Stirring Attraction

by Sara Jane Stone

  She shrugged. “It was my turn. Everyone was here earlier, when you came out of surgery. Your dad. Josie and Noah. Even Caroline. They saw you muttering and asking the nurse for coffee. She said you needed sleep. So I sent everyone home.”

  “You could have gone home too,” he said.

  “I needed to talk to you.” She placed her hand on top of his. “I was wrong, Dominic.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “I was going to tell you the same thing. All that time you were convinced someone was after you, that it wasn’t random. I should have listened.”

  “Maybe you will next time,” she said. “But I wasn’t talking about Louis Stanton. I was wrong to send you away. I thought I needed safety, security, trust—­”

  “You deserve all those things, honey,” he said, the raspy quality slipping from his voice.

  “But I need you.” She looked him straight in the eyes. “Your love.”

  “You have it,” he said. “Always have, even when I tried to stay away and make room for someone better, who would never let you down.”

  “You won’t,” she said firmly.

  “Lil—­”

  “Dominic, you’re my rock. My stability. My safety net. And yes, I might need you to check behind every door for the rest of my life. After yesterday, I might never feel safe again.”

  Don’t say that. But he knew it was the truth and he didn’t want any lies between them. He wanted to be the one person in Forever, the one person in this world, she shared everything with—­her feelings, her body, and her love.

  “Or maybe in a year,” she added, “I’ll be able to close my eyes in the shower even when you’re not home. Or maybe not. I’m done giving my fear a timeline.”

  He nodded. “That’s good, Lily. Really good. And I’ll be there. When you shower, when you sleep. I swear I’ll be there for you.”

  He’d play the part of her bodyguard forever if that’s what she needed. He wanted more, so damn much more . . . But maybe they weren’t ready yet. Still too broken. Hell, he didn’t even know if his right arm worked anymore.

  “And if you do decide to leave—­

  “I’m not going anywhere, Lily.”

  “But if you change your mind, if you go back to the army, or to Georgia, I’ll follow,” she continued, pushing on with a speech that he suspected she’d been preparing for the last ten hours while he’d taken an extended stay in dreamland.

  “I’ll go wherever you go,” she said. “But not because you make me feel safe.”

  He sat up a little straighter at those words.

  “Dominic Fairmore, you’re everything I need.” She inhaled and he swore he saw tears brimming in her blue eyes, threatening to flood her cheeks.

  “Don’t cry, Lil.”

  “Shut up.” She wiped her eyes with her free hand. “I’m trying to tell you how I feel.”

  He fell silent. Ask her if she loves you. And he would. He’d follow Noah’s advice if she didn’t say the words. But he knew her answer didn’t matter. Even if she wasn’t in love with him, he would still stand by her, watch over her, and take a bullet for her. He loved her too damn much to walk away ever again.

  “I love you, Dominic.”

  Fuck, yes.

  Relief, joy, and yeah, in spite of the pain meds, desire surged through him. Lily Fairmore, his high school sweetheart, the only woman he’d ever wanted, ever loved or made love to, she loved him. Hell, he’d take another bullet right here, right now, just to hear her say those words again.

  “I love you too, honey.” He reached his good hand up and cupped her cheek. “I always have and I always will.”

  Epilogue

  One year later. . .

  “LILY? ARE YOU ready?” Dominic paced back and forth in front of the door to the Big Buck’s bathroom. “Noah will get suspicious if I don’t get back out there soon.”

  “Almost,” the woman he loved called back.

  Dominic paused by the door’s edge. He glanced over his shoulder but the bar’s back room remained blissfully empty. No sign of Caroline yet. They hadn’t even opened for business. But Noah had asked him to come in early and help add a fresh coat of polish to the bar top today. And how the hell was his best friend supposed to know that Lily would need him in the middle of a Wednesday? Dominic had started paying attention to the calendar and even he hadn’t realized that they’d hit their window.

