Seaside Dreams (Love in Bloom: Seaside Summers, Book One)

by Melissa Foster

  “Eyes open, baby. No secrets, no lies, no hidden agendas.”

  She opened her eyes, and his hungry gaze brought the truth to her lips.

  “Skinny-dipping.” Oh God, he was going to run out the door if she kept spewing her rule-breaking ways.

  His mouth quirked up again. “You are a naughty girl.” His thumbs brushed the sides of her breasts.

  “Tell me.” She kissed his chest again and forced herself to continue. “Your bad stuff.”

  He sealed his mouth over the curve of her neck, pulling a moan from her lungs. His lips grazed hers as he answered.

  “I’ve been a single dad for a very long time.”

  He cupped her breasts, and she sucked in a breath at the gratifying touch.

  “And I’m a cop,” he whispered. “No bad stuff.”

  He lowered her other shirt strap and kissed his way across her shoulder. A light breeze blew through the kitchen, and Bella realized the only thing between them and the outside world was the screen door. He took her in another knee-quaking kiss and slid one hand to her ass.

  “Only fantasies,” he whispered against her lips.

  The thought made her damp.

  He slid his eyes from hers to the door. “Of all the things I haven’t had a chance to do.” He kissed each corner of her mouth, then pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “Like make love to a woman outside.”

  Bella’s knees weakened. Outside. “Like, on the beach?” She was beginning to realize that her rule-breaking ways were pretty tame. She’d never had full-on intercourse outside, and the idea of making love to Caden outside revved her up even more.

  “Too open.” He kissed her again. “Indecent exposure.”

  “The woods?” she offered.

  He touched his forehead to hers again. “Bella.”

  “The pool?” she asked softly.

  He met her gaze. “You are going to get me in trouble.”

  She laved his nipple, feeling it tighten with every stroke of her tongue.

  “Holy Christ.” He tangled his hands in her hair and took her in another deep kiss.

  She wanted to be closer, to feel the weight of him on top of her. To feel him buried deep inside her.

  He drew back, his eyes jumping over hers. “Bella, if there’s more, tell me quick.”

  “I. Can’t. Think.”

  She pulled him down for another kiss, and they stumbled into the bedroom. Caden kicked the door shut and kissed her so deeply that she felt as if she were floating on a cloud. He tasted deliciously sweet, and hot, fervently plunging his tongue into her mouth, tearing his lips from hers only long enough for her shirt to slip off; then they were mouth to mouth again. She fumbled with the buckle on his tool belt and heard Tony’s laugh filter through the open window.

  Bella froze.

  “Window,” she whispered.

  He moved quickly toward the window. Bella dashed out the bedroom door with her arms crossed over her chest. She closed the window over the kitchen sink and pushed the cottage door shut. Bella took a second to get ahold of herself before she lost all control and climbed Caden like a tree. She pressed her hands flat on the door and leaned her forehead against it, breathing deeply.

  She sensed Caden behind her before she felt him unhook her bra. His hands circled her from behind. Heat radiated from his bare chest. He rocked against her, brushed her hair from her shoulder, and lowered his mouth to the back of her neck. She shed her bra and reached behind her, clutching his hips as he gyrated against her. His hands slid up her ribs, stopping short of her breasts again. She couldn’t take it. She needed him to touch her again, to take her breasts in his hands and—Oh Lord. Oh yes. He slipped one hand down the front of her shorts, cupping her sex and teasing her with his fingers. Her body heated with desire as he sucked and kissed, nipped and licked her neck, taking her right up to the edge. She rose onto her toes, urging him deeper.

  “You like that,” he whispered against her neck.

  She moaned, arching against his probing fingers. In the next breath, his hands gripped her shorts and pulled them off. He turned her roughly in his arms and pressed his body to hers, her back against the wooden door. He pressed barely there kisses to her cheeks, her chin, her neck, everywhere except her lips, making his way slowly down her neck, then back up to her face again. Every feathery tease heightened her anticipation.

