Sweet Haven (The Sweet Series Book 2) (12 page)

“Sure. What do you need?”

“Help,” I tell him cryptically.

“Huh?”

I release a humiliated breath. “I need help. I’m stuck.”

“What?” he snaps, concern thick in his voice. “What do you mean you’re stuck? In your car? Are you hurt? Were you in an accident?”

“No. It’s nothing like that. I’m not hurt. Well…maybe my pride,” I grumble. “Look, can you just come out to the McNally farm. I’m at the back left end of the property. I’ll explain when you get here.”

“Hang tight. I’m on my way.”

Oh I’ll be hanging all right.

Ending the call, I rest against the rough bark and look up to see the reason why I’m in this mess in the first place. Reaching up, I pluck the lone peach and glare at it. “This is all your fault,” I grumble before taking a miserable bite.

By the yumminess that explodes in my mouth, it’s almost worth it—almost.

Jase

I
pull up to the McNally farm and see Sam’s car parked out front but without her in it. Worry burns in my gut as I jog to the back of the property where she said she would be, but I still don’t see her. However, I do find a tipped over ladder, a basket full of peaches, and a pair of pink heels.

What the hell?

When a peach falls out of the sky and hits me in the shoulder, I glance up to find the girl I’m looking for. Sam gazes down at me with a small, embarrassed smile, her hair a tangled mess around her pretty face and those sparkling eyes of hers more pronounced in the lush green tree.

A tree filled with peaches.

If I didn’t know better I’d swear I was dreaming, but in my dreams she would be naked in that tree.

“Hi,” she greets me softly.

“What the fuck are you doing up there?” I ask, trying to hold back my amusement when it’s clear she’s distressed.

A tortured groan escapes her. “You’re never going to believe this.”

She begins telling me the whole story, starting from when she showed up and the McNallys let her in alone, her mouth moving a million miles a minute.

“So here I am, picking the best peaches I can find when I see this one all the way up here on its own. Well, now I know why. Because in order to get it you have to do risky things. Things that could kill you. I, of course, took the risk. It wasn’t very Sensible Sam of me, and I paid the price. The ladder fell out beneath me but I caught this big branch, just barely escaping my imminent death,” she explains, holding up her thumb and finger an inch apart. “If you breathe a word of this to anyone, Crawford, I will make you die a slow and painful death.”

By the time she finishes her fucking babbling, I’m laughing my ass off.

It doesn’t take long for her to join in but hers sounds not only embarrassed but also has a little crazy mixed in there, too. “Oh my god, Jase, I know it’s ridiculous. Just please get me down from here. I’ve almost been stung by a bee three times. The little bastard won’t leave me alone.”

“Because bees like sweet things and there’s nothing sweeter than you, baby.”

She glares down at me. “Now is not the time to be charming, Crawford. Get me down.”

“All right, hold on.” I set up the ladder and climb halfway up, still chuckling at this ridiculous situation.

She turns around to step down, searching for the platform with her foot. Grabbing her smooth bare ankle, I help her find it and stay close to ensure she doesn’t slip. Once I know she’s good, I step back down but stand at the bottom to hold the ladder steady, trying my damnedest to get a peek at what she has on beneath this classy fucking skirt of hers.

Thong? Or lace?

It always seems to be one or the other. I really have no preference but I can say her ass looks best without anything covering it. My curiosity gets the best of me and I lift the material to see a soft pink silk thong. A low growl rumbles from my chest, my cock hardening at the sexy sight.

“Hey! Stop that.” She swats my hand away and it causes her to lose her footing. I catch her as she falls back, her high-pitched shriek filling the air.

“Jase, you asshole.” She struggles in my arms, throwing tiny punches my way.

Laughing, I block her pathetic attempts and take us to the grassy ground, covering her body before claiming her mouth. I groan at the sweet taste of her, one I’ve missed these past few days. It’s an addiction I’ve come to crave—need.

Her struggle comes to a stop and she instantly melts against me, her arms locking around my neck while she gives as good as she gets.

“I fucking missed you,” I growl against her lips.

“Me too, so much.”

Tearing my mouth away, I drag my lips down the slender column of her throat, my hand slipping under her skirt to glide up her smooth, bare thigh.