  Of course he wasn’t the one taking his temperature all the time, waiting and hoping the timing would be just right . . .

  “Lily, honey, if you’re taking the time to paint your nails to match your panties,” he murmured through the closed door, “you can stop right now. I can perform on demand.”

  And yeah, that was an understatement. He’d been hard since she called. Maybe not from that exact moment. At first, he’d worried that she was sitting in her car too afraid to go into her house—­now their home. But it had been months since she’d been paralyzed with fear. Still, he knew that it would always linger. He couldn’t erase it. But he sure as hell could drop everything and help her deal with it.

  But then she’d informed him that she would be swinging by the bar. Oh, and by the way, would he meet her in the staff bathroom . . . and please don’t tell Noah . . .

  “I know you can perform when needed,” she whispered. She opened the door and let him slip inside. “But you shouldn’t have to. I want this to be special.”

  Dominic stared at the gorgeous blonde in hot pink lace panties and nothing else. “It doesn’t get much better than this,” he murmured, looking her up and down. And yeah, her toenails matched her underwear. “But, Lil, you can seduce me another time. Right now, we need to make a baby.”

  And then I need to get back to work before Noah realizes what we’re doing back here.

  “But I want to seduce you now.” Lily reached for his waistline and began releasing his jeans. He raised his left hand to help as she lowered the zipper. She guided his pants over his hips, taking his underwear with them. Finally she freed the part of him that planned to take center stage in the baby making process—­and love every minute of it.

  But instead of resting her perfect backside on the vanity’s edge and spreading her legs wide to take him in, Lily bent at the waist and captured his eager erection in his mouth.

  “Ah hell,” he groaned. “Lily—­”

  She pulled back. Her lips hovered over him as her hand ran up and down his hard length. “I believe I owe you a demonstration of my super-­special oral skills. This time without interruption.”

  “Here?” he rasped. “Now? Lily, Noah’s in the other room waiting.”

  “I could put a sign outside that says ‘Blow Job in Progress.’ ”

  “Yeah, Noah would love that.”

  She returned her mouth to his dick and he forgot all about his best friend, the bar, the reason they were in this bathroom in the middle of the day . . . His world narrowed to Lily. Her mouth, her hands . . . and he had to have her.

  She drew back again, but he could feel her breath as she spoke. “I want to make you lose control. I don’t want you to hold back. Not this time.”

  Desire roared through him as he hauled her up. “Enough, Lily. You want wild? Rough? You’ve got it. I can’t hold back any longer.”

  His hands gripped the back of her thighs as he lifted her up. He felt her legs wrap around his waist. And he thrust into her.

  I’m home.

  It didn’t matter where they were—­their bed, this bathroom, the backseat of his truck—­this was his home and his refuge. Lily. His love. His wife. And one day, the future mother of his child.

  He drove into her, harder and faster, determined to give her what she wanted, to make her dreams for a baby come true. Her backside began to slide on the vanity. And he lifted her off. He turned and pressed her up against the windowless wall. And yeah, it was a da
mn good thing they’d never bothered to decorate the walls, or pictures would be tumbling to the ground right about now.

  With his fingers pressed into her ass, he thrust harder and faster, driving them closer and closer . . .

  “Oh my!” She threw her head back and hit the wall. He buried himself inside her, his hips forcing hers into the physical barrier at her back. He felt it give a little, the walls crumbling, giving way to the power of his need to fuck her, claim her, love her.

  “Dominic!” She screamed his name over and over, her body convulsing around him as she came.

  And he followed her, moaning the only words that mattered as he came inside her. “I love you, Lily. I fucking love you.”

  Slowly, he stopped thrusting. The last trace of pleasure faded from his grateful cock. But the love—­the love stayed, pulsing through him as he held her against the broken bathroom wall.

  “I think that might be it,” she murmured, resting her head back against the cracked surface. Hell, he’d need to replace the sheetrock this time. Noah wouldn’t be happy about that. But Dominic didn’t give a damn. Right now, the woman in his arms trumped everything.

