One Last Call (20 page)

Josh grabbed her leg and pulled it up higher. There it was. There was the perfect angle. Each glide of his pistoning hips sent little explosions off behind her eyes. It was all she could do not to fly apart at the seams. Sarah’s body went taut, and Josh pulled her hard against him in heavy slams of his body against hers. It was making love; it was sex, it was hot to the point of straight-out fucking, and it was the best she’d had of all the above. He rocked into her, over and over, until she called out his name one final time and her toes curled with the force of her orgasm.

Her body was shaking, trembling with pleasure, when Josh drove in one last time and gave in to his own release. She heard his hoarse whisper. “My Sarah. My sunshine.”

He wrapped his arms around Sarah and held her flush against his body like he was afraid she would leave or disappear from underneath him.

“I’m here, Josh.” Sarah petted the hot skin at his neck and soothed him with strokes up and down the slick groove of his spine. She gave him a full body hug using her arms and her legs. “I’m not going anywhere either.”

* * * *

Josh had made it through a night without any nightmares. He knew it was morning from the sunlight filtering in through his closed eyelids and the damn woodpecker that wouldn’t quit pecking on the tree outside his window. The damn bird was seriously messing with his happy place. He’d had another dream about Sarah and it had been the mother lode of all his fantasies rolled into one. It had been so vivid that he could still smell the tropical coconut scent of her shampoo. Josh wanted to stay right here, warm, content, and thinking of Sarah.

Tap. Tap. Tap.
Stupid woodpecker. Josh rolled over and right into something soft and undeniably female.
Sarah.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“Sarah, open the door, honey. It’s Mom.”

Sarah shot straight up in bed. From his position next to her, Josh could see her sleep-mussed hair trailing halfway down her naked back.
Sexy.
She yanked the quilt up to her neck and glanced over at Josh, then back at the closed door. “Mom?” Sarah threw the quilt over his hips for good measure. “Um, give me a second. I must have overslept.”

“It’s still early. I was going to make some breakfast, if you’d like some.”

“Oh, well, thanks, Mom. I’ll grab a Pop-Tart later.”

There was a pause on the other side of the door. “Okay, but what about Josh? Ask him how he likes his eggs.”

Sarah swiveled around in alarm. “She knows you’re here. Where did you park?”

He had to think about it. “Down the street. Why?”

“She knows you’re here.”

“Yeah, I caught that part, darlin’. Tell her I like my eggs scrambled.”

“This isn’t funny, Josh!”

“I never said it was.”

“Did he say scrambled, Sarah?”

“What? Oh, yes, he did. Scrambled.”

Lucy called through the door. “Good morning, Josh!”

“Good mornin’, Mrs. Brandon.”

“Lucy, dear.”

“Good mornin’, Lucy, dear.”

“Oh, you. Breakfast will be ready in about fifteen minutes. You lazy daisies need to get out of bed.” There was a beat of silence. “Sheriff Hughes called. He’ll be by a little later. Something about some questions about last night?” Josh heard the worry in her voice.

“We’ll be out in a few minutes, Mom.” Sarah covered her face in her hands.

“All right, then. I’ll be in the kitchen. Hurry up, you two.”

Sarah peeked over at Josh. “Is it me or is she taking a naked man sleeping in my bed really well?”

“She must have had a good night herself.”

“Josh, I don’t want to think about that.”

Josh traced the naked flare of her hip with the tips of his fingers. “How about you? How are you handlin’ a naked man in your bed?”

Sarah shuffled around until she was facing him. Her gaze traveled down his bare torso and over the quilt she’d haphazardly thrown over his hips. “I think I like it.” She leaned toward him and pressed a hot kiss in the center of his pecs. “I know I like it.” Little kisses blazed a trail south.

Holy hell.
“Hey, not fair.” Josh peered down at the silky blonde hair trailing over his chest and heading straight for his hips. That quilt was slipping lower down his body. “You can’t get me all hot and bothered before we face your mama.”

Sarah’s voice was muffled against his stomach. There went a hot little swipe of her tongue. “Let’s stay in here the rest of the day.”

“You temptress.” Josh wanted nothing more than to stay right where he was. “We gotta go, though. We’ve been found out.”

Sarah placed one last lingering kiss on the inner V of his hip and reclined next to him on a pile of pillows.

“True.”

