Lexi followed her gaze and immediately wanted to crawl under the table—Morgan, and it shouldn't have been a surprise. There was literally nowhere else in town to go. On a heavy sigh, she answered her sister, “That is your former fiancee!”
Ashley grimaced. “I didn’t recognize him!”
“Because he’s more than two feet away from you. Just give in already and get your damn bifocals!”
Ashley gave her a hard stare. “I don’t need them. I’m not old, dammit.”
Lexi shrugged. Brent would eventually just haul Ashley to the optometrist and with quiet stubbornness, force her to do what was best for her. “He’s working with his uncle—he's also handling the kitchen remodel.”
Ashley gaped at her. “I know I'm your silent partner, but I must be living under a rock to have missed all that!”
“I emailed you everything!” Lexi protested. Sometimes, she wondered if going into business with her sister had been a wise choice, but she would never have gotten the business loan otherwise.
“Honey, you know I don't read your emails. Unless they have cute kittens in them…Jesus! Morgan Donnelly!” Shaking her head in wonderment, Ashley looked wistful for a moment. “Well, wait here for Brent. I gotta at least go say hi—you think he’s still pissed?”
Lexi rolled her eyes. “You were engaged and you did sleep with his best friend, but I’m going to assume that in twenty plus years, he’s managed to get some closure.”
Ashley scrunched up her face, repeating, “Closure, schmosure. Sometimes…you’re just a raging bitch.”
Smiling sweetly, Lexi fired back, “Must be a family trait.”
With another eye roll and what appeared to be an extended middle finger, Ashley rose from their booth and headed toward the bar.
~*~*~
Morgan sipped at his beer as he watched the muted game on the flat screen mounted over the bar. He’d already given up hope of them winning. His favorite team had botched the game horribly, but he was committed.
He’d known the instant they’d walked into the bar. He’d felt it and his eyes were drawn in her direction. It was probably his imagination, or maybe a brain tumor, but he could’ve sworn he caught a whiff of sweet vanilla, despite the smell of cheap beer and deep fried everything in the bar.
For the past week, he'd been tormented by her. She was always nice, pleasant, cheerful and so damned sweet that it made his own surliness feel just plain mean. Even though he'd sealed off the area where they'd been tearing out the steps and dry wall, the thin veil of plastic did little to dampen his awareness of her.
Over the sawdust and plaster, he could still smell her. Whenever the hammers and saws stopped, he could hear her humming as she worked. There was always a treat too. She kept the coffee flowing and offered muffins or cookies or some other delicious thing which made him unable to refuse politely.
She’d burrowed so far under his skin, he couldn't escape from her even when she wasn't around. So, why the hell was it pissing him off so badly that she'd walked into the bar? From the corner of his eye, he saw her shrug out of the jacket she wore, revealing soft skin and the upper swells of her breasts. He frowned. A lot of skin, very tempting skin, and The Store was a shit hole of a bar full of drunk, horny men. Or in his case, just horny.
“Why the hell are you ogling my sister, Donnelly?”
Morgan stared at the woman who stood beside him, the shock of recognition flowing easily into embarrassment. He’d been well and truly caught. “I wasn’t ogling,” he denied. “But if you’re going to play the protective older sibling, you might want to tell her to put that jacket back on.”
Ashley laughed at him. “Don’t let that sweet smile of hers fool you. Lex does what Lex wants to do and not a damn thing else.”
His gaze drifted again.
“Hey...I’m talking here! Eyes on me.”
Luckily, the bar was dark enough to hide the guilty flush that crept up along his neck. “What do you want, Ashley?”
“Is this weird? I mean, I know I cheated on you…and we were supposed to get married and all—”
He laughed, actually belly laughed at that. “Jesus, Ash! It’s been twenty years!”
“You left town, never came back. No one saw or heard anything from you for two whole decades and now, out of the blue, you just show up?”
“I was in the military, Ashley. I came home because I’m no longer in the military. It’s got nothing to do with you.”
“Why Falls Creek?”
