Sterling Read online

  “Yes. You are the only woman I will touch. You’re it for me.”

  Her smile lifted the pressure on his chest. He kissed her, desperate and relieved. His tongue swirled around hers. Her taste and her smell greeted him. It said one thing to him: home.

  Before he knew what was happening, he’d swooped her up into his arms and climbed the stairs. In the spare room, he felt her ripping at his shirt. A button had popped free by the time he lowered her, and her fingers kept working.

  He kissed her again. Passion dizzied his mind.

  He yanked at her jeans button before pushing the zipper down and then doing the same with her pants. He found her lips again as she shoved his shirt off his shoulders and ripped it down his arms. His undershirt went next. She kissed a trail down his chest, making him pause and close his eyes, relishing her warm mouth on his skin. She worked at his pants before hooking her fingers around both pants and boxers and pushing them down his legs.

  He groaned as she sucked in his cock. Her pace was fast, and she stroked him with her hand in time to her oral ministrations, taking him high too fast. He’d blow his load before he got to be inside her.

  He leaned down and pulled her away, pushing her onto the bed behind her. She stripped off her shirt and then her bra. Her perky and delicious breasts bounced as they settled, drawing his eyes.

  Unable to take it slow, no control to speak of, he grabbed the crotch of her panties and tore them off. The next moment, he climbed up between her thighs. He grabbed the base of his cock and rubbed the tip against her wetness.

  “Hmm, Noah,” she breathed. “Hurry.”

  He felt the longing in her voice, the deep emotion singing through her words.

  “I love you,” he said, thrusting into her.

  “Oh,” she said, clutching his shoulders. “I love you.”

  He moved within her, plunging as deeply as he could, blown away by the feel of her. By her sensual movements and sexuality.

  “I’m so lucky to have found you,” he murmured against her lips, meaning every word of it. Her spunkiness excited him. Her intellect challenged him. The way she saw the world made everything feel refreshing and new.

  She moaned as he stroked harder, the sensations building. The pleasure stealing his breath.

  He found her hands with his and entwined their fingers. Held on for dear life.

  She was it. She was the last stop. He could’ve never guessed he’d end up with a wild woman like her, but he knew she was perfect for him because of it.

  He pumped harder, spurred on by her moans of pleasure.

  “Yes, Noah,” she said, her fingers digging into his back. “Oh yes, Noah.”

  His balls tightened, ready for release. He held back, waiting for her. Kissing her more deeply. Feeling her thighs wrap tightly around his hips.

  “Oh!” she cried, arching back. Her body flexed with her orgasm.

  He gave a final, hard thrust, and exploded. Waves of sensation rolled over him, the pleasure so keen he nearly blacked out.

  “Oh my God,” Cynthia said softly, starting to relax.

  He felt the tremors of the best orgasm he’d ever had slowly die away, taking the tightness of his muscles from the last day with it.

  “That was the best I’ve ever had,” she said as she melted beneath him.

  He smiled, loving that he could do that to her. “I agree. It was the best, topping the last best, which was also with you. And the best before that. Also with you.”

  “Ditto.” She sighed in contentment. “Yes, I will move in with you. Officially.”

  Twenty-Seven

  “Finally, I’m going to an event that I don’t hate,” Janie said as the crew walked toward the sprawling property. Balloons bobbed and weaved near the arched entranceway, promising merriment and fun within. An enormous banner read Grand Opening in large red letters. A steady throng of people moved through the parking lot toward the business. Children laughed and screeched.

  Noah dropped his arm around Cynthia, his heart full to bursting. Two months had passed since he and Cynthia had reconciled. Two glorious months. Even though they were learning each other’s quirks and foibles while living together, they rarely had disagreements. Their love for each other had only grown.

  He was so thankful that he’d reconnected with her. It blew his mind that the love of his life had been living down the street from him for his whole pre-adult life. That she’d learned to ride a bike on the same street and walked the same route to school. All that time, his future wife had only been four houses away.

