WindSwept Narrows: #18 Paige Andrews

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  He quickly took her wrists and pulled, swallowing up her bubble of laughter in a long, sensuous kiss while his hands shoved the jeans down his hips, his feet kicking them free. He gripped her waist and pushed them both higher on the bed, arms and legs tangling, touching, stroking, gasping and pulling necessary breath into their lungs.

  Paige wanted all of him. All of him everywhere, she thought breathlessly, the sweet pleasures that were shooting through her totally alive and new. Tiny pops, little zips before…never like this. Never this much flooding into her from all directions. Two tiny hooks at her back weren’t much of a challenge and she felt the lace and nylon tugged free and dropped off the bed, his hand replacing the lace and his mouth moving to capture and arouse until she was clinging to him, her chest heaving and hips hard against his erection.

  Sebastian slid the panties down her legs, his palm fitting against the soft, compact center of her. He could smell her, his fingers stroking over the soft down and slipping lower, testing the heat, the moisture that singed his skin. Tight, his brain screamed. Hot and tight beneath his palm, searing as he slid a finger inside, his thumb strumming along the moisture, spreading and stroking. Her arms tightened around his neck, like her arms on the bike, he thought, as he added another finger. Her body convulsed, the muscles clenching, hugging and clamping down on him. He held her, kissed her, lost himself in her need to ravage him.

  He reached for the nightstand and fumbled with a box while her tongue and kiss swept his senses into orbit. His hand found her center again, probing, sliding and unprepared when she pushed him to his back and rolled over him. Her hips moved, stroking, sliding and positioning. He watched her eyes, the surprise on her face and the tautness of her body making him stop moving. He pulled his hands from her hair, from her breast to grip her waist and hold her in place.

  “Paige…Christ…stop…” but her lower body kept up the rotation, the gentle pressure, the hungry stroking that seated him a little more with each feminine arch of her body.

  “No…touch me again,” she demanded against his mouth, her hands tangled against his head and her body slick with moisture from them both. “Again…Sebastian…oh god…” she felt the tightness close around her like a vice, dragging her breath from her and forcing her body against his. Pale lashes closed when the waves of pleasure captured her, taking everything but the now from her mind. He moved against her, long and slow; hard and fast until she felt him groan, heard his voice calling to her. Her body opened to him, taking him, pulling him along with the cascading tremors.

  Paige felt her muscles tighten as she moved, reaching up and pulling the long hair to one side. She ran her tongue lightly along his throat in the cooling aftermath, tasting and inhaling and smiling and sighing contentedly.

  “I don’t know anything that ever, ever feels that good,” she murmured, wiggling against the warm body and finding her waist suddenly tightly gripped. “Sebastian?”

  “Paige, why the hell didn’t you say something….” He stopped when her palm came up, fingers on his lips. He felt and saw her stretch out a little, her mouth next to his ear. His body twitched in response to both when the warm, sultry tones rippled over his skin.

  “Because I’m incredibly relaxed and in an amazingly good mood, I’m going to give you a one-time pass, Mr. Hartley, on the words that just left your lips. Not so much the words, as the tone of your voice,” she tapped his lips when she felt them open. “Uh-uh-uh…not finished here…now…I want you to repeat what you started to say, with that particular tone of voice, a couple times,” she felt his lips curve into a smile beneath her fingertips. So she traced the full delicious lips with her fingertips. “And given that you’re a pretty bright guy, I’m betting you’ll come up with something a lot less caustic. When you’ve worked that out, why don’t you…oh, I don’t know…pat me on the ass or something and let me know you’ve adjusted your outlook,” Paige ignored his groan when she slid to the side and snuggled contentedly into the pile of blankets with a wiggle.

  Considering that she was right, he didn’t figure there was anything to say, so he got up and went into the bathroom. He was glad to see her head at the right end of the bed and the blankets mostly arranged enough to slide beneath. The blankets were pooled at her waist and she lay on her stomach, long hair twirled and resting at the side.

  “Hmm…this feels really familiar,” he leaned over her shoulder, kissing along the column of her throat while his palm caressed over the round globe bare beneath the blanket.

  “I’ve never had my bones melted before…it’s amazing,” she murmured, rolling to her back and meeting the amused blue circles.

  “I’m pretty sure my bones remained in tack…” He leaned on his elbow, his palm going to her waist and pulling her close. “Amazing just doesn’t feel strong enough a word,” he saw the corner of her mouth lift. “So…I’m hoping I’ve redeemed myself.”

  “I blame the fact that all the blood was probably not centered in the thinking part of your anatomy,” she whispered, leaning up and kissing him with a long sigh. His hand softened, pressed and stroked to just beneath her breast as the kiss went on, slow and lazy this time.

  “Paige…you might need some time…” he felt her teeth nip his lip and stopped, meeting the soft brown eyes.

  “Who does the body belong to?” She saw the answer in his eyes and pressed closer. “Unless you’re not interested, of course, then I’ll just…”

  Laughing and giggling mingled for several minutes before she watched the fire in his eyes flair to life, her fingers trailing down his body, touching, stroking and arousing.

