Here With Me Read online

  “I know. I couldn’t believe it either. We busted our asses all week, we’re ahead of schedule. So I gave everybody the day off.”

  “You can come to the nursing home tomorrow and help me!”

  “That wasn’t what I was planning—”

  “Please? I need you.” Her head tilts to the side. “Mr. Grady wants to do a pageant, and I’m trying to make it happen without costing any money. I need help digging boxes out of storage. We can spend the day together. It’ll be fun.”

  “It doesn’t sound like fun.”

  “Please, Sawyer.” She bats her eyes, and I lean my head against the cab.

  “I spent the last six days hauling fifty-pound crates of peaches—”

  “And you look so good doing it.” She leans forward, running her cold nose against my neck. “Maybe if I give you a nice back rub…”

  I’m very aware of her hands on my waist, moving under my shirt, across my stomach, lower… “That’s not my back.”

  “It’s not?” She leans up so our lips brush. “Maybe I can rub something else… Make another wish.”

  Heat floods my pelvis, and I scoop her up to her feet, hopping over the side of the truck. “Come on. I’m taking you home.”

  “What’s wrong with here?”

  “Too many people around.”

  Her hands are on my shoulders as I lower her to her feet, between me and the driver’s door. “But you’re staying with me tonight?”

  Reaching up, I catch her cheeks in my hands and kiss her, pushing her full lips apart and sweeping my tongue inside to find hers. She exhales a little noise that registers straight below my belt. Why the fuck did I drive us so far?

  She’s on her toes, holding us close. “You’re sleeping at my place.”

  I give her another quick kiss before shoving her in the cab. “I don’t plan on sleeping.”

  13

  Mindy

  Sawyer’s focus is on the road as we race back from the lake to my house. I’m sitting in the middle of the bench seat with my head on his shoulder. My hand is in his lap, and I look down, tracing my fingers along his muscular thigh.

  “It takes so long to drive home from the lake. We should just pull over.”

  “Somebody might stop to check on us.” His arm goes around my shoulders. “We’re almost there.”

  I don’t know how he’s so controlled. I feel like I’m burning up. My hand moves higher, and I can’t help a grin. He’s sporting some major wood in those jeans. It makes me excited and horny, and a little naughty.

  “It feels so far.” I trace my fingers along his hardness, blinking up to see his Adam’s apple bob with a swallow.

  “Don’t make me wreck.”

  “Just focus on the road.” Leaning down, I lower the zipper on his jeans, spreading the fly apart so I can get better access to his dick. “You didn’t wear underwear.”

  “I showered before I came over.”

  I’m not sure what that has to do with it, but it makes my job easier. Leaning down, I slide my tongue along the mushroom tip of his cock. He exhales a noise, shifting higher in his seat.

  “Mindy…” I love the way he groans my name, his voice all strained like that. “This isn’t a good idea.”

  “Just the tip?” I pull it between my lips, giving him a firm suck.

  “Fuck…” His hand grips the back of my hair, and I do it again, coming off to flicker my tongue around the edge.

  Going down, I can’t get my mouth around him properly between the seat and his jeans, but based on the sounds he’s making, the rocking of his hips, and his hand fisting the back of my hair, what I’m doing is working.

  He’s hard and straining, and I’m trying to get my fingers between him and the denim. “Shit, we’re almost there.”

  I come off him with a pop, leaning up to look around my neighborhood. My lips are hot and throbbing, and my hand is on his wet cock, sliding up and down, keeping him on edge. “Park in the driveway so I can finish.”

  “We can’t do this in my truck in front of your house.”

  “Prude.”

  “I have a reputation in town.” He slams the shift into park and rips the keys out of the ignition. “Get in the house and get naked.”

  “So bossy.” I slide out on the passenger’s side, grinning as I run up the steps. “I’m going to finish what I started.”

  We’re barely through the door when he has me pinned against the wall in a kiss. His hand is between my legs, ripping my denim skirt higher and finding my drenched panties.

  “Jesus, you feel so good.” His fingers trace their way inside me, and I moan.

