Shaken, Not Stirred

  Shaking my head, because fuck... I'm a putz to be thinking those things... I walk into the kitchen.

  Walking up to Zoey first, I lean over and kiss her on the top of her head. "I can't believe you're waking me up so early, brat."

  She smiles while she happily chews her eggs, cutting a sly grin at Casey, which means she was behind this devious plot to get me out of bed.

  Turning to Casey, I walk up to her, place my hands lightly on her hips, and lean in to brush my lips over hers. I slide my mouth over her cheek, right up to her ear where I murmur, "You were in on it too. Gonna make you pay for that later."

  And she fucking shivers... right there, over the promise in my voice. When she whispers back, "Lucky me," I have to abruptly let her go and turn toward the coffee pot before I start to get a boner.

  "Why are we up so early?" I ask curiously.

  "Because... we want to get down on the beach," Zoey says.

  "And I'm needed for that because?" I prompt.

  "Because we both want to spend time with you," Casey says as she slaps my shoulder, "and I have to go into work at twelve today, so my time is limited."

  "Oh, yeah... right," I say with a grin as I pour my coffee. "I'm made of so much damn awesomeness that my girls can't get enough of me."

  Casey snorts, and Zoey gives me an eye roll.

  I lean back against the counter, my own hip bumping up against Casey's. Looking over at Zoey, I say, "You know... instead of the beach, maybe Casey could take you shopping this morning for a few new bathing suits."

  Casey remains noticeably quiet but Zoey gives me another eye roll, and then pins me with a look that says, "Seriously, Dad?"

  "What?" I ask defensively. "What's wrong with that? And what girl doesn't love getting new clothes?"

  "I have a bathing suit," Zoey says before turning her eyes back to her eggs.

  Since subtle didn't work, I go for overt. "It's too revealing," I say pointedly. "Your mom shouldn't have bought that for you."

  I expect Zoey to start a full-blown argument, so I'm surprised when Casey says, "I thought it was lovely."

  "See," Zoey says as she shoots Casey an adoring look. "Casey thinks it's fine."

  Yeah, well Casey doesn't have a fourteen-year-old daughter who had plenty of boys on the beach looking at her yesterday. They were looking at Casey too, but that didn't bother me. If I was going to beat up some punk kid for ogling, it will be for ogling my daughter, not Casey. She can hold her own.

  Now, if it's a full-grown man... maybe one with a big, fat wallet... then yeah, I wouldn't mind stomping his ass into the sand if he ogled Casey, but that, thankfully, didn't happen yesterday.

  My head turns slowly to look at Casey, one eyebrow cocked. "You think it's okay? What she had on yesterday?"

  Casey looks a little torn, now that I've put her on the spot. I know she wants to stand by my side, and I'm sure she understands the parenting is left up to me, but I also know she wants to give her own opinion.

  "Just give it to me straight, Goldie," I say.

  "Um... I think I'll just stay out of this," she says hesitantly, and I know her need to appease me is winning out over her need to bond with Zoey. She averts her eyes and turns to pour the rest of her coffee down the drain. "I'm actually going to go get my bathing suit on and I'll be ready to go."

  Zoey doesn't look back up at me but continues eating. I watch Casey walk away, and I'm stuck not knowing whether to argue with Zoey or not. I'm a little out of my depth here. It's the first time I've had to worry about these things with my daughter, and I don't want to fuck up. I want to be protective, but not stifling.

  Pointing at the sink, I tell Zoey, "Wash your dish when you're done."

  I follow Casey back into her bedroom, where I find her tying the strings of a tiny, white bikini at her hip. For a few moments, I get sidetracked, watching her work... looking at the narrow waist, the way her hips swell out beautifully, then her long, toned legs. When she finishes, she pulls her t-shirt off, and then I really get distracted by her beautiful breasts as they swing free. She pulls her bikini top on quickly over her head, the top strings already tied.

  Casey shoots me a taunting look and says, "Want to tie the back for me?"

  I stride over to her as she turns her back to me. I run my eyes down the golden skin of her back, focus in on a tiny mole she has just over the back of her right hip, and then to the beautiful ass below. I reach up, pull on the strings to make sure the cups are adequately covering her breasts and tie them at her back.

