Bayside Desires (Bayside Summers Book 1)

by Melissa Foster

“Shirt off. Please,” she begged.

  His shirt fell in a heap at his feet as she worked feverishly to unbutton his shorts with shaky hands. He helped her there, too, his pants and briefs dropping effortlessly to the floor. His glorious erection bobbed between them, and he laced their hands together again, rubbing himself against her panties as he took her in another mind-blowing kiss. She could feel his balls rubbing against her wetness, feel her juices on them as they brushed her thighs.

  “Rick,” she pleaded. “Let me taste you, or touch me, please.”

  He drew back with a dark look in his eyes. “There’s an idea.”

  He guided her hand between her legs, and she sucked in a sharp breath.

  “I…I meant, let me touch you.”

  “You will, baby. But first, how about a little playtime?”

  She held her breath with this new, naughty adventure. He guided her fingers over her swollen sex, slowing and applying pressure in all the right places, then sliding lower and dipping inside her body. She was strung as tight as a top as he moved their fingers in and out of her body in a dizzying rhythm, watching her every second. His cock jumped with each stroke. And when he released her fingers and said, “Don’t stop,” she didn’t dare.

  “My girl,” he whispered, and slicked his tongue along her lower lip, making her pant with anticipation.

  Finally, blissfully, he crashed his mouth over hers, matching the quick rhythm of her fingers with his tongue. She was aware of every point their bodies touched, his chest hair tickling her breasts, his cock poking against her belly, his hands clutching her hips.

  “Come for me.”

  The demand in his voice nearly did her in, and she closed her eyes, moving her fingers quicker.

  “I love you, Rick,” she panted out.

  “I love you, too, sweet girl.”

  Her eyes fluttered open, and he pressed his fingers to hers again, moving them faster. She went up on her toes, and he moved his hand, wiping her juices on her nipple. She couldn’t suppress a needy moan as he latched on to her breast with his mouth and sucked so hard everything inside her pulled tight, rising up, up, up, and finally exploding. She cried out, her sex tightened around her fingers, and her hand stilled. But he took control, forcing her fingers to move and taking her higher and higher still.

  “Ohgod. Rick.”

  She didn’t recognize her trembling voice as he sent her soaring again. Her head slammed back, and Rick dropped to his knees, claiming her with his talented mouth, taking her to heights she didn’t know were possible as one intense orgasm after another rocked her world. She collapsed against him.

  He lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom, where he laid her on the bed. He stripped off her panties with such care, she felt cherished. He settled over her, and she ran her hands along his lower back, down his powerful hips, wanting to memorize the very feel of him as he gazed lovingly into her eyes. How could she have decided to stay so far away from where he would be? She already missed him, and he hadn’t even left yet.

  “Now that we’ve got that out of our system.” His lips tipped up in that devastating smile that had first made her heart skip a beat, and kissed her so tenderly, she dissolved into him. “I’m going to love you slow and steady, so you feel me inside you tomorrow, and the next day, and the next…”

  Chapter Nineteen

  THE MORNING MOVED too quickly, and Rick had a feeling that every minute after he left Desiree, time would suddenly crawl by. As he finished packing, he couldn’t shake the heaviness in his heart. He’d fought the idea of returning to the Cape for so long, and now he couldn’t stand the idea of leaving. Desiree moved through his cottage like she belonged there. Not only did she belong, but she’d become as much a part of him as the blood in his veins.

  She marveled at Hagen’s drawings, which were stuck to the refrigerator with magnets, and moved around the living room asking a dozen questions about his family photos. She wanted to know what he’d been thinking when he’d held Hagen as a newborn and what they were celebrating when the picture of him and his mother had been taken, the one where she had her head on his shoulder. Did he remember that very moment? She was so inquisitive, wanting to soak in every part of his life he was willing to share. That was just one of the things that made her so special. She saw into him, wanted to know what made him who he was, and he knew she genuinely cared about the answers.