  “You feel so good.” I pull his lips with mine, riding his fingers as he pinches my clit.

  His mouth is at my neck, biting the skin gently, sending sparks of pleasure through my body. With a quick kiss, I drop to my knees again and pull at his waist.

  “Mindy,” he groans, bracing one arm against the wall and looking down as I free his enormous cock.

  “That’s better.” I have it in my fist, pumping it as I look up at him. “Where were we?”

  Leaning forward, I pull him into my mouth, this time taking him all the way. He hisses and groans again, and his hand holds the back of my head.

  “Mindy… I can’t…”

  Satisfaction unfurls in my stomach. His hips rock, and his dick hits the back of my throat. Lifting my chin, I look up to see his brow clutched hard, his eyes squeezed shut. I rake my nails up his thighs, and his jaw tightens with another low groan.

  Leaning back, I fist his cock, pumping fast, keeping the momentum going as I catch my breath. “You like it?”

  His hazel eyes sparkle with lust, and his voice is ragged. “I can’t come down your throat…”

  “You can.” I lean forward, taking him all the way again, holding his ass with my palms. I love the tightness of him, the strain.

  Blinking up, our eyes meet, and he touches the side of my cheek with his thumb just before his eyes squeeze shut. I feel the orgasm ripple through his muscles. He groans, thrusting forward, as his cock pulses, spilling down my throat. He stills, bracing through the remnants of orgasm, and I slide my hands along his thighs, rising higher to kiss his flat stomach.

  “Come here.” He lifts me off my knees to his waist.

  I wrap my body around him with his palms flat against my ass. We hug each other for several long moments, my back against the wall, his weight pressing against me. Our hearts beat in time as I melt into him, ready to give him everything.

  I’m pretty sure I’ve decided… I want to know his decision.

  Pushing off the wall, he carries me like I weigh nothing toward the stairs. “You want anything?”

  “You…” I speak in his ear and kiss his temple. “And some water.”

  With a chuckle, he lets me down. “Meet you upstairs.”

  “I’ll bring you some too.”

  The kitchen still smells like delicious marinara sauce, and I frown at the plastic container of leftovers now cool on the counter.

  “Secret family recipe, my ass.” I slap the lid on it and shove it in the fridge before grabbing two bottles of water and heading upstairs.

  Sawyer’s sitting up in bed with his shirt off. His back is against the headboard and his eyes are closed. The moonlight streams across the room, deepening the lines in his torso.

  “One orgasm and I lost him.” I mutter to myself, taking a long drink of water and shimmying out of my denim skirt.

  I suppose it’s not fair to give him a hard time. Like he said, he’s been hauling fifty-pound crates of peaches all day in the hot sun. It makes his body look amazing, but what good does it do me when I’m up late and horny?

  Crawling across the bed, I lean forward to kiss his cheek. “You are not an owl.”

  His eyes blink open. “Hey.” He slides his palms up my thighs, awakening all my senses.

  “You talk a big game, old man, and you’re already asleep.” Leaning forward, I kiss the side of his mouth,
tracing my lips along his cheek.

  “Just resting my eyes.” His hands move higher, lifting my sweater over my head. “What took you so long?”

  “I was right behind you.”

  “You were not. I changed clothes, got in bed, waited—”

  “I put away that award-winning dinner I made for you.” Leaning forward, I kiss my way to his lips, which curl into a smile.

  “Mm… dinner.”

  Stopping my progress, I look in his eyes. It only takes a second before we both bust out laughing.

  “It was awful!” I’m laughing so hard tears are in my eyes.

  “It was not awful.” He unfastens my bra, and my nipples tighten as the lace falls across them.

  “I’m never cooking for you again.”

  He rolls me onto my back, cupping my breasts and kissing the tops of them. “It had an unexpected flavor.”

  “Unexpectedly horrific.”

  His mouth moves lower, raising chills in my skin with every touch. My eyes roll shut, and my back rises as he pulls a tight nipple between his lips, heating the space between my thighs.

  His torso is between my legs, and he’s propped on his elbows directly over my breasts. “You have perfect breasts.”