“Why the third degree? I have family here. I wanted to come home.”
She cocked her head to one side, looking much like she had in high school. After a few seconds, she gave a nod, just a slight jerk of her chin. Ashley always had plentiful attitude. “Fine.”
“Jesus,” he muttered. “Now that it’s settled and I have your permission to be in my own home town, think I can go back to the game and my beer?”
Ashley yelled to the bartender, “A pitcher for me, three glasses and another long neck for the prodigal.”
When the bottle was plopped down before him, he glanced it. “Thank you.”
“She’s single, ya know.”
Instantly on alert, Morgan eyed her warily. “What?”
“I remembered you being smarter than this!” Carefully, enunciating each word slowly, “My...sister...is...single.”
Playing dumb seemed the safest course of action. “Well, I’m happy for her. It makes life simpler.”
Ashley shook her head. “Look, Brent will be here in a few minutes. He’d love to catch up with you since you seem to be okay with the fact that he was sleeping with me when I was engaged to you...You should come over. Chat. Hang out. Ogle my sister’s boobs up close for a bit.”
Trying to wrap his head around just what exactly was going on, he demanded, “Are you seriously trying to set me up with your sister? Don’t you think that’s just a little bit weird?”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s a small town, Morgan. If everyone got weird about dating someone who dated someone you knew or were related to…This town would have died out eons ago.” She took two steps, then turned back to him. “I’m not fixing you up, I’m just letting you know there aren’t any obstacles if you want to go down that road. But if you do go after her, it had better be for more than a roll in the hay, or so help me god, I’ll put your fucking dick in a blender and I may not detach it first.”
Morgan watched her walk away, shaking his head. No obstacles? He was old, with so many rods and pins in his leg it took Congressional approval to get him through an airport, and then there were the nightmares. He wasn’t a prize by any stretch of the imagination.
Turning back to the television, he sipped his beer. It didn’t stop him from stealing glances at her though, or thinking that it wouldn’t hurt to at least go over and say hello.
~*~*~
Lexi was working on her second beer. She’d acquired just enough of a buzz, so that the band only sucked and wasn’t causing her actual physical pain. She held up her glass. “Another one of these and I might even be able to dance to this.”
Brent frowned. “Hell, if it’ll make these guys sound better, I’ll drink straight from the tap.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Lexi joked with a laugh.
Ashley leaned over and whisper-shouted, “He’s looking over here again!”
Lexi blushed. “Stop it! It’s probably weird for him to see you all here!”
Ashley threw up her hands. “It’s not me he’s looking at! He’s watching you like he wants to take a bite out of you...and I know that look from experience.”
Lexi cringed visibly. “Oh, well that’s just gross!”
Ashley rolled her eyes. “Not personal experience with him, you dip! Brent looks at me like that.”
Lexi made vomiting noises. “I’m not sure which is worse.”
Ashley made cutting motions across her throat and gave a less than subtle jerk of her head.
“He’s coming this way, isn�
��t he?” Lexi whispered.
“He’s kinda already here.”
Shit. Shit. Shit. Turning, Lexi pasted a smile on her face.
Morgan stood a couple of feet from the table, looking momentarily uncertain of whether or not he wanted to take the last few steps.
Brent took the decision out of his hands. He stood up and pulled Morgan into a bear hug. “It’s damned good to see you, man!”
Lexi watched Morgan’s face, noticing how uncomfortable he looked. “Come on, Brent, let the man sit down!”
Brent stepped back, his eyes looking suspiciously moist. “Yeah. Sit. Let me get you a beer.”
Morgan lifted his bottle. “I’m good. I’ve sort of hit my limit. I just wanted to say hey, before heading out.”
“Aw, no! Come on. Hang out, dude. It’s been too long!”
Lexi scooted over in the booth as the only empty seat was beside her. The booths were small, and his thigh brushed against hers. She felt the spark and when she saw him tense, his jaw firming, she wondered if he felt it too.
Brent kept talking, nervously, but he kept at it, “So, tell me what the hell you’ve been up to? Married, kids?”
