want to bury my face between your legs and taste you, baby.”
“Oh God!” she cried out.
Moving my mouth closer to her ear, I whispered, “I can’t wait to make love to you, but baby, I need you to come. Now.”
“Mitchell…I’m coming. Mitchell!”
The sound of her calling my name was almost more than I could take. I’d been waiting so fucking long to hear it. When I pushed on her clit, her body trembled again. This time she grabbed onto me and held on with everything she had. When I no longer felt her pulsing against my fingers, I slowly withdrew them.
Corina’s chest rose and fell with each labored breath. She watched as I brought my fingers to my mouth. That beautiful mouth of hers fell open. I smiled while sucking hard on my fingers.
I let out a moan before gazing into her shy expression. “Look at me, dove.”
She did as I asked. Our eyes locked, and I drank every single second of it before leaning down and kissing her. Corina wrapped her arms around my neck. The kiss nearly brought me to my knees. It was soft and filled my body with a warmth I’d never experienced before. This woman was my everything.
When I withdrew my mouth from hers, I rested my forehead against Corina’s.
“I’m sorry it took me so long. I swear to make it up to you every single day.”
Corina let out one of her sweet innocent giggles before crinkling that cute little nose of hers. “That was a nice start.”
Laughing, I kissed her forehead. “Come on, dove. Let’s go eat.”
Music came from the bar as I knocked on the door. Less than thirty seconds later, the door unlocked and I followed Cord in.
“What’s the big emergency, Mitchell?” Cord asked, walking over to the bar. A pile of receipts was laid out on the surface.
“Corina and I are together.”
He stopped and looked at me. A huge smile took over his face. “No shit? It’s about damn time.”
I grinned. “Yeah, well, I was a stubborn asshole.”
“I’ll second that.”
As I turned, I saw Tripp walking from the back offices. “Define together.”
He reached for my hand, and I quickly shook it. “Well, we haven’t slept together and that’s why I’m here. I need advice from both of you and this is one time I don’t want to go to Dad for it.”
They both laughed. Tripp jumped onto the bar and spun his baseball cap around. “You mean you don’t want to ask Dad how long you should wait to sleep with the woman you’re in love with.”
I nearly choked before letting out an awkward laugh. “I’m not in love with Corina. I care about her…a lot. But love? Hell, we only spent one night together and that was almost a year ago. I feel something, but I’m not ready to call it love.”
Tripp and Cord looked at each other. “You don’t have to be having sex with someone to fall in love with them, Mitchell,” Tripp said before taking a drink from a bottle of water.
“Can you let me get used to the fact that I actually want to be with one woman first?”
Cord chuckled. “Yep, you’re in love.”
Rolling my yes, I turned to walk away.
“Okay, okay. Stop. We’ll cool it with the love talk,” Tripp said. “But, Mitchell, I do need to tell you that Corina has already told me she’s in love with you.”
I could feel my cheeks burn as I smiled.
A look of horror moved across Cord’s face. “Jesus, you’ve turned into a fucking pussy! If this is what love does to you, no thank you. I’ll keep my bachelor ways.”
Tripp slapped Cord on the back. “Dude, your life is going to turn upside down when the right woman comes along.”
He huffed. “Well, I’m certainly not going to stand here with a damn Smurf-looking smile on my face.”
“Smurf?” I asked with a chuckle.
“Yeah, you know the little blue people.”
I looked at Tripp, and he shrugged his shoulders.
“I know who they are. Why did you pick Smurfs?” I focused back on Cord.
Cord stared. “I don’t fucking know, dude. They’re happy little creatures who are full of love and all that shit. That’s what you look like with that goofy smile on your face. Like a Smurf.”
I pulled my head back. “I look like a Smurf?”
Tripp laughed harder.
“Fuck you, Mitchell. You know what I mean.”
Laughing, I replied, “I don’t. Should we call Smurfette and ask her? And if I look like a Smurf, does that make you Grumpy Smurf cuz, well, you see where I’m going with this?”
Cord shot daggers at me. “Don’t you have someone to arrest or some shit?”
Placing my hand over my holster, I looked at Cord as seriously as I could. “I don’t know, have you spotted Gargamel and Azrael?”
Tripp fell back on the bar, laughing. I couldn’t help but join in while Cord shot me the finger.
“I hate you both.”
Hitting my brother on the back, I jumped over the bar as I sang, “la, la, lala, la la” and helped myself to a beer.
“First off, it’s Sunday and I’m off,” I said. “I don’t arrest people when I’m off.”
Cord rolled his yes.
“Second, I really do need y’all’s advice. I don’t want to fuck up again with Corina. Last night we stayed up nearly all night talking. She ended up falling asleep on the sofa, and I didn’t have the heart to wake her up so I sat there beside her for the rest of the night sleeping sitting up.”
“Wow,” Tripp said with a slight grin. “Papa Smurf would be proud of you.”
Cord groaned.
I grinned before rubbing the back of my neck. “Yeah, my neck is killing me. I bet I only got an hour of sleep.”
Cord smiled. “I take having her in your arms was worth the lack of sleep.”
I could feel my grin turn even bigger. “Let’s hope I don’t have to go arrest anyone, I’m so damn tired. But, yeah, it was worth it.”
“Alright, listen,” Tripp said. “I don’t feel like spending my whole morning off with you two, so here’re my thoughts. Take it slow. Don’t push her into anything to make up for lost time.”
“I agree,” Cord said.
I looked back and forth between my brothers, nodding. “The no sex thing I had already planned on. I want Corina to see that’s not all I care about. I mean, we started out doing that and look where it got us. So, you think I need to date her, show her how much she means to me?”
“Yep, that’s what I think,” Tripp echoed.
“What if she wants sex?” Cord asked.
I shook my head. “Yeah, I thought about that. She was sort of hinting about sex last night. I did the only thing I knew to do.”
“You ran?” Cord asked with a smirk on his face.
“No, dickhead. I made popcorn and put a movie on.”
They looked at each other before laughing their asses off. When they finally stopped, Cord jumped over the bar and reached for a bottle of whiskey. He poured himself a shot and drank it. “Jesus, dude. Don’t put me down for love. I’d like to keep my man card.”
I reached for my cowboy hat and shot Cord the finger. “I cannot wait until the day a woman walks through that door and knocks you flat on your ass.”
As Tripp and I headed for the door, Cord shouted, “That’s never gonna happen! Ever!”