Secrets in a Small Town (16 page)

“Jasper, stop focusing on the minutiae of unimportant details,” Coral said stridently. “We have bigger issues. Likely he will have called the authorities by now. We need to hold the line for at least another day. That should put a serious dent in his profit margin. Perhaps with enough of these types of events, he’ll leave for good.”

Jasper sighed. “It hasn’t worked in all the years you’ve been trying. I think a different strategy is called for…or perhaps just letting it go.”

Coral’s stare turned wintry. “Let it go? How easily you’ve forgotten the fallen. Mimi should ring a bell.”

“Let it go, Coral,” he shot back, irritably. “You’re becoming obsessed and it’s highly unbecoming.”

Olivia hushed them. “Stop fighting. We can’t have our fearless leaders showing dissention in the ranks. We’re doing something important here.”

Coral nodded but spared Olivia an annoyed look. Olivia had always been a sanctimonious twit but they were bound by common interests and circumstances. “Right. Stay focused, people. We don’t want anyone tumbling to their death.”

Light laughter followed but Coral didn’t share their mirth. Jasper called her paranoid but she felt a shadow hovering over them and she couldn’t shake the notion that a reckoning was coming…one that was long overdue.

She shuddered. Not yet…she wasn’t ready.

In fact, she knew that was exactly what she was going to do. She didn’t hesitate, dropped her purse to the table, and went straight to the bathtub. She simultaneously stripped while starting the water. While the claw-footed bathtub filled, she went for the wine.

Reaching for the white zinfandel, she also grabbed a wineglass and returned to the bathroom.

After a quick test of the temperature, she sank into the bubbles, sighing as the water lapped her tired body. Her head lolled back and she took a hearty sip of the wine, letting it soothe the rough edges and blunt the confusion making a mess of her brain.

And if she were smart, she’d listen.

Timber whined beside him and he gave the dog a good pat to let him know everything was going to be fine. He hopped from the truck and Timber followed. Owen always kept dog supplies in his truck because he never knew how long he’d be out at a site and never wanted Timber to go hungry or thirsty. Because of this, he was able to tie up Timber to the nearest tree with food and water and head for the house, ready to take care of business.

He was fully prepared to rail at Piper for her part in the tree-sit. He found it hard to believe that she’d known nothing about their plans when everything that family did was an open book.

He banged on the front door, demanding to be let in. “I know you’re in there. Your little pretend car is parked outside so you can either open this door or I’ll kick it down.”

Her first thought was how glad she was it wasn’t Farley standing there, but on the heels of that thought followed another—Owen Garrett was quite possibly the most handsome man on the planet. Particularly when he looked ready to tear her head off.

“I…we…uh…what are you doing answering the door in a towel?” he demanded to know, his hands going to his lean hips in a way that made a giggle burst from her mouth. He didn’t seem to appreciate the humor in the same way and his frown darkened. “You’re drunk,” he surmised.

“A little tipsy, perhaps,” she admitted, grinning. She never drank, which would account for the alcohol going straight to her head but she wasn’t going to apologize. It was after hours and she could do what she pleased in her off time. “I’ve had a bad day. Would you care to come in?”

“You and me both. And no, I would not like to come in until you’ve put on some clothes,” he retorted, though his glazed eyes said otherwise. His reaction tickled her drunken funny bone and caused her to push the envelope. She dropped the towel and his eyes nearly bugged out of his skull.

“Oh, shit,” he muttered, not quite able to pull his stare from her body though he tried. She giggled and pulled him into the house, straight to her mouth. This was why she rarely drank. But what the hell? It was too late and what was done was done. Might as well enjoy the descent into debauchery. What was she saving her virginity for anyway? At the moment, she couldn’t quite remember. By medieval standards, she was an old maid whose womanly parts likely had dust from neglect. Thank God, they weren’t living in the 1500s, she thought muzzily. If they were, she’d likely have five kids by now. Hmm…kids. Owen Garrett would probably make lovely babies.

He stiffened against her assault on his lips until she pressed herself tightly against every inch of that firm, muscled body so that her breasts squashed against his chest, pebbling the nipples into hard nubs of aching flesh that begged for more, though more of what, she wasn’t sure. She just knew that she needed something and that need was blotting out every rational thought in her head. He groaned something about
only being human
and his arms wound around her, drawing her tighter against him until a delicious friction against her sensitive skin caused her head to loll, exposing the column of her neck for his mouth. “Bite me,” she instructed him in a breathy tone that would’ve mortified her to her toes if she’d been a bit more sober. But she wasn’t, so she reveled in her hedonistic request.

He complied, greedily sucking the tender skin into his mouth, teasing it with light nips and bites. Who would’ve imagined that someone so rough could be so gentle? She thrilled in his touch, wanting more.

