Tragic (Lark Cove Book 3)

“Goddamn, son of a bitch, motherfucker!”

The hammer I’d just smashed into my knuckle fell out of my grip, dropping right onto my toe.

“Shit!” I chucked the chisel in my throbbing hand across the shop. It crashed into a stack of wooden dowels along the wall, rattling them before falling to the ground.

The noise outside was driving me insane, and I couldn’t fucking concentrate.

I’d been in the middle of carving a notch into a maple board. The table I’d designed used various notches and grooves to fit together. Not only because they were sturdy but because they lent detail to this particular piece’s unique design. It was like a puzzle and each piece had to be made with precision.

This particular board had ten notches. Right as I’d been about to finish the last, a loud crash had boomed outside and made me flinch. The hammer I’d just raised came down at the wrong angle, moving too fast. It hit the end of my chisel, sending it too deep into the wood before skidding off and bashing my thumb’s knuckle.

Not only did my hand hurt, now I’d have to remake this piece and the nine other notches I’d just spent an hour carving.

I was already behind on this project because my client had changed their mind on the type of wood three times. By the time they’d finally settled on maple, my supplier had been on back order. I was in a rush to finish this table by the deadline, and mistakes would only set me back further.

I’d been making stupid mistakes like this for a week, all because of the fucking noise.

All because of my fucking neighbor.

It had been a month since that woman had shown up on my doorstep. I’d spent two days after her arrival dreading the idea of company up here. I’d gotten used to living up here alone. Even before my former neighbors had passed, they hadn’t been here much. So when she’d stayed away for weeks, I’d figured she’d given up.

I’d relaxed, glad I wouldn’t have to share this mountainside.

Then a week ago, right as the May flowers had begun to bloom, an Airstream had backed into her driveway.

After that, a construction crew had arrived. They’d been making noise ever since, starting at dawn and ending after dark.

Another crash sounded outside, forcing me up from my stool.

“Fuck, I give up.” I’d have to come back late tonight and pray I could focus.

I bent and picked up the hammer by my boot, taking it to my workbench, where each tool had its rightful place on the plethora of hooks and shelves. I hung up the hammer, then went to retrieve the chisel. It got placed in a drawer, third spot from the left.

My tools were priceless. I treated them arguably better than I treated myself. But along with my hands, they kept me fed.

When I’d finished trade school, I’d made the decision to invest in the highest-quality tools on the market. Like a painter used brushes and oils to craft beauty, I used calipers and carvers. Planes and spokeshaves. Files and rasps. They were all top-of-the-line. And my power tools, the saws and shapers and presses, were worth more combined than my truck.

To use them all effectively, I had to concentrate. To concentrate, I required silence.

Three years ago, that construction crew could have made all the noise in the world and it wouldn’t have bothered me. Back then, my shop had been in the middle of an industrial park. Traffic would continuously whiz by. Visitors from nearby businesses would stop by to bullshit and drink my strong coffee. I used to work with rock and roll turned up to eleven.

That was before.

Now, the only sounds I allowed in my shop were those from my power tools. I tolerated the forest’s noise but would close the overhead door if the wind blew too loudly in the trees or the birds chirped obnoxiously.

I’d grown accustomed to quiet.

If they couldn’t keep it down next door, I was going to lose my goddamn mind.

Maybe I already had.

What the fuck was she doing over there anyway? She had five guys over there, destroying the place. She was living in an Airstream with the generator kicking on and off at all hours. Was she trying to make my life a living hell?

Since work was out of the question, I shut off the lights to the shop and locked the door. No one ever came up here and I hadn’t locked up in ages. But that woman and her minions made me nervous, and I’d decided last week not to take the chance that my tools would find themselves in the bed of someone else’s truck.

Who knew what kind of people she’d hired? Or what kind of person she was? She obviously didn’t have any boundaries. She’d come marching over to my property without an invitation last month. Then when I’d sent her as clear a get fucking lost message as you could get, she’d shouted at me through the door I’d slammed in her face.

Who did that?

“I’m not crazy,” I muttered as I walked up the small path that led to my house. “She’s the crazy one.”

