Just a Taste [Private Relations 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Michelle Roth

  As she walked back into the bedroom, she noticed that Deacon had stretched out across the bed on his stomach. Moonlight peeked in from the blinds, illuminating the portion of his face and his messy hair. He was an impossibly beautiful man.

  Standing there, immobilized, Sara just stared at him for a moment then shook her head. How was it even possible that he could love her? Overwhelmed, she smiled.

  Sliding back under the covers, she stretched out next to him, loving the way he shifted, his arm snaking around her waist even as he slept. Eyelids drooping contentedly, Sara drifted back to sleep.

  Chapter 16

  Deacon woke up and stretched his arm across the bed, reaching for Sara. Finding her spot cold, he blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to the light, then sat up, scratching his chest.

  After a quick stop in the restroom, he threw on a pair of gym shorts, and went to look for her. Had she gone home?

  Finally, he spotted her on the patio, stretched out on one of his lounge chairs. She had a cup of coffee, and looked to be texting. The way the light hit her hair, it shined like a new copper penny.

  God, she was fucking beautiful. He couldn’t get over it. She seemed to have no idea. The more that he got to know her, the more noticeable her small pockets of insecurity became. Her ex had really done a number on her. Shaking his head, he moved his hand to the slider and opened up the door.

  Raising her head at the noise, Sara looked up at him, her smile almost radiant. Deacon leaned down to give her a kiss, then sprawled in the other patio chair next to her.

  Continuing to look at her, he said, “God, you’re beautiful.”

  “Uh. I’ve got no makeup on and I’m currently rocking a minifro,” she said, gesturing to her wild hair.

  “Just accept the compliment, Sara. Say ‘Thank you, Deacon,’ and don’t argue,” he said with a somewhat-indulgent smile on his face.

  Rolling her eyes, she smiled and said, “Thank you, Deacon.”

  “Do you have a job today? I forgot to even ask.”

  Shaking her head, she said, “I need to leave by two. I was able to free up a part of my day, but not all of it.”

  “Oh. Chloe and Chris are supposed to come over and watch football again. It’s kind of a standing Sunday date with Chris. I caught shit for canceling last weekend on him. Chloe invited herself again. Legion play the Grizzlies at three. I wish you could stay. The way you yell at the TV is adorable.”

  Flushing slightly, she laughed, then asked, “Want breakfast?”

  Shaking his head, he said, “Not right this second. I believe I’d like something else right now.”

  Grabbing the hand closest to him, he tugged until she came over and lay with him on his lounge chair. He brushed his lips over hers and then said, “Lay with me.”

  Wrapping his arms around her, they lay there snuggled for a while until Sara’s phone rang.

  She grumbled and sat up partially to grab it from the table. Seeing it was Elle, she said, “Hang on. I have to take this.”

  “Hey, Elle, what’s up?”

  Sara paused, listening. Deacon could hear the low murmur of another voice through the phone.

  Pulling a face, she said, “They said what! No no no. Tell them they’ll be hearing from me on Monday. They didn’t tell us anything about that. They filled out the fucking questionnaire and didn’t say anything.”

  More mumbling, then Sara yelled, “See! They think I don’t keep that stuff? I’ll call those fuckers tomorrow. Thanks.”

  More murmuring followed, then Sara said, “Yeah. I’m at Deacon’s.”

  After a pause, she gave a slow smile and said, “Yeah. Talk to you later.”

  Hanging up the phone, she set it on the table and said, “Those assholes. The Bat Mitzvah people? They told Tom and Bret they weren’t going to pay the second part of the deposit because we didn’t make any gluten-free shit for their kid. There’s a questionnaire where I get that sort of information. Did they think I wasn’t gonna keep it? Bastards.”

  “Take them to court if they don’t wanna pay.”

  “Don’t really have the time or resources for that, but they’ll be hearing from me. That’s for sure.” Sara grumbled and lay back. Resting her head on his shoulder, she said, “Sometimes I hate people.”

  “Oh really?”

  “Well, not all people.” Sara said this, shooting him a sideways look.