  “Honey, you can seduce me anytime. I want to make your dreams come true. I want this baby as much as you do.”

  She tilted her head and looked at him, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

  Give me ten minutes and I’ll show you again.

  “Dominic?”

  “Yeah, honey?” He lowered his mouth to hers, stealing a kiss. With her cheeks flushed, hell, he couldn’t get enough of her. He never would.

  “I might have lied to you.”

  Bullshit. They never held anything back. Not anymore. “Might have?” he murmured, raising an eyebrow.

  “My temperature’s not perfect,” she admitted. “I needed to see you. I wanted everything to be perfect, but I couldn’t wait until after your shift.”

  “Were you scared?” he asked, concern trumping his desire. “If you are, I can come to you. Anytime.”

  “No, not scared.” Her mischievous grin widened. “But I couldn’t wait until tonight to tell you.”

  “Tell me what?” His grip tightened, unwilling to let her go. His pulse quickened and his excitement rose even if another part of him was still too relaxed to participate yet.

  “I took a test this morning. A pregnancy test. And this time . . . Dominic, it was positive.” Her voice held a world of wonder. “I wanted to be sure, so I used the entire box. All positive.”

  “You’re pregnant.” Saying the words out loud brought a fever pitch of happiness he’d never imagined. “We’re having a baby?”

  She nodded.

  A baby. Their baby. Her dream come true. And now his.

  “I love you, Lily. And I’m going to love our baby too.” He felt the joy rush in on the heels of pure awe. And he realized that he’d never believed he would get here. He’d never believed he would be good enough for not only Lily, but the promise of a child.

  “Everything all right in there?” Noah’s voice cut through the perfection.

  “Great,” Dominic called back as he ran his hand down Lily’s hair. “I’m great.”

  And that was a fucking understatement. He felt like his heart might explode with love. The rangers, his team, and the success he’d thought he needed to claim his sweet, sexy Lily—­it felt like another lifetime. This was his future. Lily. A baby. A family.

  “Yeah, well, I saw Lily’s car out front,” Noah said. “So I know you’re not taking apart the bathroom on your own. Take your time. I’m going to head out for a while.”

  Dominic waited until he heard the door slam shut. Then he placed his hand over her stomach. “I’m going to be there for our child. I’ll love this baby, Lil. With all my heart.”

  “I know you will.” She rose up and brushed her lips over his. “And I know you’re staying this time. I know it in my heart.”

  “Damn right I’m staying. For the baby. And for you, Lil. Always for you.” Then he dropped to his knees, ignoring the broken bits of wall on the floor. “Spread your legs, honey. And let me show you how much I love you, now and forever.”

  Sara Jane Stone continues her devastatingly sexy

  Second Shot series with

  MIXING TEMPTATION

  After a year spent living in hiding—­with no end in sight—­Caroline Andrews wants to reclaim her life. But the lingering trauma from her days serving with the marines leaves her afraid to trust the tempting logger who delivers friendship and the promise of something more.

  Following an accident that nearly robbed him of his hopes for the future, Josh Summers believes life has given him a second chance. He wants to settle down with the woman who stole his attention and his heart. And he’s willing to wait until she’s ready to be more than “just friends.” When fear of discovery leaves Caroline pretending to be his date, Josh tempts her to try the real thing—­a relationship built on trust, not lies.

  But then the past threatens and Caroline must risk everything—­including her freedom—­to bury her demons before she can take a chance on happy-­ever-­after.

  Click here to pre-­order!

  And keep reading for an excerpt from the first book

  in the Second Shot series,

  SERVING TROUBLE

  Five years ago, Josie Fairmore left timber country in search of a bright future. Now she’s back home with a mountain of debt and reeling from a loss that haunts her. Desperate for a job, she turns to the one man she wishes she could avoid. The man who rocked her world one wild night and then walked right out of it.

