Peppermint Creek Inn (13 page)

Tortured her. Relieved her.

When her orgasm subsided, she lay there on the quilt panting, sexually exhausted, the sticky cream of her arousal brushing against her inner thighs reminding her of what had just happened. Reminding her she’d just let a sexy stranger mouth-fuck her.

She heard him sigh deeply against her shivering pussy and she dropped her hands from his head. He moved away.

Opening her eyes, she found his face glistening with her arousal.

He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Doubts peppered his face and she felt a hollow jolt deep inside her womb. Why was he regretting what he’d just done?

He stared at her long and hard before saying, “I’m sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have done that.” His eyes however lied. They were dark. Passionate. “I don’t know what got into me.”

She wanted to tell him it was okay. Wanted to tell him she’d asked him to eat her. But the words remained captive inside her chest while her heart pounded wildly in her ears as she reeled from her intense orgasms.

“I need to take a walk,” he said as he grabbed his shoes and abruptly stood up. “I’ll see you back at the house.”

She watched his retreating figure. Watched the long masculine legs carry him away from her.

Warm wind whispered against her naked, wet pussy and her bared breasts. Her body ached for him to come back to her. Craved for him to make love to her.

When he disappeared into the trees, she found herself looking at the family quilt beneath her. Slowly she turned onto her side and ran a finger over the smooth silky white material of her wedding gown.

Memories.

Sweet old memories.

How could she keep them in the past, where they belonged? How could she forget her past and move on?

That was the million-dollar question. And if she had the answer, she’d be a very rich woman.

—

Tom cursed himself for the fifteenth time as he followed the narrow, winding path through the dense forest.

When Sara had broken down into tears, his only thought was to comfort her. But it had led to something else.

Something wild. Uncontrollable. Intense.

He hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her. Had wanted to kiss her so badly. To touch her breasts, taste her pussy.

Automatically he licked his lips tasting the sweetness of her arousal still lingering on his lips. He’d never tasted anything so erotic in his life.

His cock hardened painfully against his jeans as he remembered how swollen and pink her clit had looked after he’d finished seducing her pussy.

The powerful need to plunge his cock deep into her vagina was scary. He’d never felt this way before about a woman.

At least not that he remembered.

Which led to the question—was he already married? Did he have a wife waiting for him somewhere? A girlfriend? He hadn’t been wearing a ring. Could he maybe be single?

Oh, come on! Who was he kidding? Single or married there was no way he should pursue Sara in a romantic relationship. He was on the run. A fugitive with no freaking future to speak of.

He needed to put her and any romantic and sexual intentions out of his head. Needed to concentrate on figuring out why the cops were after him.

The path suddenly burst from the cool darkness of the woods into a large sunny clearing making him stop to admire the view. The entire meadow was covered in a lush dusting of tiny pale blue flowers.

Forget-me-not flowers. A symbol of true love.

His gaze lifted toward the far side of the clearing where he spotted a giant knoll surrounded by a white wooden picket fence. His stomach clenched tightly at the sight and he headed toward the knoll.

Hesitantly, he climbed up the rickety rock steps and opened the creaky gate.

His breath caught at what he saw.

A tiny cemetery, the dates on some of the gravestones going back to the late 1800’s. In one corner, set aside from the rest of the markers, he noticed one large ragged pink rock.

Relatively new.

He tasted the bitterness of bile at the back of his throat as he read the names on that rock.

Understanding rammed through him and his stomach clenched. He hadn’t even suspected.

He stared at the names etched forever into the giant, pale pink rock.

Davine Agnes Clarke. Beloved Mother of Jack. Beloved Grandmother.

Jack Richard Clarke. Beloved Husband and Father.

Tears sprang to his eyes as he continued.

Teresa May Clarke. Beloved Daughter and Granddaughter.

Tom Jack Clarke. Beloved Son and Grandson.

All had died on the same day.

When Sara returned to the inn, her pussy was aching to be filled by Tom’s thick cock and the phone was ringing.

Raw excitement teetered with horrible dread as she lifted the receiver hoping this was the call she’d been waiting for.