  “Caden, please.” She was ready to crawl out of her skin and into his.

  He placed one hand on each side of her head and pressed his thighs to hers. She leaned forward to kiss his luscious lips and he pulled away.

  “No rushing.”

  He traced the edge of her lips with his tongue. Each time she moved forward, wanting to taste him, to feel his mouth consume her, he drew away. He trapped her lower lip between his teeth, then sucked it into his mouth and soothed it with his tongue, taking Bella up on her toes again. She caressed him through his shorts as he drove her out of her mind. He kissed along the edge of her jaw, and she closed her eyes, giving in to the torturously slow progression he was lavishing on her, feeling as though she might come apart from sheer anticipation.

  “You taste so sweet,” he whispered against her cheek.

  He ran his hands up her outer thighs, lingering at her hips, then caressed her inner thighs. She rocked her hips, silently pleading for more as he finally, blissfully, lowered his mouth to hers and took her in a long, soulful kiss. She fumbled with the button on his shorts. He made quick work of shedding his boots and shorts. He reached for his wallet, pulled out a condom, and tore it open with his teeth.

  “I’m on the pill.” She saw hesitation in his eyes. “I’m clean, Caden. I got tested in the spring. I’ve been on an all about me path, and the first step was making sure I was clean.”

  He leaned his forehead to hers. “It’s not that. Caty was on the pill, too.”

  Hearing her name stung in this intimate moment. But he’d asked for honesty, and she wanted to give—and receive—nothing less. She caressed his cheek, and when she went to kiss his lips, this time he didn’t pull back.

  “Okay,” she whispered, and she helped him roll on the latex sheath.

  THE LOOK OF understanding in Bella’s eyes nearly overwhelmed him. He couldn’t wait a second longer to be inside her. He lowered himself to a chair and guided her hips as she straddled him. They both sucked in a breath as she took in every inch of his thick desire until he was buried deep. She was so beautiful, loving him in sync with his own efforts. He tangled his hand in her hair and brought her lips to his for another passionate kiss. Caden loved kissing Bella. Her mouth was soft and eager, and every stroke of her tongue was sensuous and filled with more than just the carnal lust that drove them together, which is why he took his time, savoring every second of each magnificent kiss.

  Bella gripped the back of the chair as he thrust faster and harder. He moved her hands to his shoulders.

  “I want to feel you.” Caden’s eyes were dark and serious. “All of you. Your strength, your need, your body trembling against me.”

  Heat flared in her eyes. He took her breast in his mouth, sucking her nipple and then grazing it with his teeth while stroking between her legs with his other hand as she took him in deeper. Her grip tightened on his shoulders. Her fingernails cut into his skin as her eyes closed and her lips parted.

  “Come for me, baby,” he urged.

  He’d been in a hurry to get inside her when he sank to the chair, and now he had to have more of her. He grabbed her hips, thrusting harder, faster, and taking her up, up, up. Her inner muscles pulsed around him, tightening over and over again in quick succession.

  “Caden,” she cried out.

  Her hips bucked, and he cupped the back of her head and locked lips with her again, devouring her mouth as she came apart. His body ached for more of her; even buried to the hilt wasn’t enough. He wanted to fuck her, make love to her, cherish her, and take care of her all at once—and he recognized the significance of those feelings. Every fiber o
f my being loves you.

  He rose to his feet, their bodies still joined as one, and carried her into the bedroom. She rested her cheek on his shoulder with a contented sigh, and when he lowered her to the bed, she reached for him again. He took her in another ceaseless, impassioned kiss that he hoped told her how much she meant to him. He stroked the roof of her mouth, the ridges of her teeth, the parts of her that were usually overlooked. He wanted Bella to feel safe enough with him to expose, and to embrace, all the parts of herself that she tucked away from the rest of the world.

