Falling Sweetly (Starling Falls #2) (31 page)

The phone dropped from her hand as she rooted around in her bag, and I grabbed it from her lap, wishing I could go through the phone and strangle my twin.

When I put the phone to my ear, I heard his manic laughter. “I’m glad you think this is funny, asshole.”

“Oh god, she’s cute when she’s high. Listen, brother, I don’t think they’re strong, it should wear off soon. Just keep her hydrated, and for the love of God, get the woman some Cheetos.”

The ass hung up on me before I could yell at him anymore.

“Niki, baby, I need you to focus for me. Can you do that?”

She unbuckled her seatbelt and crawled over to straddle my lap. “Sure, big guy. I’m all yours.”

Not now, Little Jake!

“Baby, how many of those brownies did you have?” I asked putting my hand on her hips to still the grinding motion.

“Dunno. Two?”

I heaved a relieved sigh that she hadn’t eaten many. “You’re high.”

“I don’t understand what you mean… your eyes are so blue. Did you know that? They’re like chips of the ocean in your face.” She started tracing lines over my face, stopping at my lips.

“Annika. Focus. The brownies you ate… they had pot in them. The reason you want snacks right now is because you’ve got the munchies.”

Her jaw dropped as my words slowly registered.

“Pot? You mean like marijuana?” she asked slowly in a loud whisper as if someone was listening.

I nodded, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah.”

“I’m high? Oh god.” She looked panicked. “I’ve never been high before. What do I do? Am I going to start hallucinating?”

“I don’t think so. Josh says they aren’t strong. There’s nothing we can do, babe. Just got to let it pass.”

She huffed. “Well that sucks. And I’m still hungry. Can we find a gas station to stock up at?”

She moved back to her seat and put her bare feet up on the dashboard, leaning back in her chair.

“Should we go back?”

“No way, José! It’s my party, and I’ll get high if I want to,” she started giggling manically at her own joke, poking me when I didn’t laugh along. “Oh come on! That was funny!”

I let out a reluctant laugh, and rested my head on the steering wheel. “I don’t know what call to make here, babe.”

“I do!” she protested. “Snack, then cabin, then hiking, then naked sexy times in yond hot tub! That ‘twas what was promised to me, Sir! You said it shall passeth in a few of hours, correct? And you are with me.” She beamed brightly at me. “Thus I am safe. Onwards, good sir.”

I shook my head and started the engine. “Is there a reason why you’re starting to sound like you belong in a Shakespeare play?”

She looked very thoughtful. “I do not know. Tis most puzzling. However, I believe it is better than sounding like Yoda.”

* * * * *

“Baby, you stay in the car, okay? I’ll go get your snacks,” I said through the cracked open window when we finally got to a gas station.

“Okay,” she replied as she got out of the car, slamming the door behind her, and headed towards the convenience store.

For fuck’s sake.

“Annika, come back!” I called after her, willing the gas pump to hurry up.

She waved her hand dismissively at me and strolled into the store. Finally having filled the tank I rushed in after her, to find her with 5 different bags of chips and a hand filled with candy bars.

“Jake!” she said happily as if surprised to see me there. “I have found the snacks. But it would appear I need more hands than I have. How useful would it be to have three or four hands...” Niki looked off dreamily, and I shook my head, picking up a couple of bottles of water as Niki dumped her armful of food onto the checkout.

Before the man could bag the Cheetos, she had snatched up a bag and ripped it open groaning happily. “Delicious!”

The young attendant smiled at her knowingly, and I was about to pull her away when a slender, red haired man in skinny jeans, a fitted shirt and bowtie, browsing by the magazines, caught my eye.

“Oh fuck,” I muttered wondering what I could have done to piss off the universe so badly.

“What is it, Jake?” Niki asked looking in the same direction as me. “Do you know that man?”

“Only met him a couple of times. That’s Scottie McKenzie.”

I was about to pay the attendant and get the hell out of the store when Niki gasped dramatically. “Oh, right, the mean food critic guy.” Her expression changed, and she stormed over to him. “Hey you! Yeah you!”

“Can I help you?” the man said in a light Scottish accent, looking up from the magazine in his hand.

