One Last Call (12 page)

She made a small sound in her throat and moved to straddle his lap. Josh helped by practically lifting her to get her where she wanted to go.

He broke off the kiss. “Are you okay? Do you hurt anywhere?”

“Do I…? No.”

She grabbed him by the back of the neck and kissed him harder. Josh let her take the lead, figuring if she were sore anywhere, she wouldn’t have jumped on him.

Sarah pulled away this time. “Josh, shut up.”

“I didn’t say anythin’.”

“You were thinking about it.” Her lips brushed against his when she whispered, “No talking.”

Worked for him. When the tip of her tongue swiped against his bottom lip, Josh forgot how to speak anyway. She had her fingers laced through the hair at the base of his skull, and the slight tug he felt when she drew him closer drove him crazy. His fingers clenched around her hips. He squeezed the fabric, holding on to anything he could when she dove in and traced her tongue in a languid sweep against his.

He was lost to everything except Sarah—the sound of her accelerated breaths, the rasp of her hardened nipples brushing against his chest, the heat of her core pushed right against his lap, right where he needed her. God, she was so hot, Josh was ready to go up in flames underneath her. There was only here and now.

He slid a hand under the back of her shirt and skimmed his fingertips along the smooth skin at the top of her waistband. She felt like warm silk. He drew his hand higher, dipping along her spine until she shivered. Sarah gripped his hips harder with her thighs.
Christ.
Josh couldn’t go slow. He wanted to touch her everywhere at the same time.

Sarah pushed his T-shirt up until it got caught up on his arms. He took over and ripped the damn thing over his head, hating the seconds it took away from kissing her. Her small hands traced over his shoulders, alternating between delicate passes and hard presses of her fingers into his muscles. Josh knew she was learning him all over again. Sarah could have at him, touch him anyway she wanted. He was hers.

He read the goose bumps on her skin like Braille. He knew Sarah. She was so open and responsive to his touch that is was easy to learn what she wanted. Josh trailed a hand around the front and pushed between their bodies until he cupped the soft swell of her breast over the lace of her bra. Perfect. With a moan, she leaned back to give him enough space to touch her. He pushed inside the fabric panel and felt soft, sweet Sarah in the flesh. He didn’t waste time taking off her shirt. He yanked it up and drew a tantalizing rosy tip into his mouth. She cried out as soon as his lips made contact with her nipple. Josh used one hand in the middle of her back to brace her as she arched her spine. His fingers practically spanned the width of her back.

Sarah always had sensitive breasts. He drew her into his mouth, sucking, pulling, and drawing her in until her moans intensified. When he felt she was about to lose control, he switched sides.

“Oh, God,” gasped from her lips. “Please, Josh, more. More.” She rubbed against an aching erection that was straining against his zipper. Sarah wanted more, and he was willing and ready to give it to her. He slid his hand down, stealing inside the back of her shorts until he had a grip on the sexiest ass in creation. Josh squeezed and pushed her in an erotic dance against his hard-on. She undulated her hips until he thought the top of his head was going to blow off from the pleasure. He pushed his hand lower until he felt the slippery wetness of her sex against his fingers.

He swirled around the slick heat of her. Sarah made a keening sound and pulled his head from her breast so she could kiss him. She went up on her knees to give Josh room to unbutton her shorts. A pop of a button and a rasp of a zipper lowering and he was in the front of her panties, feeling the soft fluff of hair before delving deeper and sliding two fingers…home.

“So good, so tight. Oh, damn, Sarah. Baby girl, you’re so fuckin’ wet I might come just feelin’ you like this.” He pushed in farther until his palm brushed against the heart of her. He pressed his forehead to her chest and flexed his fingers in time with the sway of her hips.

Sarah’s grip on his shoulders tightened as she rode against him. Her hand slipped south over his pecs and down his abs. Her hand reached his zipper, and he held his breath. Instead of opening his jeans, Sarah rubbed the hard ridge of his arousal through the denim.

