Sweet Heat Rising (Thoroughbred Men Series) (10 page)

16

Early the next morning, the sun was streaming in the room through the vertical blinds on the sliding glass door. Sarah woke first with a moan. Everything hurt. The understatement of the universe, she felt. Her head seemed to be taking the majority of the discomfort and was stabbing in pain from the sunlight.

“Hello?” she whispered quietly and cracked one eye for a moment when there was no response. She quickly shut it again when the light hit her. She tried carefully to roll over and managed to make it to her side. She lay there for a bit, arm flopped over the side of the couch dangling. Sarah just lay there for quite some time and eventually drifted back off to sleep.

When she awoke again, it was to a faint touch on her brow. “Sarah, how are you doing?” she heard Matt whisper to her. It sounded like a shout to her pounding head. She groaned and flinched at her own sound of pain. She kept her eyes closed and gave a thumbs down to him.

Matt grinned at her. He was happy to see she had not been ill in the small can, nor on him since he slept on the floor nearby. He had heard soft little snores occasionally last night and it made him smile. The thumbs down was simply adorable and he fought back a laugh, not wanting to cause any more sounds to hurt her aching head.

Sarah quietly uttered, “If you were a semi, I would think you had run over me, backed up and rolled on over again,” she breathed, “but it's slightly better than earlier” as she cracked open her eyes and managed a small frown. She saw him smile at her as he offered to get her some water. She felt him continue to gently stroke her hair back away from her face.

Sarah managed to sit herself upright eventually and just slouched down on the couch. “I feel like such a bum,” she later said quietly as she just lay, a sheet and blanket pulled over her. Her legs strewn out in front of her lazily. “I have really never called in, ever, much less followed it up with a night of boozing,” she said dejectedly. “but then again, I have never had such a horrible run of luck.”

Matt nodded in agreement. “You earned each drink, you know?” he said sympathetically. “Let’s not let it get you down; let’s let the police do their work and focus on finding the criminal...but we also need to come up with a plan for you too, so you are safe.” That was his top priority today. Spend time with her and come up with a way to make sure she could take care of herself if she was alone.

Sarah waved him off, there was nothing left to really take at her place since it was all destroyed and had been thoroughly gone through. As for the bakery, she had not heard yet on the fingerprints but was expecting to hear any time. Sara grabbed her phone and flipped on the app to check in on the bakery. She watched the little screen for a few seconds and flipped it off again, frustrated.

Matt watched her and wondered if she was ready for some coffee yet in her stomach. “Anything notable?” Matt said, curious. He hoped that the small camera would reveal something but was not expecting to see much. He wanted it more to give her a sense of control or comfort.

Sarah sighed. “Nothing, looks like it’s slow this morning. I could see Tyler in the process of cleaning the glass cases, which means it has probably been dead for a few hours since that is busy work and we usually do not spray glass cleaner around customers. It covers the smells of the food,” she explained casually.

Matt nodded. She was truly a smart business woman. “Gotcha” he said, “just keep checking.  It is to give you piece of mind, honey, not to ‘bust the perp,’” he said teasingly and pulled her to sit beside him on the couch. Sarah leaned against him contentedly into his side. “I know, it is just tough not knowing what is going on…and feeling out of control,” she said softly.

They spent the afternoon together and lounged around the small apartment doing nothing. They watched a few older TV shows and just hung out. Sarah got up to run to the restroom and wrapped the sheet around her carefully. She blushed the entire time, as she realized she was braless, still in a T-shirt and his boxers from the night before.

Matt said nothing but enjoyed watching her attempts to swaddle herself in the sheets. When she returned, he was surprised that she hadn't dressed and came back in the cocooned sheet, blushed, sat down next to him and jerked the blanket over her again. She said nothing, but tucked her feet up under her on the couch and sat silently next to him looking forward at the TV.

She looked straight ahead and could feel her cheeks getting hotter and hotter as she felt him just watching her. Matt finally laughed at her, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into the crook of his arm and settled back into the corner of the couch. Neither said a word about her attire, or lack thereof, or their ease in just being together.

Later that night, Sarah flipped on the app on her phone again and turned it off again. Nothing on the small phone screen. She saw him get up and put a frozen pizza in the oven for the two of them. Sarah offered to cook something for dinner; he declined and just asked her to relax. She sat on the couch and watched as he milled about the kitchen. He made two small salads in bowls, got out bacon bits, croutons, and other toppings to go on top of the lettuce. He then grabbed the pizza out of the oven and began slicing it up to serve on the plate.

Sarah’s phone rang and she answered it quickly, “Hey, Tyler, how was today?” She wanted details of the day and looking for any glimmer of hope that it was a good, profitable day or that there was a message or note left for her from the police?

Tyler replied jovially, “It was good, very good. Where are you at?” Sarah brushed it off and asked how good the day was and for more details. How many batches were sold this morning, any of the day old bread bagged up, and any phone calls for her. Tyler informed her of the sales and that she had one call regarding someone interested in a quote on a wedding cake and grooms cake, he explained she would call them tomorrow. “You will be in tomorrow, right? Where are you, Sarah?” Tyler asked again curiously.

Sarah and Matt looked at each other across the room in silent communication. She did not feel comfortable answering and his expression was clear. He did not want her to reveal to anyone where she was, for her own safety. “I’m staying with a friend for a while, and yes, I will be in tomorrow, see you at five AM?” she replied, being evasive as much as possible.

Tyler was silent and then replied, “Sure. I will see you tomorrow,” and hung up the phone. He was frustrated and angry. If she wanted to stay somewhere, he had always been there for her over the last several months…why could she not trust him? She would be more than welcome at his place if she needed a place to stay. He almost hung up on her but thought against it. He just wanted to see her smiling face and talk to her alone, without her boyfriend there.