  I thread my fingers in his hair. “I hope I made it up to you.”

  “We’re lucky we made it home.”

  “You’re such a prude. We could’ve stayed at the lake.”

  “Those old guys don’t allow much coloring outside the lines.” His eyes flicker up to mine, dark and sexy. “You’re very loud when you come.”

  “Screw those old guys.”

  He’s moving lower, kissing my stomach. “I haven’t been able to say that in a long time. Too many people counting on me.”

  “Sawyer…” My breath catches as his beard scuffs the skin below my navel. “Tell me what you decided.”

  He rises up on his knees and quickly removes my thong. “What I’ve decided?”

  “You said you’d made a decision. What is it?”

  He hesitates a moment, running his eyes over my naked body. It’s electric. My breath stills. Waiting…

  “I want you to go to the Peach Ball with me this year.”

  My stomach jumps, and I rise up on my elbows. For a second, I don’t know what to say. “Everybody will know we’re together.”

  He nods. “It’s about time.”

  Joy bubbles up in my chest. I try to get up, but he lowers his torso onto mine, pinning me down. “Where are you going?”

  “I want to hug you and kiss you…” I’m trying to wiggle free, but he holds me tighter.

  “Later. First I want to hear that sound you make when you come on my face.”

  “Oh my God…” I fall back on the bed, putting my hands on my forehead. “Sawyer…”

  He kisses his way down my stomach, wrapping his arms around my thighs and spreading them apart. My eyes close and my back arches with the first pass of his tongue over my clit.

  “Sawyer…” My fingers are in his hair, pulling as his mouth moves faster. My knees rise. Sparks of pleasure tingle up my inner thighs with the scuff of his beard.

  I surrender to his kisses, to the warmth of his mouth covering me, the slide of his hands over my stomach, and the velvet of his tongue stroking me again and again, driving me closer and closer to orgasm. He sucks and pulls, focusing on the spot that makes me blind with pleasure.

  “Yes…” I’m starting to shake, the orgasm is racing to my core, arching my feet. “Oh, God yes…”

  My toes point, and he rises quickly, seating himself between my thighs and thrusting deep, stretching me, filling me as pleasure spasms through my body. I moan loudly, and he covers my mouth with his, sweeping his tongue to mine as we move in time, waves on the ocean.

  We shoot through the stars. I am the moon. I’m better than the moon. I’m the sun, crackling with heat and blazing fire as he rocks with me, thrusting faster, massaging me deeper, harder, faster, until he’s groaning in my ear.

  He breaks, and my arms are around him, feeling his body move, feeling his orgasm. I hold him, our bodies flush. Stretching higher, I kiss the side of his face. A bead of sweat rolls down his cheek, and salt is on my tongue. I kiss him again, lips parting, tongues caressing.

  These feelings are overwhelming. We’re breathing hard. His arms are strong around me, and I nestle my head against his chest. His heart beats hard, thudding against my cheek. It’s so good. It’s everything I want. This man is my home.

  “Somebody’s happy today!” Mrs. Irene grins, facing the sunlight as I enter her room.

  “You can’t even see me.” I go to where she’s sitting in a chair by the window.

  “I heard your voice in the hall. Even a blind lady can recognize that tone. You were with a man last night.” Her bright eyes sparkle, and I’m glad she can’t see me blushing.

  “I’m excited about our plans for today, and it’s Saturday…”

  “And you had a date last night with the man you love.”

  “Here. Be careful.” I help her to the wheelchair so I can roll her to the activity center. “Keep your voice down because he’s here today.”

  “I thought you said Deacon was going to Dallas this weekend.” Miss Jessica joins us in the hall. “He changed his mind?”

  “I don’t think so.” I’m confused for a second, but my insides warm when I look up to see Sawyer waiting at the reception desk with one hand in his pocket.

  He left me early this morning with a kiss and a cuddle to be at his place when everyone woke up. Now he’s here in a dark tee with those jeans that hug his ass.

  “Is that Sawyer LaGrange?” Miss Jessica frowns.

  “Sawyer LaGrange?” Mrs. Irene turns her head in my direction. “Well, I’ll be dogged.”

