by Amelia Shea
That was interesting. She was about to ask where they all grew up when his cell beeped. She assumed it was a ringtone for a text when he stood straight up and gave her his back. She heard him curse under his breath. He started typing quickly into his phone. Yeah, definitely a text.
She remained where she was against the countertop. She assumed he’d leave now. She should have been happy but she wasn’t. She wanted him to stay. She wanted him to turn around and grab her and kiss her. She wanted his body against hers, rubbing and grinding. She wanted him to rip her panties off with his teeth. She wanted him.
His abrupt movement dragged her out of her sexual haze. He was back, arms caging her in—bodies close, lips even closer.
“I gotta go,” he said through tight lips. He didn’t seem happy about it. She bit her lower lip and nodded.
“I’ll come by tomorrow. Are you working?” he whispered, his breath fanning over her face. His arms encircled her back and she was pulled into his chest. She gripped his arms feeling his hard biceps through his jacket
His green eyes peered down into hers. Sadie’s heart raced and panties moistened. She wanted this man. Now!
She nodded the answer to his question. She feared if she spoke she would beg him to fuck her.
He leaned in closer and their lips were only an inch away from one another. “Are you going to avoid me?” His seductive tone had her rubbing her legs together.
She jerked her head and remained silent.
His nose touched hers and his breath warmed her lips. Déjà vu. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer that he’d kiss her. With her heart pounding, her hands moved down to grip his waist. She pulled him deeper into her and he let her. She felt him so close, his breath so close. She angled her head up to his and soft lips brushed against hers. She leaned in closer to feel his tongue glide across her bottom lip. She opened up to him and he devoured her mouth. She released his waist and raised her hands to his chest.
His phone started ringing but he didn’t stop to answer it. He gripped her waist and lifted her onto the counter. Never breaking their kiss, he spread apart her knees and stepped between them. She moaned when he grabbed her ass and pulled her deep against his body, feeling his hard length against her core. She wrapped her hands around his neck and slid them up to run her hands through his hair. He groaned and deepened their kiss. She licked his bottom lip before biting softly down.
“You are so fucking sweet.” He groaned against her lips
The phone rang three more times and then stopped again. He never attempted to answer it.
Sadie whispered so low she didn’t even think he could hear her. “Please don’t stop.”
A small tug on the corner of his mouth gave him a lopsided smile.
“Sweet girl, I want to kiss you. I want to fucking kiss you everywhere. The thought of kissing you has kept me up at night. It’s all I fucking think about, you and those lips.” He grunted and roughly pulled her to him. “I’d give anything to be inside you right now.” He was breathing hard.
She reached up to pull his head back down to hers and their lips crashed together. She moaned and rubbed herself against him.
His cell phone rang again.
“Babe,” he whispered against her lips pulling back slightly, “I have to go now. It’s business and that phone will keep ringing until I answer it.” He leaned into her and gave her a quick kiss before pulling back. He stared at Sadie with warmth in his eyes. She loved his eyes.
“Okay.” Her voice was quiet and disappointed. He had business to deal with and she understood that, but she really wanted him to stay.
“Sadie.” She looked back to him. His face was calm and serious. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Yeah?” he asked quietly but confidently.
She gave him a shy smile. “Yeah, and thanks for helping me out today.”
He smiled back at her and leaned in and he planted soft kisses on her lips. His hands caressed her thighs.
“You have to go,” Sadie whispered between kisses.
“I know.” Stone continued to kiss her lips softly.
Sadie wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer. “I want you to stay, Stone,” she whispered.
She let out a giggle. “It’s like fate doesn’t want us together.”
He stopped kissing her, cupped his hands at her jaw and snorted. “Fuck fate, you’re mine, Sadie. I just need to burn my cell and take you to a cabin in the woods where no one can interrupt us.”
She smirked and whispered, “When do we leave?”
Stone smiled back. He opened his mouth to say something but the front door crashed open.
