Hot and Handy: A Small Town Romantic Suspense (Shameless Southern Nights Book 3)

by J. H. Croix

  We belonged together. Because of that, I wasn’t terrified of having them moving into my space despite what Sadie thought. I wasn’t mourning the possible loss of my bachelor status or concerned about having Emery around. Rather, I was excited at the prospect of having them in my life.

  After Sadie’s shift was done, she was coming over to my place. I’d persuaded her earlier to stay for the weekend in the hopes that being around my place would make her more comfortable and lead to her saying yes. If it didn’t work, at least I still got the weekend with her.

  Marie offered to babysit for Emery since Lori was busy and the school was closed on the weekend. My family was accepting Sadie and Emery into their ranks, and even that felt good. God, I was so damned whipped. Strangely, I didn’t mind. I was man enough to admit it and commit to the follow-through.

  A ringing phone over at the counter brought me out of my reverie. I could barely hear it over the music, but as I jogged over to the counter, I recognized my ringtone. Sonny beamed up at me from my screen.

  Grabbing the remote to turn the volume of the radio down, I picked up my phone. “Are you having another barbecue?”

  Sonny chuckled. “Maybe later. I’m at work right now, but it’s not a bad idea for later.”

  Sobering when he said he was at work, I realized this wasn’t a social call. “Any news on the investigation?”

  He sighed. “Yeah. I’m sorry to bother you with this on a Saturday. I know you and Sadie must be all lovey-dovey right now ‘cause you’re getting back together, but get some clothes on. We need to have a quick talk. Even if I can’t see you, I don’t want to talk to you while you’re naked.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Do yourself a favor and don’t quit your day job. You’re not as funny as you think.”

  “I’m hilarious,” he protested. “But seriously, you’ll want to be dressed for this convo.”

  “I’m dressed, asshole. I’m at the shop. Sadie’s on shift at the diner. Even if she weren’t, not all of us can hang around naked all day. Emery’s around, too, remember?”

  “Emery is at Marie’s. I know all,” he quipped, which told me he’d already spoken to Jeremy earlier. If he was making the rounds, whatever news he had on the investigation must be serious.

  “Sonny, get to the damned point,” I muttered.

  Laughter rumbled in his chest. “Fine, fine. I spoke to the state investigator this morning. They’re following up on the information we gave them that Sadie found in Ken’s office, but there’s nothing concrete on that yet.”

  “I’m sensing a ‘but’ coming.” I ran a hand through my hair. “What is it?”

  “They’re looking into a new player they’ve linked to the investigation, another man we haven’t seen around here before.”

  An image of the dark-haired man who had confronted me while I was checking on Sadie’s car swam into my head. “You think it’s the same guy who came by the shop?”

  “I’m pretty sure it is. It should be, anyway. We’ve already identified all the others involved who we know of, so this has got to be your guy.”

  “He’s not mine,” I grumbled.

  Sonny laughed again. “You know what I mean. Anyway, the state investigator asked about this guy, and I remembered you mentioning there was an unfamiliar man who stopped by the garage. I figured it was the same guy. The investigator agreed.”

  Oh, joy. Deeper down the rabbit hole we go. “Okay, so what do you need from me?”

  Sonny replied, “We need a description of the man who approached you and, if you can remember, exactly what he said to you.”

  I gave Sonny what he needed, adding that the guy seemed different from Ken. More dangerous. When I was done, I asked, “What did the state investigator say about this guy? How worried do we need to be?”

  He paused for a beat, which already told me a lot. “I’m not sure, but it’s bad enough as it is. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

  Translation: be afraid, be very afraid. But don’t do anything stupid and don’t freak out. “Sure, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

  Someone called his name in the background, and I heard the telltale signs of his hand moving over the receiver. When he came back on the line, he was rushed. “I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later about that barbecue. Maybe we’ll do one today or tomorrow. In the meantime, stay safe. Oh, and don’t disappoint me once you get off work. Get off work, then get off. See what I did there? I mean—”

  “I know what you mean.” I chuckled as I shook my head. “Sometimes it’s hard to take you seriously as a grown-up detective and all.”

