Dirty (16 page)

             
They were still. Conjoined together by passion for a moment in time. His cock still pulsed and was still hard and large, but his breathing was starting to even. Her fingers slithered through the sweat between his pecs.

             
His forehead lowered to hers. “Being inside of you is a fucking pleasure overload. I’ve never experienced anything like it before.”

             
“I’m glad because I like you inside of me.”

             
“Your heat drives me insane.” His warm hand clutched her jaw. “I’m an animal with you. I lose all control.”

             
She kissed his palm. “I love it. I don’t want to be treated like a doll. I want to push you to the borders of your s
anity.” She threw his thoughts back at him.

             
He chuckled. “You’re dangerous.”

             
“So are you.”

             
God, looking into his eyes she knew she was already gone. She loved him. Wanted him forever. His touch felt natural—like he’d been part of her all along. When they were connected it was like she’d found the other half of herself. With Travis and Reese it had just been sex, mostly to appease them, but Sawyer was so attuned to her needs she doubted if he’d ever let her go without satisfaction.

             
“What?”

             
She smiled. “Nothing.”

             
“I asked you if you wanted another orgasm.”

             
“I didn’t hear you.”

             
“I’m aware of that. What were you thinking so hard about?”

             
“Just about how amazing our connection is.”

             
“It’s pretty amazing—life altering I’d say.”

             
Life altering.
“It refuses to be ignored.”

             
He dropped his lips to hers and kissed her sweetly. Against his lips she mumbled, “Did you say something about another orgasm?”

             
He giggled.

Chapter 10

             
For the rest of that week Courtney saw Sawyer and the girls every day. She was in love with a capital L. He was starting to accept her help where he wouldn’t before, even letting her provide take-out dinner. The evenings had been great, but the nights were on fire! Every night, after the girls were in bed, they’d share his bed, and then she’d leave in the wee hours. She yawned. Her nightly activities were starting to take their toll, but she and Sawyer hadn’t decided the best way to discuss their relationship with the girls. She’d see him tonight, but on Saturday she was keeping Ryder. She’d promised they’d make pizza using the wood burning oven Dad had just had constructed on the porch
and
binge watch Marvel movies. Her eyes felt heavy just thinking about all of that activity.

             
As planned, on Friday she went to Jessica’s volleyball game while Sawyer took Riley to a twirling competition. Riley was awful with a baton, and despite Courtney’s expert tutelage of her routine, she still failed to complete it without dropping the baton several times. The girl was stubborn though—she had that going for her. Riley was desperate to make the cut and she’d probably spent more than thirty hours practicing during the evenings this week alone. Courtney had the fingers of each hand crossed—one for Riley and her routine and one for Jess who on this Friday night was about to serve the game point.

             
Holding her breath, Courtney watched as Jess geared up for her serve by bouncing the ball, testing its buoyancy. She held the ball in the palm of her hand and then tossed it in the air, jumping to smack it with her fierce palm. Wow, the girl had some serious power. The ball sailed past the opposing team’s six players, no one attempting to return the serve. The white rubber bounced just inside the boundary line and cheers filled the auditorium. Jess was encircled by her teammates. They’d won and she’d delivered the winning point.

***

             
Sawyer watched his little sister finish off a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. He couldn’t believe Jessica was growing up so quickly. She was fast on her way to becoming the Westlake Bulldogs volleyball team's MVP and she was going to go shopping today to pick out her dress for the winter dance.

             
He didn’t know how he felt about her attending a dance at the age of thirteen with a boy. At least it was Dallas Garner taking her to the dance and not anyone else. He’d observed their interaction at church. The boy was deathly afraid of girls, and Jess could be very opinionated. He chuckled thinking of the time Dallas had worn a white Don Johnson Miami Vice era suit to church one Easter. Jessica had asked him if he’d gotten a job on a cruise ship. The boy had turned as red as a tomato. Satisfied that Jessica would be okay with Dallas, he asked her to follow him into his bedroom. 

             
“How much do you think it’ll be for the dress and shoes?”

             
“I don’t know.”

             
He pulled five twenties from the box under the bed. “Here.”

             
Jess took his offering, her eyes widening as she counted. She peeled off two twenties and pushed them into his chest. “I’m sure I can make do with less.”

             
Sawyer pushed her hand away. “Take a hundred just in case. If there’s any left you can bring it back.” He laughed, doubting there would be.

             
“Thank you, Sawyer.” She wrapped her arms around his waist. “I love you.”

             
His palm on her back, he returned the phrase, “I love you.”

             
Since Courtney was taking the girls for the day, Sawyer was free to work and, as luck would have it, there was plenty of opportunity.

             
At the construction site he dug sewer lines for the new restaurant and thought about how nice it was to have help with the girls. This past week he’d cherished not only the physical help, but also having another adult to confide in and talk with. Sensual memories came to mind. Memories made after the girls had gone to bed. He missed Courtney every minute that he didn’t have her beside him. Wondering if they’d have time for a
nap
in his bedroom, he decided he’d become one of those fools in love. He didn’t mind…he’d be her fool again and again.

***

             
Saturday night Sawyer ordered pizza and he and the girls convened around the coffee table as Riley loaded
Princess Diaries
into the DVD player.

             
“Can we watch something else?” Jess pleaded. “You’ve picked that stupid movie for your last three.” She held Levi in the air and touched her nose to his.

             
“I think it’s more like her last five picks.”

             
Riley stood and held the DVD in the air. “It’s my turn to pick and I pick this.”

             
“How much was everything today?” Sawyer asked. Riley took Levi from Jess, content to dress him in the T-shirt provided by Courtney.

