Page 22 of Trick or Tease

GARRETT

I stood behind the hot chocolate stand, filling steaming cups for the families waiting for the next haunted hayride.

We had filled two large coffee urns with hot chocolate and another one with coffee.

There was an even bigger container filled with warm cider.

Lucy had just brought out a fresh batch and was doing her best to keep it coming.

With the surprise crowd, we were dangerously close to running out of all refreshments.

I had already made an order with the local market to pick up tomorrow.

It wasn’t exactly the kind of work I’d expected to be doing today, but somehow I’d gotten roped into manning the refreshment station. Doling out coffee, cream, and marshmallows. If my law associates could see me now.

I supposed it was better than rescuing people from the maze. I knew I would get just as lost as they were. And it had been way too long since I drove a tractor. I didn’t dare take on that chore. And I was a bit more useful than a parking attendant.

“Two hot chocolates and a cider,” I said, handing cups to a couple with a young daughter who couldn’t have been more than five. She was wearing a tiny witch costume that made her look adorable rather than scary.

“Thank you!” the little girl chirped, clutching her cup with both hands. “Is the hayride really haunted?”

“Only the fun kind of haunted,” I assured her, glancing toward where the current group was boarding the flatbed trailer. “Nothing too scary for brave witches like you.”

She giggled and looked up at her parents with wide eyes. “See,” she said. “It won’t be scary.”

“Let’s get in line,” the father said.

I found myself smiling as I watched them walk away.

When was the last time I’d interacted with kids?

In my Manhattan world, children were rare creatures glimpsed occasionally in expensive restaurants or high-end stores, usually accompanied by nannies.

I didn’t hang out with anyone that had kids. We were all about our careers.

The rumble of the tractor engine drew my attention back to the hayride loading area. Lucy was climbing into the driver’s seat of the old John Deere, checking her mirrors and adjusting the seat. But it was Sabrina who captured my focus completely.

She was perched on the edge of the flatbed trailer, her legs dangling over the side as she chatted with the assembled families. That ridiculous pointed witch’s hat sat askew on her blonde head, and she was gesturing wildly with her hands as she explained what they were about to experience.

She had become one of the tour guides for the ride up Hogan Hill. I heard a couple of the teens that were on the last hayride talking about how much fun they had. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to be the star of the whole show.

“Now, I have to warn you, the old Hogan house up on the hill has been abandoned for decades,” Sabrina said in a low voice. “Some say it’s haunted by the ghost of Samuel Hogan himself.”

A few of the kids gasped dramatically, pressing closer to their parents. One little boy raised his hand like he was in school.

“Is it really haunted?” he asked, his eyes wide.

Sabrina leaned forward conspiratorially, lowering her voice so everyone had to strain to hear.

“Well, let me put it this way. Last week, when we were setting up decorations, I could have sworn I saw a light flickering in one of the upstairs windows. But when we went to check...” She paused for effect. “Nobody was there.”

I had to suppress a laugh. The woman was a natural storyteller, completely in her element as she spun tales for her captive audience. She had every person on that trailer hanging on her every word, from the wide-eyed children to their equally entertained parents.

“But don’t worry,” she continued, straightening up and grinning. “Old Samuel is friendly enough. He just likes to keep an eye on things. If you see him, wave. He likes that.”

The trailer started the slow trip up the hill and I got back to serving cocoa. There were so many people. I expected this to be like it used to be, with some local folks swinging by. But damn, this was massive. Billy and the girls might actually be onto something.

Twenty minutes later, I watched the tractor rumble back down the hill.

The families on the flatbed were laughing and chattering excitedly about their haunted hayride experience.

Several of the kids were waving enthusiastically at nothing in particular, clearly hoping to catch another glimpse of “friendly Samuel.”

Sabrina hopped down from the trailer.

“That was incredible!” she said. “Did you hear them talking? They loved it!”

I handed her a cup of cider. “You’re a natural at this,” I said.

“Really?” She took a sip of the warm cider, studying my face. “You don’t think I was laying it on too thick with the ghost stories?”

“Are you kidding? They loved it. This is incredible, Sabrina. What you and Billy have created here, it’s special.”

“You sound surprised.”

“I am surprised. But not because I thought you couldn’t do it,” I said quickly. “I’m surprised because I’d forgotten what it feels like to see something built from scratch like this. Something real and meaningful instead of just profitable.”

“Come on,” she said suddenly, grabbing my hand. “I need to get away from all this noise for a minute. And you look like you could use a break.”

Before I could protest, she was pulling me toward the old barn. The sounds of the festival faded as we stepped inside.

“Much better,” Sabrina said. “Don’t get me wrong, I love that we’re so busy. But I haven’t had five minutes to just breathe all day.”

I found myself moving toward her. It was like I had no control over my own body.

“Sabrina,” I said. Every rational part of my brain was screaming at me to step back, to maintain the distance I’d been so carefully preserving. But she was looking at me with her lips slightly parted, rational thought was becoming increasingly difficult.

