Last Call_A Small-Town Romance Read online

  She stepped beside him and slid a warm mug into his hand, brushing his fingers before pulling back like she’d been burned. Tingles ran up his arm. “It’s getting pretty bad out there?”

  He nodded and sipped the hot liquid. “That hit the spot. Yeah, snow’s coming down pretty hard. I guess I should’ve left earlier.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t.”

  Had he heard her right? Based on the sweet, coy smile on her lips, he had. This night was turning out to be better than he expected.

  She gestured to the couch. She joined him, leaving a generous distance between them. What was going through that pretty little head of hers while she sipped her coffee? Her blonde curls hung around her face, hiding her expression. “So, we’re stuck here tonight.”

  “You live here, right?”

  She laughed, her melodic voice washing over him and shooting jolts straight to his groin. “I do. So I guess you’re the only one who’s stuck here.”

  “I don’t mind. It gives me an excuse to keep talking to you.” Or many of the other more intimate ideas that filled his mind.

  Color rose on her cheeks. “What did you want to talk about?”

  “Tell me something about you. I have to admit, if I hadn’t seen you, I would have turned around and walked out the door when I realized Last Call was gone.”

  She nibbled her lower lip again. He kept his gaze locked on hers, daring her to uncover the secrets she kept hidden. Did she have a good childhood, or was she running from her past? Had an ex-boyfriend broken her heart? How did she end up in Oak Grove, living above a restaurant? He wanted to know everything about this intriguing woman opposite him. But at the same time, he didn’t really have the right to ask, since he had things he would never reveal to her.

  “Where’d you go?” she asked.

  “Huh, what?”

  “You said you just got back in town. Where were you before?”

  He sank into the couch. That story alone could take several hours. But his trip was a safer topic than the job he’d avoided for the past three months. He’d had enough of the stray looks, the whispered conversations just out of his hearing. “I spent the last few months driving around the southern part of the United States taking pictures.”

  “So you’re a photographer?”

  “Amateur, yeah.” He drew another sip from his coffee. Not a lie, exactly.

  She shifted toward him and slid her knee onto the couch. “What kind of pictures?”

  “All kinds. I like landscapes, I love to capture the beauty in the colors of the sky. The purity of nature unspoiled. The power of water. But I also like to include people in my photos. Not posed ones, but people interacting with nature.” The faces of some of the people he’d met ran through his mind. “I came across this couple not long ago. Homeless. Walking down the side of the road dragging everything they owned in a buggy behind them. Their clothes hung off them, holes worn in their shoes. But the two of them smiled at me, talked to me. They had made a life for themselves. They were just happy to be together.”

  Her eyes glistened and she sniffled. “That sounds terrible and wonderful at the same time.”

  It made him appreciate what he had that much more. This couple had almost nothing but they were happy. Here Butch was, living a comfortable life, making a good salary, but he couldn’t sleep at night. “It was. They had thrown some tarps over a crop of trees in the woods. They let me take a picture of their home. I only hope…”

  He drank another sip.

  “What?”

  “I left them some money tucked in a corner of their cart before I left. I’m so fortunate to have what I do. But they were richer than I am, because they had each other and were happy. I didn’t want to insult them by offering cash outright. I only hope they accepted it how I intended.”

  She reached her hand out and covered his. “I’m sure they did.”

  Chapter Four

  CARLA’S HEART HAD nearly stopped when she ran into Butch out back. She didn’t expect to see him again. He was just another man who waltzed into her life just to scoot right back out. So when he’d asked to stay, there was no way she would say no.

  She should have let him sleep in a booth downstairs. Away from her, far away. But she couldn’t leave him downstairs and not tell him about the apartment. She couldn’t very well leave him to sleep scrunched on a bench when she had a perfectly good couch … or bed… up here. Stop, Carla. He’s just another man who will be out of your life tomorrow.

  He pulled his hand from beneath hers and sipped his coffee. “So, I told you something about myself. Now let’s hear something about you.”

  Where to start? Maybe that she didn’t trust herself with him, trapped inside during a snowstorm? Her eyes traveled up his legs wrapped in all that delicious leather stretched tight over his thighs. He’d stripped his jacket off showing off his sculpted arms and a some ink on his bicep peeking out below the cuff. Tugging his short-sleeve up, she studied the intricate image—two initials lay nested in the middle of the circular design. As she stroked over the lines and curves, her fingers tingled and warm sensations filled her body. How could this tough man, who clearly spent a lot of hours on a bike, have such soft skin? “What’s this design?”

  He pulled his arm away. “Oh no, you don’t. I already shared one of my secrets. Your turn… how’d you end up working here?”

  Busted. This man had come looking for Last Call. Did he know Harry? What if he was one of Harry’s friends? “As I said before, I moved to Oak Grove about six months ago with my, uh… my ex-boyfriend.”

  He grimaced. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”

  “I was his, what do you say in biker clubs, his ‘old lady’.”

  He stretched his arm across the back of the couch. If she shifted just a little, his arm would be around her shoulder. For now, just being near him had her pulse thrumming in her throat.

  “I have a hard time seeing that.”

