Page 53 of The Spice Is Nice

“So tired, Wylde. Been a long few days.”

“My hero. Let me take care of you.” She situated herself between my legs and unzipped my fly, her eyes sweet and sultry.

As bone-weary as I was, my cock didn’t get the message. I grew hard in an instant, even more with her hands around it, stroking me. When she added her gorgeous mouth, that little mole winking at me so sexy, I bit back my moans. I gathered her hair to the side in my hand so I could watch, and slightly pulsed my hips into her mouth, as we tried not to make any noise for the others to hear.

“Fuck, Ivy, I won’t last,” I hissed.

“Let me swallow you,” she whispered back.

Damn, the spice was always nice with Ivy. I struggled to hold on just a little longer, but the sweet suction of her mouth was too much. With a growl, I came in a rush, coating her throat. She coaxed every drop out of me, worshipping my cock, until my entire body went limp with a deeply satiated sigh.

I must have quickly dozed off. Sometime in the middle of the night, my phone buzzed on the nightstand, jolting me awake. Ivy, too. She’d been sleeping beside me. I checked the screen.

Ash: Sheriff got Seth. Arrested him for breaking and entering Ivy’s shop. And get this. They found him with tools, working on breaking through the wall between her shop and the bank. Add bank robbery to his list of charges. The idiot is in custody.

“They got him,” I croaked, and turned the screen so Ivy could read it. She blinked a few times, waking up, letting the words register. Then she closed her eyes, fell back on the pillow, releasing the longest sigh ever.

By the fireplace, Knox must have gotten the same text. We heard him read it out to the others, and they all cheered, chatting about it. I put my phone down on the nightstand.

“Seth was going to rob the bank? Oh my God. In his motel room, I saw on a map where he’d circled my shop and the bank next door.” She shook her head. Then her shoulders began shaking, the bed shaking with her. She cried, finally letting itall out.

“Hey, come here.” I pulled her into my embrace. She sobbed and sniffled into my shirt for some time. My hands caressed her back, and I held her through it all. “It’s over. For tonight, it’s over.”

Chapter 21

What Permanent Feels Like

Ivy

The shipment boundfor Holly Creek was ready at last. Colt stood beside me at the post office counter, helping me fill the bin with the pre-labeled boxes, with the focused attention he gave to most things. Even a stack of carefully prepared packages bound for his sisters.

“Maisy and Chelsea will have tons of things to wrap up and put under the tree,” I observed.

“It’ll be the best Christmas ever between all these presents, and you there with me.” Finished, we walked out hand-in-hand.

“I know I fought it originally, but now I cannot wait to get away, even if it’s only for a week over the holiday. Take a breather from Forest Grove.”

We strolled down the street freely on this sunny but chilly day. Life had resumed after all the drama that unfolded with Seth last week. My little hometown was not the same as it had been, though. Or maybe it was me—I had changed.

Seth was in county lockup, and that should have beenthe end, with the town settling back down the way it always did after a hard season. But the Congressman had lawyered his son up and was fighting the arrest with all he had. Thankfully, a righteous judge ruled Seth a flight risk and denied bail.

That didn’t stop Congressman Brewster from taking advantage of the media buzz around this, crying foul. He suggested that Sheriff Patrick had conducted a politically motivated investigation, that evidence had been improperly obtained, and that the whole thing reeked of outside interests targeting a prominent local family. The audacity with which they painted themselves as victims made my stomach churn.

Gavin had called me twice since the arrest. Once to confirm that the DA’s office was confident in pursuing this case against Seth. And another time to tell me that Seth had refused to cooperate or answer questions.

At Chamber meetings and in every corner of town, the people of Forest Grove were painfully split down the middle, choosing sides in arguably the most important sheriff’s election they’d ever had. Trevor had gained followers, but Gavin wasn’t giving up the fight. Colt and I and Knox and my sisters, all of us joined his campaign, doing whatever we could for him. The election was in November. There was still everything to play for.

Daisy and Sage were back at our family home. Poppy had called from college nine times in four days and was lobbying hard to come home for fall break early, which Daisy wouldn’t allow.

Knox spent a few nights sleeping in his truck outside our home at first, keeping an eye on things—on Daisy. The hug she had given him sparked something. And she seemed to smile a little easier now around him.

I had closed the shop all week for repairs and was waiting for new inventory to arrive. Colt and I spent every moment together we could, even taking Silver out for his first ride to the pond. The best part was that we’d taken to sleeping together in the apartment above my shop every night. In bed, every morning waking in Colt’s arms, I found a moment of peace with a very good man.

We almost reached my shop and the end of our stroll when I spotted Tina walking out of The Copper Cup, laughing, glowing really. She’d linked arms with a handsome cowboy in a white Stetson beside her, and they were smiling at each other in that new-love sort of way.

“Ivy! I’m so glad to run into you.” She waved as we got closer.

“Hi, Tina. How have you been?” I noted she had styled her hair differently, or maybe highlighted it from the mousy brown, perhaps fresher makeup too.