Love in Catalina Cove

by Brenda Jackson

  Somehow she found her voice to ask, “Shouldn’t we take this to the bedroom?”

  “In a minute,” he said in a deliberate teasing voice.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  SAWYER EASED A nipple between his lips and began sucking hard. What felt like hot liquid shot through the juncture of Vashti’s legs. Was he trying to kill her? She could take only so much. And when he moved to her other breast, she couldn’t stop the moan that flowed from her lips. She needed to tell him that his minute was up, but couldn’t.

  He left one breast to use his mouth, lips and tongue to torture the other. She purred, moaned and nearly screamed, but he refused to let up. Long moments passed before he finally lifted his head to gaze into her eyes. “You liked that?”

  Did he really expect an answer? Hadn’t all those sounds she’d made been loud enough? It seemed like the good sheriff was in the seduction business tonight.

  “Now to strip you naked,” he said in a husky voice that sent sensuous shivers all through her. “You’re shivering. Are you cold?”

  If only he knew just how on fire she was, he would not have asked her that. “No, I’m not cold.”

  “Good,” he said easing away from her. She met his gaze and the eyes looking back at her were filled with an amount of desire that should have frightened her. Instead it stirred more passion to life within her.

  “I can’t spend the night, Vashti, so you know what that means.”

  A part of her was afraid to ask, but she did. “No, what does that mean?”

  The heat of his gaze nearly scorched her skin and seeped into her body. “It means I plan to make every second, minute and hour count. When I leave here tonight there will be no doubt in your mind or in mine what’s ahead for us.”

  She swallowed. He had an ultra-hungry look in his eyes.

  “It’s not just sex, Vashti. Get it out of your head if that’s the way you’re thinking. Like I told you, I don’t want another friend with benefits. I want you. Tonight is just the beginning.”

  “Yes, tonight is just the beginning,” she agreed.

  Her words must have pleased him, if the smile that appeared on his face was anything to go by.

  “I’m holding you to it,” he said, strolling back to her in a walk so sexy she was nearly overcome with need.

  “And I’m holding you to it as well,” was her response as sexual vibes poured between them. Vibes she was certain he felt, too.

  He kissed her again and like before, he set off an explosion of pleasure and need within her. Desire began clawing at her, worse than before, and when he finally released her mouth she had to grab hold of him for feeling weak in the knees.

  “You’re shivering again,” he said, leaning in and whispering close to her ear just seconds before his tongue licked a downward trek to her neck. “I would leave my mark here,” he said, kissing the side of her neck, “but I would hate for my daughter to see my brand on you.”

  He was making her feel hotter, even more breathless. “You think she’ll make you a suspect?”

  “I know she will, baby. Jade is too observant for her own good at times. That means I need to brand you in other places. Places she won’t see.” With that said, he lowered to his knees in front of her.

  * * *

  SAWYER LEANED BACK on his haunches to look up at Vashti. Standing there topless with the most beautiful pair of breasts any woman could possess. Just seeing them was a wow effect. One that sent an urgent throb of desire through him. He needed to make love to her. To reacquaint his body with hers. To prove he hadn’t imagined how good things had been between them that night in New York. He needed to know that reality was a hell of a lot better than any fantasy he’d had of her.

  “Sawyer?”

  He met her gaze. “Yes, sweetheart?”

  “What are you doing down there?”

  He gave her a sly grin. She knew what he was doing down here, but since she asked he would tell her. “I’m about to put my tongue to work and get a real good taste of you. I plan on taking licking and sucking to a whole other level tonight.” He saw heat flare in her eyes. “Do you want to know why?”

  Instead of answering she nodded. “Because the last time,” he said, holding her gaze. “The moment I slid my tongue inside of you, I’m convinced I’ve never tasted anything as sweet, luscious and succulent as you. It was a taste to die for. To cherish. Tasting you only made me want more. Hunger for more. I think I became hung up on you ever since our time together in New York.”