  Stepping in closer to her, I bring my arms around and cup her breasts with my palms. She presses back into me and lets her head fall back onto my shoulder. I pinch each nipple between my thumbs and forefingers, relishing her whimper and the way they harden under my touch.

  "Did I ever tell you how sexy you are?" I ask, tilting my head to run my lips up her neck.

  She nods, and I can hear heat and longing in her voice. "You tell me a lot. You show me just as much."

  Releasing her breasts, I wrap my arms around her waist and squeeze her tight, resting my chin on her shoulder. "Seriously... tell me honestly what you think about Zoey's bathing suit. You copped out in the kitchen."

  Casey turns in my arms and loops hers over my shoulders, letting her fingers play in the hair at the back of my head. "Honestly, Tenn... her bathing suit is fine."

  "It's a two-piece," I point out.

  "And a modest one at that. It adequately covers her boobs and her butt, and even has a ruffle on the back end. It's sweet. I wore suits like that at her age."

  "But she's exposed," I grumble. "And boys... did you see how many boys were vying for her attention out there yesterday?"

  "I hate to tell this to you," Casey says with a sympathetic smile, "but your daughter is stunning. Doesn't matter if she's wearing a two-piece or a one-piece, they are going to swarm."

  Lowering my forehead to hers, I let out a sigh. "She's growing up too fast. Makes me feel old and prudish."

  Casey laughs, tilts her head up, and touches her lips to mine. "You are most definitely not prudish. Have you even listened to yourself when you talk dirty to me? You'd make a porn star blush."

  I grin at her, kiss her quickly, and say, "I do like me some dirty talk."

  "I like it when you talk dirty too." She grins back.

  "So the suit is fine?" I ask again, just to verify one more time.

  "It's fine. Besides, it's not like they're going to try anything with you sitting there."

  "Fine," I say before kissing her one last time, thinking to make it quick, but when she slips her tongue in my mouth... well, there's no disregarding that move. So I kiss her deep instead but ultimately pull away when I start to feel lust stirring me below the waist.

  My phone starts ringing, so I release Casey and walk over to her dresser where I had left it charging last night. I see it's Nix calling.

  "What's up, man?" I ask as I connect the call.

  "Looks like Emily and I can come down this weekend. Would that be good?"

  On the heels of my visit to see Nix in New Jersey, we've continued to brainstorm over my business idea. I told him about the garage for sale here in Nags Head, and while he's questioning the locale, he did agree to come down and see it.

  "Yeah, that sounds great, man. How long can you stay?"

  "We'll stay a few nights... make it a mini vacation," he says. "Emily's dad actually has a friend with a house on the island, so we have a kickass place to stay."

  Nix's fiancee Emily has connections. Her dad is a U.S. Senator, and the rumor mill is he's looking at a presidential run. Her family also comes from insane money, which gives me a little pause for concern, but I don't say anything about it just yet with Casey standing in the room with me. That's not a beast I've figured out how to tackle, because I do think some of Casey's views about rich people could be a little skewed.

  "Okay, man... why don't you text me the details of when you'll be in and we'll arrange a time for you to see the garag
e, and then I figured we could get together one night and pound some beers," I tell Nix as Casey sashays past me into the bathroom.

  "Works for me," he says and then disconnects after a quick, "Later."

  "Nix coming down to visit?" Casey asks from the bathroom as I watch her take her hair down and rearrange it back up into something that looks just like the tousled pile she had up there before.

  I walk over to the doorway and lean my shoulder against the jamb. "Yeah... this weekend."

  "Cool," she says. "Although, I wish I had room to let them bunk here."

  "They were able to get a place for a few days," I say vaguely and luckily, she doesn't ask me more details. I figure in the circles that Emily Burnham travels in, the house that was probably loaned to them is a mega-mansion like her friends Gavin and Savannah live in. I haven't seen it yet, but Casey tells me it's monstrous.