Sadie jumped at the loud slam of the door. A pale faced Roxanne stood in it. She looked freaked out and she was panting as if she just ran miles. She never looked over at Sadie, just at Stone.
“Stone, we gotta go. Like right now!” Her voice was panicked and scared.
His lips skimmed her forehead and he backed away.
His face was serious as he looked at her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sadie.”
Sadie looked between him and Roxanne. She looked completely freaked out. Something was really wrong. She looked back to Stone who was still staring at her.
Sadie nodded. “Yeah, tomorrow.”
“Come lock the door behind me.”
He stalked over to Roxanne, who still looked jolted and gently nudged her out the door. Sadie followed behind him. He turned and his eyes met hers before the door closed. She locked the door and leaned back against it. Those green eyes sent her a promise. A promise she hoped he’d keep.
* * * *
Stone tracked Roxanne steps down the stairs, the cool air felt like cold water splashing over his face. Wake up, man. Roxanne jumped in the truck quickly with Stone following in the driver seat. There was an urgency about this situation—the job needed to be done and over, this was the priority. This assignment had been mishandled from the beginning. Usually they were meticulous. They anticipated problems or issues before they happened. Their jobs went according to plan. Everything about this job had become complicated and difficult. Throw Sadie in the mix, it was a complete clusterfuck.
Stone started the truck, backed out, and headed to the meeting point. Shitty timing was always coming between him and Sadie. When he got the text he was pissed. But he knew, the job came first, it had to. He should have left immediately after the message. Then when the calls started he knew he had to leave but still he stayed, touching her and kissing her. Finally being with her. Really being with her.
Stone released a heavy sigh as he tapped on the steering wheel. They were about fifteen minutes away from the meeting point. Stone was sure he would hear shit from Ethan about not answering the phone. He’d deserve it. The job was the reason they were in Cedar Bluff. He needed to get his head out of Sadie’s trailer and back to the job. She was a distraction. An unrelenting irresistible distraction.
“Sorry to barge in back there.” Roxanne said softly, her face serious.
Stone was so far in his own head, he’d almost forgotten Roxanne was sitting next to him. He reached over the console and patted her hand that rested on her knee.
“It’s all good, Rox. I should have been out sooner.” He exhaled. “But I was preoccupied.”
Roxanne smirked and snorted. “Oh, I know.”
They continued the drive with the music being the only sound. The usual talkative Roxanne was eerily quiet. Stone was sure her mind was on the job. This assignment had become almost personal for all of them. They had to see it through.
Roxanne broke the silence. “She’s really pretty.”
“Yeah,” Stone answered, keeping his eyes on the road. Discussing Sadie with his sister was not something he wanted to do right now.
“And she seems sweet.”
Stone was silent.
“And a little sassy too. “ Roxanne giggled “‘I’m his side piece’, that was awesome!”
“Yeah.” Stone rolled his eyes at hearing Roxanne repeat Sadie’s words.
He had almost flipped on her when she said that. As if she’d ever be just a side piece to him. Hearing her even joke about herself that way had Stone livid.
“Ya picked a good one, big brother.”
He did. Sadie was a good one, the only one.
Stone smirked. He looked over to Roxanne who was grinning.
“Now, don’t screw it up.”
Stone laughed.
He pulled into the dirt driveway and drove two miles in. As he came closer to the shack, he saw T’s truck and Ethan’s car to the left and a black Jeep on the right.
Everybody was here.
Roxanne and Stone got out of the truck and walked toward the shed.
This meeting wouldn’t end until they came up with a plan to finally close the file on this job.
Chapter 8
“Hey, Willie!” Sadie greeted with a wave.
“Hey, Sadie!” he said, looking up from the grill.
She rushed to the break room to dump her stuff in the locker. She was a few minutes late. She had spent extra time adding a bit more makeup and playing with her hair. She never put much effort into getting ready for work, but knowing Stone was coming in to see her, she wanted to.
