Crazy For You (Last Frontier Lodge Novels Book 8)

by J. H. Croix

  “Go for it!” Ginger said firmly.

  Delia’s assessing eyes search Violet’s face, and yet again, Violet felt as if Delia could read her mind. “I think you wouldn’t be asking if you didn’t feel something for him. That tells you a lot,” she finally said.

  The knot of anxiety and tension inside Violet’s chest kept tightening for different reasons. Sawyer was coming to represent far too much in her mind and heart. A glimmer of hope that perhaps she could let herself fall in love again, yet a risk so great she was afraid to take it.

  At that moment, Ginger’s eyes widened. “A change of subject is in order,” she said quickly.

  Violet’s back was to the entrance, so she glanced over her shoulder to see Sawyer walking across the restaurant. She flushed straight through and her belly did a slow flip. When she turned back, Ginger threw her a knowing look. “That’s why I said you should go for it. You’re about to go up in flames. That kind of chemistry only comes along once in a blue moon.”

  When Violet looked toward Delia, she grinned. “True. Anyway, let’s talk about the weather,” Delia said brightly.

  Ginger said something about needing rain for her flower beds and elaborated on the state of her garden while Delia nodded along. Within seconds, Sawyer reached their booth. With a teasing smile, he greeted Delia and Ginger before looking at Violet. The second their eyes met, it was as if a bolt of lightning snapped the air around them. His gaze went from teasing to smoky, and he didn’t say a word. Neither did she.

  Ginger cleared her throat loudly enough Violet tore her eyes from Sawyer. With nothing more than a subtle gleam in her eyes, Ginger smiled at them. “Well, we’ll get going now. Nice to see you, Sawyer.” She glanced to Violet. “You’ll be at practice Sunday afternoon, right?”

  Violet managed to nod even though she felt like she was on fire. Delia said her goodbyes and then they left. The logical place for Sawyer to sit would be the opposite side of the booth from her. He looked over there and then down to her, promptly sliding into the seat beside her. She went from hot to melting. With a glance up in his eyes, her channel throbbed and raw need ripped through her.

  Chapter 15

  Sawyer stretched his arm across the back of the booth and forced himself to think about water heaters. He’d spent the last few hours helping Gage yank out an old one and replace it with a new one. He had to acknowledge he wasn’t quite as steady on his leg as he liked to be, but he’d been able to add another pair of hands. Thinking about the details of properly getting the plumbing set was only marginally effective at quelling the lust surging through him.

  Violet was just too damn beautiful with the layers of blue in her gorgeous eyes, her rosy cheeks and her mouth—her perfect mouth—lush and pink. All on their own, his fingers started sifting through the silky fall of her hair. His body tightened in anticipation at her nearness, yet he also relaxed somewhat at finally being close to her again.

  A waiter approached, at which point Sawyer realized he’d yet to even speak to Violet. He’d simply been staring at her.

  “Can I get you anything?” the young man asked. He was all arms and legs with rumpled brown hair and brown eyes. Sawyer guessed him to be barely past twenty-one.

  Violet glanced to him. “Have you eaten yet? Zach suggested the glazed salmon, which was amazing,” she said, flashing a grin in Zach’s direction.

  Sawyer had wolfed down a snack at the lodge, but more food might be a good idea. “I’m not so hungry I need an actual meal. Whaddya have for appetizers?”

  Zach started running down a list. The moment he mentioned crab-artichoke dip, Sawyer held a hand up. “That’ll do. Bring a house draft with it, and I’m set.”

  With a nod, Zach picked up the dishes left behind by Ginger and Delia and headed toward the kitchen. Sawyer glanced to Violet. “Hey there,” he said, very belatedly offering a greeting.

  The flush on her cheeks deepened, sending a jolt of lust straight to his groin. Damn. He did not want to be so helplessly whipped by her mere presence, he could hardly think straight. He wouldn’t deny he wanted her fiercely, but he had some respect. If his instincts held sway over his mind, he’d throw her over his shoulder and find the first place he could to rip her clothes off and bury himself inside of her.

