Something Old (Brides of Cedar Bend Book 1)

by Lena Hart

  Eventually, sleep overcame her. When she woke next, it was to find Guy standing over her, his naked torso visible from the moonlight streaming through the window. Without a word, he slowly drew the sheets back.

  Mya sat up and held her breath in anticipation. He pulled her nightshirt over her head then flung it across the room. For a moment, he simply stood there staring down at her body before he peeled off his dark boxers. His swollen erection jutted from his body, and her own body began warming in anticipation of the pleasure awaiting her.

  She placed a hand on his shoulders then moved it down to his heated chest. He stiffened, his breath coming out heavy and fast. Before she could react, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply.

  Mya leaned into his embrace, deepening the kiss. She gave him everything she had, and he took everything, holding her tightly to him as he devoured her lips with his.

  Mya wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him over her. He followed her down, never breaking contact as he thrust his tongue between her lips. She tasted him, rubbing her tongue along his, and enjoying the feel of him pressed above her as her nipples pushed against his hard chest.

  She brought her legs up to cradle him and he settled between her thighs, his hard shaft pushing against her soft, sensitive core. He released a deep groan as he entered her, and she lifted her hips to take more of him. The deliberate thrust was like a delicious caress in the place she needed it most.

  Mya tore her lips from his and released a strong gasp. “Guy…”

  He trailed his lips down to her neck and sucked strongly at her sensitive skin. Mya shivered, her entire body igniting from the sensation. She laced her fingers through his hair held him there.

  “Please, Guy…I need you.”

  With a low growl, he thrust deeper into her and they both shuddered from the incredible sensation. Having him nestled so warmly inside her sent shockwaves coursing through her every limb. It had been so long, she almost sobbed from the intense pleasure. He dipped his head low and pulled her nipple into his warm mouth. She arched her back at the intense pleasure as he continued to suck strongly at the sensitive bud.

  She rolled her hip up to take more of him as he continued to slowly, gently push into her. She had only a second to savor that moment of tenderness before he began to drive into her with a force that rattled the headboard. It slammed against the wall behind them repeatedly and Mya held on to him tight.

  Their love-making had never been this…untamed. He pumped his hips frantically into her, as if he was trying to get as deep inside her as he possibly could. And she was just as wild, clutching his hips and guiding him deeper. With another stroke, he reached her most sensitive spot and she threw her head back and released a loud moan.

  The world around her shook as he continued to pump fiercely into her and she could only hold on to him as he took them into unbelievable heights. It wasn’t long before she gave in to her mounting desire and came crashing down with enough force to leave her world askew.

  In the aftermath of their intense release, she smoothed her palms over his damp shoulders, enjoying the feel of him in that small touch.

  “I love you, Guy.”

  He didn’t repeat the words, but she hadn’t expected him to. She was content to have him with her again.

  For the rest of the night, they made love again and again, until she couldn’t remember what it felt like to be without him.

  He was insatiable.

  Minutes passed with them locked in each other’s arms, and she wanted them to stay like that forever. But she sensed the shift in him, felt the withdrawal, and knew what was coming.

  He began to pull away from her, and Mya tightened her arms around his neck.

  “Please, Guy,” she whispered into his ear. “Don’t leave.”

  He tensed above her then fell back into her arms. He shifted until they lay on their sides and he gathered her in his arms. With a small sigh of contentment, Mya wrapped her arms around him again and held him tight…

  But it wasn’t until later that night, when the cool air of the drafty room woke her from a deep sleep, that she found herself alone in the wide bed. Fighting back her sobs, she curled into her side and tried to make sense of tonight.

  * * *

  It was the smell of coffee that woke her.

  Mya jumped out of bed and pulled on her discarded nightshirt from last night. She couldn’t let him leave this morning without talking to him about last night first.

  She found him sitting at the kitchen, finishing his coffee. He glanced up at her when she walked in, his expression blank and unreadable. He had his work uniform on but didn’t seem to be in any rush. Had he been waiting for her to get up?

  “Guy, we need to talk.”

  He got up from his seat and placed his mug in the sink. “I know.”

  A long silence fell between them and Mya blew out a frustrated breath.

  “So start talking. Tell me what’s wrong. Why are you avoiding me?”

  He turned to her, his gaze cold and direct. “I think it’s time we ended this. The papers are on the table. Just sign it and we can get this over with.”

  Mya turned to the table and saw the neatly stacked pile of legal documents. Her heart sank.

  He wants a divorce?

  She knew what they were and didn’t bother asking for confirmation. What she couldn’t understand was why. Things had been going so well—before this week from hell, anyway. Was that why he’d been avoiding her this week? Had he always planned to serve her these and just didn’t know how to approach her?

  But last night… She remembered their love-making, remembered how deep he had come into her, how he couldn’t seem to get enough of her. Her body quivered from the vivid memory.

  Mya turned back to him, but she concentrated her gaze on his chest. “I don’t understand… Last night…you…we… I thought things were going to be different. Maybe get better again.”