My neighbor. The thought irritated me to no end. I hadn’t bothered to get to know the previous owners. They’d been an older couple who’d come and gone for vacations, never once bothering to introduce themselves. Just how I liked it.

But then there was this one. What was her name?

Piper. Piper Campbell. God, even her name annoyed me.

Why? I wasn’t sure. Probably because of how quickly Piper had gotten under my skin.

I glanced down at my palm. The scab that had reminded me of her for a month was nearly gone now. The day she’d come over, I’d just sliced a gash in my hand.

I was peeling an apple that afternoon, trying to remove the skin in one long spiral. It was something my mom had always been able to do. I was half asleep from too little sleep for too many years, and after a long hike that morning, my muscles were weak. The knife slipped, cutting deep into the fleshy part of my palm.

After throwing the knife and the apple across the room, I scrambled for a rag. The cut bled like a bastard, and I was trying to staunch the flow when Piper knocked on my door.

One look at her and the pain in my hand vanished. Her chestnut hair was long and full, parted in a perfectly straight line down the middle. It hung past her shoulders in thick, silky strands. Her deep-set eyes were the color of my favorite dark-roast wood stain.

Her lips were plump beneath the regal bridge of her nose. The green forest light illuminated her olive skin. Her classic beauty was out of place on my dusty porch.

My body responded immediately to the swell of her breasts and the lush curve of her hips. After three years of living in solitude with limited social interaction, I’d all but forgotten how quickly my dick could harden at the sight of a beautiful woman.

Or maybe it was just her.

My body’s reaction only fueled my anger, so I shut the door on her stunning face.

Though the damage had been done. Every one of her features had been imprinted on my brain, and I’d been unable to block them out since.

I stepped up onto my porch, picturing her in this exact spot, and glanced over to her place. Was she remodeling it? Or tearing it down?

Curiosity got the better of me and I turned, retreating down the stairs I’d just climbed. The old path between our properties was overgrown but still passable thanks to the deer that kept it broken in.

I walked toward her property, not planning on getting too close. I had no desire to speak to anyone today—or any day. But when I saw the disaster this woman had created, my footsteps just got faster.

“You’re fucking kidding me.” I shook my head, gritting my teeth as I scanned the area.

The construction workers had brought in a large metal Dumpster. It was parked between our properties, overflowing with broken boards and sheetrock. Old ceiling panels stuck out of one end.

And what wouldn’t fit in the Dumpster was now scattered on the ground.

There were Formica countertops crushing bushes. Yellow cabinets were stacked up against a young tree. Rolls of old carpet were scattered over the forest floor.

My forest floor.

Piper’s house was built on the edge of her property, much like mine. The two places hugged the boundary line between our individual acreage. The logic behind that decision was a damn mystery. Maybe the people who’d originally built on these properties thought neighbors were a good thing.

But since I didn’t, the proximity of our homes had always bothered the hell out of me.

When I’d first moved up here, I’d contemplated having my cabin relocated to the center of my fifteen-acre plot. But when I’d learned that my neighbors were never here, I’d decided to just let it be.

Big fucking mistake.

I should have moved my cabin. Better yet, I should have bought her property and guaranteed myself the seclusion. But since I was a furniture maker, not a billionaire, I hadn’t had that option.

Funerals were expensive.

I’d been lucky just to pay for my own property and have enough left over to build my shop.

My savings account was slowly growing again because I didn’t need much to live on. I didn’t eat out or go to bars or buy new clothes. My only expenses were groceries, utilities and the cell phone I rarely used.

But as I reached the invisible line between our properties, I cursed myself for not taking out a loan to buy her place.

Trash was everywhere. I spotted more yellow cabinets and some scraps of lime-green wallpaper. Was that a teal refrigerator?

It was.

And it was on my property along with the rest, infecting my life with its hideousness.

I looked away from the mess and aimed my glare at the house just as the front door burst open. A stream of five workers barreled out, laughing and clapping one another on their backs. Now that they’d spread destruction all over my property, they were probably off early this Friday afternoon, ready for a beer at the Lark Cove Bar.

The workers piled into a line of trucks parked along the drive and, one by one, pulled away. Not a single one had noticed me. I stood, scowling at their taillights until all that was left was the distant rumble of engines.

