by Afton Locke
He gathered the papers into his waterproof sack, barely noticing how many pages he bent in the process.
“I’ll find a desk for you tomorrow.”
He turned and opened the door before his knees collapsed. Because he wished he could give away Rockfield’s and just about anything else, to have her.
* * *
At Rockfield’s the next day, Sadie sat in the lunchroom with Mama and Jimmy Clark. They occupied the end of a long, communal table near a window. She’d worked all morning in a small storeroom upstairs near Henry’s office. If anyone asked, she was supposed to be cleaning it up and organizing it. In reality, she was continuing to review the business paperwork and recent decisions.
Not that she could concentrate much today. Seeing Henry in this setting after last night’s endless kissing was harder than she’d expected. The numbers on his papers swam before her eyes in a jumble because she kept imagining his tongue pressing against her lips. Begging her to let him inside. And when she finally had, her panties had flooded faster than high tide.
But lust wasn’t the half of it. He’d pried open her heart, too, pushing aside every defense. There was no going back. The expression in his eyes when he’d told her she was beautiful would remain etched in her mind forever. No matter what happened.
If only he hadn’t told her his true feelings. Never in her life had she felt so much despair and joy in one moment. What was the point in meeting the man who truly wanted her if she couldn’t have him?
“How do you like your new job, Sadie?” Jimmy asked.
With his big, kind eyes and reddish-dark skin, he was as handsome as ever. The plant’s fastest shucker, he was still quite a catch. After being in Henry’s arms, though, he didn’t interest her any more than the apple in her hand. She could hardly believe she’d once batted her eyelashes at him, trying to lure him away from Pearl. But Pearl had broken her engagement to him because she preferred a white Rockfield. And so did she…
“It’s better than shucking,” she said.
But seeing the man I can’t have all day is killing me.
“It pays more, too,” Mama bragged.
She gripped her mother’s thin arm. “Keep your voice down.”
The less attention her new job received, the better. Because even though spending so much time around Henry was hard, it was better than not seeing him at all.
Mama turned her attention to Jimmy. Sadie didn’t like the shrewd expression in her eyes. The same way she’d looked at her daughter this morning and said she’d heard some strange noises during the night.
“You still ain’t married, are you?” Mama asked.
“Not yet, Mrs. Johnson,” he replied.
“Sadie here could use a new husband. You’d never believe what I caught her doing to herself one night.”
The night she’d rubbed her breasts after her first meeting with Henry danced through her mind. She sank lower on the hard bench, wishing she could hide under the table.
“Mama!” She seized her apple, ready to shove it into the woman’s mouth to quiet her. “I have no plans to remarry. Once was enough.”
Jimmy’s gaze dropped to his sandwich. “Er, that’s good to know. I mean—”
“It’s all right.”
Sadie shoved her lunch away, having lost the rest of her appetite. Why couldn’t she and Henry be a couple so Mama would stop playing matchmaker? If she couldn’t have the man she wanted, she didn’t want anyone.
“Well, if you ain’t interested in her, what kind of woman are you looking for?” Mama demanded.
Outside the window, Jonathan Carter walked by with his sister. Sadie shivered at the sight of his pale-gray eyes. The tonic on his brown hair made his skin even paler and his features even sharper.
Mary’s blonde tresses bounced with each step. Her brother clutched her around the elbow as if daring anyone to get too close to her. Given what she’d suffered last year, Sadie understood his protectiveness. She wished they’d take their promenade somewhere else. The last thing she and Henry needed was the Klan sniffing close to her new office.
At least he was smart enough to know they could never have a relationship. Pearl’s warning about playing with fire came to mind. She’d worked and lived with Caleb under the guise of being his housekeeper. When their feelings became known to the town, the Klan had burned this plant—almost to the ground.
Jimmy’s gaze was glued to the window. To Mary Carter.
Oh, Jimmy. You’re even worse off than me.
Mama must have noticed the adoration in his eyes, too.
“If she’s the one you hanker for, you’d better pick out the tree you’d like to hang from. Because that’s what the mayor’s son will do to you if you lay a hand on that girl.”
“I know better than to do that.” He scooped up the remains of his lunch. “Time to get back to work.”
“They’re coming inside.” Mama craned her neck, seemingly oblivious to Jimmy’s longing. “Wonder what they want?”
Whatever it was couldn’t be good.
Mama stood and glanced at her. “Ain’t you coming? Or do our hours not apply to you and your fancy new job?”
Sadie rolled her eyes. Leave it to Mama to be jealous of her promotion and grateful for the extra money at the same time.
“That’s right. I get to eat at my leisure.”
Long enough for Jonathan Carter to get the heck out of here before she returned to her office.
* * *
Sadie watched the sun set from her office. The stacked boxes and cleaning supplies said it used to be a storeroom, but now it was all hers. She even had her own desk and a small window, which had a view of the street out front.
When Henry finally arrived and locked the door behind him, her pulse accelerated. With his shirttails hanging outside his suspenders, he looked tired and tousled enough to drop into bed. She was tired enough to sink into one with him. Why couldn’t they? After working together all day, she wanted to spend the night with him, too.
