A Touch of Heaven Page 7

  “I just…” Regan began. What? She mentally screamed to herself. What could you possibly have to say right now that is better than having Sawyer’s hands and mouth all over you? “I just wanted you to know that I didn’t come here for this.”

  Sawyer’s smile turned wicked as he leaned into her, resting his forehead on hers. “I know. But I also know that I seriously goaded you into being here.” Very tenderly, he bent and placed a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose. “I wanted you here that badly.”

  When his deep green eyes met hers she was lost. “I wanted to be here, too,” she admitted shyly.

  “Are we done talking?”

  Regan nodded. “Most definitely.” She wasn’t aware that a man could move so quickly. Sawyer bent at the knees and wrapped her legs around his waist as he pressed fully into her so she could feel how glad he was that she was there with him. A soft gasp escaped her lips right before he claimed them again. It was hot and urgent and Regan knew that there was nowhere else that she’d rather be than right here, right now, with this man.

  It all became clear in that instant that this was destined to happen; from the first moment that she’d seen him, touched him – even in the most casual of ways – it was all leading up to this moment. Regan had never felt such an instant connection to a man; such an urgent need. She needed Sawyer like she needed her next breath.

  And right now she was gasping for that next breath because of all of the wonderfully wicked things he was doing to her. Sawyer’s hands were skimming up her sides, her back still braced against the wall. He gently teased the undersides of her breasts and she almost came undone. She gasped his name before uttering, “Bed. Now. Please.” Although the whole up-against-the-wall thing could be interesting, right now Regan simply wanted to feel the weight of Sawyer on top of her.

  Naked.

  No sooner were the words out of her mouth than she found herself sprawled out on the king sized bed and Sawyer stretched out beside her. “Promise me that you’re not leaving,” he said, staring intently into her eyes. “Tell me what you want.” His words were spoken so low and so deep they were nearly a growl.

  Regan was never one to be bold but right now, under the intensity of Sawyer’s gaze, she was. Slowly, she lifted her shirt over her head and faced him in her simple black skinny jeans and a hot pink lace bra.

  “You’re killing me,” he said, entranced by the mere sight of her. His finger lazily traced the outline of the cups of her bra and he hissed as her nipples pebbled as he drew closer to them. “From the first time I saw you in the sparkly t-shirt, I wondered what you were wearing underneath.” He removed his finger from her breast and reached up to trace her cheek. “This is better than I fantasized.”

  “You fantasized about my underwear?” she teased.

  Sawyer leaned in and traced the line of one full cup with his tongue. “No,” he said simply. “I fantasized about you.”

  And then they were done talking. Again. Regan lost track of how the rest of her clothes fell away; she couldn’t remember how she found the strength to have Sawyer stop touching her while she removed his swim trunks. But the next thing she knew they were both sighing with pleasure at the full skin-on-skin contact from head to toe.

  Sawyer’s hands were everywhere and his mouth was never too far behind. Regan found herself on the brink several times but Sawyer wasn’t ready to let her come yet; he seemed content to take his time loving every single inch of her. “Sawyer, please,” she begged, needing him more than she thought possible and finding that she didn’t want to wait another moment to feel him inside of her.

  They were on the same page because in the next instant he was kneeling between her legs, sheathing himself with a condom with an expression that told her he was just as close to the edge as she was. “I’m not making any promises, Regan,” he said seriously, dipping his head to quickly suckle on one of her nipples. “I feel like I’ve waited a lifetime for you; this is going to be fast and it’s going to be hard but I promise you, the next time will be better.”

  He didn’t wait for a response; he simply surged forward, his eyes locked on Regan’s. When hers closed, he commanded her to open them back up and to look at him. He needed to watch her and wanted her to see into his very soul as he loved her. She was wrapped tightly around him and Sawyer swore when he was buried as deep as he could possibly get.

  Perfect.

  It didn’t take long for Regan to climax once he was inside of her. She cried out his name over and over as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her. Never in her life could she remember an orgasm as intense as what she was feeling. The longer he moved inside of her, the more sensitized she became until she wasn’t sure the feeling would ever end.

  As promised, once Sawyer found his rhythm, he all but lost control. She was too…everything. The feel of her, the sounds she made, the look in her eyes as they glazed over him as he drove into her harder and faster…he was on sensory overload. His eyes started to close; he was so close. Just another thrust…”

  “Look at me,” she whispered and that was all it took. His gaze shifted to Regan’s and he lost the battle for control. He filled her with everything that he had; their bodies were sheened with sweat and yet as soon as the waves of pleasure began to subside, Sawyer leaned down and kissed her and knew that it wasn’t enough. One time wouldn’t be enough; hell, he was pretty certain that a lifetime might not be enough.

  He settled slightly on top of her and if anything, Regan wrapped herself even more snugly around him. It took a while for their breathing to settle and when Sawyer felt that he could move, he rolled over and tucked Regan at his side. She placed a hand over his heart and sighed contentedly. When her breathing returned to normal, she said, “Wow.”