  Water heaters, the weather, the tedious work of helping Gage lay the decking—those were all topics that might nudge his mind off of the lust cracking like a whip inside of him.

  “Hey,” Violet replied, a smile curling her lips. “Um, how have you been?”

  He couldn’t help but grin. His relentless efforts to keep his mind on something distracting were useless when she looked at him. He couldn’t resist a flash of satisfaction at the desire he recognized in her eyes. There were many things he didn’t know, but he knew what he felt when he was with her.

  “Since I saw you this afternoon, I’ve been better than fine. I helped Gage and Don tear out an old water heater and replace it. How about you?”

  She glanced at her watch and back to him. “You did that in less than three hours?”

  “Yeah. Wasn’t that hard, and there were three of us. It was overkill actually, but Gage asked me to help, so I did,” he said with a shrug.

  Zach appeared at their booth, delivering Sawyer’s beer and assuring him the dip and bread would be on its way momentarily before spinning away to another table. Violet sipped at her wine and leaned back. She’d changed out of the bright purple scrubs she’d been wearing at work earlier. She was dressed simply in jeans and a cotton shirt that had a scoop neck that dipped dangerously low, mostly because her generous breasts filled it out. His eyes dipped down, lingering on the curves, his body tightening in anticipation. He forced his eyes up and grinned when they collided with Violet’s.

  She took a gulp of her wine, setting the glass down and twirling the stem between her fingers. When she looked back at him, she was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. She needed to not do that. Her straight white teeth denting her plump lip made him hard. Damn, damn, damn. He usually did not have this problem with women, even women he was interested in. With Violet, every sense was hyper focused on her, and his control, usually absolute, was tenuous.

  He took a long pull from his beer and set it down, his fingers wandering along the downy skin at the back of her neck. He heard her breath hitch. Fuck it. He didn’t care to try to be polite about this.

  “Violet.”

  His voice came out rough, low and demanding.

  Her eyes whipped up to his. He angled toward her, gripped her silky hair and fit his mouth over hers. She gasped, and he swept his tongue inside, pouring the need pounding through him into their kiss. A soft sound came from the back of her throat, spurring him on. One thing he’d come to love in the far too few times he’d kissed Violet was that once their mouths collided, she threw herself into it. Just now, she angled to him and threaded a hand in his hair. Their kiss went from hot to rough and wet.

  A loud clatter nearby filtered into his awareness, and Sawyer broke free. He didn’t pull away because he couldn’t quite bear it just yet. His forehead fell to hers. Their rough breathing mingled, and he scrambled to gain some semblance of control. Violet made him crazy, and he didn’t know what the hell to do with any of it. He knew one thing with certainty—he would have her again. Tonight.

  Violet felt as if she was moving through a fog—a hot, hazy fog of desire—as she walked beside Sawyer in the parking lot. She’d all but melted during the last hour with Sawyer close beside her in the booth, attuned to every flex of his muscled body. She’d been in bad enough shape before he kissed her and after that, well, she was simply a mess of need and longing. She was relieved she hadn’t driven here because she’d gotten a bit tipsier than usual and, even better, it meant he was driving her home.

  As they walked along, it suddenly occurred to her he had barely a hitch in his gait. She glanced up. “Looks like your leg is doing much better.”

  His eyes canted down, and her breath caught. In the sha
dowed light, his strong, chiseled features were sharpened, his eyes that deep, smoky gray that sent liquid need spinning through her veins. “It is,” he replied simply. “Wasn’t a major surgery, but annoying as hell beforehand.”

  At that, the palm resting on the dip in her waist slid down to cup her bottom, and her channel throbbed. She’d given up arguing with herself in her mind—at least for now. Her brain had taken a backseat to her body, and all she could focus on was the hum of need simmering inside. When they reached his truck, he was quiet as he opened the door and made sure she was seated on the passenger side.

  When he closed the door on the driver’s side, the sounds filtering from the busy restaurant disappeared. It felt as if they were in their own cocoon. He started the truck and swiftly pulled out of the parking lot onto the road that led into downtown. Diamond Creek Brewery was situated towards the shoreline with a marshy field separating it from the ocean. Downtown Diamond Creek was only minutes away. He drove with one hand on the steering wheel and the other reached across the space between their seats, which at the moment felt like a chasm, and curled over her thigh. Her channel clenched, and she could feel the slippery heat between her legs. With her heart pounding wildly and her breath shallow, she tried to keep a handle on her body, but it was nearly pointless.

