Betting the Farm (12 page)

Right then, he deserved a little pampering.

Kai eased her toe into the ring on the stopper and lifted,
letting the water drain from the tub. When it was barely covering Fritz’s hips,
she replaced the plug and turned around, grabbing up the washcloth and soap.
Balancing on her shins between his legs, she squeezed a generous amount onto
the cloth and worked up a thick, citrus-scented lather.

Fritz opened his eyes lazily when she lifted one of his arms
from the edge of the tub and began to rub his skin in gentle strokes, but he
remained silent. He closed his eyes again when she massaged his chest in slow
circles, down his flat stomach to the edge of the water line. Kai took care of
the other arm, then lifted each leg with a hand beneath his calf and washed
them too, easing them back into the water when she was finished.

She rose to her knees and urged him to lean forward so she
could scrub his back. He pressed his face to the bottom of her breast, scraping
her flesh with his teeth before he christened the tingling spot with a soft
kiss. His warm breaths ghosted over her sensitive skin while she washed then
rinsed his back. Her nipples tightened in response to the brief bit of
attention. Once all the soap was gone, she let him recline against the tub
again.

The look on his face made her insides melt. It was more than
banked lust this time, almost reverence, mixed with just a hint of his
trademark humor. The hurt from their past no longer seemed to be a barrier
between them and Kai was ever so grateful. She knew she couldn’t make it
disappear altogether, but perhaps she could at least help it fade to near
transparency by being open and honest with him from here on out.

Dunking the cloth beneath the water, she ran it along the
inside of his thighs, across both hips, before taking an inordinately long time
with his genitals. His cock got lots of consideration, Kai watching her
cloth-covered hand ripple the warm water until Fritz’s soft groan made her look
up at him.

His eyes had gone languid, the pupils dilated. His lips were
parted and there was a flush to his cheeks she didn’t attribute to the water
temperature or the humidity of the bathroom.

She stroked him a few more times, marveling at how thick and
hard he grew, even through the layer of washcloth, before using it to rinse the
remaining soap from his skin. As the water trickled over his shoulders, his
hand came up to wrap around the back of her neck and pull her to him for a
kiss. To hold her where he wanted her and where she wanted to be.

He devoured her mouth, his tongue sweeping across her bottom
lip before she opened for him to dive inside. The kiss tasted faintly of wine,
sweet and rich and dark. His other hand cupped her breast, kneading her until
she was leaning closer for more. When she whimpered, Fritz pulled away.

“You started this, Kai.” Perceptive eyes regarded her from
beneath lust-drunk lids. Strong fingers wrapped around her wrist and led her
bare hand back to his cock. He leaned forward to nip at her throat. “How do you
want to finish it?”

She gave him a slow stroke followed by a firm squeeze, then
reached behind her and pulled the plug from the drain. The remaining water
emptied from the tub. Kai folded the washcloth in half and tucked it beneath
her knees for padding against the hard surface.

“I’ll show you,” she said.

His dick rested against his stomach, ruddy, thick and still
glistening from the bathwater. Wrapping her hand around his rigid shaft, she
lowered her mouth over him. His taste exploded on her tongue—clean and wet,
with a touch of salty essence. Deliciously dark and potently male.

Kai worked her mouth down his length, getting him slicker
with her saliva, flicking her tongue along the raised ridge around the swollen
head. He throbbed inside her mouth. When she slid her lips down until he bumped
the back of her throat, Fritz hissed out a curse, lifting his hips a little to
push even deeper. Suppressing the urge to gag, Kai breathed through her nose
and swallowed around him.

“
Christ
, that’s good,” he said.

Hearing him say that gave her a rush of prideful pleasure.
Helped her confidence too. Besides Fritz, Phillip had been the only other man
she’d tried oral sex with and he’d thought it “unnecessary”. What kind of man
didn’t enjoy having a woman go down on him, or vice versa? Even if she had been
supremely bad at it—which judging by Fritz’s sounds and words, she wasn’t—Kai
still found it enjoyable and an important part of being sexually intimate with
a partner.

