Until Forever [Merricks, Montana 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Read online

  “Sorry,” she said. Cody’s eyes snapped back to hers. “I called out a couple of times, but you didn’t seem to hear me.”

  “I was lost in thought,” Cody replied. “I didn’t even hear your car pull up.”

  “I’m surprised,” she said, chuckling. “That thing is a beast.”

  Cody looked out his back window at the large black pickup parked behind his little car. His fantasy was coming to life in more ways than one.

  “You drive that thing?” he asked. It was a huge vehicle for such a small woman, and she was small despite her extra curves. She was short and curvy and perfect.

  “Not always,” she answered. “I had to borrow it from a friend so I could pick up some furniture I bought online. I usually drive a vintage Mustang.”

  Cody could see her in a Mustang. The top pulled back and her hair under a scarf as she flew down the highway. He needed to get a grip. He was starting to wonder if he had conjured up the woman.

  “I’m Cody by the way,” he said, introducing himself. He stuck out his hand to shake and waited.

  “Sam,” she replied and placed her small hand in his.

  Cody felt a zing shoot up his arm and looked down at their joined hands. Her nails were long and painted as red as her lips, and he wasn’t sure why he found that sexy, but he did. His cock came to life in his pants, and he pulled his hand back before he embarrassed himself.

  “My car broke,” he said lamely and shook his head. Smooth, Cody, real smooth.

  “Let me take a look at it,” she said, smiling, and she moved around to the front of the car. “Could be a coolant leak or maybe you blew a head gasket.”

  “Maybe the car is just as old as fuck,” Cody said as he stood to join her.

  “I beg your pardon?” Sam said. “Language, Cody.”

  Her voice was stern and austere, and had Cody snapping to attention. She sounded a lot like Troy when they were playing, and it sent shivers down his spine and into his cock.

  “Sorry, Mistress,” he replied in a servile tone and waited for her reaction.

  Sam tilted her head as she watched him. After a few seconds she nodded and looked back at the engine.

  Cody wasn’t sure how to take that. She seemed to understand his reply, so did that mean she was in the lifestyle or just that she knew about it? More to the point was she even interested in him, like he was her? He was hopeless at reading signals, and it had gotten him in trouble more than once.

  Then again, was he interested? Oh, she was hot, and he was totally interested in having sex with the woman, but that was all he could offer. He was on his way to a new job and had just had his heart crushed. He shouldn’t be thinking about starting something with someone new.

  All he could offer her was a couple of nights before he headed out of town, and he wouldn’t do that to someone, or himself. He wasn’t a one-night stand kind of guy, and he knew just by looking at her that he would become quickly addicted if he ever got her anywhere near a bed.

  “So you know about cars?” he asked. She certainly seemed to.

  “Yes,” she replied. “I had this crush on a guy as a teenager. He loved cars, and I loved spending time in the garage with him.”

  “Cars were never my thing. I have never been good with my hands,” he told her.

  “I doubt that,” she replied.

  Cody looked at her and wondered at her meaning. Was she flirting?

  “I’ll have to call a tow truck,” Sam told him. “It will need to be looked at properly by the town mechanic. Let me grab my cell.”

  “Oh, thanks,” Cody said. So it wasn’t going to be an easy fix then. Crap, that was all he needed. He would have to dig into his vacation money to pay for the car, and that was less places he would be able to stay at along the way.

  Cody watched Sam’s ass sway as she walked toward the big black pickup. Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. He would be able to spend more time in town with Sam.

  What was he thinking? Wasn’t he just telling himself what a bad idea chasing after her would be? He needed to get his mind out of his pants.

  Sam returned with the phone in her hand, and he watched as she called the tow company. She really was a spectacular-looking woman, just the kind that he and Troy had always talked about. It was bad timing that he had met her now instead of when he and Troy were still together. Maybe she would have been the glue that held them together. Or maybe he would have had his heart broken twice.

  Sam disconnected and turned to him.

  “He will be a couple of hours,” she told him. “So I will give you a lift into town, and you can get something to eat while you wait.”

  “Oh, sure,” he replied. “Thanks.”

  Cody didn’t mind getting to spend some more time in Sam’s company. He found her intriguing. She was a contradiction, and he wanted to explore her different facets more.

  Sam was feminine with her styled hair and long, painted fingernails, yet he was sure she was dominant, not that that didn’t make her girly, but she loved cars and knew about engines.

  Cody should be running in the opposite direction and thanking his stars that he was smart enough not to make the same mistake twice. He needed to get to Seattle and stop worrying about his love life.

  Instead, he was already fascinated with Sam and willing to throw caution to the wind. Well, at least Adam couldn’t accuse him of being a coward and hiding from life.

  “Come on then,” she said. “There is a great little diner in town that serves the best pie.”

  “What about their coffee?” Cody asked. “Any good?”

  Cody locked up his car and then followed Sam over to the big black pickup and got into the passenger seat. Sam jumped in and started the engine. It rumbled to life, and she slowly pulled the huge pickup onto the highway.

  “Coffee is coffee,” Sam replied after they were on the road and heading into town. “It’s the same everywhere.”

