by Hope Ramsay
“What?” Gabby asked. “What is it?”
“We are never going to be able to carry these kids home. I mean…look at them.” Michael was asleep with his cheek on Sara’s shoulder, drooling, bless his heart. Julia was snoring, her head leaning back wantonly on Gabby’s arm.
“I suppose we could call Joe and Evie to come get us,” Gabby said. She nodded in the direction of the road over Sara’s shoulder. “Or…we could just get into Colton’s cop car.”
“Colton’s…” Sara turned to see a car drive slowly down the road and stop directly in front of the park bench. Colton rolled down the passenger window and leaned over the seat. “Care for a ride home?” he asked. No one else appeared to be with him, including pretty buxom females who were cute and bubbly. Thank God.
“Yes!” Gabby said without compunction. She didn’t even acknowledge Sara’s glare. Fine. They were desperate. She’d take the ride.
Colton lifted Julia and carried her to the car, handing her to Gabby once she climbed into the back seat. Then he came back for Michael. “I’ve got him, thanks,” Sara said, struggling to get up from the bench with a sleeping three-year-old who suddenly appeared to weigh as much as a sleeping elephant. Colton reached over and took Michael anyway, flashing Sara a don’t-be-stupid glare.
“We don’t have car seats,” Sara announced from the back seat once they were all settled in.
She found her gaze level with Colton’s in the rearview mirror. “Oh, you’re right, Doc. Maybe you two should walk then.”
“Now, Sara,” Gabby said quickly, “it’s only a few blocks, and Colton will drive really carefully, right, Colton? And we’re so grateful for the ride, aren’t we?” Sara felt a smack on her thigh. “Aren’t we, Sara?”
“Yes, fine, Gabby, we’re grateful. Very grateful.”
“That’s what I like to hear, ladies,” he said, pulling away from the curb. Sara didn’t miss his grin in the mirror. “I promise I’ll drive carefully.”
They drove the short distance to Evie’s with Gabby chatting exuberantly with Colton about cotton candy, the kids’ antics, and the people she’d seen at the park. Which was fine with Sara, who couldn’t wait to get out of the car. Evie and Joe met them in the driveway and carried their sticky sleeping angels to their beds.
When Colton offered to drive Gabby and Sara to Nonna’s, Gabby wouldn’t let Sara protest. As soon as they got out of the police cruiser, Gabby yawned loudly and stretched. “Those kids really wore me out, man oh man. Think I’ll go in and check on Nonna. And Sara, you can just, you know, take as long as you want. Even all night, if you know what I mean. I’ve got things covered.”
Gabby gave her a wink, jogged up the porch steps, and disappeared through the screen door before Sara could murder her.
She was ready to bolt up the stairs herself when Colton’s hand on her arm held her back.
“It’s a nice night,” he said, his gaze steady and calm, his touch soft but insistent. “How about we take a walk?”
She scanned his eyes. He was looking at her in a way that seared clear through her like a lightning bolt, burning her to ash.
Why was she angry with him, again? Oh, Everly. But deep inside, she knew Everly posed no threat. The threat she worried about was much closer than Everly and her new boobs. It was inside Sara’s own heart.
Colton seemed to have an uncanny ability to see her inside and out, X-ray vision kind of seeing. He constantly called her out on all her noise: her drive for perfection, going a million miles an hour, and trying so hard to achieve. Somehow she sensed that with him it might be OK to just be.
He took her hand as they walked down the tree-lined street. The moon was a bright crescent, and the sky looked like some magical fairies had tossed a bucket of glitter all over a backdrop of black velvet. It was one of those warm, wonderful midsummer nights when you didn’t even need a sweater. Golden lights from inside the century-old houses made everything look picture-book perfect, and Colton strolled along as calmly as if they were old friends out for a walk.
Maybe she wasn’t ready for this, for him, for any man. The past year had been so full of pain. The rejection she’d felt last summer at being passed over for someone who’d appeared on a whim still hurt. It made her question everything about herself, who she thought she was, what she thought she wanted, where she even belonged in the world. Being back home had just added to the unsettled feeling, since working with her dad seemed like a temporary stop along the way.
