Cori
Now that her door was fixed, Cori gathered her things to head over to the home improvement store. She spent over an hour debating between two different sheds to replace the firewood that was there now. In the end, she went with a medium-size one that resembled a barn and had a window to allow for ventilation.
After setting up delivery for her new shed, she swiftly made her way over to the gardening section. She pored over the flowers, thinking of what would look best around the front porch.
She was in love with flowers of all kinds. She found some beautiful peonies, tulips, and daffodils. Once her cart was full of flowers, she put the necessary amount of soil and mulch in the bottom of the cart. Cori found an open register and paid for her purchases. She couldn’t wait to get home and get started on transforming her yard.
It took almost a dozen trips from her car to the porch to unload her goodies. Then she bounded inside and changed her clothes. Pulling on a pair of cut-off denim shorts and a tank top, she grabbed her gardening tools and started in the front yard. It took her a couple of hours to get the front flower beds the way she had envisioned them. Once she was done, it was beautiful.
When she came around to the backyard, she didn’t think anything of the long white box on the table until she realized it was a flower box. Excitement flooded her. Could they be from a certain grumpy neighbor? She berated herself—there was no reason he would leave her flowers. Absolutely none. She was being ridiculous. But as ridiculous as it was, she still hoped.
She recalled this morning, when she’d glanced out her window and noticed him standing there on his phone in nothing except a towel. She couldn’t take her eyes from his sculpted back. Tattoos adorned his shoulder blades, but the rest of his back was bare. Then, Lord help her, the white fluffy-looking towel slipped from his hips. She’d covered her mouth to keep herself from squealing. The finest ass she’d ever laid eyes on was on display for her viewing pleasure.
He’d continued to play with his phone a few moments longer, the muscles twitching in his legs and butt as he moved his weight around. Cori tried not to drool on herself. She barely managed such a herculean feat, but then she’d realized someone could be watching her watch him. Mortified, she backed away from the window. From a safe distance, she watched him put his phone down and for one brief moment, she’d thought she could see the outline of his penis. There’s no way, she had told herself. That would make it…wow. She hadn’t been able to think straight again until after he’d disappeared.
Shit, if anything, she should send him flowers after that. Ones with large stems. She giggled to herself as she untied the red ribbon from the stark white box. Inside, black roses mocked her, the petals plucked from their stems and lining the bottom of the box. A picture of her accompanied the disassembled flowers. With trembling fingers, she picked it up. It was taken outside of her house. In the photograph, she was wearing the same cut-offs and tank top she had on right now.
There was a poorly drawn red heart framing her image. He had been here today. She dropped the photo back into the box and scanned her surroundings.
She felt like she couldn’t breathe. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her throat tightened up. Every sound commanded her attention. Her eyes searched the yard she’d felt so safe in just moments ago—moments before she knew for a fact that someone had been watching her. Maybe they still were.
Panicked, she ran into the house. She checked to make sure all the doors and windows were locked before she phoned the authorities. She curled herself into a ball in the corner of her couch, her cell phone clutched in her hand in case she needed it. A half hour went by and still no red and blue lights in her driveway. What she did see, however, was Paxton marching quickly up her front porch steps, his hands fisted tightly at his sides. She swallowed hard. It looked like he was back to being Grumpy. She jumped up from the couch and ran to the door, which she opened before he could knock. She stood with one hand on the door, the other on her hip.
“To what do I owe the honor?” she asked calmly, hoping he didn’t notice how shaken up she was.
His arm shot out and snaked around her waist as he whisked her inside, kicking the door closed behind him. She wasn’t sure what startled her more—the thud of the door or his arm wrapped tightly around her. Her breath hitched as his muscled chest pressed deliciously against hers. She had to remember how to speak with him touching her that way.
“What the hell, Tank?” she asked breathlessly.
He stopped with his mouth slightly agape. She realized she had used the nickname his friends used. Was he upset? She really hadn’t meant to; it just sorta slipped out. He twisted her up inside. She didn’t like it. Not one bit.
She wrenched herself from his embrace, snatched a laundry basket full of clean clothes from next to the coffee table, and stomped upstairs with them. She needed to be doing something with her hands before she made an ass out of herself by attacking him. She could feel him following closely behind her.
“Where’s the box?”
She sighed. “I left it where I found it—outside.”
“Good.”
She stopped in the landing. Spinning around, she glared at him. “I’m not stupid, ya know.”