  He zipped up his suitcase, unable to take his eyes off her as she stood at the mantel gazing at another photograph. She wore one of his T-shirts, tied at the hip, and those sexy shorts from last night. Her feet were bare, and her hair was still damp from their shower. He’d loved her in bed, loved her beneath the warm spray of the shower, and he wanted to love her to the ends of the earth. He crossed the room and turned her in his arms.

  “You okay, sweet girl?”

  “As okay as can be expected. Violet and I will be so busy getting the inn ready now that we have a plan, I’m sure my days will be packed. Nights, though…” Her lips curved up in a sweet smile. “You and I have to burn up the FaceTime hours.”

  “Every single night,” he promised. “And as many mornings as you can spare. You know I need to see you before I start my day. And in two weeks you’ll be in my arms again, and we’ll make up for every second we were apart.” He’d already made the flight reservations to return for a long weekend.

  “Perfect. Do you realize this is the first time all summer that I’ve been in your cottage?”

  “Mine or yours makes no difference in my mind.”

  “I know, but there’s so much love in this cottage. I swear I can feel your family everywhere.” She picked up a picture of him and his father on the sailboat. “You have his smile, Rick. He looks just like you described. Full of energy. When I look at this picture, I can hear you two laughing.”

  When he looked at the picture in her hands, he wondered if their kids would look like his father.

  “Why didn’t we stay here at all?” she asked, drawing him from his thoughts of the future.

  “I thought you’d want to be with Violet and Cosmos.”

  “I did, but…” She motioned toward the photographs and the drawings Hagen had made. “I hadn’t realized how big a part of you was here. When you come back, I’d really like to stay here in your world.”

  Could his heart get any fuller? “We’ll stay wherever you want. And if you want to take a few of the pictures to your place, you can.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Really? You wouldn’t mind? I’ll be careful with them.”

  “Baby, my things are your things. Take whatever you want.”

  Mischief rose in her eyes. “Careful. I might rummage through your clothes, looking for something to sleep in that smells like you.”

  He kissed her, laughing. “Your cuteness gets me every time. Take my whole damn closet, baby.”

  A knock sounded at the door seconds before it pushed open, and Drake and Serena walked in.

  “I told you they’d be dressed,” Serena said. “Hey, girl.” She went straight to Desiree and hugged her. “Are you okay?”

  “What am I? Chopped liver?” Rick teased. He was glad they’d become so close. Mira, Matt, and Hagen had come to say goodbye earlier.

  “You’re the one who’s leaving,” Serena pointed out.

  “She’s got a point.” Drake pulled him to the side of the room while the girls talked. “All kidding aside, it meant the world to me that we went in on this business venture together. I know we’ve put your partners out all this time, and I feel bad about that. But honestly, it was worth it. I’ve missed you, and I finally feel like I have my brother back.”

  “Me too, man.” Rick embraced him. “You’ll keep an eye on the girls for me? They’ve been through a lot with their mother, and although Violet comes across as a spitfire, you and I both know everyone needs looking after.”

  “Already in my plans.”

  AN HOUR AND a half later Rick drew Desiree into his arms in the small Prov
incetown airport. The events of the last few weeks played in her mind like a movie, capturing all his smiles, from the heated to the boisterous, and the way his eyes turned from amused to smoldering in the space of a second. She tucked all those and a million more wonderful memories away to draw upon later, forcing the sadness down deep. She wasn’t going to make this any harder than it had to be, even if every ounce of her wanted to climb him like a tree and cling like a monkey, refusing to let him leave.

  But when he gazed into her eyes, her resolve snapped. “Maybe I shouldn’t stay and run the inn. I love you, Rick. I don’t want to be apart. I can go back to Virginia, and we can be together next weekend.”

  He brushed his thumb over her cheek. “I’m so damn proud of you for making the decision to stay. You’re my strong-willed, independent girl, and I love you for doing the right thing. This is where you belong, sweetheart. We’ll see each other often. I’ll make sure of it.”

  They called his plane, and he held her tighter, letting all the other passengers make their way through the security gate before him. He put a sliver of space between them and touched his forehead to hers.

  “When I come back, everyone better be ten pounds lighter.”