“Peppermint Creek Inn. May I help you?”

“Sara? Sara? Is that you?”

The gravely masculine voice on the other end of the line struck such a spear of fear through her, she literally jumped and almost hung up.

“Hello, is anyone there?” the voice echoed.

She could barely hear the man’s voice as her heart pounded wildly in her ears. Her hand tightened automatically around the receiver. She should hang up. Find Tom. Tell him to get out of here.

“It’s me. It’s Justin Jeffries.”

Justin, the local cop.

She took a quick calming breath. She had to relax. Act as if nothing unusual was going on.

“Oh, hi, Justin,” she said brightly, totally amazed to find her voice so steady even though she felt as if her whole world was crashing down around her ears.

“Where have you been?” his words rushed out in breathless excitement. “I’ve been trying to get through for the past few days. What’s going on? Everything all right?”

“Everything’s fine. Couldn’t be better.”

On the porch, she heard Tom’s familiar footsteps. Unconsciously she licked her lips, his fiery hot kiss still fresh on her swollen mouth, her pussy clenched as she remembered the way he’d sucked on her clit.

“You make out okay with the storm the other night?”

“No problems,” she lied.

Her heart picked up speed as she heard the rusty hinges of the kitchen’s screen door creak open. Tom had returned from his walk.

“Glad to hear it,” he replied cheerfully.

“How’d you know I was back, Justin?” She hadn’t told anyone she was back home.

“I-I kind of figured you would be. After all the work you have to do. I can come over later this afternoon. Give you a hand?”

“No! Don’t come over!” she practically screamed into the phone. She quickly rebounded. “I mean everything is under control. I don’t need any help right now. Besides the road is flooded.”

“I could take the hydro road in. I’ve got a four-wheeler. It wouldn’t be much of a problem. I can bring you some supplies. A steak. Wine?”

Oh, God, he was hinting again.

“I’ve got plenty of food to keep me going. Please don’t bother. I really don’t need any help.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” she stated firmly. Maybe a bit too firmly. Except for his steady breathing, there was a silence on the line. She wondered if he’d picked up on her nervousness.

“There’s another reason I’m calling,” he finally said. “Have you seen any strangers around lately?”

Sara’s blood ran cold. She tensed and cast a quick glance over her shoulder.

Tom was leaning against the doorjamb, his muscular arms folded across his wide chest. He tried to appear casual, but Sara could read the uncertainty in his eyes and the tenseness coiling throughout his body. If he only knew who she was talking to, he’d flip.

“A stranger?” she said softly.

Tom’s head snapped to attention and she waved a hand to him, signaling him to come and listen.

“My partner went missing over in the ghost town of Jackfish.”

“Missing? Sam?”

She knew Sam. He was too pushy. A real lady’s man. He hadn’t wasted any time making the moves on her. Over the past two years, both Justin and Sam had become terrible nuisances, both stopping individually or together often and unexpectedly with any excuse to chat or have dinner.

Sara jumped when Tom brushed up against her and she held the phone out a little so they could both listen.

Justin continued. “Some hermit ambushed us while we were checking out the cottages near the ghost town.”

Tom inhaled sharply and she hoped Justin hadn’t heard it.

“The guy came out of nowhere. Caught me off guard, stole my gun and took off. Sam and I went after him. But we became separated in the woods. Haven’t seen him or the other guy since.”

“Are you all right?” Her voice sounded strangled, her confidence shattered.

“Aside from a bruised ego for letting him get away, I’ll survive.”

Her grip tightened anxiously on the receiver. “What does this stranger look like?”

Tom leaned closer obviously just as eager to know.

“It’s a general description. Long brown hair. Brown beard and mustache. Real scruffy-looking character. Medium build. About six-one. Wearing a black leather jacket, blue jeans.”

Black leather jacket. Scruffy. Blue jeans.

The words slammed into her stomach like torpedoes. And by the way Tom stiffened beside her, she knew he was experiencing the same reaction.

“If you see him around, he’s armed and extremely dangerous. I don’t want you to approach him. Just call me. Talk only to me. I’m in charge of this investigation. Are you sure everything is all right?”

