Jacob croaked out the Lord’s Prayer through a dry throat, thankful his friends feigned disinterest.
When he finished, she reached across the table to squeeze his hand. “You did good, my boy.”
She knew praying didn’t come easy for him, but she never let him slide when he sat at her table. She never let any of them slide.
“Remember I expect you to clean your plates. None of you have taken care of yourselves lately.”
“I’m doing all right.” Trying to break the heaviness settling around them, Jacob flexed and winked at her.
“Don’t go getting fresh with me. Nic says you’re working yourself to the ground.”
Oh he did, did he? “Did he also tell you about Forb—” A swift kick from under the table interrupted Jacob, earning his friend a wink this time. Yep, that’s right, amigo. If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me.
McGinty’s Pub on a Sunday night. Let the fun begin. Jacob shot Nic a nasty look. Karaoke made him want to run the other way. Dim establishment or not, nothing could block out the screeching some considered singing that Nic lived for. Damn the man for inviting him in front of Mama Bea. He’d been all set to call Sara when Mama had given him that look that dared him to say no. No matter how much she’d seemed to approve of the idea of Sara, family came first. And Jacob hadn’t made enough time for them lately, according to her.
Maybe he hadn’t, but karaoke?
Nothing could’ve gotten Jacob to come.
Nothing except Mama.
He’d fought in a war, ran his own business, but defying her took guts he didn’t have.
At least they’d snagged the table farthest from the small stage.
Too bad the pulse of the crowd didn’t drown out his companions.
Adolescent asses.
Right on cue, Marc cupped imaginary breasts in front of him. “Are her tits bigger than a handful for us average Joes? Or do they spill over your monstrous man paws?”
The mention of Sara’s chest had Jacob’s cock standing at attention. He tugged on the crotch of his jeans, trying to make room.
Marc smirked and raised his bottle in a toast. The man knew damn well how big Sara’s breasts were.
Nic didn’t let him off so easily. “Nice to know the rumors aren’t true.”
“Rumors rarely are.”
“These seemed legit. After you hightailed it out of there the night of the bonfire, there was speculation your last girlfriend left due to your inability to perform.”
“Fuck you, man.” Jacob snorted. “The only thing that happened with Tonya was the disappointment that she wasn’t Sara.”
Nic’s shock at that statement ended the teasing, but across the bar the MC set up his table furthering Jacob’s dismay. Feedback buzzed through the microphone right before the too excited DJ announced the start of karaoke night with gusto, introducing the “local legend” kicking off the evening. Jacob paid no attention to the name. The loudest and most off-key were always the crowd favorites, the ones everyone in the place loved and cheered on for reasons nobody understood. Every karaoke bar had one. Just his luck, the person for this bar had shown up tonight.
The room quieted while people he couldn’t see readied on stage. That should’ve prepared him. As if anything could have.
Damn.
Country music didn’t do it for him. At least it hadn’t up until those three voices blended in harmony. Because of Marc, Jacob listened to country more than he liked, enough to recognize the song topping all the charts. The real singer of “My Church” had talent, but the voice taking the lead tonight transcended genre and spoke to his soul. He willed the crowd blocking the three women from view to step aside to reveal the source. As if per his command, the patrons shifted, and Jacob’s breath hissed out between his teeth.
On stage, Sara, Riley, and Isabel held the bar captive.
His stomach clenched. Sara hadn’t been kidding. She and Isabel complemented the lead vocals, but Riley had everyone on the edge of their seats, leaning into the next note in the song, a siren calling to the libidos of every straight man in a thirty-mile radius.
Every straight man except for Jacob. He only had eyes for Sara. When the song ended, he downed his beer. “I’ll get the next round.”
He didn’t take his gaze off of her as he slipped through the crowd. As soon as he stood within touching distance, he slid his hands around her waist and pulled her back against him. “What would it take for you to let me drink whiskey from your body?”