She eased her hand down to stroke the taut area of skin
behind his balls. Fritz groaned and tightened his hand in her hair. The clip
was released and it all came tumbling down across his hips, sticking to his
damp skin like a spider’s web.

She moved upward until just his plump cock head remained in
her mouth. Kai teased the slit with the tip of her tongue before sucking
firmly, working her lips back and forth over the flared ridge. Her gaze caught
his.

Fritz watched her, his bottom lip clamped under his top
teeth, his eyes heavy with arousal. He struggled to keep them open and fixed on
her. His stomach muscles tightened when she squeezed his sac, a low groan
rumbling from deep inside his chest.

She loved that she could make him look so lost in pleasure.
Captured by the motion of her mouth, the swirl of her tongue, the light graze
of her teeth. A feeling of deep possessiveness coursed through her body. Kai
wanted to be the last woman to know Fritz this intimately. She wanted to be the
last woman he ever kissed, touched, made love with.

He reached out and cupped her jaw, running his thumb across
her lip where her skin met his, breaking the seal.

“I’m close,” he said. “Straddle my thighs.”

Not sure what his intent was, Kai did as he instructed,
scooting forward at his gentle urging. Fritz fisted his cock, his knuckles
brushing her lower belly, his balls directly below her spread pussy. She ached
to have him inside her, filling her until the yearning turned to ecstasy.

He worked the thumb of his free hand between their bodies.
She was so turned-on by the blowjob and seeing Fritz stroking his dick, she had
to be slick and swollen. When he brushed her clit with just the slightest bit
of pressure, her hips bucked and her hands blindly reached for something to
grab onto, landing on his thick biceps.

Warmth spread through her core at his firm touch, pleasure
speeding toward its breaking point. The hand wrapped around his shaft began to
move, up and down, jacking himself in time to the steady strokes of his thumb.

“I’m out of hands here so play with your nipples for me.
Treat me to a show, honey.”

So far past feeling shy it was shocking, Kai cupped her
breasts in her hands, rolling and pinching her nipples to the point of pain.
Her soft moan echoed off the tiled walls. Fritz’s rough groan chased it seconds
later. Tension coiled between her hipbones, winding tighter and tighter, until
it broke. She shuddered beneath their shared touch, rocking as wave after
delicious wave rolled through her body.

Something warm and wet hit her belly. She blinked open her
eyes to watch dazedly as Fritz came on her skin in thick jets, his hand milking
his cock of every pearly drop. He reached out to trail a finger through the
mess he’d made. His smile was pure filthy indulgence.

The sheer eroticism of the act stunned Kai, freezing her in
place while he marked her. Because that’s what this was—an inherently male way
of staking a claim on what was his. Her heart thumped inside her chest, words
rising in her throat like a strong tide. She pressed her lips together to keep
them in check.

It was too soon, wasn’t it? The declaration might come off
as insincere, given the timing, and she didn’t want to taint the authenticity
one degree.

Besides, everyone knew you didn’t say things like that after
sex.

Fritz opened his eyes when soft lips touched his ear, then
shivered as the tip of Kai’s tongue traced the rim. If he could be woken up
every morning like that, he’d be a happy man. Except it wasn’t morning, it was
nighttime. A quick glance at the darkness outside the window confirmed it.

The warm bath and mind-blowing orgasm had drained him of
what little energy he’d had left—not that he was complaining—and he’d passed
out the second his body hit the bed. In fact, he was still naked beneath the
sheet draped over his lower half.

Stretched out next to him, her head now propped in her hand,
was a decidedly not-naked Kai. She grinned at him before leaning over to kiss
him gently on the lips. The small taste just made him want more. His arms
snaked around her waist, pulling her closer until she was sprawled across his
chest.