But Colton, he belonged somewhere, all right. As perfect a fit as a puzzle piece. He had that magic kind of personality that attracted people—he always had. Everyone loved him. He was woven into the fabric of their town, while she would always be the outsider looking in.
“I always like to imagine when I’m doing my rounds and I see lights on in a house, a family is tucked in for the night,” Colton said. “It makes me feel…”
She laughed, thankful to be dragged from her maudlin musings. “Like a voyeur?”
“Ha ha,” he said. “I was going to say peaceful.”
“When I was younger and I was walking home at night, I always looked into lit-up houses and imagined a family sitting around a table, the kids doing homework, the mom and dad supervising. Sort of like the fantasy family I was missing after my mom died.”
He gave her hand a sympathetic squeeze. “I know the feeling.”
Sara stopped on the sidewalk and faced Colton. He was so handsome, standing there in the glow of a nearby streetlight, the shadows highlighting his defined cheekbones, his strong jaw.
Was it possible that the two of them could be much more alike than different? Each of them had grown up missing a parent and longing to belong to a “normal” family, if there was really any such thing. They’d both ended up back here in Angel Falls for reasons not of their own choosing.
Sara took a deep breath. “Colton. I told you I wanted to be friends because you scare me to death.”
“Yeah, I tend to have that effect on people,” he said, chuckling a little, but she could tell it was a nervous laugh.
“I’ve been with one guy my whole life. I’m not ready for a relationship. I—”
He cut her off. “I don’t care about any of that. I don’t care about the past anymore, not our past or your past with Tagg. It’s time to take a new course. For both of us.”
Colton tugged her hand up very slowly to his mouth. His warm, masculine grip encased it as he slowly kissed her knuckles, one by one. A simple and easy gesture, but her pulse was doing the Indy 500 thing and it was making her dizzy.
“I’m sorry I brought Everly tonight,” Colt said. “I was angry at you. Look, Sara, I don’t want anyone but you. I can’t eat or sleep, and all I do is think about how you’d feel in my arms. God knows why, because you’re a real pain in the—”
She put a finger over his full lips. “Stop while you’re ahead, big guy.” Couldn’t eat? Couldn’t sleep? How she’d feel in his arms? Oh, wow. He’d had her at Let’s take a walk.
His mouth curled up in the slightest smile. Then he kissed her finger.
The silly yet touching gesture melted her. He lowered her hand slowly from his mouth. The heat and fire of his gaze raised goose bumps up and down her arms despite the warm evening. “I want you, Sara. Every second of every—”
Sara cut him off, wrapping her arms around his neck and cutting off his words with her lips. He circled his big arms around her and kissed her back, deeply and urgently, pressing his body against hers. He wanted her. She could feel it down to her marrow, in the way he held her, tightly and possessively, the thorough way his lips moved over hers.
“How about we go back to my place and sit on my balcony?” he asked.
She crinkled up her nose. “That might sound a little like a line.”
He stroked her cheek, and her knees almost caved. “It is a line,” he said, his lips twitching. “But come anyway.”
She sucked in a breath. Was he asking her to…Well, yes. Yes, he was. It was
n’t like she’d never been propositioned before, but it had always been by semidrunk guys in bars. Usually with Tagg nearby to fend them off.
She glanced up at him, past the spinning, heady feeling, past her heart throbbing in her throat and every nerve standing on end. Once she saw the way he looked back at her, tenderly and calmly, her panic halted. He had a way of quieting her soul at the same time he filled her with anticipation and excitement, which seemed impossible but was the only way she could describe his effect on her.
“OK,” she whispered, smiling. She gave him her hand and let him lead the way.
Chapter 14
Colton led the way up the stairs and into his apartment, where he managed, a little shakily, to turn on a lamp. Around him stood his token bachelor living room, comprised of a leather couch, a La-Z-Boy, and a bunch of electronics along one wall.
