The Last One (The One Trilogy #1)

by Tawdra Kandle

  I let my hands fall away from her face, dropping them to her shoulders and then lower, to the straining green cotton over her bra. I palmed both breasts, my breath catching at their fullness and weight. She made a small sound in her throat and sat up a little, dropping her head back, eyes closed. I took advantage of her position to sweep my thumbs over her nipples, rubbing back and forth as they hardened under my touch. I curled my fingers beneath the neckline of her shirt and tugged it down, along with the lace bra under it, so that she was bared to me. My breath was coming in pants, and I lifted her slightly, bringing her even to my mouth and capturing the stiff peak.

  Meghan’s hands grasped my head, as though she were afraid I’d move my mouth away from her. I tongued her nipple, pressing it into the roof of my mouth and then sucking it hard. She began moving against me, rubbing her center against my hard cock in a way that was going to make stopping almost impossible.

  I kept my mouth on one breast, my hand on the other for the space of a few more breaths, before I slid both hands to her ribs and then around to her back. “Meghan. We need to take a break here or I won’t be able to stop.”

  She lifted her head and opened her eyes, smiling at me. “Why would you want you to?”

  I shook my head. She wasn’t going to make this easy. “Because while I have no objections to a heavy make-out session at midnight on the front porch, I’m not up for having sex on the floor here, where my sister or my niece could wake up and come down to see what all the racket is.”

  She sighed, dropping her forehead to my shoulder. “Okay, I get that. But damn, you feel good.” She trailed one hand down my chest, over my stomach, to where the zipper of my jeans was straining. I sucked in a sharp breath as her fingers rubbed me. “I was given a strict mandate tonight to rock your world. I could still do that.”

  “I think you already have.” I caught her hand and held it between both of my own. “I’m not that guy. I don’t want you getting me off if I can’t do the same for you. And dammit, Meghan, all the things I said before still stand. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want you, but it’s not right. Not for either of us.”

  She stared down into my face, her eyes unreadable. “Maybe it’s right for now. Maybe we just need to get each other out of our systems. You know? Like scratching an itch.” She traced my mouth with the tip of her finger. “We could try it.”

  “And what if that itch needs more than one scratch?” I opened my lips, snaked out my tongue to touch her finger. She slid it inside my mouth, and I sucked at it, feeling the corresponding pull between my legs.

  “Then ... we have the summer. Sam, trust me, I’m not looking for anything serious. If you knew me better, you’d realize that. I never date anyone for more than a few weeks. It’s kind of a rule with me. I get bored easily, and when I’m done, I’m done. But we’re both adults, and we’re both unattached. Why shouldn’t we have some fun this summer?”

  I knew all the reasons I should tell her no, and they were good, strong reasons. But I also knew there was no way I was going to make it the rest of the summer without touching her. Maybe it was better to lay down some ground rules.

  I grazed my hands up to frame her face. “I don’t want to hurt you. But I also have to look out for Ali and Bridget. If we do this ... we need to be discreet. They can’t know that anything’s happening.”

  An expression of amusement flittered over her face. “Have you met your sister? Do you think anything happens around here that she doesn’t know about? I think you’re kidding yourself.”

  I lifted one eyebrow. “I’ve been able to have other relationships without her knowing. I’m just smart about it.”

  Meghan laughed, and the movement brought her body closer to me again, making it hard to pay attention to what she was saying. “Really? Does that include ... hmmm, what was her name? Casey? Jaycee?”

  I stiffened. “How do you know about her?”

  She cuffed my shoulder. “How do you think, doofus? Ali told me. She said she didn’t think you’d been dating anyone since Jaycee or whoever she was left town.”

  “Shit.” I closed my eyes. “She’s better than I thought. How could she know about that?”

  “Sister intuition?” Meghan smirked. “I get that. I know I was shocked when I found out about Joseph—that’s my brother—getting his girlfriend pregnant. I hadn’t even suspected, and usually I knew all his secrets.” She smoothed her fingers over my hair, almost absently. “But what you mean is, you don’t want to make this a big deal. You don’t want to take me on dates or hold my hand when we’re walking around the farm, right? Nothing that’d make anyone think we might be a real couple.”

