Chapter Five

Sarah wasn’t going to sleep. It just wouldn’t happen. It wasn’t the summer heat that stuck to her flesh like a second skin. Her skin was damp with the humidity that hung thick in the air. It wasn’t the crickets that played their outdoor symphony.

She sighed as she dropped on her sofa in an oversized T-shirt and a pair of panties. No, it was the man whose bed she shared the night before. It was the memory of him inside her, his mouth tasting her, his touch setting her on fire. She spent hours after mass that morning praying in the hopes she might have a ghost of a chance to save her soul from the sensual minion named Josiah Hallow that the devil sent her way. She spent at least an hour in the shower scrubbing the mysterious mark she now wore across her back until her skin was raw and bleeding. Nothing took it away. And nothing drove out the raw need for sex that now possessed her.

She fled the campground that Josiah called home and never looked back. She drove home as fast as she could and then changed her clothes. She stayed curled up in a ball on that very sofa until it was time to train. She rarely wore a T-shirt when she practiced. It restricted her movement. But there was no way she could let anyone see the tattoo. It would raise too many questions she couldn’t answer.

It was after she went home and took her torturous shower that she learned that the promoter she was fighting for had died. She knew he just partnered up with two gentlemen from the east coast. Those men demanded to see the fighters they now promoted that very night. Sarah’s mind jumbled. Her body ached. She couldn’t possibly make the long drive to Duluth. The two of them gave her the creeps for some reason. Besides, he might be there. Samuel Hallow was the main event. Shortly after their hot make-out session in the church coatroom, Sarah figured out who Josiah Hallow was. He coached the Hallow brothers that fought. That was all of them but him, and he had quite the colorful career in the cage.

She messaged them back and told them she was sick. Then she waited for the fallout. The new promoters didn’t seem very tolerant. She didn’t think they would take her absence well. They might even throw her off the card.

Instead, they replied that they understood and wished her a speedy recovery. It seemed a little odd. Maybe they weren’t as bad as she thought.

The pounding on the door nearly scared her to death. She glanced at the clock then the door. It was almost midnight. She stood and crossed the room. She huffed at the lack of a peephole. Living in such a small town led the landlord to believe the holes were unnecessary. At the moment, she really wished she had one. She didn’t have many friends. Edna and Edith were pretty much it. No one should be paying her a visit this late at night.

The door was barely open an inch before whoever it was on the other side shoved it open. Her lips were taken captive. The kiss left her breathless. Her body arched hard against the one who held her. The scent of male musk and the great outdoors filled her nostrils. She knew the taste that tangled with her tongue. Her hands wandered the hard, muscular planes beneath the thin cotton. Her body ached to be possessed in a way she had only known since she met Josiah Hallow. She didn’t have to ask who it was. Her mind raced. She never told Josiah where she lived. No one really knew. How did he find her?

He answered her question as he nibbled on her earlobe before she could voice it. “The pull led me here. I just gave into primal instinct. Instinct led me to your door. Are you going to send me away?”

Sarah gasped as he ran his tongue down her throat before he feasted on her neck. She lifted her foot blindly to kick the door shut and then cling to him. “Please,” she begged.

He lifted her and guided her legs around his hips. She could feel the tip of his cock nudge her through the thick denim and thin cotton to where she wanted it the most. He pinned her tight to the wall to free his hands. He gripped her T-shirt and tore it off over her head.

She watched as he gazed at her body. “Fuck.”

“Josiah.”

“So beautiful. So fucking beautiful.”

Despite the fact she hated his constant cursing, the way he said it turned her inside out. He scooped her breast in his palm and nipped at the bud before he sucked it into his mouth. She threw her head back against the wall as she whimpered. He lavished the same attention on her other breast. She shuddered at his touch. She didn’t know how much more she could take.

He slipped a hand beneath her and squeezed her rump. She didn’t know where his other hand went. She felt it somewhere between them occasionally flicking against the swollen flesh between her thighs. She heard his belt buckle clank as it was unfastened, and then his zipper slid down. There was a bit of tugging, but she hardly noticed. His mouth never stopped roaming her exposed skin. She felt his bare cock nudge her right before he impaled her.

