Hot and Handy: A Small Town Romantic Suspense (Shameless Southern Nights Book 3)

by J. H. Croix

  She moaned when I spread her legs with my hips and brushed up against her. Her back arched, pressing her chest hard against mine.

  "We should probably take this to your room," I whispered roughly, breaking our kiss before I lost control of my brain for the time being.

  Taking a deep breath, her eyes fluttered closed before she hopped off the counter and grabbed my hand. She looked at me over her shoulder as she started dragging me toward the hallway. "Don't step too close to the walls. The floors creak there."

  I nodded and stayed directly behind her. The alpha in me, raging with need, wanted to throw her over my shoulder and run to her bedroom, but I kept him under control. Barely.

  We entered her room, and she locked the door behind us. As the lock clicked into place, it was like a starting pistol went off.

  Sadie and I surged together, our lips meeting in a nearly violent crash of need. Flexing against me, she climbed me like a tree, her legs wrapping around my hips. I walked us over to her bed, stumbling a few steps along the way. Since this was my first time in her bedroom, I took a step too many, and we both went toppling down onto the mattress.

  Sadie giggled and rolled onto her back, using the collar of my shirt to pull me over her. I went willingly, lifting my arms so she could take off my shirt when she reached for it. Our clothes came off in a tangled rush, strewn across the floor surrounding the bed.

  We were like animals, driven by a raw need to get to each other. Sadie's chest was heaving, covered in a light sheen of sweat when there was finally nothing left between us.

  She was slick with desire when I trailed my fingers through her folds. When she cried out with a husky moan, I couldn’t wait, my cock aching. Despite the rush, I’d managed to yank a condom out of my jeans somewhere along the way. Rolling it on in a flash, I shifted and eased my weight over her, positioning myself at her entrance. The wet heat kissed the head of my cock, nearly driving me over the edge.

  I hooked a hand behind her knee and lifted it, holding her hips steady as I sank home inside of her. Sadie bit her lip to keep from crying out, but she couldn't stop the soft whimpers from escaping her.

  The soft, ragged sound of her breath drove my need for her into a frenzy. I thrust harder. Faster. I was half crazy, my lips, teeth, and tongue tasting, nipping, and devouring her. When my teeth grazed a nipple, a low cry escaped, the sound like a whip to the need driving me. With every surge inside of her, her channel clenched and throbbed around me.

  Sadie's eyes were glazed over as her hips met mine with every thrust. She started writhing underneath me, her inner walls rippling around me. I groaned, barely hanging onto my restraint.

  Watching Sadie's face, though, I knew she was nearly there. Her clit was a hardened nub when I reached between us to circle it. Sealing my mouth over hers to swallow her moans, I kept my pace rhythmic as I felt my own body tighten and ready to spill over. Seconds after I felt her orgasm overtake her, my toes curled, and the base of my spine exploded as I followed her over the edge.

  We lay in a damp tangle on her bed, our breath slowing in ragged shudders. She was warm and soft against me, and I didn’t ever want to leave.

  My lips moved against Sadie’s temple as I spoke quietly. “I want to fall asleep with you, but I’ll leave before Emery wakes up. Is that okay?”

  She nodded, shifting against me as I withdrew. I stood quickly and disposed of my condom, returning to the bed only to have her curl up against my side. "Mmm, g’night,” she murmured.

  Her breathing evened out almost immediately, and she burrowed into my chest, fast asleep. I drifted off to sleep myself seconds later, only to jerk awake when my alarm went off the next morning. It felt like I'd only slept for a couple of minutes, but it was already time to leave.

  Sadie was still curled up next to me. The last thing I wanted to do was leave, but I had to. I had promised I'd be gone by the time Emery woke up, and I would be. Carefully so I didn't wake Sadie, I leaned over and brushed a kiss to her forehead.

  Wishing I could stay in bed with her a little longer, I sighed silently and went to take a quick shower. I was dressed and ready to leave less than ten minutes later, surprised when I got out of the bathroom and heard sounds coming from the kitchen.

