When Noonday Ends: A Southern Romantic-Suspense Novel - Nantahala - Book Two Read online

  He paused as he watched her eyes fill up. He hoped they were happy tears and that she wasn’t upset at him. He was too far now, so he’d know soon enough, he guessed.

  He continued with his decision. “Since you don’t remember this, I thought that I should repeat some important words I spoke the other day.” He took her hand in his, grateful that she hadn’t tried to interrupt him. “Shelby, I promise to love, honor, and cherish you until the day I die. I promise that I will not allow anyone to ever hurt you again. I promise to take care of and love Justin as my son. I promise to remain faithful and put your needs before mine always. I promise from the bottom of my heart that I will never hurt you physically or mentally,” he rattled off everything he could think of before she could object as he pulled the rings out of the front pocket of his jeans. “Shelby Lynn Montgomery, will you remain my wife?”

  She released a breath in a burst. “Oh God, Tom…I will.”

  He slid the rings on her finger and pulled her up into his arms. “Can I now kiss the bride?”

  “Yes,” she breathed out.

  He put his hands under her chin and tilted her head slightly. “I love you, Shelby Lynn Turner.”

  “I love you too, Tom Turner.”

  A burst of exhilaration shot through his veins at her spoken words and the light in her eyes. She meant them.

  He pressed his lips to hers again and kissed her until he was breathless this time. He backed away for a moment to catch his breath, but then sat on the log, drawing her onto his lap again, right where he wanted her.

  He brushed her hair away from her face and kissed the edge of her beautiful cheekbones. “I do love you, Shelby. And I’m going to spend every day of my life showing you.”

  This time she kissed him. Her lips were hungry, as they’d been the first night. So it hadn’t just been the alcohol. She worked her lips across his cheek to his ear as well. “Why don’t you start by taking me upstairs and showing me?”

  “Oh, Shelby. We don’t have to—”

  She cut off his words with a kiss and then scooted off his lap, pulling him with her. Turning toward the house, she dragged him behind her.

  When they hit the deck, Tom drew her to a stop. “Shelby,” he draped his arms around her and squeezed her to his chest, “let’s wait a few minutes. It’s a beautiful night.” He glimpsed up at the stars and then back at her. I love the outdoors, and it’s been too long since I’ve been able to enjoy it. “Thank you for marrying me, but now we have to have our wedding reception.” He kept a hold of her hand as he pulled out his phone and pressed ‘play’ on the song he’d paused. “I don’t line dance well, but I can slow dance.”

  “Tom Turner—”

  “Shelby Turner,” he cut her off with the same inflection as they’d done before. For some reason, she liked saying his full name.

  It worked. She threw back her head and laughed. “I do love you. You’re quite possibly the sweetest, funniest, and sexiest man I’ve ever met.”

  “Sexiest?”

  “Mm-hm.”

  “I don’t think a woman’s ever called me sexy before.”

  “That’s probably because you were so busy sweeping them into bed that you didn’t stop to listen.”

  He shrugged. “Probably.”

  “How do you think you got them there?”

  He stopped moving to the music and nudged up her head. “How many references to my past are you going to throw at me, Shelby? I told you so I’d be honest. But my past is exactly that, the past. I haven’t been with a woman in two years, and I just stopped you from going upstairs.”

  She smiled. “I think you’re pouting, Tom. I like it.”

  He crushed her against him and took her lips again. His tongue explored every inch of the mouth that would forever be his only. He liked the idea of that.

  She tilted her head and smiled. “Mmm…but I like that better.” Shelby ran her fingers through his hair as she’d done earlier. “I’m sorry, by the way. I won’t bring it up again. I only did it because you did.”

  “I just wanted to be honest.”

  “And I thank you for that.” She rested her head against his chest, then moved her hands under his t-shirt. “How long do we have to stay at this reception?”

  “At least one dance, but then feel free to take advantage of me all you want.”