  Deacon smirked.

  “That’s comforting. Come here, angry girl. It’ll be there later to piss you off. Come back to me.”

  Sara took a few deep breaths, then snuggled back in again and said, “Kay. You’re right.”

  Smiling again, she brushed her mouth against his.

  They lay there for a while longer. Their lips occasionally brushing, until Sara said, “My hip is starting to hurt. Can we move to something less…lawn chairy?”

  Nodding, Deacon stood up, pulling Sara to her feet and then said, “Yeah. Oh wow. My knee. This was ill-advised.”

  Sliding her arms around his waist, she said, “But still incredibly nice.”

  The decided to skip breakfast and walk down to the ramen bar for lunch a bit later instead. Deacon noticed that Sara’s order had been augmented to include a marinated egg. Not saying anything, he just eyed her.

  Narrowing her eyes, she said, “I told you before you were right. It’s good stuff. No need to look all smug.”

  “I’m not smug.”

  “Not in general, but right now, you’re looking rather smug, Deacon.”

  “Am I?”

  Narrowing her eyes again, she said, “Yep. Super smug now.”

  Squeezing her thigh under the table, he said, “Have I mentioned that I love you this morning?”

  Tilting her head, she thought for a moment and said, “No. I don’t think you have.”

  Smirking, he said, “Okay. Just checking.”

  Sara blinked at him, then said, “Really? Just checking?”

  She turned her head away, but he could see she was trying not to laugh.

  After a moment, he relented and said, “Sara. I love you. Just thought you might want to know.”

  Turning her head, she said, “Cool. Thanks for keeping me in the loop,” then stuck out her tongue.

  “Ouch. I guess I deserved that one,” Deacon said, rubbing the center of his chest.

  Leaning in, Sara gave him a slow kiss and then said, “I love you ridiculously. Even when you’re being smug.”

  Pausing, she said, “It feels weird to say it. It feels like it should be too soon, but it isn’t.”

  Nodding, Deacon said, “I know what you mean.”

  Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against hers. He could feel her sigh into his mouth when the kiss deepened.

  They were both startled when the waiter came by to drop off their soup.

  Digging into their meals, Sara gave a tiny moan of pleasure when she took a bite of her chicken, then chewed.

  Deacon’s chopsticks paused midair. He set them down on the edge of his bowl and leaned over.

  His mouth right next to her ear, he said, “That moan? It does things to me. If you’re not careful, I’m going to take you right here up against this bar, customers and waitstaff be damned.”

  He lightly nipped her earlobe with his teeth before he moved back to take a bite of his food.

  Quiet for a moment, apparently taking that last statement in, Sara finally looked over at him.

  Smirking now, she said, “I really don’t have time to follow through this afternoon, but please be assured. Next time I see you? I’m going to do such bad things to you with my mouth. You have no idea.”

  Her expression very matter-of-fact now, he watched her take another bite.

  Shaking his head, he said, “When are you free next? I have to say, your idea is very relevant to my interests.”

  “Well, I’m booked Monday and Tuesday. I’ve got a thing on Wednesday at JDC. Maybe after?”

  Nodding, he said, “I’ll pack a bag and stay over.�
��

  “Sounds like a date then,” Sara said, breaking into her marinated egg.

  “Is it okay if I leave some stuff at your place, so I don’t have to bring it back and forth?”

  Blinking in surprise, Sara said, “Sure. I’ll clear out some space.”

  Leaning over, he kissed the top of her head, and then said, “Okay. I will, then.”

  After finishing the rest of their meal, they walked back to Deacon’s. Grabbing Sara’s bag, they walked back down to her car. After giving her a long, hard kiss, she got in her car and drove away, leaving him to his own devices until Chris and Chloe showed up.

  Chapter 17

  Sara woke up slowly, stretching. Able to take a few minutes before getting up to go into work, she just laid in bed, smiling. Life was going really well.

  The business was doing great, things with Deacon were amazing.

  Over the last few months, a pattern had begun to emerge. She would spend time at his place, or he at hers, whenever they were free. They were together so often that there was a level of comfort now that Sara couldn’t remember ever having with another person.