  She did now, too. She had been at a low place in her life and Harry had taken advantage of her vulnerability. “I thought I knew Harry. But I got caught up in this intense, explosive relationship. New, exciting, maybe a bit dangerous. I have a history of hooking up with the wrong guys.”

  He stroked his fingers across her shoulder, his gentle touch sending shivers down her spine. “So what happened?”

  “He changed once we got to town. He got very possessive of me. He didn’t want me to go anywhere alone, and he dragged me along everywhere he went. He got more demanding. I’d been in a possessive relationship like that before, and I knew the outcome wouldn’t be good. I asked him to change and instead he kicked me out. I refused to be that person, to be completely dependent on someone again.” Because everyone she’d ever counted on left. She could only count on herself, and that was good enough.

  He scooted closer to her, his thigh brushing against hers. Just a little closer and she could climb on his lap.

  “Good for you.”

  “Yeah, but I was stuck in a new town, had no job and nowhere to live. There was a Help Wanted sign out front. Joey gave me a job… and a place to live. I owe him a lot.”

  He linked their fingers, his thumb whispering over her knuckles. “He sounds like a great guy.”

  She couldn’t concentrate. Her mind focused on the circles he drew on her hand and the warmth building deep in her belly. “Who, Joey? Yeah, he is.”

  “And you and he… you never…”

  “Oh, me and Joey together? No. He’s like a brother to me.” She covered her mouth to hide her chuckle. Half the time, she was giving him a hard time.

  Butch placed his hand on his chest and huffed out a breath. “Good. I didn’t want some jealous boyfriend breaking down the door and finding me here.”

  Is that all he was worried about? A jealous boyfriend. “Nope, no boyfriend…” She let the words trail off.

  Her heart had been racing since the moment Butch walked in the door. Each word out of his mouth seeped into her pores and settled deep
in her core.

  “Where did you live before Oak Grove?”

  “I grew up in a small town in southwest Virginia, counting the days until I could leave for the big city.” She laughed. The big city hadn’t fit her at all. Too many people, too impersonal. When she met Harry and he promised to bring her to a great town, she didn’t hesitate before jumping on his bike. Three towns later, they landed here. “Here I am, living in another small town. But Oak Grove is great. Everyone smiles and waves at you, they really get to know you.”

  She drank a sip of cold coffee. Then she set the cup back on the table and brushed her hand down her jeans. Anything so she didn’t have to look Butch in the eye. She couldn’t handle his intense stare locked on her as she spoke, like he could see every secret she hid. This man was no photographer, he must be a police officer or a lawyer with great interrogation skills. “What about you? You’re not from around here.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “The accent.”

  “I don’t have an accent,” he said, his accent thicker than it had been all night.

  She laughed. “Yeah, right. It’s faint, but it’s there. If I had to guess, I’d say the deep south.”

  “Atlanta.”

  She smacked him across the shoulder. She pulled her hand back before she squeezed and stroked the firm muscles that flexed beneath her palm. “I told you. So how’d you end up in Oak Grove? This is a bit off the beaten path.”

  “Work.”

  “And what do you do? Other than take pictures?”

  He stroked her shoulder, his fingers trailing down her arm, leaving a trial of goosebumps behind. “I don’t want to talk about work tonight. Let’s talk about you.”

  For now, she let him deflect the question. But she wasn’t done interrogating the elusive Butch Daniels. She hadn’t just sat and talked to a man in a long time.

  “Are you happy here? Working at the bar and living upstairs.”

  “Yeah, I am. I love that everything is so close. I have a car, but I don’t drive much. I walk most places when the weather is good. Everyone is so friendly here, and they took me in and made me one of their own.”

  He nodded, but didn’t stop the steady circles he drew on her arm. With each path around, arousal built deep in her gut. What was he doing to her? She should stand up, go to her room and leave him alone on the couch, but…. she couldn’t make herself leave.

  “On my way through town today, I stopped in the new coffee shop. Met the owner. She gave me a cup of coffee before she closed up.”

  “Emma? She’s great, isn’t she? Mug ’n Muffin hasn’t been open long but she already has lines out the door. I’m so glad Emma opened the shop and not some big-named chain.”

  “I agree. I got to visit some great places on my trip, but by the end, I was ready to get home.”

  Did he have someone waiting for him at home? That should have been her first question, although if he was married and routinely hit on other women, who’s to say he’d even tell the truth. Pain stabbed her in the heart and she pulled her hand back “Is there… I mean, is someone waiting for you when you get home? Is there someone you should call?”

  He smiled and squeezed her shoulder, shifting his hip so their bodies touched. “No one. Just me.”

  His leg distracted her, drove all rational thought from her mind. “So how’d you end up stuck here with me?” Her hands flew to her mouth. “That didn’t come out right… how come you aren’t at home on your first night back?” There, not too awkward.

  “I walked into my igloo, er house and the pilot went out. Figured I’d relight the flame and drop in to catch a couple of friends while I waited for my house to heat up. Didn’t expect to find Last Call gone, and… and I didn’t expect to find you.”