  She tugged on his t-shirt, until he lifted his arms, allowing her to pull it up over his head. “This, I remember.” She ran her hands over his chest, tracing circles on his skin with her fingers. “Great body Tom,” she whispered.

  “What?” He laughed.

  “Oh, it’s my calming mantra,” she said with a giggle. “Great body Tom.”

  He led her off their personal dance floor, toward the door. “Time to go,” he said. He opened the door and then swung her up into his arms. “Threshold time. I assume you forgot the one at the hotel.”

  “I did.”

  He carried her to the sofa; they’d make it upstairs in a little bit. Right now, he wanted to taste some more of his wife’s sweet kisses. They had all night to get upstairs.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Shelby couldn’t take it anymore. She pushed his body up and slid out from underneath him off the couch. “Come on.” She held her hand out. “And here I thought you were some kinda ladies’ man.”

  Tom stood too, chuckling, and gathered her into his arms. “I knew you weren’t going to let it go.” He traced her mouth with his finger, sending chills through her body again. “Shelby, I only want to be what you want me to be.”

  He moved his hand to her cheek, cupping it, and then locked his beautiful hazel eyes on her. His mouth seared against hers again, spreading her lips apart with his and then explored. He moved his hands to her back and held her tighter to him, proving he was ready. He dropped his arms and lifted her hand, leading her to the stairs.

  Shelby followed closely behind him, enjoying the view. The man had long lean muscle everywhere, but he didn’t look bulky. Just big and strong, like a giant teddy bear. It’d feel good to have a man who could hold her tightly without hurting her.

  Tom turned toward her at the top of the stairs and pulled her into his arms. His lips went to her shoulder and his hands moved to the hem of her top.

  “When this is over…when we’re home,” he kissed the hollow of her neck, “we’ll have another wedding night.” He lifted her sweatshirt, and she raised her arms in response. “I want you to have the most beautiful wedding ever. Anything you want.”

  He moved his hands to her back and unlatched her bra, exposing her.

  Shelby gulped in response and closed her eyes. It’d been too long.

  Tom brushed away a tear on her cheek she hadn’t realized had fallen. “Shelby…” He sat on the bed, drawing her beside him. He reached to the floor, picked up her shirt, and covered her. “I’m sorry. I thought—”

  She nodded. “I want to. I’m just scared. It’s been a long time. And this is…different…it was simply sex before…in the dark. No love…no feelings…” She scooted to the top of the bed and pulled him with her, sliding her top away and dropping it to the floor. “You’ve…exposed…me.”

  He lightly trailed his hand over her shoulder in response. “I’m not in a hurry, believe me. If it takes all night, that’s all right with me. Or…even if we do nothing at all, simply having you in my arms is all I want.”

  His lips returned to her neck, and he worked his way lower, taking his time. So slowly now she wanted to grab him and move him to where she wanted. She did want him, but now she’d caused him to doubt. He skipped the important parts and moved to her stomach, nibbling on the gold ring there.

  He peeked up at her. “I like it. Though…we may want to take this off for now.”

  She laughed. “Good idea.” She moved her fingers to her stomach, removing the gold ring, while he nibbled on her fingers.

  When she finished, he accepted the ring, playing with it. “Can this be my wedding ring?”

 
“Where would you wear it…it’s too tiny for your hands.” He had beautiful, big hands…clean and trim, but manly. Her heart skipped a beat as she imagined all the things those hands could do.

  He set the ring on the dresser. “I’ll figure out something until you put one on my finger.”

  Without hesitation, she shimmied out of her sweatpants, and he smiled in response. “It’s getting a little warm for sweats,” she joked.

  “That it is.”

  Shelby moved her hands to his jeans and unbuttoned the top button. Tom didn’t need any more suggestion; he removed them the rest of the way, and then returned his hands to her hips, to the edges of the white cotton. After a nod of approval from her, he deftly proceeded to move them inch by inch until he slipped them off.

  Kneeling beside her, he touched his hands to her hips, using his fingertips to trace a heart pattern on her stomach and then ran both hands down the sides of her legs, sending chills through her spine and every nerve ending attached.