  Grinning like a fool, he glanced off to the right, where he could see part of the mini-golf course. A large windmill turned. Someone putted a bright blue ball.

  Cynthia had worked tirelessly on the marketing campaign to help Colton—not only with the big opening, but with a continuing plan for his business. The hope was that he did well enough to expand the marketing budget and really push to keep the business on everyone’s mind. The branding pitched it as a family fun zone, a place where there was something for everyone.

  “I cannot believe you got him to change the name to this,” Janie said with a huge smile. In artful lettering, the name was displayed above: The Playground.

  “It fit,” Cynthia said, shrugging.

  “Colton is going to meet us in the arcade, right?” Dave asked as they passed under the arched entrance.

  “Yeah,” Ethan said, holding Kaylee’s hand, both of them with excited smiles on their faces. Noah knew he probably wore a similar expression. This was Colton’s dream. This business was their friend’s heart and soul. He’d put a lot of sweat and tears into it, and a lot of time and money. It was awesome to see it come to fruition, and they were all really proud of the guy.

  Behind them, Madison wrung her hands, a worried expression on her face. She’d helped Colton earlier in the day, but had to run home to change for the big reveal. She had more at stake than they did, and while she was Colton’s biggest supporter, she was probably worried that it wouldn’t work out.

  “You’ll want to put on a happy face now,” Cynthia said to Madison as they stopped just inside the entryway. A crowd of people were looking at the first painted wall.

  “Ugh,” Janie said as she glanced at her painting.

  Cynthia had organized a tiny art show within Colton’s grand opening. In the party rooms that would hopefully host many children’s birthdays and special events, a selection of Janie’s paintings stood on display, awaiting bidders. That alone had created a lot of buzz for the opening, and would bring in a host of people. Cynthia said any kick-off event was a numbers game. A crowd created interest in and of itself. It made people want to be a part of the event. Hopefully, after seeing it, they’d spread the word.

  Noah blew out a breath. He had nervous tingles for Colton.

  “Let’s get to the arcade,” Madison said with a shaking voice.

  “Just chill, lady,” Ethan said, giving her a lazy smile. “Look at all the people. Look at all the smiles. Everything is going to go smoothly. I can tell.”

  “I know that should be helping, Ethan,” Madison said with a grimace she probably thought was a smile.

  “Yes, it should,” he said, sauntering to the right, where double doors stood opened.

  “Noah, did you do the walk-through with Cynthia and Colton?” Kaylee asked, leaning around Ethan to see him.

  “No,” he said, glancing left at the inactive bumper boat area. It was too cold for water sports, but he had no doubt it would be insanely popular during the hot Sacramento summer. “I wanted to get the official walk-through. I’ve gotten a couple spoilers, though. Unasked for.”

  “I couldn’t contain myself.” Cynthia smiled up at him. “The little go-kart things are so freaking cool.”

  “Colton’s pissed that you beat him,” Madison said, showing a genuine smile for the first time since they’d left her house earlier.

  The spacious arcade was packed. People of all ages lined up for the various games. An alarm w
ent off to the side. The orange light on top of one of the machines spun and the child in front of it jumped up and down, clapping and laughing.

  “What sort of prizes do they get?” Noah asked, trying to figure out why the kid was so happy. “I remember getting tickets at these types of things, then trading them in for toys.”

  “It’s all digital,” Cynthia said, eyeing a basketball game as they passed. “See the little counters on top?” She pointed at a round window with a blue ten in it. “Whoever played this game last won ten digital tickets. That way, there isn’t a bunch of wasted money in paper, trash disposal, all that stuff. They just scan their card like you would at a casino.”

  “Huh.” Noah frowned at a skee-ball game. “That’s not as fun.”

  “For old farts who live in the past, no, probably not.” Cynthia laughed.

  Noah leaned down and gave her a kiss. A familiar surge of electricity and desire ran through his body. The effect of her hadn’t faded in the two months. His body still lit up from the simplest touch. He smiled, knowing in his gut that the feeling would never go away.

