Need You for Keeps (Heroes of St. Helena, #1)(56)

A light tapping woke Jonah with a start. Pulse beating out of his chest, ears dialed to alert, he took stock. He was sticky, hot as hell, and couldn’t remember where he was. Then a warm ball of woman snuggled closer, her ass rubbing up against his morning wood and—ah yeah, he remembered now.

Every little detail.

He tightened his arms around her and tried to ignore that his entire left side was stuck to the couch with what he assumed was a superadhesive combination of sweat and icing. His hand immediately found her breast and he pressed a few kisses down her spine, wondering just how tired she was.

She gave a sexy little sigh and burrowed deeper into him, wiggling in a way that made going back to sleep impossible, then she was dead to the world. He wasn’t surprised, since he’d checked off nearly every wish he’d had during their marathon meet-and-greet last night.

Well, every wish minus the cuffs.

Taptaptap.

A low growl vibrated on his calf. Jonah peered over to find himself, Shay, and two of the mutts snuggled on the couch. One big f*cking happy family.

With a groan, he scooped Socks off his hip and set her on the floor, then shooed Boss off, who landed with a big thud. Jabba was already at the door, tapping I gotta pee in doggie Morse code against the glass pane.

“As much as it kills me to say this, baby, I need to get up,” Jonah whispered, running a hand over her stomach and back up, maybe high enough to brush her breast. Okay, definitely high enough. She had great breasts—full, high, and just his size.

The perfect size, as far as he was concerned.

Shay stretched, giving him all the go-ahead he needed to continue his inspection, then rolled over, nuzzling even closer and pressing her face to his chest. The rest of her was doing some pretty amazing pressing too, so amazing he felt his eyes roll to the back of his head when she tossed her thigh over his.

“Baby,” he groaned. “You’re not making this easy.”

“You smell good,” she whispered, her voice so thick with sleep he wondered just how awake she was. Then her tongue ran up his chest, circling his nipple and answering that question. “Like cake. I love fig cake.”

Jonah was a pretty big fan too. After last night, it was his new favorite cake, and he was considering finishing it off for breakfast. He’d just started licking the remains off Shay’s shoulder when—

Taptaptap.

He groaned. “Don’t move,” he whispered, carefully untangling Shay’s body from his. Smart-ass that she was, she raised her hands above her head and laid them across the arm of the couch.

“Assume the position. Got it, Sheriff.”

She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And lucky son of a bitch that he was, she just lay there, spread out like a feast for his eyes, letting him look his fill.

Taptaptap.

This time it was followed by a long-suffering whine that had Jonah pulling on his pants. “Be right back.”

He smacked his thigh and the other two dogs followed him to the front of the shop. He clicked on the main floor lights and stopped.

Jabba wasn’t trying to get out, he was trying to let someone in. Regardless, Jonah opened the door, and all three dogs bolted past Adam to the nearest maple tree to do their business.

Jonah took in the grim lines on his brother’s face and the exhaustion rolling off of him. Ah shit, this couldn’t be good.

“You’re a hard man to find,” Adam said, leaning against the doorframe as though it were the only thing holding him upright. His SHFD blues were streaked with dirt and his skin was damp with sweat. “Been calling you all night.”

Jonah patted his back pocket and found it empty. He closed his eyes. “Turned it off.”

“When I spotted your car,” he motioned to Jonah’s cruiser at the curb, “I figured it was either that or you were too busy to answer.” He looked at Jonah’s state of dress, which was more been busy getting busy than fell asleep cat sitting, and he grinned. “Guess it was both.”

Yeah, yeah. “Is everything okay?”

Adam’s smile died. “Giles was reported missing at lunch check-in.”

Jonah looked at his watch and swore. “That was over sixteen hours ago.”

The first eight to twelve hours were the most critical in situations like this. Jonah buttoned his jeans and was turning to grab his stuff when Adam stopped him. “We found him, man. He’s okay. A little dehydrated and hungry, but okay.”

“Where was he?”

“Asleep on Clovis’s back porch,” Adam explained. “I guess he went there to get his shag on or whatever it is old people do after hours and had a breathing issue. He didn’t have his meds.”

“Of course he didn’t. Because why would a man with a breathing problem carry his meds when walking across town?”

Adam looked at Jonah’s state once again and laughed. “Do you really have to ask?”

No, no he didn’t. He understood perfectly.

“When he didn’t show for dinner we sent a callout to all departments and Search and Rescue as far as two counties over.” The callout that Jonah had ignored. He hadn’t even read it, just saw that it was a nonemergency and thumbed his phone off. “Someone matching his description was seen heading into the foothills, by the Old Mill Trail.”

Which explained the condition of Adam’s uniform. If any team would handle the hills, it would be Adam’s. “Why the hell was he hiking?”