  Her lips curved up, and her eyes were so full of desire that there was no room for misinterpretation. They were totally together in this. He pushed into her again, and she felt too damn good to take it slow. He gripped her hips and drove into her over and over again. She wrapped her legs around his waist, lifting her hips to meet each thrust, and when she sealed her mouth over his neck and sucked, she sent a bolt of heat so deep inside him that he couldn’t hold back any longer. She clung to him, thrusting her hips and clawing at his back as she followed him over the edge in her own exquisite release.

  They lay together for a long while afterward before Caden was willing to drag himself away from Bella long enough to take care of the condom. When he returned, Bella was lying on her side, facing the opposite direction. He climbed onto the bed and wrapped his body around her.

  “It seems unfair that we have to spend tonight apart,” he admitted.

  “I was just thinking the same thing.”

  “I haven’t spent the night with a woman since college.”

  She turned toward him and caressed his cheek. “Do you miss it?”

  “Honestly? I haven’t really thought about it until now. It’s different when you have a child depending on you. I wanted to be home with Evan. There wasn’t a woman in the world who could make me want to spend a night apart from him.” He kissed her softly. “Until you.”

  “Caden.” She snuggled against him.

  “I promised honesty, and the truth is, I don’t want to be away from Evan, especially since he’s been giving me more flack lately, and he seems withdrawn.”

  “That’s not good. Do you think he’s just going through a hard time, or are you worried that there’s something else going on?”

  “I don’t know. I feel like he’s challenging me.”

  “I call it the I-don’t-need-parents stage. You remember what it was like to feel old enough to not need to be checked on, don’t you? When your parents graduated from being the people who knew everything to the dumbest people on earth? It comes a few years before the oh-yeah-you-weren’t-so-dumb-after-all stage, which usually hits around twenty or so.”

  “I hope you’re right.” He kissed her lips. “All I know is, I also don’t want to be away from you.”

  “I thought you were just being sweet, but you’re serious.”

  “Dead serious.” He held her gaze.

  She kissed the dimple in his chin. “Spending the night together isn’t an option. We both know that.”

  He pulled her on top of him. “Okay, Little Miss Rational. Isn’t the woman supposed to be the one craving cuddle time?”

  “Oh, I do crave cuddle time with you.” She ran her finger down the center of his chest, and it made him want her all over again. “But I’d never try to come between you and Evan, or try to coerce you into spending time away from him. I love and respect the type of father you are.”

  She nibbled on her lower lip and her eyes filled with mischief again. “So…You want to make love to a woman outside?”

  He rolled over with her in his arms so she was beneath him again.

  “No. I want to make love to you outside, but I won’t.”

  She raised her brows. “Oh, yes you will.”

  He laughed. “I’m a cop. I think that would be the totally wrong thing for me to do.”

  “Then we’ll be careful and find a place no one can possibly catch us.”

  “You, Bella Abbascia, are a very bad influence.” He kissed her again. “By the way, I didn’t see any rule breaking in the bedroom. All talk no action?”

  “A girl can’t pull out all the stops in one night.”

  “That’s what I was counting on.”

  Chapter Eleven

  ALL BELLA HAD ever needed at the Cape was a few sundresses, flip-flops, towels, and bathing suits. Food and drinks were bought on the fly, and days began when her body decided it was time to wake up and ended when she and her friends were too tired to stay awake any longer. She’d spent so many summers turning off the part of her brain that required watches and calendars that it was a huge adjustment for her to get used to paying attention to the day of the week, or the exact time. In her mind, the Cape meant seven or eight weeks of immersing herself in her friends, stockpiling memories to carry her through until spring, when they would return for a long weekend of catching up.

  She knew today was Friday because of her appointments, but also, and weighing on her mind more heavily at the moment, it was Caden’s last night shift, and he was excited to switch to day shifts so he could spend more time with her and Evan in the evenings. She sent him a quick text. Yay! It’s your last night shift! Walking into the clinic. Wish me luck! Xox.

