by Em Petrova
“Me too.” She bobbed her head in agreement.
“When does the crew come to build the loft?” He looked toward the place she had drawn into the floorplan with a narrow loft running the length of one wall. It would look down over the living room and provide her extra space for a guest room/office combo.
“Tuesday. Thanks for referring me to the crew. The kitchen guys too.”
“I guess it’s all about who you know in Crossroads.”
With a happy sigh, she gazed upward, dreaming of how quaint the place would be after all her improvements.
All at once she became aware of Theo’s hot stare on her. The feel of his eyes smoldering into her had her heartrate bumping up in rhythm. She was already a little sweaty from the manual labor and the warm Georgia day, but when she turned and met Theo’s stare, dampness trickled between her breasts.
Neither of them moved for several seconds.
He grabbed her around the hips and threw her over his shoulder. She squealed at the shock of being manhandled, and a deep belly laugh bubbled from her as he stomped through the framework of her new bedroom door and lay her on the bed.
She clamped her hands on his shoulders and grinned at him. “We’re lying on the drop cloth I put down so the bed didn’t get sawdust on it.”
His response was to dip his mouth to the crook of her neck and suck on the tender spot where throat met shoulder. She gasped and angled her head to give him full access even as she wiggled to fit her body to his.
When his heavy weight lay between her thighs, her body tingled with strong need. She hadn’t been with Theo in days, and after working closely to build the walls, her feminine sensibilities had been awakened.
As he skated his mouth down her throat and shoulder, he pushed off the strap of her tank top and bra. Using the flat of his tongue, he bathed the exposed spot, raising a shudder from her.
“I’ve been waiting all day to rip this itty bitty tank top off you. And these shorts. Jesus, woman. You must know how hot your ass looks in them.”
Her chuckle morphed into a moan when he exposed more flesh and sucked on her already hardened nipple. Slowly losing her head, she spread her hands over his strong shoulders, anchoring herself to the warm steel beneath his dusty white tee.
In seconds, they were both naked and panting. Then he spread her thighs and lowered his mouth to her aching pussy. She fisted the drop cloth beneath her.
“Mmm-mmm,” he growled against her. She thumped a heel against his spine and cried out.
He plunged two fingers into her. When his perfectly callused fingertips stroked her G-spot, she creamed all over him. As he plunged them into her over and over, he suctioned his lips over her hard pearl and blew her mind.
Need was a hot wire threaded through her whole body, from fingers to toes and everything between—and Theo had plugged it in again.
Waves hit her, softly at first and increasing in power until she lifted her hips and came against his mouth and fingers with a loud cry. Her mind blanked to everything but the pleasure he gave her.
He gentled his ministrations, bringing her down and tormenting her simultaneously. Finally, he lowered her to the mattress, and their gazes met.
“Get naked, cowboy,” she ordered.
He cocked a brow, and his lips twitched in amusement. “Bossy, are we?”
“I can be…when I know what I want.”
He stood at the side of the bed, shucking shirt, work boots, jeans and briefs. Taking his impressive erection in hand, he gave it a pump in his strong fist to fit the condom in place. Her eyes latched to the veins snaking up his forearm and running through the length of his shaft to the mushroomed head.
“Lay down,” she told him.
“I like a woman who takes the bull by the horns.” He stretched out on the bed, and she didn’t waste time straddling him—backward.
“Holy hell on a horse, sweet thing.” He cupped her ass. She centered his cock at her entrance and in one smooth glide, sank over him.
His hands convulsed on her backside, and she gave a shiver of power as she rode him in slow, steady strokes. He released her ass to reach up and remove the scrunchie from her hair. The mass swaying over her bare skin pebbled her nipples, and she toyed with them as he once again latched onto her ass.
With each upward stroke, he parted her globes. “Seeing your sweet pink pussy suck me in…fuck!”
She craned her neck, throwing him a smile over her shoulder. The burning concentration on his rugged features showed her just how far gone he was—on the verge of coming.
She moved faster. Bottoming out on the downstroke. Her walls clenched on his thick length, and she let go at the same moment he did.
Sadie’d had some great sex with Jackson, and she locked those moments away in a vault deep in her heart. But sex with Theo was exciting, fresh, blazing hot and everything she never knew she needed to add to her to-do list of life before coming to Crossroads.
What might be seconds or minutes later, she emerged from her sexual stupor, lying on her back next to Theo. His body heat called to her, and she stretched out her fingers, found his and squeezed.
* * * * *
Theo closed his eyes, trapping in the lightning bolts zipping around his body as Sadie’s soft fingers gently working across the mattress to squeeze his.
The moment felt supercharged—with what, he didn’t know. Lust had many levels. Maybe they’d reached a new one he never explored before?
Flipping his hand, he gripped hers back. A breathy sigh escaped her that had him pivoting his head to look at her.
She didn’t have the appearance of a woman who believed herself in love, or even infatuated. She continued to stare at the ceiling, and for all he knew, she was dreaming about her new loft.
“Whatcha thinkin’?” Son of a whore—now he’d become that person after sex?
She giggled. “That I’m hungry enough to take on a whole buffet.”
