Page 48 of For the Record
The taste of McCoywas better than she remembered.
Their lips glided sensuously together like they had all the time in the world. Sawyer breathed her in, McCoy’s fresh shower scent teasing, reminding her of the earlier offer to share.
Not yet.
Still, the unspoken promise that she would one day see McCoy unclothed had Sawyer moaning against the younger woman’s mouth. Desire coiled through her and she squeezed her thighs tighter around McCoy, relishing her whimper as she did so. She slid her hand along McCoy’s throat as she deepened their kiss, slipping her tongue inside the same time her hand applied a teensy amount of pressure.
McCoy’s hips jolted underneath her, strong hands sliding up Sawyer’s thighs to circle her waist. Tingles erupted along Sawyer’s spine as she felt the calloused fingertips on the bareskin under her shirt, and her back arched instinctually into McCoy, bringing her stiffening nipples flush against McCoy’s face.
“Sawyer,” McCoy groaned, her eyes fluttering open to peer up at Sawyer as she nuzzled her breasts. Her lush green gaze was strong enough to hypnotize a weaker woman, but Sawyer resisted.
“Enough for now,” she told McCoy, balking at the rough tenor of her voice. She was breathless from exertion, embarrassingly so. She reached behind her to capture McCoy’s hands that had wandered under her shirt, pulling them out to rest in her lap. McCoy looked dazed, like she’d just woken up from a dream. Sawyer bit back a smile, leaning in to kiss her gently on the lips. “Now, didn’t you promise a massage?”
For the first time in perhaps ever, Sawyer woke feeling well rested. It had been so long that it took a moment to realize there weren’t dried tear stains on her cheeks and her body wasn’t stiff from all her usual tossing and turning. Her bedroom was still mostly dark, which struck her odd since she always left the bathroom light on and its door ajar. She blinked, sprawling out more on the bed and giving herself a long stretch. She felt …good. Too good for this early in the morning.
She caught sight of the window above the bed and stilled, momentarily confused. She didn’t have a window above her bed. Next observation was the classic car table lamp on the nightstand, but it wasn’t until realizing she was in someone else’s long T-shirt that memories of last night returned. The kiss, how incredible McCoy kissed, McCoy’s hands …
“God, her hands,” Sawyer whispered, her eyes drifting closed as her hands slid languorously up her torso to stroke her bare throat. She bit her lip. McCoy’s deft hands kneading her sore muscles had been exactly what Sawyer hadn’t known she was missing. “I must have fallen asleep during.” Her gaze landed on the empty space beside her, and she sighed, her shoulders relaxing at the unrumpled pillow. McCoy hadn’t slept beside her.
Sawyer slipped from the bed, tugging off the nightshirt in exchange for her bra and blouse she’d left on a nearby chair. Her cheeks burned at what she’d done. She shouldn’t crave McCoy’s touch like this. Hadn’t she learned her lesson with Olivier about expectinganythingfrom anyone? Regardless that she hadn’t loved him, she’d stood with him at the altar of her parents’ church and vowed to be faithful and take care of one another. Yet Olivier had hurt her again and again.
Sawyer had sworn no one else would ever get the chance to do so again, so why was she standing in McCoy’s bedroom?
Calisse!Sawyer’s stomach rolled with sudden anticipation.Bree has no clue where I am.
Had her daughter been up all night worrying? Panic surged through Sawyer, and she looked around wildly for her cell phone to no avail. Wait. It was out in the living room. Right, the room Sawyer hadfirststarted losing her mind.
“It was all a damn mistake,” Sawyer grumbled, yanking on the bedroom door handle. She padded her way down the hallway toward the kitchen and living room. Pictures formed a row down the center of the walls, but Sawyer didn’t pause long enough to appreciate them. She found McCoy at the stove, stirring a pot and wearing nothing but a black pair of Calvin Klein boxers and black sports bra. A T-shirt was draped over her shoulder. Sawyer came to an abrupt stop, eyeing the obvious strength in McCoy’s arms, shoulders and legs. It wasn’t a body one spent hours sculpting at the gym. Rather, the broadness of McCoy’sshoulders and back, and the muscled calves were testaments of what she loved best: working on cars and mountain biking. Sawyer swallowed thickly, her gaze flitting all over McCoy before it landed on the coffee pot resting on the countertop. Squaring her shoulders, she said, “Why didn’t you wake me?”
McCoy turned away from the stove, an easy smile already gracing those wondrous lips. Sawyer tensed in wait for McCoy’s usual sickly-sweet innuendos, but they never came. “I was about to, but you beat me to it. Figured I could take you home before work.”
“I meant last night.” Sawyer’s patience zapped. “Patches was left without supper, and I didn’t let Bree know I’d be out.” Heading for her phone in the living room, she snatched it up and audibly groaned when her efforts to connect with her daughter were met with a dead battery.
McCoy’s arms circled her waist a moment later, her hands rubbing up and down Sawyer’s arms in a comforting gesture. It felt good to have McCoy’s breasts pressed into her back. Wonderful, really. Despite her best efforts, Sawyer felt herself relaxing against the younger woman. “I updated Bree last night after you fell asleep. She said she’d feed Patches when she got home.”
“You should have woken me.” Sawyer pulled out of McCoy’s arms to frown down at her. “Have I somehow given you the impression I need someone to make decisions for me?”
A tic began in McCoy’s proud jaw, and a part of Sawyer was dying to bend down and kiss the spot. She held her ground, needing to get the boundaries between them clear before any type of relationship could continue. “Well? Have I?”
“Actually, yes,” McCoy stated, staring down her nose at Sawyer with a spark of annoyance flaring in those mesmerizing eyes. “Ignoring your health and not getting enough sleep seems to be your M.O. which, if you’ve forgotten, is why you’re recoveringfrom a heart attack in the first place. If someone doesn’t start making good decisions for you from time to time, then who the fuck will?”
“Not you. You won’t become my keeper, McCoy.” Sawyer’s jaw hurt from clenching so hard, and her words came out rough through her gritted teeth. Emotion swelled in her throat, and rather than continue this conversation and find herself more upset, she headed for the apartment door.
“I don’t want to be your keeper, Sawyer. Girlfriend would be nice, though.”
Sawyer heard the longing in her voice, but she refused to succumb anymore. She slipped her feet into her flats and arms into her blazer before grabbing her purse, holding her head high with a final acknowledgment in McCoy’s direction. “I’m too old for a girlfriend. Now, can you call a rideshare for me since my phone is dead?”
“A rideshare?” McCoy echoed, staring blankly at Sawyer. She jerked her thumb toward the stove. “I made porridge for breakfast, I thought we could eat and …” Her voice trailed off, and she sighed, her head hung in defeat. “Never mind. Let me dress and I’ll drive you.”
“An Uber will be fine, McCoy.”
“Are you sure? Not gonna lie, this feels weird, you leaving the morning after like this.” McCoy gestured between them, her confusion paramount. “It’s not like we had sex.”
And thank God for that.
Sawyer didn’t think her heart was ready for sex with McCoy. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly and tried to get a hold on the kaleidoscope of emotions building inside her. The need to remain here with McCoy was strong, almost as fierce as the need to flee for the sanctuary of her home. She could cuddle Patches alone in her room and not worry about how weak-willed she was, how old she felt, how jaded. How much baggage was too much?How much of this back and forth with McCoy could she take before she spilled all her secrets?
“Enjoy your day,” Sawyer told her, spying Sloane watching them from the hallway before turning back to McCoy. She bowed her head, opening the apartment door and leaving before she changed her mind.