  Leaning down, I speak in her ear. “Wait here a second.”

  “Why is he here?” Miss Jessica seems worried, and I assume she’s thinking of Noel.

  I smile and hold up my hands. “He’s helping me get some boxes out of storage.”

  “Among other things.” Mrs. Irene’s voice has a lilt I choose to ignore.

  “What other things?” Miss Jessica looks around. “What did I miss?”

  “Apparently a lot. We all did…”

  They’re still speculating as I catch Sawyer’s arm and pull him into the sitting room. “Hey, you made it.”

  I give him a quick hug, and he kisses the side of my cheek. “I said I was coming.”

  He grins, and that dimple appears. I’m pretty sure I’m floating on air right now.

  “Let me get the ladies set up in the activity room, and I’ll show you where everything is.”

  “Want me to come with you?”

  I look to where Mrs. Irene and Miss Jessica are watching us with a mixture of curiosity and glee.

  “I don’t know. Some of these old ladies can be a bit eccentric.”

  “I can handle old ladies.” He puts his hand on my lower back, and my stomach tightens. “I’m coming with you.”

  14

  Sawyer

  “Sawyer LaGrange!” Miss Jessica steps forward and catches my hand. “I haven’t seen you since April.”

  I lean down to kiss her cheek. “You haven’t been to the house in a while.”

  Noel and Miss Jessica formed a friendship when our great-aunt was still alive and living in this nursing home. Miss Jessica would use Noel’s cosmetics, then she gave my sister her old feed shed to turn into a store.

  “Are you just as handsome as ever?” Mrs. Irene turns her head in our direction.

  I step over to clasp the hand of our old first-grade teacher. “When’s the last time you saw me?”

  She pulls me closer, and I give her a hug. Her vacant eyes dance. “You still sound like you used to.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Confident, mature. You were always old for your age.”

  Her words make me think of my dad, and a twist of sadness grips my stomach. It’s the second time in
two days I’ve been reminded of him.

  “He’s handsomer.” Miss Jessica chimes in. “He looks like a Marine now.”

  “Oh, I love that. What’s your opinion on older women?”

  I glance at Mindy, and she’s smiling, shaking her head. “Okay, you two cougars.” She goes behind Mrs. Irene’s wheelchair. “Don’t scare off the help.”

  I scoot in beside her, taking the handles of the chair. “Let me do this.”

  Mindy catches Miss Jessica’s arm, and I follow them, pushing Mrs. Irene to the big, open activity room where a small group of old men and women are sitting together, talking animatedly.

  Two ladies are sitting on opposite sides of the room glaring at each other, and Miss Jessica leans into my side.

  “Jimmy Hebert dipped his pecker in a few too many ink wells, if you know what I mean. Got busted.” She nods, giving me a knowing wink, and my eyebrows shoot up. “If you ask me, they need to monitor his access to the Viagra.”

  Again, I look to Mindy, but she just waves, going to where Ramona Brown stands in the center of the room. I remember her as the nurse who accompanies Miss Jessica to our house sometimes.

  “Good morning, everyone,” Mindy starts, and they all quiet down. “Mr. Grady is coming by to discuss the pageant. We still need to decide on the categories we want to include. Options are talent, interview, swimsuit, and evening gown. We can leave off the swimsuit—”

  “Boo!” Mr. Hebert jumps up beside me, waving his hand. “We want a swimsuit competition.”

  Murmurs break out across the group, mixed with soft laughter and a few grumbles.

  Mindy quickly continues. “That’s why we’re here now—to have a secret ballot vote. Ramona’s going to help me.” Ramona quickly moves through the group, passing out slips of paper. “Write your choices. We’ll count them up and decide.”

  “Sawyer LaGrange?” Mr. Hebert turns to me. “Good to see you, son. Thank you for your service.”

  “Thank you for yours, sir.” I shake his hand, and he holds mine tight.

  “That was a long time ago.” He looks towards the front again. “I’m sure you agree with me. If we’re going to have a pageant, we should do it right. Swimsuits!”