Unfortunately he tried to pull away, much to her dissatisfaction. “Piper, you’re going to regret this when you sober up,” he said, his voice tight with strain. He was adorable when he was trying to do the right thing. She wanted to feel those firm hands on her breasts, wanted to see if his touch would relieve the ache that seemed tethered to her private spots, driving her mad. “Piper…please…”

“I like it when you beg,” she murmured in a throaty whisper. “But I like it better when you’re being bossy. Come on, tell me what to do. I’m a novice, you know, but I’m a fast study.”

At that, he fisted a handful of hair in his palm and demanded a kiss from her without using a single word. He devoured her from the inside, owning every single gasp and moan, his hands roamed her backside, creating waves of red-hot need cresting and overtaking her until she was writhing against him, breathless and mindless. He walked her backward until her bare back hit the wall and she gasped then giggled as she hopped into his arms, locking her legs around him so that the heat of her center rubbed nicely against his middle. His mouth descended on her breasts and she nearly swooned like a Victorian lady. Except, there was nothing ladylike about the things she wanted him to do to her. He sucked the hard tips of her nipples into his hot mouth, laving each one with equal, hungry attention. This was good, she purred to herself, loving it. “More,” she demanded on a cry, wiggling against him, urging him to take her against the wall that very second and screw the consequences.

“Is this the way you want it?” he demanded, his voice a harsh growl in her ear that decimated her ability to think clearly. He reached down to cup her mound possessively with his other hand, rendering her paralyzed with painful anticipation. “Fast and rough? You want me to take you from behind and make you come so hard that you can’t see straight? Or do you want me to take you against this wall, pounding into you until you shatter against me, mindless. I could.” His voice dropped to a whisper, pausing for his words to sink through the lustful haze they’d created. “But you’d hate me in the morning, because your virginity is not something you would want to give to me if you were sober.”

“I won’t,” she gasped, nearly crying, fearful that he might stop. She’d never wanted anyone like she wanted Owen right now and she didn’t think she could fully blame the alcohol. “I promise.”

His hand softened to a caress as he smoothed the hair he’d roughed, the lust fading from his eyes. He brushed a kiss against her swollen lips, the sweet, tender slide of his tongue barely breaching her mouth. She gasped softly and her knees trembled, threatening to buckle. She opened her eyes and stared into his, as he said regretfully, “I would.” And he pulled away with a sigh. “Now, please get dressed.”

An unhappy frown formed on her face as tears filled her eyes. She’d been stone-cold rejected. Turning on her heel, she tried with as much dignity as she could muster in her inebriated state to make it to her bedroom. She only made it as far as her bed before she passed out.

He’d have to find a way. Otherwise, the next time Piper found herself in the mood to lose her virginity…he wouldn’t turn her down and to hell with the morning after.

Oh, God. Owen’s hungry mouth on her breasts…up against the wall…feeling as if she were drowning on a tide of wanton goodness… She covered her face and tried not to cry from the sheer mortification of her actions.

She remembered begging him to do things to her—things she didn’t even have experience with! She touched her hair, remembering how it felt to have Owen’s fist firmly clenched at her scalp, how it’d made her feel deliciously possessed and her cheeks flared again.

But her memory slid into darkness after that. Had he taken her virginity? All signs pointed to yes, given how hot and heavy they’d been going at it. But, if that were the case, wouldn’t she feel…different? Perhaps sore, even? She nibbled her bottom lip, unsure. Having a sister right about now would’ve been handy. Unfortunately, everyone she might’ve asked was sitting in a tree—a tree contracted to be cut down by the very man she may have given her virginity to.
Oh, Piper. What a right mess you’ve made of things!

There was only one way to find out what truly happened last night and that was to ask the man involved. She swallowed at the prospect. What was the problem? They were both consenting adults. She could handle this. Yet, her feet remained rooted to the spot. Her phone rang and nearly sent her flying out of her skin. She grabbed it and answered. Though, in hindsight, she wished she would’ve let it go to voice mail.

Nancy’s voice sounded apologetic as she said, “Sorry to call so early but the editor just caught word that the tree-sitters are going to be forcibly taken down first thing this morning and he wants you there to capture it.”

She dreaded facing Owen again, but duty called. “Tell him I’m on it,” she said, without a trace of the nausea she felt.

“I will. You’re a very reliable girl,” Nancy said with a smile in her voice. “Have fun. I know how you love these things.”

She withheld a sigh. She
used
to love these things. Now she was starting to see Owen’s side of things and agreed, her parents and their friends were a bit of a nuisance. She said goodbye and hung up.

Well, she’d better shower. Time was wasting. She had a date with a situation that was guaranteed to be awkward and miserable.
Yippee.