Her True Blue (A Fireworks Series) Read online

  But I was blinded by his charisma, and I fell hard, having never experienced love before him. I was naïve and incredibly gullible, easily led astray by a kid who by the age of eighteen, was in and out of juvie and on his way to becoming a life-long criminal.

  So completely opposite of Cord, who has served his whole life rather than stolen from the people around him.

  How would I ever be able to tell him about my past without him looking down on me in shame?

  For now, it’s not something I plan on sharing at all. If ever. The less he knows about the old Jordana, the better.

  Plus, I worked hard to dig myself out of the hole I was born in and tried to make something out of my life. That’s why I moved to Milltown. To start over.

  To begin again under the big Colorado sky, where according to the state’s slogan, the fresh air and fond memories made daily can help me begin again.

  Cord

  We decided to adventure down the ridge trail and pathway leading to a small ledge overlooking town. It’s a large flat boulder that seems perfectly designed to accommodate lovers and offers privacy from every direction.

  As we lay on our sides, heads propped up on our elbows to face each other, I feel a wave of contentment. Like this is what I’ve been waiting for all this time. The reason I’ve remained single and not settled down yet.

  The night grows later and the sky darker, and our conversation continues to captivate me. Or rather, the woman I’m with has captivated me.

  Although I know she’s hiding something from me about her past, all I really care about is being with her now, in the present.

  We talk about animals, and music, her favorite pastimes, favorite foods, the growing spread in the metro area, the traffic between here and Denver, and the advantages of small-town living. And of course, previous relationships.

  Which for me is non-existent.

  Jordana looks at me with wide, incredulous eyes. “You mean to tell me you’ve never had a girlfriend?”

  My laugh holds a tinge of discomfort and embarrassment. “Well, I’m not a virgin, if that’s what you’re thinking. But no, I’ve never had a girlfriend. Never found anyone who checked off all the boxes, you know? I left at eighteen for the military, returned to train as a police officer and here I am. Just never settled down.”

  “I didn’t mean to imply you are a virgin,” she whispers, glancing away before setting her gaze back on me. “I’m just surprised someone hasn’t locked this down.” She gestures like she’s Vanna White and I’m her showcase prize.

  I take the opportunity to move in closer, our hips touching, knees bumping together. She’s warm and soft, offering something I can’t quite put my finger on, but wanting to explore the connection behind the zing of electric current emanating through my body every time we touch.

  I let my eyes scan over her body and a slow smile emerges over my lips. I lean closer, a hand skimming down her arm, touching smooth, pearl soft skin where the jacket has fallen off her shoulder. Her lips part in a gasp.

  My voice is low and thick, but out here where there’s nothing but nature, it seems to echo around us.

  “You interested in locking this down, Jordana?”

  Her whisper floats between us. “You make me feel protected. I like that.”

  My lips find the small expanse of skin at her jawline, forcing her to tilt her head to the side as I plant kisses across the flesh. Goosebumps form, and I can feel and see tiny shivers scattering through her as she trembles slightly.

  “Do I make you feel anything else?” I wrap my hand around her hip, fingers curling at the small of her back, and I tug her into me, solid meeting soft.

  Jordana gasps and the sound ricochets down to my cock. I’m hard and aching for her.

  “Everything,” she murmurs, the tip of her tongue darting out to lick at her bottom lip. “You make me feel everything.”

  Dipping my head, my lips slowly find hers, as I place a soft kiss across her mouth. The kiss deepens, as her lips fall open and I take the opportunity given to explore her sweetness with my tongue. She tastes of everything home. Just like she smells, it’s the sweet taste of apple pie and Fourth of July.

  My pulse hammers under my skin and my body responds to her eagerness. Shifting to my back, I pull her along with me, centering her on top of me without losing the connection of our mouths. My body thrusts upward in an unbidden move as she straddles her knees on either side of me and plants her hands on my chest.

  “Cord,” she says huskily, her eyes fluttering open as she pushes herself up, staring down from her perch above me.

  Using the pad of my thumb, I sweep a trail over skin across her cheekbone, and then lift the auburn curls that have fallen in front of her face away and over her shoulder.

  She gives a tentative rock of her hips pulling a deep groan from my chest. I plant my thumb on her bottom lip, smoothing the surface. Her tongue peeks out to circle the pad before sucking it into mouth, lips closing around it on a moan.

  I drop my hand, experimentally skimming my thumb over her nipples that poke out behind the corset of her dress. She presses her chest forward into my awaiting hand.

  “It’s been so long since I’ve been touched,” she purrs, as my hand drops to her knee by my hip, the hem of her dress bunched up, exposing skin there.

  I inch a little further, now at the meat of her thigh, so warm and generous. I brush my thumb tenderly over the curve of her leg, exploring and traveling the places unseen but that have me simmering with desperation for more.

  Jordana wiggles her fingers at the bottom of my T-shirt, sliding them under until she’s mapping a trail over my abs and pecs, my cock thickening in delight at the way she hums eagerly at what she finds.

  “You are so…solid.” Her voice is laced in awe and admiration. “So strong.”

