Morrow's Horizon (The Morrow Women Series Book 1)

by Sierra Kummings

  His mouth dried. Unable to swallow, he watched as she dribbled oil over her arms and rubbed it in. His fingers itched to help, yet he stayed still, afraid that if he moved, she’d stop. Hands smaller than his by half worked oil into the skin of her abdomen and breasts, unceasing until her upper body glistened, slick enough for him to—

  She turned and bent over, exposing every inch of her smooth, bare legs all the way up to the crease where they met her very lovely ass.

  He made it until she reached her ankles before he tugged on her slippery hips, turning her around to face him. “Mi amor,” he ground out before bending down to claim the kiss she offered. The mating of their mouths fed his hunger for her instead of satiating it. Tongues, lips, teeth, meshed so fluidly the perfection almost brought him to his knees.

  Dainty fingers locked around his wrists, tugging them until she placed his hands to rest on the back of her head. When she exerted the slightest pressure, he understood what she wanted. While silky strands caressed his palms, his cock tented his swimming trunks, straining to break free. Keeping his gaze on hers, he fisted his hands in her hair. Yet, still he waited. “Are you sure?” With his grip, she could do no more than nod barely an inch. But it was enough. He forced her to her knees where she disposed of his shorts in quick order. “Put your arms behind your back.”

  She did as he asked, her whimper going straight to his toes.

  “Open for me, cariño.”

  Stormy blue depths begged him to take what he wanted, all traces of green gone.

  He grabbed the base of his cock with one hand while still holding her head with the other. The lightest tap of the tip against her lips had her opening. She flicked her tongue out to lick the rim, just a whisper of a touch. Tension rose, coiled, then rested at the base of his spine. “Work me in, baby. Slowly. That’s it.” Heaven held him, an inch at a time, sucking him in until he reached her soft palate. “Fuck yeah, sweetheart.” It took everything he had to let her adjust to his size and not pound into her sweet little mouth. At the first contraction of her throat, the pressure in his balls felt like it could launch a space shuttle.

  He tugged, none too gently on her hair. “Again.”

  Following his orders, she swallowed, back to back, tightening around him and pulling him in even deeper before releasing him.

  “Again.” He pushed into her warmth, seating himself once more between the smooth muscles working him. The lightest scrape of her nail on his balls had him jerking back, freeing himself from her mouth, his breath in shallow gasps. “Jesucristo, woman! I’ll never last if you keep doing that.”

  “Maybe I don’t want you to last. Maybe I want you to cum all over my tits right now.”

  Before he could shout his yes, her mouth once again closed around him, giving him what she’d already known he wanted, taking each of his shallow thrusts without pause.

  “I’m almost there,” he panted. “Hold them up for me, cariño.”

  Once again following his command, she pressed her breasts together while still working him between her lips.

  Within seconds, his cock pulsed in readiness, and he pulled out. “Look at me.”

  She did as he asked, and color swirled in her eyes with each pump of his hand. With her mouth opened and her tits raised high in offering, she was his own fucking porn star.

  And she was also a figment of his imagination.

  His cum splattered the shower wall instead of her breasts like he wanted, the same way it had every day of the last week and a half since Sara had left him.

  Though it wasn’t always to the memory of the beach, it was always to Sara.

  Jacob leaned his head against the glass wall in defeat. He feared it might never be to anyone else ever again.

  Mama Bea eyed Jacob over her coffee mug, looking sharp in her navy velour pantsuit, even at eight in the evening. “Gonna tell me what’s bothering you, or do you like making an old woman guess?”

  So the Wednesday dinner invite had come with ulterior motives? No surprise there. Nic’s text earlier in the day had warned that she’d been asking about him and Sara. But there was nothing to say, other than that what he’d thought had been the truth of their relationship had been a lie.

  For some reason, he couldn’t speak those words.

  When Mama had greeted him at her door he’d lost his appetite at the first scent of fried chicken. He used to love her fried chicken. Until Sara. He’d loved a lot of things before her.