  I leaned my head around the corner into the kitchen, assuming I must’ve been hearing things. As it turned out, I wasn’t.

  Sadie sat at the kitchen island with two cups of coffee in front of her and smiled when she saw me. "Sorry I fell asleep pretty much right away last night." An adorable blush spread on her cheeks.

  I grinned, unable to help myself. "Don't apologize. It means I did something right."

  She laughed, her eyes glittering in the morning sun filtering into the kitchen. "Or it was because I was beat after the week I had."

  "Ouch." I grabbed onto my chest, pretending to be hurt. "I like my theory better."

  Sadie stood up when she handed me my coffee and pressed a kiss to the underside of my jaw. "So do I."

  One small touch from her and my resolve to leave dried up faster than a creek in drought. Impulsively, I suggested, "Let's do something together today. With Emery."

  A tiny frown flashed on her features before she schooled them. "Are you sure? We'd love to, but only if you're not tired of us yet."

  "Never." I grinned and pulled her into my arms for a deep kiss. "You're way too good of a kisser."

  She smiled against my mouth. "You're not so bad yourself."

  "Thanks." I bumped my nose against hers and then pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

  "I'll be back to pick you guys up in about two hours. Does that give you enough time?"

  She nodded and cocked her head to the side. "I'm sure Emery will be dressed in a flash if she hears we're going with you for the day."

  "I'll see you later then." I left while I could still pull myself away from her. I needed to change my clothes and stop by my place. On my way home, I tried to think of what we could do and decided it would be fun to go fishing again. After all, I’d promised Emery we would go back. I might not be an expert on kids, but I damn well knew you needed to keep promises you made.

  When I got home, I changed my clothes and threw a pair of swimming trunks into a backpack along with sunscreen and some towels. If the weather held, we might be able to get some swimming in.

  Whistling, I was headed to my garage to gather up the fishing supplies when my phone started ringing. Another call from the prison. I sighed, my good mood vanishing in an instant.

  Tempted as I was to ignore it, I knew I couldn't. My father's voice was low and gruff when I answered like he was the one who was impatient to get off the phone with me. "Evan. Has the transfer been completed?"

  I rolled my eyes at his complete lack of small talk and niceties. He never had been that kind of man. "Yes, Dad. I called you and told you it was done, remember?"

  "The transfer being done and being completed are two different things. Have you heard anything from Leila?"

  Frustrated, I gritted out, "I would have told you if I had. Why?"

  "It should have been completed then." His tone was colored with relief, and I wondered again what the hell was actually going on. While I had him on the phone, I wanted to ask him about Ken, but I needed to have more of a plan with Sonny when I had that conversation with him, so I held back for now.

  "Was that all?" I asked, strangely okay with the thought that my father might have called me from prison only to ask me if the illegal errand he asked me to run was done.

  "Unless you had something you wanted to say to me?" My father waited for a beat, and when I didn't say anything, he said his goodbyes and hung up. The call from him got my mind back on track.

  Sadie and I hadn't gotten around to talking about her helping us with Ken last night because first Emery was there and then we fell into bed together. It was something we had to talk about, though.

  Stress tightened my shoulders as I thought about how this was going to hang over my family's heads until this mess
was cleaned up. When Dad went to prison, I thought this part of our lives was over. It looked like I was very fucking wrong. As frustrating as it was, we were going to keep getting pulled back into this crap with dad.

  Hoo-fucking-ray. Having a felon for a father was the gift that kept on giving.

  Chapter Six

  Sadie

  Emery hopped on my bed after she came running into my room, giggling. Tying a ribbon around the elastic band in my hair, I smiled at her through the reflection in the mirror. “What’s so funny?”

  “I’m happy,” she informed me, watching with fascination as I turned in front of the mirror to decide on my outfit. I was wearing a tank top with a longer button-up shirt over it tucked into denim shorts with a pair of leather sandals.

  Evan wanted to spend the day together, and I knew him well enough to know we’d probably be doing something outdoors. I wanted to be ready for anything.