Damn, he liked her more by the minute.
She flipped onto her side to face him, their fingers still entwined. “Is it bad I didn’t say I’m thinking of your prowess in bed and your impressive size?”
His lips quirked up. “While that would be nice to hear, I can’t deny hearing a woman who loves a buffet doesn’t jack me up.”
She issued a tinkling laugh, sounding like bells in this space that once heard the gong of a school bell. “Is it weird if we go out together? Not as a date—only to get food?”
“Absolutely no weirdness.”
“Good!” She sat up, not even a little self-conscious of her nudity. In fact, she pranced across the room, giving him the perfect view of her round ass swaying away from him before she entered the antiquated bathroom that was next on the remodel list.
He lay there with nothing to do for the moment but lie in a beautiful woman’s bed and bask in the afterglow of amazing sex.
He started to harden again and realized he better take care of the condom. When she exited the bathroom, her hair brushed and gleaming in waves that covered her naked breasts, his shaft gave a hard jerk.
“Well, hello to you too.” She stepped up to him, cupped his jaw and went on tiptoe to kiss him.
The brush of her plump mouth pulled a groan from him. They hadn’t kissed at all during their encounter, and doing so fed him that link he hadn’t known he missed until this minute.
He deepened the kiss, teasing her mouth in a soft caress that went on for long heartbeats. At last, she dropped to her heels, shot him a smile and reached around him to smack his ass.
“Why you naughty…” He made a grab for her, but she skirted away and started pulling clean clothes from a box she was living out of.
He chuckled all the way to the bathroom, and minutes later in the truck, he felt different. It wasn’t until they were a few miles down the road that he realized with Sadie he felt lighter.
He was actually seeing the beauty of the countryside, the trees so lush and green and flocks of birds flying across the sky.
Hours ago, he would see all the work that needed done. Some of his stress had vanished like a wisp of smoke—and he’d bet hard-earned cash that Sadie was responsible for that change.
Shooting her a look from under the brim of his hat, he caught a soft smile gracing her beautiful face. His chest grew tight simply looking at her…left him wanting more.
He’d never experienced such a feeling before, but he shoved it down now. He was in no shape to have a woman to take care of. On his small wages, having a family would be rough.
No, he couldn’t get deeper than basic physical pleasure right now.
Even if another man threatens to snatch her up?
That question didn’t come from his dick but from much higher up, in the vicinity of his heart.
Again, he stuffed it down deep inside and drove.
She crossed her legs in another pair of mind-blowingly short shorts. “That day I ran into you at the Crossroads Winery—why were you buying a case?”
He chuckled. “I had a birthday party to attend the next evenin’.”
“Your friends don’t seem to be the wine types.”
“They aren’t. It was a gag. The birthday boy was our oldest ranch hand, Max. He was talking about having the good hard stuff for turning sixty, and I brought him a case.”
Her smile widened but then she looked down. “I miss the fun things Jackson and his friends used to bring to my life. Little pranks and jokes between them. It’s why I was glad to keep Dom in my life. I couldn’t bear to lose everyone around me after Jackson passed away.”
She’d never spoken to him about her late husband. On several occasions he feared her doing so, and how he’d react. Having only lost grandparents and pets, he wasn’t all that familiar with deep grief. All the other feelings with Sadie were hard enough, so the last thing he wanted was to say the wrong thing.
“Dom’s an all-around good guy. One of my best friends.”
She looked up at that, her eyes taking on a distant look. Then she shook her head and her eyes cleared. “He’s one of mine too. As well as Jada.” She shifted in the seat, bringing his attention to her thighs in those shorts cut high on her hips. “Tell me about you. Brothers and sisters?”
“Two little sisters in high school.”
“That’s quite an age gap.”
He grinned. “Guess after me, my parents didn’t know if they wanted any more kids.”
She laughed. “I can see you being a hellraiser.”
“Little bit.” He sliced his smile her way and she flashed one back. “I especially rocked the boat when I dropped out of college.”
“Oh I bet. Parents want their kids to get that degree.”
He turned onto another back road that went the long way around to the buffet restaurant just to keep her talking. “My parents didn’t go to college, so of course they wanted me to. And all their friends’ children were going.”
“You think it was a keeping up with the Joneses thing?”
“Yeah, I do.” His tone came out more bitter than he expected after all these years of going his own way rather than walking the path his parents wanted for him.
“What were you going to be?”
“A history teacher.”
A happy light washed through her eyes. “I can’t see that in you.”
“Oh, I still love me some history lessons. When I excelled at the classes in high school, and I had a great teacher as a mentor, I thought I wanted that career path.”
“What made you change your mind?”
He waved a hand at the windshield and the landscape. The great big sky sitting on a band of earth, speckled with a herd of grazing cattle on one of the ranches neighboring the Bellamy, filled up his soul as much now as it had when he told his parents what he had to do.
“I love the land. Working it. Working under the sky. Caring for the animals on it. It’s…hard to explain but part of who I am.”
Again, her expression drifted into a remote look, but she cast it aside to smile at him. “I’m glad you do something you love.”
“I can tell you do something you love.”
