Chapter 17

KINLEY

I sat in my car for a few minutes before going into the restaurant.

I should’ve texted Robert and rescheduled. How could I have forgotten about our date? I was the one who called him.

~Harland is the reason you forgot.~ My stepbrother and that talented tongue of his rendered my brain into a useless pile of mush.

Why had Harland been so angry? It was just a casual lunch date. I wasn’t going to sleep with Robert, and Harland and I weren’t exclusive. We weren’t anything.

He offered to help me overcome my sexual issues so I ~could~ have sex with other men. So why wasn’t he happy I was going on a date?

I pulled myself together and marched into the restaurant, determined to forget about Harland and focus on my date. Robert was already seated, of course. I was thirty minutes late.

He stood up when he saw me walking across the room.

“I’m so sorry, Robert,” I said. “We had a meeting with the lawyer this morning, and it lasted longer than I anticipated.”

“No worries, Kinley. You’re here now. That’s all that matters.” He pulled out a chair and waited for me to sit down.

I settled at the table for two, smiling at him as I placed my napkin in my lap. “What looks good?” I asked, picking up the menu.

“They make a mean clubhouse sandwich. Use real turkey and everything.”

“Real turkey? Wow.” ~That came out wrong. You don’t even have your inheritance yet, and you sound like a snob.~

“Yep,” he chuckled. “Cut right from the bird. No processed crap here.”

“I’m not a big turkey fan,” I said. “I prefer chicken.”

“Turkey and chicken are very similar when it comes to nutritional value. They both contain high quality protein, but turkey delivers more iron and less cholesterol and sodium.

“However, chicken breast contains more niacin and vitamin B6, while the leg contains more zinc.”

“Oh.” Robert was apparently well educated in poultry nutrients.

“I’m a dietitian,” he explained. “What do you do for a living?”

“I’m an interior decorator.”

“That sounds interesting.”

“I like it.” I glanced down at the menu again. “I think I’ll try the BLT sandwich.”

“You shouldn’t consume bacon, Kinley. It’s the most unhealthy meat you could possibly eat. It’s full of animal fat, carcinogens and salt.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“Can I start you off with something to drink?” the waitress asked.

“I’ll just have a club soda, please,” I said.

“Just water for me,” Robert requested.

“Are you ready to order your food?”

“Yes!” ~Too much, Kinley.~

“Okay then!” She chuckled as she pulled her pad from her apron.

After the waitress took our orders, I glanced around the small restaurant. It had been a bicycle repair shop when I lived in Hollingbrook. Otherwise, not much had changed in the small town.

“So, how are things going with your sister?” Robert asked.

“Oh, fine. She’s a cool kid.”

“I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but I think you should be aware that club soda is harmful for your teeth. You have beautiful teeth, Kinley. I would hate to see you ruin them.”

“Thanks for your concern, Robert.”

“I take nutrition very seriously.”

“I see that.”

“Do you have a husband back in Rochester?”

“No. No husband.”

“Kids?”

“No kids. How about you?”

“Nope. I’m a bachelor.”

I wasn’t surprised. “Where do you work, Robert?”

“The Houlton Regional Hospital.”

“That’s a bit of a commute.”

“I don’t mind.”

“So, you see patients and tell them how unhealthy their diets are?”

He scowled. “There’s much more to being a dietitian. I have to create special diets for people with certain illnesses, such as diabetes and IBD. I have to manage the intake of patients on enteral and parenteral nutrition.”

“I have no idea what any of those things are, Robert. You’re talking way above my head.”

“Sorry. I have a tendency to forget that lay people don’t possess the same knowledge that I do.”

Wow.Where was our lunch? The sooner I choked down my carcinogenic sandwich, the sooner I could leave.

***

“This date isn’t going well, is it?” Robert asked, wiping his face with his napkin.

I swallowed a mouthful of my tooth-rotting club soda. “It’s not you, it’s me.” ~Did I really just say that?~

“Please don’t insult my intelligence, Kinley.”

“I don’t think we’re very compatible, Robert.”

“It was all the dietary talk, wasn’t it?”

“That was part of it. But I’m just so busy with my sister and settling the estate. We have a huge house to clean out. I don’t really have time to date, and I’m not planning to live here indefinitely.”

“Is there something going on between you and your brother?”

“~What?~”

“The way he was looking at you at the funeral. And touching you. He was so possessive.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Robert. My ~stepbrother~ and I don’t get along—we never did—and nothing has changed.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that, Kinley. Hooking up with your brother, step or not, would be weird.”

“Agreed,” I said with a fake laugh.

“He did give you a hard time, didn’t he? That Fire Crotch thing was so mean.”

“Yes, it was. And he still calls me that.” ~Or he did until he got up close and personal with my crotch.~

“You’re kidding?”

“Nope.”

“That seems very childish.”

“We’re learning to coexist. If we’re going to share custody of Ellie, we need to grow up.”

