Last Call (Book #2 - Heat Wave Series) Read online

  He took a sip of his beer and watched Sunny scrub the polish off the counter. “What can I do to help?”

  “Nothing.” Rather than sparkling with their normal brightness, Sunny’s eyes were flat and dull as she turned away from him. The guilty pangs that came with seeing Robby upset intensified. He didn’t like being the one that brought darkness to their lives, and he wished—again—he knew how to fix it.

  He sighed and reached for a Dum-Dum. “I don’t like him being nasty to you, especially when I’m the source of the conflict.”

  She shrugged it off. “Nasty is his middle name right now.” She muttered something about “stupid conflict” and “necessary evil” while rearranging the liquor bottles on the shelf. Gavin didn’t understand, but the muttering seemed to make her feel better, so he let her have at it.

  “Sunny, we’re gone,” the biker and his girlfriend yelled from the door.

  Sunny waved and blew them air kisses. “Y’all be careful going home. See you Wednesday?”

  The girl ducked her head as if embarrassed, and the guy hugged her. “Maybe one of these days we’ll get married,” he said. “Then we won’t have to do this anymore.” He laughed and kissed his dumbstruck girlfriend on the head before leading her out the door.

  “I guess they’ve never discussed marriage.”

  Sunny blinked and snapped her mouth shut. “I don’t know. They haven’t been dating for long, and it’s a bad situation. But they’re both great, and they seem like a perfect couple.”

  “You don’t always need a long time to know someone's right for you.” Well, shit. Where had that ridiculous pansy-ass statement come from? Gavin glanced at the bottle in his hand. He’d only had three beers, so he couldn’t blame the alcohol.

  Going for a quick subject change, Gavin nodded toward the door and got to his feet. “Want me to lock up for you?”

  Sunny glanced around, only just realizing everyone else had left. “Uh… Sure.”

  He flipped the lock on the door, then plunged the open sign into darkness. As he turned back toward the bar, a flash caught his attention. Looking through the windows of the rolling door, he studied the dunes. The only thing he saw was a spectacular full moon. A perfect night for camping on the beach.

  He picked up the blanket from the corner he’d stashed it in earlier, then laid it on the pool table closest to the door. “How long will it take you to wrap things up here?” he asked, stepping behind Sunny. “I have special plans for you.”

  She was facing the mirrored wall, and he watched the dullness in her eyes turn to glittering anticipation. “Just a few minutes.” She picked up the container of Redi Whip then hesitated. Smiling, she set it back down and caught his gaze in the reflection of the mirror. She popped the sucker from her mouth and said, “Robby is staying at a friend’s tonight. We don’t have to go to the beach.”

  He pressed his body against hers and stroked his fingers down her arms. “Yeah, we do. I promised you sex on the beach.” Holding her gaze in the mirror, he nuzzled her neck. “You know you’re killing me with those damned suckers, right?” A smile played at her mouth, and she shook her head. “I can’t watch you suck on one without imagining what it would be like to be the lucky bastard.”

  Her breath hitched, and she twisted in his arms. “Oh yeah?” She trailed her fingers down his chest, past the drawstring on his borrowed shorts, and cupped the hard proof of his confession. “Mmmm… Do you know what my favorite flavor is?”

  He gulped. “No.”

  “Peppermint.” She looked up at him with a sad, pouty expression. “But they don’t make suckers in that flavor.” She reached behind her and grabbed a bottle of peppermint schnapps off the shelf. “Maybe I could make my own.”

  He struggled to make his lungs work as he followed her train of thought. He’d never experienced this personally—hey, a first for him—but he heard other guys talk. The peppermint, combined with the cool air in the room, added to the already intense sensations of the woman’s mouth.

  But hell, he was cranked so tight it wouldn’t take but three seconds of Sunny’s mouth on him and he’d be a goner.

  Her fingers shook as she pulled at the drawstring of his shorts and loosened the waistband. She flipped her gaze to his and hesitated, as if gauging his reaction to make sure it was okay for her to continue.

