More Than Cookies (The Maple Leaf Series) (24 page)

Sitting in the driver seat, Orion craned his neck to look in the backseat. Neat as a pin. Not a crumb to be seen. Of course, Adriana would never let Myah eat in her car anyway, so it shouldn’t have surprised him there wasn’t any rubbish anywhere in the SUV. The front seats were just as tidy. No sand even on the floor mats which was crazy, because last week it had rained and feet would get muddy. Normal people would have had dirt on the floor mats.

But not Adriana. She probably had some lackey who made sure her car was immaculate at all times. She, of all people, wouldn’t want Vermont residue in her car.

He popped open the center console, but only found a few CDs of bands he hated. The glove compartment turned up only the usual stuff too—insurance card, registration, car manual. Absolutely nothing appeared out of place. Not one clue as to where Adriana had gone or why her car was here.

Letting out a long, frustrated breath, Orion was about to climb out of the SUV when red and blue lights flashed in his eyes. The nose of a St. Jamesbury police car came into view.

Shit.

Orion let one foot touch the driveway, and a voice yelled out, “Stay where you are! Don’t take another step!”

Fabulous.

He did as asked and Officer Landis came to the driver-side door to shine a flashlight directly into his eyes.

“Mr. Finley.” Her voice was loaded with derision.

“Officer Landis.” He matched her tone.

“What are you doing inside Mrs. Whitfield-Finley’s vehicle?” Sencotte asked after opening the passenger-side door.

Feeling a little sandwiched, Orion said, “What were you doing staking out my house?”

“We’ll ask the questions,” Landis said. “What are you doing inside this car?”

“Looking for clues.”

“Clues for what?” Sencotte asked.

“Clues that Santa Claus exists,” he shot back. “What do you think I’m looking for?”

“There’s no reason to get snippy,” Landis said. “Besides, we already searched for clues in this vehicle this afternoon.”

“You two have hassled me enough today, don’t you think? What are you doing here anyway?” Orion ran his hands along the steering wheel then thought about all the fingerprints he was leaving behind and let go quickly.

“We have instructions to bring this vehicle down to the station until Mrs. Whitfield-Finley is located,” Sencotte said.

“Okay. Good. Have at it.” Orion made a move to get out of the SUV, but Landis held up a hand.

“Detective Henrison told us to report back anything suspicious.” She looked past Orion to her partner. “Wouldn’t you say that Mr. Finley sitting in this car under the cover of darkness is suspicious, Sencotte?”

“Very suspicious.” Sencotte gave Orion a sardonic grin.

Uh-oh.

“Look, guys,” Orion began. “Put yourself in my position.”

“We wouldn’t
be
in your position, Mr. Finley,” Landis said.

“Okay, it’s been a lovely chat,” Orion said. “But I’m going to go back into my house now, let you take this car, and forget I saw either of you tonight.” He did get out of the vehicle now, causing Landis to have to back up or get stepped on.

He walked up the driveway toward the house, but Sencotte called after him.

“I’d be careful what I do if I were you, Mr. Finley. The woods have eyes.”

And yet the woods can’t tell me how Adriana’s car got here.

Orion clapped his hands once, and Ranger darted out from the shadows. He gave a low woof at Landis and Sencotte, who truth be told, were just doing their jobs, then followed Orion up the porch steps.

Once inside, Orion shut off all the lights and headed down to his bedroom. He undressed as he listened to the sounds of Adriana’s car starting and gravel crunching under tires. After a few moments, everything was quiet again, and he assumed the car and the cops were gone.

But for how long?

And was he being watched? He wasn’t fond of that notion, but wouldn’t doubt it.

After a quick shower, he slid into bed, but naturally he wasn’t the least bit sleepy now. He grabbed his phone and checked for messages. He found two. One from his contact for the bear project asking for a status report. Answering that one was going to take a little creative writing. Best saved for the morning when he could think better.

The second message was from Adam.

Dude, where r u? Stopped by. No one was home. Why the fuck is Adriana’s car in your driveway?

Orion fired off a quick reply to Adam.
Adriana is missing. I have Myah. Call u tmrw.