“I know,” she said softly. “I know this is complicated. I know you’re leaving.”

There was a moment of inner debate before I said fuck it.

I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her, finally giving in to what we’d both been wanting. She melted against me immediately, her arms coming up to wrap around my neck as she kissed me back with a hunger that matched my own.

My mouth covered hers. She parted her lips and I slipped my tongue inside. I couldn’t get enough of her.

“Fuck me,” I groaned. “You taste so good.”

She murmured something against my lips but I swallowed the words.

I could feel her heart racing. Every rational thought I had was dissolving under the heat of her response. She pressed closer, her hands slid down my back like she was afraid I might pull away again.

Not this time.

I backed her against the wooden beam that ran down the center of the barn, my body caging her in. The old wood was rough against my palm as I braced myself beside her head, but all I could focus on was the way she was looking at me.

She wanted me.

I kissed her harder, deeper, pouring days of pent-up want into the connection between us. Her witch hat tumbled to the ground, forgotten, as I tangled my fingers in her blonde hair. She arched against me. I could feel the soft curves of her body through our clothes.

It was insane. We were in a barn, with hundreds of people just outside. But I couldn’t bring myself to care. Not when she was making soft little sounds against my lips that were driving me out of my mind.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” I managed to say, even as my hands slid down to her waist, pulling her flush against me.

“Probably not,” she agreed, but her fingers were already working at the buttons of my shirt. “But I’m not stopping.”

A burst of laughter outside grabbed our attention.

“Upstairs,” Sabrina said. “Loft.”

I followed her up the wooden ladder to the hayloft, my heart pounding so hard I was sure she could hear it.

Sabrina turned to face me as soon as we reached the top, and I was on her again immediately. This time there was no hesitation, no pulling back. I pressed her against a stack of hay bales, my mouth finding hers with desperate hunger.

She jerked my shirt from my jeans with urgency. I took it off without wasting time with the buttons. I groaned when her palms flattened against my chest, her touch burning through me like fire. I had never wanted anyone this badly in my life.

“God, Sabrina,” I breathed against her neck, tasting the salt of her skin. She tilted her head back, giving me better access, and I took full advantage, trailing kisses down the column of her throat.

I needed more of her. I went for her shirt, jerking it up and over her head. She was wearing a plain white bra. Nothing fancy, but still sexy as hell.

Her fingers tangled in my hair, holding me close as I found that sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder. The soft sound she made went straight to my groin. I pressed harder against her, letting her feel exactly what she was doing to me.

“Garrett,” she whispered. My name on her lips was the most erotic sound I’d ever heard.

I pulled back to look at her, taking in her flushed cheeks and kiss-swollen lips. Her blue eyes were dark with want. I could see my own desperate need reflected back at me.

“We should stop,” I said, even as my hands roamed over her breasts.

“Do you want to stop?” she asked, her voice husky.

I groaned, pressing my forehead against hers. “No. God, no. But this is crazy. Anyone could come looking for us.”

“Then we better make this quick,” she said with a wicked grin that nearly undid me completely.

She pulled me down for another kiss. I was lost. My hands roamed her body. I needed more hands to touch her everywhere.

I couldn’t get enough of her. My hands slipped behind her back, finding the clasp of her bra. She arched into me as I unhooked it, letting it fall between us. The sight of her bare breasts made my mouth go dry.

“Beautiful,” I murmured, cupping her in my palms. Her nipples were already hard peaks, and when I brushed my thumbs over them, she gasped.

I lowered my head, taking one nipple into my mouth while my hand worked the other. The taste of her skin, the way she responded to my touch was intoxicating. She gripped my shoulders, her nails digging in just enough to drive me wild.

“Garrett,” she breathed.

I could hear the need in her voice.

I kissed my way back up to her mouth, my hands roaming down to the button of her jeans. She was already working at my belt, her fingers fumbling with the buckle in her urgency.

“I’ve wanted this for so long,” she whispered against my lips.

“Me too,” I admitted, finally getting her jeans undone. “God, me too.”

I slipped my hand inside her panties, finding her wet and ready for me. She moaned into my mouth as I stroked her, her hips rocking against my hand.

“Please,” she gasped. I could feel her trembling. Needy. Wanting.

Her fingers jerked down my zipper and seconds later her hand was wrapping around my cock.

Fuck.

I needed her.

“Garrett!” Billy’s voice called out.

“Shit,” I groaned.

Sabrina moaned. “Dammit.”

I rolled away and quickly did my jeans up.

I got up, reached my hand down to help her to her feet.

“It’s for the best,” I said. “I’m leaving. I don’t want to make things messy. We’re friends, Sabrina. I want to keep it that way.”

She put her bra on and quickly pulled on her shirt. “Yeah. I know. Okay. You go out first. I’ll be out in a minute.”

I started down the ladder and paused to look up at her. She wasn’t looking at me.

I felt like such an asshole.