  Meghan’s voice held no condemnation or hurt, but I still winced. She made it sound so harsh. “It’s just too hard to explain things like this to Ali, and Bridge would start designing you a wedding gown. She’s young, and she’s impressionable. For her, there’s a strict order to life. You kiss a boy, you wear a white dress, and you live happily ever after. I don’t want to disillusion her yet.”

  “I understand.” Meghan slid her hands behind my neck. “So we’re talking clandestine make-out sessions in the orchard? Sneaking around after bedtime, meeting in the barn for a quick roll in the hay?”

  I trailed my fingers down her side, over her ribs and then back up to her still-exposed breasts. They were too tempting, and I leaned forward to touch my lips to one stiff nipple. “We don’t have hay in the barn. Just farm equipment. Nothing that would be comfortable enough for what you’re suggesting.” I bit gently on the rosy peak.

  She smiled and massaged the back of my neck, holding me in place as her eyes drifted closed. “What kind of farm doesn’t have hay in the barn?”

  “The kind that doesn’t have animals. And if you object to our hay-free farm, you can join Bridget’s campaign for horses. Won’t do any good, though. We can’t afford to feed them yet. Maybe someday.” I eased her bra and shirt back into place. “God, I could sit here all night with you on my lap, doing this. Except I’d be so tired in the morning, I wouldn’t get anything done tomorrow.”

  “I think tomorrow is today.” Meghan shifted to adjust her bra, cupping her hand around my jaw with gentle fingers as she leaned back. “And I know you need your sleep.”

  “Yeah, I do.” I wasn’t sure exactly where we stood. Were we going to be summer fuck buddies, for as long as I could hide that from my snooping sister? Or were we back to being just friends again?

  “This is your show, Sam.” Speaking as though she’d read my mind, Meghan eased off my lap and stood up. “When you want me, you know where I am. I won’t push. If you wake up tomorrow—well, in the morning, at any rate—and decide it’s a bad idea again, you don’t have to explain anything to me. I’ll figure it out.” She laid her hands on my shoulder and bent so that her lips were against my ear. “But if you need something to help you make up your mind, to help you sleep, know that in my bed tonight, I’ll be thinking of you.” She straightened, keeping her eyes pinned to mine as she ran her tongue over her lips and then skimmed fingers over her own breasts.

  My mouth went dry. At that moment, I didn’t care about waking up Ali, Bridget or everyone in ten-mile radius. I wanted her on the porch floor, under me, writhing. I needed to be inside her, making her scream my name, more than I needed my next heartbeat.

  But Meghan only smiled and touched one finger to my cheek. “Night, Sam. Sweet dreams.”

  I watched her hips sway back across the porch and through the front door. She held it carefully so that it didn’t slam, and then her footsteps disappeared in the direction of her bedroom.

  God, what kind of self-flagellating fool was I?

  I DIDN’T SLEEP WELL. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Meghan touching herself, and I woke more than once with a painful hardness between my legs. I mumbled a curse against her and all women as I rolled over and tried to get comfortable. It was a losing battle.

  I gave up at sunrise. After a quick shower, I dressed and snuck
down to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. I was going to need at least that much today. The rest of the house was silent. I expected my sister would sleep in after her big night out, and Bridget was never an early riser. Slipping into Meghan’s room and taking care of what seemed to be a permanent erection was tempting but too risky. In the light of day, I knew I’d been right about keeping whatever happened between the two of us a secret from Ali. And maybe if I kept my distance from Meghan, I’d be able to avoid doing anything that would have to be kept a secret.

  I left the house with my coffee and drove to the field farthest from the house. Yeah, distance was the best thing. I liked to think I was strong, but the last few weeks had let me know that any time I was close to Meghan, my self-control seemed to vanish. Staying out of her path today, when I wasn’t sure exactly where we stood, felt like a good plan.

  By the time I ran out of excuses to keep me away from the house, it was past dinner-time. I parked the truck by the shed as usual and washed up, taking my sweet time doing it. Ali was going to blast me for being late for a meal, I knew, so why rush toward trouble?