  He pulled the breaded layer off and pushed the food around on his plate.

  Hell, he’d almost told Sara he loved her the last time they’d eaten it together almost two weeks ago.

  Good thing he’d dodged that bullet.

  Except, it didn’t feel so much of an escape as it did that he’d missed out on his future.

  Are you listening to yourself? Who says this shit? Less than two weeks without her reduced him to a teenage girl.

  Pathetic.

  Mama Bea interrupted his thoughts, asking, “Or maybe you’d like to re-kill that bird?”

  “Hmm?” Jacob looked at his plate and stilled his hands. Jesucristo. The chicken now lay in a mangled mess in front of him. He shoved the plate aside. “Turns out Sara isn’t who I thought she was.”

  “You don’t say.”

  Mama’s smirk irritated him. She hadn’t been there. There wasn’t anything funny about having his heart steamrolled. He hadn’t slept more than two hours a night since she’d left, caught in a surreal mix of interchanging fantasies and flashbacks. But how could Jacob explain that without talking about his past? “She just… left.” And she called me damaged. Even if her words hadn’t said exactly that, her look had, and he’d heard that phrase on repeat every moment of every day since.

  “I suppose you’re going to tell me you did nothing to provoke her leaving?”

  “YES!”

  Mama raised her eyebrow at his shout, but hell, what had she expected? He hadn’t done anything.

  “Perhaps you’re not who you think you are.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” For all his misery, he’d expected at least a pat on the head. Not accusation.

  “Now don’t go getting feisty on me. Hear me out.” A small—yet anything but fragile—hand reached for his before she took his chin in her other hand. “What do you see when you look in the mirror?”

  What everyone else saw when they looked at him. Someone tired. Tired of life. Tired of games. Tired of trying and only succeeding at failing.

  She let go of his chin and leaned back in her chair, her grip still tight on his hand. “Mm-hmm. That’s what I thought. When are you gonna stop blaming yourself for things that were always out of your control?”

  “What do you know about—?”

  Her hand hit his with a hard slap. “Don’t you tell me what I know and what I don’t know. Boy, who do you think you’ve been foolin’? Don’t you think every single one of us who love you saw the difference in you when you came back? Don’t you think we realized a long time ago that somewhere along the way, you decided you were no longer good enough?” Before Jacob found the ability to respond, she got in his face again to drive her point home. “How can you expect someone to love you when you don’t even love yourself?”

  Air hissed between his teeth. He tried to stare her down, but she didn’t blink. In defeat, he shook his head. “You don’t know what I’ve done.”

  “You defended our country, that’s what you’ve done.”

  “I… let people die.”

  “Bullshit.”

  Shock that she’d cursed stopped him from arguing. For as long as he’d known her, she’d never once uttered profanity.

  Nor had she cried, yet the glimmer of tears gathered in her eyes now. “You, my boy, aren’t God. You aren’t omnipotent. You’re human. And my Jesus died on the cross for humans just like you. Just like me.” Her fist thumped her chest so hard, the sound echoed in the small room. “Do you think I didn’t feel like a failure that I couldn’t br
ing my son home? MIA for twenty years… my grandson without a father. I’m his mother.” He moved to hug her, but she stopped him with a look. “No. I’m not telling you this for your pity. I made my peace a long time ago. Just as you need to. Give it to God, son.”

  Give it to God, pfft. What good would that do? God had left his friends to die despite the many prayers Jacob had cried. “I thought you wanted me to get help. Now you’re telling me you want me to pray my issues away?”

  “What makes you think one isn’t the same as the other? Who do you think blessed these counselors with their knowledge? Hmm?”

  “Genetics?”

  Mama stared him down over the rim of her coffee cup.

  “What? What do you expect me to say?”

  “That you’ll try.”

  She made it sound so easy when nothing had ever been harder. “I can’t.” What good would it do anyway?

