Sinful Whispers (An Evans Mill Romance Book 1)

by Scarlett Brooks

  Sinful Whispers

  Scarlett Brooks

  Copyright © 2019 by Scarlett Brooks

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Prologue

  1. Logan

  2. Cassie

  3. Logan

  4. Cassie

  5. Logan

  6. Cassie

  7. Logan

  8. Cassie

  9. Logan

  10. Cassie

  11. Logan

  12. Cassie

  13. Logan

  14. Cassie

  15. Logan

  16. Cassie

  17. Logan

  18. Cassie

  19. Logan

  20. Cassie

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  “Damn it.” I dodged right as another lamp hit the floor. It shattered in pieces around my feet the same way the first one did. “Come on, babe. Don’t be like this.” Cassie had been throwing things for twenty minutes. I didn’t know how long she could keep this up.

  “Don’t be like this?” Cassie grabbed a pile of laundry and held it over the window. “Like what?”

  I groaned. “Cass, those are my clothes for the deployment. Don’t. I need that shit.” At least they couldn’t break.

  Her eyes fired bright blue. A cobalt shade to be reckoned with. I loved those eyes. I loved her lips. Her hair. The way she smelled. The way she laughed. Hell, I loved the way she screamed my name when we fucked. Even this. Even Cass who had completely lost her mind because I was leaving. I loved this wild unleashed side of her. Could I blame her? I was the one who had uncaged her temper. I was the dick. I was the one leaving.

  “Does it even matter?” she taunted. “Nothing matters now. Nothing.”

  “Of course it matters.” I walked toward her slowly as if I was approaching a wild panther. “Why wouldn’t it?”

  She bit her lip. “You’re leaving, Logan. You’re leaving me. This. Us. All of it.” She dropped the armful of clothes I planned to take with me next to the window.

  She crumpled to the floor, but I caught her under my arm before her body went completely limp.

  “I’ll come back,” I reassured her.

  She looked up at me. A look that pierced my heart, and for one moment made me doubt my decision. How could I leave this girl? For the past few years she had been everything to me. We made it through crazy family Christmases and spring finals. We had survived her dad’s scare with cancer and my mom’s mid-life crisis. We had moved in together despite being cut off by both sets of parents. We had defied everything life had thrown at us. We stood against all of it—together.

  “You didn’t ask me.” I could barely hear her speak. “Didn’t even mention it.”

  I knew it was the part that hurt the most. I decided on my own. Maybe because I knew she’d lose her shit if I told her I had been recruited and accepted a full ride for medical school, even if it was with the Army.

  “No, I didn’t.” I tucked her golden hair behind her ear. “What would you have said? Because I know what the answer would have been if I had talked to you about it.”

  “That’s not fair.”

  “Isn’t it? Look around here, girl. You already broke two lamps and I almost had to pick up my clothes in front of the Johnson’s grandkids out on the fucking street.”

  She accidentally giggled. “You deserved it.”

  “Probably.”

  I rotated her in my arms to face me. The scowl didn’t dissuade me. I could fix this. I could make her understand that I was giving us both a future.

  Cass pressed her palms firmly into my chest. Half from resistance, half to feel connected to me again. “I don’t want you to go. Not now. Not later. Even if I do hate you.” Her voice softened. “We just graduated. What about the summer we had planned? We saved every stupid penny so we could go to Germany.”

  “I can fast-track medical school. I’ll serve. I’ll be back in Evans Mill and we’ll have a lifetime to be together. We can do Germany later. You should go, though. Take Megan instead of me and you two have a girls’ trip.”

  Cass huffed. “It wasn’t supposed to be a girls’ trip. It was supposed to be a you and me trip.”

  “I want you to go,” I admitted. Maybe it was a small parting gift for her and her best friend.

  “What if you get killed? What if you decide you don’t want to come back? What if you meet someone else?”

  “Hey.” I tipped her chin toward me. “That’s never going to happen. None of those things are even possible.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  She stuck her bottom lip out. I took it between my teeth, tugging with command. “That will never happen, Cass.”

  She wiggled into my lap, straddling my hips.

  “Promise?”

  I nodded. “Promise.”

  “Am I supposed to sit around and wait for you, Logan Stone? Or should I say Dr. Stone?” She peeled the shirt over her head and threw it on my bed.

  I chuckled. “Captain Stone for now.”

  She slapped at my shoulder, but my teeth grazed her neck as she pounced again. “You’re a captain, already?”

  “I signed the commissioning paperwork today.” I flicked the clasp on her bra, sliding it over her arms. “I got a bonus for already being a college grad. The perks are there, Cass. They made a good offer.”

  Cass leaned away, pointing her tits toward me. I clamped my teeth over one, biting until she hissed. I grinned. This was how we made up every fucking time. We’d fight. She’d curl into my lap and we’d strip off our clothes. What came next, was impossible to explain.

  Cassie worked my T-shirt over my head, skimming her nails against my chest. It wasn’t long before our jeans were in a heap on the floor. I rolled her on her stomach, sliding the thin fabric between her legs to the side. God, she was soaking wet.

