Worse than the dull, practical clothes, was her face. It was as beautiful as it was now, but there was something missing in her eyes. They lacked the sparkle he saw when she was working in his kitchen or flipping through fashion magazines with Kimmie. And her smile in that picture, while still lovely, was the fakest he’d ever seen.
Ian could only hope that she would never go back to that life. It became obvious to him within seconds of stumbling across that picture that the woman standing there with her parents was unhappy.
But he couldn’t be sure that once she got bored she wouldn’t trade in her current living situation for a brand new adventure. And if she did, the price he would pay would be far more than he was willing. Not that he couldn’t handle a broken heart, as much as it would devastate him. He was thinking about Kimmie.
His little sister already thought Sonny hung the stars in the sky. If Kimmie thought even for a second that there was something serious between him and Sonny, that her new idol was more to their family than simply the person renting the garage apartment, she would become even more attached than she already was. And if Sonny then decided to move on?
His baby sister would be crushed.
Ian could figure out a way to deal with his broken heart, but he refused to do that to Kimmie.
The only way to prevent that from happening was to do exactly what he and Sonny had vowed to do from the very beginning. They couldn’t be together. It was better for all of them.
Chapter Seven
As he emptied a second bag of ice over the cans of soda he’d just replenished, Ian glanced over at the concession table and noticed they were running low on chips and popcorn.
Damn, at the rate these kids inhaled junk food, snacks would be appearing on some extinction list soon.
As he headed for the house, he gave the backyard a cursory glance, making sure there was no need to rough up any knuckleheaded boy Kimmie had invited to the party. So far the boys had been well behaved, but Ian knew that meant nothing. It hadn’t been all that long ago that he was their age. He, Sam and Dale had been masters of being perfect gentlemen in the presence of adults, but when those adults weren’t around…
Ian didn’t even want to think about it. If he did he might just grab every teen boy by his collar and toss him onto the street.
Payback really was a bitch. He suddenly had the urge to apologize to the parents of every girl he’d felt up at a birthday party.
He tossed the empty soda boxes on his way into the house. When he entered the kitchen he found Sonny standing at the stove, the unique sound of popcorn popping in a metal pot ringing through the air.
“You are amazing,” Ian said.
She looked over her shoulder. “I already know that. What makes me amazing this time?”
He chuckled at her sassy comeback. If he had to count all the things that made her amazing in his eyes, he would be there until next week. Yet, there he was with his hands tied, unable to do anything but fantasize about what could be if circumstances were different.
The thought made Ian want to hurl something against the wall.
“I just realized we were running low on popcorn, and here you are, already on top of it.”
“My eyes have been glued to the snacks,” Sonny said. “I cannot believe how much they eat! You would think they were starving.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”
Ian looked behind him to make sure they were alone, then walked up behind Sonny, slid his hand over her stomach and pressed a kiss to her neck, just underneath her ear. He did it because he had to.
And because he was a glutton for punishment.
He heard the soft sigh that escaped Sonny’s lips as she relaxed against him.
“Ian,” she murmured. There was a warning in her voice, but he’d be damned if there wasn’t longing too. Which made this even more ridiculous.
“Yeah, I know,” Ian said. “We can’t do this.”
It remained her favorite line where they were concerned.
He’d backed off, too, acknowledging that it was best if they not act on the attraction between them. But knowing they shouldn’t didn’t make it easier. Knowing they shouldn’t didn’t curb the urge to sweep her into his arms and pin her against the wall, especially when her skin looked so warm and dewy after standing in front of the hot stove. And when her firm backside fit so unbelievably perfect against his aching groin.
God, did he ache for her.
“Do me a favor,” he whispered against her skin. “Don’t pull away yet. Let me savor this for just a minute.”
Instead of pulling away, which Ian half expected her to do despite his request, she brought her arms over his hand that covered her belly.
He was an idiot to put himself through this. He’d already decided that even if Sonny changed her mind, he couldn’t trust her not to do exactly what his mother had done. In fact, he fully expected her to bail when she got bored with this town.
But that didn’t stop Ian from wanting to pretend, just for a couple of minutes, that things were different.
“Every time I think I’m making the right decision with resisting you, you make me question it,” Sonny said.
“Yeah, well, who the hell said I was going to make this easy for you?”
“Ian,” she said in a strained voice.
“Shhh,” Ian whispered against her skin. “I just wanted to thank you.”
She turned around slightly to look over her shoulder. “For what?”
For coming into my life.
Even though it killed him, knowing her time with him was limited, Ian could not regret a single second of what had happened since the moment he looked down the bar at The Corral and spotted her looking back at him.
“For throwing Kimmie the best birthday party she could ever hope for,” he finally answered. “I never would have been able to do this without you.”
“You would have done okay by yourself,” she said.
“Not even close. Every time I’ve looked at Kimmie today she’s had this huge smile on her face. You made that smile possible. ”
Sonny shut off the fire and moved the pot to another burner. Then she turned to him and cupped his cheeks in her soft hands.
