There's Only Been You (22 page)

Suddenly, he grasped her shoulders, pulled her up, and rose to his knees again. He crushed her against him, slanting his mouth across hers, cupping her backside in one hand while reaching down to stroke her swollen flesh with the other. She gyrated her hips in urgent rhythm against his slick fingers.

He released her, grabbed his jeans, and dug around in his pocket. She recognized the little foil packet he retrieved and realized with a start they hadn't used protection the night before. He tore it open with his teeth and quickly sheathed himself, then he positioned her legs around his waist and entered her with a guttural moan.

With a soft cry, Sara buried her face in the crook of his neck. Mike clasped her to him and pumped himself inside her, slow and easy. He reached between them to stroke her again. She cried out and her movements became frenzied as he brought her to orgasm for the second time that night. Mike shouted out his own release and they both collapsed in a tangle of limbs on the pillow-soft comforter.

Once their breathing slowed down, Mike moved to the side and scooped her into his arms. He kissed the top of her head. “You have no idea how much I love you."

Sara let out one last shuddering breath. She wanted to say the words. She desperately wanted to tell him that she loved him, too. But love made you vulnerable—it made you weak. And she knew that if Mike broke her heart a second time, it would utterly destroy her.

"I guess I'd better get dressed. I told Nicky I'd be back in an hour."

Mike released her and sat up. “I'll walk you home.” He climbed to his feet and headed into the bathroom.

"You don't have to,” she said when he returned. “It's only a few houses down.” She lay down and shimmied back into her pants.

"I want to,” he said, pulling on his jeans. “It'll give me a chance to steal one last kiss."

"Sounds good to me.” She finished dressing and slipped her feet back into her sandals.

Mike, not bothering with socks or shoes, wrapped his arm around her. “Let's go before I change my mind and cuff you to the doorknob."

"Hmmm.” Sara pursed her lips as if thinking it over.

Mike laughed as he led her out of the room. “Come along, my little sexual deviant. My self-control isn't very good when it comes to you, and the last thing I need is the Jamison posse banging down my door."

"He's a friggin’ cop, I knew it!"

Jason slammed the phone down and whipped his beer can across the room. He shot a quick look at Jimmy who wisely kept his mouth shut.

Jason stared blankly at the television, his mind working overtime. He should just take them both out and be done with it. He swiped his hand through his hair. It was one thing, putting a bullet into a civilian, but shooting a cop? Man, if he were to get caught ... Jason knew better than anyone what happened to cop killers in prison. And if there's one thing he'd never done, it was take out one of his own. It just went against the grain.

But he wanted Garrett Jamison's head on a platter. The son of a bitch had set him up good, using his hot little sister to distract him so he'd been thinking with his dick instead of his brain.

It was only by sheer luck Jason had seen her with that other cop. Having Jimmy in the truck with him had been an added bonus, because he'd have simply figured the bitch was fickle when he saw her with Andrews.

He still couldn't figure out the connection, though. He knew Sara and Andrews had dated in high school, but then Andrews had moved down to Chicago where, as far as anyone knew, he still resided. Maybe they were friends who'd kept touch over the years?

Not that it really mattered. However it happened, Garrett was on to him, and Andrews was no doubt here to help him make the bust. But since this certainly wasn't Andrews’ jurisdiction, he must be working for DCI, which meant Jason had more than likely been under investigation since before he'd arrived in Green Bay.

He reached up to massage his temples. Not only was he a hair's breadth away from ending up in the clink, it looked as if the only chance he had to remain a free man, and maybe even a police officer, was to murder two of his own.

"Hey, man, you gonna kill that prick or not? If so, I wanna be there. Maybe I'll even break
his
goddamn nose."

Jason glanced over at the weasel-faced loser sitting next to him.
What a waste of oxygen
, he thought, unable to hide his disgust. Then an idea struck. Maybe there
was
a way to take out both cops without getting a single speck of dirt on his own hands. And it wasn't as if Montgomery here was any great sacrifice. Shit, who'd miss him?

Jason grinned as the perfect plan formed in his mind.

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Sara had just put on a pot of coffee when Ethan ran into the kitchen and skidded to a halt in front of her. “Mom! Mom! There's a big truck in old man—I mean, Dad's driveway! I bet it's my bunk beds! How much you wanna bet?"