“And there’s eggs.” Josh would happily miss a meal for some lovin’ from Sarah. Still, her mom was cooking, and he didn’t want to be rude.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Oh, well, in that case, we better take that walk of shame and face my mom.”

“I’m not ashamed.”

“I’m not either. It was a figure of speech. Besides. It looks like I have to talk to the sheriff sooner than I thought.” Sarah kept the blanket to her chest, blocking off her own nudity. Rosy pink tinged her cheeks, and it hit him that she was feeling shy about her body.
What the hell is there to feel shy about?
She had the body of a goddess.

“You’re gonna have to get out of bed sooner or later, darlin’. I’ve seen you naked already.”

“I know!”

“Want me to go first?” He pulled back the covers and rolled out of bed.

“Josh!”

“What?”

“You’ve got…” Sarah motioned toward his midsection.

He glanced down. “Mornin’ wood? Happens. Ignore it and it’ll go away.”

“How am I supposed to ignore that?”

“Stop lookin’ at me like that, or it’ll never go down!” It was standing up straighter with all the extra attention.

“I can’t help it!” She was talking to his junk.

“Eyes up here, sunshine. Okay, let me get my jeans on.” That zipper was going to be hell. Sarah leaned down and scooped them off the floor. She managed to do it one-handed while protecting her modesty.

“Here!” The denim hit him in the face.

“Damn, Sarah. Work on your aim.” He shoved his feet into the legs of his pants and zipped as gingerly as possible.

Sarah rummaged in a side drawer for some panties and slid them on under the covers. It was too bad she couldn’t put on his T-shirt. For some reason, he really wanted to see her in it. She found her tank top and slipped it over her head. Once everything was covered, more or less, she hopped out of bed and searched her drawers for some shorts and an oversized T-shirt that had a bottle of vodka and orange juice on it, with the words “Just Screw It.”

“Like your shirt.”

“It’s for a screwdriver, get it? The drink?” She held it away from her chest, proudly showing it off.

“Got it. Cute. Speakin’ of T-shirts, have you seen mine?”

Sarah checked the floor and looked under the bed. Not finding it, she stood and did a slow spin. Her eyes widened, then she laughed.

“What?”

“Found it.”

“Where?” He followed the direction of her gaze. “How the hell did it get up there?” It was hanging off the floor lamp in the far corner, next to her closet.

“You must have really flung it when you took it off.”

“Yeah, well, I was in a hurry.”

Sarah got on tiptoe and pulled his shirt down. She tossed it to him. This time her aim was better. “I’ll use the bathroom first. I’m pretty sure there’s a new toothbrush in the bottom drawer in the vanity once you get in there, if you want it.”

“I brought a few things in case you let me stay.” He smiled, unrepentant for being prepared.

“Okay.” She narrowed her eyes at the bag next to her bed. “Give me a few minutes to freshen up, and then it’s all yours.”

Sarah unlocked the door and scooted out before Josh could talk to her about last night. He wanted to make sure they were on the same page. To use Keith’s phrase, it sure as hell wasn’t a one-and-done for him, and it better not be for Sarah either.

KENNY
was at the kitchen table sipping coffee when Sarah entered the room. He glanced up from his cup with a kindly smile. His crinkled eyes were the same cobalt blue as Josh’s, with the same ornery sparkle. Like father, like son. No wonder Lucy had fallen for him. Those Logan men were irresistible.

Sarah had a feeling this was a test run to see how she would react to Mom’s boyfriend being in the house. She sort of hovered in the doorway, not sure whether to sit, stand, or take over the cooking. It was off for her since she normally had a game plan.

“Good morning, Sarah. Sleep well?” Kenny tried covering his grin by taking another sip of his coffee.

Playful teasing she could do. “Very well. Did my mom’s snoring keep you awake?”

“Sarah, I do not snore!” Lucy swung around from the stove, waving a spatula at her to make her point.

“Your mama’s snorin’ wasn’t what kept me up.” He set his coffee down and braced himself in case her mom threw the spatula at his head.

“Kenny! You’re as bad as she is!” Lucy blushed tomato red and looked tempted to brain him. She merely brandished her utensil at him like a sword.

“Sorry, honey. I only meant that I have a lumpy mattress. Tossed and turned all night.” Kenny widened his eyes in innocence and winked at Sarah. “My boy sneak back out the window?”

“How did you…?”

