His First and Last (Ardent Springs #1)

by Terri Osburn

  His mouth still on hers, Spencer danced a hand over her breast, then lower to slip between her legs. He teased her until she was writhing off the bed, then slipped inside, but it wasn’t enough. “Please, Spencer. I’m ready. Please,” she begged.

  Seconds later, he gave her what she wanted, driving in slowly at first, then picking up the pace. Lorelei pulled both knees up and pressed her heels into the bed as the pressure built. She met him thrust for thrust, holding tight to his neck and shoulders, their tongues mimicking the action of their bodies. When she was close to the peak, his hand shifted lower, pressing circles to the spot he knew would take her over the edge. She didn’t just fall over, she flew, digging her nails into Spencer’s back, pulling him closer, as if that were humanly possible.

  The tremors were still pulsating down to her toes when Spencer drove hard and came apart himself. They held on to each other, their bodies wet and hot and locked together as if they might never let go. Spencer shifted as if to pull out, but Lorelei locked her ankles.

  “Not yet,” she whispered. “Not yet.”

  Spencer nodded, his breathing ragged as he dropped his forehead onto her shoulder. She could feel the smile dancing on her own lips, and imagined a rainbow glowing somewhere close by.

  Chapter 20

  Spencer woke to the feeling of hot dog breath on his cheek. The clock read 5:49, eleven minutes before his alarm would normally go off. Lorelei slept soundly beside him, with one lock of blonde hair tumbling over her eyes. He considered moving it, but didn’t want to wake her. It was rare to see her this peaceful, and he wanted to enjoy her for a few minutes more. Especially since he had no idea what would happen when she woke up.

  Was last night a one-off? Would she regret coming to his apartment? Would she grin and stretch and crawl on top of him for morning sex?

  Not that Spencer didn’t already have morning wood, but that thought made the condition almost painful. The sheet covering nothing from the top of her delicious bottom up didn’t help either. When Champ whined, Spencer caved. The animal had to pee and so did he. Scooting off the bed as gently as he could, he managed to extricate himself from the covers, pull on his sweats, and get the dog outside without waking her.

  In fact, he also managed to take care of his own business, let the dog back in, and climb in the shower as she softly snored away. It wasn’t until he had put on a pair of jeans and was buttoning his shirt that she started to come around. Stretching like a cat, she rolled onto her back, revealing the body of a goddess. Spencer stopped buttoning. He lost feeling in his fingers the moment she pushed the hair out of her face and glanced around as if not sure of her location.

  “Morning,” he said, his voice rougher than intended.

  Lorelei’s head turned his way with a look of confusion, and then her eyes went wide. “What time is it?” she asked, her voice frantic enough to worry him.

  Spencer checked the clock beside the bed. “Six twenty-eight. I have to leave in a couple minutes. I have an early meeting this morning.”

  He’d planned to wake her on his way out so she could get ready for work. He liked the idea of kissing her good-bye before leaving for his day.

  “Holy crap,” she said, scrambling off the bed. “Where are my clothes?”

  This didn’t sound like a woman happy to be kissed good-bye.

  “Your shirt is probably still around the couch somewhere.” Spencer walked around the bed. “Here are your shorts and panties.” He lifted the clothing off the floor, and Lorelei snatched them from his fingers.

  “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

  Opting not to contribute to her dramatics, he opened his top dresser drawer and pulled out a pair of socks. “I didn’t think you needed to be up before now,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed to put his socks on. “I thought you might be tired. We didn’t get much sleep.”

  The last time he’d seen the clock, the numbers were rolling toward three thirty.

  “I can’t believe I’m still here,” she mumbled, dragging the panties up her legs and following with the shorts. Holding an arm across her chest, she stormed into the living room to find the shirt. “I should have been back in my room hours ago.”

  Last Spencer checked, they weren’t kids sneaking around to have sex. Granny wasn’t going to ground Lorelei or give them a speech about being too young to go so far. At least he didn’t think so.

