Love in Catalina Cove

by Brenda Jackson

  He had convinced himself that their last kiss hadn’t been as captivating as he remembered, but now he saw that it had been. He also saw this kiss was just as hot and invigorating—everything he had imagined it would be again and more. When she broke off the kiss he released a moan of protest deep in his throat. He missed her mouth already.

  “I think we need to get out of here before we get into trouble,” she whispered against his moist lips.

  “I know you’re right, but I don’t want to stop yet,” he said, taking his tongue and licking around her lips.

  “You’re not playing fair. You’re a cop. Where’s your sense of honor?”

  He chuckled. “I left it in Catalina Cove.”

  “Hmm, are you trying to tell me you’re going to be a badass in New York?”

  “I’ll let you decide.”

  He took her hand and led her toward the door.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “I HOPE YOU enjoyed yourself tonight.”

  Vashti glanced up at the man walking by her side and smiled. “I did.” And she truly had. Dinner had been wonderful and the Broadway play awesome. Over dinner he’d told her about his life in the Marines and as an FBI agent.

  When he’d asked her about her job, she finally told him the truth about her unemployment status. He tried bolstering her spirits by saying he was certain another job would come up and then told her about his anxiety after making the decision to accept the sheriff’s job in the cove. It meant leaving a career job with the FBI and Jade leaving her friends.

  With the kiss they’d shared before leaving for dinner, it was no surprise that the sexual chemistry between them was still in full force. She was convinced even inhaling his scent was a turn-on for her.

  “What are your plans for tomorrow?” he asked when they reached her door.

  “I don’t have any. Why?”

  “I’ve never been to Coney Island and figured it might be somewhere I’d want to take Jade this summer. I was wondering if you’d like to go there with me tomorrow when I check it out.”

  She smiled. “Jade would love Coney Island. It’s such a nice place.” She paused a moment and said, “I’d love to go to Coney Island with you.”

  “Great. You mentioned on the drive back here that you had something to tell me.”

  Yes, she needed to tell him of her decision to move back to Catalina Cove. “Yes, I have something to tell you.”

  After she opened the door, he followed her in. As soon as she closed the door behind him, hot sparks of desire seemed to bounce off every wall in her condo, filling the space with raw carnal energy. Even the sound of the heels of her shoes on the tile floor didn’t break the aura.

  “Would you like something to drink or do you prefer water again?” she asked, needing to give them space. Hopefully by the time she returned from the kitchen things would have cooled down.

  “I’ll take a beer if you have one.”

  “I do. One cold beer coming up.”

  She’d turned to walk off when he reached out and touched her shoulder. At the feel of him touching her, desire clawed at her. After drawing in a sharp breath, she turned back to him. “Yes? What’s wrong? Want something else?”

  “No, nothing is wrong. And yes, I want something else.”

  Vashti knew Sawyer didn’t have to tell her what that something else was. The need and desire were there in his eyes for her to see and for her to feel. If only she didn’t see him as a very sexy, very handsome man. Granted, he was only four years older, but already he’d shown her that he had more maturity in his little finger than Scott had in his entire body.

  And he’d definitely been more responsible than Julius. When Sawyer had found out he’d gotten a woman pregnant, a woman who’d been a one-night stand and not even a girlfriend, he hadn’t hesitated to give her and their child his name. Something Julius hadn’t done. Okay, he might have loved her but he hadn’t shown her that love when it counted. When she and her baby had needed it. His father had been right when he said Julius had been weak. It didn’t matter to Vashti the reason behind his weakness, all she knew was that weakness had let her down.

  Standing before her was a strong man. He would be any woman’s hero. Too bad they hadn’t met when she’d been wearing rose-colored glasses. He would have been a good husband. The best. And she would have been a good wife. Funny how things turned out. Unlucky in love. Some parts of their lives had to deal with crushing blows. Whereas Sawyer was willing to throw his hat back into the ring, she wasn’t.

  “Aren’t you going to ask me what I want, Vashti?”

  His question invaded her thoughts and she smiled up at him. “Don’t have to. I feel you.”

  “You feel me?”

  She inched closer to him, intentionally letting his aroused body press against her. His erection was so thick, hard and solid, it was poking her between the legs. A kiss wouldn’t be enough tonight and the big question was whether she was ready to make such a move. Yes, she was, but first she needed to tell him about her decision to move back to the cove.

  “Yes, I definitely feel you, but I need to tell you something.”

  “Hmm,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and bringing her body even closer to his and his mouth barely inches from hers. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. “I suggest we talk later.”

  “I suggest we talk now,” she said, knowing what she told him might change his mind about taking things further. But then maybe not if he could see anything they shared tonight as one and done. Could he? Could she?

  “Do you?” he asked, exerting more seductive pressure on the kisses he was placing on her mouth.

  “Yes,” she said in a shaky voice. Didn’t she? When he began exploiting her mouth for all it was worth with the tip of his tongue, she became dizzy in lust. She closed her eyes and moaned when suddenly he began gently sucking her lower lip. Sawyer was too much of an expert kisser and she was putty in his arms.