He arched up when she cupped his shaft. He pushed her hand hard against him. “Feel what you do to me. I want to be inside you so badly my dick is jealous of my fingers.” He twirled his slippery fingers around her tight bundle of nerves and ran his lips over her shoulder and up her neck. He licked and sucked along her skin until Sarah’s entire body trembled. Josh bit gently at the skin behind her ear and slid home with his fingers again. She ground against him and shook and cried out as she gave into to the violent pulses that contracted around his knuckles.
Jesus.
Josh grabbed hold of her hip and held her against him while she rode out her orgasm. Any more movement and he was going to come in his pants. God, it was sweet agony. He couldn’t hold back his groan.

The contractions eased to smaller flutters and aftershocks. He held on to her until their breathing evened out. He eased out of her panties, and she adjusted her bra and top before zipping up. Josh held her to him when she tried to dismount.

“Hold on.” He let out a shaky breath. “Just hold on a second.”

Sarah didn’t meet his eyes. She stared at his chest and bit her lip. “I’m sorry.”

That was the last thing he expected to hear. “Sorry? Darlin’, what the hell could you possibly be sorry for?”

“I sort of, well, jumped you.”

He flexed enough to make his erection known. “Do I feel insulted to you?”

“No, you feel…”

“I feel what? Go on and tell me. Say it.”

“You feel hard.”

“And who made me that way?”

“Me.”

“Are you sorry?”

“No.” Sarah’s playful grin was sexy as hell.

“Me neither.”

The little imp ground down against him.

“Okay, enough of that. I haven’t driven home with a hard-on since I was seventeen. This one’s got your name on it too. It’s amazin’ how some things never change.”

Her smile slipped. “Some things do.” She climbed off of him and took her place on her side of the bench seat. “I can’t believe we did this! Anyone could have seen us, Josh!”

“No one saw us.” Josh looked around the empty field. Unless someone was hiding in the trees with binoculars, they were good.

“We can’t do that again.” Sarah’s neck was pink from where he’d nipped her. He liked that there was proof of where his lips had been.

“Okay, we’ll wait ’til dark.”

“No, I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “I don’t know where the hell my head is. You touch me and…”

“And?”

“And I lose control.”

“Good.” He wanted Sarah to feel as out of control as he was.

“Why is that good?”

“I got a feelin’ you try to control too many things in your life. It’s okay to let go. Especially with me.”

She tossed his T-shirt at him and buckled up. “I’ve let go enough for one day. Take me home.”

He got his clothes straightened out and stared at her mutinous expression. “So, how about those kisses? Sloppy or not?”

Sarah folded her arms over her chest and stared out the passenger window, without answering.

Josh started the ignition and put the truck in gear. “Well, what’s the verdict?”

Her color was still high from their encounter. “Shut up.”

“That’s what I thought.”

SO,
that just happened.

Sarah was appalled by her own behavior. Well, she was mostly appalled. The rest of her was zinging with post orgasmic tingles. She hadn’t enjoyed that much pleasure in years. Sad but true. Not that she’d tell Josh that. It was enough that she’d melted all over him after straddling him like a cowgirl out to win the rodeo.

She was having an odd sense of déjà vu. Making out with him in his truck by the Falls and then getting driven back to her mother’s house was oddly familiar. The only difference was a dozen years and no curfew. Sarah flushed when she thought of another difference. They’d gotten hot and heavy in broad daylight. Normal people waited until after dark. She didn’t think it was normal to be thirty and still parking by the Falls anyway, so the rules were out the window.

As crazy as it was, Sarah was trying not to shimmy into a happy dance right there in her seat. She must have lost her mind today. Josh kept stealing glances at her and grinning.

“You’re not going to tell anyone what we did, are you?” In this town, ten people probably already knew. The wildlife sure got an eyeful.
Take that, Bambi.

Josh did a double take. “What? Is there a reason you’re whisperin’? Are you worried about gettin’ a reputation at school?”

Sarah cleared her throat and raised her voice to a regular volume. “Shut up.”

“First off, no, I’m not tellin’ anyone because I’m not an asshole. That said, I’m not gonna be your dirty little secret either.”

“I never said you were. Give me some time to process what happened.”

“What’s to process?”

“I’m not sure what”—Sarah waved a hand between them—“this morning means.”

“It means we’re gonna see more of each other, sweetheart.” Josh eyed her up and down like he couldn’t wait to get her naked and see the
more
he was talking about.

