Double Feature (6 page)

Josie

“Could your marriage be a tad happier? Could sex be a
whole lot sexier? Do you have questions about how to make love but don’t know
who to ask? Well, now you can ask me. I’m Riley Wanamaker, Sexpert at Large.”

I gawped at my TV screen and then at Riley. He was stretched
out on my couch and grinning like a dog that just made off with a casserole.
His own mutt Roscoe had his brindled butt on one of my couch cushions as usual.
“Riley Wanamaker, Sexpert at Large?” I repeated. “Can you tell me how in blazes
you managed to get your own cable TV show?”

“Same way I get everything,” Riley said as he smoothed down
a fine new black cashmere sweater that paired very nicely with his expensive
designer jeans. “By working the famous Wanamaker charm.”

“I thought it was by working the famous Wanamaker cock,” I
commented.

Riley pursed his lips but knew I was teasing. “That might
account for some of my success. That’s what got you this nice house, isn’t it?”

As always I had to shake my head at Riley’s logic. “Only you
could turn cheating on me into something I should thank you for.” But I
couldn’t be mad as I looked around my big new living room. The whole area was
brightened by the afternoon sun streaming through the tall windows, which
treated us to a glorious view of the autumn leaves draping Mayfield in gold and
crimson. I was finally living in my dream house, the old Doulette place. Except
now I called it the new McCabe and Masterson residence. The thought made me
grin like a fool every time.

“Anyhow, Candy thinks my show’s going to be a big hit,”
Riley continued. “We’ve already taped ten episodes.”

I curled up opposite Riley on the sofa. “That what kept you
from coming to Lucille’s engagement party?” He’d finally told me about his
affair with my aunt. That hadn’t surprised me as much as his feelings for her.

“I didn’t really need to be there,” Riley said as he
scratched Roscoe’s ears. “I’ve seen Lucille since then and we made our peace.
Not
that
way,” he said, noting my look of shock. “I’ve got
some
morals. Besides, I haven’t been with anybody but Candy since we met at Miles’
premiere two months ago.”

Now I was really gawping at him. “Whoa my God. Someone found
a way to tame Wandering Wanamaker? How?”

Just then Roscoe lifted his head and started wagging his
tail. “To be continued,” Riley said as he looked out the window. “A famous
actor just pulled up the drive.”

Riley put on a well-cut leather suit jacket and said he had
to go do some publicity shots for his show. He fist-bumped Miles on his way to
his recently pimped Mustang. Miles came up the walk with a man I didn’t
recognize.

“Josie,” he said as he closed the front door against a
chilly autumn breeze. “This is Chase Garrett, the executive producer of
Lawman
.”

I went a tad dumbstruck at meeting this important man who
shook my hand enthusiastically. “Great to meet you, Josie. Miles tells me
you’re the one I can thank for convincing him that he was perfect for the role
of the sheriff in my show.”

“I was only telling him true,” I said. “But I’m sure glad
you agreed.”

“I’ve been showing Chase around Mayfield to see if he’d
consider shooting the TV series here,” Miles said.

Chase nodded. “I’ve seen the town and met some of the
people. I ate way too many of those famous honey-dipped crullers at the Bear
Claw,” he said, patting his belly. “And I can honestly say that Mayfield County
is exactly the type of place I’d envisioned for
Lawman
’s sheriff to live
and work in.”

Miles and I were both holding our breath. “Does that mean…?”
Miles asked.

Chase nodded. “Tell everyone to prepare for a cast and crew
who’ll need places to stay and eat and live for the next few months. And if
word that the show is going to be a hit comes to pass, Mayfield may find itself
overrun with fans and tourists.”

I could barely hear what else Chase was saying for Miles’
whoop of joy. He lifted me up and swung me around as I laughed and gave him big
celebratory smooches. Business was coming back to Mayfield. Maybe my daddy’s
fears about the townspeople having to sell their land rights for fracking wouldn’t
come to pass after all.

When we’d settled down, Chase was still smiling away. “This
county and everything in it are perfect for our production. From the unspoiled
land to the people to houses like this. Even these paintings,” he said as he
admired our walls.

