Last Call_A Small-Town Romance Read online

  “Enough.” She pushed him away and rose to her feet. After popping the button on her jeans, she ripped them down her body. She stood in front of him in only a small scrap of fabric covering her core, her body begging for his touch.

  Chapter Five

  HOW DID HE end up in this place? With this beautiful woman standing almost naked in front of him? After all of these months alone, he wouldn’t last long. But he took his time, exploring every inch of her beautiful body in the warmth of her apartment as snow swirled around the building, cocooning them as though they were the only two people in the world.

  He brought her back to him and ran his tongue along the edge of her lace panties. Her smooth skin was soft beneath his rough hands. She stared down at him with hope and desire swirling in her eyes. Without breaking her gaze, he slid her panties down and she stepped out of them.

  “Beautiful.” He nipped at her hip and then soothed the pink mark. He did the same on the other side before he laid her back on the couch, on display for him. His fingers itched to take her picture, to observe her through the filter of his camera. Her creamy skin, as smooth as porcelain, reflected the moonlight that shone through the window.

  When he had his camera, he hid behind the lens. He blended in with the scenery. But Carla wouldn’t let him hide. She’d drawn him out, exposed him.

  He worked his way to her thighs and opened her to him. He placed an open-mouth kiss on her core.

  She tensed.

  He chuckled. She was on the edge, too. Just a few simple strokes, a well-placed kiss, and both of them would tumble over the edge. “Relax.”

  “I can’t. It’s too much.”

  She had no idea. His cock throbbed, his briefs the only thing keeping him from plunging into her right now and claiming her as his own.

  He licked around her core, the musky sweetness tickling his lips. He plunged his tongue into her channel and stroked her folds. Her muscles clenched around him and her wetness increased.

  “Tell me what you want.”

  “You.” She panted, her breaths coming more quickly. He swept his tongue again, repeating the process over and over. Each time he brushed over her clit, her muscles flexed and then relaxed again. She arched her back and threw her head back.

  “Exquisite,” he said against her core before he inserted two fingers and reached for the spot that would drive her over the edge. Touching her, pleasing her, made him happier than he’d been in a long time. He could block out the angry voices in his mind, the ones that made him question everything he’d worked for in his life. If only he could see himself as Carla did. The man who didn’t have the ugliness buried deep inside.

  She clenched around him, harder, tighter. He quickened the pace, his fingers and tongue working together.

  All of a sudden, she pushed against his shoulder. “No, not yet. Not like this.”

  Butch couldn’t resist her pull. He moved up her body and stretched out, his cock aligned with her core. Her breasts pillowed against his chest and her fingers tangled in his hair. He kissed her, pouring every emotion coursing through him into a single kiss. A kiss that said everything he couldn’t.

  He’d had sex, plenty of sex, in his life. Hell, he’d even thought he’d made love before. But he’d never had this kind of intense emotional connection with anyone.

  Her fingers tickled their way down his back, sending shivers up his spine. She slid her hand into his briefs and squeezed his ass. He tilted his crotch, rubbing his cock against her core.

  She moaned.

  “I have to be in you. Now.” He shucked his briefs and grabbed a condom from his pants. He always carried one, no matter what. He sheathed himself and returned to her. He’d love to stretch her out, to make love to her properly, but he wouldn’t survive the trip to the bedroom in this condition.

  He stroked his fingers around her core and into her channel, her wetness coating his fingers. Once he made sure she was ready, he positioned himself at her core and plunged his tongue into her mouth at the same time he slid inside her body.

  She moaned, the sound rumbling deep within her gut.

  He wasn’t going to last. He hadn’t been with a woman in a long time and Carla’s warmth surrounded him, draped over him like a blanket.

  “Good?” he asked against her mouth, his breathing ragged as he struggled to maintain control. Her channel gripped him tight, pulling him in, surrounding him.

  “So good,” she huffed out.

