Bound to the Past (Starville Series Book 1) (20 page)

Her hips rocked to meet his touch. Her hand moved back to his chest, slowly tracing a path over the hard ridges of his abdomen. Sara heard another groan, but this time she wasnʼt sure whether it came from Jack or her as she slid her hand farther down, between their bodies―straight to the place she was dying to touch the most. Sheer female satisfaction filled her as he gasped against her skin. Even through the denim of his jeans, she could feel just how hard and hot and wonderful he was. Her entire body zinged with excitement at the thought of how it would feel to have him inside her. Filling her. Making her his. She was so caught up in her fantasies that she barely heard Jackʼs sharp intake of breath as he pulled away slightly.

“Sara, weʼve got to stop,” he said breathlessly.

Her eyes fluttered open in confusion, then closed again as she kissed the side of his neck and pushed her body farther into his.

“We need to talk about this…about us.”

Us.
She liked that. The talking part, not so much. “Shhh,” she whispered, almost afraid words might break the spell. Knotting her fingers into his hair, she crushed his mouth to hers again and rocked her hips against him.

“Sara,” he tried again―but his protest didnʼt match his actions as his hand traveled down the expanse of her body. “Sweetheart, if we donʼt stop immediately, Iʼm going to have sex with you…right here, right now. Do you understand?”

“Hmm.” Swaying closer into him, Sara inhaled deeply, letting the intoxicating fragrance of his skin fill her senses. Her already racing heart pounded faster in her chest as his words slowly started registering in her mind.
Sex.
Sex with Jack. His big, strong, naked body against her. Inside her. My, it sure was tempting. Of course, she was still painfully aware that having sex with Jack would never lead anywhere but the bed. Then again, she was twenty-five and had never experienced anything like this before—and probably never would again. Why turn down the chance to spend a wonderful, unforgettable night with the man of her dreams? To hell with commitment. To hell with love. She was going to have sex with Jack. Right here. Right now. In the parking lot….

A long, cold shiver ran through her heated body at the sudden realization.

“
Ohmygosh!
” Sara jerked away from him and gave a frantic look around.

“Sara…” Jack stepped close but stopped with a heavy sigh as she jumped back. “Look, itʼs okay. Itʼs deserted here. Nobody saw us.”

It didnʼt matter. She didnʼt care that someone might have seen them. But the fact that she had gotten to the point of considering having sex with him in the middle of a parking lot―only a few feet away from where the whole of Starville was gathered for the fair!―said a lot about the power this man had over her.

It freaked the crap out of her.

“Trust me, baby, I wouldnʼt have let it go any further. I would never embarrass you like that,” Jack tried to comfort her again, his hooded eyes surveying her.

She tilted her head back to look at his face, and her heart sank even deeper down to her stomach. He was right. He would have stopped. Because while she had completely lost herself in him, he hadnʼt given up one whit of his freaking self-control.

But why did she feel so disappointed? And mad? And…humiliated? A long, painful breath escaped from her lips. “Forget it, okay?”

“Sara―”

“Please, let’s just go to the fair.”

“Hey, guys!”

Sara nearly screamed in frustration as she turned around and saw Layla Lacrod and Brent walking toward them.
Perfect
.

“I should have known a lone wolf like you would park as far away as possible from the crowd,” Layla joked as she reached them.

Jack nodded absently, his gaze glued to Sara.

Brent cleared his throat, his wary eyes darting between the two of them. “Maybe we should go, Lay.”

Layla either didnʼt hear him or ignored his cue, because she walked up to the Harley and patted its seat. “I canʼt believe youʼre still riding this thing after all these years, Jack. If I close my eyes, I can still see you whizzing around night and day, driving old Mrs. Nickelby crazy.”

“Shall we head to the fair?” suggested Sara, on the verge of exploding.

The four of them started quietly toward the square―but after a few steps, Jack grabbed her elbow and held her back slightly. “We need to talk,” he whispered in her ear.

She nodded halfheartedly. She felt so unsure about everything. What was he so eager to talk about, anyway? She didnʼt know, and maybe she didnʼt want to. Heck, all she could think about was having sex with the man, and he wanted to talk.
Ugh.
Her humiliation reached incalculable proportions. No heroine in her books would ever behave so stupidly.

Jack slid an arm around her shoulders, sending shivers through her body. On the other hand, Sara thought, leaning against him with a helpless sigh, no heroine in her books ever had to deal with Jack Turner!

