Chapter Eight

 

Dex

 

I’d been thinking about Cora all morning and by lunch I knew I’d never make it through the day without seeing her. I jumped out of the truck, a paper bag from the deli in hand, but I stopped short in front of the glass door when I saw she wasn’t alone.

Bryan-fucking-Johnson. What was he doing here, sniffing around my girl again?

I opened the door and Bryan stepped back, putting some distance between himself and Cora. “Hey, buddy? What are you doing here?”

I wasn’t his buddy and I didn’t have to explain to him why I had the right to see Cora whenever I damn well felt like it. Rein it in, man. Don’t let your temper fuck this up for you again.

“Hey, Bryan.” I forced a smile as I dropped the bag on the table. “I had to bail before I could give Cora that quote yesterday. What about you?”

“I had a couple more questions for her about the job,” Bryan said, watching me scan the messages on my phone like I didn’t have a care in the world. “I promised her a quote yesterday, so I didn’t want to make her wait any longer.”

I chuckled. “We are contractors, after all. It’s not like she expects us to be on time.”

I winked at Cora, relieved when she smiled back. I was playing this right. I could tell she was happy that I wasn’t making a big deal of Bryan’s presence. And it actually felt good not to bust an artery for a change when I saw another dude sniffing around her.

“You brought me lunch again?” she asked, gesturing to the bag. “You’re spoiling me.”

I was just about to make a comment about taking care of my girl for Bryan’s benefit, but I bit my tongue. “I haven’t eaten yet either.” I nodded towards the bag. “There’s plenty, man. If you want to join us?”

“Thanks, but I’ve got to get to another job.” He shook my hand before turning to Cora. “I think I have everything I need,” he said, as she walked him to the door. “And I can promise you’ll get that quote later today.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Bryan.” She locked the door before turning to face me.

“He couldn’t have emailed to ask those questions?” I asked, rolling my eyes. “He had to make a special trip over here to ask you in person.”

She laughed, wagging her finger at me. “I was just about to compliment you on how well-behaved you were, Myers. Don’t blow it.”

“Hey, that reminds me. You kept my name.” I stepped forward, blocking her path. “Why?”

“I was wondering when you were going to ask me about that,” she said, taking a deep breath.

“Well?” I felt bad for calling her out, but I needed to know.

“I told myself I was doing it for professional reasons.” She rolled back on her heels, putting a little distance between us. “But honestly? Cora Myers is who I’d become. I wasn’t the same person I’d been before we got married so it didn’t feel right to take back my old name.”

“Huh.” I smiled as her words sunk in. She was telling me that our relationship had changed her, just like it had changed me, and she didn’t want to go back to the girl she used to be before she met me. Damn. I liked that.

She smiled as her fist connected with my gut, catching me off guard. “Do you have to look so smug about it?”

I grabbed her, pinning her arms as I hugged her, making her sway back and forth as she giggled, trying to break free.

“I thought about what you said last night,” I said, when she finally stopped resisting. “And you were right.”

“I was?” she asked, her eyebrows disappearing beneath her side swept bangs.

“Yeah, you were.” I released her, brushing her hair off her face as I held her captive with my eyes. “I had no reason, no right, to distrust you. The problem was mine, not yours, and I’m really going to work on it.” I raised my right hand. “Scout’s honor.”

“If you were a Boy Scout I’ll parade down the street naked right now.”

Thankfully I hadn’t been. “I mean it, Cor. I get that I was wrong and I want to make it right.”

“You can’t change the past. Neither of us can. All I’m asking for is a clean slate and the benefit of the doubt.” She stood on her tippy-toes to kiss my cheek. “And today was a really good start. So thank you for that.”

Making her happy made me happy, so even if I had to bite my tongue so hard I drew blood, I would. "My pleasure.” I turned in a slow circle. “So, tell me about your plans for this place so I can give you a ridiculously low quote and you can quit stringing those other poor bastards along.”

“Oh no, you don’t,” she said, trying to keep a straight face. “Business is business. You’re going to give me a fair quote. I wouldn’t want your crew to get cheated.”

“I always take care of my crew,” I assured her. “Don’t worry about them.”