“Nice TV,” Sara said stiffly, looking around. She’d turned quiet during the last block, and dead silent on the way up the stairs.
“Thanks.” God, he hadn’t been this nervous since he had to read aloud in front of the class in third grade. He must really be losing his touch if he was thinking about that when he had a beautiful woman in his apartment.
Not just any beautiful woman. One who challenged him, and who brought out the best and the worst in him. A woman he could not stop wanting.
“I mean, there are no wires,” she continued. “Some people have all those tangled wires.” She made jumbled-up motions with her hands. “Not you though, nope. Tidy as can be.”
“Do you want a drink?” he asked. His voice sounded a little higher than usual, their normal conversation having been replaced by Sara’s waxing poetic about the quality of his TV setup. Her hands were shaking a little. He wanted to tell her his were too, but feared that would make her even more nervous.
She cleared her throat. “Water would be nice. I’ll get it myself. I need to wash my hands.” She held up her palms, which had a few blue streaks of cotton candy on them. He’d been thinking more in terms of a good, stiff shot of Jack Daniel’s.
She walked into his kitchen and turned on the water while he poured a glass of ice water from the fridge and handed it to her.
“Thanks,” she said politely, taking a few sips. “Are you nervous?” she asked over the top of the glass.
They were finally alone in a place where they could do something about it, and he could not blow this. Nervous? More like completely off the bell curve. “No,” he said.
Sara, usually ready with some kind of retort designed to make his blood pressure skyrocket, was oddly silent. That was one thing about getting into it with her: they always had something to say. Getting along was a lot harder. He placed his hand lightly over hers, which was oddly cold. That little sign of cold, clammy vulnerability, plus the fact that she alternated between jittery small talk and complete silence, made him feel strangely tender.
“Red, I—” He wanted to tell her not to worry, but he faltered. Up close, he was drawn to all the multicolored flecks in her pretty green eyes—some dark, some honey colored—a beautiful unique mixture that took his breath—and his words—away.
“I—saw you giving money to those boys tonight,” she said, filling in his awkward silence. “That was…sweet.”
He looked down, not wanting to discuss how “sweet” he was. “Look,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “don’t make me out to be a hero. If I can do little things to help, I try to do them. Mainly because growing up, I understood what it was like—not to have stuff. Not to have fun.”
She placed a hand over his chest. “You’re very kindhearted.”
“I’m a small-town cop just doing my job.” Why were they talking about his job when he wanted to be kissing her?
“I heard all those people who came up to you in line. Pulling down Christmas trees for elderly ladies and talking to kids and keeping an eye on people’s houses when they’re gone.”
“Like I said, it’s my job.”
She shook her head. “It’s more than that. Everyone in this town loves you. You look out for people—just like you look out for your family.”
He sighed. Gently he took her glass and set it down. Then he lifted her up and set her on the counter next to the stove, stepping carefully between her legs.
She swallowed. He leaned his hands on the countertop beside her, caging her in. “How do I get you to stop talking?” he asked, biting back a smile.
Gingerly she reached out and patted one of his biceps, as if she were examining it. Another avoidance technique, not a good sign. He massaged her shoulders. Yep, tense as a live wire. That made him back up a little and gesture toward the living room. “Come on. Let’s watch TV. You can check out my sound system.”
She laughed at that. But when he turned to go, she tugged on his sleeve, keeping him in place. “It’s the over-ten-year thing,” she blurted. “With Tagg. And no one else. Particularly the no one else part. Whereas you, on the other hand—”
With one swift move, he took her in his arms and pulled her close. She was soft and warm and he didn’t know a damn thing about flowers but her scent reminded him of summer—warm sunshine and sweetness. “Sara,” he said, smoothing wisps of hair back from her face. God, she was pretty. “I don’t care about any of that. Unless, of course, you still want Tagg.”
Her gaze met his. “I want you.”
His heart was thundering crazily in his chest. He ached to touch her, but he needed to make certain she was all in on this. Wanted everything to be just right.
He took her smile as a good sign. So he bent closer to capture her mouth.