  Only a fool would tell this woman no… to anything.

  He took her face in his palms and lowered his mouth to hers for a hot, searing kiss. Keeping their mouths connected, he murmured, “I’m okay with anything you want to do… or try.”

  ***

  “Ugh, I hate the beach,” Callie whined as she followed Jason across the soft sand in front of the Blackout. Tiffany and Jen were behind her, equally unhappy about picking their way across sand and seashells in three-inch heels. Next time they turned into spies, they’d remember functionality was as important as being cute.

  Callie didn’t know why she agreed to take a hike down the beach in the first place. She already knew Gavin was in the bar. She saw his SUV in the parking lot when they cruised past a moment earlier.

  When Jen suggested they could turn around, park a few houses away, and take a look into the bar from the beach, Callie hesitantly agreed. Now, she questioned why she’d done such a stupid thing.

  It could be a perverse need for more torture. Or maybe, a part of her still hoped against hope that things weren’t as they appeared. The lights in the building had gone out as they approached, so they knew the bar was closed. But Gavin, or the bartender, hadn't exited, so they must still be inside.

  Since the customers were gone, she hoped they were finalizing the deal so Gavin could wrap things up and head back to Myrtle Beach.

  Jason helped each of them climb to the top of the sand dune directly in front of the bar. “Okay,” he said. “What now?”

  Callie had stuck the small binoculars she used on European sightseeing trips into her purse. Swallowing the fear and nausea rising in her throat, she pulled them from her bag. Sticking with the story of checking up on Tiffany’s boyfriend, Callie glanced at her and said, “I’ll look first and tell you what I see.”

  Tiff bit her lip and frowned. “Are you sure?”

  No, not at all. But she nodded and said, “Yeah, give me a second to get these adjusted.” Her breathing was choppy and her hands shook, making it difficult to see as she pressed the lenses to her eyes. She turned the knob to adjust the vision, and… Oh, God. The view through the front windows was blurry, but it was good enough to see Gavin sealing the deal all right. Not with pen and paper, but with an intense kiss.

  His hands cupped the bartender’s face, and their mouths fused together. While Callie tried to catch her breath, Gavin trailed his kisses from the blonde’s mouth, across her cheek, and then down her neck.

  In a perfectly orchestrated movement, he and the bartender exchanged places so he was the one with his backside pressed to the counter. The bartender slipped her hands under the hem of his shirt, pushed it up over his chest, then stripped it off.

  It was like watching a horror movie. Callie wanted to turn away from the gruesomeness, but the images held her captive.

  The blonde took a drink from a bottle, then kissed her way across his collarbone, down to his nipple. Gavin said something; then his head fell back, a look of pure rapture on his face.

  He liked having his nipples kissed. She’d have to remember—

  She froze mid-thought. No, she needed to forget everything about Gavin. Knowing he’d been with other women was one thing; watching him with someone else left her cold and numb. Even if Gavin came crawling to her tomorrow, she could never get past this.

  “What do you see?” Tiffany asked.

  The painful knot in Callie’s throat kept her from speaking, so she simply shook her head. They must have interpreted that to mean she didn’t see anything, because no one asked more questions. They just patiently waited for her to provide information. Which she was incapable of doing.

&
nbsp; The bartender took another drink from the bottle, then dropped to her knees. The bar prevented Callie from seeing anything below Gavin’s chest, but really… did she need to see more?

  When the trembling got so bad she feared accidentally blinding herself with the binoculars, she handed them over to Jen.

  Jason wrapped an arm around her shoulder and turned her into him for a hug. He stroked her hair and her back and whispered, “He’s not Tiffany’s boyfriend, is he?”

  She shook her head no, but couldn’t get the words out. The ache in her chest was a raw, open wound she doubted would ever heal. Desperate for relief from the pain, Callie gripped the back of Jason’s shirt and held on with all her might.

  “I see Gavin, but I don’t see the bartender. Where’d she… Ohhh… shit, she’s—”

  “Uh, Jen,” Jason said softly, continuing to rub slow, sweeping circles on Callie’s back. “I don’t think we need a play-by-play.”