  “Yes?” he asked, as he continued to make love to her mouth. If he was this thorough with her lips she could just imagine, if given the chance, how he would make love to her body.

  When she didn’t answer, or open her eyes, he said, “Tell me what you want, sweetheart.”

  That one word of endearment made her open her eyes and she stared into the dark chocolate ones looking at her. She couldn’t remember a time any man had called her sweetheart. Scott might have called her baby once or twice, but never sweetheart. She had truly never been any man’s sweetheart. In a way she knew she wasn’t even Sawyer’s. But still...

  “I want you, Sawyer.” The words flowed easily from her lips as she stared into his eyes. “I want you.”

  As if her words unleashed some degree of passion he’d been holding back, he suddenly captured her mouth in a kiss that made her head spin. And then he proceeded to make love to her mouth in a way that had bone-melting fire spreading through her. Never had she been kissed so thoroughly and possessively before.

  Then there were his hands that he was using to touch her everywhere, as if to make sure she was really here, and not a figment of his imagination. She wasn’t and to make sure he knew it, she began touching him as well, loving the feel of his muscled shoulders beneath her hands.

  Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted in his arms and she didn’t have to ask where he was carrying her. She knew and as far as she was concerned, he wasn’t getting there fast enough to suit her.

  * * *

  AS SAWYER PLACED Vashti on the bed, he was convinced he’d never wanted a woman like he wanted her. In no way did that take away from anything he’d shared with Johanna. He merely assumed the reason he felt this way was because he was older and his desire level had changed or something. He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he did.

  He quickly began unbuttoning his shirt and saw she was easing her blouse over her h
ead. He was glad that she decided whatever she had to tell him could wait. This was what they both wanted and needed now. There would be time to talk later.

  “You’re slacking, Sheriff.”

  He tossed his shirt to land on a chair in her room and glanced over at her and paused. She was sitting in the middle of her bed naked. Totally naked. And she looked absolutely gorgeous. Her beauty literally took his breath away. He swallowed hard before asking, “Am I?”

  She smiled. “What do you think? I’m naked and you’re not.”

  “That can be remedied,” he said, easing his slacks down his thighs. Followed by his briefs.

  “Wow! You are definitely packing.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. No woman had ever complimented him on his penis size before. “Thanks.”

  He pulled a condom packet out of his wallet and tossed it on the bed. “You only have one?” she asked grinning.

  He grinned back. “No. Will I need more than one?”

  She shrugged a pair of beautiful naked shoulders. “Possibly. It’s been a while for me. Although Scott and I had been separated for only a year, we stopped sleeping together a year before that. Unlike you, I didn’t have a friend with benefits.”

  He studied her to see if resentment was in her words and didn’t see any. She had accepted his explanation as to the nature of his relationship with Leesa and he appreciated that. “I hope I have a sufficient supply.”

  “If not, I have you covered. No pun intended.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. For a quick minute after my divorce I decided to become the liberated woman and bought some to be on the safe side, to complement my own form of birth control. There’s nothing like extra protection. I guess you can say I learned from my mistakes.”

  She hadn’t yet told him about her teenage pregnancy, but he suspected that’s what her words referred to. Why it was important that she told him herself, he wasn’t sure. But it was, so he would wait.

  * * *

  VASHTI WASN’T SURE why she almost mentioned her pregnancy. She would tell him, but right now, the passion burning between them was in control. He leaned down and was kissing her in a way that was curling her toes.

  When he finally broke off the kiss, he gave her just enough time to draw in a deep breath of air through her lungs and then he was back, slanting his mouth over hers. It seemed his hands were everywhere, stroking, touching, caressing. And when they eased between her legs, she moaned in her throat. He broke off the kiss and before she could stop him, he leaned down and began placing soft, feathery kisses on her belly.

  “Sawyer.”

  And then she felt his tongue, placing provocative licks around her navel. He was building a need within her that had her groaning aloud. And when he began moving his tongue to her inner thighs, she nearly jerked off the bed. It seemed every inch of her body was sensitive to his touch. Especially his mouth.

  Vashti wasn’t sure what she expected, but it wasn’t him settling his mouth between her legs and kissing her there with the same intensity he’d kissed her mouth. She reached down and ran her fingers over his head. Never had she been kissed this way. It was as if Sawyer was making up for all that and using all his mastery to bring her pleasure.

  Pressure began building in the area where his tongue was. It was as if her clit was on fire and then suddenly her body exploded in a gigantic orgasm. But he didn’t let up until the last spasm left her body. It was only then that he eased up to settle his body over hers. Leaning down he kissed her and she tasted herself on his tongue.

  He broke off the kiss at the same time he used his knee to nudge her legs apart. And then she felt him, taking his time to gently ease inside of her. “Wrap your legs around me, sweetheart.”

  She did as he requested and as soon as she did so, he began moving, thrusting inside of her, stroking her to a feverish pitch. The sensations overtaking her were so strong, so powerful, she moved her head from right to left while saying words encouraging him to go harder, deeper and not to stop.