  “Why? Because we had sex?”

  Her gaze flew up to his and her back stiffened at the crudeness of his tone. “Was that all it was for you? Sex?”

  He frowned. “What were you expecting, Mya? I was horny and you were avail—”

  “Shut up.”

  The vehemence in her voice surprised even her. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides and fought to control the nausea that churned in her stomach. He was trying to make nothing out of last night with his cruel words, but she was certain he hadn’t been immune to the intensity of their union.

  “I get that you might still be pissed with me, but don’t reduce what we shared last night to just meaningless sex. It was more than that, and we both know it.”

  He cursed and rubbed his hand through his hair. She recognized the uncertain gesture and her anger slowly dissipated.

  “You talk about being honest, so be honest with yourself, Mya. You don’t really want to be married.”

  “Maybe that was true two years ago,” she admitted, shifting uncomfortably, “but that’s not the case now.”

  “Then what about Cambridge? You didn’t tell me about that.”

  She stared at him, stunned. “How’d you know?”

  “Does it matter? I know you got accepted and that you plan on leaving.” He scoffed. “So much for being honest with each other.”

  She shut her eyes briefly. “It’s not like that. I never planned to go. I just...I haven’t found the right time to tell my mom that I’m not moving back.”

  He fell silent for a moment. “Or do you mean you couldn’t find the right words to tell me you were leaving again?”

  “You know that’s not true. I love you, Guy, and I know you still love me.” For a moment, the hardness left his expression. The hurt vulnerability in his green eyes tugged at her heart. With hesitant steps, she took the few short steps toward him and gingerly placed her palm on his chest. “Stop fighting it. Stop fighting me. Give us a chance. We owe each other that.”

  In an instant, he went rigid. “We don’t
owe each other anything, Mya. Don’t mistake a great night of screwing for anything more. We both had needs and we did something about it. We may be great together in bed, but that’s it. There’s nothing else besides that for us.”

  Mya shook her head, denying his hurtful words. “You don’t mean that.”

  Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. “I don’t?”

  Before she could react, he grabbed her by the waist, lifted her high and dropped her down on the counter. He ripped open his slacks and pushed up her nightshirt. Mya stared in shocked amazement at the swiftness of his movements.

  Without much preparation, he moved between her legs and drove into her with unbelievable strength. Mya cried out by the jolting entry, clinging to him as he pounded into her. Last night proved just how much she loved the way he lost control and gave all of himself to her. But this felt different. It was as if he wasn’t truly with her.

  Wanting to find their connection again, Mya tried to kiss him, but his face remained buried in the crook of her neck. Suddenly, he went rigid. Once he found his release, he pulled away from her and began adjusting himself.

  Her body quivered as she slid down the counter, unsure of how she felt in that moment. Used was a pretty apt word. She leaned against the counter, waiting for her legs to stop their trembling while she tried to make sense of what just happened.

  “Why did you do that?”

  He shrugged. “See how I can fuck and forget you, too?”

  Mya went cold. Those weren’t just hurtful words of a heartbroken man. He wanted to take away any shred of dignity she had, any last ounce of self-respect.

  He wanted to break her.

  “You bastard.” Without thinking, she struck him in the jaw with all she had. His head whipped around, but he remained eerily still. “I’m not your sex toy or some thing you can treat this way! I’m your wife, damn it, and—”

  Suddenly, he erupted and her words were cut off in an instant. He grabbed her by the waist and shoved her against the counter, his hands still around her waist.

  “You’ve never been my wife!” His face was twisted in a rage, and only inches from her. “You lost the right to call yourself that the moment you walked out on me. On us.” His eyes were like lasers as they searched hers. She didn’t know what he saw in them, or what he was looking for, but suddenly he released her as if she were made of spikes “But then there had never been an us, had there? You’re too damn self-centered.”

  Her gaze moved over his, searchingly stared at him. “Why are you trying to hurt me?”

  “Because you broke my fucking heart.”

  Tears suddenly welled in her eyes and she couldn’t stop them as they began to course down her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to.”

  He let out a harsh sound and before she knew it, he had her in his arms.

  “Damn it, stop crying,” he said gruffly, his hand gently rubbing the back of her neck. “As much as I wanted you, I should have known we didn’t stand a chance. We didn’t then and we don’t now.”

  Mya released a shuddering breath. “Guy, please don’t say that. I love—”

  He pulled away from her. “Stop. I can’t keep doing this with you, so just stop.”

  She took a step toward him, refusing to believe he was ready for them to end. But again, he pulled away from her.

  “You walked out on me before, Mya. Can you possibly understand what that did to me? You made me feel unwanted, and I never thought I would feel that with you. And I’m not going to let you do that to me again.”

  Tears once again blurred her vision. His pain was hers and she realized that there was nothing she could do or say to ease it for him. That was probably the most painful part of it all.

  Without another word, he turned to leave but paused. For a moment, she held out hope that he would come back to her.

  “I think it’s time you found someplace else to stay.”

  With those final words, he slammed out of the house.