She let out a huge yawn. “I'm pretty sure you're right. I think he paid extra to have everything delivered today."

"Well, come on, hurry up so we can get over there. He's probably waiting for us."

Sara glanced down at him and a reluctant smile settled on her lips. “Ethan, I know you're excited, but it's only eight o'clock in the morning, and I'm not going anywhere until I've had my coffee. Besides, we'd just be in the way. The delivery men will be making several trips in and out of the house, so we're going to wait until your father calls and invites us down."

"But, Mom—"

"Ethan, please, no whining before I've had my coffee.” She pulled out a loaf of bread from the fridge. “Toast?"

Pouting, he nodded and hopped up on his chair.

Sara put four slices in the toaster, set the butter dish, two knives and the strawberry jam on the table. Then she poured him a glass of orange juice and fixed him a bowl of cereal.

Nicky and Uncle Luke both entered the kitchen just as she was filling the carafe with hot coffee. She set mugs on the table for both of them.

"Morning. Would either of you like some toast?"

Nicky grunted, but Uncle Luke said, “Sure, I'll take a couple slices."

Sara popped more bread into the toaster and carried the carafe over to the table. She didn't even realize she was humming until Nicky said, “Someone must have had a good night."

Before Sara could offer up a reply, Ethan said, “We did, Uncle Nicky. We had cheeseburgers, fries, and ice cream. All three of us had hot fudge sundaes. And then we went to Toys R Us. Dad bought me a Transformer. It's in my room, wanna see it?"

Nicky smiled. “Sure, sport. But why don't we wait until after breakfast?"

"Okay.” Ethan returned his attention to his cereal.

Sara set a plate in front of Uncle Luke then took a seat at the table. She sipped her coffee and nibbled on her own toast, trying not to make eye contact with either one of them. Reluctantly, she glanced at Nicky who was grinning from ear-to-ear. She frowned and gestured toward Ethan. Nicky cast her a ‘we'll-talk-about-this-later’ look and took another sip of his coffee.

Garrett entered the kitchen a few minutes later, looking like death warmed over. He poured himself a cup of coffee, carried it to the table, and collapsed on the chair as if his legs could barely hold him.

"Man, you look terrible,” Nicky said. “What time did you get in?"

"Around two. And I don't want any lectures."

Sara got up and dropped a few more pieces of bread in the toaster. “I'll make you some toast. It'll help to soak up some of the alcohol that's no doubt still sitting in your stomach."

Garrett laid his head on the table and groaned.

"Do you want Mom to make you some peanut butter and jelly pancakes?” Ethan asked him. “They always make me feel better."

Garrett gagged, and everybody, with the exception of Ethan, burst out laughing.

"No, thanks, big guy,” Garrett finally said. “Just some toast will be fine. Dry, please,” he added, in Sara's direction.

"So, today's the day Mike officially moves into old man Pankovich's house,” Uncle Luke said, folding his toast and dunking it in his coffee. “Life sure is funny, you know?” He shook his head, as if he couldn't quite believe all that had transpired in the past week.

Nicky ruffled Ethan's hair. “Yeah, but in a good way. Right, sport?"

Ethan grinned up at his uncle. “You guys are talking about my dad, aren't you? ‘Cause I sure am happy he came back to me. He bought me the best bunk beds in the whole store!"

Garrett managed to lift his head and joke, “At least the kid's got his priorities straight."

The phone rang. Ethan jumped off his chair and announced, “It's Dad! He wants to show me my new bunk beds!"

Sara answered on the second ring. “Hello?"

"Good morning, Sara."

"Uh ... who is this?"

"It's Jason. I was looking forward to seeing you last night. I hope Ethan's feeling better."

She turned and shook her head to let them know it wasn't Mike. Garrett raised an eyebrow, and Sara mouthed Jason's name.

"Jason, how are you? And thanks for asking, he's feeling much better today."

"She must be talking about you,” Ethan said to Garrett.

"I hope you and I can try it again sometime,” Jason said. “Maybe next weekend?"

Sara rolled her eyes. “Uh, sure. Yeah, that's sounds good. I'll give you a call in a few days and we'll set something up. Mmm hmm. Uh-huh. Yes, he's right here. Hold on.” She walked over, shrugged, and handed Garrett the phone.

