Dream (Rosewood Bay Series Book 4) Read online

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to give Billy a reason to come after me. I don’t want to show interest. Just have patience. Let this play out. If the house sells, he has no reason to stay here,” she said, knowing she was relying on pure hope. But hope was all she had at this point.

  He groaned. “You’re killing me, tying my hands left and right,” he said, his frustration showing through.

  “I appreciate that you’re respecting my wishes, though.”

  “Yeah,” he muttered. “But if this escalates, we renegotiate.”

  He squeezed her hand tighter and she nodded.

  “Now when can I see you again?” he asked, moving his chair closer.

  He didn’t have to elaborate for her to know he didn’t mean a family-type gathering.

  “I told Nicky he could have a friend sleep over on Friday night, but the parents invited Nicky to come with them to the movies and sleep there instead. Which leaves me home alone,” she murmured huskily.

  He leaned in closer. “You’ve got yourself a date.”

  “Mom, I’m finished!” Nicky stood up from his chair at the same time Andi slid her chair back and away from Kyle.

  It was one thing to go out together with her son, another to show any kind of public display of affection. It wasn’t something she was ready to expose Nicky to. He’d ask too many questions about her relationship with his teacher, questions she wasn’t ready to answer.

  Not even to herself.

  * * *

  Andi waited for Kyle to arrive on Friday, excited to be alone with him. This was time she was giving herself apart from being a mom, time with a man she desired and cared deeply for. That’s all she would let herself think, for now. He wasn’t pressuring her for a deep commitment, which meant she didn’t have to think about what she was ready for in her life.

  She showered and dried her hair, fluffing the waves she’d grown used to over the course of her life. She used her favorite moisturizer, getting ready for the evening. A light touch of makeup along with a casual outfit, jeans and a black tee shirt she didn’t expect to keep on for long.

  They weren’t having dinner. She’d had to help set up the flowers for a party and came home late. He was just coming over to be with her.

  The doorbell rang and she checked out the window before deactivating the new alarm and letting him inside. It was an adjustment to keep herself behind an alarmed door but well worth her peace of mind.

  “Hi,” she said, taking in his more casual look than what he wore for teaching – a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a pullover long-sleeve burgundy shirt. He was sexy in anything and tonight was no exception.

  “Hi, yourself.” He leaned in and pressed a hot kiss on her lips, one that wasn’t just a peck hello but let her know how glad he was to see her.

  Equally happy to see him, she laced her fingers around his neck and deepened the kiss, their mouths fused together, tongues mating. Her body quickened, desire filling her, liquid and thick in her veins. She threaded her fingers through his hair, her fingers tangling in the silken strands, keeping their mouths together.

  She hooked a foot around his and pulled him closer, his groin nestling in the vee of her legs. She moaned at the delicious feeling of his body, thick and hard, telling her how much he desired her.

  He picked her up and lifted her into his arms.

  “No small talk?” she asked, teasing him.

  His eyes gleamed with desire. “Not when I can finally see you naked again.”

  “I really can’t argue with that,” she said in a husky voice. She deliberately rubbed her breasts against his chest, her nipples stiff behind her bra, the sensation hot, shooting sparks of awareness throughout her being, dampness coating her panties.

  He nipped at her bottom lip, then carried her into her bedroom. Her gaze never left his, his eyes hazy with yearning as he lowered her onto the mattress. He reached for the hem of his shirt and stripped it off. Taking a cue from him, she divested herself of her own clothes until she was naked.

  He’d just finished doing the same and stood by the edge of the bed, condoms he’d grabbed from his jeans in one hand. He tossed them onto the dresser.

  “Do you know what I was thinking about the whole time I was licking at my ice cream the other day?” she asked, her gaze on his impressive erection, hard and straining upward, waiting for her touch. Or her taste.

  “What?” he asked, voice hoarse.

  “This.” She crawled the few paces to where he stood, dipped her head forward, and licked at his cock like it was an ice cream cone.