***

The fair was in full swing when they reached the main square. Jack immediately stopped in his tracks, stiffening at the sight of the hundreds of people crowded around the various tables and stands placed here and there. A few couples were dancing in the starred-and-striped gazebo in the middle of the square, and the music was so loud that his head was already starting to throb. It was awful…even worse than he’d thought itʼd be. He was seriously considering turning around and bolting when he noticed Nicky walking toward them, her hand wrapped around a tall, brown-haired manʼs arm.

Sara smiled at them. “Hi, guys. Good seeing you again, David. Jack, this is David Meyer, our new veterinarian.”

He nodded and stretched his hand. The other man eyed him with curious interest as he shook it. “Nice meeting you.”

Nicky turned uncomfortably to Brent and Layla. “I, um, donʼt think you guys have met David.”

Brent didnʼt respond but studied the man from head to toe. Layla jabbed him with her elbow and took a step forward to shake Davidʼs hand. “Itʼs always nice to see new faces in Starville. Where are you from, sugar?”

“Houston―but Iʼll be here for about a year. Iʼm replacing Angie OʼDonnell at the clinic.”

Her eyes glittered with interest. “So, youʼre a doctor?”

“A veterinarian, actually.”

“Just as charming.” She licked her crimson lips, then turned toward Jack and wrapped a hand around his arm. “Wanna dance, hon?”

Sara decided right then and there that sheʼd gladly pull every single red lock out of her head. “I think Iʼll go grab myself a soda,” she mumbled, trying to spot the drink stand. Heck, if Jack started dancing with Layla, sheʼd need a margarita instead. Or two. Maybe three.

Jack glanced down at Laylaʼs hand and swallowed so hard his Adamʼs apple bobbed. “I think Iʼll pass, thanks. My leg and all.”

“Iʼll dance with you, Lay,” Brent interjected, grabbing her elbow and dragging her toward the dance floor under the gazebo.

An awkward silence followed after they left. Jack was the first to break it, clearing his throat as he turned to Sara. “Iʼll get you that soda, sweetheart.”

She blinked at him, incredulous that heʼd actually rejected Laylaʼs invitation. “Thank you.”

“What about you, Nicky?”

“Iʼd love one, thanks.”

“Iʼll go with you.” David fell into step with him. Nicky watched them as they walked to the drink stand, then she flicked her amused gaze to Sara and clicked her tongue. “Is there something you want to tell me,
sweetheart?
”

“Huh? Oh, that.” Sara swept the matter away with a wave of her hand. “It means nothing. Jack has always called me that.”

“Yeah, well, that might not mean anything, but the way he looks at you does.”

Her silly heart instantly went on a rampage. “How does he look at me?”

“Letʼs see―a cross between a predator and a lovesick puppy? Pretty much the same way you look at him.”

She didnʼt comment. Heaven knew she did feel pretty lovesick-puppyish right now. She shook her head. “Youʼre one to talk, you know.”

“Me?” Nicky gave her a most bewildered look. “What did I do?”

“Iʼll tell you exactly what youʼre doing, youʼre using David to get Brent jealous.”

“I am
not
!”

“Really? Is that why he still believes you guys are dating?”

Nicky dropped her gaze and started toying with a button of her shirt. “Itʼs…complicated.”

“Of course it is.”

Nicky huffed a breath. “Why, yes, I have a little crush on my partner. There, I finally admitted it. Happy? So what? Itʼll fade soon.”

Actually, her
little crush
hadnʼt faded a bit in all those years―but Sara decided it was probably better not to mention that as her friendʼs eyes shifted to the dance floor. “Besides, look who he’s with tonight.
She
is his kind of girl.”

“Laylaʼs beautiful,” Sara admitted.

“Are you kidding me? Sheʼs freakinʼ Wonder Woman! Have you seen her perfect makeup? How the heck can she keep it in this damn heat?” Nicky wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand. “I swear she must be an alien or something.”

“I do wonder if sheʼs human, sometimes.” Sara breathed a heavy sigh. “She likes Jack.”

“Duh. She seems to like every breathing man on earth.”

“I know. But I mean, she
really
likes Jack. I see the way she looks at him, the way sheʼs always trying to touch him.”

“Well, if itʼs any consolation, she has a soft spot for Brent, too. Then again, she also hit on David!” The two of them exchanged a conspiratorial look and burst out laughing.

