Close To The Heart (Westen Series Book 5)

by Suzanne Ferrell

  He released his hold on her hip and cupped the other breast and tweaked the nipple as he continued to suckle on her.

  Moisture gathered between her legs. How had she not known this before?

  He licked her nipple, then lowered his hands to the waistband of her jeans. Opening the metal button and lowering the zipper, he pushed them down over her hips. He helped keep her steady as she stepped out of them. Then he surprised her again by delving his face to the cleft of her groin and thighs, kissing her through the silk of her panties as he reached for the top to pull them down. When her panties encircled her knees, he stopped.

  Dear Lord, why did he stop?

  As if reading her mind, he answered her by gripping both her buttocks and pressing his face to her pussy once more, this time, his tongue sliding in between the folds to taste her.

  The only thing that kept her vertical at that moment was the thought that if she fell, the entire house would wake up and that’s the last thing she wanted to happen. So, she dug her hands into his shoulders, clutching at his muscles through his t-shirt and thrust her hips forward as she tightened her thighs.

  His moan of approval was muffled as he repeated the process a few more times. When he flicked his tongue around her clit, electricity shot right through her and she spasmed hard. Every muscle in her body fighting to support her even as she found the greatest pleasure ever.

  From there things moved quickly. He stood and picked her up, even though she wasn’t the lightest thing like heroines in romance novels were supposed to be. Once she was on the bed, he finished pulling off her panties, stripped and joined her on the bed, stretching his body on top of hers.

  “I don’t have a condom, but I also have no STD’s,” he said, waiting for her reaction.

  Her heart swelled with love for this man. They knew there was no chance of pregnancy for either of them, but he still wanted to reassure her he’d protect her.

  “I don’t have any either. I made sure I was tested after…my divorce.”

  He kissed her softly and adjusted his weight.

  “Do the springs creek?” he whispered in her ear.

  “Not that I know of,” she whispered back, turning her head to catch his lips.

  “I’ll try to go slow and quiet, but,” he wiggled his hips until his thick cock was at her entrance, “I’ve been dreaming of making love to you for so long, I can’t make any promises.”

  Bending her knees to open for him, she smiled at him. “After what you just did? I don’t want you to go slow. Just quiet.”

  He claimed her mouth at the same time he thrust up inside her. Good thing he was kissing her as the shocked moan escaped her. The feeling of being completely filled for the first time took her breath. He tensed on top of her, using his hands to tease her nipples and his lips to reassure her as he tendered the kiss.

  It took a moment to adjust, but then the fullness of him inside her took on a pleasure she’d never felt either. She lifted her legs, wrapping her heels against his buttocks, making a little more room. He smiled against her lips, slowly pulling out, then thrusting in once more. Going even deeper.

  She clutched around him and released. He moaned softly into her mouth.

  They fell into a rhythm. Each adjusting to give them both more pleasure, the pace picking up. Faster, deeper. Until finally, he clenched her to him. His body spasming tightly against her. That final thrust, tight against her, sent her over her own cliff and she clung to him as she rode the waves of pleasure.

  After a few moments for them both to recover and catch their breaths, he shifted his body off hers and stretched out beside her, drawing her into his arms, her head on his chest.

  “Good news,” he whispered.

  “What’s that?”

  “The springs don’t creek.”

  23

  That’s it, Trent! Make him pitch to you!” Melissa yelled from her spot on the bleachers.

  Glenna, seated one row in front of her, grinned at her over her shoulder. “For someone who didn’t know much about baseball, you’ve certainly come a long way.”

  A crack of the bat sounded. Everyone jumped to their feet to cheer as Trent hit the ball to the fence.

  “Run, Trent, run!” Melissa yelled as he raced around the bases, stopping at third.

  On the bottom seat of the bleachers, Lexie, and her new friends, Sadie and Gavan jumped up and down, waving their hats and gloves in the air.