With them gone, I went right to the Airstream and pounded on the silver door.

Piper’s clown car was parked behind the camper. The car was too damn cute, too trendy to belong up here. My eyes were narrowed at the car when the latch to the door clicked open.

“I thought you all just left for the day.” Piper was smiling as the door swung open. Her dimples were also too damn cute. They disappeared along with her smile when she saw it was me at her door, not a crew member.

My gaze roamed her face, picking it apart and searching for things I didn’t like. But I came up empty.

Son of a bitch. I liked it all, from her big eyes to her narrow nostrils to her flat chin. I even liked her teeth that were too white.

“Can I help you?” She held the door open but didn’t step down.

“What the fuck is going on here?”

She blinked, then her mouth turned down. “Excuse me?”

“What. The fuck. Is going on here?” I repeated, then pointed behind me to the pile of shit on my property. “What is all of that?”

She looked over my head to where I was still pointing. “That would be garbage. I’m renovating my house.”

“Why is it on my property?”

Her eyes narrowed, though they were still too fucking big. “It’s not on your property. It’s on mine.”

“No. It’s on mine,” I said through gritted teeth.

“You’re wrong.” She cocked a hip. “After I bought this place, I had the county come and stake out the property line. I was thinking of putting in a fence to keep the neighbors out.”

Neighbors? I was her only neighbor. But if she wanted a fence, I wouldn’t balk. Hell, at the moment, a fence sounded fantastic. Maybe it would block out some of the noise. Maybe it would be easier to pretend this beautiful, irritating woman wasn’t so close.

Piper crossed her arms and moved down the metal steps, forcing me backward. “See those stakes, right there and there? The ones with the neon-orange ribbons on them?” She pointed to a stake at the back corner of her house and then at another down the hill in the trees.

I grunted, wishing I’d noticed the stakes before trudging over here.

“That is my property line,” she declared. “And—now use your imagination here—if you pretend to draw a line between stake number one and stake number two, you’ll see the pile of trash is on my property. As is the neighbor I’d hoped to keep out with the fence.”

I grunted again.

It was a pitiful response given how badly I’d underestimated Piper.

She was standing close to me. Really close. Closer than I’d been to a woman in years. She was wearing a thin, white tank top. The neckline was cut low enough that the tops of her breasts showed. Two faint freckles dotted her creamy skin, just above her cleavage.

“Did you need something else, Kaine?” Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she drawled my name.

I forced my eyes away from her breasts. “Just . . . just keep your shit off my property.”

“Fine.”

“And keep the noise down. It’s bothering me.”

“Tough,” she snapped.

“Tough?”

“Listen, neighbor. I’m paying a small fortune for this construction crew to work overtime and remodel my house. I don’t give a rip if the noise bothers you. I’m living in a camper, right next to the noise, and working from a table that doubles as a guest bed. If I can deal with it, so can you.”

“Keep it down or I’ll call the cops.”

She huffed. “And tell them what? That there are people working next door? I can hear the dispatcher laughing at you already.”

“God, you’re a piece of work.”

“And it’s time for you to run along.” She flung out a hand, waving me away. “Go be grumpy somewhere else.”

“Keep it down. I’m warning you.” I stepped closer, using my height to intimidate her.

But instead of backing away, she locked her jaw and stepped closer. Those incredible tits nearly brushed my chest. “Or what? Huh? What are you going to do?”

That damn, smart mouth.

We stood there, glaring at one another. The inch between us was filled with hate, our mutual annoyance and frustration a tangible wall between us. And then, as a slight breeze swished over us, the wall just . . . blew away.

My breaths were coming in heavy pants, not from anger, but lust. My brain screamed for me to step away, but my feet were rooted to the gravel.

Piper was breathing hard too. Each time her chest rose, her breasts skimmed my T-shirt. The heat from her cheeks spread down her chest, tinting her creamy skin a pale pink. Her dark eyes flashed, melting from cool indifference to scorching lust.

She wanted me. That flash in her eyes was unmistakable and it flipped my switch.

Off to on.