  Sawyer pulled her close and relished the feel of her beside him. “You were pretty ‘wow’ yourself.” He kissed the top of her head. He wasn’t sure what else to say. He had played dirty to get her here but there were certainly no regrets. The fact that Regan was silent had him worrying that she did. Reaching up, he tucked a finger under her chin to force her to look at him. “You’re not sorry you’re here, are you?”

  Regan shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “I’m not. I’ll admit that I’ve never quite done anything like this but…”

  “Well, you were a natural,” he teased and she pinched him. “Hey!” he yelled with a laugh.

  “I don’t mean that I’ve never had sex before, I just never…lost control with anyone so entirely. I don’t know what you do to me, Sawyer Bennett, but I think I like it.” She smiled up at him and Sawyer was lost. She was so beautiful, she fit him so perfectly and he knew that he had finally found that something elusive he wasn’t even aware he was searching for.

  “Well,” he said silkily, “if you liked that then you’re going to love this.” And lightning quick, he had her on her back again and was ravaging her mouth. “I believe I made some grand statement earlier,” he said when he finally released her kiss-swollen lips. “Something about the next time being better.”

  Regan pretended to have to think about it. “Oh, yeah,” she said, deep in thought. “I think I remember something about that.” She shrugged. “I’m not sure you can do much better than what we just did. After all,” she said and had to stop herself from giggling. “I thought it was okay.”

  “Okay?” he sputtered. Pinning her hands up above her head, Sawyer gave her a devilish grin. “Sweetheart, I can guarantee you that by the time I’m done, okay will be a distant memory.”

  Her legs snaked out to wrap around his waist. “I’m counting on it.”

  ****

  The sun was setting and Sawyer was curled around Regan’s back. He wanted to know more about her; to really get to know her and so he jumped into the only place he could think to start. “So tell me,” he said quietly, placing a kiss on the side of her neck. “Why won’t you buy your mom’s house?” Her body stiffened at the mention of the house but his whispered plea had her softening against him
.

  “I have a place of my own,” she said simply.

  “Regan…” he began and heard her sigh.

  “A lot of men are intimidated by the fact that I own my own business,” she said and when Sawyer didn’t respond, she continued. “I’m an independent woman; I take pride in the fact that I was able to start a business and that it is successful and thriving.”

  “As you should.”

  “Well, you would not believe how many men find that to be a bad thing.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “Most men claim that they want an independent woman but if she’s successful or more successful than them, it’s not such a good thing.” She thought briefly about the last guy she had dated and how much he used to complain about all of the time she had spent at the spa. In the end he had asked her to choose – she chose the business – and never looked back. “Then there’s the fact that I’m a little old fashioned.”

  Sawyer’s brows furrowed with the last comment. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Well, I don’t know if that’s the right way to put it, but…if a man has a problem with me owning my own business, then he’s definitely going to have a problem if I own my own house too.”

  “You own your townhouse, don’t you?”

  Regan nodded. “I do but it’s small; perfect for one person, maybe a couple, but not someplace that you’d stay long term.”

  “So you think that’s safe? That men don’t find that intimidating?”

  “Oh, I know they don’t. Owning the townhouse shows that I’m practical; possibly good with money. But if I were to own a home, particularly one the size of my mother’s, I don’t see a guy feeling good about moving into it. Like maybe I would have more of a say in things since it’s my house.”

  “I’m sure there are men out there who wouldn’t mind that at all.”

  “Sure; men who still live at home with their mommy’s and are looking to skate through life with everyone else taking care of them. I still believe that a marriage should be a partnership but that the man should be the head of the household.”

  “Ah, there’s the old fashioned coming through.”

  Regan nodded. “I know it’s silly and maybe an outdated way of living but…my parents had a great marriage. My mother worked outside of the home until I was born and then she was a stay-at-home mom for years. She went back to work part time once I was in school and then when I got older, she went back full-time. My father passed away when I was sixteen and from that point on, she and I were a team. The only reason I was able to open the spa was because of my mother. She’s my partner. My father’s life insurance policy helped us get started but for as independent as we both are, I still can see every day that she’s not comfortable being in control of everything. She misses my dad.”

  “Well of course she does, Regan. She obviously loved him.”

  “It was more than that; they were one. I want that. I want to find someone where it’s not a competition and there’s no mine or his…there’s simply ours.”

  “Nothing wrong with that,” he said and it bothered him that she was able to tell him all of this because she didn’t consider him the someone to be an ‘ours’ with. He automatically hated the man that she deemed worthy of being one with because Sawyer already knew that it could and should be him.

  He just had to convince Regan of it.

  Chapter Six

  A week later, Sawyer was deep into the renovation when Devin hovered over him, scowling. “Is there a problem, Dev? We’re on schedule and under budget. What’s with the face?”

  “It’s boring.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me; this is boring. We had it all planned out that there was discord between the mother and daughter and the daughter has been a no-show through two weeks of renovations. I’m not happy, Sawyer. Get the daughter here and get me some drama to put into this episode or we’ll be doing contract negotiations sooner than expected.” He turned to walk away but Sawyer stopped him.

  “Are you threatening me?”

  Devin slowly turned around. “I told you from the get-go what I wanted out of this particular episode.”