  Our lips attack each other again, this time greedier and hungrier for more. My hand has reached its intended destination under her skirt, sliding around to the curve of her ass, which I palm in my hand and squeeze it firmly.

  “You feel pretty amazing, too.”

  I playfully skim the round flesh of her butt, edging just underneath her panties, as her fingernail circles the flat disc of my nipple.

  My body floods with the desire to get inside her. To lose myself in her. But I also want to respect where we’re at. Although all the activity is happening in town right now, that doesn’t prevent some kids driving up here and catching us in the act.

  Plus, I want to do this the right way. While I’d love to flip her over and fuck her out here in the wide open underneath the brilliant star-filled sky, I need to slow things down.

  “Jordana, we should probably think about heading back into town for the fireworks show.”

  Her hands stall just at the V of my waist and I suck in a breath, realizing how close she was to my waistband and my cock. She seems to realize it, too, as her eyes narrow and a look of confusion flashes through them.

  “Is this not working for you?”

  And then she shows a little peek into her devilish side as she bucks her hips over my hard ridge, causing a groan to lodge in the back of my throat.

  I growl, flipping her over onto her back, my legs, hips and cock nicely wedged between her open legs.

  “Oh, it’s working, darlin’. A little too well, don’t you think?”

  To emphasize my point, I thrust into her center, where I can feel the burning heat of her desire, even underneath her clothing.

  Bending down, my lips find her throat where I suck and nibble the sensitive flesh there, feeling the vibration of her moans.

  “Jordana, if we don’t leave now, I’m going to want to undress you. Touch you, kiss you and then fuck you. Right here and right now.”

  I swear to God, the eager gasp she lets slip from her mouth is almost my tipping point. Instead, I find my resolve and roll off of her, adjusting the painful cock in my pants as I do.

  When I turn my head to look at her again, I wonder about my sanity,
because the look in her eyes is dark and heavy with desire.

  I reach for hand to help her up as we stand, pressing my body into hers.

  “Jordana, there is nothing I want more than you. You’ve gotten me so hard someone might mistake it for a revolver in my pants.”

  She giggles and opening stares at my third leg, her eyebrows lifting appreciatively.

  I waggle my finger between us. “Don’t be doing that now, darlin’. I need to uphold my duty as a member of law enforcement. I wouldn’t want to have to arrest us for public indecency, now would I?”

  Her giggle hangs between us as I swing an arm around her shoulder and we begin making our way back toward the car at the top of the ridge.

  As I open the door, I plant a kiss on the top of her nose before kissing her lips to get a final taste before we leave.

  “Jordana, I want to be with you. But after the public fireworks show and only in private. Because I promise you, when I fuck you, you’ll be seeing your own special brand of fireworks.”

  Jordana

  You’ll be seeing your own private fireworks.

  Cord’s promise keeps running through my head as we make our way through the crowds of people, spread out across the blanket-covered ground in the town square.

  Every head turns and every set of eyes stare at us as Cord and I stroll leisurely hand-in-hand until he finds a spot and places the tri-colored blanket down next to a family and their children.

  I don’t recognize them, but the man has enough facial similarities to Cord that I know it must be his brother.

  “Well, well, well. What do we have here? My baby brother finally got the balls to ask the cute bank manager out on a date?” He chuckles sarcastically, but it comes off as a brotherly rib, not mean or rude.

  Cord shifts to my side, locking his arm around my waist tighter.

  “Figured I’d better do it before someone else did.”

  He glances down at me, a crooked grin across his lips. “Jr. and Lara, this is Jordana Bolton. Jordana, this is my brother Jr. and his wife, Lara. And these are their three mini-me’s. Craw, Carlisle and Coby. My nephews.”

  I wave and give them each a smile and greeting. “Hi Lara. I think we met a few weeks ago when you came in to the bank. Good to see you again. And nice to meet you, both.”

  Cord helps me down and we nestle in as he sets down the cooler he brought along.

  “Care for a beverage?” he asks me, opening the lid and demonstrating the variety of sodas and soft drinks he was thoughtful to bring for us.

  “A Lemonade, please.” Handing me a cup, he pours our drinks and we settle back as the announcement from Mayor Wilton Rosedale begins over the speaker system.

  “Welcome my fellow Americans and residents and guests of Milltown. We are honored to have you here with us tonight to celebrate our nation’s birthday. Some of you have attended our annual July Fourth in Milltown celebration since you were too young to remember, and others, this may be your first time. Whatever the case may be, I hope you enjoy the show and remember that our freedom is the cornerstone of our country and we’ve fought to continue our independence for well over 200 years. And in the words of Nelson Mandela, ‘For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.’ Enjoy the show!”

  The meaning behind the quote burrows under my skin and slams straight into my heart. It’s as if the Mayor spoke those words just for me. To remind me that I have to do something now that I’m free of my past and the former chains Trever kept me locked in for so many years.

  I can’t live my life any longer scared of punishment when I’ve done no crime.

  My only crime was to fall for someone who didn’t have the capacity to love me back.

  “Are you okay?”

  The sound of Cord’s caring voice next to my ear startles me. I turn to look up, his sweet, sky-blue eyes staring down at me with something I’ve never seen before. Genuine concern.