“That’s probably not a good idea.” It sounded like an awesome idea to her body, but her brain overruled it. Her heart was still undecided. “I need some time.”

“Sarah, twelve years have gone by. How much time do you need?” He tunneled a hand through his hair in frustration. That tawny brown hair was so soft. She wanted to run her fingers through it again. And again.

Sarah thought about Sophie when they passed the Cookie Jar. Tonight was karaoke night at the Suds and Spuds. Her sister and her brother-in-law, Reed, would be there with the rest of their friends. She was going to have to sneak her away so they could talk.

She needed to get her head on straight. “Josh, things are different now. We can’t jump into a thing. We have to get to know each other again.”

“I’d say we made a damn fine start.” He met her eyes again, and her pulse sped up.
So sexy
. This was so not good.

“I mean
talk
. We can’t just go at each other like bunnies in heat.”

Josh’s teeth flashed white against the golden tan of his skin. He turned right onto her street. “What if I let you call me Thumper?” He winked at her. “Kiddin’! Still, I like it when you’re a bunny.” He bit his lip to hold back the grin. “So, we’ll talk. I’ll talk your ear off, if that’s what you need.”

That would make it worse. With that swoon-worthy southern drawl of his, he could read the phone book to her and it would sound appealing. Josh knew how to work it as verbal foreplay.

“I need…are those flowers on the front porch?”

Josh pulled up next to the house. A dozen red roses were arranged in a crystal cut-glass vase by the steps leading to the door.

He gave her a sidelong glance. “Not from me. You don’t like red roses.”

“You remember that?”

He didn’t answer. Josh got out of the truck and had her door open before she could get it. Sarah scooted out of the truck with only a few mild twinges. Josh had worked wonders on her muscles. He’d worked wonders everywhere.

Josh watched her, cobalt blue eyes sparkling. He knew what she was thinking.

“Shut up.”
He was right
.

He raised his hands in innocence. “I didn’t say anythin’.”

“You were thinking it.”

He leaned in, and a whisper-soft breath caressed her ear. “So were you.”

There was a miniature cream-colored envelope tucked into the blooms. Her name was scrawled on the outside in bold black ink.
Richard’s handwriting.
Sarah plucked it from the bouquet and stared at it. Josh was propped against the porch with his arms folded across his chest. She got another glimpse of the tattoo on his arm when the pale blue sleeve stretched across his impressive biceps. She was distracted, to say the least, when his shirt was off earlier.
Damn.
Sarah wanted to get a look at it, run her fingers over it…

“Aren’t you gonna open it?”

Yes!
Oh. He meant the envelope. “I’d rather not. It’s from Richard.”

“He sent them?” Josh straightened, and all signs of his casual pose were gone. “You want me to read the card?”

“No, I’ll do it.” Sarah ran her finger under the flap and pulled out the card.

Sarah,

Wanted to let you know I was thinking about you.

All my love,

Richard

P.S. Call me

“What’s it say?” Josh stood right behind her and read over her shoulder. “Call me? Is this guy for real?”

Sarah shook her head. “Where the hell is Rod Serling?”

“Who?”

“Never mind.”
“All my love”
was the part that bothered her. Richard didn’t love her. She wanted to crumple up the card and throw the wad of paper as far from her as possible. Instead, she slipped it back in the envelope and wedged it between the flower stems. The flowers were one more surprise she didn’t need.

Red roses were so overdone. So Richard. Sarah always thought that if a man were going to give a woman flowers, he should take her preferences into account, and possibly—here’s a stretch—ask her what kind she liked. Sarah had told her ex-husband a few times she didn’t care for red roses. Richard never listened and bought her what he liked. He thought if they were the most expensive, that meant they were the best.

This time, it didn’t really matter what type of flowers they were, Sarah didn’t want them. Not from him. He was up to something and whatever it was, she wasn’t falling for it. He was scheming. Calling him was out of the question. Richard would take that as encouragement and never leave her alone.

Sarah hated to waste perfectly good roses, really she did, but she didn’t want to look at them either.

“What are you gonna do with them?” Josh stared at the bouquet as if the flowers had insulted him personally.