“Shut the hell up,” I mumble at him before punching him in the shoulder.
“I’m tired of dealing with your mopey ass.” He chuckles at me and I want to ram my fist through his shiny white teeth. “Did you ever see her after she came in looking for you?”
What the hell is he talking about? “What? She came in here?” From what I knew, she had only tried calling and texting me. She hadn’t tried coming to see me here or at home.
“Uh, yeah, dude. The first time, she was ecstatic. But the second time, she got to meet one of your bunnies.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Shit. Did someone say something to her?
He shrugs his shoulders. “Some blond skank came in here, staking her claim on you.”
Fuck.
“What the fuck?” I roar. I honestly don’t know why this makes a difference to me, but the thought of her being that upset over me has me feeling wanted. I know I’m a shitty person.
“Dude, calm your tits. Go see her.” He throws a dish towel at me and smirks. “I’ll close.”
I shake my head. “Nah, man. There’s no way she’d want to see me now. I ignored her for the last couple weeks and she finally gave up on trying to get me to talk to her.”
He shakes his head in annoyance. “Man, seriously. Listen to me. This same shit happened between me and Amanda. If I hadn’t pulled my head out of my ass, I would have lost her for good.
I fly out of the parking lot, having no fucking clue what I’m going to say to her. I don’t even know if she’ll listen to me anyway.
It still bothers me that she’s married, but I have to believe that there’s more going on than I realize. This all could have been avoided, if she had just been honest with me in the first place.
I hope to God I didn’t just fuck all this up because I wasn’t willing to hear her out. This visit could go one of two ways. Either she’ll forgive me for being a douche or she’ll slam the door in my face, making it clear she never wants to see me again.
“What the hell do you want?” Sierra hisses at me when she opens the door. “You’ve ruined her and if you think I’m going to let you in this damn house, you’re greatly mistaken.”
“Sier, who is it?” I hear her beautiful, intoxicating voice for the first time in weeks.
“Nobody.” Sierra tries shutting me out with the door, but luckily for me, I’m twice her size and can block her.
When she comes into view, my whole world tilts on its axis. My heart stops as we stare at each other without saying a word. She’s expressionless, so I have no idea what’s running through that gorgeous head of hers.
“Hi,” I whisper, loud enough for her to hear me.
“Sier, I’m fine. Let him in.” Sierra hesitates, but then slowly walks away, leaving us alone.
“What are you doing here?” She has a mixture of hurt and anger in her tone and I hate that I’m the reason for it.
“I wanted to see you,” I tell her honestly.
“Why?” she asks as a tear trails down her face. I want nothing more than to swipe it away for her but refrain from walking toward her. Right now, she looks like a scared animal who will run if I make the slightest move.
“Do you think we could go somewhere to talk?”
“Uh, yeah, sure. I need to finish putting Brady to bed, but then we can go for a walk if you’d like.” I want to run outside like a damn fool, shouting to the world, because I feel like she just handed me the moon. I know I can’t get my hopes up, but after not seeing her for so long, this is a huge deal.
I walk back out to the front porch and sit on the swing. I listen to the birds chirping in the distance and the cars roaring up the busy road.
I lay my head back and sigh in relief. I really can’t believe that she agreed to talk to me.
The front door creaks open as Claire walks out in an Illinois State University tank top along with short as hell spandex shorts. My dick twitches on its own accord. Waking after being away from Claire for so long.
“Hey,” she says as she walks toward the swing and then surprisingly takes the seat next to me. We’re not touching, but the swing isn’t big so we’re close in proximity.
“Hey. How’s everything going?” I ask, acting like this isn’t uncomfortable as shit.
“Okay.” She nods. “Just keeping busy with Brady.” She smiles at the mention of his name, which has me smiling in return.
I’ve never met the little guy and she’s only spoken briefly about him, but I can tell that she’s a wonderful mother.
“So, uh.” I drag my hands through my hair.
“I need to explain,” she interrupts me. When I try to cut her off, she stops me. “No, Ryke. I need to say this to you, okay?” I nod and she goes on. “I’m really sorry for never telling you about Trevor. I left him a few months back after catching him cheating on me. It messed me up something bad. I had just gotten out of a psychiatric hospital right before I met you.” She puts her head down in embarrassment.
What? Oh, my fucking God. What have I done? I was a complete dick for not letting her explain this sooner.
“I know I had plenty of opportunities to tell you. I just never wanted him to taint my time with you. I’m planning to divorce him soon. It’ll just be more difficult since I’m here and he’s in Chicago.”
“Claire, why didn’t you tell me this? I would have done everything I could to help you.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers as she reaches across the swing to my hand. At her touch, my body is set on fire. I have missed this woman so damn much. “Ha-have you moved on?” This woman has no idea how hard she’d be to move on from.
“No way.” I smile at her.
“What about that blonde?” she asks with a quiet, pained tone.
Shit.
“Cynthia?” What the fuck did she say to her?
She shrugs. “I don’t know her name, but she told me that you were a good lay and that I needed to move on because you were over me.”