  Within moments, he whipped his truck into the parking area beside her apartment. Puzzled at the bright light filling the area, she glanced up to realize one of the city trucks was parked in the street and a crew was working on the utility pole directly in front of the building. Before she had a chance to form a thought, there was a knock on Sawyer’s window. He rolled it down, and they were greeted to a friendly smile from an older man. “You the ones who live upstairs?” he asked.

  At Violet’s nod, he explained, “The generator next door blew out these lines. They were testing it for some reason. Anyway, power’s off here until we get it fixed. Should be back on within the hour.”

  Sawyer thanked the man, while Violet barely registered the details of what he’d said. All she heard was the power was out, which she didn’t particularly care about, yet having an entire crew working on the utility pole right in front of her house didn’t exactly fit with her mood. She turned toward Sawyer only to collide with his lips, which slammed against hers in a searing kiss. He threaded a hand in her hair and tugged her close, nearly devouring her mouth with his lips and tongue. She moaned into his mouth and almost sobbed when he broke free abruptly.

  His hand slid between her thighs, and he cupped her through her jeans. She swallowed, her hips reflexively arching into him. Oh. My. God. She was so close, she could almost come just from the feel of his palm barely rubbing over her clit through her jeans. The air inside the truck was snapping with electricity.

  Violet jolted into motion, and flung her door open, all but running up the stairs to her apartment. She dropped her keys twice trying to unlock the door, by which point Sawyer had caught up with her. Oblivious to the lights illuminating them, they stumbled through the door. She heard the door slam shut behind her, and then Sawyer spun her around. In a flash, her back hit the door and his lips crashed to hers. Their kiss went from hot to hotter as their tongues tangled. His hard body crowded against hers, yet he couldn’t get close enough for her. Fire roared through her.

  She shoved her hands up under his shirt, greedily sliding over the hard muscled planes of his chest. With a muttered curse, he lifted his head, his eyes slamming to hers—hot and dark. The slick throb of her channel galvanized her. As he yanked her clothes off, she returned the favor. She lost her balance when she tried to kick her jeans free. He steadied her, his palm, warm and strong, curling around her hip. She leaned against the door and tried to catch her breath.

  Which turned out to be impossible when she looked at him—his brown hair was rumpled from when she’d yanked his shirt off, his body was mouth-wateringly hard, and his smoky gray eyes were locked on her. While she was bare save her panties, bright purple cotton today, she suddenly realized he was much more efficient than she at removing clothing. While her fumbling with his clothes had only gotten her as far as his jeans ripped open and his chest bare. His bare chest was enough to stun her all on it own however.

  He lifted a hand, tracing a single finger down along the side of her neck, down the center of her breastbone before tracing the sensitive underside of her breasts and circling up to roll a nipple between his thumb and forefinger. His touch struck sparks under the surface of her skin, leaving fire in its wake. Her nipples were so tight, they ached. She bit her lip to keep from crying out when he dipped his head, swirled his tongue around a nipple, and set to drive her wild alternating from one to the other.

  If it hadn’t been for the door at her back, she wouldn’t have been able to stay upright. With hot need pulsing through her, she shoved his jeans down enough to cup a palm over his cock—hot and hard. He murmured something against her skin and bit down on her nipple, sending a throb of pleasure straight to her channel. Restless and frantic, she shoved his briefs out of the way, sighing when his cock sprung free. Curling her fist around it, she stroked and started to shimmy down.

  He held her still and stepped closer. In a flash, he shoved her panties down, lifting her against him as they fell to the floor. Her legs curled around his hips, and his mouth blazed a scorching trail of kisses down her neck while he stroked into her folds. He lifted his head. “Vi,” he whispered roughly.