“Why do you have on clothes?” he asked when she lifted her
head from more intoxicating kisses. She’d pulled on a tank top and those frayed
denim cutoffs that gave him heart palpitations.

“I’ve been busy while you napped.”

“I wouldn’t call it a nap. It felt more like I slipped into
a coma.”

“Do you feel better?”

“Yep.”

“Then whatever it was, it worked. Are you hungry? I made
shepherd’s pie while you were comatose.”

Fritz rolled her over, pinning her beneath his body, her
soft laughter warming his throat along with everything inside him. “You’re
turning me rotten you know, with all this special treatment and very personal
attention.”

“
Turning
you rotten? I think I’m a little late to
that party, mister.”

He bit her throat hard enough to make her squeal, then
kissed the pink spot. “Smartass.”

Kai gave him a shove. “Get up. Our dinner’s getting cold and
I have lots of stuff to talk to you about.”

“Such as?” Fritz scooted off the foot of the bed and went
digging through his dresser drawer for a clean pair of underwear. When he
peered back at her over his shoulder, she was staring at his ass. He couldn’t
deny it made him feel good that she liked what she saw. He was by no means
conceited but he received his fair share of appreciative looks from the
opposite sex. And yes, in the past those looks had occasionally opened the door
to a night of fun, or perhaps even a few weeks or months of dating. He realized
now though, none of it had ever compared to what it felt like to spend just an
hour in Kai’s company, be it in bed, in the cab of a tractor or simply sharing
a meal.

“Kai?” he prompted when she didn’t answer.

Color bloomed on her cheekbones when her gaze snapped up to
his. “What?”

Chuckling, he shook his head. “You said we had lots of
stuff
to talk about.”

“Oh, that.” She waved a hand through the air before
scrambling off his bed. “We’ll talk while we eat, but please, put on clothes.”

Once dressed, he strolled into the kitchen. Kai had fixed
their plates, set the table and poured them both a glass of tea. She motioned
for him to sit down. He waited for her to do the same before he picked up his
fork to start eating.

“Dig in,” she encouraged.

Fritz groaned when the first bite hit his poor, neglected
taste buds. All he’d had to eat today was a cold sandwich and half a candy bar.
He chewed and swallowed while she watched him expectantly. “Damn, you’re a
natural, just like Mom.”

She beamed, her spine straightening with his compliment.
“Well, that’s very kind of you to say, but there’s not a whole lot to making
shepherd’s pie.”

They ate in companionable silence for a bit before he asked
her what it was she wanted to discuss.

She set a magazine down in front of his cleaned plate and
flipped it open to a page with a folded corner. Fritz scanned the large type
before looking up at her. “I’m familiar with sorghum syrup. My grandparents
used to make it every year back when I was a kid.”

“The article says it’s a dying art. Very few people are
still making it because of the tedious process involved and because you can no
longer find the necessary equipment. But Ruby buys hers from Henry Bennett and
she says it’s the best she’s ever tasted. I guess that would include your
grandparents’ too.”

“I suppose. I’ve never been a fan of it myself. Rather have
cane syrup or honey.” He narrowed his eyes, wondering where she was leading
with all this. “Tell me what’s brewing inside that pretty head of yours.”

She fidgeted with her napkin. “Well, it got me thinking
about the more primitive foodstuff traditions and processes. Henry Bennett
can’t be the only person in this area who produces homemade goods. I remember
Chip Miller’s dad used to grow blueberries back when we were in high school.”

“He still does,” Fritz confirmed. “Blackberries too, from
what I hear.”

“And Lita buys pecans for her pies locally. She also gets
this great squash relish from a friend of hers.”

Fritz took her hand, gently loosening her clenched fist from
around the napkin. “Kai, whatever idea you have, I promise I won’t make fun of
it.”