  Spreading my arms to my sides, I turned again. “I’m happy that you’re happy. I think I’m ready now. Why don’t you tell me what made you so happy?”

  If possible, I would like to keep doing whatever it was that put that smile on her face. She gave me a thumbs-up. “Mommy looks pretty.”

  “Thanks, sweetie,” I said. The mattress dipped as I sat down next to her. “You want to tell me?”

  She twisted a lock of hair between her fingers. “I’m happy because you’re happy.”

  The simple words brought a wave of emotion tightening my throat. She was right. I was happy. But doubts still lingered in the back of my mind. A big part of my happiness this morning was Evan. If he wasn’t serious about us, I didn’t know if I could handle finding out a couple more weeks down the line.

  I hadn’t told Emery that Evan had invited us to spend the day with him. I wasn’t so sure it was a good idea even though I wanted it. A lot. As early as it was, I was already starting to fall for him. I couldn’t not fall for him. The more time we spent together, the more I wondered if we had a future together. Every so often, I caught a glimpse of what that future could be.

  Like last night when we were all having dinner together. Or when Evan lay on the couch with Emery watching a princess movie. Again this morning when I woke up to the sound of the shower running and got up to make coffee for us.

  Such small things allowed me to see what our lives could be like if we were together as a family. Maybe, just maybe, he was like his brother and willing to settle down with a woman who was a single mom.

  I pulled Emery to my side and gave her a big hug. “And I’m happy because you’re happy. Did you finish your breakfast?”

  She nodded. I leaned back to look down into her green eyes and cocked my head. Emery chewed her lip and then shook her head. “Not all of it.”

  “Better get to it then,” I told her, standing up off the bed and offering my hand to help her off. She took it, jumping much higher than necessary as she launched herself off the bed and headed to the kitchen.

  My mind kept going around in circles after she left. I sat down on the bed again and then gave up and lay flat on my back. It could hurt, a lot, but I had to talk to Evan. Rip off the Band-Aid.

  It wasn’t smart for me to keep things going with him without knowing where we stood. It was downright stupid and irresponsible to fall for him and to let him too far into my life with Emery if I wasn’t sure he was as into this as I was.

  Regardless of what Emery said, her giddiness this morning was tied to him being here last night. I remembered the vow I made to myself to be careful about letting him in when I knew Emery was looking for a father figure.

  Sighing, I brought my hands up to my eyes and rubbed the heels into them. My earlier high was fading fast. Today could be D-Day. By tonight, my relationship or whatever it was I had with Evan could all be over.

  Better tonight than next week, I thought. As badly as I could hurt tonight, it would only keep getting worse. For me and Emery.

  Rolling to my side, I reached for my phone. It still rested on the nightstand where I’d set it down last night. I dialed a number I knew of by heart. Lori answered almost immediately. “Hey, girl. What’s up?”

  I took a deep breath. Emotion rose in my throat suddenly. Hearing Lori’s voice made me feel like breaking down and crying, to spill my heart to her and hear her thoughts. But that wasn’t going to get me anywhere before I talked to Evan.

  Neither Lori nor I knew what he was going to say when I talked to him about it. Speculating was a waste of time, and I didn’t want to go into the conversation with preconceived notions.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and pushed past the need to cry. “I was wondering if you could watch Emery today, maybe tonight too.”

  “Of course,” Lori replied. “Anytime. Want me to pick her up?”

  My eyes slid to the clock on my nightstand. “If you wouldn’t mind.”

  “Relax,” she told me. “I’m at the store down the road from you. I’ll be there in five.”

  Relieved, I smiled into the phone. “You really are an angel.”

  “I’m guessing your plans for the day involve a certain Lovett brother,” she said teasingly.

  “They do.” Bracing myself for her to voice her concerns again, I breathed in.

  “Have fun with lover boy,” she said in a singsongy voice.

  I groaned. “Don’t call him that.”

  “Why not? That’s what he is,” she protested, laughing. “I’m almost at your house. Open the door.”