He wandered over to the canvas I’d done of Lake Jessup. Then
he took in the new one I’d painted for Miles of the Hawthorne Cinema Palace.
“This is classic American fine art,” Chase observed. “Just beautiful. I’d love
to hang one of these on the wall of the set for the sheriff’s office and use a
few in the opening credits for the show.” Chase turned to us. “Do you know the
artist?”

Miles stood behind me and encircled me with his arms, just
as he’d done the day we met at the grand old atmospheric movie theater. I’d
told him I couldn’t look over the edge of the balcony because of my fear of
heights. He promised to hold me tight so I could look out and see far. Further
even than the elaborately painted constellations on the theater’s domed
ceiling.

He showed me I could look into a future where I could love
again. And even further into a time when I could stomp over the hurt that kept
me from reaching for the same stars I’d told him to shoot for.

“I painted them,” I murmured. Miles gave me a squeeze of encouragement.
Now my voice was strong and clear as I declared, “I’m the artist.”

Our new bedroom was far larger than my old one, definitely
built for two. This room held a king-sized bed that I reclined on as I helped
Miles memorize his lines from one of the
Lawman
TV scripts. I provided
motivation by stripping off a piece of clothing for every line he got right.
He’d instituted the rule of taking something of his off for every line he
remembered too. He’d done well so far. I was nearly naked and mighty distracted
by a Nordic god in nothing but a pair of brief black shorts that clung to him
the way I wanted to.

“Now get your growl ready,” I prompted. “The sheriff’s just
walked into the mob boss’s hideout. Guns are drawn. The suitcase with the money
is under the desk. I’ll be the mobster.” I tried to sound menacing. “‘You got
something you want to say to me, Sheriff?’”

Miles chuckled at my bad-guy voice. Then he smiled at me. “I
do have something to say.” He came over to my side of the bed and sat next to
me. “I love you, Josie.”

I looked up at him and hoped I’d heard right. Since the day
we met in the movie theater we’d rarely been apart and just a couple months
later we were living together but we’d still been gun-shy about saying how we
felt about each other. I was, anyway. From the start I’d seen a spark in his
eyes that said he’d found something true. I knew I had too, but saying it out
loud felt like leaping off the movie theater balcony, not just looking over it.

“That’s not the sheriff’s next line,” I choked out.

The gentle smile Miles gave me said he understood that he
might have to ease me into this. “Does that mean,” he asked, slipping his
fingertips under the front closure of my bra, “you get to keep this on?”

“No,” I said, “because it’s still a good line.” I leaned
back a tad and the clasp opened under his fingers. Miles’ merry blue eyes
turned to something more like heated cobalt when he saw the space suddenly
appear between my generously filled bra cups.

He lifted one black lace strap off my shoulder. “It’s no
line, Josie.” Then the other strap was pulled away. “It’s the truth.”

“I know.” I pushed the cups apart to unveil the girls and
shrugged off the bra. Then I took his hands in mine and placed them over my
heart. “This has been yours since the day we met.” I moved his hands to cradle
my breasts. “These too.”

We grinned at each other for a moment before Miles gathered
me up and pulled me onto his lap. I sighed deeply as I felt his bare chest
against mine, the sparse golden hair between his pecs tickling my skin. I
wrapped my arms and legs around him as he embraced me. Our lips met tenderly.
Then more deeply. And slowly. He was so good about taking his time with me. So
patient in knowing that I could give him some parts of me more easily than
others. And so willing to hold me in a way that said he wasn’t about to let go.

I moved away from Miles just enough to be able to look into
his eyes when I said, “I love you.”

When we kissed again, something felt different. Sweeter,
somehow, for me having spoken my true feelings aloud. And I could feel the
happiness in Miles’ kiss. In the joyful way I’d come to adore, his lips parted
mine so we could be closer. We blended and teased and stroked with our tongues
and brushed our lips against each other. Together we began to sink into a space
where love and passion melded.

Suddenly I had to be closer to Miles. Neither saying how I
felt nor the physical act alone would be enough now. I needed to tell him while
we were as close as we could get.