Morgan shook his head. “No. Just the Army. Didn’t leave much time for settling down.”
Lexi knew there was more to it. She didn’t know how, but it was like she could feel the tension in him. He obviously didn’t want to talk about his past. She kicked Brent under the table.
Brent glared at her as he continued, “Surely, there’s some special lady? I’ve never known Morgan Donnelly not to have women chasing him down!” At that point, Brent let out a whoosh of air as Ashley elbowed him in the ribs.
“I want to dance.”
Brent looked at her. “You hate dancing here. The music is awful.”
She raised her eyebrows and her voice in equal measure. “I want to dance, Brent. I want to dance, now. Get your ass up and head to the dance floor.”
Lexi watched them go.
Brent looked like a scolded puppy and Ashley was shaking her head.
Embarrassment crept in as Lexi peeked at Morgan from the corner of her eye. “They’re not exactly subtle.”
He chuckled. “No. Ashley wouldn’t know what subtle was if it bit her on the ass and Brent...well, he’s a good guy, but he doesn’t do subtext.”
“My sister has this crazy idea that you’re interested in me. I told her that she’s being—”
“Why would you think that’s a crazy idea?”
Lexi blushed. “Well, I mean—it’s just...There’s no way to explain it that sounds good.”
“You’re wrong...not about the explanation part, but about the it being a crazy idea part.”
She knew she was blinking at him like a damn guppy, but she couldn’t stop. “It isn’t?”
He gazed right at her then, and Lexi felt her heart stuttering in her chest. It was those damned green eyes. She couldn’t breathe. Literally, could not take a breath as he stared at her so intently. Then his gaze dropped lower, and the weight of it on her lips felt just like a caress.
The moment seemed to go on forever. Lexi could feel herself swaying toward him, until bad luck intervened. A sloppy drunk headed from the bar to the bathroom, bumped into the corner of the booth, sloshing beer from his overly full mug all over her shoulders. The cold liquid was a shock to the system, and effectively killed whatever moment happening between them.
“Sorry ‘bout that!” The drunk slurred, but his eyes were glued to the rivulets of beer now slipping into the deep V between her breasts. “Let me clean that up for you.”
Lexi cringed at the none too steady hand that was reaching for her, but it never made contact.
Morgan caught the other man’s wrist, his grip firm and unyielding. “She doesn’t need your help.”
Not so drunk that his sense of self preservation was impaired, the intoxicated man shrugged, muttered under his breath and wandered on toward the bathrooms.
Heaving a sigh of relief, which only allowed the beer to seep deeper into her bra, Lexi wanted to go home. “I think I should head home and get cleaned up.”
“I’ll walk you to your car,” Morgan offered.
Lexi shook her head. “I didn’t drive. I rode with Ashley.”
“I’ll take you home, then. No point in dragging her away from the dance floor.”
“Thank you.”
~*~*~
Morgan rose from the booth, watching Lexi slide across the seat with parts of her jiggling that made him want to bang his head against the wall. He’d been so close to kissing her, so close to doing something completely stupid.
He would take her home and not touch her, or kiss her and he would not think about stripping her out of those beer soaked clothes. In fact, thinking of her taking off any clothes was a bad plan. For his peace of mind, even in his imagination, she needed to be fully clothed at all times.
Ashley strolled up to them then, Brent in her wake. “Leaving so soon?”
“Walter Collins spilled his beer all over me. I reek.”
Ashley raised an eyebrow at Morgan. “Can I trust you with my baby sister?”
Morgan rolled his eyes. Not half an hour earlier, she’d been trying to get him to hit on her sister. “I’m giving Lexi a ride to make sure she gets home safely. You guys have a good night.”
Outside, Morgan opened the truck door for her and allowed her to climb in. The smell of cheap beer wasn’t as pleasant as the scent of vanilla he’d come to associate with her, but it wasn’t doing anything to alleviate the chronic erection her presence seemed to evoke.