  The score was tied, five to five and it was the bottom of the tenth inning, two out and now Trent, the scoring run, was ninety feet from home plate. The team’s first game of the season was turning out to be a great one. Her boys had all contributed in some way. Bryan played right field and Geoff was in left. Both had made great catches and Bryan even threw an opponent out trying to go from first to third. Melissa had marked it as an assist, just like Daniel told her to do. Even Colt as a junior varsity player was acting as one of the batboys.

  When they’d arrived at the game, the huge crowd surprised her. Her worry about Lexie’s safety, already on high alert after Daniel had told her last night about finding Gary’s abandoned car and the dead drug dealer, ratcheted up a few more notches. Daniel’s concern matched hers. He’d pulled Lexie aside and talked with her.

  “There’s a lot of people here for the game. A lot of people we don’t know. It’s very important you stay with Melissa,” he said, squatting down to her eye level.

  Lexie nodded, but made a little pout of a face. “But I want to sit with Sadie and Gavan.”

  “You can do that, but sit right in front of Melissa so she can see you, okay?”

  She nodded and brightened again.

  “And don’t go to the bathroom or for a snack without her, okay?”

  “Can I go with Sadie and her mom?”

  Normally, Melissa would think the six-year-old negotiating her limits was a good sign she was feeling safe and relaxed with her and Daniel. Today, it just added to her worry.

  “I think for today, you should stay with Melissa. She has a lot to deal with. Promise me?”

  Lexie twisted her lips in frustration—one night at dinner the entire group had a long talk about the importance of keeping a promise. Once it was given you were honor-bound to keep it to the best of your ability—and gave a nod. “I promise.”

  “That’s my girl,” he said and gave her a hug, which warmed Melissa’s heart. Then he’d given her the batting order for his team and hugged her too, right there in front of everyone, and whispered in her ear. “You’ll do a great job, just keep her close.”

  Remembering their night together last night, her body warmed at just a mere hug. He’d snuck out to the couch before dawn and any of the boys were awake, leaving her to hug the pillow that still had his scent on it. Now her cheeks flamed as she took her seat near her friends, Glenna and Maggie, who both grinned at her.

  “Don’t even,” she said, to ward off any teasing and focused on getting the lineup on her scorebook.

  They’d both laughed but thankfully refrained from commenting and corralled the three youngest to their seats as the teams started their warmups.

  “Come on, Tre!” Maggie yelled beside her, coming to her feet. She always stood when her son was up to bat. Her husband, Tyson, was managing the refreshment stand today and his booming, “Go, Tre!” could be heard all the way in the stands.

  The all-star quality shortstop stepped into the box. The pitcher threw a fastball, near his knees.

  “Strike one!” the umpire called.

  Tre stepped back, adjusted his batting gloves, entered the batter’s box again. The pitcher heaved the ball at the plate. It curved away. Tre didn’t swing.

  “Ball!”

  “Good eye, Tre!” Maggie shouted. Now more of the home crowd was on their feet.

  Melissa looked to see Lexie bouncing up and down with her friends.

  Tre held the bat just off his shoulder. The pitcher reared back and hurled the ball. High and inside, just missing Tre’s head as he ducked
back away from the plate.

  Gasps tore through the crowd.

  Maggie clenched her hand to her throat. “Oh my God!”

  “Ball!” the ump yelled.

  Tre took a moment before stepping back into the batter’s box. Melissa was on her feet with the rest of the crowd. The pitcher threw the ball.

  Tre swung.

  A line drive past the pitcher and into the hole between second base and the shortstop. Trent dashed home. A walk-off single! Their team won!

  “Yeah!” Melissa yelled along with everyone else and hugging Maggie. Two benches below, Lexie, Sadie and Gavan were jumping like crazy. The team had run out on the field to hug and pound on Tre and Trent, just like they’d seen the major leaguers do a thousand times on TV.

  “They’re so excited, they’re gonna give my boy a concussion,” Maggie complained but with a smile on her face.

  “They’re going to be bouncing off the walls, tonight,” Melissa said, gathering up her things, then caught sight of the younger kids heading away from the bleachers towards the field. “Lexie, stay here, please. I’m not ready to go just yet.”