22
Strong arms materialized around Sara, taking away her ability to think, and her reason for wanting to. She leaned into an embrace she already recognized. No one else smelled quite like Jacob.
“What would it take for you to let me drink whiskey from your body?”
“Whiskey.” Sara didn’t need Christopher’s whispered coward this time to move her into action. After signaling for two shots, she hopped on the bar in front of Jacob—no hesitation, no blinking.
Bel didn’t say a word, though she might not have been able to, the way her mouth opened and closed without sound.
Sara giggled. Nope, Christopher couldn’t call her a coward any longer.
Riley and Sage looked back and forth between Bel’s wide-eyed stare and Sara’s brazenness until Bel mouthed Mr. Ramírez. Then all three of them looked at her with a mixture of awe and disbelief. Bel might’ve known the two of them had gone on a date, but she’d never seen Sara be quite that bold before.
I know the feeling, ladies. Sara surprised herself more than a little too, as she did Jacob, if the way his gaze took her in—and her alone—was any proof.
Well, Sara wasn’t about to let any of them down. She tugged her halter to right above her nipples, put the shot glass in her generous cleavage, and pulled his head to her chest. His breath warmed her a split second before his mouth closed around the lip of the glass.
She’d never been more jealous of an inanimate object in her life—or more turned on—and the cocky bastard knew it, somehow managing to smirk around the glass now solely in his mouth as he straightened.
Oh yeah, big guy? Sara cupped her breasts, offering herself up to him for more, a challenge he met by exchanging the empty glass for the second shot. In an infinitely slow move, he dripped the first two drops of alcohol onto her waiting skin. The coolness barely registered before his warm tongue licked it up, and he started again, taking the very last of her sanity with his attention. His grin held so much self-assuredness that when he finished, she acted on instinct. She hopped off the bar and slid down his body. In her huskiest voice, she said, “Next time, I want you to drink it from my pussy.”
And she did want that. Oh, how she did.
As did he.
His breath stuttered across her cheek, and his hands maintained a death grip on her hips.
God, but she longed to have that same grip on her hips while she rode him. She’d take him right there if it meant she could have him now.
Sage cleared her throat, breaking the moment. “Nicely done, sis.” Her voice rang with pride.
Hers wasn’t the only one. “We’d have to agree. That was spectacular.”
Sara dismissed the unknown man, content to focus once again on Jacob.
But Sage never let anything go. “Really? What makes you think we care about what some creepy guy’s opinion is…? Annnd I’m Sage. You are?”
The change in tune made Sara turn within the circle of Jacob’s arms in curiosity.
Her first glimpse of the man who’d intruded and his friend brought immediate understanding.
Sara ducked her head in embarrassment.
Shaggy blond hair and baby blue eyes highlighted a face she knew all too well. The man standing to the left of Jacob wasn’t just the prettiest of the three friends, he was someone she’d met several times at her job. Embarrassment over her behavior had her hiding her own face in Jacob’s neck. She’d seen Marc two months before in an entirely different setting, and she’d somehow have to
be able to look him in the eyes again in the same setting. “I’m… sorry?”
The tall, lanky man waved off her apology. “To be honest, I finally approve of my friend’s choice in women. I couldn’t be happier you’re the Sara that’s captured so much of his attention.”
His admission had Sara staring at him like Bel had stared at her.
Jacob had told his friends about her?
Before she had a chance to fully absorb that, Jacob introduced his other friend.
Nic, the guy Sage had called creepy, was roughly the same height as Sara, with muscles so corded the veins of his arms strained through the short sleeves of his tight shirt. His harsh facial features looked intimidating until the corners of his mouth lifted, then his face became downright dangerous. With his dark complexion added in, his appeal went from being mouthwatering to crossing over into serious panty-dampening territory.
“If you don’t want to shatter my fragile ego, you might want to close your mouth.” Jacob nuzzled her neck, the scrape of his beard stubble more damaging to her panties than his friends.