He checked the clock on his nightstand. 10:07 p.m. He wondered what Sage was doing. Would she mind a phone call at 10:07 p.m.? He pictured her sitting on her couch watching television in her pajamas, which he imagined to be silky and lacey and green. Hey, it was his fantasy. May as well dream big. Her hair was in a high ponytail in his vision with soft strands framing her perfect face. She’d washed away her makeup, but that didn’t matter. She was gorgeous without it.

The flickering light from the television cast dancing shadows on her wonderful curves, and her eyelids, heavy with approaching slumber, blinked slowly over those emerald green eyes.

And her lips. Oh, God, her lips called out to him. Slightly pouty, they beckoned for him to take a sample.

Screw a sample.
He wanted the whole damn meal. He’d almost had it a few times now. When would he get to enjoy everything Sage Stannard had to offer? When would he get to offer her a few things as well?

He knew he had to patient, but that was no easy request. Even now in his own bed, thinking of Sage had made him painfully hard. In fact, his erection had made a mountain of the sheets covering him.

Time for another shower.

This one would have to be cold. Ice cold. That probably wouldn’t do the trick. First he’d have to lend himself a hand. Literally.

He struggled out of bed, but before he could make it to the bathroom and his release, his cell phone chirped. He blinked at the screen and felt…
Jesus
… did he feel giddy? Giddy because Sage texted him? What in the world had happened to his rules? How had this woman become so important to him in such a short time?

Orion didn’t like all these questions popping into his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, but curiosity got the better of him and he read her text.

It’s 10:15 p.m. Wondering if you’re still up…

Parts of him were up. Way up.

He texted back,
I’m up. Can I call you?
Did that sound needy? It did, didn’t it?
Fuck.

Her response was immediate and that had his heart beating a little faster.

Please do.

While his mind told him to think about this first, his fingers dialed her number and she answered before the first ring finished.

“Hi.” Her voice was a lifeline in the long, dark night.

He took a moment to relish the connection to her and all those questions that had flooded into his head vanished. “Hi.”

“Are Myah and Ian asleep?” she asked.

“Yes. They had a wonderful time at your house.” Ian had talked about being at Sage’s all night.

“We loved having them. Of course, my mother started bugging Lily and Rick about having grandchildren, which was hysterical to me and Hope, but not so much to Lily and Rick.”

“Myah still couldn’t believe she met a real live coyote.”

“And ate pancakes with one, right?” Sage’s laugh was hypnotic, intoxicating, as essential as oxygen.

“Thanks again for babysitting my family.”

“Anytime. Besides, I have a previous text message that says something about you making it up to me, don’t I?”

He heard the smile in her voice and pictured her face… and the sexy pajamas. “I believe I did send a message that said something like that. I’ll even let you decide how I’ll make it up to you.” Flirting with her was fun. More fun than he’d had in a long, long time.

“This could get interesting,” she said. “I have many, many ideas, Orion.”

Hearing her say his name made his body react. If it reacted anymore, exploding was a very real possibility.

“One of those ideas wouldn’t happen to involve you sneaking over here right now, would it?” A begging sounded in his voice, but he didn’t care. He wanted her. Desperately.

“Really? Right now?”

“Really. Right now. Please.” Blatant begging now. He had no shame about it either.

“Well, I was going to organize my kitchen cabinets now that I have everything unpacked, but… it sounds as if you need me.” The teasing lilt in her words was almost too much.

“I do need you,” he said. “And Sage?”

“Yes?”

“Hurry.”

Chapter Nineteen

Sage looked down at the ripped shorts and toothpaste-stained T-shirt she was wearing as pajamas. Not a good ensemble to wear to Orion’s, especially if he had in mind what she thought he had in mind. She rested a hand on her knee and realized she hadn’t shaved either. Her hair was an absolute mess too.

With the urgency of someone running from an assassin, she flew to the bathroom, hopped in the shower, shaved everything that needed shaving, and doused herself in a vulgar amount of lavender body scrub. She toweled off, ran a brush through her hair, which she decided to put in a ponytail to corral the flyaways, and jumped into a short, green-and-blue flowered skirt with a green, lacey camisole. Add a pair of hoop earrings and a silver necklace with a maple leaf on it Rick had given her for her birthday and she was as presentable as she was going to get in such a short time.

