“You have great shower pressure,” Forest says, coming out of my bedroom in nothing but a pair of gym shorts. His hair is damp and messy, but Lord, had I known all those muscles were hidden beneath his clothes, I think I would have dragged him into the shower with me.
“Good—” I clear my throat, tearing my eyes off his impressive chest and turning my attention back to the documentary I started watching. “Good to know.”
“What are you watching?” Forest asks, taking a seat on the opposite side of the couch. Lucy is curled up next to me and lifts her head from my lap to stare at Forest before she lays her head down with a gruff.
“Earth at Night in Color, but we can watch something else.”
“This is fine.” He props his long legs on my coffee table, getting comfortable. “Has Lucy been let out?”
“Yeah, and I fed her.” I yawn, scratching her neck.
“Tired?”
“Yeah, a little, but it’s too early to go to bed.” Today has been emotionally and physically exhausting. I’ve wracked my brain trying to figure out who would do such a horrific and disgusting thing. I have no enemies; I only have a few friends here, and I can’t see anyone back in Kansas City coming all the way out here to attack me. None of it makes any sense.
Forest stands and moves in front of Lucy, easily picking her up and sliding her to the other side of the couch before taking a seat and pulling me into his side. “This is better.”
Instinctively, my hands move to his bare chest, but I force myself not to explore his hard muscles. He’s warm, and smells like a mixture of my floral soap and himself, and it’s so intoxicating.
Forest continues to caress my skin, while we watch TV and my eyes grow heavy. I don’t know when I fell asleep, but sometime in the middle of the night, I wake when Forest lifts me from the couch.
“Where are you taking me?” I mumble, half-asleep.
“To bed.” He kisses the top of my head before setting me on my bed. “I’ll be back.”
“Okay.” I nod sleepily, pulling the blankets back and diving in. I’m almost asleep when Forest pulls back the blankets a few minutes later and slides in, his arm wrapping around my waist and dragging me across the bed, curving his body around mine.
“This okay?” he whispers, kissing the skin behind my ear. Giving me a choice means more than he knows.
“Yes,” I breathe out, my body waking up as his hips press into me, and I can feel his cock, hard and long, pressed against my backside. My stomach doesn’t just somersault, it’s tap dancing with excitement, and I must have let out a whimper because his hand squeezes my hip.
Slowly, his hand slides beneath my shirt and rests on my stomach, his fingers spreading across my smooth skin. Every nerve in my body is screaming for more, calling out to him, demanding him to touch me more.
“Forest,” I murmur into the darkness, not sure how to ask him for what I want. His fingers slide under the elastic of my shorts, causing my core to light up, coming alive with desire.
I shut my eyes tight, waiting for him to push forward, but he doesn’t move. “I want to touch you.” Finally, his fingers slowly move down to my panties.
“I want you to touch me,” I plead, arching to bring his hand closer to where I want it. His fingers slide beneath my panties and over the bare lips of my pussy, and I let out a moan, grasping his forearm when his fingers slip through my folds.
It’s been years since I’ve been touched, and it’s as if all those years of neglect has been bottled up inside, ready to be unleashed when he slides inside me. My back arches, a loud moan leaving my mouth when his other arm slides beneath me, going around my chest and holding me tight against him as he works his fingers in and out of me, each thrust feeding the fire that burns low in my belly.
I lift my hips and press into his hand while he pumps faster, my pussy convulsing. “Jesus, you feel amazing,” he groans against my neck. His thumb starts to circle my clit in sync with his hand, and it’s like an explosion of pleasure spreads to every nerve ending, turning the fire in my lower belly into an inferno. I can’t stop from screaming his name as I come apart at the seams.
My head falls back against his chest as I pant, sweat slick on my skin while my whole body trembles.
“Damn, that was beautiful.” He kisses my temple, sliding his fingers out and I whimper at the loss. I try to turn and face him, feeling completely content and ready to return the favor, but he holds me tight. “Tonight was about you.”
“But—”
“Shh,” he cuts me off. “You need your sleep.”
“But—”
“Please. I just want to hold you.” Forest nips at my ear.
“Okay.” I sigh, snuggling deeper into his embrace. “Good night.”
“Sweet dreams, babe.” He kisses my neck and I drift off to sleep.
* * *
“Locklyn?” I hear Forest call out as he comes through the front door.
“Out here,” I say from the patio where I’ve been catching up on some work in the mid-afternoon sun. Forest wanted me to go with him while he purchased a security system, but I needed to get some things done around the house. At first, I thought he was going to push, but instead, he made me promise I keep my phone close while assuring me he’d be back in a few hours.
“We have company.” He comes to the patio carrying a giant box under his arm.