  “And I told you that I wasn’t doing that.”

  “Well you’re not in charge; I am. And the network wants to mix things up a little. Everyone likes to see a little family drama. Get the daughter here, because I happen to know for a fact that if anyone can, it’s you.”

  Sawyer dropped the hammer he had been holding. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

  Devin stepped in close so that he and Sawyer were nose to nose. “It means that I am aware of how you’ve been spending your spare time. I’ve got some great B-roll going. Get the daughter here to snap and gripe at her mother or at you or the drama that we add will have to do with your extra-curricular activities. Do I make myself clear?” He didn’t wait for an answer before storming off and telling the camera crew that they were done for the day.

  Sawyer felt pure rage in that moment. Max came strolling in and knew immediately that something was wrong. “Sawyer? What’s going on?” He placed a hand on his son’s shoulder but it was quickly shaken off.

  “Nothing,” Sawyer snapped and reached down for his hammer and turned to go back to work.

  Max spun him around. “Dammit, what is going on? What did Devin say to you?”

  Sawyer glared at him. “Nothing that concerns you, okay?” When Max went to stop him again, Sawyer snapped. “Look, what do you want from me, Dad?”

  “What I want is for you to talk to me. You’re clearly upset and I know that I haven’t been around much this last week and…well, you’re probably wondering where I’ve been.”

  Now Sawyer had an idea of how Regan must have felt when she walked in on his father and Caroline because just thinking that his father was going to talk about it had him breaking out in a cold sweat. He held up a hand to stop the words before they came out. “I know where you’ve been; you’ve been spending time with Caroline Amerson and that’s fine. You don’t owe me any explanation.”

  “How did you know? We’ve been very careful.”

  “Regan told me,” he said and knew that he had just opened up a huge can of worms. Max blushed and Sawyer had no doubt that they were both feeling a level of discomfort that they had never had to address before. “It’s okay, Dad. I’m fine with it.”

  “I don’t think Regan is.”

  “She was…shocked. But that’s probably because of the way she found out.”

  “Yeah…that was awkward. Caroline was a little embarrassed to say the least but once she shooed Regan out the door, she was fine. She’s an amazing woman, Sawyer. I…I don’t normally get too serious with a woman but I think that I could see myself getting serious with Caroline. If she’d let me.”

  Sawyer nodded because he completely understood. He felt the same way about Regan. How ironic, was this a case of like mother/like daughter or like father/like son? Because it was too bizarre for it to be a case of them both. If Devin wanted some drama, they had it going on here in spades!

  Max looked at his son, the question was there in his eyes but he knew he had to voice it out loud. “Does it…does it bother you? The thought of me getting serious with someone?”

  With a shake of his head and a chuckle Sawyer said, “Of course not, Dad. You deserve to be happy and I think Caroline is great. It’s a little fast, sure, but sometimes, that’s the way it happens, right?” Sawyer knew first hand that it did because if he had his way, things would be a lot more serious with Regan.

  They had spent every night together since she had come to his hotel but now they spent the time at her place. The first time Sawyer had shown up there, he saw what she meant about it not being practical for more than one person. The space was cozy and that normally worked in his favor but he soon learned that Regan loved to cook and that he loved to watch her but they both couldn’t be in the kitchen together. There was a breakfast bar and so he had to be cont
ent sitting on a stool with a granite covered island separating them.

  He smiled at some of the things they had done on that granite covered island.

  Max, completely oblivious to what was going on in his son’s mind looked around and kept talking. “I know that you weren’t happy about doing this job but with the way things have turned out, I can’t be sorry. But,” he said and then hesitated, “I think that the time may be right for me to start easing out of all of this.”

  Sawyer’s head snapped toward his father’s. “What?”

  “I’ve been in construction for a long time; I’m not getting any younger and I’m seeing now that there are a lot of things I’d like to do. I’d like to travel and not just from job site to job site. I’ve worked hard all of my life, Sawyer; I think it’s time to retire.”

  He almost wished they’d had the sex talk instead. “You’ve known Caroline for all of two weeks and now you want to retire? I don’t get it.” Sawyer was thoroughly confused and this was the last conversation he thought he’d be having with his father.

  “Like you, I’ve been a little less than enthusiastic about the direction of the show. The fact that the network is looking to add drama to what was really just a nice little home improvement show makes me mad as hell. Working with Devin has turned into a real chore. I know you’re not happy and it’s safe for me to admit that I’m not either. Maybe it’s time for both of us to move on.”

  “Great,” Sawyer snapped, throwing the hammer down again. “That’s just freakin’ great.” He stormed from the house and out into the back yard because suddenly the walls seemed to be closing in on him. It didn’t take long for Max to find him.

  “I’m not saying that I’m leaving tomorrow, Sawyer. I’ll finish out my contract but I won’t be re-signing, that’s all. We can still work together from time to time but, well, I think that you are more than capable of doing this on your own.”

  Raking a hand through his hair in frustration, Sawyer turned toward his father. “I’m not mad at you, Dad; that’s not it. I just feel like I’m at a crossroads here and unlike you, I can’t retire. If I don’t stay with the show, then what? What am I supposed to do?”