She stepped in front of me when I shifted to walk past her. “So you wouldn’t make a profit on the job. Is that what you’re proposing? Because if it is—”

I kissed her because sometimes that was the only way to shut this beautiful woman up. And I’d been wanting to ever since I walked in and saw her wearing skinny jeans, a white tunic tank, and flip-flops. She looked cute and casual, reminding me of all the times we’d lounged around the house watching TV and ordering in.

I missed those days. Not just the sex that inevitably followed our quiet evenings at home either. I missed curling up on the couch with her, holding her hand, sharing a bowl of popcorn, and teasing her about some romantic comedy she was using to torture me.

“I know your angle,” she said, planting her hands on my shoulders. “You were trying to distract me with that kiss. Well, it won’t work. I—”

“I love you.” I grinned when her mouth fell open. “What? It’s true.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. “And you’re reminding me why I fell in love with you. But you’re so stubborn.”

I stole another kiss. “I know. That’s why you’re going to let me have my way, because you know you can’t win this one.”

“But you and your guys do amazing work,” she said, slipping her hands into the back pockets of my jeans. “I wouldn’t feel right taking it at a discount.”

“How do you know we do good work?” We did. I just wanted to know how she knew.

“I may have checked out your website. I hope you’re okay with that? I was just curious, you know, about what kind of jobs you’d been working on.”

“I don’t mind at all. So, what did you think?”

“I was impressed. Even more so by the testimonials from all those happy clients.”

I was glad she’d checked us out. I wanted her to know that I’d built a business I was proud of, something that would last. It was more proof that I wasn’t the same guy she’d divorced. “I intend to add you to that list of satisfied clients,” I said, splaying my hands across her ass. “So, tell me what you need from me and I’ll make it happen.”

She took my hand and led me to her small makeshift work table. “Here are the plans,” she said, handing me rolled up drawings. “They’re just for the restaurant. The apartment is less of a priority right now, since it’s liveable.”

Her apartment needed work too, but I wasn’t going to push it since I hoped she’d be living with me soon.

I leaned over the table, spreading the plans out on the table.

“You look hot when you’re concentrating like that,” she said, reaching around my arm to snag the bag I’d brought. Her breast brushed against my arm and she winked, letting me know it was intentional.

“How am I supposed to get any work done with you looking at me like that?” Not that I was complaining. I’d gladly sacrifice work anytime for a little fun with her.

“Like what?” she asked, batting her long eyelashes.

I laughed. “You know exactly what you’re doing, and if you don’t stop it I’m going to bend you over this table and fuck you so hard you’ll remember it tomorrow.”

“Promises, promises,” she said, biting her lip like a little vixen. “Fine,” she said, when I growled. “I’ll behave. I promise.”

She took her sandwich out of the wrapper and began picking it apart piece by piece. That was another one of her cute quirks. She didn’t eat a sandwich the way most people did, one big bite at a time. She liked to tear it into pieces and pop them in her mouth.

“What?” she asked, blushing when she realized I was watching her.

“I can’t believe you still do that.” I laughed, shaking my head. “You’re so damn cute.”

“As long as you think so.” She shifted so we were standing side-by-side, looking down at the drawings. “So, what do you think? Big job?”

“Not really.” I looked around, visualizing the walls that would divide the open space. Hallway, private office, restrooms, storage room, and kitchen. The bar would be integrated into the restaurant and there would be a hostess stand at the front.

“How long do you think it’ll take?” she asked, popping a bite of her roast beef sandwich into my mouth when I turned to face her.

I smiled around a mouthful of food before walking to the water cooler she had set up in the corner. As I filled a little paper cup and downed it, I had an idea. “You’re probably not going to want to live in a construction zone for four months. You could always stay with me.”

She licked her lips. “You’re not very subtle. You know that, right?”

I shrugged. “Why should I be? I know what I want.”

“You thought you knew what you wanted once before too, but that didn’t work out, did it?”

She was gun-shy. I got that. I wasn’t some random guy she’d just met. I’d been her husband, the man who promised to love her forever and then bailed on her. “You need a little more time, huh?” I shook my head before refilling my cup. “Okay, take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.” And neither was she, this time.

“That’s it?” she asked, fisting her hands on her hips. “You’re not going to try and convince me that my staying with you is a good idea?”

“You know it is,” I said, walking past her to study the plans some more. “When you have a chance to think about it you’ll come around.” I knew as long as we could keep the fighting to a minimum and I could find ways of reminding her how good the good times had been while helping her forget about the bad times, I’d have what I wanted. Her back in our bed every night.