She angled toward him. “How can you tell?”
“The attention you put into that plan for your schoolhouse. So detailed and well thought out. You wouldn’t do that if you didn’t love it.”
“I do. And I’m really excited to hear what my new client has to say about the plan and budget I made her. Which reminds me, I really need to find more clients here.”
“Looking outside Crossroads will help.”
“Yes, I need to get on the ball. I thought it might take me a week maximum to find a place to live and it took a lot longer. More with renovations.” She sent him a lidded glance that told him she was thinking of the work he’d done as much as she was…or at least the fun parts.
“It will all come together.”
“Where are we anyway? I thought the buffet was a straight shot down the road.”
“Thought I’d take the scenic route.”
She chuckled. “Well you did that, but stop messin’ around because I’m starved!”
“Never mess with a hungry woman.”
“You’ve learned something then.”
He learned how he enjoyed talking to Sadie as much as he did taking her to bed. And that she held his interest and made him burn to know more of her.
Once they reached the buffet restaurant, they haggled over who was paying. She insisted that he’d done the work on the walls for her and therefore she should. But he said a gentleman never allowed a woman to pay.
At which point she laughed and looked to the confused clerk. “Separate checks,” she told her.
They grabbed their plates and progressed through the buffet. He added stuffed chicken, steak and ribs, while she started with a salad and roll. They started back toward their table, when she stopped.
“Hello, Reagan! It’s so good to see you.”
The woman turned to Sadie. Theo swore he saw her cheeks go pinker.
“Oh hi, Sadie. So nice to see you too.”
He watched her, seeing something shifty about the woman right off. A protective instinct gripped him, and he edged closer to Sadie, standing at her back.
“I’ll swing by tomorrow and we can discuss the plans. I can’t wait to hear what you think of them.” Sadie’s enthusiasm rolled into her business voice.
“Oh that…” Reagan waved her free hand not holding the plate. “We decided we won’t be needing more of your service. My sister had a look at the plans and said she could do it all. But thank you for the great ideas!”
He stood behind Sadie, so he couldn’t see her expression. But his own jaw had dropped in shock at the audacity of the woman. Taking Sadie’s plans and executing them herself? Sadie had to be spitting mad, because he sure as hell was.
She said nothing, and for a moment, he considered stepping in, but a woman like Sadie wouldn’t appreciate a man rescuing her in a situation such as this.
Placing his palm on her spine, he stared at the woman over Sadie’s head. She looked up at him and quickly down at her plate.
“I’d best eat before my food gets cold. You too, Sadie. Bye!” Reagan rushed off, and he and Sadie watched her go. Neither moved.
Finally, she drew a deep breath. Against his fingers on her spine, he felt her ribs over-expand as if there wasn’t enough air in the restaurant to give her calm.
“Let’s sit,” she said with a false brightness.
They returned to the table for two and settled across from each other. Food forgotten, he met her stare. “That was rotten. I’m sorry.”
She shrugged and lifted her silverware wrapped in a napkin. She picked at the paper ring holding it together and then removed her fork from the bundle. Avoiding his stare, she said, “It happens sometimes.”
Anger hit on her behalf. “At least tell me she paid you for the hours you put in.”
She bit into her lip. He could see from the look she wore that that wasn’t the case. His anger swelled, and
he gripped the table edge to keep himself from getting up and finding Reagan so he could give her a piece of his mind.
“You don’t charge for the initial consult? Or plans?”
“The first meeting is free. Back in Dallas, I always charged up front for the plans, but with me being new to town and having no reputation to speak of, I thought it a good faith gesture to do a little work first.”
He stifled a growl. “And she took your ‘good faith’ and used the ideas without paying for them. Where did you even find this client?”
“Jada hooked us up after she spoke with Reagan at the barbecue restaurant.”
He pulled out his phone and started searching for a number.
“What are you doing?” Sadie’s brows pinched.
“Calling Dom to tell him when she comes in to poison her food.” Not a trace of humor lived in his voice, even if he was joking. Sort of.
“Theo!” She reached over the table and snagged the phone from his hand. “You can’t call anybody to…”, she sent a quick glance around them before continuing in a whisper, “poison someone!”
He ground his molars. “The fact a patron of Crossroads took advantage of a newcomer like you just burns my biscuits.”
She blinked. Then bit down on her plump lip. A giggle escaped her.
Mesmerized, he watched her lean back in her chair, throw her head back and expel a deep, rolling laugh.
Even his anger couldn’t stand up against that kind of beauty. He laughed with her. “What is so funny about what I said?” he asked.
She folded forward, shaking with laughter. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. “You don’t even know!” She rocked harder. “It’s only that…” gasp, gasp, “I’ve never actually heard anybody say it burns my biscuits…and I’m from Texas!”
“Well bless your heart,” he drawled out, which only sent her over the edge. She dropped her face into her hands, laughing for long minutes. Grinning, he dug into his meal and studied the beautiful woman seated across from him.
Suddenly, he realized he hadn’t given the ranch or his problems with Jordy a thought in several hours. It seemed Sadie James was the cure-all to his problems.
Chapter Six