  The initial rush of feelings, the overwhelming passion, was giving way to something entirely different. It was sweeter, more honest, and incredibly powerful. They talked to each other about stupid stuff, but also about important things. It felt like they were building something together. When she took the time to consider that, it scared the shit out of her.

  Deacon was just a great guy. He was smart, funny, gorgeous. The sex was unbelievable and seemed to be getting better as time moved on. They wanted the same things in life.

  No matter how perfect things were, that insecure part of her kept worrying that, at some point, the other shoe would drop.

  Smitty loved him. Hell, Even Elle had given her official seal of approval. A group of them had gotten together and gone out dancing one night. Chloe had gone with them. Now that she had gotten to know her a bit better, she really enjoyed Chloe. She was a fun girl.

  Poor Deacon looked like he was in the seventh level of hell all night, but had managed to be a good sport. She didn’t find out until they got to the club that he despised dancing. She felt kind of bad, but how was she to know he didn’t dance. Ever. Chloe just kept laughing at him every so often. It was kind of funny, but Sara felt kind of disloyal for enjoying it.

  Smiling, Sara thought back fondly on how she’d been able to make it up to him. She realized that she had been daydreaming for a little while now. She decided it was time to get up. She headed in to take a shower. Hearing her phone ring as she was rinsing her hair, she let it go to voice mail and continued to rinse. When she was done, she got out of the shower and grabbed her towel.

  After wrapping herself in it, she went to go check her phone. Seeing an unfamiliar Florida number, she called it back. On the third ring someone answered, identifying themselves as from the Greenwood Hospice Care Center. Feeling a wrenching in her gut, Sara identified herself and indicated that she had missed a call from them.

  She held briefly while the receptionist connected her to a case manager. She listened in polite tones as the nurse explained that her father had passed away earlier that morning after a long battle with kidney disease. After informing her that she was the only listed next of kin on their records, she confirmed that Sara would be making some sort of arrangements.

  They briefly discussed the next steps. Sara agreed to contact a local mortuary.

  Numbly, Sara remembered saying that she’d be flying in within the next day or two and that she’d come to collect his belongings.

  After hanging up, Sara didn’t even remember the name of the person she had spoken to. Hands shaking, she dialed Elle at the office. She briefly explained the situation and let her know that she needed everyone to cover for her. She’d probably be in Florida for a few days, at least.

  Elle assured her that she’d make sure everything ran smoothly and agreed to feed Smitty while she was gone. She even asked if Sara wanted her to come over, telling her that she would forward calls.

  Telling her no, that she just needed to pack and take care of some details, Sara thanked her and disconnected.

  Sara got dressed, still numb, then sat on the bed for a few minutes. Feeling a little lost, she wasn’t even sure where to begin. Knowing that sitting there wasn’t accomplishing anything, she pulled her luggage off the top shelf of the closet and began to pack a few days’ worth of clothes into it.

  When she was packed, she moved to her laptop and started to search for airfare. She was startled when she heard a knock at the door. When she looked through the front blinds, she was even more startled to see Deacon standing there.

  Opening the door, she blinked at him confused for a second and then burst into tears. She vaguely remembered him grabbing her and pulling her into a hug. He held her tightly, standing in her doorway until he had to shoo Smitty back inside.

  Backing her up into the house, he closed the door and moved them to the couch, pulling her into his lap. He didn’t say anything, he just stroked his hand over her back until she was finally done crying.

  Kissing the top of her head, he said, “I’m so sorry, honey.”

  A new wave of tears started, but she was mostly able to stop them. Wiping her face, she glanced at the clock and said, “Why are you here at 10:43 a.m. on a Thursday? Not that I don’t appreciate it.”

  “Elle called me. I left work because she said you wanted to be alone and work on details. That seemed like a bad idea to me.”

  Sniffling again, Sara said, “Yeah. Probably. Thank you.”

  Moving off of his lap, she moved into the guest bathroom, wiping her face and blowing her nose. When she returned to the living room, she felt calmer.