“You better stop before we get ourselves into trouble,” she says breathlessly but tilts her head to the side, giving me more of what I want.

“I love trouble. Especially when it involves you and your pussy.” I roll my hips, letting her feel how hard I am for her.

A fiery whimper pushes past her lips. “Stop the dirty talk, Crawford. You know what it does to me.”

I chuckle, yeah, I do. She loves it dirty and it only fuels the beast inside of me. The one that wants to corrupt every part of her—ruin her for anyone else that will come after me… The thought has acid settling in my gut. To think of anyone else touching her makes me fucking violent.

Temporary, Crawford. That’s the deal.

“Come on, baby. There’s no one around for miles and we’re surrounded by peaches. It’s fate. We have to fuck here.”

She laughs, the breathy sound doing shit to my chest. “As appealing as that sounds, Sensible Sam doesn’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Forget Sensible Sam. Lock her up and bring out my favorite Sam.”

“And which one is that?” I can hear the smile in her voice while I continue to nip and suck at her sensitive flesh.

“The one who screams my name while she’s coming on my cock. She’s my favorite.”

Her laughter trails off into a heated moan, her hips lifting, driving me to the brink of insanity.

I pull back to look down at her. “Is that a yes?”

She scans our surroundings, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. “What if they have cameras out here?”

“There’s no cameras out here, baby. We would see them if there were.”

She thinks about it for only a second then tugs me down closer and grants me the permission I’ve been dying to hear. “Make it quick, Crawford. And we better not end up on the Internet for this.”

Growling, I flip her to her stomach and lift her to her knees. “Don’t worry, baby, I’ll make this fast but so fucking good.”

“I have no doubt it will be good,” she says, her breaths quick and fast. “It always is.”

Damn straight it is. Because it’s us. I’ve always loved to fuck but nothing has ever felt as good as it does to be inside of this girl. It’s in a league all on its own.

Lifting her skirt, my hand smooths over one bare, round globe. “You have no idea the shit I want to do to this body of yours.”

“I think I have an idea or two.”

“No, I don’t think you do, but you will soon because I plan to invade every inch of this body so you’ll never be able to forget me.”

She starts to say something but trails off on a gasp when I lay a soft hand against her flesh, the slight smack echoing in the air around us.

A harsh moan falls from her as she pushes back for more.

I give her another tap, this one a little harder, watching her pale flesh stain pink.

“Oh god,” she whimpers, the heated sound traveling across my skin with thick desire.

I shove aside the thin silk covering her pussy, my fingers delving into her hot flesh, finding her soaked and ready for me. “You’re so pretty, Sam, especially when you’re greedy for my cock.”

“Jase, please,” she pleads, feeding the fire that’s in my soul.

Unfastening my jeans, I lower them just enough to free myself then thrust home, losing myself in the most mind-numbing pleasure I’ve ever felt.

There is no greater feeling in the world than being inside this girl.

“You good, baby?” I ask through clenched teeth, giving her time to adjust.

“So good. Don’t stop.”

My fucking pleasure.

Gripping her hips, I begin fucking her hard and fast, my hips slapping against the soft flesh of her ass. Her screams of pleasure fuel me, making me feel like a fucking animal with every savage thrust.

I watch my cock disappear in and out of her gripping heat, the image sending fire racing through my blood. “Jesus, Sam, we look good right now, baby. My cock feeding this hungry little pussy of yours. It’s fucking perfect.”

“Jase!” she whimpers, the dirty words have her pussy gripping me tighter.

Reaching between her legs, I massage the swollen bud, giving her the push she needs. My name purges from her lips on a wail of pleasure.

“That a girl, scream for me.”

I continue fucking her through her orgasm, not letting myself go until I feel the last of her tremors subside. Then I detonate—crashing over the edge hard and fast—the fiery pleasure searing my veins.

I pull out of her with a groan, wishing I could stay there forever. A smirk curls my lips when she drops to the ground with a blissful sigh. Leaning over, I press a kiss to her slender shoulder. “You okay, baby?”

“Mmm. More than okay,” she mumbles before turning around to face me. With a satisfied smile, she tugs me down to what I expect will be a kiss but instead is a hug.