  His hand came to the top of her head as he groaned loudly. “Jesus, Andi. That feels so fucking good. Do it again.”

  “Who knew you had such a dirty mouth, Mr. Davenport?”

  He chuckled and she stopped his laugh by pulling him into her mouth and swirling her tongue around his length. He slid his hand behind her head and began guiding her as he thrust his cock in and out of her mouth.

  She closed her eyes, breathed in his masculine scent, automatically relaxing her throat as they found their rhythm. She’d hated doing this with Billy, had never even had the desire. And over time he liked to tell her how bad she was at it. But right now, this was Kyle and she wanted to give him this, was surprised by how much. And she didn’t want to think about her ex now, just Kyle. And he wasn’t complaining; instead he was lost in them.

  He rocked his hips and she accepted as much of him as she could take, swallowing around the head of his cock. Gathering her hair in his hand, he pumped his hips faster and she swayed each time he thrust forward. Suddenly he pulled at her hair and she understood his warning, but she wanted to experience everything with him.

  She stayed in place as he seemed to grow impossibly bigger and finally he let go, coming hard, and she swallowed as fast and as much as she could. He stilled and she glanced up at him, his eyes heavy-lidded with desire but also soft with an emotion she couldn’t name.

  She looked away, afraid of the intimacy between them and what it could mean, instead crawling back to the head of the bed and collapsing against the pillows. He joined her, pulling her into his arms, and she lay her head on his chest and sighed.

  “That was incredible,” he told her.

  She felt a small rush of pride that she’d pleased him. She’d never had a good man in her life or her bed. Billy had taken her virginity, and Nicky aside, he’d left her with a bad feeling about men in general. But she instinctually knew Kyle was one of the decent ones. The kind who cuddled after sex and appreciated what went on between a man and a woman. Who did more than take what he could get, then roll over and snore afterward.

  She sighed into his broad chest and he rubbed a hand over her back, his palm coming to rest on her ass. “I feel a second wind coming on.”

  She lifted her head and grinned. “Oh yeah?”

  Another thing she appreciated about Kyle, his seemingly perpetual good mood. She didn’t have to try and read his mind or figure out what kind of temperament he had on any given day. If he was upset about something, he told her. If he wanted something, he asked for it. And if he desired to give something, he just did it, not expecting anything in return.

  “I can give you more time to rest,” she offered cheekily. “You know, if you’re tired.”

  Before she knew it, he’d flipped her onto her back and came over her, his eyes gleaming at what he’d probably deemed a challenge. “Not tired,” he assured her. “Not with this gorgeous body waiting for me.” He slid a hand around her breast, playing with the heavy flesh, tweaking her nipple between his fingertips.

  She groaned.

  “I like that sound. Does it mean what I think it does?” He slid a hand down her chest, over her stomach and through her damp sex. “Yep. Nice and wet for me,” he said in a gruff voice. “Is that what going down on me did to you?”

  She knew her face was all sorts of shades of red. “It turned me on,” she admitted.

  He reached over and grabbed the condom from the
nightstand, opening it up and rolling it on before coming over her, his gaze hot on hers. “Then let’s take care of you,” he said, easing his cock between her thighs, where she throbbed with need.

  She parted her legs wider and he pushed into her, gliding in easily because she was already so hot for him. “Does this feel good, pretty girl?” he asked, thrusting in deep.

  “So good.” She arched her back and moaned as he hit the right spot inside her that had her seeing stars. Bright, sparkly stars and she soared to greet them.

  “Then let’s give you more.” He began to pump his hips, taking her higher with each grind of his body against hers.

  This, too, was new to her, coming while having sex, feeling such incredible emotions overtaking her as she looked into the face of the man above her. It made the sensations she was feeling that much more sincere and amazing. Her body responded to everything about him as he thrust over and over, bringing her closer and closer to climax.

  The vibrations inside her body were so intense she curled her fingers into his skin, rocking her body against his each time they came together. It happened fast, almost without warning as a wave of sensation overwhelmed her and exploded inside her.