  Cody’s mouth dropped open in horror. She was totally wrong there, and he was just the man to tell her so.

  “I can’t believe you just said that,” he told her.

  * * * *

  Sam looked over at the tall man she had just rescued and admired his lean, strong form. He wasn’t overly muscular but had more of an athlete’s body. He looked kind of cute in his plain T-shirt and jeans, his shaggy, light-brown hair mussed from hours of travel.

  When she had approached him back at the car, she hadn’t noticed how good looking he was, but once he opened his eyes and stared at her with those gray-blues, Sam felt the attraction slam into her, and it had pulsed through her body ever since.

  Then to discover that he was possibly submissive was icing on the cake. He had responded beautifully to her dominance, and she had only reprimanded him on his language. She could only imagine what he would be like if they were ever able to play.

  Sam couldn’t even contemplate it though. She didn’t know how long he was staying in town, and if she got too attached, he would leave town and take a part of her with him.

  Sam wasn’t someone who got involved in a relationship that didn’t mean anything to her. She invested a part of herself in each and every one, and it hurt her equally when it was over.

  It wasn’t like at the club. There she could play the part of the strict Domme and walk away at the end of the night. It was almost as though her brain gave her permission inside those walls to detach herself from her usual need for an emotional bond and take part in scenes with the submissives without investing her soul. Then, when the night was over, she would leave, her needs fulfilled but not emotionally drained from constantly giving a part of herself and getting nothing in return.

  Now she had finally found someone who made her heart race and her girly parts stand to attention, and she couldn’t do anything about it. She should drop him off at the diner and take off. Instead, she was already going through her plans for the day and what she could change to spend more time with Cody.

  “It’s more than just a drink,”
Cody said. “A good coffee can start your day off right and can relax you. The bitter brew hits your tongue, and the warmth envelops your body.”

  Cody had been talking about coffee for the last ten minutes, and Sam really didn’t see the fascination. She liked coffee as much as the next person, but Cody took it to the next level.

  “Well, I don’t know about all that,” she said. “But I haven’t heard any complaints in the diner about their coffee yet.”

  “I will have to make you a coffee one day,” Cody told her. “Trust me, you will love it. It will blow your mind.”

  “I’d like that,” Sam replied, smiling over at him. He was cute when he was excited, and he was obviously passionate about coffee. She would be honored to drink the coffee that he had made for her, knowing that he was so emotionally involved in the process. “If you stay in town long enough.”

  “Yeah, well,” he said, “I have to get my car fixed before I can go anywhere. Luckily I have plenty of time before I have to be in Seattle for my new job.”

  “Merricks is as good a town as any to spend time in,” she told him. “There are some great old buildings to see, and I’m sure I can ask one of my friends to take you horseback riding. You could check out the shops and eat out the Bar and Grill.”

  Jeez, now she sounded as though she was trying to convince him to stay. She hoped she didn’t sound as desperate to him as she did to herself.

  “I’d really love to,” he replied. “As long as I have you as my personal tour guide.”

  “I’d like that too,” she said. Sam wanted to know if he would like to go to Silk Ties with her, but that was a question that would have to wait until they knew each other better.

  She was still convinced that he was submissive, but whether or not he was active in the lifestyle was another kettle of fish. If not, Sam was sure she could show him the benefits of a good spanking. His long, lean body would look hot draped over the back of her couch while she reddened his rock-hard ass.

  Sam shook her head and pulled her thoughts away from picturing Cody’s naked body. She was getting turned on, and there wasn’t much she could do about it. She might never be able to. Cody might not be interested in anything she had to offer.

  “So, Cody,” she said, “are you seeing anyone special? Do you have a woman waiting for you in Seattle?”

  “No,” he replied. “My sort of boyfriend, Troy, and I, well, things didn’t work out as I had hoped.”

  Bugger, she had read that all wrong. She was sure Cody had been interested too, even if only slightly. She was finally interested in someone, and it turned out he was gay. Golly, she had bad luck when it came to men lately.

  Josh was a dominant ass, and Cody was gay. Would her luck with men ever change?

  “I’m sorry to hear that, doll,” she said. “I’m sure another man is out there for you.”

  “Yes,” he replied. “Another man or woman.”

  “Excuse me?” she asked, confused. Her heart sped up at the small hope that she had heard him right.

  “I’m bisexual,” he told her. “You looked kinda disappointed when I told you I had a sort of boyfriend. I hope it doesn’t bother you that I like men.”

  Sam felt instant relief and smiled. Yep, she was already way too emotionally invested in a man she had known only for all of twenty minutes.

  “No,” she said. “My disappointment wasn’t that you liked men. It was that you might not like me because I’m a woman.” Had she really just told him that? Sam wanted to smack her head on the steering wheel. She was totally playing it cool. Um, or not. “I have nothing against two men being together. In fact, I think it’s really hot.”

  Oh, someone shut her up.

  Cody was going to go running from the pickup the moment she pulled into town at this rate.

  Cody looked across the seat at her, and Sam wondered what he was thinking. He looked as though he was contemplating something, and Sam hoped it wasn’t how quickly he could brush her off.