  “There he is!” Madison pointed to the far right, at a counter below a Ticket sales sign. Three workers in their teens or early twenties stood at cash registers, helping customers. Their movements were fast and jerky and stress lined their faces. Long lines stretched out in front of them.

  In the area beside them, toys and trinkets were displayed in lit stands. Larger items, like stuffed bears, lined the back wall. That was where the kids—or adult kids—could turn in digital tickets.

  Colton saw them and offered a quick wave. As they neared, they could see his sparkling eyes. He said something to one of the cashiers before exiting out the side of the countered area and greeting them with a huge smile.

  “Sales are much higher than expected. The turnout is something, huh?” He grabbed Madison in a big hug before twirling her around. She giggled, clutching him.

  “Looks great, brother,” Ethan said, waiting for Colton to put Madison down before clapping him on the back. “This arcade is out of this world. All my favorites are here, and a whole bunch of stuff I’m going to spend money on to try out.”

  “Yeah.” Colton looked around with a nod. “I wanted all the classics. Nostalgia.”

  “It’s not nostalgia, it’s wise,” Cynthia said, her brow furrowing, like it often did while she was working. “It ensures the older generation is just as excited as the kids they’re bringing. They can pass on the fun of the games they used to love. Even play a few games themselves. Look over there at that father playing skee-ball with his teen. They’re competing, see?”

  Noah didn’t follow her gaze. Instead, he looked out through the glass doors on the right, checking out the mini-golf course beyond. “Let’s get this tour going so I can crush you all in mini-golf.”

  “Come on, I’ll show you around.” Colton gestured for them to follow and headed out the doors. He stopped just outside and turned back to a painted wall. “More of Janie’s work.”

  It was a family scene with a little girl on her smiling dad’s shoulders. The little boy standing next to them had a baseball glove and the mother, on the other side, had her mouth open like she was laughing. A sense of fun and love rose in Noah’s chest, and he pulled Cynthia closer.

  “Janie’s going to change this painting every time she feels like it,” Colton said as he watched a very similar family head to the first hole.

  “Oh yeah?” Kaylee said, her eyes roaming the painting. “Why is that? This one seems perfect.”

  “Because Charlotte said so,” Colton said, grinning at Cynthia.

  Other than him, everyone had taken Janie’s lead and started calling her Charlotte.

  “We want to keep Janie’s fans coming back, and we also want to advertise her work,” Cynthia explained. “We’ll always have paintings for sale on the walls leading to the party room. Hopefully, it’ll lead to even more sales.”

  “Better together,” Colton said, smiling.

  “You just want me to loathe coming here and seeing all my stuff,” Janie groused.

  “That too.” Colton laughed and led the way. “We have two golf courses with plenty of houses and cool things. This is my favorite part of the facility.” They passed a sort of castle. A ball came out the side and veered just right of the hole. A preteen groaned as she watched its course. A little boy, probably her younger sibling, pointed at her and said, “Ha!”

  Beyond the golf courses was an area filled with circular tables with umbrellas, and beyond that was a large caged structure sectioned off into individual batting cages. Balls shot out, making a pop as they did. Someone smacked one, sending it sailing to the other side and hitting the ball. Someone said, “Nice one!”

  “Per Charlotte’s demands, I’m offering discounts to local sports teams and schools for the use of the cages,” Colton said, walking them past the setup.

  “We want to get them in through the door,” Cynthia explained, holding Noah’s hand. “What he loses in revenue from the cages, he’ll make up in food sales, arcade sales, and whatever else. That’s not counting the goodwill he’ll be harvesting.”

  “I’ll be doing a late night once a month,” Colton said as they got to a little car track where go-karts raced around. “Teens will probably dig that. We’ll do black lights and other dumb stuff I thought was cool in my youth.”