  Former Marine Noah Tager is managing his dad’s bar and holding tight to the feeling that his time overseas led to failure. The members of his small town think he’s a war hero, but after everything he’s witnessed, Noah doesn’t want a pat on the back. The only thing he desires is a second chance with his best friend’s little sister.

  Josie’s determined to hold on to her heart and not repeat her mistakes, but when danger arrives on Noah’s doorstep and takes aim at Josie, they just might discover that sometimes love is worth the risk.

  An Excerpt from

  SERVING TROUBLE

  “I DROVE TO the wrong bar.”

  Josie Fairmore stared up at the unlit sign towering above the nearly vacant parking lot, her cell phone pressed to her ear. Nothing changed in Forever, Oregon. Everything from the ­people to the names of the bars remained the same. The triplets, who had to be over a hundred now, still owned The Three Sisters Café downtown. Every car and truck she’d sped past had the high school football team’s flag mounted on the roof or featured on the bumper. And her father was still the chief of police.

  Nothing changed. That was why she’d left for college and never looked back.

  Until now.

  She’d blown past the Forever town line ten minutes ago. She’d driven straight to the place that promised a rescue from her current hell. And she’d parked under the sign, which appeared determined to prove her wrong.

  “Josephine Fairmore, it is ten thirty in the morning,” Daphne said through the phone, her tone oddly stern for the owner of a strip club situated outside the town limits. “The fact that you’re at a bar might be your first mistake.”

  Damn. If the owner of The Lost Kitten was her voice of reason, Josie was screwed.

  “When did they take the ‘country’ out of Big Buck’s Country Bar?” Josie stared at the letters above the entrance to the town’s oldest bar. She twirled the key to her red Mini, which looked out of place beside the lone monster truck in the lot. She should probably take the car back to the city. The Mini didn’t belong in the land of four-­wheelers, pickups, and logging trucks. The red car would miss the parking garage.

  But I can’t afford the parking garage anymore. I can’t even pay my rent. Or my bills. . .

  “B
ig Buck gave in three years ago,” Daphne explained, drawing Josie’s attention back to the bar parking lot. “He decided to take Noah’s advice and get rid of the mechanical bull. He wanted to attract the college crowd.”

  “He got rid of the bull before I went to college.” And before his son left to join the United States Marine Corps. She should know. She’d ridden the bull at his going away party.

  With Noah.

  And then she’d ridden Noah.

  “Well, Buck made a few more changes,” Daphne said. “He added a new sound system and—­”

  “He changed the name. I guess that explains why Noah came home.” She glanced at the dark, quiet bar. The hours posted by the door read “Open from noon until the cows come home (or 3am, whichever comes first!).”

  “He served for five years and did two tours in Afghanistan. Stop by The Three Sisters and you’ll get an earful about his heroics,” Daphne said. “But from what I’ve heard, Noah didn’t want to sign up for another five. Not after his grandmother died last year.”

  “You’ve seen him?” Josie looked down at her cowboy boots. She hadn’t worn them since that night in Noah’s barn. She’d thought they’d help her land the job at the “country” bar. But now she wished she’d worn her Converse, maybe a pair of heels.

  “Yes.”

  “At The Lost Kitten?” Why, after all this time, after she never responded to his apologetic letter, would she care if Noah spent his free time watching women strip off their clothes? One wild, stupid, naked night cut short by her big brother didn’t offer a reason for jealousy.

  But the fact that I told him I love him? That might.

  “No. I bumped into him at the café.” Daphne hesitated. “He didn’t smile. Not once.”

  “PTSD?” she asked quietly. She couldn’t imagine walking into a war zone and leaving without long-­lasting trauma. The things he probably saw . . .

  “Maybe,” Daphne said. “But he’s not jumpy. He just seems pissed off at the world. Elvira was behind the counter that day. She tried to thank him for serving our country after he ordered a burger. He set a ten on the counter and walked out before his food arrived.”