Sexy Love: A Sexy Series Novella (The Sexy Series Book 4) Read online

  “Thank you. I’ll let Zachary know. I’ll text you the hospital information and I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said before disconnecting the call.

  He opened a beer and walked to the kitchen window above the sink and looked out over his lawn. The neighbors were sitting on their deck, a drawback to this house as there were no trees as a barrier giving him privacy.

  Deciding not to go outside, he sat down on the sofa in the family room, took a sip of his drink, and stared into the empty room. He needed someone to talk to, someone he thought would understand his past and mixed emotions about visiting his sick father. There was no way he’d burden his mother with this news, and he hadn’t made any friends here close enough to unload this kind of crap on.

  Which left the only person he really wanted to see anyway. The same woman he’d been avoiding unless he saw her in his classroom. The one he’d steadfastly refused to text or call despite the open invitation for him to do so.

  He wanted to talk to Amber.

  * * * *

  Soon after Amber’s conversation – and kiss with Shane, though she wasn’t thinking about that now – she’d received an email with two tutor names and nothing else written in the note. Ignoring the pang of disappointment that he wasn’t going to discuss anything personal, she’d jumped on the opportunity, texting both tutors and setting up a meeting with a female assistant professor who replied to her first. Knowing she had a plan set Amber’s mind at ease about the class. She felt certain with one-on-one help she could get up to speed enough to pass and put Intro to Economics behind her.

  Unfortunately she couldn’t do the same for Shane or that kiss. She’d been reliving the moment while awake and daydreaming and in her sleep at night. But he’d made his intentions or lack thereof clear, and she wasn’t going to chase after a man who wasn’t interested in her. She understood his reasons for not wanting a public relationship, but she’d offered him a way to get to know each other without anyone else being aware. And he hadn’t acted on it. So she’d thrown herself into her schoolwork.

  Thanks to the tutoring, over time, her grades slowly inched up. She’d never be an economist, but she was going to get more than a D in this class. She’d consider a C a major accomplishment. When Shane handed back quizzes and assignments with her better grades, she saw the gleam of approval in his gaze and the pleased expression on his face. He still didn’t get in touch with her the way she’d hoped, and after a few weeks went by, she came to accept that he was going to keep his distance and she needed to respect his wishes.

  In between studying, she’d finished unpacking her house, finished decorating L.J.’s room, and had fallen into a comfortable routine, speaking to L.J. every evening and texting with him in the mornings before she went to school on the days she had class. She’d also joined a study group and met with them twice a week, and though the information she’d learned there hadn’t helped before tutoring, once she had a grasp on the material, she felt more comfortable contributing and gaining information there.

  Because of the difficulty she had in economics, she put aside the idea of getting a part-time job until the fall, when she knew she’d be more comfortable with the classwork and be able to dedicate work hours when needed. All in all, things were going well.

  She’d just finished dinner and put her dishes in the sink when her doorbell rang. She wiped her hand on a dishtowel, placed it on the counter, and went to answer it.

  A glance through the curtains shocked her. “Shane!” She opened the door and he brushed past her and stepped inside, the scent of his cologne immediately surrounding her.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  He winced at the question. “Abusing every privilege and right I have to your personal information by showing up on your doorstep because … I need you.”

  At the admission, which seemed reluctantly pulled from him, her pulse skipped a beat. “What’s going on?” She shut the door behind him.

  “My father had a heart attack,” he said, and when she really looked at him, the pain etching his features became obvious.

  “Shane, I’m sorry.” She reached out and placed her hand in his. “But I’m not sure why you need me?”

  Of course she felt bad that his father had a health issue, but what did that have to do with her?

  His intent gaze bored into hers, and she sensed something had definitely shifted.

  “Why do I need you? Because I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since the day we met. Because I watch you from the front of the class and have to pretend I’m not completely turned on by every move you make. Because I want to know every little thing that makes you tick and then learn some more. And because when I got the call about my father and thought about who I wanted to share my deepest pain with, only you came to mind.”

  She drew a startled breath, completely taken off guard by his honest admission. “But … when you didn’t call or text, when you ignored me except for calling on me in class, I thought you weren’t interested in me that way.”

  A wry yet sexy smile lifted his lips. “I’m a damn good faker when I need to be. So there’s just one thing I need to know for now.”

  Her heart beat out a rapid rhythm inside her chest. “What’s that?”

  “Do you still want me the same way?”

  She didn’t need to think about her answer. “I do.”

  Although everything that had concerned him before still stood between them, he was here now, and she had no problem acting on her feelings. She moved toward him at the same time he lifted her into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck at the same moment his lips came down hard on hers.

  Pausing mid-step, he allowed them the time to kiss, to drop the barriers and pretenses that had held them apart, and let them come together now. His words had stripped the defenses she’d built thinking he didn’t want her. She was open to anything he desired from her now. This was her summer of new beginnings and explorations, and where better to start than with the man who desired her as much as she did him?