  Cass panted as I stroked her clit and nudged her knees wider apart. The more I strummed her heat, the more she wiggled and rocked her hips.

  I shoved my boxer briefs down my thighs and my cock was at full attention. Hard. Swollen. Ready. I cupped her ass with my hands, squeezing and tugging.

  “Logan,” she whimpered.

  I looked across the bed at the distance to the nightstand. The fucking condoms were a mile away. There was something in Cass’s eyes that held me in place. That kept me rooted to the floor.

  “I need you to fuck me,” she moaned. “Now.”

  It was our way back together after the fight. After she broke my lamps and threatened my uniform. After I broke her heart by signing that contract today.

  “Fuck, babe.” I nudged the head of my cock to her pussy. I didn’t know how to resist this. To resist her. I didn’t know how long it would be before we were together again. It might be months or even a year. She was the best part of my life.

  I slammed inside her before logic could take hold. Cass moaned, jerking her hips backward. I sank in again, drowning in warmth and pressure. Everything about her felt so fucking good. I lifted her ass higher, angling with precision. I pumped in and out until the sweat dripped from my brow and rolled down my chest. I fucked her until my knees ached and my breath was ragged.

  “Oh, God,” she cried. “Logan.”

  I reached around her waist, landing on her clit. Cass thrashed beneath me as I flicked it wickedly. It was the release we both needed. We craved i
t. She screamed as her orgasm raged through her. Fuck, I could feel it clutch my dick and send shockwaves to my balls. Her orgasms were always epic. Always like an earthquake. And makeup sex? Fuck. There was no way to describe how our bodies punished and healed each other.

  “I’m going to come, Cass.” I tried to steady myself, but it was pointless. Her tits bounced. Her body glistened and when she looked at me over her shoulder, I was done.

  I exploded inside her like a man on fire. I filled her, grinding and rooting until she was seared by me. Imprinted with my cock. So deep. So hard. It wouldn’t matter that I was leaving in the morning. This would be enough to keep us together until I came home.

  Cassie collapsed beneath me, but I ripped a sheet off the bed and wrapped us in it. I kissed her temple and then her mouth.

  “We’re so good together,” she whispered. “We had plans.”

  “I know.” Our breath hadn’t returned to normal yet. “I’ll be back soon. I have to get through the med school part. It won’t be long.”

  “And if you’re not?”

  I tried to laugh. “Don’t be such a pessimist, Cass.”

  One

  Logan

  Five Years Later (Present Day)

  I didn’t need an alarm clock. I was already dressed and sitting on the edge of my bed at five in the morning. I still wasn’t used to the time change. Three weeks back in Evans Mill and I should have adjusted, but my body rejected it. Fuck.

  Acclimating to civilian life should have been easier than it was. Instead I was awake at 3am, watching shitty movies, catching up on ESPN, re-watching old games, and running. Anything to keep me distracted. Anything to keep me from sleeping alone. Anything to keep the nightmares away. When I hit the sidewalk in the middle of the night, I knew I was the only one jogging. I’d do it as long as I had to. I didn’t know how long this would last.

  Maybe because I was a doctor I should have been more introspective about my own diagnosis, but I couldn’t see myself that way. Instead I made excuses and exercised. I stayed distracted. I worked.

  I realized I had been sitting awhile. I stood, stretching my stiff muscles, and grabbed my phone. I turned and smoothed the wrinkles on the bed before silently walking out of my bedroom.

  The townhouse was small and barely furnished. It reminded me more of the container barracks I lived in for the majority of the last five years. I needed to do something about that. I didn’t like it. I didn’t want those kinds of reminders.

  As soon as I had a few days off I’d drive to Denver and pick out some furniture. Maybe I could ask my sister to help.

  I was here living the soft civilian life while my brothers were still out there putting their lives on the line. I rubbed my thigh where the shrapnel had ripped through my flesh and did my best to ignore the memories the scar brought up. I wore like a badge of honor and a shame. It depended on the day.

  I had never expected to love the military so much. It was supposed to be my ticket through medical school. Once I was there, I knew it was where I belonged. I loved the brotherhood. I appreciated the camaraderie. I knew I would take a bullet for any of the men I served alongside and they would do the same for me.

  It was why Caleb Winters was the only man I could have gone into business with. He got it. He understood. Caleb and I graduated from college together and signed our contracts on the same day. We trained together and our units were stationed at the same base in the Middle East.

  When our Army contracts ended, we had a chance to buy the Nichols practice back home. We took it, making an investment in our futures. I wasn’t sure when it was going to sink in that I wasn’t driving on streets lined with IUDs, or that children weren’t strapped with hidden bombs. Caleb and I would look at each other when we were driving and without saying a word, knew what the other was thinking. It was the damn brotherhood. It bonded us for life.