  “Kyle, God, harder, harder,” she said as he complied, thrusting deep, increasing the intensity of the waves and emotions swamping her, taking her places she’d never experienced before. He seemed to pick up his pace and suddenly he stiffened, coming as another surge took her over once more.

  They were quiet in each other’s arms afterwards, Andi aware of her still-pounding heart. He ran his fingers up and down her arm, his own breathing evening out slowly.

  “Wow,” she finally said when she thought she could speak again.

  “Yep, wow.” He hugged her tighter to him. “And before you ask, I can’t say I’m up for another round just yet,” he said, laughter in his voice.

  She couldn’t help but chuckle, too. “This was… unique for me,” she surprised herself by speaking out loud, all the thoughts that had been running through her head during the act still there now.

  “Unique how?”

  She was glad she was facing his chest so she didn’t have to meet his gaze during the admission she couldn’t seem to hold inside. “Sex was never good for me before. I… Billy was my first.”

  He stilled. “Shit, Andi. I had no idea.”

  “You weren’t supposed to.” For as close as they’d been as teens, sex wasn’t something they’d discussed. It had been a line they didn’t cross. It was time they went there now. “I think that’s part of the reason I stayed with him. You give someone that part of you… I don’t know. I was stupid. We know that.”

  “No.” His fingertips tightened on her waist. “You weren’t stupid. He snowed you. That’s what men like Billy do. In addition to going after people weaker than them. I know he threatened me back then, but the truth is, he’d never have tried to hurt me. He just used your fear against you.”

  She nodded. “That he did.” She drew a deep breath. “But sex was just that. It was sex. It was a shitty first time, which he blamed on me, of course, because I was a virgin, to shitty all the time, which remained my fault. Because I didn’t know what I was doing. Because I was frigid.”

  “Andi–”

  “No. I want to tell you all this before I lose my nerve.” She was surprised at herself, at how much she wanted to unload the past she’d kept hidden.

  When her first time with Kyle had been so incredible, she’d managed not to think of Billy or the criticism he’d always heaped on her during sex. She’d pushed herself to be brave and enjoy. She’d just wanted to revel in her time with Kyle, not dwell on the past. But now, with new and unexpected emotions swamping her, she couldn’t help but need to go there and maybe put those demons to rest.

  “Okay,” he said, his tone telling her he understood and wanted to hear… but he knew he wouldn’t like it.

  “What we just shared, that was new and enlightening.”

  “Come here.” He pulled her up so they were face-to-face and she was forced to look into his eyes. “It was enlightening not only because it was good sex.”

  “I know,” she whispered, understanding that there had been emotions involved between her and Kyle, deep, serious emotions.

  And that she should be running away from them far and fast. Because she’d already had one man who had control over her by instilling fear… and now she was afraid Kyle could take over her life just because it would be so easy to let him.

  She pushed herself to a sitting position, wondering what to do next in light of all those realizations.

  “I’m hungry after all that exercise,” Kyle said. “Does Chinese sound good?”

  And just like that, she found herself calling for delivery and killing time before the food arrived in very inventive ways, thoughts of putting distance between them pushed aside. For now.

  Chapter Eight

  Andi walked into the new restaurant that had opened near the waterfront to meet up with Halley, Phoebe, and Juliette. The goal was to have a girls’ lunch and to discuss Thanksgiving plans. They were all family, after all. Andi being Kane’s sister and Halley’s sister-in-law made her indirectly related to Halley’s sisters, Phoebe and Juliette. Although Andi considered all three women friends, as well. Thanks to Billy, she hadn’t had many of those in her life, so she didn’t take these women or their presence in her life for granted.

  They looked like they had just gotten seated, Halley adjusting her handbag on her chair and Juliette just lowering herself into her seat.

  “Hi,” Andi said, joining them, settling into the empty seat at the round table.

  “Hi,” each of the women said.

