Whiskey and Country

And so many things I wished I could tell the woman beside me if we were alone in this office.

“Mama crying,” Jack said. “No cry, Mama. Surprise. Be happy.”

We all laughed at his words. Using the pad of my thumb, I wiped the tears welling in her eyes and moved closer to kiss her lids.

“God, I love you right now. So much. Let’s do this,” I said. With my free hand, I pulled her for a kiss. “I want this. With you too.”

“Do you wanna think about it?” she asked.

“No, this is perfect. It feels right. I can’t wish for any better scenario. Us owning the farmhouse together. As a family.”

Dahlia sniffled, and I placed my hand on her leg above the knee, unable to resist touching her. Cementing the bond we shared. The leap of faith we were about to take together.

“Mama sad,” Jack said.

I shook my head, nuzzling his neck until he burst out laughing, relishing the sound. “No, your Mama is happy, little guy. And so am I.”

Jack’s gaze drifted between his mother and me.

“Mama happy?”

A smile spread on Dahlia’s face when she leaned back and bobbed her head the Jack style. “Yes. Mama is happy,” she echoed. “Mama is where she’s supposed to be. And Mama loves Nick. And Jack.”

Jack clapped his hands, giggling. “Mama loves Nick,” he chanted. “Mama always kisses Nick.”

“Yes. And we’re all moving in together.”

* * *

The next morning, I woke up early, showered, and made coffee while I studied the papers making me a homeowner for the first time in my life. Pride poured out of me. Like a complete idiot, I couldn’t stop smiling. Dahlia met me and circled my waist from behind, resting her head on my bare back.

“Did you sleep at all?” she asked.

I swiveled in her embrace. “I did. Because when you’re in bed beside me, I sleep like a baby.” I planted a kiss on the tip of her nose. “You?”

“Oh, I slept perfectly.”

With a quick gesture, she stole the caffeinated beverage from my hand and brought it to her lips with a grimace.

“I can’t understand why you’d drink that.” A chill ran through her. “It tastes awful. Tea is much better.”

I twirled a loose strand of her hair around my finger, my eyes traveling down her body, admiring her naked thighs where my shirt reached just below her bottom.

I was right that night, a while back, when I told her my clothes fit her better.

With my free hand, I fished the mug of tea I prepared for her and placed it in her hand.

“Here.”

Dahlia’s grin widened.

My hand ventured under the shirt, stroking the soft flesh of her lower back, moving in circles, molding her ass cheek to my greedy hand.

Dahlia gasped.

“Careful. This thing is scorching hot,” she said, gesturing to the mug in her hand.

“It’s even better,” I said, smoothing her lips with mine. “Are you able to stay put while I explore these delicious inches of you?”

“Nick—” My name sounded more like a whimper coming through her lips. Her eyes turned darker, gleaming in the morning light. “Please—”

“Please what?” I asked, my voice now more like a growl.

Dahlia caught a breath, her eyelids fluttering close. “Nick, I—”

I removed the cup from her hands and discarded it on the counter with mine.

“Fuck, woman, you’re already wet,” I grunted as my hand reached between her trembling legs, tracing the moist seam over her panties.

“Take me here,” Dahlia ordered. “Now.” She wouldn’t need to ask me twice. Her tone had lost all playfulness. She had become a puddle, and I hadn’t even touched her the way I craved. “We gotta christen this house.”

“We did just that yesterday before going to bed,” I said with a crooked smile, images of last night coming back to me. Bedroom. Bathroom. Walk-in closet. The staircase.

“Yeah, but we haven’t done it here yet.”

“What about before?”

She shook her head, her voice a shuddering whisper. Yes, my woman was passionate and irresistible. Just the way I liked it. “It doesn’t count. We weren’t owners back then.”

“Woman, I’ll never get tired of listening to your super smart naked ideas.”

My nose skimmed the column of her throat, and Dahlia shivered. Yes, I’d never get tired of this.

Weighing next to nothing in my arms, I placed her on a stool, yanked her panties down her legs, and let my sweatpants billow at my ankles. With both hands, I flipped her until her back faced my front, and angled her until I could spear into her, my hardened flesh burning for her.

A moan broke the silence, followed by a guttural sound coming from my core. The feel of my steeled cock sliding between her velvet lips almost shattered me on the spot.

“Oh Nick,” she said, turning her head and sealing her lips with mine. I swallowed every sound leaving our hungry mouths.

We waltzed together, our bodies in sync.

Dahlia’s nails dug into my skin when I pushed deeper inside her.

I shucked my pants away and peeled her shirt off when she twirled around in my arms. After I repositioned her, I glided my pulsing lower self back into her warm channel. My home in our home.

With a fistful of her hair, I tugged her to me, kissing the life out of her.

Time stopped.

With my palm, I caressed her flaming cheek, losing myself in the lushness of her irises.

“I love you,” I murmured, so entranced by her beauty, her wisdom, her whole being, unable to look away.

Dahlia held my gaze for an entire minute as we admired each other, welding our connection for the rest of time.

I pounded a little faster, a little harder. She arched her back in response, and I devoured her neck, my hand supporting her back to keep her upright.

My heart broke free.