  “Oh, right.” Jen glanced to Callie. “Sorry.”

  “How long have you been seeing each other?” Jason’s voice was as soft and soothing as his touch.

  “We’re not.”

  His hand stilled for a moment, then resumed the slow caress. “I don’t understand.”

  “God, this is so humiliating.” She swiped the tears off her cheek. “I’ve been in love with him forever. But if he didn’t work for my father, he wouldn’t even know I exist.”

  When Jason drew back, her humiliation grew in proportion to the distance he put between them. He took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned her face so their gazes met. “I don’t know who this guy is, but he’s a fool.”

  “He’s a happy fool,” Jen muttered. At Jason’s sharp look, she snapped her mouth shut. “Sorry.” She looked through the binoculars again and said, “I think we got the answers we came here for. Can we get off this disgusting beach now?”

  “That’s a good idea,” Jason said, clasping Callie’s hand.

  “I hope she’s not going to serve out of that bottle again,” Jen said, sidestepping her way off the dunes. She gasped and grabbed hold of Callie’s arm. “That’s it. You need to report her to the health department for this.” Her mouth worked into a tight scowl and her eyes narrowed. “That’d serve them right.”

  Callie drew in a sad, shuddering breath. “I don’t want to do that, Jen. I just want to forget all of this. I want to try to forget Gavin ever existed.”

  Jason smiled. Not his normally brilliant, ultra-bright smile, which Callie didn’t think she could handle tonight anyway, but a small, genuinely consoling one. Without saying anything else, he squeezed her hand and led her off the dune.

  Callie heard Jen giving Tiffany the gut-splitting details, but for once in her life, she was sensitive to Callie’s feelings and kept her voice down.

  The closer they got to the car, the more insensate Callie grew. From the day she laid eyes on Gavin, she believed she’d marry him. She had a few boyfriends over the years, but nothing serious. Her heart had always belonged to Gavin. Deep down, she believed with every fiber of her being Gavin would eventually feel the same for her.

  Reality had just bitch-slapped her into admitting that dream would never come true. It was also time to admit she was a prude, because she didn’t want Gavin anywhere near her. In the instant she’d seen him kissing the bartender, Callie’s life changed.

  For a moment, when she first looked through the window, she thought it had ended. And, she supposed, in a way it had. The old Callie was gone. Now, she had to begin the long and painful process of learning to live with the knowledge that Gavin would never be a part of her life.

  ***

  Much more of this and the top of Gavin’s head would blow right off. He opened his eyes and stared, half-blind and unfocused, out the front windows toward the beach. A flash of light once again caught his attention, and this time, he made out silhouettes standing on the dunes.

  Concern gripped him for a moment, but then Sunny did something spectacular with her tongue and he didn’t give a shit if anyone was out there or not. The door was locked so no one could get in. He doubted anyone could see into the dark bar from that distance. And, even if they could, they wouldn’t be able to see Sunny.

  Although, with his entire body drawn tight and rigid with the effort to not lose control, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out what was happening behind the bar.

  He dropped his hand to the top of Sunny’s head, pushed his fingers through the soft curls, and grasped a handful.

  “Am I hurting you?” she asked as she flipped her silver gaze to his. “Is the schnapps too much?”

  He shook his head and rubbed his chest, trying to loosen the tight fist squeezing his heart. Whatever she was doing with her tongue was dangerous. The beautiful woman on her knees, looking up at him with those amazing eyes—one hand wrapped around his dick, the other around his balls—was lethal.

  He half-laughed, half-groaned. “No, you’re not hurting me. But you are killing me. In a good way.”

  She licked her lips, and wicked intent replaced her earlier concern. “Good.”

  “Yeah, not good.” He relaxed his grip on her hair and slipped his hand under her chin. “I think it’s time you stopped, before it’s too late.”