Sarah was relieved to be headed in tomorrow but was a bit taken aback by the abrupt ending to the call. She was glad to hear it was a busy day at the store but felt slightly guilty that Tyler had to handle it alone. She knew firsthand how tough it could be to race around all day alone at the counter.

Matt asked, “care to share what he said?” knowing part of the conversation had to deal with her whereabouts.  She informed him about the quote, how it sounded like a good day and that Tyler kept asking where she was. Matt offered to drop her off in the morning at the bakery and then pick her up, just so she was ‘safe’ and didn't have to be alone walking in or out of the bakery after hours. It wasn't a dangerous location at all, but he definitely preferred seeing her off, for purely selfish reasons: He wanted to make sure she was safe and seeing her was turning into the highlight of his day.

They ate dinner quietly and suggested watching a DVD together. Later, as she yawned, Sarah cleared her throat and said amicably, “I have a proposal for you.” She felt guilty taking the couch and anytime she brought it up, he told her he was taking the couch tonight and she would have his room. There was no sense in that, she thought.

Matt wagged his eyebrows at her and said, “Indecent, I hope?” he teased. He loved teasing her and making her smile. He couldn't help it when she suggested a proposal, for him it brought to mind the movie title.

Sarah blushed furiously and smiled at him. “You wish! Actually, I thought that it wasn't fair for me to take the bed and you sleep on the couch... and I know you put me on the couch last night and took the floor. How about we both sleep comfortably on the bed?” she rushed on at his lecherous grin “…and since we are both adults, we know that we need to get to know each other better before anything happens because if it happens too fast, I get overwhelmed. We should be able to sleep comfortably, right?” she explained.

Matt tried to wipe the smile off his face and could not. He tried in all seriousness to respond, but ended up with a smirk on his face he could not remove. She was adorable when she was embarrassed, but yet she sat right next to him all day in barely anything. “You are absolutely right.” He didn't want to sound like a degenerate, he was really attracted to her and genuinely liked her a lot. He had been a perfect gentleman so far and would do his damnedest to continue to be one, but she had the sweetest taste when he kissed her and the softest skin, as long as they didn't do any touching or kissing he was certain that sleeping would be no problem at all. Maybe a wall of pillows between them would help? Or a cold shower?

Sarah eyed him and was slightly disappointed. She knew he was being very considerate with her. He was very worried with what was going on at her condo, with her safety, and the theft at the bakery. So far he had been polite, but at the bakery, when he kissed her? It was like someone threw a match into a pile of straw. His hands were everywhere, like he could not get enough- and she understood the feeling because she did not want him to stop. She never expected him to agree so readily… and it truly was not the answer she was wanting to hear.

They finished watching the movie, Matt moved to clear the dishes and load them into the dishwasher. He heard Sarah ask over the running water in the sink, if he minded that she went ahead and got a shower. Matt dropped a plate into the sink and cleared his throat. “Nope, not at all,” he said calmly and picked up the plate, continued washing it off as nothing happened.  Picturing her in the shower, naked, was wreaking havoc on his mind.

Sarah smiled widely and headed for the bathroom. She tossed the sheet from the bathroom doorway to the bed, grabbed some clean items from her bag and locked the bathroom door. She hopped in the shower, borrowed his razor and proceeded to get cleaned up...smiling all the while. Sarah was a quiet alpha personality, she made her own way, made her own decisions and was in the process of making one now: she planned on seducing him.

Matt was obviously going to treat her like a lady and try his best not to move too quickly,  but Sarah genuinely liked him and wanted more. She could also tell from his expression and the few innuendos he let slip, he was definitely interested in her too. She was an adult and wanted a bit more from him. It's not like she was a young girl who didn't know what she was getting into? She knew and planned to go after it, even if she was a bit nervous about it and had never seduced a guy before. Josh had always been the aggressor in their relationship, so she never really had to try.

She turned off the water, towel dried her hair and brushed her teeth. She donned a clean, black tank top and the skimpiest pair of panties she owned currently in her bag of thrown together things from her condo, a silky black thong with a lace heart at the top of her cheeks. She had no perfume unfortunately, her only bottle had been smashed at her place and it was on her list of items to replace at her home. “It is now or never,” she whispered to herself, shut her eyes and took a deep breath.
Be bold,
she thought,
you got this
!

She unlocked the door and stepped out into the room. He was not even there! The bed was empty still. The tossed sheet still lay where it landed. She could hear the TV going and casually walked down the small hallway to the kitchen-living room combo. She walked over to the sink, grabbed a glass and filled it. She took a deep swallow of the water and she got the reaction she had hoped for.

Matt thought his eyes had popped out of his skull when he saw her at the sink. “Sweet Jesus, Sarah you are killing me...” Matt said aloud. He had tried to give her space since she had been displaced, they were still in the ‘new’ phase of their relationship. Granted they had spent a lot of time together recently and she had quite a bit of things happen lately that really cemented a trust factor between them, but in all reality, they were still ‘new’ to each other. He needed it to be just as intense for her as it was for him. He couldn't breathe near her, he wanted to touch her and please her; he wanted to be her world and could not understand how it happened so fast. It was her smile, her eyes, her personality and she felt like his other half...it was quick for him.

He’d never felt such a connection since his wife had died all those years ago and did not want to let it slip through his fingers...but for her, she seemed so quiet and reserved sometimes, like there was two sides to the ‘coin’ because at other times she was straightforward and headstrong. Making decisions, moving forward, strong enough to be on her own and she did not really seem to need anyone... he wanted her to need him.

Sarah looked at him on the couch innocently. “Is something wrong?” she said and smiled. She casually set down the glass and stretched her arms up to fake a yawn, as she watched him out of the corner of her eyes. She felt sensual and powerful in his gaze, like she was the only woman for him.