She buried her fingers in his long, dark hair as she clung to him. She didn’t need to move. His hard, deep strokes set her on fire. The friction of her naked body against his nearly clothed one, the feel of him inside, set her on the edge of ecstasy. He gripped her hips to pull her closer with each thrust and then moved her just the way he wanted her to penetrate her further. The sound of his panting against the curve of her neck filled her ears. Her eyes fluttered closed as she surrendered to him.

Josiah nipped at her jugular as he drove further, burying himself entirely inside her. The sensation of his teeth scraping her skin coupled with the way his cock swelled set off a blaze inside her. She cried out as she peaked. She knew her neighbors heard her. She didn’t care. Her conscience screamed at her how bad this was. Her body and soul demanded him. It craved him. If he was Satan’s minion, she was lost forever.

Sarah heard his grunts as he slowed his hips. His brow creased as he throbbed inside her. Then he laid his damp forehead on her shoulder. A moment later he lifted it to gaze in her eyes. He was still thick and hard buried inside her. She ground against his erection.

“You want more?” he questioned with a grin.

“No. Yes. I mean…” Sarah’s voice trailed off.

Josiah rocked against her. Another sweet jolt tore through her. “Which is it?”

“How did you know where I lived?”

“I focused my mind. I followed the pull. It brought me to your door.”

“The pull? This thing that possesses me, the one that makes me think of you in very unholy ways, terrifies me.”

“Unholy ways, huh? Like me fucking you against the wall like this?”

“Josiah,” she chided.

“What?”

“I told you. The language.”

“Beautiful, eternity is going to suck if you’re constantly picking at every little thing I fucking do.”

She frowned. “Eternity? We’re not even dating. I’m not sure I want to marry you.”

“Marry me? Oh, Sarah. You have no fucking clue.”

Sarah gritted her teeth. “Would you stop saying that word please?”

Josiah wrapped his large hands around her rib cage as he drove deeper into her. She gasped then moaned. “Which word? Fuck? Like I’m doing to you now?” His pace picked up as he pressed her against the wall. Sarah gripped tight to him as she balled his shirt in her hands. With each stroke, he muttered the word “fuck.” Did he do it to irritate her? She had no idea. The guttural sound of his voice with each stroke drove her crazy. Her orgasm hit her hard and fast. His bruising grip on her as he slowed his pace with a couple final strokes told her that he finished also.

She looked up in his eyes and lost her breath. The way he gazed at her made her heart flutter. It was the way the hero would stare at his heroine in the movies. Was she imagining it? She had to be. She barely knew this guy, and when he was around, she didn’t act herself. She acted wild. And what scared her most was that she was starting to like the way she felt.

He kissed her long and deep. Their lips were joined so long that she was out of breath when they parted. “Bed,” he whispered.

“Pardon?”

“Your bed. Where is it? The sight of you nearly naked against this wall is amazing. But I want skin on skin. I have to put you down to get myself undressed.”

“Down the hall past the kitchen.”

He pulled free from her and then grabbed her rump with both hands. She held tight as he carried her to her room and then set her on the bed. She stared at him, transfixed, as he pulled his T-shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor. Patterns of ink were embedded into his skin. Tattooed guys had always turned her off. This one turned her on.

He grinned at her as he pushed his jeans and briefs to the floor. Sarah gazed at his hard cock that stood erect against his belly. She licked her lips. That voice in the back of her head, the one that warned her that he was sent from the devil himself to lead her astray, the one that was getting harder and harder to hear, screamed at her to stop. She had never done this before. But that force that possessed her made her want it in the worst way. She lifted herself to her knees on the mattress and wrapped her fingers around his cock.

Josiah hissed at her touch. “What are you doing, Sarah?”

She glanced up at him once more. Then she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the tip of his cock. She ran her tongue down the length of his erection. The taste of their union lingered as she enveloped him in her mouth. She bobbed her head up and down as she sucked. She had to look ridiculous to him. She had no idea what she was doing.

Josiah growled as he threaded his fingers in her long hair. “I thought you never do things like this.”

Her lips made a popping noise as she let go of him. “This is the first time.”

“You are doing a fucking fantastic job. The best I’ve ever had.”

“Have you had many?”