  “Am I missing something here?” he asked, walking into the kitchen to fill his travel coffee cup. “Are you embarrassed about what we did last night?”

  That question got her attention. Lorelei pulled her shirt over her head and looked his way. “No, are you?”

  “Not at all, but I’m not the one acting like a crazy person right now. What does it matter if you go home now or if you went a couple hours ago?”

  “I don’t want Granny to know, that’s all.”

  “Why not?”

  Lorelei huffed. “I just don’t.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  Running a hand through her hair, she said, “Granny is going to ask a bunch of questions that I’m not ready to answer. Maybe if I’m lucky, she’s not up yet.”

  “Does that mean I shouldn’t ask any questions either?” There were several running through his head, but Spencer knew how easily Lorelei spooked. This was definitely a spooking situation.

  With a deep breath, Lorelei cut her eyes to the heavens as if praying for patience. Or a way out. “I don’t regret last night, but I don’t know what last night means long-term. What I do know is that I’d really like to repeat last night on a regular basis for the foreseeable future. How’s that?”

  He didn’t like the avoidance of dealing with anything beyond the present, but the fact that she didn’t consider the night before a mistake, and was suggesting he get more sex on a regular basis, made Spencer less inclined to argue.

  Hiding the smile behind his coffee cup, he said, “You look sexy as hell right now.”

  She shook her head. “I’m sure I look like crap right now. I need a toothbrush and a shower.”

  “Now I wish I’d dragged you into the shower with me.” He must have been exhausted not to have thought of that sooner.

  “There would still have been the toothbrush issue.” Lorelei dropped a kiss on his cheek and padded toward the door.

  “That’s all I get?”

  The grin she shot him from the door brought on a new case of morning wood. “I’ll make it up to you tonight,” she promised, then disappeared down the steps.

  Lorelei felt like a spy on a mission. She high-footed her way across the yard, running up the porch steps and pressing her body against the side of the house. She’d auditioned for a cop show once and realized that she would have felt like an idiot doing this on a daily basis. Chancing a peek through the kitchen window, Lorelei didn’t see lights on or movements inside. Letting out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, she opened the screen and tried the inside door. It was locked.

  “Shoot,” she murmured. Had she locked the door on her way out? She didn’t think so. Lorelei hadn’t intended to be gone all night, so why lock the door? Did that mean Granny was up? That she’d locked the door? “Crap, crap, crap.”

  The spare key. When she was a teen it had always been under the ceramic frog in the flower bed. Glancing over the rail, Lorelei was relieved to see the frog still sitting on his lily pad. “Oh, thank God.”

  Bouncing back down the steps, she had to step into the mulch to reach the smiling amphibian. “Would it have been so hard to grab flip-flops, Lorelei?” she admonished herself. Lifting the frog, she found nothing. This was not her morning. And if she didn’t get in soon, Spencer would catch her out here traipsing around like an incompetent cat burglar.

  Climbing back onto the porch, Lorelei racked her brain to figure out where else the spare key might be. But before she came up with an answer, the inside door opened, scaring her so badly she nearly peed herself. She also screamed bloody murder.

/>   “Was that necessary?” Granny asked, as her granddaughter held a hand over her racing heart and struggled to catch her breath.

  “I didn’t expect you to open the door,” Lorelei panted.

  “I didn’t expect you to be on that side of it.”

  Point to Granny.

  “Fine,” she said. “You caught me. Now can I come in?”

  Without responding, Granny walked away, leaving Lorelei staring through the screen. She’d taken a walk of shame or two in her life, but none had ever felt like this. As if she’d kicked a puppy, run over a kitten, and swiped a Happy Meal from a toddler all in one move. If Spencer hadn’t been so damn distracting last night, she might have remembered to order a wake-up call. Or, if she’d been smart, she would have come home before they’d gotten to round three.

  Or had that been four?