  “Lie back and close your eyes, Shelby. This is going to take a while. I have a lot of exploring to do.”

  Shelby did as her husband suggested, and then gasped at the first kiss, her eyes opening. Her stupid ex-husband had never— “Oh my, Tom Turner.” She closed her eyes again and let Tom show her what a real man could do.

  When she couldn’t take anymore, Shelby pulled him up toward her.

  He smiled. “Ready?”

  “Oh, yeah!”

  Tom held his body over top of hers, burying his head into her neck. “I love you, Shelby. That was only the beginning. We have a long night ahead of us.”

  Shelby ran her hands across his back, enjoying the strength of a man for once. The kind of power she needed in a husband…real strength. His body moved against hers, and his hand found the spot that his mouth had found earlier. She gushed out a breath in response, arching her body.

  “Mmm…I like the sound of that,” Tom whispered in her ear, continuing to please her, as she’d never known. She’d thought that no man knew how to do this, and that she’d be destined to self-fulfillment her entire life, but Tom seemed to know what buttons to push to make her squirm.

  Every time he finished pleasing her in one way, he’d move to another, exploring every sensitive spot on her body. He seemed to know when she couldn’t take any more of the teasing, and his body reacted, providing pressure exactly where she needed it.

  With one final grand finale, they both whooshed out a breath and collapsed on the bed.

  “Wow,” she gasped.

  He rolled to his side in front of her, kissing her forehead. “Happy?”

  “Very. And not just because that was absolutely incredible, the best ever—”

  “Really?” he cut her off.

  “Oh my heavens, yes.” She scooted her body closer to his, and he wrapped his hands around her hips. “Thank you, Tom.”

  “For what?”

  “Where do I start? For everything. Protecting my son and me. Loving me. Forcing me to marry you. The best sex in my life.”

  He smiled. “I love you, Shelby. That’s what you’re supposed to do for someone you love, right?”

  She sighed and buried her head beneath his chin. “Yes, but anyone can tell you they love you. You showed me.”

  “That’s true. People often say one thing and do another; I don’t.” He pulled her closer. “I will continue to show you.” He kissed the top of her head and laughed. “Unless you’re too tired, that is.”

  She smiled up at him. “I had a nap today.”

  ***

  Tom crawled out of bed slowly, careful not to wake up his wife. How he’d longed to be able to think those words. And have a son. And now he had both.

  Actually, since Justin was two, he was ahead of Chad in that respect. He’d be teaching Justin how to kayak and hike nine months before Chad was teaching Turner. He laughed internally. The competition would never stop with his best friend…no matter how old they got.

  He tugged on his jeans and t-shirt, then headed downstairs to make coffee. Peeking into Justin’s room, he saw that he was still sleeping. He was tired. Poor thing. He’d also been through a rough time in the last few days.

  He obviously couldn’t have understood why strangers had taken him from his momma, and he clearly loved Shelby. When he’d asked Justin what his favorite thing to do was, he’d answered, ‘Tickle mon-ser’. Tom remembered playing the ‘tickle monster’ with his father.

  Tom knew then that he’d wanted to be his father. He’d enjoyed making the campfire together and sitting there talking with him. Of course, Justin didn’t talk much, but he seemed to understand everything he said. He’d nodded and shook his head at the correct times.

  After brewing a pot of coffee and writing a note, he headed outside. He pushed the bike to the end of the driveway before starting it, as he didn’t want to wake Shelby, and he knew she’d be nervous. Why cause her any angst? Maybe he could return before she woke up, especially since he’d kept her up so late.

  When she’d told him it was the best, it’d scared him. Now he’d have to up his game and try to top the first time. It shouldn’t be too hard, though, since obviously that jerk had done nothing but take from her.

  Heck, he’d felt more pleasure out of pleasing her. Hearing her gasp for air and coo in his ear for more, had him working every angle he could to please her.

  He hopped on the bike, kick-started the engine, and tore off toward town, in a hurry to get home.