  I walked through the small office doors of Stone and Winters, hearing the little chime of bells that automatically sounded. I was waiting for someone to ask me why my name was first on the building and the letterhead. It was a fucking coin toss I won over beers. That was it. Not the alphabet. Not a larger financial investment. A coin.

  The back office was quiet. The head nurse, Stacey bustled around, setting up charts and turning on lights. I walked to the coffee pot in the breakroom and poured a cup. Caleb walked up behind me.

  “Good morning, brother.”

  “Have you been here long?” I asked.

  “Nah. I walked in right after you.” He grabbed a mug from the cabinet. “Stacey gets here early.”

  I nodded. “I’m glad she decided to stay onboard when we bought this place. I think we’d be in deep shit without her.”

  “No doubt.” He sat at the break table. “Both our schedules are packed today.”

  “Funny in Evans Mill we are booked solid.” I sat across from him.

  “I don’t know why Nichols couldn’t figure out how to keep things running. It’s not that hard. Patients equal money.”

  I took a gulp of hot coffee. “I’m glad the practice opened up. His stupidity is our gain.”

  Caleb was the one who had the notice from his dad that Dr. Nichols was looking for a buyer for his private practice. I don’t think either of us were looking for a way out of the Army. But with every explosion. Every close call, we knew we were living on borrowed time. I had seen too many men die in front of me to know I was at a crossroads with my life. Caleb felt it too. It was either count the days until they ran out, or head home and try to build my life.

  Caleb adjusted his stethoscope. “I’ve got patients to see. I’ll check in with you later.” He slapped me on the shoulder and walked out.

  Stacey appeared in the doorway. “Dr. Stone, you already have three patients.”

  “What?” I glanced at my watch. I’d only been here ten minutes. I made it a practice to give myself time to debrief before any patients arrived. I hated waiting, and I wasn’t about to make my patients wait for me.

  “You’ve done three workups already?”

  She smiled. “I like to be efficient.”

  “All right. Who do you have for me?” I stretched from the table. I needed to work through the files so we didn’t have a backlog of appointments this morning.

  “Bruce Donnigan is in exam one. He has a rash on his back. He’s a hypochondriac.” She wrinked her nose.

  “And the others?” I asked.

  “Exam two is Maura Fleisher. She says her ears are ringing.”

  “How old is Ms. Fleisher?”

  “Ninety-three,” Stacey answered. “Sharp as a tack though.”

  I nodded. “And exam three?”

  “A little girl, Eloise. Might have strep throat. So wash your hands. We don’t need strep all over the office.”

  I winked at Stacey. “I think I can have all three of these out in fifteen minutes.”

  “Do you and Dr. Winters have a competition going?” she asked.

  “Why?” I flipped open the Donnigan file.

  “Because he said he could see three patients in ten minutes.”

  I laughed. “It’s not speed dating. I’ll talk to him about it.” I didn’t want to trade patient care for efficiency.

  I wasn’t off in my prediction. I was able to prescribe an ointment for the rash and Ms. Fleisher’s ears didn’t bother her anymore after her hearing test. I referred her to a specialist. I was on to exam three.

  I looked down at the file hanging outside the door. It was a little girl named Eloise Coleman. I scanned over it quickly. She wasn’t more than four, and it looked like she had been a patient here since she was born.

  Most of the kids in Evans Mill were patients at this family practice instead of the pediatrician clinics in Denver. Parents liked the convenience. It made practicing medicine here more of a challenge for the doctors. Caleb and I would have patients from eight-days-old to eighty. It was going to be a huge adjustment from treating soldiers with battle wounds.

  I walked
through the door to greet the new patient, and my heart hit the floor. Sitting on the papered table was a little girl and standing next to her with her back to me was a woman I never imagined seeing again. She didn’t have to turn around. I knew in an instant who she was.

  Cassie Coleman.

  Two

  Cassie

  I heard a throat clear, and I turned around to greet the doctor. I froze in that instant. I couldn’t believe who stood before me.

  “Logan?” I stammered.

  He had changed quite a bit since I last saw him, but in many ways, he was still the same. His black hair was longer now, and he sported a close-cut beard. As I looked up and down the white-coated body, I noticed his frame was more defined with muscles almost bursting to get out of the confines of his clothes. His penetrating dark eyes were still the same, however now set in skin bronzed by time in the sun.

  I shook my head, remembering where I was and who I was with. I felt as if I was stepping out of a dream and out of my body. I had to find my voice.

  “I didn’t know you were back.” I tried to sound strong and confident.

  “I am,” he said taking a seat on the doctor's stool and wheeling up to Eloise. “I’ve been back a few weeks.”

  I immediately stood between them.

  “We came to see Dr. Nichols.”

  “Well I am Dr. Stone,” he replied, looking up at me as I blocked his way.

  “Where is Dr. Nichols? I would rather see him if you don't mind.” Was that rude? Did it matter? I was in shock.

  “Dr. Nichols retired. Caleb Winters and I bought out the practice. They should have told you when you checked in. Stacey didn’t mention it during your workup? Did you see the new signs going up? Stone and Winters.”