  To my surprise, though, it was laughter that I heard when I swung open the screen door to the kitchen. My sister and Meghan were standing at the counter, peeling and chopping carrots and cucumbers. A huge salad bowl sat between the two cutting boards.

  “ ... and then Trent says, ‘But I’m hotter than he is. What does he have that I don’t?’ And of course I’m laughing so hard, and Flynn’s giving me the look of death—” Ali broke off mid-sentence when she saw me. Meghan glanced up, the knife in her hand coming to a halt in mid-air. Her eyes met mine, and the air in the room was suddenly steamier than it had been outside.

  “There you are.” Ali looked nearly as flustered as Meghan and me, and I realized what she’d been saying when I’d interrupted. I hadn’t heard that name on her lips in a very long time. What had happened between my sister and her high school boyfriend all those years ago had never been clear to me. All I knew was that for four years, they’d been inseparable, and then on graduation day, something had gone wrong and Flynn Evans had left. His parents still lived in town, but to the best of my knowledge, their son hadn’t ever returned.

  “Yeah, here I am.” I reached over my sister’s shoulder and snagged a cucumber slice. “I thought I was going to be late for supper, but it’s not even ready. What’s up with that?”

  Ali smacked my hand away. “Stop it. Yes, we’re running a little late. Bridge and I went over to Fred’s with Meghan, to paint his horses.”

  “I didn’t know they needed a touch-up.” I traded my dirty shirt for a clean one in the laundry room, aware of Meghan’s eyes following me. The tip of her tongue shot out to wet her upper lip, and my stomach turned over. I had to focus hard to avoid walking across the room and pulling her against my body. I wanted every inch of her touching me.

  “Smartass.” Ali shook her head. “You know what I mean. Meghan gave Bridget a lesson on scale and proportion. And they painted on canvas, too. The pictures are in the living room. You should go check them out.”

  Getting out of the kitchen seemed like a very good idea. I turned my back on the women and went to examine two canvases propped against the sofa. It was apparent which one my niece had painted, though I noticed an improvement over her other horse drawings. But Meghan’s made my jaw drop. It was like I was standing in my neighbor’s pasture, and I half-expected Rummy, the horse in the foreground, to lift his head and whinny at me. This girl’s talent blew me away.

  “Okay, we’re ready to eat.” Meghan leaned through the doorway to call me. She smiled, brushing an escaped strand of hair behind her ear, and pointed at the paintings. “So what do you think?”

  “Freaking amazing. How do you get it to look so real?”

  She shrugged. “Years of training and hard work. And trade secrets. If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” She winked at me. “Bridget did a good job, too, didn’t she? I think she’s got talent. I know she has a good eye.”

  “Yeah.” We stood for a minute, staring at each other, neither of us moving. I let my gaze sweep down her, taking in the clinging white T-shirt and cut off denim shorts that made her legs look endless. I pictured them wrapped around my waist, and breathing became an issue.

  “Hey, are we eating or what?” Ali stood behind Meghan, the salad bowl in her hands. “I know it’s a cold dinner, but I’m starving. Come on, you two.”

  Bridget chattered through most of the meal, telling me about everything she had learned from Meghan that afternoon. I saw the gleam of hero worship in my niece’s eyes and thought I’d been right on with what I’d told Meghan the night before. If Bridge thought I was dating her beloved art teacher, she’d start imagining weddings and new cousins. This was a kid who craved a big family, and I couldn’t deal with the inevitable disappointment I knew she’d suffer.

  Dinner finished, Bridget cleared the table and ran outside to do some sketching before the sun went down. After the screen door slammed behind her, Ali leaned back in her chair and studied me.

  “So, big brother, I have to say I was kind of shocked you weren’t waiting up for us last night. I expected a full interrogation when we got home.”

  I folded my napkin into a small square, not meeting her eyes. “You’re both adults. I’m not your father or your husband.” I was both surprised and relieved that Meghan hadn’t told her that I had in fact been waiting on the porch to make sure they made it home alive.