“I wasn’t insinuating you were.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
She twirled on her heel, carrying the basket into her room. The basket dropped to the floor with a thud, and a scream tore from her lips. Turning to run out of the room, she slammed into the hard chest behind her. She buried her face into his soft cotton shirt and inhaled the scent of him, musky and mouthwatering. It was intoxicating even as she held onto him and cried.
“Fucking hell,” he whispered.
His arms enveloped her. Like a cage, she was trapped. It was an amazing feeling to be engulfed in his arms, his scent teasing her nostrils. She felt her core tighten. Paxton picked her up and propelled them into the hallway. Setting her down at arm’s length, he frowned at her.
“No more fucking games, Cori. This shit is serious now.”
Cori knew it was serious. She was the one with a dead animal in her bed. The poor thing had been so thoroughly mangled, she couldn’t even tell what it once was. Blood and tufts of fur covered the sheets. There was no way she was sleeping on that mattress ever again. Her room felt tainted—she had to get out of there.
She pressed her hands to her stomach, hoping it would staunch the nauseous feeling swirling inside of her. “Can we please have this discussion downstairs or even better, outside?”
Paxton shook his head. “I don’t think it’s smart to stand outside for this discussion. Let’s go over to my place.”
“Okay.” She would have agreed to anything to get out of there. He followed her back down the steps and out the front door. She turned back to grab her house keys.
Like he had read her mind, he jingled her keys between his fingers. “I’ve got ’em.” She was so out of it, she didn’t even see him grab them.
She kept herself from running across their yards through sheer will and determination. She didn’t want an outsider to think she’d been shaken. If her new friend was still watching her, she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her spooked. But who was she trying to kid? Spooked? She was terrified.
Paxton reached out, opening the screen door in front of her. She moved to the side so he could unlock the heavy wooden inside door. Cori inched her way inside. The walls of his living room were a creamy gray with white trim. She recognized the slate blue couch she had watched him sleep on just yesterday morning. He shut the door behind them and moved farther into the room.
He sat down on the couch, patting the space beside him. She was nervous to sit so close after the way his touch affected her earlier. She eyed the recliner before telling herself to just sit down. She was being ridiculous. Tentatively, she approached him. She lowered herself onto the soft, worn fabric. Her pulse raced. She wasn’t sure if it was from the fear of someone stalking her or from the memory of being in his embrace minutes ago. She was betting on both.
“How did you know? About the flowers?” She rubbed her hands across the denim of her pants absentmindedly.
“I have friends in the Sherriff’s office.”
Caught off guard by his response, she lifted her gaze to meet his. “Are you a cop?”
“Not anymore.”
Intrigued, she focused on his face. “What happened?”
“Injury. It was a few years ago.” His tone dismissed that particular line of questioning. It only made her more curious. Something she would have to revisit later. Without thinking, Cori reached out, laying a comforting hand on his knee.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Their eyes locked. Her breath hitched. His massive hand covered hers. She felt small and fragile next to him, and she liked feeling that way. Like a cobra, his other hand snaked around the back of her head. He pulled her to him, their lips a breath apart. Butterflies attacked her stomach in droves. A sly, mischievous grin spread across his lips a second before they crashed down onto hers.
Cori’s body came aflame. His tongue pushed past her lips, and spearmint exploded in her mouth as his talented tongue caressed hers. He sucked her bottom lip in between plunges, and she felt that suction all the way down to her core. She instantly wondered if he would devour the rest of her with such enthusiasm. Her panties were completely drenched from nothing more than a kiss—a kiss she feared she would use as a comparison for all future kisses. She couldn’t imagine one better.
She was ready. This man could take her right here, right now, and damn the consequences. Damn what tomorrow would bring. Nothing mattered except this blissfully perfect moment. The anticipation for him to touch her was bound to kill her if he waited much longer…and then there it was. His hand left hers, landing on her hip. She was so consumed her ears began to buzz.
Abruptly, he pulled away. Confused, she watched him pull his cell from his pocket. Oh. So it wasn’t her ears buzzing, but his cell phone. He’d stopped to answer his phone?
He looked as if nothing had happened. What the hell had just happened?
“Yeah?” he spoke into the phone, his gaze fixed on her with an impassive expression.
She needed to put some space between them. “Restroom?” she mouthed.
He pointed down the hallway off the living room. She strayed down the dark corridor until she found the bathroom. Closing the door drowned out Tank’s voice. Leaning back against the door, she touched her fingers to her lips. They felt tender to the touch, like she’d been branded by him. She pushed away from the door and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were slightly glazed and her lips looked red and swollen. She had never been kissed that way before.
She touched her lips again. She was in major trouble. How was she going to get through the rest of the night?