I slide closer to her and grab her face. “That night I got completely trashed and I thought being with her, or anyone, would make me feel better, but I swear to you I didn’t sleep with her. I didn’t even kiss her. I turned her down and she left me in the parking lot.”
I can see the relief in her eyes.
“Come on.” I stand from the swing and reach my hand out to her.
“Where are we going?”
“I’ll show you.”
I lead her off the porch and down the street to our favorite spot. I don’t want the park to be tainted by our last memory here. I’m ready to make a new one with this beautiful, brown-eyed woman.
Once we get to our bench, I guide her to sit and then squat between her legs.
“What are you doing?” she whispers with a smile on her face.
“Sweetheart, I am so sorry for not listening to you. I’ll admit that I was taken back, finding out that you were married, but I should have known that you’d never do anything to hurt me.”
She sniffs and now has tears rolling down her gorgeous face. No matter what, this woman is always breathtaking.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Shh.” I hold a finger up to her lips. “No more apologizing, alright?”
She nods. “Okay.”
“I know you’ve worried that we couldn’t make this work, but, baby, let me prove you wrong.”
She stands on the bench and in the next instant is in my arms, her legs wrapped around my waist. God, I’ve missed this woman.
“Is that a yes?” I muffle into her hair.
“Yes!” She giggles and it’s fucking music to my ears.
“Can I kiss you now, sweetheart?” I look down at her.
“I’d be upset if you didn’t.”
With that, I sit us both on the bench and she straddles my lap. I know she can feel what she’s doing to me through my pants. I hold her face in my hands, staring deep into her soul. My lips connect with hers and I’ve never felt so on top of the world in al
l my life.
My girl.
36
Claire
Ryke and I have been together for three glorious weeks now. I have to admit that when we first got together, I was a bit hesitant. Don’t get me wrong. Of course, I wanted to be with him, but I was worried because he hadn’t been in a relationship in a long time. I voiced my concerns to him and he reassured me that he was done living the playboy life. I totally trust him, but my insecurities seem to get the best of me at times. He’s been a complete gentleman, but I have to admit it’s making me fucking crazy. I mean, we’ve had plenty of make-out sessions, but nothing beyond that.
I open the door to his house.
“Hey, sweetheart. I’m in the kitchen,” Ryke hollers from the other side of the house. He informed me that tonight he’s cooking me dinner. It smells delicious in here and I have to admit that the fact he cooks has my lady bits going crazy. He probably shouldn’t have invited me here, near his bed, after doing something like this for me. Damn, I need to get laid.
“Whatcha makin’?” I wrap my arms around him from behind as he stirs a red sauce at the stove.
“Chicken parmesan. Is that alright?” He turns and kisses me on the cheek. I’ve never been affected by a man like this before. For God’s sake, I was married to one, am married to one, but he never made me feel like this.
I have yet to bring him around Brady. I guess I’m just hesitant to bring another man into his life, to take the risk of him leaving like Trevor did. Okay, so technically I left Trevor, but I worry Brady will get close to him, only for him to leave us.
“Sounds amazing,” I answer after realizing I had been in a trance, thinking of things I shouldn’t be while I’m with him. I’ll let myself off the hook for now.
“Hey, you okay?” Ryke asks as he plates our food. I realize that I haven’t said much in the last few minutes.
“Yeah.” I smile at him as I take my seat at his small table.
He has a candle burning in the middle, setting the mood perfectly. Ryker Allen isn’t the type to woo women, so I know that he really does feel something for me. At least, for now.
We enjoy our dinner and then I help him clean up when we’re finished.
I dry my hands on the dish towel and make my way to the gorgeous guy across the room.
“What are you doing?” he asks as I stand on my tip toes to kiss him. My hand making its way toward the zipper on his pants.
“Can’t a girl seduce her man?” I wiggle my eyebrows at him.
He halts my hand. “Claire, stop.”
I back up, hurt by his tone. I wasn’t expecting that from lover boy.
When he sees that he’s upset me, he tries to grab me, but I keep retreating from him. I make it to the front door and start to put my shoes on. I need to get away from him. I’ve embarrassed the hell out of myself and I really don’t care to be around this asshole right now.
“Where are you going?” he asks with confusion in his voice.
“Home.” I try to open the door, but he stops me.
“Why are you doing this? Can’t we talk before you just take off mad at me?” I guess I do at least owe him that, but I’m too pissed to reason with him right now.
“Come here.” He pulls me away from the door and into his arms.
“What?” I know I’m acting worse than my toddler right now, but he really hurt my feelings.
“Sweetheart, I want to take my time with you. We don’t have to rush into anything.”
That’s when I push away from him, pissed off even more now.
“Seriously?” I gasp “Before you were with me, you hopped in bed with anyone who had a fucking vagina. And now me, your girlfriend, you won’t even fucking entertain the idea with!” I’m fuming and worried there might actually be steam coming from my ears.
“Claire, you know those women meant nothing to me. Baby, come here.” He slowly walks toward me, hesitantly. “None of that is true.”
“Now you’re calling me a fucking liar? How long did you know any of those bimbos you picked up before me?” He doesn’t answer. “Exactly. You’ve known me for months but have yet to touch me.” I wipe at the tears that have started falling down my face. Pissed at myself for letting this upset me this much.