  Noah laughed as they stopped, watching the cars circle the track. He desperately wanted to give that one a go, but it was a madhouse. The lines were long and racing times were short. He’d need to come back when it wasn’t as busy. Of course, Colton had offered to open the place to them after hours, but Noah wouldn’t accept the offer off the bat. He wanted to contribute.

  “Bumper cars are over here.” Colton continued to lead the way, holding hands with Madison.

  “Bumper cars and boats?” Kaylee asked, looking back at the racetrack. “Man, I want to get in one of those.”

  “Me too,” Dave, Ethan, and Noah said together. They all started laughing.

  “Bumper boats are only for the summer,” Colton said as they stopped away from the line for the bumper cars—equally as long as the wait at the racetrack. “I wanted another attraction that would be viable all year round. It’s covered, unlike the racetrack, so it’ll be fine in rain.”

  “You are going to need a steady stream of people to keep all of this running,” Cynthia muttered, biting her lip.

  “You’ll have that covered,” Colton said. “I need to find money to pay you to stay. You’ll advertise to bring people in, and then I’ll need to hire Kaylee for operations so people will keep coming back.” He sighed and dragged his fingers through his hair.

  “Rome wasn’t built in a day, bro,” Dave said, giving Colton a pat. “But this place is kickass. I think you’ve got a winner on your hands.”

  Colton nodded slowly. “I hope so.”

  “So is that it?” Ethan asked, looking around. “That’s all you’ve got to offer?”

  Madison, Colton, and Cynthia gave Ethan incredulous stares.

  A grin soaked up Ethan’s face and Kaylee started laughing. “He’s kidding, obviously,” she said.

  Madison rolled her eyes and sighed.

  “You’re too keyed up, girlie.” Ethan massaged Madison’s shoulders. “You need to just relax and have fun.”

  “Can’t. Tried.” Madison shrugged him off.

  “Last but not least…” Colton started back toward the arcade.

  Janie groaned. “I take it back about this being an event I don’t hate.”

  “The amount you hate showing your art is hilarious,” Cynthia said to her.

  “No,” Janie replied. That was it.

  Laughing, they slowed as they joined a group of people entering the main building with the arcade. Once inside, Colton split right. They passed an eatery area that Noah knew had just as many healthy options as greasy ones. Colton wanted the health-conscious parents to eat as much as the fried-food lovers.


  They picked through a swarm of people milling around, all excitedly talking about Chris’s art. Janie groaned again and shimmied up to Dave. As promised, Janie’s paintings lined the hallway, each with a price tag. There was a sold sticker next to every one.

  “Should have charged more,” Dave said as they passed. He was Janie’s manager for all things art, although he’d been so wowed by the plan Cynthia had created for Colton, Noah had a feeling he’d seek out her help in the future. It was a point of pride he was rarely able to hide.

  In the crowded party rooms, the tables and benches had been pushed against the walls. More paintings, these ones with bidding boxes, were stationed along them. In the center of the open space was a row of five paintings—on the other side were five other paintings, propped against them back to back. Bidding boxes were on the floor.

  “Who is the artist?” someone was asking her friend.

  “Tell me you have heard of Chris Perrin,” her friend answered. “Everyone has heard of Chris Perrin.”

  “Clearly not everyone,” Janie muttered as they moved along.

  “Let’s check out the other room,” Colton said, trying to thread his way through the throng.

  “These weren’t in here when I came through,” Cynthia told Noah as she examined them. Most were landscapes or abstracts, and some depicted strangers that Janie either thought up or had seen somewhere.

  “I’m surprised Janie isn’t complaining about going into the other room,” Noah said as they finally made it out and turned toward the next party area.

  “We have three party rooms in all,” Colton said.

  “We don’t need to see the third,” Janie said.

  “There it is.” Noah laughed.

  “I want to. I love your…the art.” Cynthia grimaced and looked around her. No one was supposed to know Janie was the artist. The mystery helped sell her, and also, she wanted to stay anonymous. It was getting harder, since her subjects were all grouped together with easy-to-find identities, but they were still trying.