“Aww, your accent is so cute,” Niki cooed at the man before shaking her head. “No, focus, Annika, don’t be distracted but cute bowties and accents,” she muttered to herself and glared at the man. “I’m so mad at you!”

The man’s green eyes widened as he stared at her bewildered. “And why exactly are you mad at me?”

“You trashed my boyfriend!”

“I trash a lot of people. Who’s your boyfriend?”

“Jake Jameson! He use to work at Marco’s in Starling Falls, and he is amazing.” She stopped to pop a few more Cheetos in her mouth.

“Your review was unfair. He wasn’t even the one cooking for you, you… meanie! You see there’s this really horrible guy named Dillon, and he fucked up all the dishes on purpose and left to work for Marco’s competition, and it was awful.”

I walked over to where they stood and tried to pull her away. “Niki, leave the man alone.”

“No! He needs to know that he was wrong! Jake is amazing and talented and you, you…” she seemed to struggle to find a curse word, “turd face, have no idea how good he is, because you never gave him a second chance. And I’m not just saying that cos I’m sleeping with him.”

She turned back to me, tiptoed and kissed my cheek. “Though the sex is amazing, baby.”

Good to know.

Niki stopped again to shove a handful of orange crap in her mouth, and groaned in pleasure. “So GOOD!” She licked Cheeto dust off her fingers before offering the bag to Scottie, who shook his head in refusal, looking understandably bewildered at being accosted by a small woman who looked like she wouldn’t say boo to a goose.

Niki shrugged at his rejection and kept talking with her mouth full.

“He’s opening his own restaurant. It’s none of your fancy fine-dining nonsense, but if you if want to taste real food that makes your soul smile, you should come check it out. Jake! Give him the address so he can come.”

When I wordlessly shook my head at her, she rolled her eyes and walked back to the cashier dragging Scottie with her, and reached across the counter to take a Sharpie lying next to the cashier’s crossword puzzle.

She turned Scottie’s hand so it was facing palm up, and I watched in horror as she began to write the address of The Saloon along his forearm.

“Oh shit. Niki, stop! I’m so sorry, man.” I tried to pull her away again, but as I was rapidly discovering, Niki when high was surprisingly strong.

“Don’t miss out. You’ll regret it. We’re opening next Sunday. Don’t be a party pooper. Make sure you turn up, okay? It’ll be fun!” She grinned at Scottie, tossed the pen back to the stunned cashier, waved at both of them and left the gas station to make her way back to the car.

We all stared after her while she walked back to the car, her full hips swaying and her arms filled with bags of various junk food.

“Is she…” Scottie started to ask.

“High as a kite?” I finished the sentence for him. “Yep. So…that happened. Anyway, I just wanted to say sorry again about what happened at Marco’s… and sorry about my girlfriend writing on you.

“No hard feelings about the review. In a way it worked out for the best, because now I’m doing what I want to do.”

I held out a hand and he shook it warily. “I usually get punches to the face, not handshakes from the people I give bad reviews to.”

“Nothing you said wasn’t true, man. Anyway have a nice day, and sorry again about the…” I gestured toward the black ink on his arm. “I’m pretty sure that should just wash off.”

I paid quickly for the gas and food, nodded my thanks to the cashier before hurrying towards the car where Niki was blaring music from the radio and changing the channels rapidly.

Fuck me. This is going to be one long ride.

* * * * *

A light drizzle had started to fall by the time we reached the cabin, and the heavy thunder clouds in the distance ruled out the possibility of going for a hike anytime soon.

I parked in front of the cabin and frowned as we got out of the car.

“It doesn’t quite look like the picture, does it?” Niki observed as she bit into a Twinkie.

“No, it certainly does not.”

What should have been a rustic yet romantic cabin, looked more like an abandoned cabin from a horror movie. All that was missing from the setting were some horny teenagers making poor life choices and a serial killer with a hook for a hand.

We walked up the path to the cabin, and I found the key under the mat where the person we were renting it from said it would be.

The door creaked open and we wandered into cabin which looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in the last couple of years.

There was a thick layer of dust over all the appliances and rusty spring sticking out of the couch.

