Keep It Together (16 page)

With her, he was a puddle. He was full of adolescent giddiness just thinking about her. He was the horny teenager who couldn’t wait to see and touch the girl of his dreams so he could feel that rush again.

Stepping into the shower and standing under the hot spray of water didn’t do anything to curb his need. There were only two things that would do that. One of those options wasn’t available to him at the moment, so masturbation it would be. Without it, he wouldn’t be able to get through his meeting.

One hand wrapped around his dick, one braced on the black marble wall, he lowered his head and closed his eyes. Water sluiced down his shoulders and back, and his palm was slick against his cock as he jacked off with singular purpose.

Horny teenager, indeed. He couldn’t stop thinking of the way Chrissie’s hips fit against him. He couldn’t stop thinking about how she mewled and whimpered as he ate at her pussy the first time, sucking on her through the lace of her panties. He couldn’t get it out of his head, the way she felt, how she closed around him when he slid inside her. She was made for him. No doubt in his mind. Her body molded to his. Her scent drifted inside him, and every time he inhaled, he could still smell her.

The feel of his own hand was nothing compared to the feel of her fingers, her mouth, her cunt. He could only imagine the tightness of her ass when he got inside it.

Anal was such an incredible high. He loved the way a woman’s ass could choke down on him, and Chrissie had such a beautiful one. Full and round. The idea of spanking her bottom while fucking it…

Cum splashed against the marble wall and slid down the drain. Rope after rope until he was spent, his legs threatening to give out, his skin sensitive where he stroked.

He washed his hand and finished off his shower. He’d mentioned anal sex to Chrissie their one night together, and she had seemed curious, intrigued. He intended to test that curiosity when he saw her later tonight. If his instincts about her were correct, she’d come to love it and crave it just as much as he did.

Dressed in his best suit, charcoal to match his hair with that brilliant blue tie that Amber said drew attention to his eyes, Colt grabbed his phone and his keys from the counter. With any luck, the next time he walked through the door of his penthouse, he’d be officially engaged.

He checked his watch as he stepped into the elevator. The board would be assembled by now. Amber would be going over the sales figures for the store in Savannah one final time; then he would make his presentation of how he saw things being put into action.

He’d install a handpicked management and marketing team on-site for the foreseeable future. He knew it was possible that he was overdoing it with high-level staff, but those he had asked to make the trip, to invest some personal time in Savannah and to meet customers face-to-face, had been thrilled. Everyone in the company was just as willing as Colt was to do whatever was necessary to do to make Corners Cookies a success in this new venture.

Since Colt had taken over the company, he’d visited every department, learned everything from the ground up. He spent time learning how to bake and package the cookies, examined the distribution channels, talked to the marketing people, got into the nuts and bolts of the business from the beginning to the present. He wanted and needed to know all the ins and outs. It was the only way he could present any new ideas that would hopefully turn Corners Cookies back into the powerhouse it had once been.

He would make sure this worked. He would be as hands on as anyone else and if that meant he had to get his hands dirty cleaning and painting the storefront or wake up at the crack of dawn to go in and bake the cookies himself, he would. This was his baby, and it was beyond important to him.

All his notes were in his phone, and he could call up any figures or documentation he needed and upload it to the company server, but that’s not how he generally conducted these meetings. He was, as Amber pointed out, personable and good with people. He connected and created bonds, relationships, something he could comment on or ask about to let them know they were more than just people who worked for him. That was his gift, his talent.

The smile on his face was natural and open when he walked into the conference room. It was barely seven in the morning, but this wasn’t the only meeting he had before he could leave for Savannah and Chrissie.

What would she think of him if she could see him in his business element? He was casual and relaxed, and he spoke with confidence because he believed in the company, in the changes he’d helped instill and that would be taking place for years to come. If Corners Cookies was to make it another twenty or thirty years, then change had to be undertaken.

“Do you think we will ever have one of these meetings when the sun is up in the sky rather than still trying to decide if it wants to rise for us or not?”

Colt heard the question asked by one of the senior members of the board and laughed. At least they were in a decent mood. “Good morning, everyone.”