I crushed my lips down on hers, swallowing a gasp, then a moan as her hands slid up my chest. My fingers dove into her silky hair, letting the thick, luscious strands weave through my fingers.

What the hell was I doing? I’d come over here to put my neighbor in her place. Not to kiss her. The smart thing to do would be to stop this and let her put up that fence. But as she moaned again, stopping was no longer an option.

I slid my tongue into her mouth, finding hers hot and wet. The intensity of our argument carried into our kiss, our tongues dueling as they tangled and twisted.

Piper gripped the cotton of my shirt, fisting it in her hands. She pulled me forward, forcing her lips harder into mine, pushing her tongue deeper.

She might want control of this kiss, but tough. She wasn’t going to get it.

My fingers slipped from her hair, and I wrapped my arms around her back. With one fast tug, I smashed our bodies together. Her breasts were crushed between us.

Piper let out a tiny whimper, the sound filling my ears and drowning out everything else but this woman.

She was everywhere. Her taste flooded my mouth, a mixture of mint and strawberry. The smell of her hair overpowered the musk from the trees, filling my nose with sweet florals and citrus. Her touch was electric, heating my skin in the cool spring air.

Her hands traveled around my waist, drifting lower. Her fingertips dug hard into my ass, and she used her grip on the canvas of my Carhartt pants to pull my hips closer.

I thrust my erection forward, pressing the entire length against her, making her breath hitch.

What were we doing? The question went in and out of my head in a fleeting second. Who cared what we were doing? It felt so fucking good—it had been so damn long—that I cursed myself for not taking this kiss a month ago.

“Kaine,” Piper moaned, her hands gripping my ass with daring ferocity.

I returned the gesture, unwrapping my arms from her back so I could squeeze her luscious ass like a stress ball. I wanted to make her cheeks red as punishment for the smart mouth she’d given me earlier.

As I squeezed tighter, she yelped, then nipped my lower lip.

The sting in my lip drove me over the edge, sending me flying from lust to desperation. Step after step, I walked us backward toward the camper. For once, Piper didn’t fight me. Her sandals shuffled over the driveway until her back hit the Airstream.

We broke apart as I pressed her against the shining aluminum, giving me a chance to take her in. Piper’s cheeks were flushed rosy. Her lips were wet and swollen. And her hooded eyes were full of want, not a flicker of regret or shock anywhere in sight.

I was studying those puffy lips as the corners turned up in a smirk. Before I could make sense of it, her arm shot out to the side and she flipped open the camper door that had swung shut.

I ground my throbbing cock into her hip, making sure she understood that when we went inside that camper, there was no turning back. “How far do you want to take this?”

She didn’t hesitate. “All the way.”

Our mouths collided in another scorching kiss that sent us stumbling toward the door. My hands went under her knees and with one hoist, her legs were wrapped around my waist. Her pulsing hot center rubbed against my cock, making it weep.

It had been over three years since I’d been with a woman. My stamina was shot, and with the way she attacked me, this would be over not long after it started. But no matter how much I ached to come, I’d be sure she got there first. Maybe I’d surprise her by not being a complete asshole today.

I took the metal step into the camper with Piper in my arms. She held tight to my shoulders, letting her hair drape around us as her tongue licked my bottom lip like a lollipop. She did it again and I nearly exploded.

I growled and yanked my mouth away from hers, willing my self-control to hold. Then I took in the camper. The bedroom was at the opposite end, too far away, but the couch was just to my right.

One step in that direction and Piper knew our destination. She unwrapped her legs, dropping her feet to the floor, and immediately went for the button of my pants. While she tugged it loose, I reached behind my head, fisting a handful of cotton, and sent my shirt flying over my head.

“Get your top off,” I ordered, needing to see her tits bouncing free.

She obeyed, whipping it over her head while I toed off my shoes and socks.

“Damn.” My mouth went dry, seeing her before me in just a pale-pink lace bra.

She grinned, then unhooked the center, setting herself free.

I staggered sideways, thunderstruck. Her full breasts bounced and swayed. Her nipples were hard and dark and begging for my tongue. Even as she unbuttoned her jeans, I kept my focus on those perfect globes just waiting to be cupped in my hands.