  I'm not sure why I'm reticent to bring up the fact that Emily comes from a powerful family and lots of money. Casey has friends that are rich... Gavin, by way of example. And Brody's fiancee Alyssa is an heiress as well. But those are her friends... she knows them in the context away from their money, so I'm assuming Casey makes exceptions. But past that, Casey is admittedly judgmental when it comes to the power money gives people and the way in which it changes them.

  Based on her experience with Jeff, she intimately ties money and power with a man's character, and that totally gives me concern because I haven't been overly forthcoming with Casey about my own background.

  In a cowardly maneuver, I've glossed over a lot of the details about my family when Casey's asked. It's not because I'm necessarily hiding it, but it's that I don't want to give her any room to be skittish with me. After the "Jeff" ordeal, there's no telling what will come into that head of hers and her fragile sensibilities regarding relationships.

  "Okay... I'm ready," Casey announces as she turns toward me and holds her arms out to the side for inspection.

  My eyes slide over her... over golden skin that I've pretty much licked every square inch of. Looking back up to her, I give her a smirk. "I guess you pass muster."

  "Pass muster?" she asks dramatically with narrowed eyes. "This is the hottest thing you'll see on the beach today. I think I more than pass muster."

  I grin licentiously at her, grab her by the waist, and pull her in for a kiss. After I rob the breath from her lungs with said kiss, I smile and rub my nose against hers. "You are the hottest, sexiest thing ever. You more than pass muster. You outshine the sun."

  "God... your dirty talk is good, but your sweet talk is even better," Casey mutters as she shimmies past me and out the door of her bedroom.

  I watch that fine ass as it sways out the door for just a moment before I follow her.

  It's a massive production to get set up on the beach but by nine AM, we are in business complete with foldout lounge chairs, a cooler with ice and water for Casey and Coke for Zoey and me, towels, and the ever-needed sunscreen. I suggested getting one of those large umbrellas you stick in the sand, but Casey actually sneered at me.

  "Shade is for wusses."

  I threw up my hands in quick defeat and said, "Sorry, Miss Beach Goddess. Didn't know there were rules."

  She just smirked at me, and then put on a production by slathering the front of her body with sunscreen. It took some concentrated effort on my part not to get turned on by that, but I managed and mainly because of my daughter being there. It's amazing how free I am with Casey when it's just me and her... having no boundaries when it comes to expressing our mutual desire for each other. With Zoey here, it's a bit different. I have to check myself so I don't say something completely dirty to Casey or I don't get a full-blown hard-on when she does something as simple as putting on sunscreen.

  Casey and I get settled in beach chairs next to each other while Zoey heads down to the water's edge. She starts walking south, stopping every once in a while to pick up shells.

  "I have off tomorrow and I'd like to take Zoey up to Corolla to see the wild horses," Casey says as she tilts her face up to the sun.

  "Am I invited?" I ask playfully as I tilt my face up too, closing my eyes against the glare.

  "Sure," she says impishly. "Why not?"

  "Gee thanks," I mutter, slightly put out.

  "It's just... I know how much Zoey loves horses, so I thought that would be something cool I could do for her."

  "I love horses too, Goldie," I point out.

  The creaking of Casey's chair has me opening my eyes and swiveling my head to look at her. She's turned over onto her side, one hand propping up her head and the other arm resting gracefully along the length of her ribs and hip. This position really catches my attention because her breasts squeeze together and... eyes back up to her face before I get a woody.

  "So what was it like working on a ranch?" she asks curiously, her one hand now fiddling with the bow tie of her bikini bottoms at her hip. I swallow hard and make my eyes slide back to focus on her face, which... fuck... that's so beautiful, that alone would give me a hard-on.

  So I decide to concentrate on the conversation. "It's hard work... up at dawn, usually done about the time the sun goes down. It's physically grueling, especially during the calving and branding seasons. And sometimes boring... many days are spent on horseback just riding the perimeter of the property, checking the fence line, and protecting the cattle from wolves and coyotes by our presence out there."

  "Do you love horses or your motorcycle more?" she asks, her blue eyes looking lighter in the overhead sun.

  "Hmmmm..." I pause to think because that's a damn good question. Something I've never considered before, and while I don't miss working the ranch, I do miss riding every day. "I'd have to say horses. I've been riding them since I was practically a baby. The motorcycle thing has only happened in the last several years."