Niki walked into the kitchen area to turn on a tap, and rust coloured water came out in erratic bursts.

“Well, that doesn’t look safe,” I said making a face.

A diseased looking bed was against the corner of the room. As I walked over to it, I saw several unpleasant looking stains that had me recoiling in disgust.

“Maybe the hot tub will be okay?” Niki suggested hopefully, as we went out the front door and walked around the wrap around porch to the back of the property.

I pulled back the cover of the hot tub, and Niki let out a gasp as a frog jumped out and hopped away. There was layer of leaves and decaying mulch floating on the top of tub.

Niki and I exchanged a horrified glance. “Home?” she suggested.

I nodded, and pulled the cover back over the hot tub. “Home.”

CHAPTER 29

Jacob

I took the keys from Niki and opened the door. “I’m starving. Let’s go scrounge in the fridge for something to eat. Pretty sure that chocolate cake we were testing is still in there.”

We headed to the fridge and began pulling out various ingredients, and hastily made some leftover chicken filled sandwiches, which we devoured while standing at the counter.

“I’m sorry you’re birthday present got screwed up, baby. I promised you a romantic getaway not a stay at the cabin of horrors.”

Niki shook her head as she finished her sandwich. “It’s the thought that counts. With our track record, if the cabin had been liveable, I would have been surprised.

And the road trip up there was pretty fun. Can’t say that I want to repeat that experience again anytime soon. Getting the munchies sucked.”

I chuckled as I opened a bottle of water and slid it across to her before going back into the fridge and coming out with a rich chocolate fudge cake.

“You got any room for dessert?”

“Always.”

Niki pulled out a couple of plates from the cupboard and cut us each a generous slice.

She moaned around the mouthful of cake, and the sound went sent straight to my cock.

“Jake, it’s so good. I think it needs a sauce or something with it though.” She held out a forkful of the cake for me to try.

I moved to stand behind her, my arms wrapped around her waist. I pressed my hard cock against her.

“Let me try.” The hitch I heard in her voice made me grin as I opened my mouth for her to feed me.

“Mmm. I think you’re right, baby. It definitely needs a sauce.”

I spun her around to face me, dipping my head to nibble at her pouty bottom lip. When she sighed softly, I trailed hot kisses down the side of her neck.

“I never got to tell you how much I liked this dress, gorgeous.” I told her as my hands drifted down to the hem of the skirt.

I pulled the dress over Niki’s head, and stripped her of her underwear before she had a chance to protest.

Picking her up, I placed her naked body on the counter of the kitchen.

Beautiful brown eyes widened as I went to the fridge and pulled out two bottles filled with caramel and dark chocolate sauces.

“Jake, what are you doing?” she asked breathily.

I threw a wicked grin her way as I picked up one of the bottles and drizzled the contents over her chest, “I’m going to find out which sauce I prefer.”

“Oh, okay. Sounds like a good plan.” Her laugh turned into a moan as my mouth enclosed a firm nipple. “Oh God. Jake.”

Cupping the soft, warm flesh, I gathered some of the caramel sauce onto my tongue, before kissing her deeply. I pulled away and chuckled as I watched her lick her lips.

“What do you think of that one, Niki?” I whispered in her ear, as I trailed a finger through her wet folds and lightly teased her clit.

“It’s good.” she sighed happily, her eyes closed, “So. Good.”

Her hips bucked up to meet my fingers, “Hm. We have another one to try.” I reminded her as I licked the remaining caramel off her skin.

She let out a cute, frustrated growl as my hand left her pussy, “Jake!”

“Easy, gorgeous.” I pressed a chaste kiss to her lips, while one hand reached for the bottle of chocolate sauce.

I took my time making a pattern across her breasts and ribs, which earned me a mean little glare from my disgruntled girlfriend.

“Jake, stop teasing!”

I poured more over her tummy and onto her mound. She gasped and groaned as I licked as deeply as I could into her dripping slit, before suckling on her clit as I slipped a finger into her tight pussy.

“But you’re so cute when you’re frustrated.” My teasing earned me another little growl from Niki.

Chuckling against her heated skin, I pressed a second finger in up to my knuckles and took her mouth again as my fingers found and rubbed against her g-spot.