  “You’re just jealous.” His name was called again, and he hastily said his goodbyes. “I’ll talk to you later. Have fun. I’m coming, I’m coming,” I heard him yell before the line went dead.

  Despite the serious reason for his call, Sonny never failed to leave me with a smile. Sonny, no matter how old he got or how high he climbed up the ranks in the force, would always be Sonny. My witty little brother. He was the glue that had kept us together for a couple of years. We all appreciated him for it.

  As I grabbed the remote to turn the music back up, I heard another familiar voice. “Knock, knock.”

  I turned to find Beau standing in the door with two cups of takeout coffee and a pair of dark sunglasses covering his eyes. With his light slacks, white button-up shirt, and perfectly styled blond hair, he looked like he strolled out of the pages of a magazine. Nothing like the rest of us.

  “I fuckin’ swear you were adopted,” I told him when he walked in.

  He smirked and held up the coffee he brought. “Is that any way to speak to your favorite local coffee delivery guy? Besides, Mom showed me my baby photos and my birth certificate because you guys used to say that so much. I’m not adopted. I’m just infinitely more good-looking than the rest of you assholes.”

  I tossed him a wink. “Looks like you and Sonny are both trying to get into the comedy business today.”

  Beau took a seat at the counter by the cash register and handed my coffee to me, raising his own to his lips. “Yeah? What’s he up to?”

  “He’s at work.” I turned one of the chairs around to face Beau and then sat down on it with my arms folded on the metal backrest, holding my coffee in one hand. “He called because there’s another guy who’s joined the party. He paid me a visit last week.”

  He groaned. “One of Ken’s thugs?”

  I lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “No idea. He told me Ken was the least of my problems now, but aren’t they all connected anyway?”

  “God only knows,” he said before cocking his head. “And maybe the GBI, but they’re not likely to tell us everything.”

  “I’m okay with that,” I admitted. “I don’t want to know everything. What I already know has put Sadie and Emery at risk. I’m worried enough about them as it is.”

  “I understand,” Beau said. “Has she agreed to move in with you yet? I still agree that it’s a better idea for the two of them to stay with you than by themselves. These guys don’t look like they’re giving up. In fact, if there’s a new enforcer in town, it seems they’re only getting started.”

  I nodded. “They’re determined to get their money, that’s for sure.”

  Beau agreed and then shifted the conversation to lighter things. After a while, he started asking me about Sadie. Rubbing the back of his head, he said, “Moving in with a girl. That’s a serious move to be thinking about, bro. Especially since she’s got a kid. You better be sure about this.”

  I answered him without hesitation. I didn’t need to think about it. “I’m a hundred percent sure, two hundred even. I love her, and wanting her to move in isn’t even a question for me.”

  Beau gave me a strange look. There was doubt behind it but also longing and a touch of pride. He was startled by what I told him. “I knew things were getting more serious, but love? Really?”

  Jerking my head up and down in a nod while I swallowed my coffee, I gulped it down. “Really
. She’s it for me, man.”

  “Good for you,” he said sincerely, approvingly even. “I can’t say I’m not surprised. You and I were always the more casual out of the five of us when it comes to dating. Didn’t think I’d the see the day you were this committed to a relationship.”

  “Me either, but I am.”

  Beau nodded. “With you, Sonny, and Jeremy all paired off, I’m going to have to fend off Leila’s advances by myself now that she has no one else left to target.”

  “What about Tyson? Is he chopped liver?” I joked.

  Beau flashed me a blinding smile before he laughed. “Nah, but he’s so serious, not even Leila bothers with him.”

  “He’s a workaholic that one, married to his job,” I said.

  “Agreed. I wrote him off for anything to do with women a long time ago.” He sipped his coffee, lips still etched into a smile. “That’s fine. More women for me now that you three are out of the running. Lord knows I’m not looking to settle down.”