“Let’s not go into that now.” Josiah cupped his hand behind her head and guided her back to him. She opened her mouth obediently to accept his length. She braced her hands on his thighs as she licked, kissed, and sucked him. He shuddered then bucked. Sarah coughed at the intrusion but never stopped. She looked up at him and took in his hard, muscular body swirled with color. His head was thrown back, and his eyes were closed. His lips moved in some sort of silent benediction. Suddenly he pulled her off him.

“What’s wrong?” she questioned.

His eyes looked like fire as he nudged her back on her rump. He kneeled between her splayed open legs and then hovered over her. He kissed her hard enough to bruise her lips. It felt wonderful. “It’s your first time. I’m not going to subject you to the rush you were about to get. Mmm. I can taste you and me on your tongue.”

“Don’t you need to release?” she asked. She could barely hear her own voice.

He chuckled. Then he descended on her. She arched her back and neck as he drove into her. Her body molded against his. “I’m going to release. Don’t doubt that. And I’m going to take you with me.”

She clung to his shoulders as his strokes pierced her deeper. Another fiery rush pulled her under its wake and drowned her in a pleasure she had never experienced before. Every thought fled from her mind but one. To mate with this glorious man buried inside her. His panting and her mews were the only sounds she could comprehend. She was lost for good. She never wanted to be saved.

»»•««

The high pitch chirp of an electronic canary filled Sarah’s dreams. That and the deep, mysterious Josiah Hallow. It wasn’t like they were at a specific place and time. He was just there, touching her, kissing her, whispering his everlasting love and affection to her. There was quite a bit of creamy white satin floating around. She wasn’t sure what its purpose was. It felt incredible on her skin. And it made the whole scene more sensual.

“What the fuck is that noise?”

The voice that rumbled through Sarah’s slumber belonged to the man kissing her at the moment, but it wasn’t him. It was really not just a mirage in her head. The dream Josiah faded from her mind. A strong, steady beat thudded against the palm of her hand. It was muffled by warm, hard flesh and a soft tuft of hair.

The canary song played its irritating song once again. Sarah pried her eyes open and looked around. Her search ended when she met Josiah’s stare. Her head was still pillowed on his shoulder. One of his hands caressed her rump. The other slapped her bedside table angrily.

“When I find that fucking noise…”

“Stop.” Sarah sat up and stretched across him to reach the table. She gasped as he caught a nipple in his mouth and began to suck. She wrapped her phone in her fist as she cradled his head closer with her other hand. Desire flooded her, leaving her light-headed.

“Josiah,” she protested.

He let it go with a smack of his lips. “I’m not about to let an opportunity like that pass.”

She took a deep breath as his thumb rubbed the swollen spot between her legs. She struggled to focus on the screen of her cell. Her lust froze solid as she read the message. “Oh, no. This is bad.”

Josiah guided her back to her side of the bed and then sat up. Sarah gripped her phone tighter. Tears stung her eyes. Her blood ran cold. Her nerves quaked. She knew being with him was bad. Why couldn’t she walk away? Why couldn’t she say no?

“What’s up?” he asked.

“It’s from Mr. Rothsberg. He wants to see me immediately. He says he has a video of me acting inappropriately at the carnival. With you.”

“So?”

Sarah flew out of the bed and threw her phone on the mattress. Her voice pitched high as she shouted. “I’m going to lose my job. No one will hire me. What am I supposed to do?”

“You’ll move into my cabin. My brothers and I will come down and get your things this weekend.”

Sarah huffed. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m deadly serious.”

“I’m not moving in with you.”

“Why not?”

“For one, I hardly know you. And I’m not going to move in with a man unless he’s my husband.”

This time it was Josiah’s turn to crawl out of bed. “Slow your roll, beautiful. I have enough on my plate right now. I have a brother to train for the fight of his life. I have to keep my family safe from some pretty scary shit trying to kill them. I have to save the world from being destroyed by bloodthirsty creatures.”

Sarah’s laughed in disbelief. “Wow. Save the world? You think a lot of yourself, don’t you?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“Probably not.” She scuttled across her bedroom to her dresser to find underwear. Once she had them on, she headed for her closet. She grabbed the first dress she could find. She didn’t bother straightening her hair. She’d brush it on the way to school. She picked up her purse and then turned to face him. He still stood beside her bed, stark naked.

“Where are you going?” he demanded.