  Despite his defeated tone, Mama didn’t let him off. Her stare drilled into him as much as her words. “Then you best hang it up now because a man who can’t do that isn’t deserving of a woman like Sara.”

  How was this his fault again? “But she—”

  “Can’t love you enough for the both of you. As smart as she is, my guess is she finally realized that.”

  Jacob let his fork clatter onto his plate, his hand now as useless as the utensil had been.

  Could that really have been why Sara had left? With Elise’s words still haunting him, as soon as Sara had said she couldn’t handle things between them anymore, he’d assumed his flashbacks had been too much for her. And he couldn’t blame her; they were too much for him. But what if she’d meant something else? What if Elise had gotten to her the way Elise had gotten to him? Hell, he hadn’t even chased after Sara; he’d let her go without putting up a fight.

  If Mama was right, his silence had damned him, both then and the night prior when he’d struggled to say he loved her. What if she’d seen the words in his eyes and known he’d never be able to say them?

  Jacob no longer bothered to pretend an interest in eating his food. After giving Mama a kiss on the forehead, he grabbed his keys and headed for his jeep. He had soul searching he needed to do.

  A long drive wouldn’t cure him, but it might help clear his head. And for what came next, he needed as clear a head as possible.

  39

  Ray came into the branch almost a week past when he’d said and looking more frazzled than the last time, if the way he dive-bombed into the chair across from Sara’s desk was any indication. “I need help.”

  Apparently. His hair looked like it hadn’t seen a comb in the better part of a week, and the condition of his clothes? Well, that was just sad. “Anytime. What do you need?” Sara willed him not to say what she already saw on the tip of his tongue.

  “I’m scared, Sara. I’m in over my head. I have three projects to be worked simultaneously.” He ran his hands through his hair, making the ends stand up even more. “I’ve gone nonstop the last five days with no real headway on any of them. At this rate, I’ll have to close my doors right as my business is taking off.”

  “Calm down. You’ll be fine.”

  “CALM DOWN?!? What will I say to the investors? Will I have to return the startup money? I’ve been using it for weeks for overhead costs.” He wrung his hands and implored her with a look, as if a look would pay her bills. “Please help. I can’t waste time teaching someone a job you can do blindfolded.”

  Yet he’d wasted the last few weeks waiting on her.

  Instead of saying that, Sara remembered Sage’s push last weekend. The temptation to create her own girl-power story almost overpowered her. “Ray, I—”

  “Don’t say no yet. What’s the main thing holding you back?”

  Why did it matter? “There’s more than one. A lot more.” She thought that was enough of an answer, but Ray waited for an answer of more substance. “Oh, all right.” Sara blew out a frustrated breath. Did he really need her to spell out why life sucked? “I can’t leave Maddie and Tessa.”

  She couldn’t.

  She knew that.

  And he did too.

  Still, though, she had to move papers around on her desk to keep her hands busy and give her something to do so she didn’t run into Harrison’s office and quit on the spot. Because that’s what she wanted to do. More so now than ever before.

  She’d never admit it to her sister, but Maddie was right. Sara would take the job in a heartbeat if she wasn’t needed.

  Why was life so hard? She wasn’t even thirty yet. Wasn’t that young enough to go after her dreams?

  “What if I offered you an alternative?”

  To having everything she ever wanted career-wise? Hell, yeah. But she wouldn’t hold her breath. “You’re beating a dead horse. Please, will you let it go?” Quit dangling the carrot over my head. It tempted her way too much now that BCF reminded her of the other thing she wanted but couldn’t have.

  “You bring at least twice as much to the table as any other applicant would. Let’s say there was a way that you could stay on with Maddie, still work here, and come work for me.”

  “You’ve found a way to clone me then?” In spite of the impossibility of his statement, excitement tried to grab hold of her. She tapped it down, grounding herself in realism.

  “No, but I am willing to offer you the same salary we discussed before, as pay for part-time hours as a contracted employee instead of expecting your commitment as full-time staff.”