The second she kicked her pants free, I was on her, filling my palms. Her skin was smoother than the finest sawdust. The moan that escaped her lips was more intoxicating than my favorite malt whiskey.

She arched her back into my touch, her eyes drifting closed. She let out another moan as I massaged her curves, and in that sound, I heard it.

Starvation.

She was as deprived for touch as I was. How long had she gone without?

Her hands came on top of mine, pressing them deeper. Her hips rolled, searching for a touch. Was the center of those matching lace panties soaking wet?

My cock was aching to escape my zipper and rub against her soft flesh. As I leaned in closer, Piper took her hands off mine and let them drop to my zipper. I hadn’t bothered with boxers this morning, so with a quick flick of her wrist, my dick was free and bobbing between us.

Piper gripped my shaft, stroking as I continued massaging her breasts and tugged at her nipples. Her thumb came to the crown, spreading the drop of pre-come around the head.

“Fuck,” I hissed. If she continued, I’d come in her hand. “Get those panties off. Then get on the couch.”

She dropped my cock, her mesmerizing eyes flaring as she stripped bare. Then she laid back on the couch, her gaze zeroing in on my erection. “You’re . . .”

Big. The unspoken word echoed in the camper.

The corners of my mouth turned up as her cheeks reddened. Her hungry expression boosted my ego, something I appreciated today since this wasn’t going to last longer than ten minutes, fifteen tops.

I gripped my shaft, holding it between us as she tossed one leg on the back of the couch. She was wet, practically dripping, and the sight of her bare lips sent me scrambling toward the couch. I knelt down and inched close, then without delay, I positioned and thrust deep.

Piper cried out, her head digging into the couch cushion. I squeezed my eyes shut, not moving an inch for fear that I’d lose control and come.

This woman. Her pussy was perfect. She was tight and wet and hot. She clenched around me once, already close to coming, so I found her clit with the pad of my thumb and circled.

“Oh, god. More.” She arched up her hips, sending me even deeper.

I pulled out slowly, my thumb never stopping, then slammed in hard. Piper cried out as another spasm rocked through her core. The squeeze was unbearable, incredible torture. My teeth clamped on the inside of my cheek, biting down hard. The pain distracted me just enough to endure the rhythm as I pounded into her.

We fucked hard and fast. Piper braced her arms on the wall above her head and met my strokes one after the other.

A slight gasp and a shudder were the only warnings she gave before her inner walls bared down on me and she detonated. Her torso jerked off the couch, her body at the mercy of her orgasm.

When she started to come down, I left her clit and cupped her breasts, letting them fill the emptiness of my hands. Then I unleashed, hammering into her until I couldn’t take it anymore and tipped over the edge.

White spots burst behind my vision and every muscle in my body shook as I sent stream after stream into her tight body. My heart was thundering and my hands shaking when I finally felt my release subside.

Piper was flushed and beautiful, staring up at me with those big damn eyes. Some of the lust had disappeared, revealing their normal color. They weren’t just brown, but a unique mixture of chocolate dipped in honey.

A man could disappear into those eyes. He could get lost and never want to be found.

Outside, a hawk screamed. With his piercing cry, the situation I’d put myself in came rushing back. I’d just fucked a perfect stranger on a camper couch with thin cushions and scratchy upholstery.

I’d just fucked my new neighbor.

Without a condom.

“Son of a bitch.” I slid out and stood, going straight for my pants.

“What’s wrong?” Piper sat up and wiped the hair from her face before swiping her shirt from the floor to cover her chest.

What’s wrong? I didn’t need this complication. I didn’t need my neighbor’s noisy distractions. I didn’t need her constant temptation.

I stepped into my pants, tucking away my still-hard cock. “We didn’t use a condom.”

“Damn it.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “I’m clean. And I’m protected against, um . . . pregnancy.”

Thank the fucking stars for that. “I’m clean too.”

“Good.” She nodded, still not looking at me.

I wasn’t sure if she was giving me an out or if she needed a moment of her own to regret fucking her neighbor, but I didn’t ask. I gathered my shoes, socks and shirt, then bolted out the camper’s door.