“Company?” I close my laptop and peer inside.
“Hi.” Lily waves behind her brother. “I hope you don’t mind, I tagged along.”
I glance at Forest, who looks mildly annoyed. “No, not at all.”
“She’s going to grill you.” Forest shakes his head as Lily squeezes by him.
“I am not.” Lily rolls her eyes, taking a seat in the Adirondack chair next to mine. “I just want to get to know her.”
“Be good, I like her,” Forest warns, then leans down and places a kiss on my forehead. “Warren and I are going to setup the security system. Do you need anything before I get started?”
“Wine?” Lily pipes up, looking at me with a mischievous smile.
“I have beer.” I bite my lip when Lucy races towards us.
“That’ll do,” Lily says, holding her arms out. “Hey, Lucy Lou. How’s my fur niece?”
“Two beers, coming right up.” Forest ducks inside and returns not long after, handing us our beers and giving Lucy some attention before returning inside, leaving me alone with his sister.
I got to talk with Lily a little yesterday while Forest and Warren worked with the forensic specialist. I was nervous but learned pretty quickly she’s a lot like her brother—easy to talk to and friendly.
“I hope you know these guys are going to set up a state-of-the-art security system. You won’t be able to sneeze without some kind of alarm going off,” she teases casually, popping open her beer.
“Great,” I groan, letting my head fall back against the chair.
“It’s the same system Warren setup in our house.”
“How long will it take to set everything up?” I ask. Lucy loses interest in scratches from us and wanders off.
“A couple of hours. I hope you have plenty of beer.” Lily lifts her beer and taps mine that I pop open. “How is your clinic doing?”
“It’s doing well. I was worried I wouldn’t have any clients, but I’m slammed with appointments,” I tell her before taking a sip of my beer.
“That’s great. I know Peak Valley has needed a vet for a while now. The closest one is in River Bend, and no one wants to go there unless they have to.” She leans back, propping her legs up. “This place is beautiful.”
“Thank you.” I look out at the pond where Lucy is exploring. “I like it here. Now it’s peaceful.”
“Oh my gosh, those brothers were horrible. I can’t imagine living so close to them. They weren’t terrible to you, were they?”
“They mostly left me alone, but I had a few scares,” I admit with a frown. “They killed my swans.”
“No.” Lily reaches for my hand. “I’m so sorry. Does Warren know?”
“Probably not, and besides, I can’t prove it was them.” I glance over my shoulder, peering into the house where Warren and Forest are pulling out security cameras, floodlights, and other gadgets, placing them on my dining table.
“You should tell him. Especially after what happened yesterday.”
“You think? It was so long ago…”
“It can’t hurt. Does Forest know?”
“Yeah, I told him. He offered to buy me new swans.” I roll my head and grin.
“Ah, that sweet,” Lily coos. “I’m glad you met my brother.”
“I’m glad I met your brother, too. I know it hasn’t been that long, but he’s pretty great,” I reply, unable to hold back a giant smile. I can’t think about Forest without my stomach somersaulting.
“He is pretty great, and he really likes you.” She picks up her beer and takes a sip. “We should get lunch together sometime. I want you to meet my friend LeAnna.”
“I’d love that.” I smile, feeling content despite the stress and fear from yesterday.
Lily and I talk easily, sharing stories and getting to know each other better until Forest and Warren moved outside to install the exterior security cameras and floodlights. We enjoyed giggling at the men climbing on ladders, arguing over the correct way to use a drill. A few hours later, we say our goodbyes and exchange numbers before Forest shows me the crazy amount of cameras, motion detectors, and outside lights they installed, inside and outside my home.
“Lily wasn’t joking; I can’t sneeze without the alarm going off.” I rub my cheeks, staring at the tv with all its different camera views.
“You think this is too much? I didn’t think I got enough.” Forest frowns, peering down at me. “I don’t have any cameras covering your dock.”
“Do we need a camera on the dock? You have the motion detector light?”
“Still… We’ll talk about it later.” Forest pulls me into a hug.
“Will we now?” I wrap my arms around his waist.
“If anything more happens, I want you to think about it. If not, we can keep it like it is. Does that sound okay?”
“Sounds great.” I prop my chin on his chest, peering up at him.
“Did you have a good time with my sister?”
“I did. You two are a lot alike.”
Forest chuckles. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It is.”
“You hungry?”
“I could eat, but I have nothing to cook. I didn’t get out to the store today.”
“Colson Brewery or Connie’s Diner?”
“Connie’s Diner. I need some comfort food.”
Forest releases me from the hug and slaps my ass. “Get your shoes on. I’m starving.”
“I’m going. Sheesh, so impatient.” I laugh and head for my bedroom, completely miffed by good fortune.