  He slid back and thrust in again. Her arms and legs wrapped around his back, holding him to her. He wasn’t going anywhere. He was a goner, lost to Carla, in her body. She reached into his soul, wrapped herself around the hurt and healed him.

  He pulled back and plunged as she rocked her hips to meet him. They found a rhythm, moving together as one, each clinging to the other as they reached for release. Tightness built in his gut and traveled down to his balls. He couldn’t come yet, she wasn’t ready.

  In a single motion, he flipped them so she was on top. She straddled him, her knees on either side of his thighs. With his hands on her hips, he lifted her up and down on his cock. He pressed his hand to her belly and leaned her back and drove deeper into her, her heat surrounding him.

  She leaned back on her hands, her breasts bobbing each time she lowered herself onto him.

  Her channel surrounded him, stroked him, pressing on each sensitive spot on the underside of his cock as she slid along him. This time, when the tightening built in his gut, he reached out and stroked his finger across her clit. Her body seized and her moans transformed into deep, keening sounds, quickening as she increased her pace.

  He stroked faster.

  “Oh, God. Butch…” she moaned before she screamed. She clenched around him, tight as a vise, and he thrust once, twice, then found his own release. A groan rumbled deep in his gut and escaped through his clenched jaw. He squeezed her hips to hold her to him through the final pulses of his release.

  After exhaling a huge breath, she collapsed over him. He stroked her back, smoothing over her sweat-moistened skin. She trembled as after-shocks shook her body. Finally, she collapsed and melted against him, her arms hanging at his sides. He settled his hands on her waist and laid his head back.

  Sometime later, she raised her head. He opened his eyes and she quirked a single eyebrow at him.

  “Who are you?”

  For a long time, he couldn’t answer that question. Only now, after being with Carla, did he have some idea. He had withheld information about himself in pure self-preservation. If she knew about him, the radiance that shined in her eyes would dim. And he wouldn’t be responsible for darkening that light.

  But his real life was poised to strike. He had his first shift scheduled tomorrow… or later today. “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t understand how you’re here, with me, like this. You’re this big mystery.”

  “I’m just a simple guy who likes simple things.” He kissed her lips. “And beautiful women.”

  She laid her head back on his chest. “I doubt that very much, Butch Daniels.”

  How right she was.

  Before long, Carla’s breathing shallowed. He eased her off of him and nestled her on the couch under a blanket. He got dressed quietly. If only he could scoot out before she woke up. The moonlight through the window meant the snow had stopped. He could dig out his bike and roll it to the street. Maybe he’d hitch a ride on a plow and come back. Either way, this woman had rocked him deep in his soul and made him want things he couldn’t have. He couldn’t let the ugliness that lived inside of him touch her.

  A light flashed on the wall from a passing snow plow. Perfect. He’d be able to get home and crash for a couple of hours before his shift.

  He turned back to the couch. Carla’s blonde curls lay on top of a pillow, her hands tucked under her head like a small child. Sweet and innocent. He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. She stirred but didn’t wake up. He hovered over her ear. “My real name’s J
ohn.”

  And then he left.

  Chapter Six

  SWEAT COATED CARLA’S naked body under the flannel blanket and sun heated her face. She opened her eyes but snapped them shut against the blinding sun reflecting off the fresh snow.

  She sat up and tucked the blanket under her arms. The bar, the snow, Butch. Where did Butch go? His jacket was gone from the chair. His helmet, too. Was he a dream? She stretched and her muscles were deliciously sore. That was no dream.

  She flopped back on the couch. He’d left her without a word, without so much as a note. Everyone in her life left her, why would he be any different?

  But he was. There had been shadows in his eyes that had dimmed when they were making love. They had connected on a level she never had before. She’d given herself over to him, and he had to her, too. She hadn’t mistaken the desire in his eyes.

  When their eyes had met, she’d seen deep inside him, the Butch he hid from the rest of the world. He may be hiding a lot of secrets, but the real Butch had been here last night. Kind, considerate, intense.

  But he left her and didn’t even leave a note… and he didn’t wake her.