Refusing to let me object again, he grabs my face between his hands. Not harshly but letting me know that what he’s about to say is important for me to hear. I decide I can at least give him that.
“Sweetheart, you are right. In the past, I did sleep with anyone who was interested, but I don’t want that anymore. I want you now and you deserve more than to be treated like one of them.” He looks me in the eyes. “You mean too much to me to risk our relationship because I was stupid and rushed this. What we have,” he points his finger, waving it between the two of us. “Is special, and I’m not about to fuck it up.”
I lean into him, now feeling like a bitch, tears still falling.
“I’m sorry,” I sniff.
“Baby, you have nothing to apologize for. I promise you that one day soon I’m going to take you to bed and it’ll be the best fucking night of your life. But until then, I think we should keep getting to know each other better.”
I nod. “Okay. I don’t like it, but I’ll let you have this one.”
He leans down and kisses the top of my nose.
“Good. Now, since you have your shoes on already, let’s go somewhere.”
He grabs his keys off the entertainment center.
“Where we going?” I ask. Now feeling better but feeling like an idiot for a completely different reason. I should have known better than to assume that he didn’t want to sleep with me.
“The fair.” He sits on the couch to lace his shoes up.
“I’m sorry. Come again?” He has got to be kidding.
“You heard me, sweetheart.” He smirks. “We’re going to the damn fair.”
He stands and wraps his arms around me.
“Ryke, I’m twenty-six years old. I’ve never been to a fucking fair and I don’t plan on changing that.”
He gasps. “What? You’ve never been to a fair? Are you even American?” He holds his chest, feigning shock. Although, I think I really did just surprise the hell out of him.
“Yep, just never been before. My parents didn’t have time to take us to things like that. Although, I’m not sure they would have anyway.”
“You, my lady, have not lived until you’ve had a funnel cake and lemon shake-up from the fair.”
Well, then. I guess we’re going to the damn fair.
37
Claire
We arrive at the insanely crowded fairgrounds, smells of fried foods waft through the air. I have to confess it makes my damn stomach rumble. I won’t admit that to Ryke, though. I protested the entire drive here, not stopping until realizing I wasn’t going to win.
“What do you want to do first?” he asks as we walk through the entrance. Small children run aimlessly through the park. I know Brady would enjoy something like this once he’s a bit older.
“What do you suggest? I have no idea what you do at a fair.” I know I sound like an idiot and I’m beginning to realize how deprived I was as a child. Don’t get me wrong. We had more than enough entertainment growing up in Chicago, but this would have been considered very improper in my parents’ eyes. Looking back, it doesn’t make sense at all, but it is what it is.
Ryke tugs on my hand, leading me toward a food truck that reads “Frankie’s Funnel Cakes.”
“You have to try one of these fantastic things.” He pulls the fried food from the truck window, sprinkling an absurd amount of powdered sugar all over it.
“How do you eat this thing?” I ask, eyeballing the plate in front of us as we sit at a picnic table, side-by-side. “I need a fork.”
“Nope, they don’t have forks.” He begins pulling the funnel cake apart, acting like a damn kid, as he shovels it into his mouth. His face covered in white.
“You’re a slob!” I laugh at him
, loving how carefree he is. I’ve been kind of uptight tonight and he deserves for me to have some fun with him.
He flicks powdered sugar at my nose. “Ryker Allen!” I shout. I grab a small piece of the cake and have to admit that it tastes heavenly. Damn, how have I never tried one of these before?
“Good, huh?” He continues devouring the food and now I’m worried he’s going to eat it all before I can have another bite.
I take the plate from him, sliding it in front of me. “The rest is mine.” I wink at him as I take bite after bite. This may just be my new favorite food.
He doesn’t even try stealing it back but throws his head back in laughter. The funnel cake is almost forgotten over the fact that my panties are now damp from arousal.
We finish eating and then Ryke walks me toward the Ferris wheel.
I’ve never really been a fan of rides like this, but I don’t have the heart to argue with him about anything else tonight. He’s obviously put a lot of thought into our date.
After getting our tickets, we find an empty cart and slide into one corner together. He wraps his arm around me and we both look around the park. I, of course, don’t see anyone I know, but he recognizes a few from the bar.
Soon, we’re starting to go up into the air and I scoot closer to him, yearning for his nearness.
He stares down at me as if I hold the entire world in my hands. He grabs my hand and, the next thing I know, I’m caressing him through his pants. I’m a little confused after he stopped me from doing this very thing earlier but decide not to ruin the moment by questioning him.
“Oh, God, sweetheart. Don’t stop.” We’re far enough away from the next cart that nobody can see what’s going on between us. I know it’s frowned on, but I lift from the seat and straddle him. He grabs my face and instantly devours my mouth as if his life depends on it.
I start moving up and down on his jean-covered shaft, wanting, no, needing the friction between us.
“Ryke, you’re making me so fucking horny. You have got to stop teasing me,” I mumble into his shoulder.
Revived (Unexpected Series Book 1) Page 15