  The final words were said a breath away from her mouth. He closed the distance and their lips met, his soft and gentle against hers. Her arms snaked around his neck and she pulled him flush against her. Her body was on fire. She traced his lips and he opened and his tongue darted out and stroked hers. Slowly, like he could spend all night kissing her. When was the last time she’d just made out with a man?

  He stroked her back before settling his hands on the bare patch of skin above her jeans.

  She moaned, or was it him? Didn’t matter.

  He tilted his head and deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping in her mouth. The scent of his skin, part sweat, part musk, wrapped around her. She brushed her hands down his arms, tracing every hill and valley of his strong, muscular chest. Her heart beat rapid in her chest and her body reached for his.

  She pulled him down over her. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead on hers, struggling for breath. She did that to him.

  His lips grazed her neck and she couldn’t focus on anything else. He sucked and the pressure sent a jolt straight through her and settled deep in her core. Her head fell back and her eyes closed, too heavy to keep open. He sucked and licked his way to her ear where he circled her earlobe. Her entire body was wound so tight, that a few more well-placed kisses and he’d drive her over the edge.

  Butch shifted on the couch, shoved his thigh between hers and her insides turned to mush. His weight was deliciously heavy on her. He kissed between her breasts, cupping one in his very large hand. His thumb stroked her nipple through her shirt once, and again, each stroke spearing sensations straight through her. She squeezed her internal muscles to control the vibrations. Her nipples stiffened painfully before he placed a wet, opened-mouth kiss on one, then the other.

  Enough. They both wore too many clothes. She couldn’t stand the heat anymore. She shoved him, tugging his shirt from his pants along the way. He released her long enough to raise his arms over his head while she pulled his shirt off. Hers followed next, both of them landing somewhere on the floor. His hands free, he reached behind her and quickly released her bra.

  “God, Carla, you’re beautiful.” Appreciation and desire shone in his eyes as they visually caressed her body.

  Two could play at this game.

  She tickled her fingers through the hair across his chest. Several elaborate tattoos decorated his perfectly-sculpted pecs. Some small, some large, each one of them unique. What did they mean? She traced an intricate design over his left pec, circles around what appeared to be wings.

  He grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth. His eyes locked on hers as he sucked a single finger into his mouth, his tongue circling the tip. Every remaining thought flew right out of her mind.

  She raised up and pulled her hand away from his mouth, trailing her fingers down his chest. Her palms flat, she brushed across his shoulders and down his pecs until she brushed over his nipple.

  He sucked in a breath.

  Bingo! She leaned forward and licked around the flat circle, teasing it into a tight nub.

  His hands slid to her waist and he squeezed. Usually, the men she’d been with didn’t like her taking the lead.

  She trailed kisses across his chest and teased his other nipple into a peak.

  He groaned and sank back onto the cushion, his head thrown back and his cock tenting his leathers. She nudged his feet to the ground and straddled him, settling on his lap and brushing across his impressive erection.

  “Oh God,” he said on a breath.

  She ran her tongue along the winged-tattoo above his heart, tracing the design. She slid across to the tribal symbol above his other pec, outlining the intricate design with her fingers… and her tongue. His hands gripped her waist and pulled her into him. His cock thickened beneath her. A jolt traveled straight from her core and settled deep in her gut. Her body throbbed and begged for the release just out of reach. She rocked on his erection, his cock pressing against her core and sending sensations through her body.

  She ran her hands down his body, tracing each hill and valley of his tight abs. She circled his naval, dipping her tongue in and swirling around.

  His hands moved to her thighs, stoking the inferno that he’d sparked.
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  She followed the happy trail of hair down his body until she stopped at his waist. In one quick motion, she released the button and lowered the zipper, spreading the leathers aside. The sprinkling of hair grew thicker as it stretched down his body into the black briefs that barely contained his cock.

  Her mouth watered and she licked her lips. She stroked his cock, gently at first, before wrapping her palm around him.

  “Too much.” He growled. He lifted her off his lap and threw her on the couch. He yanked his pants down groaned when his boots stopped him from pulling them off.

  “Allow me.”

  She pushed him back on the couch and climbed on the floor. A slight shift and she could have her mouth on him. The laces of his tall boot put up a fight, but she finally freed the knot and loosened the boot. She raised her eyes to him as she pulled the boot off. He watched her, his eyes half-closed. His hands rested gently on her shoulders, kneading the muscles tight from a long shift at the bar. She set the boot aside and made quick work of the second one before finally pulling his leathers down and over his feet.

  He hauled her from the floor and took her mouth. His tongue burned a path down her neck to her breast and her head fell back. He cupped one while he sucked the other nipple into his mouth, his tongue giving delicious pressure as his teeth nipped at her sensitive flesh. His motions were quick and frantic.

  Her rapid heartbeat made her lightheaded. “Oh, God, that feels so good.”

  He licked the other nipple as his hand trailed down her belly. He ran a single finger along the waistband of her jeans, tickling the sensitive skin across her belly. His touch burned hot on her bare skin. She wriggled, trying to force a deeper connection. His erection throbbed between them and he rocked his groin, bringing them closer together.

  His tongue circled her nipple and he sucked it to the roof of his mouth. The moisture and heat of his breath added to the torture. His other arm wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly to him.