  “Sadie Rose, you get your butt back here, too,” Maggie called, then leaned in close. “They won’t complain if they both have to stay behind.”

  The two girls turned and came back to stand at the bottom of the bleachers.

  “You planning on leaving your bat here?” Melissa asked with a pointed look at the pink bat lying on the ground in front of the bleachers.

  “No, ma’am,” Lexie picked it up, and held it over her shoulders like she’d seen the ball players do. “Coach wouldn’t like me doing that.”

  Daniel had given her the pink bat when he came back last night, taking the time to teach her the basics of hitting. Bryan had been the first one back from work, so he played pitcher and outfielder when she managed to make contact with the ball. Today, she wouldn’t be appeased unless she got to bring her bat to show her friends. Gavan thought it was girly in pink, but Sadie had immediately asked her mother if she could get one.

  After slipping the scorebook into her bag and hesitating a few moments to let some of the crowd dissipate, she climbed down the bleachers to stand beside Maggie and the girls.

  “How long until the team will be ready to go?”

  “Coach will have a short team meeting and then they have to shower,” Maggie said.

  “Shower?”

  Glenna stepped up beside them. “Lord, yes. Nothing worse than sweaty teenage boy smell. Be glad they’re only bringing dirty laundry home.”

  “Then I think we might get a drink from the refreshment stand before Mr. Landon closes up,” she said with a wink at Lexie.

  “And cotton candy?” she asked, exchanging a look with Sadie.

  “Please, Mom?” her friend asked Maggie, who laughed.

  “Okay, but only one and you have to share it.”

  They said goodbye to Glenna and Gavan who headed to their car and walked through the thinning crowd to the refreshment stand.

  “There’s my girls,” Tyson Landon said, welcoming Maggie with a kiss and Sadie with a hug. “Come to help us close up?”

  “Don’t I always?” Maggie said with a playful swat to her husband’s arm.

  Behind him other parents, as well as Rachel from the Peaches ’N Cream Café and Deputy Jason Clarke—one of the three deputies Melissa had seen milling in the crowds today—were loading up the snacks and cleaning various machines, one being the cotton candy making tub.

  “We were hoping to get one cotton candy and some drinks, but looks like we’re a little late,” Melissa said.

  “Aww,” Sadie and Lexie said simultaneously with matching pouts.

  “Not entirely,” Tyson said with a mischievous wink. “Seems I know one little girl who always wants cotton candy at a ball game, and she hasn’t been here once today to get any, so I might’ve saved a bag just for her.”

  “Me, Daddy! That’s me!” Sadie said suddenly jumping up and down.

  Her father reached under the counter and pulled out a big bag of blue, pink and white spun sugar, handing it over to his daughter. “What can I get you to drink?”

  Melissa eyed the shutdown pop machine then the bottles of water. “If those waters are cold, how about three of them?”

  “I like how you think,” Maggie said, slipping around her husband and into the booth to grab three cold bottles of water. “They can drink some and you can use some to wash their sticky fingers.”

  Melissa paid for the drinks and treat, then corralled the girls back to the bottom bench of the bleachers to keep an eye on them and keep them out of the worker’s way while they enjoyed their candy. As they ate and giggled, she scanned the crowd, looking for anyone resembling Gary.

  Finally, Maggie and Tyson came to collect Sadie. Melissa gathered up the remnants of their snacks and drinks to deposit in her trash at home.

  “Let’s go, Sadie. Boys should be out soon,” Tyson said.

  “Can we get pizza, Daddy?” Sadie asked as they all headed towards the parking lot, her hands in both her parents’ hands as she walked between them.

  Lexie slipped her hand inside Melissa’s as they walked, her baseball bat once more up on her shoulder. Her heart swelled at the simple act. Trust. The little girl trusted her just as Sadie trusted her mother and father.

  A gentle tug had her leaning down to Lexie. “What’s wrong?”

  “I need to go to the potty,” Lexie whispered, apparently not wanting Sadie’s family to hear.