  She dragged her eyes open and was immediately caught in his smoke-steel gaze. The lights from outside her window cast shadows in the darkened room. He dragged a finger back and forth, her hips rolling into his touch and a low moan escaping. “You’re so wet,” he murmured right as he slid a finger knuckle-deep inside of her.

  She couldn’t even form a word and simply stared at him when another finger joined the first and he set to stroking in and out of her. She was close, so damn close, to coming. He stopped suddenly, and her breath came out brokenly.

  “Hang on,” he said, his voice taut. “I need to feel you come.”

  She marveled at his strength as he adjusted her in his arms, holding her up with one while he fumbled in the pocket of the jeans hanging half-off his hips. She heard the tear of foil, and then he was rolling a condom on, the subtle pressure of his wrist brushing against her clit almost sending her over the edge.

  “Sawyer.”

  His name was a plea, and he answered by whipping his head up. He adjusted her in his arms again, bringing her in line with the tip of his cock. Without a word, he held her eyes as he slowly rocked his hips into hers, nudging into her entrance. She arched into him, desperate for him to fill her, but he teased her—slowly nudging into her and pulling back, again and again and again. Pressure gathered, spinning tightly inside, as he pushed her closer and closer, yet held off from sinking fully inside.

  Frantic, she curled her legs around his hips and arched against him. He sank to the hilt with a growl, his forehead falling to hers as his hips drummed into the cradle of hers. The contrasting heat of the cool door against her back and his hot body plastered to hers in front served to notch up the heat licking inside. She lost sense of everything but the delicious stretch of him filling her and the feel of his hard body surrounding her. Need lashed at her, tightening the pressure building. With every rock of his hips, she got closer and closer until he reached between them and pressed his thumb against her clit. The pressure spun loose, unraveling with a snap inside, as pleasure rocked her in waves. With a last drive into her, his head fell into the curve of her neck as he shuddered against her. The door rattled behind her, and she held on through the aftershocks.

  Violet could feel his heart pounding against her skin, mirroring the percussive beat of hers. They remained still for several moments. The air whispered over her, and a shiver chased through her. Damp from her sweat, goose bumps rose on her skin. Sawyer lifted his head, his warm palm sliding down her arm. He opened his mouth to say something when the entry light flickered on. He grinned. “Perfec
t timing. I was about to say we should get in the shower, but then I remembered the power was out.”

  She looked at him, suddenly overcome with emotion. This intimacy she felt with him was almost too much. It wasn’t just that they all but burst into flames when they were skin to skin. It was the comfort she felt with him. The part of her she’d worked so hard to make strong, independent, and free from the vagaries of silly hopes and dreams started to question the moment. She batted it away because she didn’t want to listen. Not now.

  Within the hour, she lay curled on her side with Sawyer spooned behind her. She was more relaxed than she’d been in, well, as long as she could remember. He was warm and strong and felt so damn good. She fell into a dreamless sleep, promising herself she would make sense of the madness another time.

  Chapter 16

  Sunlight fell across the bed in a wide path, its warmth and brightness tugging Sawyer out of sleep. The moment his senses came online, he tuned into Violet’s soft, sleeping form curled against him. He was angled toward her, while one of her legs was draped over his and she was nestled against him, her palm resting on his chest. Nothing other than sleepy instinct driving him, his hand stroked up over the delectable curve of her bottom. Her skin was like silk. His body went from sleepy to alert, tightening at once as blood shot straight to his groin. He laughed to himself. Damn. He should be plenty satiated. After he’d taken her against the door, they’d managed to fall asleep, yet he’d woken during the night to find her hands mapping him. A stroke between her thighs where he found her slick with need had him rolling atop her and sinking inside.

  Two explosive climaxes in one night were more than he’d had in years. Yet, all Violet had to do was exist and he wanted her so fiercely, he was calling upon unheard of reserves to keep a grip. When his hand traveled up over the curve of her hip and into the dip of her waist, she shifted and mumbled something. Glancing down, he saw her eyes blink open. His breath caught in his throat, and he swallowed against the tightness in his chest. She was flat gorgeous when she was sleepy and rumpled. Her cheeks were rosy, her blue eyes bright in the sunlight, and her dark hair mussed.