Walking around to his own side of the vehicle, he adjusted the fly of his pants to avoid permanent damage before climbing behind the wheel. Just get her home, Morgan, and don’t be a dumbass.
Climbing up into the cab, he turned the key, allowing the truck to rattle to life. It was old and beat up, a lot like him, he thought. A country song blared from the radio and he adjusted the volume to a more reasonable level before easing out of the parking space and toward town.
“Thank you for driving me home. I know it’s out of your way.”
Morgan shrugged. “It’s no trouble.”
“And thank you for being nice about my sister and her general insanity.”
That prompted a chuckle from him. Ashley hadn’t changed much. She was still a force to be reckoned with, barreling ahead with reckless abandon. That trait seemed to have missed Lexi, but considering what Ashley said before, he could see some of the same stubbornness in her. She simply covered it with a smile, instead of a raised chin and challenging glare. “Ashley’s always been—well, there’s no way to say it that doesn’t sound like an insult.”
She laughed at that and he was reminded again, of the sound of tinkling bells. Jesus. He was losing his mind.
“I know. When you put Ashley into words it always sounds bad, but the reality of her is very different.”
They chatted about inane things during the short drive. She updated him on local gossip and prompted more laughter and smiles from him than anyone had in a very long time. The tension from their near kiss was still there, hovering between them.
When he eased the truck into a parking space in front of the shop, she turned toward him. “Thank you again.”
Morgan gazed at her, but then realized just how dangerous that could be. Turning his head back toward the street, he nodded. “You’re welcome. Good night.”
He felt her moving, unfastening her seat belt. Then—she leaned across the distance between them and kissed his cheek. It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to turn his head and claim her lips then. Her breasts pressed against his arm and the silky fall of her hair brushed his neck. His cock went so hard it was painful.
“Good night, Morgan.” Her voice came out as barely a whisper while she moved to open the door.
Morgan reached out, grasping her wrist. “Lexi—” He had no idea what to say, he just knew that he didn't want her to leave.
She turned
back to him, glancing over her bare shoulder at him. It wasn't intended to be sultry. That wasn't her style. Her sexiness was innate, subconscious and packed a powerful punch. Tugging her back and across the seat, he closed his arms around her. Morgan pressed his lips to hers, swallowing the soft sigh that escaped her.
It’d been so achingly long since he'd kissed a woman, and never had he kissed a woman he desired like Lexi. She'd crept in, past his defenses, into his dreams and his waking fantasies. He was a forty year old man with a chronic erection and it could be laid entirely at her doorstep.
The softness of her body against him coupled with her sweetly, pliant lips only intensified the raging erection he'd been sporting since she'd first walked into the bar. Sliding his tongue between her parted lips, he tasted her, learning the curves and contours of her mouth. Unable to resist the lure of her breasts, he brushed his thumb over a lush curve. When she arched her chest into his touch, pressing her breast to his hand, he didn't hesitate to eagerly take what she offered.
Through the fabric of her top and bra beneath, he could feel the hardened pebble of her nipple. Kissing her deeply, he swept his thumb in tight circles around that hardened nub, savoring the feel of her supple flesh beneath his palm.
He wanted her in a bed, writhing beneath him. He wanted her naked, so he could lick every inch of her. Moving his hand from her breast, he slid it over the curve of her belly until he could move between her parted thighs. The heat of her was scorching, even through her clothes.
She broke the kiss, gasping for breath, “Are we really going to do this here?”
He smiled. “Do you have a better idea?”
“Come upstairs with me,” she urged. “I want to be naked with you.”
It would be a horrible mistake. She'd take one look at him and it would change everything. The last thing he wanted was to be a pity fuck. Pulling back, he shook his head. “No. This—this can't happen, Lexi. I'm sorry.”
~*~*~
Lexi stared at him blankly for a moment. He'd hauled her back into the truck, splayed her backwards over his thighs and kissed her until she couldn't see straight. Now he was telling her it was a bad idea. “I don't understand.”
The Seraphina Donavan Collection: Contemporary Page 2