  The cell phone was a welcome addition to her summer accessories. She and Caden had traded flirty texts over the last two days when he was working nights and she had been tied up in meetings with businesses and school administrators to discuss the new angle of the program. He’d called her each evening, and their conversations flowed naturally, like they’d been dating for years. He was interested in her project, and she loved hearing about Caden’s and Evan’s days. Evan had been more attitudinal lately, and she’d reassured Caden that was to be expected at his age and with all the changes he’d been through recently, but she knew from teaching teens that parents took the worst of teens’ attitudes and she felt for him.

  With her new pitch in mind, she assessed her crinkled cotton minidress in her car window, then entered the clinic with her head held high.

  I can do this.

  I will do this.

  Wellfleet was a tourist town that tripled in population over the summer. Winters in the small town were desolate in comparison, and because of that, doctors tended to practice in larger cities, like Hyannis, which was forty-five minutes away. It was only nine o’clock in the morning, and every chair in the waiting room was filled with coughing, sneezing, and puffy-eyed patients as well as two people with wrapped appendages. The clinic was a godsend for the tourists, handling everything from strep throat to broken bones.

  Bella waited in line behind three women, the first of whom was speaking to a stern-faced, middle-aged receptionist who held a clipboard in one hand while writing on a notepad, while also speaking to another employee, a skinny woman with tattoos snaking around her neck and shoulders. The skinny woman’s pitch-black hair was sculpted into spiky points that darted out from her head at various angles, complemented by eyebrow and nose piercings.

  The door opened, and a man carrying a screaming baby entered the lobby, followed by a heavy woman with a toddler attached to her hip.

  The tattooed woman shot a glance at the door, then called over her shoulder, “Bones. Front and center.”

  A tall, rangy guy wearing jeans and P-TOWN ROCKS T-shirt, who couldn’t have been more than twenty, looked up from behind a metal desk.

  “Got it.” Bones hustled to the counter and took the clipboard from the stern-faced woman. His thin lips curled into a smile that softened his bony features and further confirmed his youthful appearance.

  “Please fill out your name, insurance information, and—”

  “I don’t have insurance,” the patient whispered.

  Bones leaned closer, softening his gaze. “No worries. You can still receive medical care. We have a benefits specialist who will work with you. Just fill this out, and we’ll call you when it’s your turn.”

  “God bless you,” the woman said.

  When sh
e turned toward the waiting area, Bella noticed a red rash covering the right side of her face. Bella had been lucky enough not to need medical attention while at the Cape, but she was pleased to hear that the clinic didn’t turn patients away.

  Bones handled the next two people in line with the same effortless patience. A woman in scrubs peered into the office behind him.

  “Perry, Mary needs you,” the woman in scrubs said.

  The tattooed woman said something to the stern-faced woman that made her smile. She touched her shoulder as she passed on her way to tend to whoever Mary was.

  “Ma’am?” Bones thrust a clipboard toward her.

  “Oh, sorry.” Way to space out, Bella. “I’m not here as a patient. I’m Bella Abbascia, here to see Ms. Blankenship.”

  “Sorry about that. If you can find standing room in the waiting area, I’ll track her down.”

  “Perfect. Thank you.” Bella was impressed by the swift efficiency of the operation. While she waited, a woman in scrubs had come out three times to call patients into the back, and each time the woman’s eyes were compassionate. Though they were obviously overwhelmed with patients waiting to be seen, she didn’t appear to rush them through the door.

  The tattooed woman came through the door. “Bella Abbascia?”

  “Hi, I’m Bella.”

  “I’m Perry Blankenship. Sorry to keep you waiting. Come on back.”

  Bella followed her down a wide hallway lined with patient rooms. She’d first guessed Perry to be in her midtwenties, but as she took a closer look, she noticed fine lines around her eyes and mouth and eyes full of wisdom that came only from experience and probably put her closer to her mid to late thirties.

  “We’ll be in here.” She led Bella into an office barely big enough for the metal desk, file cabinet, and chairs inside. “Fridays are pretty crazy around here.”

  Bella sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk, and instead of sitting behind the desk, Perry sat in the chair beside Bella. She let out a breath before turning a warm smile to Bella.