  Thirteen

  A heavy pit settled in his stomach as Guy returned to an empty house.

  There was no Jeep Wrangler in his driveway and he didn’t need to go far to know she was gone. The house was eerily silent, and the energy that had once been tangible in the simple space was gone. Guy went into the kitchen where they’d had their fight that morning.

  He leaned against the counter, thinking of how fast he’d taken her. He didn’t know what had come over him. He’d let his anger and need drive his actions—the same burning, incessant hunger he felt for her all these years. No matter how many times he took her, he would never get enough of her.

  He also remembered the harsh words he’d said to her and the crushed looked she’d given him…

  The memory of her haunted expression ate at him. Hurting her with his callous words hadn’t made him feel vindicated, and telling her to leave his home only left him feeling as empty and hollow as his home.

  Guy couldn’t make sense of what he was feeling. He thought getting Mya out of his life for good would stop the constant ache he felt for her. But it didn’t.

  He still wanted her—still ached for her.

  “Damn it.”

  He ran his hand over his face. By now, he’d half expected his mother to call him, demanding to know why he had sent Mya away. He figured Mya would have gotten settled into his mother’s house by now. He found it odd that she hadn’t called him, incensed on Mya’s behalf.

  Guy cursed again. No matter how he felt about Mya right now, he couldn’t rest tonight not knowing where she was. With another curse, he pulled out his cell and called his mother.

  “Well, this is a nice surprise,” his mother said crisply. “You calling me for a change?”

  Guy ignored her sarcasm. “Ma, did Mya get to your place yet?”

  There was a short pause. “No. Was she supposed to come by tonight?”

  “No… I—we had a fight and I thought she would head over to your place.”

  The pause was longer this time. “What makes you think she would come to me?”

  Guy scoffed. “She always goes to you. When she’s done running from her problems, anyway.”

  “Why would she be running? What did you do to her this time?”

  What I should have done from the beginning, he thought harshly. Guy glanced at the table and saw the divorce papers still neatly stacked there. He went to the table and picked up the sheaf of papers. He flipped through to the back, and in bold black ink was her signature.

  He stared at it for a while, not quite understanding that hollowness that seemed to grow and expand in him. He’d wanted this divorce, so why did hurt so damn bad?

  Guy bit back a curse, slamming the papers on the table.

  “Guy Gregory Lawson, answer me.”

  He blew out a heavy breath. “I told her to leave, Ma.”

  Even to his ears, the words made him sound like the biggest bastard. But her leaving was for the best. He couldn’t keep his hands off her, and building false illusions around them being a real couple wasn’t helping either one of them. The harsh reality was that they would never be like they once were.

  Yet another part of him missed her already. He missed her presence and just having her near, under his roof.

  “You jackass.” His mother’s harsh insult jarred him back to their conversation. “I can’t believe you kicked her out. When you knew she had no place else to go.”

  “She has you.”

  “And you really think she’s going to feel comfortable coming to me after you humiliated her like this? Are you really that dense about women? About her?”

  Guy rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the sting of his mother’s words. In retrospect, he probably should have given her some time to find a place. But he always assumed she would go to his mother. They were close, and he couldn’t think of anyone else around town she would feel comfortable reaching out to.

  “Did she say anything to you today at the shop? Where she was going?”

  “She didn�
�t come in. She said she wasn’t feeling well. No thanks to you, I’m sure.”

  Guy ground his teeth. “Would you just let me know when she gets to your place?”

  “You better hope she does. And when she gets here, you better have your apology waiting, you big…jackass!”

  Guy’s head jerked from the abrupt disconnection. He stared at the phone. He hoped his mother would get past her anger long enough to call him as soon as Mya got to her place.

  But when three hours passed and no word came from his mother, Guy began to really worry. His mother could be punishing him by keeping him waiting, but something in his gut told him that wasn’t the case. Quelling his rising anxiety, Guy dialed his mother again.

  “Ma, just tell me she’s with you,” Guy said abruptly, not in the mood for another of her snide comments.

  Something in his voice must have alerted her of his anxiety, because traces of her earlier anger were gone. In its place was a quiet concern.

  “She’s not here, Guy. I’ve been waiting at home all evening. Where do you think she could have gone? It’s getting late.”

  “Do you think she went to the shop?”

  “No, she wouldn’t be there. There’s no place for her to sleep there.”

  “Then she must have gone to a motel.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  His mother was right. In their town, the closest motel to Cedar Bend was an hour’s drive away. There were a few bed & breakfasts that catered to the occasional tourist or visitor and he highly doubted she would go asking for a room. Guy cursed.

  “Listen, I’ll give her a call,” his mother offered. “Find out where she is and then I’ll call you back.”

  Guy preferred to call her himself and demand to know where she was, but he knew she would most likely disregard his call. But when his mother called to tell him that Mya’s phone had taken her straight to voicemail, he wasted no more time. He jumped into his truck and drove through town. There weren’t many places for her to hide. And she had only ever known three homes—his, his mother’s, and…