“I’m afraid to tell you this, but a person with a fragile ego could never be friends with those two.” Nothing could make Sara choose either man over Jacob, but dear Lord, they were something to look at.
While Sage captured Nic’s attention, Marc zeroed in on Riley, extending his hand. “At the risk of sounding generic, you have an incredible voice.”
And you don’t stand a chance. As much as Sara wanted to see her sister date again, Riley hadn’t given any man the time of day for years.
Yet, right as Sara had that thought, Riley let her hand stay in Marc’s.
Interesting.
Sage picked up on the oversight, too. “It’s been awhile since a man’s had your tongue.”
Despite it meaning she’d have to leave Jacob’s embrace, Sara put herself in between her two sisters, ready to run interference if needed. Riley hated to be called out at moments when she was what she considered weak. To her, being weak meant the show of any emotion, even lust.
This time, however, she simply smiled. “Oh, little sis, one day you will learn. A man isn’t worthy of my—” Riley let go of Marc’s hand, resting her tongue on the top of her lip for a second. “—tongue, simply because he’s a man.”
Sara whispered, “Except when said man has a big dick, that is.” And is as sexy as Jacob. Her tongue wanted to do all kinds of things to—
“Is that so?” Jacob asked.
Sara’s face heated with a fierce blush, yet she didn’t let that deter her. She’d lucked out by seeing Jacob tonight. If her luck held, she’d get to see a lot more of him before the night ended.
She turned in his embrace, letting her gaze drift to Jacob’s crotch and the jeans that showed off his lean hips and muscular thighs. They fit just right, down to the detail of his bulge. “Yes, I’d have to say that is definitely so.”
“Are you saying you want this?” All six-foot-four-inches of him pressed her against the bar. One foot slid in between hers, forcing her stance to widen.
God. Yes! A full body shiver started at Sara’s scalp. By the time it reached her toes, her legs were weak. She sagged against him, and he jammed his thigh hard in between hers. The move didn’t just support her weight, it allowed him to grind his thigh against her pubic bone, and made the size of his erection indisputable.
She trailed her hand down his hip before sliding it up the inseam of his jeans where his cock throbbed beneath her fingers. “Are you saying you’ll let me have this?” She gave him a firm squeeze.
“Fuck, woman,” he hissed in her ear.
“If that’s an invitation, I’m game.”
“My sister, the YouTube sensation.”
Jacob growled at Sage’s interruption, but Sara continued undisturbed. She stroked him once, twice. She. Needed. This. In ways she hadn’t understood until that moment.
Sage raised her voice. “If you keep that up, people will start recording you.”
That got Sara’s attention and her ever-ready embarrassment. What was wrong with her tonight? Heated stares from those around them made her blush break out in full force.
“Don’t worry about them. They’re jealous I have you and they don’t.” Jacob hugged her close as they headed over to their table, his arm protectively draped around her shoulders, shielding her from view.
Sara didn’t normally think of herself as someone who needed to be protected, but his concern touched a part of her she’d kept guarded. She leaned into his embrace, enjoying the moment.
In fact, as the evening progressed, there wasn’t much about it she found unenjoyable. Their friends blended better than she could have hoped. Animation lit Riley’s face, and Bel almost glowed, giving Sara a chance to revel in the man currently trailing his fingers up and down her thigh underneath their table.
Christopher would be proud.
Sara raised her drink in a silent salute to the brother who’d never be far from her thoughts.
“You okay?” Jacob nudged her with his knee.
“I’ve never been better.” The truth of that drew her closer to Jacob—in mind and body. While her heart fluttered, she moved her stool in front of his so her body fit in between his thighs and his breath tickled her ear. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me, too.” He wrapped his arms around her middle, growling in her ear when the move pushed her breasts up.
“Like what you see?”
“Do I ev—”
“Please, please, please?” Sage’s plea rose louder than the latest karaoke singer.