  “I’m not sure why it hit me so hard, considering the history.”

  Hugging him again, she said, “Thank you for coming over. I probably needed to do that.”

  She gestured to her puffy face.

  “Are you going back to Florida?”

  “Yeah. I need to. I’m pretty sure he still had the house. I have to make arrangements. Car, flight…”

  “Do you need me to make them? Do you want me to come with you? I don’t think you should do this alone, no matter what your situation was with him.”

  Blinking, Sara said, “Really? You’d come with me?”

  Deacon’s face twitched a moment, and he said, “Yes. Of course I’ll come with you if you want me to.”

  Wrapping her arms around his waist again, laying her forehead on his chest, she said, “Yes. Please. I don’t know how long I’ll need to be there, though.”

  Tightening his arms around her, he said, “Doesn’t matter. We will figure it out.”

  Sitting down in front of her laptop, he pulled up a travel website and booked two tickets into Fort Myers. Not able to find anything that left until 7:00 p.m., he pulled Sara back into the bedroom.

  He lay down, pulled her close and just spooned with her, stroking his hand over her belly until she eventually felt all of the tension leave her body and drifted off to sleep.

  When Sara woke up, she blinked at the clock, confused for a moment until it all came rushing back to her. She saw it was now 3:00 p.m. Deacon was no longer lying behind her. Getting up, she wandered into the living room and found him on his cell phone.

  Looking up, he said, “Chris, gotta go. Thanks. Yeah. I will. Bye.”

  With steady eyes, he assessed her.

  “Have you eaten today?”

  Shaking her head, Sara said, “No. I feel like I might throw up if I do.”

  “You haven’t eaten since we spoke at six last night. You need to have something. You can’t not eat.”

  Shaking her head, she said, “No. Really. I don’t think I can eat.”

  Sighing, he looked at her and said, “Please. Try.”

  Giving in, Sara agreed.

  Deacon went into the kitchen and surveyed the contents of her fridge.

  “Slim pickings in here.
You’re getting grilled cheese or…”

  Taking a moment he surveyed the freezer.

  “Tater tots. Take your pick.”

  Smirking a bit, Sara said, “Grilled cheese.”

  After she had forced down most of the sandwich, Deacon cleaned up and said, “I need to pack some stuff. Any idea how long you think we’ll be there?”

  Shaking her head, she said, “I’ve got no idea, to be honest. I packed four days’ worth of stuff, but I hope I don’t need it all.”

  Her voice cracking, she said, “I’m really dreading this.”

  Grabbing her hand, he said, “C’mon. Let’s go get your stuff. We can kill an hour in traffic then wait at my place until we need to go to the airport.”

  Pausing, he looked at her and said, “Whatever you need, honey. I’m here.”

  Sniffling again, Sara nodded, then moved back to the bedroom to get her suitcase. Wheeling it out, she said good-bye to Smitty, then they walked outside to Deacon’s car. He slung her suitcase into the trunk, then walked over and pulled her into a hug.

  “It’ll be okay, baby. Maybe not any time soon, but eventually.”

  Kissing her on top of the head, he opened her door. Closing it after she slid inside, he walked around to his own and got in.

  Fifty frustrating minutes later, they finally got off the 101 and got to Deacon’s building.

  Sara settled back against the headboard of the bed, watching him pack for a minute, then asked, “Are you sure you’re going to be able to break away from work?”

  Nodding, he said, “Both Chris and Jim were cool with it. They both asked me to pass along their condolences, by the way.”

  Sara felt her eyes water, then held up her hand when Deacon got a pained look on his face. After a couple deep breaths, she whispered, “When you talk to them, tell them I said thanks.”

  Getting up from the bed, Sara said, “I’m going to go check in with Elle to make sure everything is okay.”

  “All right, I’m almost done here. Then we need to head toward the airport. We leave at six fifty-five.”

  Nodding, Sara walked out of the room, fishing through her purse for her phone. Dialing Elle, she went over the next few days’ schedule and was able to confirm that everything was handled. Sighing in relief, she stared out the window at the skyline for a few minutes.