“I’ll see if Donovan can take over for me behind the bar. Then I’ll follow you in my car.”
“You know,” he said, pulling her closer and trailing his tongue along the seam of her lips, “you could just pack up enough clothes for the week. You wouldn’t have to worry about that long commute. Hell, we could decide not to go into the office at all. Just work naked in bed all day.”
The thought of that set Paxton on fire, but she knew she couldn’t. Spending the night was one thing. Spending the week was something she would need more time to process before she agreed to do it.
“I doubt any work would get done,” she said. “Maybe we should leave the naked fun to the weekend.”
Sawyer growled his disapproval, then pulled her bottom lip between his teeth, biting gently before taking her lips in another long, decadent kiss that had her humming with need.
The unmistakable squeak of the bar’s back screen door put an end to their sexy party.
“Pax?” Belinda called.
Paxton and Sawyer broke apart like a couple of teenagers who had been caught necking. A flutter of excitement lifted her belly. She’d never had the experience of being caught with a boy back in high school.
“Paxton?” Belinda repeated, walking over to them.
“I was just on my way,” Paxton said. She and Sawyer were both grinning at each other. “I’ll see you in a little while,” she said.
He gave her another kiss, waved goodbye to her mom, and headed for the parking lot.
“How serious is this thing with Sawyer Robertson?” Belinda asked. “What’s really going on between you two?”
Paxton looked at her with a raised brow. “You sure you want to know? We share a lot, but I’m not sure you want to hear about the really good sex I’m having. I usually save that kind of talk for Shayla.”
The sight of Belinda’s stern jaw made Paxton feel as if she were a teenager again.
“I told you already that you don’t have to worry about me,” she said, pulling her mother in for a hug. “It’s adorable that you still do, but really, Mom, I can take care of myself.”
Belinda frowned. “It sounds strange to hear you call me Mom,” she said. “Stick with Belinda. That, I’m used to.” Her face became serious again. “Be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Sawyer won’t hurt me.” Paxton shook her head. “My heart is well guarded. You taught me how to do that.”
“Well, at least I was good for something,” her mother said.
“If I had to list all the things you’re good for, we’d be here until next week. Now, let’s get back to work, so I can get out of here,” Paxton said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and heading for the bar. She bumped Belinda with her hip. “I’ve got good sex waiting for me at the end of my shift.”
Her mother slapped her on the arm. “Stop trying to make me jealous.”
Paxton pulled into the parking lot of the high school auditorium, the only place in town that was big enough to hold tonight’s town hall meeting. Her mouth fell open at the sight of all the cars already crowding the parking lot.
“And here I thought I was early for once,” she muttered.
She’d known there would be some interest, but she never imagined a meeting about the mundane technical details of a flood-protection system would suddenly be the hottest ticket in town.
She spotted Sawyer standing in front of his open trunk. He waved her over and pointed to a spot two places down. By the time she reached his car, he had an armful of topography maps.
“Hey there,” he said, closing the trunk with his elbow.
“Thanks for saving me a spot,” Paxton said. She reached over to help alleviate some of his burden, but he moved the maps out of her reach.
“I’ve got this.” He looked over both shoulders, then gave her a swift but deep kiss. “But this is what I need.”
“Stealing kisses in the school parking lot?”
The devilish grin that slipped across his lips held so many naughty promises. “Don’t you remember I played baseball, too? Stealing bases was my specialty. But I much prefer stealing kisses, especially yours.”
Paxton leaned over and whispered in his ear, “For future reference, you don’t have to steal them.” Then, despite his protest, she slipped several of the cylindrical cartons from his hold and started for the brick building. “It looks like this is the place to be tonight,” she called over her shoulder.