“No, he’s right here, Dad.” Josh brushed by her, trailing a hand over her shoulder as he went. The delicious aroma of his aftershave went with him. She found herself leaning forward, trying to take in more of his scent. The man smelled better than the bacon frying, and that was saying something. There wasn’t a whole lot better in the world than bacon, and he’d just topped it. He settled against the counter next to Sarah’s mom. “Good morning, Lucy, dear. Need any help?”

“Hey, flirt with your own woman,” Kenny grumbled from the table.

Lucy directed him with her spatula. “Yes, Josh, you make toast. Sarah, you make some more coffee, please. The sheriff should be here soon.”

Sarah and Josh traded glances. It didn’t go unnoticed by Lucy. “Are you two going to tell me why the Madison County sheriff is coming over to ask questions? Does this have something to do with Richard?”

“Um, why do you ask?” As far as Sarah knew, it was most likely about Richard. She thought everyone else had been too busy singing karaoke to notice what had happened. Someone had obviously heard something.

“What’s going on, Sarah? What happened?”

Sarah didn’t know where to begin. She remembered Richard pawing at her and breathing his bourbon-tainted breath in her ear and felt nauseated all over again. “Last night, he…You see, Richard tried to…um…I was alone in the office and he…” Sarah didn’t want to think the word, much less say it. She wasn’t in denial. She just didn’t want to relive it, either.

“Richard tried to
assault
Sarah.” Josh stood straighter and crossed his arms against his chest. He looked ready to find her ex-husband and strangle him. He could get in line behind her.

“Assault? You mean…?” Lucy fluttered a hand to her chest and cast a worried glance at Sarah.

“Yes.”

“Oh, my God, Sarah! Did he hurt you?” Lucy rushed up, gathered Sarah in her arms, and hugged with amazing strength for a small woman. It was a mother’s hug and exactly what she needed. Sarah tried not to tear up.

“No, I…sort of…hurt him.” She still felt amazingly okay with that.

Josh filled in some more of the details. “Pretty sure Sarah broke his nose. She also kicked him in the…” He censored himself. “Let’s just say that Richard should be singin’ soprano for a while too.” He smirked at that.

“Good. I wouldn’t mind giving him a few kicks, myself.” Lucy was in mama bear mode. “Have you pressed charges? He can’t get away with that!”

Sarah stepped back from the embrace. “No, Mom. I just wanted to go home. The bar was full of people, and if I would’ve called the cops in, it would be all over town in no time. I want this kept under the gossip radar, if possible. I was going to file a restraining order this morning.”

“So no one called the sheriff?”

They both shook their heads. As far as she knew, there were no other witnesses.

Kenny rose from his seat. “Sarah, honey, you sit down. I’ll make the coffee.”

“I’m fine! Nothing happened.”

He held the chair out for her. “Make an old man feel better and have a seat.”

Sarah caught Josh’s eye. He raised his hands with a “what can you do?” expression. Sarah took a seat.

Kenny set out another chair. “Lucy, you have a sit-down too and let us finish up.”

Her mom wasn’t used to men cooking in the kitchen. She puzzled it out for a moment and then handed her spatula to Josh’s dad. “Oh, all right. The eggs are done, and the bacon…”

Kenny accepted the spatula like it was the baton in a relay race. “We’ve got it covered, sweetheart.” He nodded toward his son. “Josh, get a cup of coffee for Lucy.”

“Yes, sir. How do you like it, Lucy, dear?” Josh laughed when Kenny gave him a stern glare.

Lucy was bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked from all the attention. “Just a little sugar.”

Kenny leaned down and kissed her. “There’s a little sugar, honey.”

Lucy’s gaze shot to Sarah to gauge her reaction. It had been so long since she’d seen her mom this happy that she wouldn’t begrudge her any of it. Sarah figured it was okay for her to flirt too. “Josh, I’d like a little sugar too.”

Josh made a bee line for Sarah, ready to deliver. Kenny stopped him in his tracks. “Food first. You two can canoodle on your own time.”

“Which one are you this time, Dad, the pot or the kettle?”

“You bet. Come on. Let’s get to it.”

* * * *

Seth arrived an hour later, grim-faced, with notebook in hand. With his glossy dark hair and eyes so brown they were practically black, there was no denying his Hispanic/Latin heritage. His teeth looked especially white against his swarthy complexion. According to the Madison Falls grapevine, the sheriff was still single—not for lack of trying from the matchmaking mamas and some of the more aggressive single women in town.