  Her grin dissolved. “I don’t want to stop.” Her voice was small, almost pleading. “I want to…” She swallowed and looked uncertain. “I want to finish. Like this.”

  His heart hit a logjam, then broke loose like a raging flood. Flames licked over his body, and his hands began to tremble. “You shouldn’t do that, Sunny. I’m clean but… well…” Thinking about Sunny doing this to someone else was like peeling the skin off his body. It hurt like a mother and would eventually kill him if he dwelled on the subject too long.

  She saved him from further jealous torment by moistening her lips, then holding his gaze as she wrapped her mouth around him and slid down at an excruciatingly slow pace.

  “Fuuuck,” he growled and let his head fall back on his shoulders. The effort not to come in her mouth consumed him. Holding his head upright while simultaneously keeping his orgasm at bay required more strength than he possessed.

  “I’ve never done this with anyone.”

  Her words snapped him out of his trance, and his head lolled forward so he could look down at her. “What?”

  The wicked woman was replaced by a shy, uncertain one. “I mean, I’ve done… this…” She shifted her gaze away, embarrassed. “But I’ve never finished a guy. I’ve always had this hang-up about it and never met anyone I wanted to… taste.”

  Breathing became a challenge, and his vision swam. Her words affected him as much as her mouth, and he wasn’t sure he could keep standing. He wrapped his fingers under the lip of the counter and gripped it so tightly it bit into his flesh.

  “I’ve never had a wild, uninhibited fling. But I’ve always wanted to. I want to experiment and experience everything.” Uncertainty filled her eyes again. “I want that with you. Will you let me?”

  Wild, uninhibited fling.

  The words cut through the spell she’d woven and stung like lashes across his chest. He didn’t want to be a wild fling. He wanted more. How much more, he couldn’t say. But the idea of spending a weekend romping around in her bed, then being sent on his way didn’t sit well with him.

  She must have taken his silence as a go-ahead because she flicked her tongue over the glistening pre-cum, then swirled it around and around and—holy God—around until his head was swimming. Every time she hit that magical spot—right there—a little more of his control collapsed.

  He vaguely remembered he was pissed about something, but for the life of him he couldn’t recall what the hell it was.

  She slid her flattened tongue down the length of him, then sucked on one of his balls. When she moved to the other, they tightened with the impending explosion, and he had to lock his knees to keep them from buckling. She wrapped her lips around him, taking as much of him into her mouth
as possible, and sucked.

  His body was no longer his to control. His hips pumped in and out, and her greedy mewling sounds acted as fuel to the fire. He was afraid of being too rough, but he couldn’t stop. And then… He threw his head back, ground his teeth together, and detonated.

  After several moments of labored breathing and continuing spasms, he thought he might be able to pull himself together. He blinked his eyes, trying to clear the stars, and drew in a long, ragged breath while reaching for Sunny.

  She licked her lips like a cat that just finished a satisfying bowl of cream.

  He pulled her body flush against his and crushed his mouth to hers. He’d thought he was back under control, but he was wrong. Despite the orgasm that just wreaked havoc with his system, he wanted more. Needed more.

  She was a drug he couldn’t get enough of. He couldn’t get close enough. And dammit, being a weekend fling wouldn’t be enough.

  He swept his tongue into her mouth, tasting the schnapps and himself. It was an aphrodisiac that once again zapped his control. “More. I need more of you.”

  Sunny laughed and pulled back to catch her breath. “You promised me sex on the beach.”

  With shaky fingers and jerky movements, he made a half-assed attempt to tie the drawstring of his pants. He slipped his feet into the borrowed flip-flops, grabbed her hand, and damn near sprinted for the door.

  Chapter Seventeen

  As they hustled over the dunes and out to the beach, Sunny was tempted to laugh at Gavin’s exuberance. But she was right there with him, and the sexual energy thrumming through her propelled her on at his breakneck speed.

  While he flipped the blanket open onto the soft sand, she pulled off her shirt and unzipped her jeans. Gavin’s harsh intake of breath caused her to pause with her waistband partway down her hips.