“Thanks for looking at the purchase records,” he said.
“You’re welcome.” She fingered her pen to keep her mind on business. “We’ll—I mean, you’ll—be able to save money by keeping your costs more consistent.”
“Excellent.” He nodded. “You’re a real life preserver.”
“What did the mayor’s son want?”
“I’m not sure.” Henry smoothed his matted hair. “He questioned me and several of the white employees. He seems to be fishing for something.”
Her hand shook as she slammed the pen down. “That’s the last thing we need.”
Don’t take my job away! I can’t bear to go back to shucking. Away from Henry.
“Take it easy. Nothing happened. All the same, I’m glad you weren’t up here at the time.”
“I lingered in the lunchroom when I saw him coming.” She stood. “Well, good night, Mr. Rockfield.”
But when she passed him, he caught her arm, holding her as possessively as Jon had his sister. As if he’d never let her out of his sight for as long as he lived. With her eyes, she asked him what he needed.
And his answered.
“Henry…” she whispered as his mouth glided toward hers like a boat on the tide.
This time, she opened for him before his lips even touched her. She was wet. Instantly. Everywhere. Because kissing in this plant was more dangerous than anywhere they’d been together before. What if Jonathan returned to ask more questions? Broke down the door?
Although his lips were thin, they were surprisingly soft and sensual. She could kiss and suck them for hours…no, days. His tongue, slick as an oyster, speared her mouth, lighting up a hundred nerves. His arms closed around her. Hard. She’d read an anatomy book once. Knew how each muscle and bone looked and what they were called. One by one, hers dissolved to water, and she collapsed against his arms. Although she wasn’t a small woman, he was bigger, and he held her still tighter.<
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Their bodies writhed, pressed, and hungered for everything they couldn’t have. They had to stop, but she couldn’t.
“I wanted to do this all day.” His mouth dug into her throat until she felt her pulse pounding against his lips.
“So did I, but we agreed.”
She clasped the side of his head to keep her balance because she felt as if she’d just fallen overboard. The glossy locks of his unkempt hair slid through her fingers, enticing her to keep grabbing them until he could never get away. She pulled harder.
“That hurts, Sadie.”
She released his hair. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
He pierced her with his smoldering blue gaze. “I don’t believe I told you to stop, did I?”
What? He actually enjoyed pain? It was the strangest thing she’d ever heard. So why did her core tighten up inside her, leaving her panting for breath?
While she combed her fingers roughly through his hair, he pulled up her skirt. Urgent fingertips skated across her stockings, traveling higher and higher.
“We agreed not to do this.” She reminded him because if he kept caressing her legs, she’d lose the ability to speak.
“You’re the business expert,” he said with a ragged breath. “Don’t you know contracts can be broken?”
“But what about the Klan?”
He unbuttoned her blouse and tugged the folds of fabric away, revealing her nipples. They poked so hard against her bra and slip, it was as if they weren’t even there.
“The Klan is not here right now.” He pushed away the other layers. “Do you have to wear so many danged clothes?”
“Well, I wasn’t exactly planning on a tryst tonight.”
And because she worked in an office, she figured she should dress better than she had as a shucker. She squealed softly when he lifted her onto the desk. She sat on the edge, holding her knees together with all her strength, but he forced them open, revealing her wet panties.
“Neither was I.” He fingered the wet cotton between her thighs. “Your scent is driving me over the edge.”
What was it about this building? Caleb and Pearl must have imprinted it with their passionate affair. With his other hand, Henry traced erotic circles around her exposed nipple. The tips of her breasts swelled into aching fists of need. What was he trying to do to her? Columns of numbers were easy to figure out. Men, hopelessly confusing.
“Wait.” She gulped. “What are the rules now?”
He answered by teasing her inner thigh with his index finger, not stopping until it slipped beneath the hem of her step-ins. She forgot to breathe when he slid it across her folds, teasing one tender lobe back and forth. Back and forth. A cannonball of pressure built inside, ready to explode out of her.
“Henry,” she said, barely stifling a groan.
“I was never good at following rules.” His finger slid inside to the hilt. “All I know is I can’t stop.”
“But this is dangerous.”
Her torso arched when he wiggled his finger inside her like a fishhook. He’d sure hooked her. At this moment, she’d willingly lie across this desk and give him anything he desired.
When he bent his head and suckled her exposed nipple, she exploded inside, clamping his finger.
Unlike the incident in his cottage, he was touching her body and facing her. Showing her with his eyes how beautiful she was. How much he wanted her. Needed her. The realization undid her even more than the physical flexing of his digit.
“Henry! Henry! Henry!” She struggled to whisper, but each word spilled out in a moan, instead, as she came.
Buck had never made her body shatter like this. For the first time, she was glad the marriage had ended. If only she could marry the man who excited her.
Still quivering with exquisite aftershocks, she reached for his trousers, anxious to unleash the painful-looking bulge. She needed his erection inside her.
He batted her hand away. “I hear something.”
“Me, too.” Her heart raced as she pulled down her dress hem and buttoned her bodice.
After a few seconds, his shoulders relaxed. “It’s downstairs. Probably just the floormen cleaning up.”
“Do you want to take that chance?”