Garrett took a quick gulp of his coffee before pressing the phone to his ear. “Hey, Jason, what's up?"

"Listen, man, I was wondering if you'd meet me later for a beer? Maybe shoot some darts?"

"I think I'm gonna have to take a pass. I've got myself one hell of a hangover this morning."

"So you can drink soda. Come on, man. I'm still new in town, and I'm damn tired of sitting alone in my apartment."

Garrett rubbed his eyes. “All right. What the hell. What time did you want to hook up?"

"Seven?"

"Yeah, I should be able to shake this pounding headache by then. So where do you want me to meet you?"

"The corner of Military and Vine. There's a little tavern there with dart boards and a couple of pool tables."

"Yeah, I know the place. All right, man, I'll see you later."

Garrett hit the disconnect button and let out a frustrated sigh.

"So, what's going on?” Nicky asked.

"I'm gonna meet up with Jason later to shoot some darts. But don't worry, I have no intention of drinking anything other than soda."

Sara glanced over at Ethan. “Hey, sweetie, why don't you go brush your teeth and get dressed. Your dad will probably be calling soon and—"

Ethan raced out of the kitchen, chattering about his bunk beds all the way down the hall. She laughed before returning her attention to Garrett.

"Maybe you could tell Jason I have a terrible disease...?"

He grinned. “Sorry, but you have to do your own breaking up. I got you out of last night's date and that's as much as I'm willing to do."

"Come on, Garrett, you're the one who got her into this mess; you should be the one to end it."

All heads swung toward Nicky.

"I was only kidding,” Sara said, frowning. “I don't expect Garrett to clean up my messes. What's gotten into you?"

He looked first at Sara, then Garrett. “I, uh, I was just kidding, too. But maybe you should explain the situation to Mike. He could have a talk with Jason. I mean, what if the guy doesn't take kindly to getting dumped?"

"Son, are you feeling all right?” Uncle Luke asked, his forehead creased with concern.

Garrett arched a brow. “Nicky, I think you'd better put in for an early vacation. You need it."

"I had a hell of a dream last night,” Nicky said, rubbing his eyes, “and I guess I let it get to me. Please, forget what I said."

"What was it about?” Sara asked.

"Nothing. Truth is, I can barely remember it.” He yawned, stretching his arms over his head. “I think I'll go jump in the shower. Clear the cobwebs from my head."

Once he was gone, Sara swung a concerned look between Garrett and Uncle Luke. “It's not like him to act so strange. Do you think he's all right?"

Garrett waved it off. “He's fine. Probably just some work-related stress. Sitting in front of a monitor all day will do that to a person."

"I guess,” she said. “But I want you to keep an eye on him anyway, okay?"

Garrett got up and stood beside her. “I will. Don't worry about it.” He bent down and kissed her on the top of the head. “Now if you'll both excuse me, I think I'm going to lie back down for a while."

Sara took a quick shower after breakfast. Ethan, eager to get a look at his new bunk beds, pounded on the bathroom door and shouted, “Come on, Mom! Hurry up!"

It took her ten minutes to dress and pull her damp hair back into a ponytail. She'd decided that instead of waiting for Mike to call, they would take a stroll down there.

Sara's heart started racing the moment she laid eyes on him. He was helping the delivery men carry in the king-sized mattress and, when he glanced up and caught sight of her, a slow, sensual smile curved his lips.

He came back out a few minutes later and Ethan took off running. Mike laughed and caught him around the waist, hoisting him up to sit on his shoulder. When Sara approached, he wrapped his free arm around her. “Sleep well?” he asked, his voice a low rumble.

She smiled up at him. “Like a rock. You?"

"Even better than the night before."

"Hey, are my bunk beds ready yet?” Ethan asked, dragging them both back to the present.

"Sure are. Want to go see your new room?"

"Yeah! Come on, Mom, let's go!"

Mike set him on his feet, and Ethan took off like a shot. Mike chuckled as he escorted Sara into the house. They could hear Ethan overhead, running from room to room. Mike took a hold of Sara's hand and led her up the stairs.

"Since it holds such wonderful memories for me,” he said, when they'd reached the second floor, “I chose our room from last night as the master bedroom."