  “I made a pot of coffee,” Granny said as Lorelei closed the door. “Or were you planning to go back to bed? I’m guessing you didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  Lorelei had expected twenty questions, not a VIP ticket to guilt city.

  “I’ll take a cup,” she said, expecting Granny to pour. She’d expected wrong. “I guess I’ll get it.”

  As she pulled a mug from the cupboard, her grandmother turned a page of the paper laid out on the island. She didn’t ask any more questions, instead ignoring Lorelei completely. Though it was obvious by the set of her jaw that she was holding something in.

  “Is there a reason you look ready to spit nails?” Lorelei asked.

  Turning another page, Granny looked up, blue eyes glaring over the reading glasses. “What are your intentions toward that boy?” she asked.

  The question took Lorelei by surprise. She’d expected excitement that they might be getting back together. Even if only tentatively. She’d expected talk of marriage and babies and forever. So why did Granny look angry? And shouldn’t she have been grilling Spencer about his intentions toward her granddaughter?

  “First of all,” Lorelei said, “he’s not a boy. And second, what kind of a question is that?”

  “You hurt him once. And he’s been through a lot more in the ensuing years than getting over teenage heartbreak. After what he learned yesterday, I can’t believe you’d take advantage of him like this.”

  She took advantage of him? Really?

  “Your high opinion of me is flattering.” Lorelei put the mug back in the cupboard. “I’m going to take a shower.”

  “Don’t you walk away from me, missy.” Granny blocked her path out of the kitchen. “Are you staying here for good?”

  Lorelei chewed the inside of her cheek. This was the question she wasn’t ready to answer. Could she settle into a life in Ardent Springs? Admittedly, the town hadn’t been unbearable since she’d been home, but it hadn’t even been a month yet. It could get worse. It would probably get worse.

  “I don’t know,” she finally admitted. The most honest answer she had.

  “Then you better figure it out. Spencer loves you, and he always has. I know you love him. I can see it every time you’re in the same room together.”

  “It isn’t that simple.”

  Granny threw her hands in the air. “There you go again, making every gosh darn thing more complicated than it needs to be. Your grandfather was always right about that.” Slamming her hands onto her hips, she said, “Your grandfather loved that boy, too. Told me before he died he could go in peace knowing you had a good man to take care of you.”

  That admission hit like a blow. “I never knew that,” she whispered.

  “I suppose I should have told you, but I didn’t want you staying here out of guilt or obligation. You’d have turned out bitter and angry, and I watched what that did to your mother.” The steam seemed to go out of her as Granny’s shoulders fell. “I couldn’t watch the same happen to you.”

  “Why was Mama so bitter?” Lorelei asked, a question she’d never had the guts to mutter aloud. Deep down, she’d always believed her own existence to be her mother’s greatest regret.

  Granny shook her head. “Your mother made some choices she couldn’t live with, but didn’t have the courage to change.”

  “What?” Lorelei asked. “Like the choice of having me?”

  “Don’t ever say that again, young lady. Your mother’s mistakes were plenty, but you were not one of them.” Taking Lorelei’s hands, her voice gentled. “You’re getting a second chance at something a lot of folks never find at all. This time around, follow your heart. That’s the only way you’re ever going to be happy.”

  Squeezing the older woman’s hands, Lorelei asked, “What if I don’t know what my heart is telling me to do?”

  “You’ll know,” Granny said. “You’ll know.” Turning back to her paper, she added, “And next time, tell me when you’re leaving the house. I nearly had a heart attack last night until I figured out where you were.”

  Lorelei took a step toward the stairs, then stopped. “Last night?”

  “I heard a noise. Must have been you shutting the door on your way out.” Glancing over her glasses once more, she said, “You’re lucky I didn’t come down there and drag you back. Don’t think I didn’t consider it.”

  Trying to calculate how quickly they’d gotten naked and how much her grandmother would have seen, Lorelei sent up a silent prayer of thanks that Granny had stayed in the house. “No more sneaking around,” she said, giving Granny’s shoulders a hug. “I do love you, you know.”