Hurry.

The word uttered by Orion made her insides feel like a shaken can of soda. He’d said he needed her. She’d been needed before. Her mother needed her to pick up groceries. Her sister needed her to give her fashion advice on those rare occasions when they went out. Her cousin needed her to keep his store stocked with delicious maple confections when they were open. Her clients needed her to offer her best menus.

But she’d never had a man—a tall, hot, bearded, Vermont mountain man—tell her he
needed
her. The notion completely delighted her.

She slid her feet into a pair of flip-flops and bolted for her car. In three minutes, she was in Orion’s driveway and noting that Witchy Ex-wife’s car was gone.

Good.
Hopefully that meant the cops would be leaving Orion alone now. How anyone could suspect him of any wrongdoing was completely absurd anyway. Watching the way the man took care of his father, seeing how much he loved his daughter… come on. The guy was a saint.

A super-sexy saint.

She forced herself to take a deep breath and climb the porch steps slowly. She counted each one as she put her foot down. No need to arrive at Orion’s doorstep panting like a horny beast.

“Hey.”

She snapped her head up to see him standing in the open doorway, and maybe, just maybe, he was panting a bit too. He was wearing only cargo shorts, his chest wonderfully bared and on display.

She grinned. “Hey.”

He pulled her inside by her arm and closed the door. His mouth descended upon hers as he backed her through the kitchen, down the hallway, and directly to his bedroom. He kissed her as he eased her onto the bed. He kissed her as he slid his hands along her thighs and up her skirt. He kissed her as he released her hair from its ponytail and combed his fingers through the strands.

And she kissed him back with the same fervor as she unzipped his shorts and peeled them off his amazing ass. The fact that he was commando under them made her heart thud erratically. She ran her fingers over his tight abs, up his chest, and settled her hands behind his neck as she held him to her for a more thorough investigation of his luscious mouth.

A low rumble, so utterly male, escaped from his throat and made her arch her body against his. He encircled her waist with his arms and moved them both to the center of the bed. When he sat on her thighs to look down at her, she was enthralled by the dreamy look on his face, by the emotion she saw in his gorgeous blue eyes, by the hundred-pound dog that leaped onto the bed and sloshed its tongue across her cheek.

“Ranger,” Orion hissed, “get down.” He pulled the dog by the collar and marched him out into the hallway. He closed the bedroom door, and though the dog let out a few whimpers at being excluded, a few seconds later retreating claws could be heard.

Orion climbed back onto the bed. “I’m sorry about that. Way to kill the moment, huh?” He ran his hand through his black hair, the strands settling back into place as soon as his fingers passed.

“Not at all,” Sage said. “He just wanted to be a part of all the kissing happening in here. I don’t blame him.”

Orion’s lips turned up in a slow, sexy grin that made Sage melt into the sheets. “You’re a phenomenal kisser.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.” She reached up and caught his mouth again, her tongue seeking out his.

He let his lips trail along her neck, down her shoulder, and back along her collarbone then he removed her skirt and camisole. Again, he took a moment to look at her, and Sage loved the attention. She was totally comfortable, totally aroused, totally into this man.

“I can’t wait another minute, Sage. I have to have you. I must.”

“Can’t argue with that.”

He grabbed the condom he had on the nightstand, opened it, and Sage rolled it on, taking great pleasure in touching his arousal until his eyes closed and that rumble sounded again. He tested her center with one finger, two, a stroking movement that sent her to the edge.

“So hot,” he murmured as he dropped a kiss on the inside of her thigh. “So ready.”

She skimmed her nails along his back and he shivered in her grasp. “I’ve been ready for you since I found you bleeding on my couch.”

He laughed against her skin, his breath warm and tickling. “There had to have been a better way to meet you than getting a hole in my leg.”

Sage gently traced a circle around the bandage covering that healing hole. “Maybe, but none of that matters now. All that matters is this moment.”