I ground my hips against his, moaning within the kiss at the
feel of his cock being so hard already. I found the sweet connection between my
clit and his crown and rubbed against him with shameless greed. He broke our
kiss and let out a cross between a gasp and a sigh before his mouth sought out
one of my nipples. I cried out with ecstatic delight at the feel of his lips
sucking at me and making my flesh peak under his ardent tongue.

He kept me close with an arm still wrapped around me but
used the other hand to knead my breast. My fingers tangled in his silken blond
hair as I pulled him closer to make him suck me harder. All the while I kept
rubbing against his cock, both tormented and delighted by our underwear keeping
us just that whisper apart.
Fuck.
I was so turned-on by this combination
of wanting him and loving him that I began to shudder. “Miles,” I gasped, “oh
Miles.”

He knew my body so well. In one smooth move his mouth went to
my other nipple and his fingers dove under the front of my thong. He knew just
how to stroke both sides of my pearl, first up and down and then back and
forth. The honey that dripped from my excitement for him made his movements
slick and easy.

I quivered in his arms. Small cries came from my throat. He
kept sucking and rubbing and licking and touching and suddenly my whole body
shook again and again and again.

Miles switched to kissing my tender breasts as he carefully
withdrew his fingers. Every touch made me shudder from the power of the orgasm.
He took me in his arms and laid me down on the bed.
Our bed
, I thought
with a weak smile as I watched him pull off my thong and then his briefs.

I wasn’t the only one feeling this new and heady mix of
emotion and sensuality. Miles lost all finesse in his haste to grab a condom
from the box on my nightstand. I laughed as he tore the wrapper open with his
teeth. I loved when he lost his mind this way. I loved everything about him.
Especially the way he looked at me right before he pushed inside me.

Ohhh.
There we were. He nestled between my legs and
eased himself into my body all the way. He stayed propped on his elbows so we
could look into each other’s eyes. And we stayed there for a moment, just
enjoying this closeness.

“Josie,” he whispered. “I’ve been in love with you since the
first time I saw those sparklers in your eyes.”

“They’re only that way when I look at you,” I murmured.

He stroked my face and kissed me. “Say it again.”

“I’ll tell you forever. I love you. I love you, Miles
Masterson.”

I couldn’t say it anymore when he started moving inside me.
He felt so good my words became sounds of desire made as real as our heated
skin. I knew my eyes were telling him and the rest of my body too.

I hung on to the chiseled columns of his arms and wrapped my
legs around his hips so I could meet every thrust and get him as deep inside me
as possible. I’d had good sex before and I’d been stuck on men before but being
with someone I loved truly and who knew so well what made me feel good lit me
on brilliant fire. One giant crest of emotion and sensation swept me up high
and kept me there long enough to hear Miles cry out my name and pull me to him
tight. Every one of our muscles and nerves shuddered, together.

Miles always rendered me speechless after we made love. This
time, though, I wasn’t quiet because I was trying to keep myself from feeling
or saying something. We’d said everything we needed and wanted to say. Spent as
we were we could only gaze into each other’s eyes before sleep pulled a gentle
cover over us both.

Reality eased softly into a dream where Miles was still
holding me. But we were up high, in the balcony of the Hawthorne Cinema Palace,
looking at the twinkly lights representing stars in a ceiling painted like a
night sky. Then the ceiling became the real sky, the lights real stars, and we
were floating up higher and higher.

Together we flew up until we could touch the tips of the
stars.

Erika Almond is the secret identity of a multi-published
author. A mild-mannered former rock journalist, Erika now uses her powers to
write super-sexy love stories. Visit her blog and follow her adventures on
Twitter.

Erika welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email addresses on her
author
bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.

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Steamy
Love Scenes 1: Enjoy the Show

Steamy
Love Scenes 2: Intermission

Ellora’s Cave Publishing

www.ellorascave.com

Double Feature

ISBN 9781419990656

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Double Feature Copyright © 2014 Erika Almond

Edited by Beverly Horne

Cover design by Fiona Jayde

Cover photography by romancenovelcovers.com

Electronic book publication February 2014

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