  “Hmmm.” Ali tilted her head. “And you’re not at all interested in what happened at the bar?”

  I lifted one shoulder. “I figure if it’s something I need to know, you’ll tell me. You came home, so obviously you didn’t get picked up by some drunk cowboy.”

  “Well, I didn’t.” Ali smiled at Meghan, one eyebrow raised. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I had fun. But Meghan ... she’s the one who made the conquests. The guys were all over her.”

  I glanced across the table in time to see a flush cover Meghan’s face as her eyes dropped. Suspicion, heavily laced with jealousy, snaked into my chest. I pictured her coming home last night, straddling my lap, primed and ready for whatever I did to her. I’d thought it was her attraction to me making her so eager, but was it maybe someone else who’d gotten her hot, and I was just convenient.

  My mouth tightened. “Yeah? Guess it was good to have some real fun finally, huh? Get away from this boring old farm.” Temper simmered in my gut. “Did you leave a trail of broken hearts? Or did you just get them riled up and then leave them thinking they were going to get lucky?”

  “Sam!” Ali’s expression was incredulous, her mouth gaping and brow furrowed. “What the hell?”

  “You’re the one who said she had guys all over her. I’m just drawing logical conclusions.”

  “You mean stupid conclusions. If you want to know the truth, there was really just one man Meghan paid any attention to. They danced together all night, and I think he would have gone home with us, if she’d given him the green light. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him coming around here. He’s from Atlanta, and he couldn’t keep his eyes off her.”

  My heart pounded. Why was I surprised? I’d predicted this. She was a city girl, no matter what she claimed, and she liked to have fun. I was just a stupid farmer in a backwater town, and she’d been messing with me.

  “Good.” I swung around to glare at Meghan. “If it’ll keep you out of my way, I don’t care how many guys come sniffing around here after you. Do ‘em all. Screw your way through the rest of the summer. It’s what you do, right?”

  I knew I’d gone too far, hit too many tender places that she’d shared with me, but I couldn’t help it. Rage and frustration spilled into my growled words.

  Meghan met my eyes, and hers were filled with hurt. With a sound deep in the back of her throat, she pushed back her chair and ran from the house, the door slamming again. In the shocked silence of the kitchen, I heard the sound of her car starting up and gravel flying. />
  “What in the goddamn hell were you thinking?” Ali hissed at me. “Why would you say those things to her?”

  I ran a hand through my hair, regret and guilt beating back at the jealousy now. “I don’t know. There’s just something about her that sets me off.” I glared at my sister. “But you don’t know the whole story. She came home last night, all soft and wanting to kiss me, and then you tell me she’d been making out all night with some guy at the bar—”

  “It was Alex.” Misery clouded Ali’s face. “Alex is home, and he hung out with us last night. I was just messing around. I thought if you were a little jealous, you might make a move for Meghan. But she wasn’t with anyone else last night but Alex and me. And you know you don’t need to be threatened by either of us.”

  “Fuck.” I dropped my head into my hands. “Ali, why the hell would you do that? You can’t play with people like this.”

  “I didn’t know about last night. I mean, whatever happened when we got home. She didn’t say anything to me. The only thing I knew was that you were kissing her yesterday morning. I saw you from my bedroom window, but then it seemed like you pulled back, and I thought maybe you needed a little nudge.” She closed her eyes. “I didn’t mean to go so far.”

  “Yeah.” I stood up, shoving away my chair, and grabbed my keys from the hook. “I’m going after her. Any idea where she might go?”

  Ali shook her head. “No. She wouldn’t go back to Savannah, would she?”

  “I doubt it. I’ll drive around and see if I can find her.” I shot a finger at my sister. “If she comes back or you hear from her, call me right away, you hear? And get ready to grovel when Meghan comes back. You owe it to her.”

  “What about you?” Ali rose, her hands on her hips. “I may have gone a little too far, but I’m not the one who basically called her a slut.”

  I clenched my jaw. “I already know what I have to do.”

  I PRESSED THE GAS pedal to the floor of the Honda, ignoring the trees flying by me as I swiped at tears that ran down my cheeks. My hands shook as I gripped the steering wheel.