“Fine.”

Tom? Extremely dangerous? Was that why he’d shoved a gun in her face? Came into the loft with a knife?

She felt his reassuring hand slip around her waist and instantly relaxed.

No! Tom had been frightened on both occasions. He couldn’t hurt anyone.

“Um… Do you know who he is?”

There was that slight hesitation again. “Who he is?”

“His name? Where he’s from?”

Tom captured her gaze and held her. She read the fear in his eyes, felt the tension in his body.

“No. No name. We don’t know who he is. Maybe I should come over. Check the place out. After all the trouble you’ve been having, it’s not a bad idea.”

“Really, Justin. Please don’t. I’m fine. Besides there’s no one around for miles, and why would a criminal come here of all places? He couldn’t get through because of the road being flooded. If anything happens or I see someone, I can contact you.”

“It’s your call, Sara. Just be careful. Oh! And, Sara, I appreciate you keeping this information under your hat. Not too many people know about Sam being missing. It’ll just cause unnecessary panic.”

She frowned. “I’ll do that. Thanks for calling. Bye for now.”

She hung up.

“Get your things!” Tom hissed angrily as he pushed past Sara.

“What are you doing?” she followed him into the bedroom where he grabbed his leather jacket off the back of the twig chair where she’d placed it to dry days ago.

“I’m leaving and so are you. But we have to go separately,” he said sternly and whirled around to face her. She inhaled a breath to steady her pounding heart at the look of fear shining brightly in his eyes. He was panicking.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

It was as if she hadn’t said anything. His narrowed gaze scanned the bedroom. “The gun. The handcuffs. Where are they?”

“They’re safe.”

“I need them. The law can’t even suspect you’ve been harboring me. They’ll kill you just as soon as look at you.”

“They don’t suspect a thing, Tom.” Sara kept her voice as calm as possible. Hopefully her calmness would brush off on him.

He followed her back out into the kitchen where she reached into the cupboard to get the supplies she needed to prepare supper.

“Listen to me, dammit!” He was shouting now and she didn’t appreciate being bullied around, but she understood his fear for her safety. She felt the same way about his. “I’ve overstayed my welcome. It’s time for me to clear out. You need to find a safe place for yourself until this blows over. Go to your private eye sister’s place and stay with her.”

“What’s the matter with you? I said I’m not going anywhere. This is my home. And no one knows you’re here, why run?”

“My God, woman! Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear that cop? He said I had something to do with his partner going missing. Aren’t you afraid I might make you disappear, too?”

She turned around to see a muscle twitching crazily in his jaw and his eyes narrowed further.

Sara felt a sudden chill shoot up her back. He thought he would hurt her again. Grab her like he’d grabbed her yesterday in the loft. The thought struck her like pepper spray. Instinctively though, she knew there was no way he would hurt her, especially not after the way he’d tenderly seduced her pussy this afternoon after their picnic.

“Just relax, Tom. I trust you.”

He threw her a look of disbelief. “How can you be so sure you can trust me? I practically assaulted you at our picnic. I couldn’t keep my hands off of you.”

“You only did what I asked you to do. Please don’t read anything else into it.”

A look of hurt flashed across his face and then it disappeared leaving Sara wondering if she’d even seen it.

“Besides, there’s something wrong with Justin’s story.”

“What do you mean?”

“Justin said you stole his gun.”

“Yes, I heard. It means I could have used it on his partner.”

“That gun is not police issue.”

“How do you know?”

“My husband was a cop. Justin and Sam are cops. Cops don’t have those types of guns. Besides, it’s old and too hacked up. Looks old.”

“Then it’s mine.”

“Could be.”

“And it was empty and that’s why I took Jeffries’ gun.”

“Maybe,” Sara said thoughtfully.

Tom frowned. “You know something.”

“Why would you throw Justin’s gun away?”

“I must have dropped it while I was running.”

“Might have.”

He shoved a furious hand through his hair. “Why can’t you just admit I am a criminal? I took the cop’s gun. Killed his partner. Then dropped it.”

“Why drop a loaded weapon and keep the empty one?”