“You sound pretty sure of yourself.”

“Why wouldn’t I be? We both know I’m the right guy for you.”

She slipped under my arm so her body was blocking my view of the plans. “I like this side of you.”

“Really?” I thought she might. “What side is that?”

“You’re confidence in us, I like that. You’re not trying to tell me what to do. You’re letting me decide for myself.”

“It’s your life, baby. Your decision.” I leaned in, kissing her neck. “Just remember when you’re making that decision that there are certain perks that come with this… arrangement.”

“Oh yeah?” She looped her arms around my neck, pressing her breasts against my chest. “What kind of perks?”

“Hmmm….” The rumbling in my throat made her shiver. “Like me getting to lap up your sweetness every damn night.”

She sunk her hands into my hair, tugging on the longish strands. “I do love that.”

“I know you do, baby.” I nipped her bottom lip before soothing it with my tongue while I watched her eyes darken with need. “I know what else you like too.” I wrapped my arm around her waist before pushing the papers out of the way and resting her ass on the table. “You like to ride me like a little rodeo queen, don’t you?”

Her breath was choppy, letting me know I was getting to her. “Yeah.”

“Yeah.” I prodded her lips with my tongue before she welcomed me in, wrapping her legs around me when I deepened the kiss. “And you like it when I tie you up. I haven’t done that in so long.”

“Dex…”

“You’re getting turned on just thinking about it, aren’t you?” I pulled her tank up and popped the button on her jeans before lowering the fly. “You wanna be spread-eagle for me on that big bed of ours, your arms and legs bound while I lick you?” I dipped my tongue in her ear, swirling it before she scratched my back through my t-shirt. “You want to come on my tongue, too—”

“Please,” she whispered, forcing my hands between her legs.

I glanced at the door. “Maybe we should lock that first.”

“I don’t care. I just need your hands on me now.”

I loved how turned on she was, but I wasn’t going to risk someone coming in and catching me getting her off. She was trying to build a professional reputation in this town and I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that for her.

“Hold that thought, sweetheart.” I pressed my finger against her lip, groaning when she sucked it into her mouth and let go with a pop. “I need to get that door.”

“Hurry back,” she whispered, pulling her tank over her head.

It wasn’t ideal. While there was paper covering the windows, the glass door was exposed. Someone could potentially crane their neck and catch a glimpse of that table, if they were motivated enough. But we’d always been spontaneous when it came to sex and I didn’t want to kill that spark with a dose of reality.

I turned the lock and my mouth was watering by the time I got back to her. She’d already stripped her jeans and panties off and was sitting on the table, her legs spread for me. Fuck. She was a hot goddess. The kind of calendar pinup girl horny teenagers and dirty old men jerked off to and she was all mine again.

“I am one lucky bastard,” I said, my voice deep and gravelly as I gripped her toned thighs. “I know I don’t deserve you—”

“Don’t say that,” she whispered, shaking her head. “I’m beginning to think I don’t deserve you. “You’re so… good, Dex.”

I didn’t know if she was talking about the sex or the way I treated her. Either way, I’d take the compliment. I needed to believe that I was finally the man she wanted to make her happy for the rest of her life.

“Let me remind you how good I can be.” I hooked her legs over my hips and twirled my tongue around her nipples while she brushed against the front of my jeans. “I want to slide in here,” I said, holding her tits together as I licked them. “And explode all over you. Mark you as mine.”

Fuck. It was so easy to let my mind go there. To think about all the ways I wanted to possess and claim her. To make her mine again. But she didn’t seem to mind as she cupped her tits for me, inviting me to continue the exploration with my mouth.

“You know what I really want?” she asked, her voice raspy. “For you to go down on me while I return the favor.”

Fuck me. I was going to bust a nut if she kept talking like that. “Sweetheart, we definitely need a bed for that.” And I had back-to-back appointments all afternoon. Business was booming and people wanted quotes. “Tonight maybe?”

“Hmm, I’d like that.”

“But let me give you a little something to take the edge off.” I was still fully clothed and intended to stay that way. If I got undressed I’d never get out of here in time for my next appointment.

I slid two fingers inside of her, pumping just fast enough to get her going. “You like that?” I knew she did. I knew exactly how to get my girl off. “How ‘bout this?” I asked, brushing my thumb over her clit in a circular motion.