“You’re the one who made this possible. It takes an extraordinary man to go to this much trouble to make his baby sister’s birthday special.”
Ian’s throat tightened with emotion. “Thank you,” he said again, his voice hoarse.
Minutes stretched between them as they stood in the middle of the kitchen. God, how he wanted to wrap his arms around her and lose himself in her kiss.
But that wouldn’t be fair to either of them.
This? Them? It wasn’t going to happen. Eventually, he would accept that. Then maybe he could lay off the self-torture.
Although that probably wouldn’t happen until her packed-to-the-brim VW Bug pulled out of his driveway for the very last time.
And that’s when the real torture would begin.
“The credits are rolling,” Sonny said.
“What?”
She tipped her head toward the door. “The song that’s playing. It’s at the end of the movie. It’s time for the birthday cake. Can you help me bring it out?”
For a moment he’d forgotten there was a party in progress.
“Yeah, sure,” Ian said, taking a couple of steps back. He followed her into the dining room where she’d hidden the cake she’d made at Kiera’s yesterday. They each picked up one side of the rectangular base, and together carried it outside and set it on the round table Sonny had set up for it.
The crowds’ excited reaction to the cake managed to put a smile on Ian’s face. It looked better than it had in the picture he’d seen online.
Sonny called for everyone to gather around the table, and in the most inharmonious chorus known to mankind, they all sang happy birthday.
Because he’d apparently turned into a masochist over the last few weeks, Ian allowed himself to
indulge in the fantasy of this being real. Of Sonny being here, not as the tenant renting the apartment above his garage, but as the woman at his side. His woman. Celebrating his little sister’s birthday with him. Sharing his life.
It was a foolish dream. It would only make it that much more difficult when she left Maplesville. But he granted himself the brief fantasy all the same. He would need these memories to keep him company once she moved on.
Kimmie did the honors of cutting the first piece of cake. Ian thought it was a shame to slice through Sonny’s masterpiece, but after his first bite he refused to feel bad about it. The cake was pure genius. He knew in that instant that her dream of owning her own specialty cake business would not only happen, but it would be an enormous success.
Once copious amounts of cake had been consumed by everyone, the parents of the boys who’d attended the party—none of which Ian had been forced to rough up—began to arrive. Sam and Dale, who’d both loaned Ian their pick-up trucks to serve as additional seating for the drive-in, came over, and, along with Sonny, helped to shuttle the girls to the sleepover at Michelle Foster’s house.
By the time he got back home all Ian wanted to do was crash on the sofa and sleep until noon, but the backyard was a mess. He wouldn’t be able to rest with trash everywhere. As he grabbed an empty garbage bag from the box underneath the sink, Ian couldn’t summon the motivation to complain. Just thinking about that smile on Kimmie’s face made every empty candy box and soda can strewn about the yard worth it.
He’d just wheeled the trash receptacle to the curb when he spotted Sonny’s VW Bug turning onto Red Maple Drive. She pulled into the driveway. Ian was walking up to her car when she exited.
“Did I miss the clean up?” she asked. She pumped her fist in the air when he nodded. “Yes. My timing is perfect.”
Ian chuckled. “It wasn’t as bad as I first thought. Besides, you did enough today. I wouldn’t have asked you to help.”
“You know I’m only joking,” she said. “I’ll help clean up the kitchen.”
He waved off her offer. “I’ll get to it tomorrow. It was a long day. We both deserve some downtime.”
She rested her backside against the car door, her hands shoved into her front pockets. She looked so damn good Ian wanted to drop to his knees and offer himself up to her.
The air that sizzled between them was thick with want. The need to surround himself with her, to lose himself in that incredible body, was almost too much to withstand.
He told himself to look away, but his stubborn eyes refused to obey. Instead he and Sonny continued to stare at each other. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. It was right there in her eyes.
But they both had their reasons for not acting on it, and he had to remember that his reason was a damn good one. He wouldn’t allow Madison White to do to his family what Yvonne Landry had done.
“This—”
“I should—”
Ian gestured for her to speak.
“I was going to say that I should probably get to bed,” she opened. “Kiera and I are meeting with her sister-in-law, Jada Coleman, in the morning. They’re throwing the christening party for their friend Callie’s baby girl next month.”
“Does that mean you’ll be here at least until next month?” Ian asked. He hated hearing the hopefulness in his voice, but he also couldn’t deny it.
“I, uh, I’m not sure,” she said. “I haven’t decided.”
Her answer was like a fist to the gut.
Sonny pushed away from the car.
“Good night,” she said. And then she left him standing in the middle of the driveway.
~ ~ ~
Sonny felt as if she were wading through mud as she trudged up the stairs to her apartment. She was tired to the bone, but the taxing chore of hosting over twenty preteens wasn’t the only thing that had completely depleted her energy. This thing with Ian weighed as heavily as anything else.