Chapter Eleven

“Colt? You here?” Russ called out.

“Yeah. I’m in the back. Hold on.” Colt emerged from the kitchen area of the store. “Glad you could stop by.”

“No problem. I got done with my meeting early, and the restaurant is just down the block from here so we can walk.” Russ glanced around. Up to the ceiling. Down to the floor. Colt stood behind the built-in counter and watched his brother. Russ had an eye for detail that rivaled anyone Colt knew, including himself. He also had an incurable curiosity. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “What is this place?”

“This,” Colt replied with a sweeping gesture of his arm, “is the first Corners Cookies store.”

Russ turned toward Colt. “You were serious?”

“Of course I was serious. When have you ever known me not to be serious when it comes to my business?”

“But here in Savannah? Why not Houston?” The questions were logical, but before Colt could answer them, Russ pinned him with a stare. “This wouldn’t by any chance have anything do with Christina, now would it?”

Colt didn’t flinch. “It would.”

“I know I asked this before, but just how serious is it between you two? You said it wasn’t a one-night stand, but to move halfway across the country for her?”

“I plan to marry her,” Colt answered without hesitation. His brother’s eyes widened, astonishment written all over his face at the announcement.

“Wow. That’s… So you’re in love with her.”

“Yes.” His voice cracked on the word unexpectedly. Loving her was how he felt, though, and he wouldn’t, couldn’t take it back. “Crazy, isn’t it?”

“More than a bit, yes. Is she in love with you?”

“Yes.” She hadn’t said so again since the night she let those three little words slip, but he heard them in her voice each time they talked, and he felt them in his heart each time he thought about her. He knew she had meant them.

“When will you see her?”

“She’s at work right now so I don’t know if I’ll see her tonight or in the morning.” As Colt finished speaking, Russ began pacing. Luckily the space was empty and gave Russ ample room for the back and forth he was doing. His steps were sure and solid.

He could see why Chrissie had fallen for Russ. He was quick with a smile, easy on the eyes. Even though Russ was his brother, Colt knew a good-looking man when he saw one. He knew the competition and his own strengths. He knew his own weaknesses too. He tried not to let those get in the way, but conceding defeat too early, not speaking up in personal matters… He wanted to make sure everyone around him got what they wanted, what they deserved.

For his brother’s happiness, he was willing to do that as well. Fortune had fallen in Colt’s lap this time, however. He winced at his own thoughts. Probably not the best turn of phrase to use. He’d never have wished Chrissie’s broken heart on anyone.

“I’m glad it’s you,” Russ said finally. He stopped at the front window and looked out onto the tourist-filled street, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

“Me too.”

“I’m not sure I’d trust her with anyone else. Strange coming from me, yeah?”

“No. You loved her, in your own way, and even though you’re over her, it doesn’t mean you don’t still care for her. I know ”you do.”

“You’ll be a better fit for her than I was. I wanted to make her into society, upper crust.”

“I know, but she already was upper crust.”

“Yes, and she didn’t want it. She wanted something else but was willing to do whatever made me happy. What does she think of your store idea?”

Colt couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face as he thought back to the moment he’d told her he owned Corners Cookies. “She can’t wait.”

“You have my blessing, you know.”

Colt smiled and suddenly felt lighter, felt more at ease. “You’d already given it, but thank you.”

“That was to date her. This one is to marry her. I know it’s not my place to give, but… Man, I can’t believe this is how things turned out. I’m genuinely happy for you, bro.” Russ stepped forward, and Colt embraced him. They were half brothers to the world, but there were things, parts of each of them, that the word “half” couldn’t touch. They were blood, and that was all that mattered.

“I expect you to be there. In fact, I’d…I’d like you be my best man.” The idea had come to him sometime over the last few days, and he hadn’t been able to shake it. “I know it’s probably weird for me to ask, and probably even weirder for you to accept and actually do, but it would mean the world to me if you did.” If Russ said no, Colt would understand, though he didn’t want to have to. He didn’t want anyone else to stand up with him.