  Threading his fingers through her hair, he tugged on the long strands, her head tilting, giving him complete access to her mouth. His tongue slid inside and he took control, gliding his lips over hers, nipping at her bottom lip and sucking on her tongue until her sex pulsed with unfulfilled need.

  “Bedroom?” he asked.

  “At the end of the hall.” He carried her through the house and stepped inside, making his way to the bed and easing her down onto the mattress.

  Standing over her, he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her leggings and pulled them down, taking her panties along with them. Eyes darkened, he studied her for a long while until she squirmed under his intent gaze. Then he lifted the edges of her top and slid it over her head, leaving her in just a bra, her bottom half bared to him completely. Her cheeks burned with discomfort, concern about the shape of her body rising to the surface.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, obviously noticing the sudden stiffening of her muscles. He stroked a hand down her cheek. “You’re beautiful and–“

  “I’m not,” she blurted out. “I have a stomach and stretch marks. I had a baby. I’m not anything like the women I’m sure you’re used to.” She bit down on her bottom lip and met his gaze, her entire body trembling with a combination of embarrassment and worry that she’d ruined everything between them with her sudden burst of insecurity.

  “Shh.” He slid one finger from her throat to her sternum, his gaze hot on hers. “I’m not interested in any other women. There hasn’t been anyone in a long while, and the only person who has my attention is you.”

  “But–”

  “But nothing. I already know you’ve had a baby and I don’t care. All I see are your beautiful curves.” He traced the scalloped edge of her bra, dipping his finger beneath the lace and tweaking her nipple with his fingers.

  She moaned and her thighs spread almost of their own volition, wanting him to touch her there, too.

 
“That’s it,” he murmured. “Trust me to make you feel good.” He flicked his fingers in the front clasp and her bra slid down her arms. And he tossed the garment aside.

  Before her brain could come back online and worry some more, he bent his head and pulled a distended nipple into his mouth, and she saw stars behind her eyes and delicious sensations traveled straight to her sex. Dampness settled between her thighs, and a warm pulsing feeling aroused her even more. He played with her breasts, first one then the other, giving them equal attention and making sure to stimulate her to the point where she was squirming on the bed, her hips gyrating, reaching to fill the desperate ache he inspired.

  He kissed her, swirling his tongue around and around hers at the same time he eased one finger inside her. She moaned at the feeling, her inner walls clasping around him, and though it had been a long time for her, she knew she could take more. She needed more.

  “I want you, Shane.”

  “And you’re going to have me.” He bent one of her legs, placing her foot on the mattress, and then the other, exposing her to him completely. Pumping one finger in and out, he added a second, and she arched her hips in an attempt to pull him deeper into her.

  He dropped to his knees, removed his fingers, and suddenly his mouth was on her sex, his tongue gliding up and down, eating at her with a gusto that surprised her. In her brief experiences, no man had ever been that eager to go down on her before. Had they done it? Sure, but had they spent the amount of time Shane did, licking, sucking, and nipping at her sensitive flesh? God no. And she loved every second.

  Building, pulsing sensation pooled between her thighs, and she was so close she could almost reach the climax she so desperately wanted. She rubbed her sex against his mouth, and he chuckled, the sound vibrating into her as he began to lick her clit, then nip at the tight bud. Suddenly she soared, the orgasm just out of reach slamming into her like a freight train.

  “Shane,” she moaned, moving her hips back and forth against his greedy mouth until the glorious waves of pleasure subsided, her legs collapsed, and she fell back against the bed, her body still tingling.

  The next thing she knew, she heard the sound of him ripping into a condom. Levering herself up on her elbows, she realized he’d stripped off his clothes and was naked, amazing in his bare masculinity. He was well built and sexy, a pleased look on his face, his mouth glistening with her juices, and her sex pulsed as she realized that fact.

  A glance at his thick cock and she had a moment’s hesitation, wondering if she could take him, and then his hands were on her thighs and his heavy erection poised at her entrance.

  His dark brown gaze met hers as he eased into her, starting slow, then, finding her wet, he thrust all the way home.

  “Shane.” His name seemed to be the only word she was capable of uttering because she felt him everywhere inside her.

  “Hold on, beautiful.”

  She blinked back tears at the endearment because she hadn’t been this close to a man … ever. Sexually, she had been, but what she already felt with Shane was more than the brief encounters she’d had after Levi. She didn’t know how or why she could feel so much so soon, considering they didn’t know each other well, but he obviously cared about her emotions and concerns. He was trying to make her feel desirable and she did.

  She so did.

  And when he began to move inside her, his serious gaze never leaving hers, her world shifted. He pumped his hips, his thick cock thrusting deep and pulling out again, her nerve endings feeling like sensitive live wires. Even though she’d already come once, from the throbbing awareness in her body, she could definitely climax again.

  “I want you to come with me,” he said, as if reading her mind.

  She blinked up at him, his gruff tone an indication of how close he already was. He slid a finger over her clit and she responded with a drawn-out moan. “Again,” she urged him. “Don’t stop.”

  He pressed down and worked his finger in circles, all the while pumping into her. She felt the waves, and before she could process what was happening, she flew. She came hard, her entire being his to master as he continued to work her clit through her orgasm, lightening his touch as she came down from the high.