  He didn’t. Picking up the pace his thrusts became harder, more rapid while moving in and out of her. Naked body against a naked body. Skin to skin. Passion to passion. The sensations that had originated between her legs were spreading to other parts of her body, overloading her senses. She had wrapped her mind around the fact that his magnificent male body was making love to her with an intensity that could become addictive.

  That thought should have given her pause. But she didn’t have time for an intermission. The only thing she had time for was to go crazy in lust while he satisfied the throb between her legs.

  It happened again when she suddenly saw not only stars but the entire friggin’ universe. Stars not only aligned—she was convinced the moon even tilted a little. She screamed out his name and when he screamed hers while pumping fast and furious within her, she knew she had finally gotten a taste of real passion. Passion you could sink your teeth in and then on instinct, as if to brand him, she sank her teeth into his shoulder as another orgasm tore into her.

  “Vashti!”

  She heard him call her name as his body jerked, jerked again and then jerked some more. He continued to thrust hard into her while it did so and she enjoyed every single moment.

  He went after her mouth and she gave it to him, as greedily as she pleased. And later when spasms left their bodies, he leaned up and captured her mouth with his again. The only word she could think to describe what they’d done was amazing. Simply amazing.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  EVEN BEFORE SAWYER opened his eyes, he inhaled the drugging scent of woman. At least one particular woman. Heat infiltrated his body when he slid his eyes open and stared at her, sleeping in his arms. The early-morning sun was shining bright and coming in through her bedroom window and highlighted her features. He wondered if she knew how beautiful she looked, even when asleep.

  Glancing over at the clock on her nightstand, he saw it was past eight in the morning. Usually he got up at five, an hour before he had to wake Jade for school. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d slept to eight. He was up early even on the weekends.

  He glanced back at Vashti and recalled every single detail about last night. Especially how they had driven each other over the edge, time and time again. The magnitude of sexual energy that had flowed between them had made every cell in him erupt with need every time he’d entered her body. Thrust hard into her. Mated nonstop with her. He closed his eyes as more sensual memories flowed through his mind.

  It had not been his intent to spend the night but when she’d invited him to stay, he’d been unable to turn her down—hadn’t wanted to turn her down. He looked forward to spending the day together at Coney Island. Afterward, dinner and another night with her, this time in his hotel room sounded nice. Yes, he liked the idea of that.

  “There better be a good reason you’re smiling with your eyes closed.”

  He lifted his lids to stare into a pair of beautiful brown eyes. “There is. I’m here in this bed with you. We made love last night, quite a few times, and I’m still having aftershocks of pleasure.”

  She snuggled closer to him. “So am I. Aftershocks. That’s unnatural, right?”

  “Not sure but I like them,” he said, leaning in to place a kiss on her lips. “I hadn’t planned for this to happen, Vashti.” He felt he needed to tell her that. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel his sole intent for coming to New York had been to sleep with her.

  “I know. But...”

  “But what?” he asked her, reaching out and circling a strand of her hair around his finger.

  “But I guess we couldn’t help ourselves. There’s this strong sexual chemistry between us. It was there from the beginning. Neither of us has tried to hide it or deny it. If you remember, I approached you about it at Kaegan’s cookout.”

  Yes, she had. “And
if you remember, that’s the night we shared out first kiss. To see if we could solve the mystery.”

  A serious expression appeared on her features. “I’ve thought about that kiss a lot lately.”

  “Umm, so have I.”

  “You have?” she asked him, sitting up, and as if for modesty’s sake, she carefully tucked part of the bedcovering under her arms. He was tempted to tell her there was no need to do that since he’d seen all of her last night. Had touched her. Tasted her.

  “Yes.”

  She seemed pleased with his admission. “You ready to get up and go grab breakfast before my stomach starts growling?” he asked, tempted to pull the bedcovering away from her. He loved looking at her breasts.

  “That sounds like a plan. But first I need to tell you something.”

  He pulled up in bed beside her, remembering that’s the reason she had invited him inside last night. They’d gotten sidetracked. “Whatever you have to tell me must really be important to you.”

  “It is. Afterward, you might want to renege on us spending time together today.”

  He chuckled. “Sweetheart, unless you’re about to confess to being a foreign spy, serial killer or something guaranteed to get you jail time, there’s nothing you can tell me that will make me withdraw my invitation to Coney Island today.”

  “We’ll see.”

  Now she had him more than a little curious. “Okay, Vashti, what do you have to tell me?”

  She didn’t say anything for a minute and then she said, “I’ve decided to move back to Catalina Cove and reopen Shelby by the Sea.”

  * * *

  VASHTI STARED AT Sawyer, needing to see every nuance of his features when her words sank in. The room was quiet as he stared back at her. He’d comprehended what she’d said and she figured that now the wheels were turning in his head. She knew his rule about not dating anyone living in the cove, which meant what they shared last night and in the wee hours of this morning were now a no repeat.