Why was she denying herself someone she wanted so desperately?
She craved him so badly she ached with it. Her body still burned from the way he’d stared at her, his heated gaze penetrating through clothes and skin, down to the very heart of her.
This was pure insanity. What did she think would happen? Did she think shackles would magically drop from the sky and clamp down on her wrists the moment she admitted that she’d fallen for him?
But that was it, wasn’t it? When she looked at Ian, she didn’t want to leave.
That’s what scared her the most. But it didn’t have to be scary. It could be wonderful if she just allowed herself the freedom to explore what she’d found here with Ian.
“Just because you found him doesn't mean you have to lose yourself,” Sonny whispered.
She kicked off her sandals and drew her fishnet sweater over her head, leaving her in a white tank top, dark blue jeans and bare feet. She heard the downstairs garage door open, and seconds later, the sound of footsteps pounding up the stairs.
She rushed over to the landing just in time to see Ian taking the last few steps two at a time.
“Is something wrong?” Sonny asked.
“Yes.” He nodded as he rushed to her. He got right in her face and said, “Do you remember when you said you fought like hell to get what you wanted? Well, that’s what I’m doing. I want you.”
He grabbed both of her hands and backed her up against the wall. “And I’m not giving you up without a fight.” Then he crushed his mouth to hers.
Sonny clamped her hands onto his shoulders, her legs quickly going around his waist. Ian pulled the hem of her tank from her jeans and then over her head. He buried his face against her neck, then trailed his mouth lower, nibbling the tops of her breasts where her demi-bra pushed them together, making them plump up.
Hooking her other leg around his waist, Ian carried her to the small twin bed, depositing her on the mattress and following her down.
“Tell me to stop,” he said.
“No.”
“Tell me!”
“No!” she yelled. She didn’t want him to stop. She never wanted him to stop.
Ian unsnapped her jeans and slowly pulled the zipper down. Her skin burned hotter with each rasp of the metal teeth as they separated. He hooked his thumbs at her waist and pulled the denim down her hips. The snug material got caught up over her butt, eliciting a growl of frustration from Ian. He yanked the jeans down, causing Sonny to bounce on the bed.
“I’m not rushing this,” he said in a voice husky with desire. “I need this to be the complete opposite of what happened at The Corral.”
“Take your time,” she said. “But, please, don’t take too long.”
He stalked up her body like a panther, trailing heated kisses along her skin. He nipped her inner thighs, sucking at the skin then licking it softly, soothingly. His index fingers hooked into the sides of her panties, and then he pulled them down her legs.
The groan that escaped Ian’s throat was one of both pain and pleasure.
“No, this isn’t going to be fast at all,” he said. “Damn right I’m taking my time.”
Sonny felt herself growing wet under the heat of his scorching gaze. He spread her legs apart and dipped his head.
The first touch of his mouth catapulted her straight to heaven. He was relentless in his pursuit, his tongue laving her folds as his fingers toyed with her opening, dipping in just slightly, before he brought his finger out and coated her sex with her own moisture. Sensation flooded her veins, delicious sparks of pleasure shooting throughout her body. Ian alternated his licks, flicking rapidly and then languidly, rolling his tongue around the tight nub of nerves at her cleft, tormenting her with every wicked touch.
Her muscles clenched when one finger finally slipped deep inside of her soaking wet sex. A desperate gasp tore from her throat and her back arched like a bow.
Sonny grew conscious of the feeling that began to build low in the pit of her belly. Her muscles tightened. Her skin grew achy. Her senses
heightened as Ian closed his mouth over her clit and sucked hard.
White-hot pleasure burst through her. Her limbs shook with it, satisfaction barreling through her.
Ian levered himself up and stripped out of his clothes. Then he rolled on the condom he’d taken from his pocket before tossing his jeans aside. Sonny’s mouth watered at the sight of his solid erection. She wanted that—wanted him—more than she wanted to escape her growing feelings for him. More than she wanted her cherished, hard-earned independence. This moment was everything to her.
Ian lowered himself over her and parted her thighs with his hips. He settled between her legs, but he didn’t enter. Instead, he hovered at the entrance of her body, teasing her with the plump head of his erection.
“Ian, please,” she said, rocking her hips upward, urging him on.
“In a minute,” he husked. “I need to…prepare myself.”
He inhaled several deep breaths before finally pushing his way inside of her. Twin moans rumbled out of their mouths. Sonny concentrated on the sensation of his thick, solid erection buried deep inside; he filled her so perfectly that it stole her breath.
Ian remained still for several heart-stopping seconds before he started to move within her. He matched her stroke for stroke, their cadence a mesmerizing rhythm as they came together in a way that made Sonny want to weep. She’d never felt so adored. Ian worshipped her body with his lovemaking, taking care in the strong, yet gentle glide of his powerful thrust. He whispered praises against her skin, his face buried against her neck as he slowly pumped in and out of her.
All You Can Handle (Moments In Maplesville Book 5) Page 13