  She stepped to the window. The only evidence of the wind and storm last night was a fresh coat of white snow blanketing the world. Huge clumps hung from the branches, weighing them down. The sky was bright blue and the sun shined bright.

  There was a single wheel track in the fresh snow of the parking lot. A track that stopped at the thin snow layer on the road. The only evidence Butch had been here.

  Rattling sounds shook the building and a snowplow passed, shoving tall piles of snow and dirt onto the shoulder. Several cars drove behind the vehicle, taking advantage of the freshly cleared road.

  Joey’s truck pulled into the parking lot, his engine revving and his wheels spinning as he cut through the large drifts of snow. Once he ran the tractor over the lot, she could get her car out. She didn’t have anywhere specific to go, but she couldn’t leave while her car was buried. She had to get out before the walls closed in and the reality of last night weighed her down. Butch was just another man who took what he wanted and left when he was done.

  Before long, the door at the bottom of her stairs rattled and Joey’s voice rang out. “Carla?”

  “Yeah. I’m up. I’ll be down in a few to help.”

  “No hurry. I’ll put on some coffee. Gonna be a long day.”

  The rough coarseness of her clothes rubbed her sensitive skin as she pulled them on. Skin Butch had kissed and stroked and worshipped. He hadn’t acted like last night was a one-night stand. They talked for a long time before they made love. So to find him gone this morning…

  She’d never slept with a man before even going on a date, but the time they spent getting to know each other meant something to her. But for as much as he shared, he held something back, something that pained him, that rattled him at the core of who he was. When he described some of his photographs and the people he’d met, genuine love and empathy filled his words. And he’d expressed real disgust when she talked about her ex-boyfriend.

  She and Butch made a connection and not just a physical one. That made his absence this morning that much more painful. She didn’t even have a way to reach him. There was no way Butch was his real name, but that’s the only name she had for him.

  She shook her head. Someone who would leave her without so much as a note didn’t deserve her.

  She pulled on several layers of clothes and headed down the stairs.

  Joey handed her a steaming mug of coffee and winked at her. “Hot and ready to go. Just like me.”

  Joey was always in a good mood. Carla had a hard time being sad when Joey was around. “Hey, I like that. Mind if I steal it?”

  He laughed. They both drank their coffee silently for a couple of minutes.

  “There’s a lot of snow out there and we have to get the lot plowed. Lucas is coming over to help. Can you whip up some sandwiches or something for when we take a break?”

  “I’ll do you one better. How about some hot soup?”

  “Your famous chicken noodle soup?”

  “You bet.”

  He gave her a side hug. “I knew I made the right decision when I hired you.”

  After Joey headed outside, Carla gathered carrots, celery, and onions from the fridge. Cooking was like therapy for her. She chopped the vegetables, filling several large stock pots. The men clearing the lot wouldn’t be the only hungry ones . Several times in the past month, the snow plow operators had stopped in on breaks. Today would be no exception.

  As long as she stayed busy, she could forget about Butch leaving her alone.

  A COUPLE HOURS later, the front door opened and boots stomped on the floor. Several men’s voices rang through the half-window separating the dining room from the kitchen. Show time. She poured several cups of coffee, grabbed a tray, and backed through the swinging door into the dining room.

  “Oh man, you’re a lifesaver,” Joey’s brother Lucas said. Just as he spoke, the emergency radio strapped to his belt went off. He listened for a moment before tucking it back in the holder.

  “Do you need to go?” Joey asked.

  “Not yet. The engine’s covered and they’ve got extra volunteers to help dig people out. We’re all on call for the inevitable fires from space heaters and wood stoves, though. Current shift is still good for another couple of hours. I’ll head out after some of that soup you promised when you roped me into clearing your parking lot.”

  Carla slid the coffee onto the table. There was another quiet man she hadn’t met sitting with Joey and Lucas.

  “Oh, Carla. I don’t think you’ve met Sawyer Truman. He’s one of my best friends and just came back from serving overseas.”