  “I need a glass of water. I’m so thirsty.” Juliette glanced around the restaurant, looking for a waitress. Catching sight of someone, she raised a hand in the air and the woman came over, taking their drink orders, too.

  Nobody ordered alcohol, Halley because she was pregnant, the rest because they all had to work this afternoon, choosing a variety of other drinks. Halley and Andi ordered seltzer, Phoebe a cranberry juice, and Juliette a diet cola.

  “So, how is everyone?” Phoebe asked.

  Busy seemed to be the consensus. They talked about their jobs and their husbands, boyfriends, and kids and ordered lunch.

  “I’ll have the chopped salad,” Juliette said.

  “Oh, me, too,” Phoebe said, closing her menu.

  “I’ll have a Greek salad,” Andi said.

  The waitress wrote down the orders. “Anchovies on that?” she asked.

  Andi nodded. “Sure.”

  “Umm, would you mind passing on those?” Phoebe asked.

  Andi shot her a questioning look. “Why?”

  “Because the thought of them makes me nauseous,” she muttered.

  Andi shrugged and looked up at the woman taking their orders. “No anchovies.”

  “And for you?” she asked Halley.

  Halley stared at the menu for another few seconds. “Grilled chicken, lettuce and tomato.” She handed the plastic listing over to the waitress. “And French fries, please.”

  The other woman wrote down the order and smiled. “Thanks. Let me know if you need anything.”

  She walked away, leaving them alone.

  “So, let’s talk Thanksgiving,” Phoebe said. “I’d love to have it at my house.” Her husband, Jake, a general contractor, had purchased a house that was in a gorgeous wooded area that Phoebe and her son, Jamie, had moved into after they got married last Christmas.

  “I–” Andi had been about to say she would have offered her home, small as it was, but whatever they all wanted worked for her, too, when Halley spoke.

  “Kane and I really want to host this year,” she said, glancing at her older sister. “Think I can steal it away from you?”

  Juliette looked between them. “I’m in Aunt Joy’s guesthouse, so I’m going to leave the arguing to you two.”

  Braden’s dad had been deter
iorating with Alzheimer’s and he’d moved into a facility that could handle his situation. Since Braden had been living with his dad to help him, he’d wanted to start over in his own place. But Juliette, like Andi, knew better than to get between the two bickering sisters over the location of their holiday dinner.

  Phoebe frowned. “But I was really looking forward to a dinner as a family in my house.”

  “As was I. You can have next year,” Halley said, trying to placate her sister.

  “But I’m pregnant… and it would mean a lot to me to have my family around me at my place,” Phoebe said, tucking a strand of her white blonde hair behind her ear.

  The table was stunned into silence, Halley the first to speak. “And you’re not just saying that to convince me to give up first dibs?” she asked obviously only half kidding.

  Andi grinned, already getting excited at the unexpected news. But she couldn’t help but marvel at the way these two spoke to each other. One would think they’d grown up together, doing all the sibling arguing and experiencing the rivalry of typical families. Instead they’d been separated as toddlers, sent to foster care, Juliette being taken home by her real father and lied to. She hadn’t known she had sisters until this past summer.

  Phoebe’s mouth opened wide. “Are you joking? Of course I’m telling you the truth! I’m pregnant!”

  Halley squealed out loud, the news sinking in. “We’re going to have babies at almost the same time!” Disagreement forgotten, she jumped up and went to hug her sister, but Juliette had gotten there first. What ensued was a genuine crying-hugging-fest that included Andi.

  “I’m so happy for you and Jake!” she said, getting her chance to squeeze Phoebe tight.

  Eventually they all sat back down, realizing they had made a scene in the middle of the restaurant.

  “The lengths some people will go to in order to get their way. Upstaging my own pregnancy,” Halley said, laughing, as their meals arrived, a genuinely happy smile on her face. “Thanksgiving at your house this year,” she said to Phoebe.

  “We can all bring a dish or two, make things easier on you,” Andi said.