She stood tall to stand her ground. She hoped he saw her that way. She was quaking inside. “I’m going to go try to save my job. You found your way here. You can find your way out. Goodbye, Josiah.”

Before he could get a word out, she was out the door and down the hallway of her apartment toward the door.

»»•««

The school building was empty when Sarah arrived. She glanced at her cell. It made sense. The other teachers wouldn’t arrive for their summer teaching sessions for another hour. She let out a heavy sigh. At this hour of the morning, Mr. Rothsberg could fire her without another soul knowing. At least he was saving her from the public humiliation. Not that it would stay quiet for long. Rumors had a bad habit of spreading fast in the little town.

She concentrated on the click of her sandals on the tile floor. She needed to get Josiah Hallow out of her mind. He was the cause of this mess, and she was probably going to lose her job because of him. But something inside her, something she didn’t understand and couldn’t explain, needed him so bad it hurt. It wasn’t the sex, even though it was a near constant craving. She couldn’t help to think those arms that wrapped around her as he gave her pleasure beyond imagination would hug her tight and bring tremendous comfort while she was this troubled and afraid. She wanted to lay her head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat. She wanted him to make this all go away. That pull that drew her to him insisted that he could.

She rapped her knuckles on the frosted glass door. “Mr. Rothsberg?”

A voice inside greeted her. “Come in, Sarah.”

She twisted the knob and pushed the door open. Mr. Rothsberg sat behind his desk with his hands folded in front of him. He was dressed in a different sweater vest and slacks combination than when she had seen him at the fair. A thin sheen of sweat slicked his bald head and brow. File cabinets with piles of paper towering on top lined the office walls. Even though smoking was prohibited anywhere on the school grounds, the room reeked of pipe tobacco. One lone tarnished cross was the only Christian symbol in the religious school office, and at the angle it hung, it looked like it was an afterthought.

He motioned to the faded, threadbare chair across the desk from him. “Please. Have a seat.”

Sarah settled on the edge of the seat. Her stomach churned. Her heart fluttered. She had wanted to teach since she was a child, and now it was possibly coming to an end. She wove her fingers together to keep her from wringing her hands.

Mr. Rothsberg leaned toward her and then shook her head. “Sarah, we have rules. We have standards. The parents who pay to send their children here need to know their children are in the best hands.”

“I understand that Mr. Rothsberg,” Sarah responded.

“So you understand why your behavior is unacceptable.”

Sarah felt her cheeks burn. Deep down she hoped he thought it was because she was uncomfortable with their discussion. Because she was. “Mr. Rothsberg, I don’t know what behavior you’re talking about.”

He gripped the edge of his flat screen monitor and spun it toward her. It had to be the only item he had that was produced in the twenty-first century including his clothes. “You were probably not aware that there were cameras in the haunted house where you and your friend…well, you know what you did. It seems that in other towns the carnival company had troubles with local teenagers defacing attractions that were broken down. They certainly didn’t expect what they found when they looked at the tape from that night.”

She felt her blood run cold. Unwittingly, she and Josiah made a sex tape. And she was going to lose her job over it. She swallowed hard as he punched the keys on his keyboard with his pudgy fingers. He obviously had a vendetta to humiliate her. He was taking it personally, and she had no idea why. The thought that he watched her in an intimate, passionate moment with Josiah horrified her.

His brow creased deep. “What? It worked this morning. I left the video on my desktop. No matter. I’ll take it from my email.” There was more clicking in the silent office. She heard him curse under his breath. She couldn’t remember hearing him ever curse before in all the time she had worked there. Cursing was forbidden within the school walls. “The email. It was just here. It’s not it my trash. It’s like it never existed.”

Sarah slowly exhaled. “So there’s no video.”

Mr. Rothsberg gritted his teeth as he spat out the answer. “No.”

She sat up straight in the chair. “So you have no evidence that I did anything wrong?”

“No. I don’t.”

She fought back a smile. “Well, then. I’ll be going. I have students to prepare for.” She briefly nodded and then stood. She turned her back to him.

“What is that on your back, Sarah?” Mr. Rothsberg questioned. He rose from his desk. She could feel his gaze on her skin as he approached. She had grabbed the first thing she could find in her closet to escape her lover. She didn’t realize it was the dress with the sheer lace across her upper back. She never wore it to work. It was more for a fancy night out. It displayed the new pattern embedded in her flesh clear as day.