  Sebastian felt more than his body reacting to her again. She whispered in his ear, asking questions and sliding down his body. She watched his eyes darken when she prepared him for her. She arched against his palm, shivered beneath his touch and broke with soft, plaintive sounds that further aroused them both. She opened to him, her hands against his head and their kisses hot tastes that broke only for ravaged gulps of air.

  He knew he should be tired when he climbed into bed, tugging her against him and drifting to sleep. She had a pillow in front of her, her body cuddled back into his, their feet tangled and his arm possessively around her waist. Several times during the night their positions shifted, changed and in the middle of each they became more entangled.

  Chapter Nine

  Paige let the low groan break from inside, red hair draped over one eye as she lay on her stomach, face turned to the window. The window now threatening her with daylight. Peeking, sneaking…streaks of light that made her burrow down. She was cold. She sent her right hand up and out, patting over the surface and frowning.

  “Looking for something?” Came this low, sexy drawl from a short distance.

  “I had this really nice…warm…” she sighed. “Why aren’t you here?”

  “Good to be appreciated,” he chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed, tugging boots into place. He watched as she turned her face toward him, one hand up and pulling the long hair off to the side so she could see.

  “You generate some serious heat when you’re sleeping,” she murmured.

  “Guess you need to keep me around.”

  “You got clothes…geeze…what time is it…it can’t be morning…”

  “I’ve got early morning calls to the east coast, you’ve got no coffee and I need a shave,” he leaned over her shoulder, nibbling along the length to her throat. “So I don’t rip up your skin when I do that…” he listened to the soft mews that weren’t in protest.

  “There’s always weekends…” She stopped as the music quietly slipping into wake up mode. Paige groaned and rolled to her back.

  “And I need this…” Sebastian covered her mouth with his, urging, teasing and awakening. “Because I get this regrettable feeling I won’t get any at the office.” His eyes flew wide when her hands came up and gripped the edges of his shirt, throwing her energy and passion behind one more kiss. “Alright then…”

  “That’ll
have to hold you,” she told him, shoving the blankets off and bouncing to the floor with a long, deep breath. “Damn it’s cold out here!” She snatched up a towel off the vanity seat and wrapped it around her.

  “Headache gone?” He watched her shake and walk toward the bathroom, stopping at his side. A pair of soft brown eyes met his.

  “No pain. Touchy pain, still…” she pulled her hand from the long hair. “It’s okay…” his arm went around her waist when she leaned in for one more kiss. “I gotta…”

  “See you at the office,” he said with a nod, heading out of the bedroom.

  Paige stood beneath the hot spray of the shower, hands flat on the tiles and head bent absorbing the water and steam.

  “Oh, god what have I done…” She groaned aloud. “Five bosses…five bosses and one of them…oh god…”

  She stood before the wall mirror over the sink, minty fresh breath adding to the fog in front of her.

  “You slept with the boss,” she said firmly, snorting the next instant. “Sleep…oh yeah…look at those eyes and tell me just how high sleep was on the list last night,” she pulled a drawer open and lifted a small bottle free, dabbing and smoothing it beneath her eyes. A small, satisfied shrug before sighing thickly.

  She hung bent at the waist, blow dryer and hairbrush working for a few minutes before she pulled underwear out and got dressed. She pulled her jeans on and tossed the low boots toward the front door before digging a thick crème colored sweater from a drawer. Hands worked the ponytail in place before she pulled a few things from the fridge, packed them into her bag and filling her go-cup with cold orange juice.

  “So…” Brown eyes peered into the car mirror now and then as she drove. “Just how much, on a scale from one to ten, have you complicated your life? Oh, gee…eleven?”

  Paige unlocked things, opened windows, dumped containers into the fridge and stuck one of them into the little microwave. She started the coffee and stood sorting folders when Chase came in. She looked up to see him shaking his head.

  “No?”

  “Idiot weather…” He grumbled, thinking of the light spring dress and jacket Pepper had danced into the resort wearing this morning. “She gets it right, I think it’s still winter outside,” he hooked his overcoat on the old style coat stand and sniffed at the same time the door opened.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” Sebastian had his jacket open, helmet in his hand while the other raked back the still damp straw hair. His grin tipped the corner of his mouth when she held a finger up at him, her expression stern.

  “None of that in the office,” she said, taking a forkful of rice and chicken and turning back to her folders.

  Chase looked from one to the other and just went into his office.

  “What are you eating?” Sebastian went to the small kitchen area and poured coffee. He watched her look from the empty fork to the container, lips pursed.

  “Chicken and rice and…” she poked at something in the container. “I’m not sure…but it crunches and it’s good.”

  “And that’s supposed to be breakfast?”

  “You seriously think by the time I’m done chewing the stomach knows what it began as? Hey!” She watched her fork taken along with a large bite of the contents of the container. “You’re hungry, get one out of the fridge, moocher,” she took the fork and moved the container to the other side of the computer.