  “Yes,” Granny said, patting her arm, “I know. Now go take a shower. You smell like sex.”

  Lorelei nearly choked on her tongue hearing such a statement from her grandmother. The mortification kept her silent and carried her up the stairs as fast as her feet would go.

  Chapter 21

  Spencer felt extremely pleased with his current lot in life. He had a name and a face for his father, and Lorelei was back in his arms. As far as windfalls went, a man couldn’t ask for much more. It would have been nice to know more about his dad, but he’d meant every word he’d said to Lorelei the night before. He would not invade the man’s family. Maybe someday he’d reach out and see if someone reached back, but for now he’d be content with what he had, which was a lot more than he’d ever dreamed would come his way.

  “You’re looking chipper this morning,” Mike Lowry said, stopping near Spencer’s table in Tilly’s Diner. “Have a good weekend?”

  Spencer had stopped for lunch, but he hadn’t been seated long enough to order his food yet. The mention of the weekend widened his smile. “Best weekend I’ve had in a while. How about you?”

  Mike nodded. “Not bad, but probably not as good as yours.” Rubbing his chin, he added, “Lorelei was looking chipper herself this morning.”

  Now things were getting awkward. If Lorelei didn’t want Rosie to know they were back together, or whatever she’d call it, then no one else could know either.

  “I guess the chipper thing is going around.” Pointing to the seat across from him, he asked, “Want to sit down?”

  “I can do that.” Mike dropped onto the red vinyl and placed his black cowboy hat upside down on the seat next to him.

  Jeanne returned to the table, took their orders, and then left the men alone once more. With the news about his father, Spencer had done some math to figure out who might have been around at the time Doug Crawford was in Ardent Springs. He may not be ready to reach out to Texas, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t curious to learn something. By his calculations, Mike would have still been in town.

  “When did you head down to Nashville?” he asked, hoping his new lunch companion wouldn’t consider him nosy.

  Mike crossed his arms on the table. “Thirty-one years ago this month, as a matter of fact.” Shaking his head, he added, “No wonder it feels like a lifetime ago.”

  So Spencer’s math was right. “You went to school with my mom, didn’t you?”

  “Paula was in my history class.” He tapped his temple. “Or maybe it was
English.”

  “Do you remember when they built the bridge out on Franklin?” he asked, aware that his questions were all over the place, but impatient to get to the point.

  With confusion in his eyes, Mike answered, “Sure. I was part of the crew. Are you going somewhere with this?”

  Flashing an apologetic smile, Spencer said, “Yeah, I am. Do you remember a guy named Doug Crawford? He wasn’t a local, but I understand he might have come to town to help with the construction.”

  “I remember Doug. He was a good guy. Didn’t talk much, but I know he spent a lot of his off time with your mom.”

  Spencer’s heart kicked like an angry mule. He couldn’t believe he’d gotten lucky on the first shot.

  “Do you remember anything else about him?” Spencer asked. “Did he mention his family at all?”

  Mike shook his head. “Like I said, he didn’t talk much. I get the sense this isn’t idle curiosity.”

  Tugging his wallet from his back pocket, Spencer drew out the picture. “Does that look like the man you remember?” There was no need to reveal the truth if they weren’t talking about the same person.

  Squinting a bit, Mike pulled the photo his way. “It’s been a long time, but the eyes look the same.” As if a revelation hit, his head shot up. “Same as your eyes. What is Doug Crawford to you?”

  Spencer felt odd saying the words. “He’s my father. I found out yesterday.”

  “You didn’t know?”

  “My mother always said she didn’t know. She claimed it could have been any number of guys and they were all worthless, so I wasn’t missing anything.”

  Mike handed the picture back. “How old are you? I thought Doug left town before I did.”

  “I’ll be thirty-one next February,” Spencer answered. “I guess Mom must have been pregnant with me when you left.”