As only one of her sisters could, her distress caused Sara to move out of Jacob’s hold. It sounded too close to desperation for her liking.
“What’d I miss?” She hopped off her stool and took a step away from Jacob to clear her head. Her blood pumped fast anytime they touched, making it impossible to think, and Riley’s ramrod-straight posture could only mean trouble.
“I said no.”
“And I said yes. We both need this. Stop punishing yourself.”
Sara pushed herself between the two. “Why don’t both of you take a step back and breathe for a minute?”
By the looks of things, they needed more than a minute. Riley’s look meant mutiny, and Sage never knew when to back down.
Yet, strangely, her middle sister knelt at Riley’s feet in an uncharacteristic Sage move. “You’ve worked so hard, had no fun the last six years, and you just took your boards. Live a little again.” Sage grabbed her sister’s hands, but Riley remained impassive.
Sara looked to Bel for answers as Sage got to her feet. “What’s going on?”
“Sage wants Riley to sing one of her own songs. And I agree. We all do, don’t we?”
Sara had wanted that for years, but why was Sage pushing this now? They were all still too vulnerable after Christopher’s death.
“Coward.”
Sara glanced around at the sound of her brother-in-law’s voice, somehow knowing he wasn’t speaking to her this time.
Of course, Riley didn’t hear it, yet her typical no didn’t get repeated.
Was it possible Riley wanted to sing, but just needed someone to push her?
Jacob stepped into their circle. “Sara told me about your last performance. I’ve been meaning to search for it on YouTube, but haven’t had the chance. If it’s possible for you to sound better than you did earlier, I would love to hear it.”
His admission made all the girls grimace. Each of them avoided most remembrances of the rocky start to Tessa’s life, Riley in particular.
To Sara’s surprise, though, Riley snorted instead of breathing fire. “No way. Not that song.”
“So pick another one.” Marc commented in the way most did around Riley once they’d heard her sing. She could sing the names in the phone book and still have everyone dying for more.
“I actually agree with Jacob.” Sage held Riley’s gaze in a challenge Sara didn’t understand. When Riley looked away, Sage
pressed on. “‘But for a Moment’ is the perfect song.”
“For tonight? Not hardly.” Annoyance dripped from Riley’s tongue. “This is a karaoke bar, hardly the atmosphere for a sad ass song I only sang in the first place because… oh, never mind. It’s not exactly uplifting material. And I’m rather certain they don’t have my background music.” As if that settled things, Riley turned away to order another drink from a passing waitress, and Sage and Bel left the group.
Sara could do no more than stare after her sisters. Neither of them were acting typical. Normally, Riley would walk out at the first mention of her getting up on stage to sing original music and Sage would have followed her, fighting all the way.
The Morrow sisters were nothing if not consistent in their actions.
Except tonight Sara hadn’t been either, so who was she to judge?
Sara linked her fingers with Jacob’s. Maybe they were all preoccupied with other things.
“Ready to make our escape?” Jacob asked.
Sara nodded, but a glimpse of Sage at the deejay table stopped her.
Bel emerged from the crowd and stood again in front of Riley. “Jimmy’s here, and as per Sage’s instructions, I asked and he agreed. He’s ready to step on stage with you.”
Jimmy? Sara hadn’t seen her sister’s old band mate in years.
She glanced around the crowd and waved once her gaze landed on the big Samoan. Then her gaze lit on the man standing next to him. Well if that didn’t make things even more interesting. The neighbor Sage loved arguing with had eyes only for her sister, and Sara caught Sage staring back in a manner that suggested things might come to a head sooner rather than later between the pair. Was that why Sage had acted different? Had Jimmy’s friend affected her sister like Jacob affected Sara?
If so, Sara hoped the fire that had burned on low between the two for over a year was just enough to make her sister settle down. Sara couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her sister paired up with a man without another woman attached.
Morrow's Horizon (The Morrow Women Series Book 1) Page 19