“I don’t have a name for this idea yet. But I was thinking I
might like to open a sort of…well, a farm co-op is the best way I can describe
it. It would be a place where all the local small growers and artisan producers
could sell their products. We could have a website where items could be
showcased and bought, then shipped anywhere in the country. Perhaps even the
world. Syrup, honey, pecans, relishes, jams, preserves, anything. I could help
design labeling and catch phrases, logos, things of that nature. We could even
market to restaurants and the like. The city might be open to an outdoor
farmer’s market once a month, during the warmer parts of the year. And we don’t
have a fresh bakery in town, so maybe that could be an option too. We could
sell local baked goods like Ruby’s cookies or Lita’s pies, for example. Breads,
cakes, whatever. Maybe have a seating area where folks could enjoy a cup of
coffee with their dessert, and then shop if they wanted.”

The more she talked, the more animated she became and the brighter
the light of excitement grew in her eyes. Fritz felt as if he were watching a
flower open in the sun, all brilliant colors and a fresh eagerness for a
newfound life. It warmed him just to bear witness to it when she’d seemed
rather subdued the past few weeks.

She must’ve mistaken his silence for doubt or indifference.
“I know it might seem out of left field, but when I read that article I felt
the first real spark of interest in something outside of you since I moved back
to Serenity.”

He gave her a warm smile of encouragement. “I think it’s a
great idea, honey. Have you given any thought to how
you
would make
money off of it? Enough to pay overhead, marketing costs and turn a profit?”

“We charge a percentage or a commission on sales. There
might have to be a small buy-in fee, I don’t know. I haven’t started crunching
numbers yet. I may ask Grace to help me with that since she majored in
finance.”

“Who’s the ‘we’ you keep referring to?” he asked. He would
help her all he could if she asked but he wasn’t going to assume for a second
she meant him.

She bit her lip. “I want to ask Ruby if she’d like to get
involved. I have a hunch she will. She seems as though she’s eager for a
project to keep her busy, get her out of the house.” Her hand slid into his,
lacing their fingers together. “And I want your input too. Especially yours. I
want your support.”

He gave a little tug on their joined hands, drawing her
closer for a slow kiss. “You’ve got it.” Hearing her tentative plans for a
different career path made him ask, “Is the job with your father not what you’d
hoped it would be?”

He knew she wanted to work, that she needed to feel
productive. He’d made no secret of how he felt about the grip her family had on
her. Despite that, he’d like to see her do something she enjoyed, something
that offered contentment, otherwise she’d find herself unhappy quickly. If he
didn’t like farming and being his own boss, there was no way he could stand to
do it day in and day out.

“He’s grooming me to take over the business one day. Well,
both Josh and me, I suppose. Trouble is I don’t want that future. I’ve never
wanted it.” She looked away from his face, swirling her thumb through the
condensation on her tea glass. “He’s going to be upset with me when I tell
him.”

“Then that’s selfish and narrow-minded on his part. It’s not
like you’d be rejecting
him
, just the job.”

“But will he see it that way? He’s worked hard to make the
business what it is today and I know he wants it left in capable hands when he
decides to retire. I respect that a lot. I do. That still doesn’t change the
fact that it’s not the future
I
want.”

He wanted to ask her what the future was that she saw for
herself, just to know if it included him, but he refrained. She would be too
afraid to be that open with him at this point anyway, and he couldn’t blame
her. It was a scary thing to put herself out there when she didn’t know if the
other person felt the same.

“He has Josh. Or does that make him nervous?” Fritz asked.

Fritz knew a few things about Kai’s brother, one of which
was that he always came off as entitled. Sometimes Fritz wondered how Kai could
even be a part of the same family.

“He hasn’t said, and he won’t as long as he thinks I’ll be
there too. Josh isn’t dumb by any measure but he’s not very energetic either.”

He squeezed her hand. “Just be certain this is what you want
before you break bonds that may be irreparable.” She grinned and he pinched her
thigh. “I know a few big words, hot stuff.”