  “So, Sam,” Cody said, after what felt like an eternity, “are you seeing anyone special, male or female?”

  Sam smiled at Cody. He was so cute. There wasn’t really any other way to describe him. He wasn’t masculine and brawny like a lot of the men in town, and he didn’t radiate confidence or come across as overbearing and arrogant. That didn’t mean he wasn’t manly or that he was too girly. He just wasn’t as butch compared to a lot of the men she was used to.

  Cody was sweet and somewhat shy. He had a scruffy, unkempt look about him, and it suited his softer personality. She would bet that he was loyal and would deeply love the person he gave his heart to, and she cursed this Troy person for stomping on it.

  No matter what happened between them, whether it was just friendship or something more, Sam would make sure he knew his self-worth before he left town. He seemed like a great guy, and hopefully, time would prove her correct in her assumptions.

  “No,” she replied. “I’m not seeing anyone, male or female, but I do prefer the male variety.”

  “Then I don’t see the harm in us spending more time together while my car gets fixed,” he told her.

  “Starting with something to eat,” she said. “I’m starving.”

  “Me too,” Cody replied. “I missed breakfast.”

  “That is unacceptable, sweetness,” she told him. “It’s the most important meal of the day. You will make sure you eat every morning from now on.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” he said, and Sam felt a small amount of satisfaction at his compliance.

  She certainly liked hearing him call her Ma’am and hoped to hear him say it in a more intimate setting one day soon.

  As they made their way to town, Sam and Cody got to know each other better. Sam told Cody about her boutique and her love of anything girly from the ’40s and ’50s. Cody told her about his job offer and moving to a new city. He also told her about Troy and how heartbroken he was, but he didn’t blame Troy for not wanting a relationship.

  They discovered they both loved similar books and movies and had both started to read Lord of the Rings, but the damned thing was too long and they had both given up. Cody had lasted longer than she had though, and she had to give him a small amount of credit.

  When they finally pulled into Merricks, it was just after the lunch rush, and people were heading back to work and their daily lives. Sam slowly drove through town and pulled the large pickup into an empty spot.

  “Here we are,” she said. “Let’s go and grab some food. I can hear your belly rumble from here.”

  “Sounds good,” he replied. “Just in case I forget latter, thanks for rescuing me and driving me into town. I’m really glad I met you.”

  “No problem,” she said. “I’m glad I met you too.”

  Sam smiled over at Cody and then got out of the pickup. She paused when she got to the diner door, and Cody jumped to open it for her. He had manners, and that was good to see. She was used to it around Merricks. Men were always opening doors and pushing in a lady’s chair.

  Sam walked over to a booth and sat down. Cody slid in across from her and picked up his menu.

  “What looks good, Sam?” he asked. “I’ll have whatever you recommend.”

  “I think I’m going to have the country chicken casserole and mashed potatoes, but I recommend steak. It is locally raised and melts in your mouth.”

  The waitress came over and took their orders, Cody letting Sam take the lead. She liked that about him too. She was starting to like a lot about him.

  “I need to book into a motel or bed and breakfast,” he said. “Is there one within walking distance?”

  Sam was tempted to let him stay with her, but she really had only just met him, and that would send the men in the town into fits. They were protective of all the women in town, and letting someone into her home she’d only just met would be seen as dangerous. She didn’t want Cody upset when men turned up to remove the “danger.”

  “Sure,” she said. “We can walk over
after lunch and get you settled. Then I will show you where the mechanic is.”

  Their food arrived shortly after, and they both tucked in. Sam was glad she had the day off and was able to spend time helping Cody. She still needed to drop her furniture off at her place, but maybe Cody would like to come for a drive.

  Then she would invite him for dinner tomorrow night. She didn’t want to come off too eager, and he would need some rest after so much travel. Sam smiled as she ate her meal. She needed to remain cautious and remember that Cody was still going to leave town, but she liked him too much to not spend time with him while he was here.

  She had gotten over men before, and she could do it again. Besides, if they remained friends, they could always Skype. Seattle wasn’t that far. Sam shook her head. They had only just met. She might be over this attraction by tonight, and then she had worried about nothing.

  Sam looked over the table at Cody. She intended to make the most of her time with him, no matter the outcome.

  Chapter Five

  Troy walked into Coffee at Minnie’s and once again felt regret at letting Cody go. He had come here every morning for coffee since Cody had left, and every day the pain and regret was getting worse.

  He missed Cody’s smile and the way he shook his shaggy hair from his eyes. He even missed the coffee that Cody forced down his throat every time they were together. It was why he kept coming here. It wasn’t as good as Cody could make it, but it was close, and it gave him a small connection to the man he had let walk from his life.

  “What are you doing here?” Troy turned at the sound of Cody’s friend Adam’s voice. He knew the man had never liked him much when he was dating Cody, but his tone was openly hostile now.

  “Buying coffee,” Troy replied. “I would have thought that was obvious.”

  It was the first time Adam had been working since he had started coming in here every day. He wasn’t sure what Adam’s problem was, and frankly he didn’t care. He had always treated Cody right and had been honest in their relationship. His only mistake had been letting the man go.