“Do you want to go for a walk? I’d like a chance to change your mind about seeing me again.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Robert. I’m sorry.”

“Well, if you end up living here permanently, give me a call.”

“Okay, Robert.” I pushed my chair back, rising from the table. “Thanks for lunch.”

“I’ll walk you to your car.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“Okay.” He chuckled. “I can take a hint.”

***

I pushed open the front door with a heavy sigh.

The house was quiet. Ellie wouldn’t be home from camp for a couple of hours. I wandered through the foyer into the great room, where Joanne was sweeping up glass in front of the fireplace.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Harland broke a glass. He was trying to clean it up when I came home, but I sent him out to the stables to cool down.”

“He was upset?”

“Very.” She glanced up at me with a curious stare. “Do you know why?”

“I do,” I admitted.

“Did you two have a fight?”

“Sort of.”

“He was always a laid-back kid. It took a lot to upset him. He takes after his father in that regard. It must’ve been something serious to make him throw a glass.”

“I better go talk to him. Thanks, Joanne.”

“Anytime, sweetheart.”

As I headed down the worn gravel path to the stables, my heart rattled against my rib cage. Why was Harland so angry?

I should’ve never gone out with Robert. It certainly hadn’t been worth the trouble it caused. But I never expected Harland to react that way.

The stable doors were open, so I ventured inside, wondering if Harland had gone for a ride.

I hadn’t been down here since I came back to Hollingbrook. Where was the stable hand? I wandered past the stalls, wrinkling my nose when the smell of shit hit me.

A faint tapping sound led me to the far end of the stable. Harland was in the tack room, doing…~something~. I had no idea what. Horses had never interested me, so I knew nothing about them.

“Hey!” I called out.

He turned around, his stormy eyes roaming over my body. “How was your date?” he asked gruffly.

“Not great.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Are you really, Harland?”

“No.”

He walked across the room and stopped right in front of me. We stared at each other, time standing still as we were swept into a vortex of passion and sexual need.

He grabbed the back of my neck, his mouth colliding with mine, his lips hungry as he kissed me with a raw desperation that sent shock waves rippling through my pelvis.

He pinned me against the wall, and my brain went into sleep mode, my body readying itself as liquid pooled in my panties.

I’d never felt such an intense and immediate need to have a man inside me. My pussy was aching to be filled. Nothing else mattered.

His hand was under my skirt, his fingers already inside my panties, his lips on my neck as he sucked ravenously on my flesh.

“Do you want me to fuck you, Kinley?” he whispered, capturing my chin between his thumb and index finger.

“Y-yes,” I gasped.

“I need to hear you say the words.”

“Fuck me, Harland. Right now. I’m ready.”

He pushed my skirt up, ripping my panties from my body.

I grabbed at his belt, my fingers fumbling with the buckle, but he took over, shoving his pants and boxers to his knees. I glanced down at his cock, the huge head swollen and throbbing like a snake about to attack.

“Wrap your legs around my waist, baby,” he whispered. “I’ve got you.”

I clung to his shoulders, pressing my thighs tightly against him while he lined himself up. He tilted my chin with his thumb, his heated stare penetrating me like a hot poker as he entered me.

I’d never been with a man this big. He eased into me with gentle thrusts, his eyes never leaving mine until he was balls deep.

My vag was burning, my walls stretched by the large guest taking up residence down there. I’d never felt so full. And sex had never felt so right.

“Fuck me, Harland,” I panted. “I need to come so bad.”

He started moving slowly, lowering his mouth to mine, but his kisses were too soft, his thrusts too gentle. It was sweet, but it wasn’t what I needed.

“Faster,” I demanded. “Harder, please.”

“Are you sure?” He pressed his forehead against mine, gazing deep into my eyes. But the intensity was too much. I had no idea what was happening between us.

The only thing I could focus on was my immediate need to be fucked hard. “Yes.”

He pulled back before driving deep, hammering me with hard thrusts while he buried his face in my shoulder. I moved my hips as much as I could, the wooden slats of the wall digging into my back while he pounded me.

Carnal noises resonated throughout the stable, his animalistic grunts mixing with my whimpers, triggering a collective stomping of hooves and annoyed whinnies from the unimpressed equine spectators.

My body vibrated with need, the pressure between my legs almost too much. He must’ve sensed my distress because he paused briefly, reaching between us to rub my clit.

My own cries mixed with the horses’ when a powerful orgasm ripped through me like a tornado, flattening everything in its path.

My pussy clenched, tightening around his cock as it swelled inside me, and the floodgates opened, soaking me in my own juices before my muscles went lax.

Harland held me tight, bracing me against the wall while he made his final sprint to the finish line. His thrusts were frantic, his breathing erratic, as his cock pulsated inside me.

As I felt the warmth and wetness, my brain slowly registered what had just happened.

Harland stilled, his lips against mine, while he filled me with his seed.