  He hadn’t wanted to bring up that time because they were trying to move beyond it. But he wanted her to know how much he’d been taken with her and the lasting impression she had left on him. “I would lie awake at night remembering you, your taste and everything about you. Your looks, your intelligence, the sexy way you walked, everything about you that made you a woman I wanted to pursue.”

  Their gazes held and he knew at that moment something, he wasn’t sure exactly what, passed between them. An emotion he was ready for but wasn’t sure if she was, after reading the sudden panic in her eyes. At that moment he despised the two men she’d loved who had let her down. “I won’t ever hurt you, Vashti.” It was important to him that she knew that.

  Instead of saying anything she bent down to him, cupped his face in her hands and took his mouth in a deep kiss, using her tongue on him the way he’d used his on her earlier. When she straightened and stared down at him he thought he would explode right then and there. Her kiss had been just that powerful.

  He then watched as she stepped out of her sandals before pushing her pants down over a pair of curvaceous hips. The lamplight shone on her as she stood there in the middle of her living room clad in only a pair of black lace panties. He’d never seen a woman looking sexier or more beautiful.

  Reaching upward he slid his fingers beneath the waistband of her panties and slowly eased them down her hips. He wanted to taste her and couldn’t wait any longer. He was tempted to take the lace panties and stuff them into the pockets of his pants as a keepsake, but quickly dismissed doing such a thing. If his daughter ever came across them he would have a lot of explaining to do. But still, doing something like confiscating her undies was such a naughty thought, a total turn-on. Before he was tempted to change his mind he tossed her underwear aside.

  He looked back up at her, seeing her totally naked. He marveled at the perfection of her shoulders, the swell of her breasts, the smoothness of her skin, her exquisite hips and thighs. Pure feminine flawlessness on legs.

  The area between her gorgeous legs was what was holding his attention. It was simply beautiful. Reaching upward, he traced his fingers down her inner thigh before slipping a finger between the folds of her feminine core. He watched her face, saw the affect his touch had on her and when he used that finger to stroke her, he saw the way her eyes blazed even more with desire.

  “Sawyer...”

  “Yes, baby. I’m here and don’t worry. I plan to finish what I’ve started.” Pulling his finger out of her, he gripped her thighs and placed his mouth where his finger had been and slid his tongue inside of her.

  Sawyer groaned as his tongue seemed to have a mind of its own and began lapping her like his life depended on him doing so. She tasted hot, delectable and sensuously yummy. Pleasure surged through him and when he felt her press against him, straining the lower part of her body against his mouth, he knew she wanted as much of his tongue as he could give her. He wanted her to have it all. He changed his technique and began giving her coiled thrusts with his tongue that felt harder and went deeper.

  “Sawyer!” she screamed his name and when he tasted her release on his tongue he came close to his own orgasm. He held back, wanting to give her this and needing the full essence of her flavor. At night when he was in his bed and she was a couple of miles away in hers, he would remember this.

  He waited until
the last spasm had left her body before standing and sweeping her into his arms. He glanced down at her and saw her face was flushed from her recent climax. “Which way?”

  “To your left,” she said like it took a lot of air to do so.

  Nodding he turned left and headed for her bedroom.

  * * *

  VASHTI WAS CONVINCED that rockets were still exploding inside her head when Sawyer placed her in the middle of the bed. After lying in this same bed dreaming of him so many times, it was hard to believe he was here in the flesh and in living color.

  “Nice room.”

  She watched him, where he stood in the middle of the room and began undressing. She was at rapt attention as he removed his shirt and slid it off masculine shoulders. She’d seen him naked before but it didn’t matter. Seeing him shed his clothes was doing a number on her.

  Next came his pants and then his briefs and when he stood totally naked, all she could do was release a sign of satisfaction as well as of feminine appreciation. She watched him pull a condom out of his wallet and sheath himself.

  When he came toward the bed, she raised up on her knees. Reaching out she ran her hands across his massive chest and then after a few gentle caresses she smiled when she heard him moan. “Nice sound,” she said, looking up at him.