Sadie walked out to see Tracey, the new waitress, slither out of Bernie’s office adjusting the buttons on the top of her uniform. Didn’t take a genius to figure out what was happening inside. Sadie’s immediate thought was Slutbag.
“Oh, hey, girl, how’s things?” Tracey said as she walked past her.
Sadie gave her best fake smile. “Things are great.” Slutbag.
Sadie walked on by and hoped Tracey didn’t start talking to her again. Before she could get to the floor doors, Bernie called her to come into his office. Sadie turned around and walked by Tracey again as she headed to the dining room. Sadie swore she saw a smug look on Tracey’s face. Slutbag!
Sadie knocked only as a courtesy and walked into Bernie’s office. He was behind his desk playing with papers as he looked up. “Sadie. Look kid, I know we talked about moving you to days but I’m going to have to keep you on nights for a bit longer.”
“What? No…Bernie, you promised when you hired a new girl that I’d being doing mostly days. You promised me and…”
“I know, I know, but right now I think it would be best to keep you on nights. In six months, we’ll talk again about bringing you on days.” He looked almost regretful.
Sadie was livid. “Six months? Are you joking? Six months? You told me when you hired Tracy that you would move me to days. That’s what you said.”
And now looking at his face, she saw it, she recognized guilt. Sadie realized Tracey just fucked her way to her day shift. Her face flamed and her hands balled up in fists. She couldn’t believe this. Her body started to shake. God, she wanted to hit him, she thought as she stared daggers at him.
She had finally reached the breaking point. She was promised that day shift. It was hers. She was done with taking this shit. She. Was. Done. She would not be a doormat.
Before she could even stop, she screamed at the top of her lungs. It was so loud Bernie jumped in his seat and looked like he might either shit himself or grab his gun. She must look crazed. Well so be it, she was crazed.
I’ll quit! That’s right, I will fucking quit this shitty ass job. I quit, Bernie! You can take this job and shove it up your fat hairy ass. Fuck You! I’m done, I’m outta here, I quit!
She would have loved to say it but she didn’t. She couldn’t. She needed this job. She couldn’t afford to not work at this shitty fucking job. She was stuck.
She closed her eyes and took in four deep breaths, in and out, in and out. She needed to pull it together, reel it in. Sadie inhaled a few more deep breaths and began to calm. She finally opened her eyes and stared at Bernie. She was so angry. She took one more deep breath.
“Okay. I’ll continue nights, Bernie.”
His face lit up a bit but he was still leery. He opened his mouth but Sadie put her hand up.
“I’ll continue my nights in two weeks. Starting right now, I’m taking the next two weeks off. I’ll be back the Sunday after Thanksgiving.”
“Sadie, sweetheart…” He tried to persuade her.
“Don’t you ‘Sadie sweetheart’ me, Bernie.” She pointed her finger in his face. “I have three weeks of vacation coming to me. Be thankful I’m only taking two.”
“I know but we are so busy and…”
Sadie snapped and leaned in close. “You allowed Tracey to fuck her way to a shift that was promised to me. A shift I earned legitimately from working my ass off for four fucking years. I deserve that shift! Now, I’m leaving and I will see you in two weeks.”
A thought occurred to her. She didn’t trust Bernie. He had completely screwed her over. She would quit eventually but she needed the money. She planned on spending this entire vacation looking for another job. But she needed the security of knowing this job was still here when she came back. She walked to the door, grabbed the knob, and called out, “Bernie? Does Marge know Tracey got the day shift?”
His face paled.
“She’ll probably wonder why I turned it down. She’ll probably ask me personally, don’t you think? I’ll be sure and tell her I had a change of heart. I’ll tell her this in two weeks. Do you understand what I’m saying, Bernie?”
He nodded.
Sadie rushed back to the break room, grabbed her bag and coat, and dashed out. She completely ignored all the calls of her name and curious looks. She walked out the door, opened the car and slid in. She’d be home in fifteen minutes and free to drown her anger in cheap wine and leftover enchiladas.