  “I wasn’t either,” I reminded him. “She literally walked into my shop one Sunday morning out of nowhere and fucked up all my plans for eternal bachelorhood. If it can happen to me, it can happen to you. I fell hard, and so can you.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Sadie

  Evan’s bed was a touch firmer than mine. When I woke up, I knew instantly where I was. A sense of contentment rose inside me the moment I realized I was in bed with him. I opened my eyes. Evan was still asleep, one arm around me and other hooked behind his head.

  God, he’s beautiful. In his sleep, he looked younger. Softer. The planes of his face were relaxed, his chest rising and falling on each deep breath.

  His sandy hair stuck up all over the place, and I flushed when I realized it was from my hands being in it for most of the night last night. During the day, he had been the perfect host to me and Emery. It’d only been the weekend, but we were already comfortable in his home.

  At night, though, once Emery was asleep, he was nowhere near being such a gentleman. My body tingled at the memory of his hands and lips mapping my body last night.

  The familiar ache for him rose and grew more insistent as it pulsed between my legs. Evan and I were still naked, which presented me with a rare opportunity since he was almost always awake before I was.

  The sheets covered the lower half of his body, but I could see the outline of his cock beneath it, his arousal evident. Pulling the sheet back, I took a minute to study him. It didn’t matter how many times I saw him naked, he was perfection. He never failed to make my mouth water for him.

  His skin was lightly tanned, just on the pale side of golden. Deep lines cut between his hips, where his cock lay curved at their base.

  Running my fingers up his toned thighs, his muscles tightened beneath my touch. His cock swelled further. When his breathing hitched, my eyes snapped up to his face.

  He was awake now, watching me intently with a small smirk playing on his lips. “Don’t let me stop you.”

  “Never,” I replied, enjoying how bold I could be with him about sex. His reactions to everything I did fascinated me, excited me. Teasing him got me hot, bothered, and wet. I shifted my thighs to ease the ache building there.

  Evan groaned when I ran my fingers gently up his length, circling and squeezing his tip before running them back down to his base. He lifted his hand to crook a finger at me. “Come here.”

  I crawled up and lifted one leg over his hip. The position put my entrance right over him. A soft moan spilled from him when he felt how wet I was. “Ride me, Sadie. Take me however you want. I’m yours.”

  My heart and my body both clenched at those words. I’m yours.

  I still couldn’t believe it, but his eyes told me it was true. Fueled by the sudden urge to claim him as mine, I did precisely as he said.

  Lifting my hips, I positioned him at my slick entrance and slid down. I moaned, and my eyes closed as I took him all the way in. When he was fully seated inside of me, I wiggled to adjust and planted my hands on his chest. Lazily, I rose my hips and eased back down, sighing at the feel of him filling me.

  Evan’s eyes never left mine, his hands cupping my breasts and his thumbs teasing over my hard nipples. When I gasped and arched back, he wound a fist into my hair, tugging me to him for a slow, sensual kiss. Pleasure spun through me with every rock of his hips into mine, pushing me higher and higher.

  Finally, his thumb brushed against my clit, circling it again and again. I tumbled over into a white-hot abyss of pleasure, spasming around him as I rode out my orgasm.

  He took over from me then, driving into me deeper and harder as he chased his own release. Without letting up on my clit, his insistent thrusts soon sent me hurtling right into another orgasm. This time, Evan hit his climax as I did.

  Shaky from the intensity of two powerful orgasms, I collapsed onto his chest. Both of us were covered in a sheen of sweat.

  Angling my head on his shoulder, I smiled up at him, sated. “I should go shower.”

  He sighed but nodded as his eyes slid to the clock beside the bed. “Yeah. It’s time.”

  Emery was already up when we came out, sitting in her pajamas in front of the television with a granola bar. She was cross-legged on the carpet but jumped up when she saw us. “Finally. We’re going to be late.”

  I laughed, smoothing out the tiny frown line between her brows. “We’re not going to be late, sweetheart. We still have plenty of time. What do you feel like for breakfast?”