“God, l love you.”

My smile spread slowly as I let her enjoy the sensations. I wanted to hear her say those words when she wasn’t on the verge of coming, but that didn’t make me appreciate them any less. “I love you too, angel.”

And that’s what she was, the angel who’d saved my life. If I hadn’t been so angry with myself for letting my reckless lifestyle ruin my marriage I wouldn’t have made the changes that brought her back to me. I could have gone in the other direction… gotten in deeper with the drugs, used whores to ease my pain, drank myself into a stupor. But every time I tried that I’d see her face or hear her voice and it would snap me out of my fog.

“I love taking care of you.” Knowing that I could give her so much pleasure was the greatest high I’d ever experienced. Watching her come for me, knowing that no one else could make her feel the way I could, was my nirvana.

“You do it so good.” Her legs were already quivering as she bit her lip and raised her hips off the table. “Fuck yes.”

I dropped to my knees and spread her wide. Seeing her come wasn’t enough. I had to taste it. She cried out as soon as my tongue touched her clit, but instead of taking her there right away I prolonged her ecstasy, circling the swollen nub with the flat of my tongue before sinking inside of her.

“I’m dying here, Dex.” She pulled my hair, trying to control the uncontrollable. “God, you’re so good. You make… my whole… body hum.”

Her words spurred me on, making it tough to control myself. I was dying to get wet inside of her, but I knew there’d be time for that tonight. In the meantime, I’d let the anticipation build, even if it meant I had to walk around with a serious case of blue balls all day.

She was soaking wet, her juices trickling down her slit as she writhed, desperate to come.

I finally gave in, sucking her clit into my mouth as she shattered. I slowed my pace, still licking her until she was moaning and muttering my name like a curse.

“I can’t… Dex… you have to stop. Please.”

I stood, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand as I gave her a dirty smirk.

Her eyes travelled to the bulge in my jeans. “You have to let me take care of you now.”

“Babe, that’s the best offer I’ve had since… the last time you offered.” I grimaced as I readjusted, knowing the visual she’d just given me would be the only thing I thought of all day. “But I’ve got to get back to work.”

“I can’t let you leave like this,” she said, sitting up and tugging on my shirt to bring me closer. “I need to take care of my man.”

My man. Fuck, I loved hearing her say that. “You can take care of me tonight,” I said, curling my hands around her beautiful face and kissing her.

“This next appointment of yours,” she said, frowning. “It’s not some pretty girl, is it?”

I laughed as I reached for her bra. She slipped her arms through it and I fastened it before dropping a kiss on her shoulder. “You don’t want to know.”

“Who the fuck is it?” she asked, pushing against my chest. “Do I know her?”

“Belinda Markham.”

“You’re not serious.”

Belinda had always had a thing for me. She’d been married for ten years, but that hadn’t slowed her down. Sometimes I thought she dreamed up home improvement projects just to get me over to her house when her husband was at work.

“Actually I am.” I pulled her tank over her head and bent to reach for her panties, sliding them over her feet and up her legs. “We did her basement last year and now she wants a pool house.”

“Did she hit on you then?” she asked. “When you were working on her basement?”

“I tried to be there as little as possible,” I said, scooping up her jeans. “And never alone.”

“But you’re going to be alone with her today.” She gestured to the front of my jeans. “And with that… going on.”

“Baby, I don’t think I’ll still have a hard-on after driving across town.” Though if I kept thinking about Cora’s promise it was a real possibility.

“She’s such a bitch,” she said, standing to pull her panties and jeans over her hips. “She has her own man and she wants someone else’s too.”

My lips twitched, but I was too smart to smile. I couldn’t let her know that her jealousy turned me on. “You have nothing to worry about. I’m not interested in her.”

She sighed as she followed me to the door. “Hey, you didn’t eat again.”

“Yeah, I did.” I winked before dropping one more kiss on her lips. “See you tonight, gorgeous.”

She grabbed the back of my t-shirt, hauling me back. “If she hits on you, tell her to fuck off.”

I laughed “Honey, if I said that to every woman who hit on me I’d have no business.”

She gaped at me, but before she could question it I jumped in my pickup and slipped my shades into place before slamming the door. It was fun to mess with her sometimes.