That’s it. Just a hug—her arms holding me tight.

“About what you said earlier,” she whispers. “I want you to know, I’ll never forget you. Not a second of our time together. I will remember it forever.”

Fire burns in my chest, working its way up my throat as I think about the day to come that I will lose her and all she will be is the sweetest memory I’ll ever have.

Sam

A
n hour later we’re back at my apartment. Music plays on the radio as we make the pie together. Or rather, I’m making it and Jase is sampling.

“How about cinnamon? Do you think that would taste good?” I ask him, trying to think of some other ingredients to make it my own. I’ve already added a dash of nutmeg, ginger, and brown sugar. I’m going with a fall spice type theme. If it turns out good I could make it for Thanksgiving this year.

“Toss it in and I’ll tell you,” he says, nuzzling the back of my neck as he stands behind me, his strong arms wrapped around my waist.

With a smile, I sprinkle some into the mix. His hand encircles my wrist then lifts it to dip my finger into the yummy gooeyness before sucking it off. It has goose bumps crawling up my arm. I just had the most mind-blowing sex only a short time ago and already my body is on fire for him again.

“Yep, it’s fucking delicious,” he groans.

“It’s a good thing no one else is eating this pie but us.” I giggle. “It’s definitely not up to standards in the sanitary department.”

“Damn straight! Nobody gets your pie but me.”

I shake my head but can’t deny the way my insides melt at his possessiveness. After pouring the filling into the piecrust that I already made, I take the strips of dough I have sitting off to the side and crisscross them over top. Then I put the finishing touch by adding the heart in the center that I had cut out earlier with a small cookie cutter.

“There. Now even if it ends up tasting bad it will at least look pretty,” I say with a proud smile. Opening the oven, I slide it inside then set the timer. “Now we just need to come up with a name.” I turn around to find Jase watching me with that sexy smirk of his, hunger prominent in his dark eyes.

Stepping closer, he hooks an arm around my waist and yanks me against his hard body before laying one heck of a kiss on me.

“Hmmm, maybe Peach Kiss Pie?” I suggest with a breathy sigh.

“Or Jase is Sexy Pie. I like that one.”

A laugh tumbles past my lips, my arms encircling his neck. “You are so arrogant, Jase Crawford. Yet…also truthful.”

Lifting me off my feet, he sits me on the counter and comes to stand between my open legs. “And you are beautiful, Samantha Evans.”

I tense, the starting of his words that warmed my soul ending with what feels like a bucket of ice-cold water. “Sam,” I whisper. “Always just Sam. Okay?”

“Why not Samantha? It’s a pretty name, especially when it comes with a face like yours.”

His sweet words ease the heaviness of my heart. “I’ve always preferred Sam, or Sammy…but only if you’re my dad,” I tell him with a smile but it fades quickly with what I say next. “Grant always used it to scold me like a child. Now it gives me the chills when I hear it.”

His eyes darken with rage, the same one I saw explode from him the night he unleashed it on Grant. “Tell me to mind my own business if you want, but I’ve been wondering how the hell you ended up with a piece of shit like him.”

Humiliation burns inside of me. “Pathetic, huh?”

“No. Not pathetic. I just know the fire you have in you. You don’t put up with any shit. So why did you put up with his?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

How could he when I don’t even understand it myself?

“Try me.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, I try my best to explain. “When I look back on it now I feel so stupid. Naïve even, but he was good. He found my weaknesses and nipped at them constantly, stripping away my confidence one insult at a time, but he was smart about it. Subtle at first. Eventually, it got worse, and to the point where I suddenly felt trapped. He made me feel like I had no one, when in reality I had everyone. He used my family against me often.”

“How so?” he asks, his voice tight.

“My entire life, I’ve always lived in Sawyer’s and Jesse’s shadows. Which isn’t a bad thing,” I rush to say. “Honestly, I preferred it. But at times, I felt like I lacked compared to them and Grant knew that. He used it against me every chance he got.” Pain strikes my heart as I remember all the cruel and hurtful things he would say to me.

“How the hell could you think you lacked in any way?”

I shrug. “My brother and sister always stood out. Sawyer’s funny and charismatic. He can walk into a room and make everyone instantly fall in love with him—”