  “You know what? I do, too,” she said with a wink to ease the little girl’s embarrassment, then straightened. “We’re going to make a pit stop,” she said to Maggie. “We’ll see you at practice tomorrow?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it,” her friend said, then the family continued to the parking lot as Melissa took Lexie to the small brick building that housed both a men’s and women’s restroom inside. Since the high school sports of all kinds were big attractions for the town, years ago the town council invested in facilities for the fans and visitors.

  “We’ll make a quick stop in here, and by then the boys should be ready to go home,” she said leading Lexie inside, glancing around to be sure no stranger was watching.

  Damn. He’d been sitting at this stupid game all day. Wasted his time trying to find a moment to snatch the little bitch. From the weeks he’d been following them, he knew the woman didn’t let her out of her sight. Not even Rose had kept such a tight leash on the little package. He’d almost given up hope on finding an opportunity to snatch her until he heard about the baseball game today one night in the Wagon Wheel bar.

  Good source of gossip, the Wagon Wheel, specifically the two old geezers who sat at the bar every night. Enough people coming and going, no one really noticed him—not since he’d shaved his beard down to a goatee and cut his hair military short. Looked like all the clean-cut new suburbanites moving into the area, if he did say so himself.

  The barkeep had given him a few glances at first, but after he became a regular and spent time talking with the old guys, the bald guy left him alone. That’s when he’d learned the sheriff’s men were looking for an old brown caddy. Also learned they were searching for heroin dens and dealers. Not much went on in a small town that gossip didn’t pick it up. He’d realized that sooner or later, his business would be compromised, and he’d end up in jail. Time to cut bait and get out of town.

  Today was his day to make his play for the kid. No matter what, he was snatching her. The crowds should’ve made it easy. Frustration ate at him.

  So, here he stood, smoking a cigarette with the bus driver for the other school, trying to remain hidden in plain sight until an opportunity presented itself.

  “Don’t really matter which party you vote for, they’re all crooks,” the bus driver complained.

  Snubnose nodded, his eyes scanning the group clearing up the refreshment stand. Just beyond he could see the woman with the two girls at the bleachers.

  “I’
m tellin’ ya. All they want is more of the working man’s money.”

  “Couldn’t agree more.”

  The black man and woman were headed to the bleachers.

  “If they ain’t given it to immigrants, then they’re building useless walls to try and keep them out. Or forcing us to stop eating meat to fix the environment. Not to mention pocketing most of it.”

  Would this guy ever shut up complaining?

  The group headed to the parking lot. Then the woman stopped. The family continued on their way. The woman and girl headed to the toilets.

  Great! Now was his chance.

  “Gotta hit the head, man,” he said, taking one last drag on the cigarette before throwing it on the ground and grinding it in the dirt with his foot. With a casual wave, he sauntered to the restrooms, trying not to look anxious or threatening in any way.

  It was all about the timing.

  All finished?” Melissa asked, as she waited for Lexie to exit one of the five stalls in the restroom.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Lexie called out. The flush of the toilet followed.

  Melissa held out her bottle of hand sanitizer for Lexie after she’d washed and dried her hands.

  “But they’re already clean,” Lexie said, holding out her hands anyway.

  “I know, but you don’t know if the last person who touched the faucet did as good a job as you cleaning their hands. We don’t want to miss any baseball games by being sick, do we?”

  She squeezed some cleanser onto both their hands and started rubbing it all over hers. Lexie followed suit, then grabbed her bat and glove from where she’d left them leaning against the wall. Just like she’d seen the boys do, she looped her glove over the knobby end, then swung the bat up over her shoulder.

  Melissa smiled at the image in front of her. Pink baseball hat held Lexie’s blond hair back in a ponytail. She wore a t-shirt with the school’s logo on it—a gift from the boys—jeans, pink high-top sneakers and the equipment of a very serious player. This was a far cry from the very shy, nearly starving little girl dressed in threadbare clothes who’d arrived at Westen House.