  “I doubt you know what all you do to me, Vashti Alcindor.”

  She chuckled as her hands continued to stroke him, moving from his chest to his broad shoulders. “I think it rattled us at first to discover what we could do to each other. I’ve never been attracted to a man this way before.”

  She began placing kisses on his chest. She was aware of him taking a handful of her hair and running his fingers through it. “You’re a beautiful woman, you know that?”

  “Only because you tell me. And I think that you, Sawyer Grisham, are a beautiful man.”

  Vashti was so caught up in planting kisses all over his chest and shoulders, that when he gently pressed her back on the bed she was caught off guard. “Hey, not fair. I’m not through with you yet.”

  “I need to connect my body with yours, Vashti. In a bad way.”

  She heard a degree of need in his voice that probably matched her own because she wanted to feel him inside of her, too. In a bad way. She looked up at him when he loomed over her before settling his weight atop her. And then he lowered his mouth to kiss her again.

  Wrapping her arms around his neck she was aware of him nudging her legs apart with his knee. Suddenly, he released her mouth and stared down at her. She held her breath when she felt the tip of his erection at the base of her womanly folds. And then he began easing inside of her.

  It seemed he’d gotten bigger since the last time and her body was eagerly expanding to accommodate his size. Their gazes remained locked and she was drawn to the beauty of the dark brown eyes staring down at her.

  He pushed farther, he went deeper, and then using his hands he lifted her hips to receive even more of him, going for a more concentrated penetration. When it seemed he couldn’t go any farther, her inner muscles begged to differ and clutched him in a firm feminine grip that propelled him to surge forward. She wanted all of him.

  He began thrusting inside of her. Gently at first and then hard. Harder and harder still. She arched her hips to take even more of him into her. He established a rhythm and she easily caught on, rotating her hips to meet him stroke for stroke. He was plowing hard inside of her, pushing in and then pulling out. Over and over again.

  “Sawyer!”

  “Vashti!”

  Their worlds exploded into spirals of passionate pleasure. She dug her fingernails in his shoulders as she continued to move her body in unison to his. It was as if her body desperately needed his possession and he was bombarding her with thrust after relentless thrust.

  His body jerked again, the same time hers did. She felt totally and complete dazed. Totally and completely fulfilled as her body was consumed by his fire.

  Ever so sweetly, he leaned down and kissed her and she couldn’t think of a better way to end such a perfect mating. It seemed the kiss lasted forever before he ended it to lift his body off hers. Shifting to hold her in his arms, he whispered against her ear, “You okay, baby?”

  She found the strength to nod and say, “Yes, I’m okay.”

  And then while he held her she drifted off to sleep.

  * * *

  SAWYER DIDN’T WANT to wake her, but knew he had to before leaving. He’d stayed longer than he had intended, but would not have had it any other way. Now he was fully dressed. He had gone into the living room for her clothes scattered there and couldn’t resist putting her undies in his pocket.

  Placing her bra, blouse and pants across the chair in her room he moved to the bed and touched her shoulder. “Vashti?”

  Her eyes flitted open and she smiled at him through sleepy eyes. “Hmm.”

  “It’s time for me to go.” He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her into his lap. “I hate to leave you.”

  He both felt and heard her yawn against his chest. “You must go. Jade.”

  “Yes. Jade.” He was glad she understood that he could not leave his daughter alone all night.

  “I enjoyed my time with you,” she said sleepily.

  “And I, you. I’m looking forward to taking you boating on Friday.”

  He kissed her and when he finally released her mouth, he whispered, “Go back to sleep. I’ll lock things up and arm your security system.”

  “Alright.”

  He lifted her out of his lap to place her back in bed and covered her up. “Oh, and by the way. I brought your clothes in here, but decided to keep your panties.”

  “Okay,” she said, yawning.

  He smiled knowing it hadn’t registered on her just what he’d said. He would remind her when they talked tomorrow. Her even breathing let him know she had drifted off to sleep and as he told her he would do, he locked up and left.

