Page 79 of Sweet Temptation (Men of Honor 2)
As I’m halfway across the lawn, she snaps out of her shock and rushes towards me. Within a few steps she’s in my arms. Her legs wrap around my waist and she buries her face in my neck. Her body wracks with sobs and shakes with fear.
“It’s okay, baby. Coop’s got him, it’s over,” I say quietly, walking her into the house.
The rest of the night happens in a blur. Cooper comes back to fill us in on everything that was going to happen. Ramirez was on his way down to bring Miguel back to Florida, for the state to deal with. Since he violated his court order by skipping town he would be sent back to prison, where he will wait to be re-tried for Grace’s mom. He’s also going to be charged for the assault on Mac and his intent to harm Grace. Ramirez was still looking into what happened with the forensic scientist. It was also confirmed, from an undercover agent, that the gang has not been in contact with Miguel since he was arrested and they are of no threat to Grace. Which was the biggest fucking relief for me.
Grace stayed quiet and barely said a word. Cooper still seemed pissed at me for breaking the fucker’s face, but he didn’t arrest me. I was told to also thank Ramirez for that.
I appreciated it, because there was no way I was going to leave Grace. Not now. Not ever.
That night I knew sleep wouldn’t come easy. There were too many emotions storming inside of me, it was almost suffocating. So at three am I finally stop trying, and decide to start on the pies I’m bringin’ to Julia’s for Thanksgiving. Putting on my alpine thigh highs, I grab my long, thin cardigan to throw over my tank and walk into the kitchen. Turning on the radio, I make sure to keep it low, not wanting to wake Sawyer. I pray the soft music, and doing the one passion I share with Mama, will help quiet the mass of feelings that threaten to pull me under.
I’ve never felt so many conflicting emotions in all my life: fear and anger- at seeing the man again who murdered my mother after all this time; relief at him bein’ caught and sent back to prison; and most of all… lost. Because what happens now? The diner is gone, Mac is still in the hospital and Sawyer… that’s the scariest thought of all, the one thing that has fear and anxiety rushing through my body. Where will we go from here? There’s really no reason for him to stay here anymore. Yet the thought of not being with him every day and feeling his arms around me every night as I drift off to sleep, well… it leaves me feeling totally and completely lost. I know it’s something I should be used to. I have been on my own for a long time, but now I’ve been reminded what it’s like to wake up to someone. Someone who’s happy to see you. To eat with another person, or even just knowing someone is in the house with you, and it’s even better when that person is Sawyer.
Feeling my eyes begin to sting, I let out a heavy breath, then start flouring and rolling out my dough. One of my all-time favorite songs- “With or Without You” by U2 softly fills the silence. I begin to hum, hoping it will bring the distraction I need, when my entire body begins to tingle with awareness. One I know all too well, and I immediately know Sawyer has walked into the kitchen. It’s the same feelin’ I always get when he enters the same room as me. It’s a warmth that floods my body and has my heart beating faster. The room gets smaller and the air becomes hotter, but all in a good way.
“It’s just me, Cupcake, don’t beat me with that rolling pin,” he teases quietly. His bare hard chest presses against my back as he comes up behind me. The small contact bringing me the comfort I long for.
“Couldn’t sleep?” His deep gravelly voice in my ear has goose bumps breaking across my heated flesh. The sensation adds to the already jumbled mess inside of me.
I shake my head, feeling too overwhelmed to voice my response. He turns me around, and my gaze collides with his perfect defined chest. One that’s decorated with a tattoo of his honor, flawed with scars and the one place my cheek loves to sleep against.
Overcome with the need to feel him against me, I drop my sweater to the floor and shed my tank top, leaving me bared to him from the waist up.
I hear his sharp intake of breath seconds before he snakes an arm around my lower back and brings my soft naked chest flush against his hard one. The contact shoots electricity through every nerve ending of my body and has us both moaning in ecstasy. I wrap my arms as high as they will reach around his back and bury my face into his warm skin, breathing in his delicious clean scent.
As he brings a fist under my chin, I kiss his swollen cut knuckles before letting him force my gaze to his. My heart skips a beat at the fierce expression on his ridiculously handsome face, and I become intimately aware of his erection that’s only covered by his black boxer briefs as it presses against my stomach.
My eyes fall closed as he leans down and my body hums with anticipation, as I wait for his mouth to claim mine. But instead of kissing me like I expect him to, he lifts me slightly off the ground until my feet land on top of his.
My eyes snap open in shock and he gives me a sexy smirk, “No judging, Cupcake, I’m not the best dancer, but for you, I’ll try.”
All thoughts flee my head while my heart melts into a giant puddle. Sawyer grazes his knuckles across my cheek, wipin’ away a streak of flour I didn’t realize was there. Then he begins to dance with me, in my kitchen, to one of my all-time favorite songs. Giving me the one moment I have always thought about.