Russ studied Colt for a long second, then smiled, nodded. “If Chrissie doesn’t shoot me on sight, I’ll be happy to. I’d be honored. Now, how about some food before I hit the road?”

* * * *

Chrissie bit down on her tongue and silently counted to ten. The young woman standing at the counter didn’t seem to know anything at all about what an outdoor store was or much about the man she was dating. But if she whined in that high-pitched voice one more time… “Okay.”

“I just don’t know, you know?”

Chrissie did, unfortunately. “Well, let’s see if we can narrow this down a little more. You said he likes hunting, right?”

“I think so. He talks about it sometimes.”

“Does he talk about hunting with guns or arrows?”

“I’m not sure. I’m not really listening for much of it. Whatever makes him happy. Is one better than the other?”

“Depends on the person, I suppose. I always preferred a gun.”

The woman’s eyes widened, and Chrissie knew she’d walked into a minefield and she’d need to back out slowly. “You mean, you like hunting? Should I like hunting too? Would I have to wear, you know, camo? They have such cute things downstairs. Little shorts and tank tops. What do you wear when you hunt?”

Pretty soon Chrissie was going to be headed to the emergency room because she was about to bite her tongue in half. No way should anyone ever put a gun or bow or knife or anything sharp or dangerous in the hands of this woman.

“Perhaps, since you’re not quite sure what type of hunting your boyfriend likes to do, you could get him a gift card. He could come in and get whatever he wanted.”

“Those are so impersonal, though.”

But so much safer, Chrissie thought. “They can be, but you could personalize it a little with a cute little…camo outfit or even some camo lingerie.” Chrissie watched, observed really, the transformation in the girl’s eyes. They lit up, cleared of their confusion and uncertainty, and she smiled.

“You know what? You might be right about this. I could totally do that, especially in some of the pink camo. He would be so surprised and love to see me in something so genuine.”

Oh yes. Pink camo. So genuine. Chrissie fought against the urge to roll her eyes. “I’m glad I could help.”

“You definitely did.” The woman nodded emphatically. “It’s no wonder you’re the manager.”

“No wonder.” Chrissie waved at the customer’s back. It wasn’t the friendly have-a-nice-day wave either. No, it was the wiggle-of-fingers wave. Combined with the smirk on her face, it merely conveyed the “crisis averted, and you’re dumber than a box of rocks” sentiment floating through her brain.

“No way should ammunition ever make its way into her hands,” James commented when the woman was in the elevator and the doors were closed.

“Nope. Not at all. Ever. And heaven help her boyfriend.”

“Speaking of boyfriends… When are you going to get a new one?”

Chrissie glanced at him. They’d worked enough shifts together and become good enough work friends that she didn’t take offense at the question. She just wasn’t sure how to answer it. “I, ah…” Was Colt her boyfriend? One physical date with the most perfect kisses. Multiple texts day and night. Phone sex as often as possible since he’d been home in Houston.

He gave her butterflies, both in her belly and between her legs. He made her smile and laugh and come so hard she saw stars. And… He had said they were much more than “a thing.”

She wanted him with her. Inside her. Day in and day out. She wanted him here, in Savannah, not there in Houston. She wanted to call him up, get in her car, and drive to see him, walk into his hotel room and crawl into his bed. She wanted to belong with him.

She—

“Chrissie?”

The sound of her name stopped her thoughts, and she looked to the source of the voice. “Colt.” She was as surprised to see him as she was happy, and her smile was instantaneous. “I-I didn’t think I’d see you until after I got off work tonight.”

“I thought I’d take a chance that you wouldn’t mind being seen with me in public, where you work.”

“Oh, stop that. Of course I don’t mind.”

“Good to know.” He winked at her and turned to James, offering his hand. “Hi, I’m Colt. Chrissie’s boyfriend.”

James took the hand, and the two shared a firm shake. “H-hi. I’m James, her humble employee.” James pinned her with a dumbfounded look.

“Humble, my ass. Can you hold down the fort for me for a bit? I need to talk to Colt for a few minutes.”