  The store he chose was large. He didn’t want to go into a mom and pop store where they might recognize him. He wore his cap low on his head, but not so low that he’d look suspicious.

  After picking up a few staples: milk, bread, eggs, and some extra coffee and creamer, he made his way to the register. The newspaper caught his eye and he added it to his supplies. He kept his head lowered, looking at his wallet, careful not to allow any cameras to capture his image.

  “Will that be all, sir?”

  “Mm-hm.”

  He gathered his goods and walked around the side of the building, where he hadn’t seen a camera when he parked. At least if authorities saw him in the store, they wouldn’t see what he was driving. He’d go to a different store next time, even if he had to drive farther. His heart raced as he packed his backpack and hopped on the bike.

  A police car pulled into the parking lot as he headed out, and he almost had a heart attack. It’d all been fun last night, but now the reality of his situation was hitting home. He’d be disbarred, sent to jail, and he’d have to make a new career.

  He wondered if Chad would allow a convict to be a whitewater guide, and that thought had him laughing. Shelby was worth it. He’d probably get a slap on the wrist and probation, since he’d never been in trouble, and he’d never wanted to be an attorney anyway.

  His dad would be mad, but his mother would be thrilled, especially knowing she had a new baby boy to play with. His mother had always liked him better than Michelle anyway. She’d never admit it, but Michelle and he both knew. Michelle was Daddy’s little girl, and even though he wasn’t, Michelle would always call him a momma’s boy.

  Dang, the more he thought about it, the more he realized what a beast his sister was. He needed to find her a tough guy, someone who wouldn’t take any crap. Chad had been too nice. He’d let her walk all over him. She needed someone who’d take control for a change.

  He smiled as he realized he knew two men who’d fit that bill. As soon as he returned to society, he would do a little matchmaking, and he knew how to do it. If he gave her the choice of two, she’d make a choice.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Bearns riffled through the papers he’d printed out last night, looking for anything he could use to not only track down Shelby and Tom, but clear the young woman.

  When Chad Wilkinson had first called, requesting he find information to exonerate Shelby Castle, he’d refused. But something about the woman’s eyes he’d remembered from that morning had made him c
hange his mind while he’d listened to Chad up the dollar amount three times.

  It wasn’t about money; though, he could definitely use it. He couldn’t care less about money. He cared about that little boy who’d been gasping to catch his breath because he wanted his mother. Obviously, his mother was not abusive. Meare had been wrong in siccing D.S.S. on her.

  As Williams had said, he was a hothead. Shelby had been hauled off to jail twice, and she hadn’t run. But taking away her kid had sent her over the edge.

  Tom Turner was another issue. What was it with him? He was a smart guy. He’d been dealt a bad hand with Brandy Reynolds, but he’d never been in trouble before or after, and didn’t make a habit of hanging out with the wrong people. And Tom had been right about Chad’s innocence from the start, even when the guy had punched him.

  Bearns had known that Brandy had been withholding something when he’d interviewed her. But her concern for Chad had led him down the wrong road, not believing for a minute that she would have done anything to hurt him. He’d known from their first conversation that even though she’d said he was like a brother, that there was more to their relationship. And she’d basically shrugged off Turner, even though she’d supposedly been dating him, calling him a womanizer and that she’d known he’d been coming on to Chad’s wife.

  “Welcome to the club, Tom.” Bearns held up his mug to Tom’s picture on the front of the newspaper. “Can’t live with them, can’t live without them, can’t shoot ’em!”

  Well, he’d lived without having a woman for a while now, but he’d rather change that status. What he needed was a woman who wasn’t needy or coldhearted. He needed a woman who could take care of herself, but wanted him for backup.

  He laughed, as if that’d ever happen. The only women like that were cops. And two cops in one family didn’t work out well. It was one of the reasons cops dated other first responders; they understood each other. But when two type-A personalities dealt with high-stress jobs on a day-to-day basis, it usually didn’t work well.