  "Alyssa has a horse that she keeps over at The Haven now," Casey says. She had told me about The Haven, which was Alyssa and Brody's no-kill animal shelter they ran together. "She said I could bring Zoey over there to do some riding if I wanted."

  "She would love that," I tell her, completely warmed over her thoughtfulness to give something to Zoey that she loves so much.

  "You could ride too if you wanted," Casey adds on. "I think you'd look really hot on a horse."

  "Hotter than on a motorcycle?" I ask, turning her original comparative question back on her somewhat.

  "No way," Casey says firmly. "The hottest is you lying on my bed naked, on your stomach and sleeping. The way your arms curl around the pillow make your biceps bunch, and I get to see all of your beautiful tattoos. And your ass... damn, boy... it is the hottest, sweetest ass I've ever seen. Or licked for that matter."

  I groan and lean my head back against the chair, closing my eyes and wishing I could close my ears. "I need you to stop talking now, Casey. You're getting a little too good at dirty talk."

  She chuckles, and I can hear the creaking of her chair as she rolls over onto her back.

  Chapter 19

  Casey

  Tenn on a motorcycle? Very hot.

  Tenn on a horse? No words in the English language can describe.

  I took Alyssa up on her offer to let Tenn and Zoey ride her horse, Sasquatch. He's an Appaloosa gelding that she rescued a few months ago. After she rehabbed him, she'd grown way too attached and decided to keep him. This necessitated her hiring Gabby to expand the current barn outward to add another stall.

  Not knowing much about horses, I kept my distance as Alyssa and Zoey got him saddled. He seems to be a relatively calm horse, but his size intimidates me a bit. Not Zoey, though. She hopped right up and took off after Alyssa pointed her to a riding trail she and Brody had cleared out last year.

  While we waited for her, Alyssa put Tenn and me to work helping to bathe some of the dogs. This is, of course, one of my favorite things to do when I volunteer at The Haven. It's the perfect thing to do on a hot summer day too, and it doesn't hurt to have a gorgeous man by y
our side doing it.

  We got a grand total of five of the dogs done when Zoey came trotting back up to the back of the kennel, easily swinging her tiny frame off the big horse.

  And looking like he'd just won the lottery, Tenn's eyes shined with excitement as he took the reins and hauled himself up in the saddle. One would think a tall man wearing faded jeans, a Harley t-shirt, and black biker boots would look odd in the saddle, but my damn mouth watered as I looked up at him. He had pulled a beaten-up University of Wyoming ball cap out of his back pocket--courtesy of his brother, Woolf, who he had told me graduated there--stuck it on his head, and cantered off.

  It was only when the dog that I was bathing decided to shake the wet soap off, spraying me in the face, did I turn my gaze from Tenn as he rode away on the horse.

  "You really like my dad, huh?" Zoey asked as she squatted down beside me at the large, metal tub.

  "Yeah," I say with another glance at his retreating form in the distance. "I really kind of do."

  "He says you have commitment issues but he's working on fixing that," Zoey says innocently, now sticking her hands into the soapy water to help scrub down the Springer Spaniel who looks at us with morose eyes.

  Shaking my head with a smile on my lips, I can only let Zoey's words roll over me. Over the last week she's been here, I've learned that fourteen-year-old girls don't have much of a filter over their mouths. Zoey, in particular, says whatever is on her mind, never with any ill will or malice, but with a brutal honesty. It's why I give her a pass, because true enough... I do have commitment issues.

  "What do you think of my dad moving here?" she asks, and when I cut my eyes to her, I see a little bit of overprotectiveness in her gaze.

  And damn... that's sweet. She's checking me out on behalf of her dad.

  Taking the spaniel by the collar, I help urge him to hop out of the tub so I can rinse him down. He's only too happy to comply as this dog clearly doesn't like "bath time".

  "You want my honest thoughts?"

  "No sense in lying," she says with a grin. "I can smell a liar a mile away."

  Laughing, I tell her, "Here... come hold his collar as he's likely to jet away when I turn the water on."