  “What does Evan have?” she asked, lifting her eyes to his.

  Smiling, he jerked his head to the kitchen. “I’m pretty sure we can rustle something up. Want to come and have a look at what our options are?”

  She nodded and followed him. I listened as she questioned him about his choices of breakfast foods, on everything from Pop-Tarts to eggs to protein shakes. He got her settled at the island, both her elbows resting on its granite counter with her chin in her palms and her fingers spread on either side of her face.

  Apparently satisfied with his answers, she accepted the cereal he handed her and said, “I approve of your choice.”

  He laughed and went to make us coffee, but Emery’s eyes didn’t drop to her food. They followed his every step.

  Uh-oh. The way she was looking at him meant trouble. Her little brows pinched together when she turned her head to me. “Is Evan my new daddy?”

  I choked on nothing. “What?”

  Since her father was never involved, she occasionally asked about having a father, how it worked, and why she didn’t have one. I’d explained to her time and again in different ways why it was only me and her, but this angle was definitely new.

  Evan froze but left the situation to me. I gave him a look, but he simply shrugged.

  I explained to Emery before we came here that we would be having a weekend sleepover at Evan’s, but I still wasn’t sure it was time to explain more. “We’re only having a sleepover, honey. We talked about it, remember?”

  Emery’s eyes narrowed on mine like the concept was entirely foreign to her. “We’ve never had a sleepover for a whole weekend before, not even at Lori’s.”

  “Evan invited us, and since we always have so much fun with him, I said yes. You said yes too.” Why was this only coming up now? Then I spotted her bag lying open near the door, and I understood. It was time for us to go home today since the weekend ended.

  She must’ve been trying to gauge if we were staying, if spending the weekend with Evan meant he was her dad, or if he was tossing us out to be by ourselves again. Seeing as I hadn’t spoken to her yet about making the sleepover permanent, I had to handle this carefully.

  Emery needed to understand this was a weekend arrangement this time, and Evan wasn’t abandoning us. Easier said than done. She pouted when she saw me looking at her bag. “Dads don’t make their families leave their houses.”

  Oh shit. Careful, Sadie. “I know, sweetheart. Evan’s a friend, remember? We said we were goi
ng to take a short vacation from our house for the weekend. You were excited about his pool.”

  “The pool is nice,” she agreed and then looked at Evan. “Can we come back sometime?”

  “You can come back anytime and stay for as long as you want.” He shot me a meaningful look.

  I gave him a warning one back and said to Emery, “You need to get dressed for school, or we’ll end up being late.”

  Walking with her to her bag, though, I had no idea why it was open or lying at the front door. I helped her find the outfit we’d picked out for school when we were packing and sent her to the guest room to change.

  Evan opened his mouth when she was out of earshot, but I stopped him. “Not a word, you hear me?”

  “She likes the pool,” he said gleefully, handing over a cup of coffee. “Imagine if you told her she could stay here and swim every day.”

  A soft smile lifted my lips. It was cute that he was trying so hard to get me to agree to move in with him, but I had to think about Emery first. This morning was proof enough that I couldn’t rush the decision and needed to talk to her.

  “I have to go back to my place for a few days.”

  The playfulness dropped from his features. “Why?”

  “We agreed to the weekend here, Evan. The weekend’s over. I need to think, to talk to Emery. And I can’t do it here,” I reasoned.

  Stress darkened his features, his overprotectiveness kicking into gear. “It’s safer for you two here at the moment. You like it here, Emery likes it here, and I like having you here.”

  “Yes, but I haven’t had time to talk to her about everything that’s happening. You heard what she asked you. This is a confusing situation for her. I need to handle it the right way, which means finding the best way to talk to her.”

  We argued back and forth, neither of us relenting. Frustrated when he dropped me off, I could see he wanted to talk more. With Emery there, though, it wasn’t the right time.

  When she was out of the truck and sprinting across the yard to our car, I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I know you’re trying to keep us safe. I’ll call you later, okay? I promise.”