  When he walked outside her house and headed to his SUV he knew he couldn’t wait to see her again.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  “YOU DIDN’T GET home until after midnight, Dad.”

  Sawyer glanced across the breakfast table at his daughter as he was about to bite into the biscuits he’d cooked. “And you know this, how?”

  “Because I tried waiting up for you, but I fell asleep.”

  He nodded, wondering if she knew the actual time he’d gotten in. It was close to three in the morning. “You are aware that I don’t have a curfew, right?”

  She smiled. “Yes, I know that. I figured you must have been having a good time to stay out so late.”

  If only she knew...and he was going to make sure that she didn’t know. But he would confirm what she’d said. “Yes, I had a good time. Dinner was great and I enjoyed Vashti’s company.”

  “I’m glad. Did you make another date?”

  She was definitely nosey. “Yes, I did.” He glanced at his watch. “If you don’t hurry and get dressed you’ll be late for church.” He didn’t care if she thought he was deliberately changing the subject.

  “I won’t be late. You’re taking Ms. Vashti out to dinner again?”

  Sawyer saw his daughter was determined to appease her nosiness. “No, I thought next time I’d take her boating.”

  “Boating? Honestly, Dad, there’s nothing romantic about going out on a boat. Surely you can do better than that.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Taking Ms. Vashti out on a boat should come later. You need to stick with romantic gestures, such as dinner, movies, concerts...you know, those sorts of things. And sending her flowers wouldn’t hurt either.”

  He lifted a brow. Was Jade, who had never been on a date, trying to give him dating tips? It seemed his daughter was reading too many of those romance novels. “I think I know how to impress a wo
man, Jadelyn Erin Grisham.”

  “I’m sure you do, but you might be a little rusty since you haven’t gone on a date since Mom. At least not a real date. The friend with benefits thing doesn’t count.”

  He tried to change the subject again. “Are you excited about the church outing that’s coming up?” She was going away this coming weekend with the church’s youth group to Tickfaw State Park.

  “Yes, I’m excited and since we leave early Friday morning I got the time off work approved with Ms. Vashti.” Jade took a big swallow of her orange juice and asked. “Did you know Ms. Vashti used to be the cove’s baton-twirling champion?”

  “Yes, I’d heard that.”

  “Some of her trophies are on display at the high school, and she has a few in a display in a cabinet at the inn. She was national champion. I told her I wanted to be a majorette and try-outs were next month. She offered to give me a few lessons at no charge. Isn’t that great?”

  “Yes, that was nice of her,” he said standing to take his plate into the kitchen. Jade followed with her plate as well.

  He hoped she didn’t have any more questions for him about his date last night with Vashti. Honestly, he was still in awe of the entire evening. Nothing could surpass what he thought of his after-dinner enjoyment at her home. The memories alone had made it hard to settle down to a good night’s sleep. He’d been too wired up, too sexually satisfied, to close his eyes. By the time he’d finally drifted off to sleep it wasn’t long before his alarm had gone off.

  “I bet I’ll finish dressing for church before you,” Jade said, after rinsing her plate and placing it in the dishwasher.

  “If you do it will be the first time,” he said, grinning.

  He glanced over his shoulder to see Jade rush up the stairs.

  * * *

  VASHTI LOOKED AT herself in the mirror and hoped she didn’t have that I’ve-gotten-laid look. Especially when she would be walking out her door in a few minutes heading to church. She had awoken that morning with Sawyer’s scent all over her, sore in certain parts of her body yet feeling she would still walk with a spring in her step. What woman wouldn’t after spending a night in Sawyer’s arms? Well, she hadn’t actually spent a night in his arms since he’d left her bed sometime between one and two in the morning, but he had packed a lot of action in during the time he had been in bed with her. And had he told her before leaving that he was taking her undies? She seemed to recall him doing so, which would explain why they weren’t with the rest of her clothes he’d picked up and placed over the chair in her room. The thought that he had kept them sent sensuous shivers all through her. Sheriff Grisham had a naughty streak.