“Mr. Rothsberg…”

“We have a strict rule about tattoos.”

“I can cover it up.”

“And you make another mistake like this? No, Sarah. This insubordination is too much.” He wrapped a hand around her bicep then pulled the office door open. “Please clean your things out of the classroom. Thank you for all you’ve done. You are no longer needed at my school.”

The words he spoke didn’t register over the sudden, violent bout of nausea she felt. She held her breath to hold back the bile that burned the back of her throat. Of course, being fired devastated her. But was it enough to make her sick?

Mr. Rothsberg escorted her out into the hall and then slammed the door shut behind her. Her belly stilled in an instant, as if it was never upset. The whole thing was beyond bizarre. She shot one last look at the frosted window and then hurried down the hall to gather her things.

She kept her emotions in check as she dropped her few belongings in an old box that held reams of paper. It had once held recycling. Now it held her things. Her eyes checked the time on the clock mounted to the wall. She needed to be gone before any students arrived. The fact a few no longer had a teacher wasn’t her problem. It was the principal’s. He could figure out what to do with them. She was certain that what happened was illegal. She knew there was a guideline to cover tattoos, but it wasn’t a hard and fast law. The physical education teacher had an eagle on his forearm he rarely covered. But Mr. Rothsberg seemed suddenly determined to get rid of her, and she had no idea why.

Sarah held it together until she stepped outside into the bright sunlight. Josiah leaned against his beat-up truck across the street from the sidewalk leading into the school. He was so sexy with his broad arms crossed over his chest. His long, dark hair was held back with a leather cord. His gaze locked on her. It undid her.

The tears burned her eyes as her steps slowed toward him. She clenched the box to her chest and bit her lower lip.

“So what did he want?” Josiah questioned.

Sarah took a deep breath to dam back her sobs. “He said he had a video of you and I in the haunted house.”

Josiah laughed. “He had it. He doesn’t now. My sister-in-law, Eve, is a master hacker. She got into the school’s computer network and destroyed every copy of the video. Except one. I have that one.” He cocked his head to the side. “So why do you have a box of your shit?”

She let a whimper escape. “He saw the tattoo on my back. He fired me over it. I got so upset I almost threw up. I didn’t think it was that bad, but it must have been.”

Josiah frowned. “Was he touching you?”

“Yes.”

She watched his face contort in rage. “I am going to kill that fucking son of a bitch.”

“Josiah.”

He shoved off the panel of the truck and stalked toward her. His voice was a low growl. “When some who want us sexually touches us after we mate, we get violently ill. So that asshole probably fired you because you fucked me and not him.”

“Mr. Rothsberg? Wanting to sleep with me? You’re insane.”

“Am I?”

Sarah stared up in his eyes. The intensity there frightened her. That, coupled with the emotions raging inside her after being fired, finally broke her. Tears slipped down her cheeks, cutting paths down her skin. “What am I going to do?”

She dropped her head as she started to cry. She never noticed Josiah move. He was stealthy, almost like a predator. She didn’t realize she was wrapped tight in his arms until the musky scent of man and evergreens filled her senses, and the soft cotton of his T-shirt comforted her. The cardboard box she held was squished between them. He took it from her and tossed it on the ground so he could hold her tight to him. He caressed her hair as she sobbed into his chest.

“Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together,” he consoled.

“This is my problem.”

“I’m right here with you. I’m not going anywhere.”

She didn’t know how long he stood there and held her in silence. She listened to the steady beat of his heart as she cried.

Sarah looked up when he spoke. “I’ll call my brothers. They can be here in a couple of hours. We’ll pack up your stuff and get you settled in at my place.”

She pulled out of his arms and wiped her cheeks. “I said no.”

“You aren’t working for him anymore. You don’t have to protect your precious reputation any longer.”

Sarah shook her head in disbelief. “I’m not trying to protect my reputation. You didn’t listen to me. I’m not moving in with a man until he’s my husband. End of discussion.”

“Sarah, you need to see reason.”

She took a step backward away from him. She picked up the cardboard box off the ground then clung to the box in her arms like it was her lifeline. “Goodbye, Josiah.”

Before he could say anything, she spun on her toe and hurried down the sidewalk, away from the school.