By the time her soft knock sounded at his door, the sauce was simmering on the stove, the pasta was boiling and he’d just popped the (lightly garlicked) bread in the oven. He wiped his hands on a dishtowel and opened the door to find Zed grinning broadly and Cordelia rolling her eyes.
It was a good thing he wasn’t a jealous man; between the attentions directed at Cordelia from Alex Lancaster and the mayor, it would be enough to drive him mad.
“I am hereby delivered from one male minder to another, like the chattel you two seem to think I am,” she deadpanned.
Zed snickered, hugging Cordelia tight as Brendan motioned them inside the trailer. But Zed stayed on the porch. “You should have known that was gonna blow back on you.”
Brendan nodded. “Yeah…worth it to know she’s safe.”
“I know it’s backwards and antiquated, but I would do the exact same thing for Dani if I thought there was someone out there who wanted to hurt her,” Zed assured him. “Trust me, we’ll keep an eye out for her mama. A woman like that, she’s never as cunning as she thinks she is. She’ll slip up.”
“And if it’s all in Cordy’s head?” Brendan whispered, glancing over his shoulder as she puttered in his kitchen.
“Then we’ll help her with that, too. We take care of our own here. That includes you two,” Zed said, raising his voice as he added. “I have officially adopted that one.”
“He rubbed spit on my forehead,” Cordelia said. “I don’t think the state will accept that.”
“You’d be surprised. Y’all have a good night.” He paused to raise an eyebrow at Brendan. “But not too good. That’s my sister, now.”
“Goodnight, Zed!” Cordelia called. “Stop threatening my man…friend…person!”
“Well, I’m glad we have that settled,” Brendan scoffed. “Goodnight, Zed.”
“Night!” Zed jogged down the stairs and back toward town.
Brendan leaned against the counter, watching her move around his kitchen. “Thanks for draining the pasta…and turning off the heat on the bread…and the sauce. I’m sure I would have noticed this before, but are you one of those raw diet, cold food only sorts?”
“I was thinking we could re-heat this later,” she said, tugging him towards the direction of the bedroom.
“What is happening here?” he asked.
“Am I going to have to spell this out for you?” she asked.
He nodded. “I think so, yeah.”
Cordelia’s grin was downright evil. “Well, when a man and woman like each other very much—”
“OK, I don’t think you have to go back that far,” Brendan said.
“I realized something, earlier,” she said, shrugging out of her shirt.
“And what is that?”
“When I collapsed on you earlier, I wasn’t grateful that I could collapse into just anyone’s arms without there being psychic consequences,” she told him. “I was grateful that they were your arms around me. I want your hands on me. I want your lips on my lips. And I want to be in your bed.”
“But what about Alex Lancaster?” Brendan asked. “I know there’s some sort of history there.”
She laughed and pressed her forehead to his chin. “OK, questions about Alex were not the response I expected when I started taking off my clothes. But I suppose I earned it with all those ‘I feel nothing’ comments when you touched me. I’m not going to go into the whole history with you right now because again, my clothes are off. But once upon a time, I was seeing Alex, when we were very young. I don’t want to be with him. It’s not that he’s not a good man; he is. He doesn’t even know who I am anymore. I’m not that same girl. I know more about the world and the people in it. I don’t want to be rescued. I want to be with someone who understands. You don’t push. You don’t try to change me. You get it.”
Brendan cleared his throat. “And when you say, ‘be with...’”
Cordelia unhooked the back of her bra and dropped it to the floor. “For the love of all things holy, Brendan, drop your pants.”
She helped him strip out of his clothes, with the lights on, and yanked back the covers so they could slide under them. It wasn’t an extraordinary way to begin, but they’d both had enough extraordinary in their lives. Ordinary felt pretty damn good.
She was a banquet, all soft skin and softer curves that were so warm under his hands. With delicious hesitation, he slid those hands under her hips and pulled her thighs around his hips. She shivered at his touch and he pulled away, remembering how cold his hands felt to her.
“No, I love it,” she whispered. “Everything else here is so freaking hot. It’s like dating a human-shaped ice pack.”
He drew back and raised a brow.
“That sounded sexier in my head,” she admitted.
Her mouth rose to meet his and she breathed him in, closing her lips against his in a kiss that was all at once forceful and lovely. She pulled him close, like he could never be close enough. He stroked down her sides, tickling her ribs and pulling her pink panties down her thighs. He had never fancied the color pink before, but for the rest of his life, he would forever remember that delicate shade the color of peonies and how it looked against her warm skin.
Kissing down the length of her neck, he dipped his hand between her legs, sliding across her plump folds, finding them slick and ready. He grinned against the curve of her jaw and pushed those fingers inside of her. She hissed, grabbing at his shoulders, and digging her little nails into his flesh.
“You all right?” Brendan asked.
“So, I haven’t done this before,” she said.
He exclaimed, “I beg your pardon?”
“Well, I’ve only had the one serious relationship and we were living in a very crowded place with practically no privacy,” she said. “I mean, we fooled around a little bit. He tried to think of nothing but sweet, romantic things when we were together, but it was so difficult for me to relax and we just never managed it.”
“I don’t need to know details, darling.”
“And after that, I just didn’t have the heart to try anymore,” Cordelia said.
“Are you sure about this?” Brendan asked.
Her expression turned to one of dismay. “Wait, have you done this before?”
“A few times,” he insisted. “But it has been a while.”
“I’m sure.”
“All right, well, we’re going to use these, no arguments.” He leaned over her, giving her the opportunity to nibble at his collarbone, down his chest, to his stomach. He reached into the drawer and pulled out a packet of condoms. The moment her eyes landed on the little foil squares, her expression melted, and he was overtaken with images from her mind. She was so grateful that he wasn’t going to make her argue for protection. She’d heard so many stories about that sort of thing.
He carefully pumped his fingers into her, rubbing his thumb where he hoped it might feel best. Her hips arched off of the bed, and he realized he’d found the right spot. He was picking up on her feelings again. He didn’t know how, but he wanted to wallow in it.