  “You brought the stuff from last night?” He took her advice and peered at what he recalled they’d packaged up the night before, pulling one out he knew was spicy and that she hadn’t touched for that reason. He opened the seals and set it in the microwave to heat before pulling drawers open, noting what she’d stocked in the new kitchen area. He found a fork and leaned against the counter, watching her sort.

  “Is the Saturday morning thing still good?” Paige asked as she opened a large file and began sorting bills, opening another screen and checking balances.

  “Refresh my memory,” he urged, taking the container out and tossing the lid into the sink with the other one. He stirred the contents and admitted she was right. The stomach would never know. The brain wanted the coffee, the stomach didn’t care one way or the other.

  “The granary,” she only had to say the two words before his eyes narrowed and a frown tightened his jaw. After last night, she could pretty much accept it wasn’t because she was a girl, it was because she was HIS girl. She felt a warmth spread through her that flustered her and sent her fingers tripping over the folders, sorting them into proper files for input, mailings, revisions or payments.

  “You’ll go whether I agree or not, won’t you?” He watched one shoulder lift just a little.

  “Maybe…probably…they’re after something…and now there’s two sets of them,” she said stubbornly glancing over after she heard the resigned sigh. “I’ve never seen them there during the daylight. There’s only a few of the offices left to be gone through and…” She stopped when she realized what she’d said. But it was obvious her words struck something that had his eyes narrowing, a lot. “Well…maybe this is something to discuss later.”

  “You’ve gone through the granary? Alone?”

  “Definitely later,” she murmured, slipping an ear pod in place and finding the online station she listened to. She was mentally checking numbers when she straightened considerably in her chair, a warm decidedly not sexy voice in her ear to accompany the hand that held tightly to her ponytail.

  “We will discuss this later,” he assured her, kissing her before she could protest and carrying his coffee into his office, his whistle low and from some long ago song.

  “I need a haircut,” she grumbled, offered a growling face at the door to his office and turned her attention to the numbers she was inputting.

  Chapter Ten

  It was just after two when she saw the dark limo pull into the parking lot. She knew who it was the instant the driver got out and opened the back door. Big, burly guy driving. Probably a lot more than just driver, she thought, opening a file drawer and letting her fingers trip over the manila folders until she found the one she wanted. She pulled the papers out, notarized and ready to be served. They only had to find him. She knew it was only a matter of time before he came to her. More to the point, came at Montgomery because he couldn’t get to Pepper.

  Paige stood up and went to the door to Chase’s office, flashed a quiet smile to him as he talked to someone who was not a happy camper on speaker phone. She pulled the door closed and stood in front of it, unaware of Sebastian watching her with a slightly growing frown of curiosity. He watched her straighten, her feet parted and the stance very familiar as she took a couple steps toward the main door.

  “Can I help you?” Paige applied a bright smile.

  “Chase Montgomery. This is his office?” The man asked, flanked at the side by the larger guy.

  Paige knew his face. She’d pulled photos from a couple sites where his church was set up. Smooth, easy to look at. Charming when he wanted to be, she thought of the articles about his ministry. His eyes were a dark green and hair clipped short and close to his head. It might have been blonde at one time, maybe making people think he was Pepper’s father.

  But she also had photos of Pepper’s mother. She wished she’d been able to turn up more through her connections, but no one knew who the father might be. She had some guesses from browsing old school yearbooks at the library, but that was something she’d have to share with Pepper at another time. One complication in her life at a time, she thought.

  “Mr. Montgomery is busy at the moment. May I tell him who you are and see if we can arrange an appointment for you?” Paige moved toward her desk, her body freezing when his hand came up and gripped her wrist.

  “My name is Jacob Ambrose and I want to speak with Montgomery now.”

  “I’m going to only tell you one time to take your hand off me,” Paige heard the calm cold in her voice as if it were someone else speaking. His fingers released her wrist and h
er eyes bore into his. “You are Jacob Ambrose?”

  “I am. Where is Montgomery?”

  “This is for you,” she held out the folded papers, nodding when he took them. “I don’t want a misunderstanding should I have to call the police to have you arrested. The restraining order prohibits you from coming into contact with Pepper Ambrose Montgomery within fifty feet. This includes her home, her vehicle and her employment. This further includes any and all times she is shopping, jogging or simply out in the world. It is a permanent order and…”

  Sebastian was up and at the door when her voice stopped in a loud gasp. He made it to the opening in time to see her react. The man must had have had a redwood tree for a parent, he thought, taking in the size of him at the same time Paige moved. He’d grabbed her right wrist and twisted. Her left hand was out, grabbing the large thumb and pushing at the same time a heavy boot came down on the instep of a pair of thin but expensive leather shoes. He released her wrist and she pivoted lightly, pulled her arm back, angled, sharply shooting the heel of her palm forward. He realized then that the power she’d used on him was mild compared to what she packed into that shot when she really wanted someone’s attention. It struck the center of his chest and knocked the wind completely out of him, sending him back against the door. Sebastian almost laughed at the outright surprise on the man’s face.

  His reactions were fast but seeing both him and Chase suddenly appear, both men took a step backwards, taking in their options. Jacob Ambrose put up a hand, stopping the man rubbing his chest and foot, his face red with fury.