Jack frowned as he and David came back from the drink stand. “Whatʼs so funny?”

“Just a little joke.” Sara bit her bottom lip and took the bottle he handed her. “Thank you. Would you like to walk around a bit?”

He shrugged. “Why not?”

***

A couple of hours later, Jack still looked around suspiciously. He should never have agreed to come to this stupid fair.

The colorful tables everywhere, the dozens of couples dancing, the hordes of kids playing around, laughing and screaming in their high-pitched voices… Everything was driving him nuts. Hell, his head was about to explode. Not to mention that heʼd been there for hours and hadnʼt accomplished anything. Charlene had done nothing but avoid him since heʼd arrived, and the only people heʼd managed to talk to all night were Sara, Brent, Nicky, Layla, and that new veterinarian. If he had hoped that coming to the fair and seeing the people heʼd known since he was a kid would help him remember something, he couldnʼt have been more wrong. He only felt more confused and disoriented than ever.

Sara heard Jackʼs sigh and cast a disheartened glance at him. He was clearly uncomfortable and out of place there―not that she could blame him. The whole town had done nothing but slant hostile looks at him all night. In fact, she felt responsible for his distress, being the one whoʼd pushed him into going to the fair. And while she had known all along that Starville wouldnʼt be enthusiastic about his presence, part of her kept hoping that Jack would relax and enjoy himself like everybody else around him. All sheʼd wanted was to buy some cotton candy, steal a kiss from him while watching the fireworks, maybe even dance to a romantic song or two with him. Instead, nothing was going right. Heʼd been on the defensive since they had arrived and clearly couldnʼt wait to leave. And maybe they should. What was the point of staying, anyway?

She opened her mouth to ask him if he wanted to leave, but her breath caught as her gaze fixed on a spot behind him. Her eyes widened. A big smile spread across her face.

Jack turned around to see what had caught her attention, and his eyes narrowed at the sight of the tall, burly cowboy striding toward them. Half a second later, he watched incredulously as Sara ran toward the man and jumped into his arms with joyful laughter.

What the hell?

Something wild and dangerously close to fury stirred within him and burned in the pit of his stomach when the manʼs damn arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground.

“Iʼm so happy you made it, Cars!”

“Told ya I would, didnʼt I?” Carson put her back down with a wink, and she playfully tipped the black Stetson on his head.

“Yes, but with you I never know for sure.”

“Well, ta-da! Here I am. And, by the way, youʼre beautiful as always, kid,” he said, taking her hand and making her twirl under his arm in an improvised dance. She laughed.

“Youʼre not looking too bad yourself, Mr. Cooke.” In fact, she wasnʼt the only woman studying him from head to toe. As usual, his sapphire-blue eyes and muscular frame were already turning a few heads. “Whenʼd you get here?”

“About ten minutes ago. Iʼm not staying, though, I wanna hit the horse auction. I just came to say hi to you.”

She patted his arm. “Good boy. Is Jamie here?” His son lived with his mother in Philadelphia but usually spent the summer at the ranch.

“Nah, Grace is keeping him until September this year.”

“Iʼm sorry.”

“At least heʼll be with me for Thanksgiving―maybe even Christmas. I suppose this is a half victory after all, huh?” he tried to joke, but his smile was stiff and didnʼt reach his eyes. Sara didnʼt miss the flicker of pain that flashed in them. Knowing how much he loved his son and suffered from the painful situation with his ex-wife, she decided to change the subject.

“Come with me, I want to introduce you to Jack,” she said, taking his hand.

Carson peeked behind her shoulders and raised a brow. “Um, kid? If heʼs a tall, glaring man looking eager to rip me apart, I believe Iʼll be meeting him pretty soon.”

She turned around just in time to see Jack stride toward them, his long steps eating up the distance despite the injured knee. And Carson hadnʼt exaggerated—he looked furious. When he stopped in front of them, his fists were clenched to his sides.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he all but growled, his eyes blazing into hers. “Sara, I need to talk to you for a sec.”

She arched a brow, confused by the angry tension radiating off him. “Sure. Just let me introduce you to my friend Carson first. I told you about him, remember? Cars, this is Jack. Heʼs―” She fumbled, trying to find an appropriate word to describe what Jack was to her. The person sheʼd rescued after a terrible accident? A friend? Her roommate? The only man sheʼd ever desired with all her being? The love of her life? “A dear friend of mine,” she decided, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two men.