“How do you know that’s what I was smiling about? It
might’ve been because I thought your cautioning me was incredibly sweet and
touching.”

“Nice try, but I surprised you, didn’t I?”

She laughed, standing to clear their plates. Fritz followed
her to the sink with the glasses.

“Was that all you wanted to talk about?” he asked.

She made a sink full of soapy water for the dishes.

“Actually, no. At the Junior League luncheon a few weeks
ago, I sort of committed Carter Farms to helping out with the upcoming
Centennial Celebration.”

“Oh?”

“For the record, it wasn’t my idea to start with. Mary Jo
Pennington tried to embarrass me in front of the group, but I turned it around
on her instead and—”

“Whoa, wait just a second.” Fritz stopped rinsing the glass
she’d handed him and turned his head to look at her. “How did Mary Jo
Pennington try to embarrass you?”

She kept her eyes fixed on the dishwater. When she bit her
lip, Fritz tensed.

“She was just being catty, Fritz. I handled it in my own
way—”

“What did she say?” he asked with a little more force.

She glanced up at him. “She told the whole room that we’re
seeing each other again. I don’t care who knows about it, mind you, but that of
course included my mother. I hadn’t told her yet, so she looked like someone
had slit her throat from ear to ear. She’s not speaking to me now, and my
father felt the need to lecture me about being insensitive to
her
feelings when I went back to the house to pack up my things.”

Fritz put the glass he was drying away before it shattered
in his fist and braced his hands against the edge of the sink. He didn’t give a
damn what Kai’s family thought of him, but it made him furious that they
treated her as if she were committing a crime by seeing him.

What would happen if they stayed together? If he wanted to
marry her someday? Would they continue to torment her then too? And what about
their kids? Because he wanted children and Kai would make an amazing mother.
What grandparent wouldn’t want to spend time with their grandchildren? Spoil
them rotten? His mom and dad would be ridiculous about it, and that still made
him happy anyway.

He decided he’d better not touch the subject of her parents’
displeasure right now, not when it angered him so much. He might say something
he’d regret later.

“How did Mary Jo know we were seeing each other again?”

Kai shrugged. “To quote Grace, Serenity’s gossip vine is
like kudzu—wild, rampant and hard to kill.”

“Good analogy.”

“Mary Jo had a huge crush on Sage back in high school, you
know. I found a note she’d left on his truck seat one day when y’all were
giving me a ride home, and it was quite explicit about all the things she
wanted to do to him. Suffice it to say, Miss Pennington is not as prim and
proper as she appears.”

“I’d rather not have that visual rolling around in my head.”

“Sage might’ve taken her up on it, who knows. Horny teenage
boys and all that.”

“Hypocritical bitch,” Fritz mumbled.

“She changed her tune real quick when I reminded her of that
note.”

“Please tell me you did it in front of the group.”

“Fritz.” Kai bumped him with her shoulder then handed him a
soapy plate to rinse. “I couldn’t be
that
mean.”

“Even though she deserved it.”

“I suspect she’ll think twice before crossing me again.”

“It’s good to see the old Kai coming back.”

She leaned in for a kiss. “Thank you.”

“For what? Helping with the dishes?”

“No. For being in my corner. For not pushing too hard. For
being patient. For listening and not making fun when I told you my crazy plan.”

It’s because I love you like crazy
, he wanted to say.
I’d do anything for you.
Instead, he settled for, “It’s not a crazy
plan, and you’re worth it.”

He watched her blink away the sheen in her eyes, his throat
growing tight. He needed to lighten the mood a little. “So, what did you commit
us to doing for the Centennial?”

“The Junior League wants to sell boiled corn on the cob. I
think Mary Jo was using the idea to expose me at first, but then when I said I
felt sure Carter Farms would be happy to help out in exchange for recognition,
she was caught in her own trap.” She smiled sheepishly. “Did I overstep my
bounds?”