  She hung up without another word. Her laughter echoed in my ears as I went to meet her outside. The teasing carried on when she followed me inside. I laughed it off, but nerves swirled in my belly. This could be the last time she had any reason to tease me about him.

  The thought brought the lump back to my throat. I squared my shoulders, biting it back again. Whatever happened with Evan, I could handle it. I just needed to know where I stood. Once I did, I could move on with my life. With him or without him. Emery and I had each other, and we had Lori. We would be fine.

  Emery looked up when Lori and I walked into the kitchen. “Lori!”

  “Hey, squirt.” She ran her hands through Emery’s hair. “Are you ready for a day of Lori and Emery adventures?”

  Em’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Are we really?”

  She looked from me to Lori and back again. When I nodded, she let out an excited squeal and jumped off the chair. “Yay. I have to get my backpack. Wait for me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere without you,” Lori called to Emery’s retreating back. “Hurry up. I’ve got things planned for us.”

  Emery let out another excited squeal from down the hall. I hung my arm around Lori’s shoulders. “Thanks again for doing this.”

  She ducked out from under my arm and grinned at me. “No problem. I love that kid. Besides, I don’t have a hot man waiting for me.”

  My cheeks got hot. “Shut up. That’s not what this is about.”

  “Sure,” she said, rolling her eyes. “No judgment here. I’m proud of you.”

  I laughed, giving Emery a hug when she got back to the kitchen. “Have a good day, sweetheart.”

  Lori and Emery left. They’d only been gone a couple of minutes when the doorbell rang. My heart jumped into my throat. The time had come.

  Evan folded me into his arms when I opened the door, planting the sweetest kiss on my lips. “Hey, you ready to go? I thought we could go fishing again. I promised Emery we would, and the weather’s good.”

  Closing my eyes for a second, I tried to let go of my nerves and smiled up at him. “Actually, Emery’s off with Lori. I thought you and I could spend the day together alone.”

  Surprise crossed his features, but then the corners of his lips quirked up. “Yeah? Okay. Sounds good to me. How about we change the plan and go to the beach instead?”

  “How spontaneous of you, changing the plan on the fly like that,” I teased, locking the door behind me. Evan held out his hand, and I took it, little bursts of electricity traveli
ng up my arm from the feel of his warm palm in mine.

  He shrugged, brushing something imaginary off his shoulder. “I’m cool like that.”

  I bumped my shoulder against his. “You’re cool in a lot of ways.”

  Which was why I was so excited to spend the day with him. Anxious, too, but also excited. I only hoped he would be cool about the conversation we needed to have as well.

  It was a beautiful day outside with deep blue skies and not a breath of wind—the perfect day for the beach. I leaned back into the seat of Evan’s truck, casting a sideways look at him. My heartbeat sped up. He was so damn handsome.

  There was a dark shadow on his jaw where stubble would break through later in the day. Black mirrored sunglasses sat on his chiseled face, hiding his eyes. His posture was calm and relaxed.

  His elbow rested on his window, his fingers hooked around the steering wheel. Dressed in shorts and a white T-shirt, he looked so damn sexy.

  We left the town behind us while I watched the green landscape roll by and the trees towering over the road. Evan’s radio was on, playing eighties rock music in the background as we talked about nothing.

  I turned away from him, wondering when the right time was to have the “single mom” talk with him. Eventually, I decided to rip the Band-Aid right off and do it. “Can I talk to you about something?”

  Turning his head to me for a fraction of a second before looking back at the road, he nodded. “What’s on your mind?”

  Clasping my hands in my lap, I twisted my fingers together. I glanced briefly at the sky, sending out a silent plea. Please don’t let this backfire on me. “I’m nervous about bringing it up, but I have a daughter, so I kind of have to.”

  “Okay.”

  Rip off the Band-Aid, Sadie. Just do it. “I’m not asking you for any promises. I know it’s way too early for those, or even to be having this conversation at all, but I have to.”

  He reached for my hand, folding it underneath his on the gear lever. “Talk to me, Sadie. You don’t have to be nervous. I’m not a bad listener.”