* * * *
Stone peered through the parking lot and he pulled into the empty spot at Bernie’s. The lot was dead with only two big rigs and a car in the lot. He wanted to get there earlier but they met up with Trent and Dec late, business came first, for now at least. Stone hopped out of his truck and followed behind T to the front door. Sadie’s car wasn’t parked on the side in her usual spot. Taking another look around, he didn’t see her car at all.
Stone took longer strides, passing T and opened the door to the diner. Stone tried to bury the worry that was building at not seeing her car. Now, standing in the entrance, his concern only grew as he didn’t see her anywhere. There were two guys at the counter and a booth filled with three women. Aside from the older waitress Sadie usually worked with, there wasn’t anyone else.
T tapped him on the back. “C’mon, man, I’m starving.” T pushed his way past Stone and walked over to a booth on the right.
Stone stood a moment and scanned the diner again. Where is she?
“Sweetie, you can sit anywhere, I’ll get your waitress for you.”
Stone looked over to see the older waitress, Pearl, smile at him. He nodded and walked over to the booth where T was sitting looking over the menu.
Stone slid into the seat, ignoring the obvious perusal from the table of women behind him. There was only one woman he wanted to see. Where the hell is she?
“Man, relax, you’re wound tighter than a virgin on prom night.” T snorted, still looking at the menu.
“Shut up.”
T laughed, setting down his menu. “She’s really gotten to ya, huh? Never thought I’d see the day that some girl would have you by the balls.”
Stone glared up at T who was smirking at him. Stone should have expected the ball busting. Truthfully, no girl had ever come close to doing what Sadie had done to him. He was falling fast and he knew it. Unfortunately, so did his brothers and they weren’t going to let him live it down. He was about to say something when he saw T look over his shoulder and his face lost all traces of humor.
“Fuck!” T muttered.
Stone looked over his shoulder to see the waitress from the other night walking over. This was the same one that Sadie caught blowing T in the bathroom. When she looked up from her notepad her face transformed from easygoing to angry as hell. Stone turned back to T and it was his time to smir
k.
“Speaking of balls, man,” Stone uttered. “She looks like she wants to rip yours off.”
She stopped abruptly at the edge of the table. Stone looked up to find her glaring down at T.
“Are you ready to order?” Stone could have sworn he heard her whisper “douchebag” but he couldn’t be sure.
“Where’s Sadie?”
The waitress looked over at Stone. “Not here.”
“I can see that. Where is she?” Stone asked again, growing annoyed at her tone with him.
“What’s it to you?” she snapped.
“You can lose that fucking attitude. She knew I was coming in to see her, so I’ll ask you again, where is she?” Stone’s tone was harsh.
The waitress stared at him and took a deep breath. She looked back and forth between him and T, who was now glaring at the waitress. Her face paled slightly. T wasn’t a bad guy but even Stone could admit he was scary as hell, the last person you wanted to piss off.
Reluctantly, she answered with a sigh. “She came in for her shift but stormed out after talking to the boss. I tried calling her but didn’t get an answer, she seemed really upset. I know Pearl tried calling too but she just got her voicemail.”
Stone immediately got up from the booth and the waitress backed up.
“Let’s go,” he said to T, who was already getting up.
They stalked to the door and headed to the truck. Stone had a million scenarios running through his mind, all of them bad. Why wouldn’t she answer her phone? Did something happen with her boss? If he laid a hand on her, that guy was fucking dead?
They were just about to the truck when T grabbed Stone’s keys out of his hand.
“I’m driving, the last thing you need in another fucking ticket,” T said as they hopped into the truck.
* * * *
“Sadie, c’mon, let me in. I’m freezing my balls off out here!”
Sadie stared at her bedroom ceiling. This was not happening. She heard more banging on the door. He’d been banging on her front door for about ten minutes now. Tyler Ripley. The first and only guy she ever thought she loved. The only man she opened her heart to, and the man who ultimately broke it. The bane of her existence!