  He raised his head and she caught a glimpse of brown soulful eyes. A tortured look crossed his face, the haunted expression many veterans brought home from overseas. He nodded.

  “Sawyer’s joining the Sheriff’s department.”

  “Glad to know our safety is in such capable hands.” What was she doing flirting? He was handsome, with his brown hair touching his ears and his boyish good looks. Didn’t she learn anything after last night. Or most of her life. Besides, he wasn’t nearly as handsome as Butch.

  “I take it that guy, what was his name, Butch… got home safely last night?”

  “He got home safely.” Eventually. She wasn’t sure when, since he left her sleeping.

  Lucas sniffed the air and rubbed his stomach. “What is that delicious aroma I smell?”

  “Oh, right, soup. Are you guys ready for some?”

  Joey rubbed his belly and made loud, growling sounds. A forced smile crossed Sawyer’s face.

  She rushed into the back and spooned four huge bowls of soup and tucked a loaf of French bread under her arm. When she got back to the table, they all worked to get bowls handed out and broke off hunks of bread.

  Joey shoved a huge bite of bread in his mouth. “I think Rachel’s coming in a little later today.”

  Sawyer’s head popped up. She tilted her head and studied him, but after a moment, without a word, he returned to his soup.

  The radio on Lucas’s belt squawked. Then Sawyer’s cell phone rang. Lucas brought the radio to his ear while Sawyer swiped across his phone. The two men shared a glance as they both hopped up. Sawyer hung up the phone and Lucas clipped the radio back on his belt.

  “Old Mill Road?” Lucas asked.

  “Yep.” Sawyer nodded and swiped at his mouth before flinging his napkin onto the table.

  “I’ll drive you. I’ve got a spare set of turnouts in the truck so I don’t need to stop by the station. Thanks for the soup, sweetie. Delicious as always.” Lucas popped a kiss on her cheek. Sawyer simply nodded and the two of them rushed out the door.

  Carla spooned some soup into her mouth. The silence in the room had Carla’s mind racing. Why did everyone in her life leave her? Did she put out a vibe that drove people away? Had she said something to But
ch, asked him something, that had him leaving after he made love to her?

  “So, do you want to tell me what happened last night?”

  She burnt her tongue on a hot sip of soup. “What do you mean?”

  “I left you here with a guy. He’s gone this morning but I saw his tire track in the snow. That means he stayed at least until the snow stopped.”

  “He did. Got stuck in the snow.” And he stayed long enough to make love to her before he left. She shoved a bite of bread in her mouth.

  “Is that all you’re gonna say?”

  She studied him. Why was he asking? She wasn’t used to someone caring about her. For the longest time, she’d had no one else. Having Joey care about what happened to her just confirmed she’d made the right choice when she responded to his Help Wanted sign.

  He laid his hand on her arm. “I just want to make sure you’re okay. That I didn’t need to go kick someone’s ass for you this morning.”

  Joey may be all fun and games on the surface, and his words may sound like a bunch of bluster, but deep down, he was a big softie and had a fierce protective streak for his friends and family. “No. No asses need to be kicked.” Yet.

  Joey nodded and returned to his soup. “How’s the apartment working out?”

  “Great. I love being so close to work.”

  “Yeah, that’s a long commute you’ve got there. A whole twenty-four steps.” And just like that, happy Joey was back.

  “I love that we’re not that far to the center of town. I rarely have to drive my car.”

  “Good thing. I’m not sure how much longer your rattle trap is gonna last. I’m nervous every time you climb in that jalopy.”

  She punched him on the shoulder. “Aw, Joey, I didn’t know you cared.”

  Her heart was lighter as she finished her lunch. She’d hit rock bottom when Harry showed his true colors and kicked her out. But then she’d met Joey and he’d invited her into his life. He may be the first person to not leave her.

  Chapter Seven

  “DR. DANIELS, WE need you in curtain one.” A nurse hustled by him, IV bags in both hands.