  He couldn’t be serious. And even if he was, how would something like that work? “Get real. I’m here during business hours. I wouldn’t be any help with establishing contacts, which is the main part of the job.”

  “True, and if you were onboard full time, you would be in charge of that as it’s no doubt your strong suit. But since that’s off the table, I’m willing to work with what I can get.”

  As unrealistic as it was, his fervor helped to repair some of her bruised ego.

  But it still didn’t change the facts. “In theory, this sounds great, Ray, but you do realize I have to sleep, right?”

  “How much sleep do you get when you work at your sister’s overnight?”

  “None. Which is exactly my point. Ray, listen, your attempts are sweet—”

  “No, Sara, you listen. What if I came with you and we worked while watching your niece? The rest of the time you could manage on your own, during weekends or whenever. I need you.”

  “And Tessa needs me more. Look, hanging out with Tessa at functions doesn’t make you ready to deal with everything that’s involved. Some nights I’m busy almost constantly. And honestly, her care is messier than what most can handle.” But Sara would have her weekends free now that Jacob wasn’t in her life.

  Wait. No. Why was she even thinking like that? This whole plan was ridiculous.

  Yet Ray kept pushing. “Do you really think I’d be turned off by the messiness of Tessa’s care? The little angel had me wrapped around her finger within minutes. Sara, now you’re just looking for excuses.”

  Was she? That’s what Maddie had accused her of. But what would happen when that smiling little angel confronted Ray covered in poop from head to foot? Or when she pulled her feeding tube out and saturated herself and her bed with Pediasure? “That’s easy to say.”

  “So is no. Why don’t you join me on the uncomfortable side for a bit and take a chance?”

  Did he know how tempted she was? How much she had to force herself to continue saying no? “But if you can’t count on me to be consistent, how am I a desirable employee?”

  He sighed. “Don’t be stubborn. Work with me on finding a solution. On the nights Tessa needs a little more care, we’ll either reschedule or I can help out and work at the same time. A lot of our job is brainstorming, writing, things that need to be talked through. Even if our hands are busy, we can still talk. And stuffing envelopes and composing emails can be done in between tasks.”

  Oh, my God. He really does want me
. Ray valued Sara’s work enough to tailor the position and hours for her to be able to do it.

  As much as she loved her apartment, her lease was up in a month. And who knew, maybe it’d be possible to step down at BCF to sales rep and switch to part time. FMLA leave wouldn’t cover her forever anyway, so her benefits would only be a plus for a limited amount of time. If she found a cheaper place, a roommate to share costs…

  Sara’s smile spread as she began to visualize the situation from his view, and the man grinned like a damned fool back at her, dancing in his seat. Didn’t either of them realize the plan was ridiculous? “I’m not making any promises,” she said. She couldn’t. Not yet. Even though she really, really wanted to. “Thursday nights are my nights with Tessa. Meet me at Maddie’s tonight. I want a written job description, official offer letter, and I want to see your three-year business plan. I’m not going to risk everything on a venture that’s half-assed.”

  But her butt did wiggle in her chair along with Ray’s victory dance.

  40

  Ten minutes to eight, and ten minutes too early, Sara turned onto 30th street.

  It’d taken less than two hours at Maddie’s with Ray for Sara to agree to take a chance on the new job. She wanted it, and Ray was willing to work around her schedule to make it happen. How could she pass up on an opportunity like that, even if it meant showing up to the job that paid her bills slightly more tired than normal?

  Once again, she’d been asked to cover for Harrison now that Jacob’s visits were no longer an issue, which meant opening on a day that should’ve given her at least a few hours’ sleep. But hey, what were a few hours when she was on the verge of living her dream? She’d even sprung and put on her favorite boots. Who cared if it was almost summer? She’d worn them that first day she’d met Jacob, and her life had changed immensely. Maybe not for the best, but it didn’t matter; she was ready for a change again.

  Stifling yet another yawn, Sara nosed her Toyota into BCF’s parking lot where a green sedan sat in front of the sidewalk near the main entrance.