  Returning his smile, I link my fingers through his and drag them to my lap. “Of course. I was just thinking that this is the first time I’ve ever done something like this.”

  “Like what?”

  “This. A fireworks show,” I admit in an embarrassed whisper.

  He seems completely taken back by my answer, but it’s the truth. As a kid in foster care, I’d never been taken to these sorts of festivals just for the fun of it. I was dragged along to many casinos with my foster mother, the bright lights of the table games and slot machines being the only sort of show I ever saw.

  Using his thumb, our hands still clasped together, he runs it over my thigh, hidden underneath the blanket. It shoots a thrill over me like nothing I’ve ever experienced. It’s tender and sweet, but also filled with the dangerous promise of what’s to come later. What we’ll do with one another once we’re alone in the dark and not surrounded by the friends and his family and the entire town.

  “I’m glad I get to be with you for your first.”

  Me, too.

  I didn’t know what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t this. My heart clamors loudly in my chest, ready to jump through my throat from the spectacular lights and music display I just witnessed. My jaw hurts from staying wide open from all the ‘Ooohs’ and ‘Ahhhs’ I’ve mumbled over the last thirty minutes.

  “Ready to go?” Cord finishes folding up the blanket as I say goodbye to Lara, who I’ve made plans with to get together for coffee sometime in the coming week.

  Nodding my head in agreement, I take the blanket from his arms, placing my hand in his. It seems so strange that this is only our first date. It seems I’ve known him for years and the way I feel about him this soon is crazy.

  Something about Cord speaks to my heart. The physical and emotional connection I have with him is so strong, so powerful, it lights up my soul brighter than any fireworks show in the world.

  We get to his car and he follows me to the passenger side, opening the door but crowding me in against the frame before I can get in.

  “Jordana,” he murmurs in my ear, his chest pressed against my back, as he spins me around to face him, arms locked above me, caging me in. “Tell me if I’m coming on too strong or crossing the line here, darlin’. Tell me to back off if it’s not what you want.”

  Clutching at the hem of his shirt, I pull him closer, tilting my head at an angle so my lips meet his. I instigate the kiss, but he takes charge and deepens it. Slipping my fingers underneath the material, I slide them up over his taut stomach, enjoying the sensation as they clench and ripple under my touch. I fan them out over his rib cage, my index finger toying with the round of his nipple.

  Cord sucks in a gasp, then nips at my bottom lip, his body seeking friction as his pelvis thrusts into me.

  “This is exactly what I want, Cord. I want this with you.”

  He grunts and throws his head back to the night sky. “Thank you, Jesus.”

  I laugh as he speedily shuts the door and sprints around the hood of the car, starting it up and expediently guiding the car out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

  As we near the house, he gives me a side-glance, as if to make sure I’m still with him. That I haven’t changed my mind. I bite down on my lip and lean over the console, planting my hand on the thick of his thigh, before dragging it up to the bulge in his pants.

  We’d been discussing guns earlier in the evening with his brother, so I decide to use that and turn it into a dirty analogy.

  “You know, I’d love to demonstrate my gun owner safety tips with you,” I purr with a sly smile, roughly stroking his erection. “Make sure you know how to use it properly so that it doesn’t go off unexpectedly at the wrong time.”

  His groan echoes through the car as I unbutton and unzip his pants, sliding my hand inside to find the head of his cock poking through the waistband of his briefs. I lick my lips, setting his cock free by adjusting the material down and fist the smooth crown that glistens with sticky drops of hi
s pre-cum.

  My analogy is clear and needs no explanation. He knows exactly what I mean and what I mean to do. I run a finger over his slit and bring it to my lips, sucking it off my finger seductively and getting my first taste of Cord Clawson.

  “See? This is what I mean. It’s imperative to keep your service weapon cocked, loaded and clean at all times.”

  Cord seems stunned as he puts the car in park and turns off the engine, the house lights above my garage casting a dim glow through the windshield. The rest of my neighborhood is dark, not a person around. Taking advantage of the situation, I unbuckle my seat belt and lean over the center, going in for the kill.

  I wrap my lips around his shaft, sucking and licking the smooth flesh into my mouth, paying extra attention to the sweet dip of the crown and then licking the underside of his cock.

  He grips the steering wheel in one fist and the other he places on the back of my head with a groan.

  “Oh Christ. That feels too good. Too fucking good.”

  I reach a hand over to the side of his seat, fumbling with the buttons until I find the one to recline his seat, giving myself more room to do my dirty work as he unbuckles his seat belt. The head of his cock is large, his girth even thicker, all of it a challenge to fit in my mouth, but I do my best.

  Opening wide, I suck him in deep, each time he hits the back of my throat, I gag just a little as he lets out a sound that makes it all worthwhile.

  “Darlin’,” he drawls with a pant, as he slides out of my mouth leaving me empty and pouting. “I may know a lot about guns, but I’m about to embarrass myself by aiming and shooting in that pretty mouth of yours too soon. I’d rather shoot at another target, if you know what I mean.”

  I sit up, adjusting my dress and wiping at the corners of my mouth. I can still taste his salty musk on my tongue.