She held out a hand and pressed it against his chest. “I-I just want to make it clear, I’m in no position for a relationship. I—this is just for fun, right? I want us to be on the same page.”
That surprised him, mostly because that was usually his line. He tried to figure out why it disappointed him a little too. Colton understood a woman like Sara wasn’t likely to hang out for long with a guy like him anyway, no matter how people praised him ad nauseam for his good deeds.
All he knew was that he wanted her. And he’d take whatever she would give him. “Gotcha. Loud and clear.”
Then he kissed her. Which, he was relieved to find, finally stopped all the talking. A funny thing happened when his lips met hers. Everything—the apartment, the hum of the fridge, the fireworks kids were setting off in the streets, the background humming of his nerves, ceased to be. There were just the two of them and his mouth on hers, their arms circling tight around each other.
Sara kissed him back, their tongues tangling, their lips searching, their bodies flush. She tasted like cotton candy and a sweetness he’d been missing for years. She fit perfectly in his arms, all curvy softness. With that kiss all the years of animosity disintegrated, and he thought he must’ve been an idiot to ever bother arguing with her about anything.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, running his hand under her shirt, over the warm, smooth skin of her back.
She blushed and shook her head, smiling.
“If you’re forcing me to take compliments, I’m going to make you do it too,” he said.
“Just kiss me,” she said, curling her hand around the nape of his neck and kissing him deeply. A whimper escaped from her throat. When he pulled back to look at her, her eyes were dreamy, and, he thought, full of the same hunger he felt coursing through him. No nerves. A tidal wave of relief bowled through him.
“Sara, I—” Words lingered on his lips, the need to tell her something honest. But her words stayed with him: just for fun. So he traced his finger along her cheek instead. His hand was shaking a little, and he moved it before she could see.
When there was no sarcasm left between them, what was there? He wasn’t sure, but it didn’t feel like anything he’d ever experienced before. He tucked a strand behind her ear. “I always wanted to do that. Touch your hair.”
“Take me to your bed now, Colt,” she said, her mouth curving upward.
“I don’t want us to do it next to the coffee maker.”
The magic words. “Whatever you say,” he said, lifting her up, loving the way she wrapped herself sweetly around him. He carried her to his bedroom, kissing her all the way.
* * *
Good thing Colton carried her, because Sara’s legs felt like marshmallows, weak and offering no support. She was trembling all over. Warm lava was pumping through her veins, and she thought she might be having a stroke, based on the hot and cold, the weakness, the leaden pounding of her heart. Whatever disease this was, she didn’t want to get over it.
And oh my God, the man could kiss. She could spend hours kissing those beautiful, skilled lips.
He laid her unceremoniously on the bed and shucked off his shirt and shorts in typical guy fashion, then stood there in all his male perfection, confidence flowing in spades. He was all sculpted hills and valleys, all tight muscle and golden skin. Then he was over her, their legs tangling, his erection pressing against the throbbing, aching pulse between her legs.
“Colton,” she said. He was kissing her neck, behind her ear, tangling his hands in her hair, kissing her like she’d never been kissed, carefully, slowly, then suddenly demanding, consuming her, burning her up in flames. Somehow her blouse got undone and tossed off, her shorts pitched to the floor. He whispered sweet things, how beautiful she was, how happy he was that she was here with him, how he loved making love with her. She’d pegged him for a quiet man, not demonstrative at all, but again he’d surprised her. She’d never heard such words before, words that made her feel…treasured.
He unhitched her bra effortlessly, and then his mouth was on her breast and he was using his tongue in wicked ways. Heat built in her core and flashed all through her as he kissed and suckled, her body tensing and tightening and readying for him as her fevered need for him rose. When a moan escaped her, she felt him smile against her skin.
She drew her arms around him, up the sinewy cords of his back, fascinated by the hard muscle and contrasting softness of his skin. She slid her hand under his briefs, smoothing it over the taut muscle of his butt. “How’s your tetanus shot these days?” she murmured as she stroked him.