  And then he thrust harder and deeper, again and again. Sweat dripped down the side of his face, his expression taut as he came on a long, drawn-out groan of complete satisfaction.

  * * * *

  Shane’s legs shook and he barely refrained from collapsing onto Amber’s sexy body. He managed to hold himself up as he returned to reality and glanced down at the woman he’d just — well, he hadn’t fucked her. And he wondered if he knew her well enough to have made love to her. Either way, something monumental had occurred between them.

  “Can we use your shower?” he asked.

  She nodded, her eyes heavy-lidded, as he helped her to a sitting position and, once again, lifted her into his arms.

  He enjoyed carrying her, he thought, as he slid her to her feet in the pretty white bathroom.

  She pulled towels out of a small linen closet behind the door and he turned on the shower. Together they stepped into the walk-in and rinsed each other off with a citrusy soap that smelled like Amber. He was going to smell like her, he mused, and he’d have to shower in the morning before going to visit his father.

  Something he did not want to think about.

  “So tell me about your dad,” she said as she poured soap onto her hands and began soaping him up from his ankles up, a wicked gleam in her eyes as she spent a prolonged period of time re-arousing his cock.

  It didn’t take long, either. But instead of staying there so they could play, she pinned him with her gaze as her slick hands ran up his sides. “You mentioned your mom was a single mother, too, but you never said anything about your dad.”

  He groaned, knowing he’d have to tell her. That he’d wanted to confide in her all along. “My father left us when I was five. He’d been having an affair with the partner’s daughter in the law firm where he worked. Ultimately, he married her and they had two daughters.”

  Amber winced. “I’m sorry.”

  He was long accustomed to that source of hurt. “As for my mom? She was and is great. An amazing mom who did everything herself. The only good thing I’ll say about my father was that he didn’t shirk his financial responsibilities to us. He wasn’t there for me at all, but he paid child support and alimony. We didn’t want for anything. But…”

  She maneuvered him under the water so the stream could rinse off the soap, and when he was clean, he began to wash her, already accepting the fact that this wasn’t going to be about sex. He soaped up her legs, moving his hands up her calves, knees, and thighs, letting out a grunt when he slid his hands over her sex but kept going because he knew she wanted to talk and get to know him.

  “But?” Amber pushed, proving him right, although her eyes had flared when his fingers slid over her pussy.

  “But when it came to college, he’d only agree to pay if I went to law school like he did.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “Seriously? Why did he even care if he had nothing to do with you for most of your life?” She sounded indignant on his behalf and he appreciated the show of support.

  He rolled his shoulders because he’d never figured his father out. “Beats me. Because he likes control is the best I can come up with. Anyway, I told him to keep his money, took loans, and put myself through school.” He soaped up her breasts, her arms and then placed her under the steady stream.

  “Where?” she asked.

  “Yale.”

  Her eyes opened wide. “He should be proud. What an ass,” she muttered.

  “Yeah. But he’s still my father, he had a heart attack, and he’s asking for me.”

  “Are you going?” Amber asked.

  “I am.” He wasn’t feeling a sense of duty as much as the pull of a child to his parent.

  She nodded in understanding, then quickly washed and conditioned her hair before shuttin
g off the water.

  They dried off and then, wrapped in towels, made their way back to bed. He could leave but he didn’t want to go, so he climbed in beside her and pulled her against him.

  She sighed and snuggled against him and of course his cock began to perk up again. But he was well aware of the fact that just because they’d had sex didn’t mean he knew her as well as he wanted to. He was drawn to her, though, and for now he was going with that.

  “What about you? Tell me how you ended up a young, single mom.”

  * * * *

  Amber knew it was only fair she talk about herself. “I was a sophomore in college, dating a freshman named Levi Bennett, and I guess it happened. Looking back, we weren’t as careful as we should have been.” She bit down on her lower lip.

  “Where is he now?” Shane asked.

  She drew in a difficult breath. Despite how many years had passed, it was never easy to recall what had happened to L.J.’s dad, and she dreaded the day when she had to explain the circumstances to her son.

  “He died in a hazing incident at school. To hear his twin and best friends tell it, the night was brutal. He suffered a lot and so did they. But I didn’t know I was pregnant. I didn’t find out until a few weeks after he died, and though I was in the middle of grieving, I knew I wanted to keep Levi’s baby.” She leaned back into the hard body behind her, taking comfort in the wrap of his arms around her.

  “You loved him.”

  She managed a smile, if only for herself. “As much as I was capable of at that age. And I was lucky. My parents accepted my circumstances and let me come home. They helped me raise L.J. And he has Levi’s parents and twin brother and two godfathers.”

  “He’s a lucky boy,” Shane said.

  She nodded. “His uncles, real and pseudo, they feel responsible because they were there that night. They offered to pay for my school and this house, and though I said no for a while, I finally realized if I didn’t take this step and leave Florida, I wasn’t doing justice to L.J. or the life he deserved. The guys have been great, although I really hope to pay them back one day.”