He shook his head. “I need to make love to you, but we can’t do it here. And not tonight. I want to plan it. Take my time.”
She stood, looking at the important papers she’d rumpled by sitting on them. Imagine that. Experiencing joy all day doing what she loved, followed by pleasure at night with the man she was falling for.
But she was a realistic woman. Doing only one of these activities would be a full-time risk. Attempting both would be suicide. The sober expression in Henry’s dark-blue eyes told her he’d just realized it, too.
“We’ll finish this,” he promised.
“Which?” she asked, her bottom lip trembling with…something. Fear? Hope?
“Maybe we can have it all, Sadie. I’d sure like to try.”
But there was so much at stake. Not just the company, but the safety of their families. If anything happened to Mama, or Pearl’s baby… She couldn’t bear to even think about it. They had to be extremely careful.
She closed her eyes and gripped his hands. Why couldn’t she be practical like Jimmy, admiring what she wanted from afar while staying safely in her place?
Chapter Seven
On Sunday afternoon, Henry sprawled in one of the seats on the Rockfield II, Caleb’s fishing boat. After the week he’d had with Sadie, he needed to return to the sea. Because it was springtime, the water was a little choppy but streaked with bright sunlight. He closed his eyes, inhaling the salty air. The breeze jingled the fishhooks on his lucky cap. Music to his ears.
Caleb cast his line into the water. “I hate to ask, but how’s the business going?”
“Good. We…I’ve cleaned up the books. Ironed out some discrepancies. That kind of thing.” Henry gripped his pole, hoping his brother wouldn’t ask too many specific questions.
“Really?” Caleb’s eyebrows lifted. “Did you have any help?”
With his free hand, Henry pressed his fingertips to his palm. “Not really. Your books helped a lot.”
“Wonderful!” A grin broke out under Caleb’s dark moustache. “I always knew you could accomplish a lot if you applied yourself.”
Henry grinned, too. “I want to keep the business in the family as much as you do. I’ve missed the water, though.”
After spending a couple of hours in the boat, it would be even harder to drag himself back to the plant tomorrow. Fortunately, he had Sadie to look forward to. Remembering what they’d done in her small office covered his face with sweat. Her womanly scent was so…what was the word…ripe? Like a piece of fruit—heavy, full, and ready for harvest. He laid the fishing pole across his trousers so Caleb wouldn’t spot his erection.
He shouldn’t have messed around with her. Helping him with the business was risky enough, especially with sharp-eyed Jonathan Carter sniffing around the plant like a bloodhound. Henry must have been out of his head to half undress her on company property. What if someone had broken the lock on the door? Seeing both of them leave together would be enough to arouse suspicion.
We’ll finish this.
Why had he told her that? In the heat of passion, unfortunately, his mind was even denser than usual. Intercourse was out of the question, but they couldn’t go on the way they were, either. Every time he looked at her, he couldn’t think of anything else but rubbing himself all over her, and in her.
Something tugged on his line, but he barely noticed. What if he got her with child? He couldn’t go through that again, but Sadie seemed convinced she wasn’t beautiful. Changing his mind about making love to her would infuriate her. The last thing he needed was to anger his key employee.
He had to go through with his plan.
“Holy catfish! You’ve got a big one.” Caleb pointed at Henry’s bent pole.
“Are you going to reel him in, or do you expect him to jump into the boat by himself?”
But the prize was a feisty bluefish, not a catfish. Henry reeled it in and removed it from the hook. For some reason, he didn’t feel the usual thrill from catching a fish. In the short time he and Sadie had worked together, he’d gotten used to having her by his side.
Watching her capable fingers, wrapped around a pen. Her smooth brow as she bent in concentration over his books. Her intelligent eyes, gliding over the pages or shooting him a feisty look.
Her hands in his hair, pulling until it hurt.
A pinpoint of hot fluid seared the tip of his penis. He wished she were here so he could teach her how to fish. Maybe she’d even kiss him to reward him for catching one. The heat in his shaft intensified when he fantasized about making love to her out here at sea. Each wave would guide his hands over her curves and his thrusts into her sweet wetness.
She reminded him of the weather at sea, changing in an instant. He pictured her docile one minute and a feral cat the next. Naked, they’d wrestle on this boat, grappling with each other from bow to stern. Pulling, grabbing, fucking…
“Ah!” Henry masked his groan with a cough.
Shame scalded his face when he realized his overalls were wet. Blazing barnacles. He’d ejaculated just from thinking about her.
“Excuse me. I need to use the head.”
When he returned, he took small, stiff steps. His clothes were cold and wet but clean.
Caleb raised an eyebrow as he started the boat engine. “What happened to you? Did you fall overboard or something?”
Or something…
“The fish was messy,” Henry muttered. “We’re leaving already?”
“I don’t like to be away too long with Pearl so close to her time.”
Henry stowed his pole, tempted to pout worse than a sullen child because he wanted to stay out here until nightfall. He also needed to talk about Sadie, but he shouldn’t.
“Caleb, I need to ask you something.”
“Shoot,” Caleb called out while stowing the fishing poles.
Henry pulled up the anchor. “It’s about women.”