             
“I don’t know. A lot I think.” Jess scooted her butt forward on the couch, and then slid her hand into the pocket of her jeans. “Here.”

             
He took her offering. “Why didn’t you use the money I gave you?”

             
“Courtney put it on her credit card.”

             
“But I wanted to pay for it.”

             
Jess shrugged. “I tried to give her the money, but she wouldn’t take it.”

             
“Well I’d like to pay for it so I’ll give her the money directly.”

             
Jess turned anxious eyes on him. “It was a lot of money, Sawyer.”

             
“How much?”

             
“I don’t know exactly, but the shoes alone were over three hundred dollars.”

             
“Three hundred dollars for shoes?!”

             
She frowned. “Courtney said she wanted to pay for it.”

             
“We can’t accept it.”

             
“Why not?”

             
“How much for the dress?” Maybe he could buy her the dress. “Six hundred.”

             
“Oh Jess, you’ll have to return those items to Courtney.”

             
She stood. “No!” She screamed through her tears, her face red-hot.

             
Riley left the room with Levi in her arms and Sawyer wished he could do the same. He hated arguing with either one of them. For the most part they all got on well, but occasionally they’d have it out. “We’ll get you something else just as nice.”

             
“I don’t want something else, I want what she gave me.”
             

             
“I’m sorry, Jess, I’m going to return those items to her.”

             
She ran out of the living room. A few beats later the door to her room slammed shut. He leaned forward on the couch and rested his elbows on his knees. Running a hand through his hair he thought about the woman with the platinum hair and eyes so blue he could see the world reflected in them. Why had she gone and spent so much money on a poor girl from east Baton Rouge? He’d never be able to provide for Jess like that once Courtney was gone. And she’d inevitably leave once she found out his father’s permanent address at the federal correctional institution.

             
The night was lost and Sawyer was exhausted. He turned off the television and DVD player. He’d go grocery shopping tomorrow after church.

             
On Sunday Jess spent the first half of the day in her room feigning a headache to get out of going to church, so he and Riley went alone. By one o’clock, Jessica’s headache had miraculously taken a turn for the better and they returned home to find she’d moved her pouting to the couch where she currently channel surfed in her pajamas.

             
“I’m going to run to the store and get sandwich stuff. What kind of chips do we want today?”

             
“
Barbecue
!” Riley yelled.

             
“Jess?”
             
“I don’t care.”

             
“So I’ll just get you salt and vinegar.”

             
“I hate vinegar!”

             
“Then you do care.”

             
She stormed off in a huff and on cue a door slammed in the distance. He and Riley stood in the living room, stunned.

             
“Maybe she could just keep the dress but return the other stuff.” Riley shrugged.

             
“I can’t pay six hundred dollars for a dress.”

             
“I know. You wouldn’t have to.”

             
“Riley, come over here and sit next to me on the couch.” She complied immediately. “Do you understand why it would be wrong to accept those items from Courtney?”

             
“They cost a lot of money.”

             
“That’s right, they do, but that’s not the only reason we can’t accept them.”

             
“What’s the other reason?”

             
He sat with his fingers steepled and thought carefully about how he’d relay this next bit to his younger sister. “We are not six-hundred-dollar-dress people. To wear the dress would be like putting a lion in an ostrich costume. Beneath the costume, he’s still a lion, not an ostrich. Instead of hiding behind the ostrich, he should be proud of who he is and where he comes from. He doesn’t need a costume.”

             
Big brown doe eyes blinked up at him. “Maybe the lion just wanted to have a little fun doing something he may never again get the chance to do.”

             
His baby sister had just delivered a master line. He kept playing it over and over in his head, analyzing the intent of her message.

             
“I’m starving. I think we have hotdogs.” She went into the kitchen, leaving him with dropped jaw on the couch as he contemplated his next move.

***

             
All night Sawyer tossed and turned in bed. He finally got up to use the restroom and realized he’d not charged his phone in quite a while.
Where had he even left it?
In the dark, using the light filtering in from the street, he walked through the house in search of his phone. He found it in the dollhouse, and then remembered Riley had been using it to text with one of her friends.

             
He set it on the charger, noticing a text from Courtney that had been sent around two o’clock.

             
Hey, what’s my favorite trio up to? Miss you.

             
xoxo

             
The dress and shoes would be returned to her tomorrow. Somehow he’d have to let her know she couldn’t buy things for them—something she’d been doing quite a lot of lately.

             
He sighed, hoping their talk would go well and she’d accept the clothes without much ado. For some reason he didn’t think she’d give in easily. He should return her text, but he didn’t know what to say. He was annoyed—
should he text that?
Unsure, he decided to leave it until tomorrow.

             
The next day around ten o’clock he stood just inside the door of Greystone Realty. He’d only been inside the place once before and he surely hadn’t committed it to memory then, given that his blood flow had been between his legs. The place was bright and modern. He looked around for Courtney, but found Perla instead.

             
“Well hello, sailor! What can I do for you today?”

             
She was so weird. “I’m looking for Courtney.”

             
She pointed a finger at him. “I thought you might say that.” She pushed her red-framed glasses up and then yelled, “Courtney!”

             
Jesus, he could have done that.

             
“Goodness Perla, how many times have I asked you not to yell?” Courtney came around the corner holding a steaming mug of coffee. When her eyes caught his, her frown turned into a full smile, “Sawyer, this is a nice surprise.”

             
He was nervous and didn’t want to reveal the reason for his visit in front of Perla.

             
“Is something wrong?” Her blue lasers cut him to the bone with their intensity.

             
He turned, walking toward the door. “There’s a lot wrong.” Exiting the shop, he heard the shuffle of heels on cement.