  She laughed, even as sadness gripped her, and she snuggled against him, taking advantage of every second they were together. When they announced the boarding of his plane, he held her chin between his finger and thumb and touched his lips to hers.

  “Until then, sweetheart.” He kissed her softly and held her hand as he stepped away. His fingers trailed to the very tips of hers, and then he blew her a kiss and mouthed, Love you, baby.

  He blew her another kiss from the airstrip as he walked to the plane, and she’d never been so glad for a small airport in all her life. She watched his plane take off, and with a heavy heart, she pushed through the airport doors and stopped cold at the sight of her sister standing before her, holding out a handful of tissues.

  “You’re gonna need them.” Violet thrust them toward her.

  Sobs burst from Desiree’s lungs as she threw her arms around Violet.

  “Seriously?” Violet sighed.

  Her hand came to rest on Desiree’s lower back, and that simple sort of hug drew more tears. “Why are you here?” she sobbed.

  “You can let go now.”

  She held her tighter. “Vi?”

  “What?”

  “Tell me you love me.”

  “Jesus, you’re needy.”

  “I’m not letting go until you do.”

  Violet sighed again. “Fine. I love your sorry ass. Now let’s go into P-town and see what kind of fuckery we can get into.”

  Chapter Twenty

  RICK RAN AT a fast clip down the city sidewalk at just after five o’clock the next morning, the muscles in his neck and back knotted up tight. He’d paced the hardwood floors of his Georgetown home for hours, too restless to sleep. He’d thought the longing inside him would let up after he’d arrived back in DC, but the stop-and-go cab ride had grated on his nerves, and his echoing footsteps in the home he’d once considered the find of the century had amplified that emptiness. He’d texted with Desiree several times yesterday, and was glad Violet had kept her busy. He’d thought knowing she was okay would help, but when they’d FaceTimed before she went to sleep, seeing her beautiful face and not being able to hold her had torn him apart.

  Now, as he kept pace alongside a steady flow of traffic on the city streets, surrounded by brick and concrete in all directions, he not only missed waking up with Desiree in his arms, but also waking with the pool-hopping pup licking his face, running with Drake and Dean, and eating breakfast with friends and family.

  He ran an extra two miles to kill some time before heading into the office. They’d scheduled a meeting to discuss the future of their business, and Rick planned to arrive early to go over the contract for the deal he hoped to close this week.

  Back home, he checked his phone first thing, happy to see a message from Desiree. He opened it and smiled as a video of her and Cosmos came to life. Her green eyes smiled back at him as Cosmos kissed her whole face. “We miss you,” she said in a singsong voice. “Less than two weeks, now. Good luck with your business stuff. Love you to pieces!” She blew him a kiss and held up Cosmos’s paw, making him wave, too.

  He called her back, but the call went to voicemail. He wasn’t big on videos, but there was nothing he wouldn’t do for Desiree. He ran a hand through his sweaty hair and cleared his throat. He held up the phone, feeling funny talking to his reflection, and reminded himself not to let her know he was having more trouble with the distance between them than she was. With a smile plastered on his face, he said, “Hey there, beautiful. I missed you last night. Hell, baby, I miss you right now, but I loved the video. Kiss pool-hopper for me. I just got back from a run. Sorry for the sweat. I’d much rather get sweaty with you.” Damn, don’t go there. “I’m going to shower and head into the office. I’ll call you when I get a break. Have a great day. Love you more than you can imagine.”

  Long-distance relationships officially sucked.

  Before showering, he printed out two pictures of Desiree he’d taken the night they’d gone sailing. In the first she had her hand over her face, because her pink cheeks were visible between her fingers, and he loved that adorably shy side of her so much the picture warmed him all over. And the second picture was the one he’d taken just after, with the wind blowing her hair away, the moonlight reflected in her eyes, and that smile. God, that smile. He put them with his briefcase and headed into the shower. If she couldn’t be here with him, at least he could see his girl while they were apart.

  DESIREE SAT AT the kitchen table pushing cereal around in her milk and petting Cosmos, who was asleep on her lap. He’d become her constant companion overnight, as if he could feel her loneliness.

  Violet flew into the kitchen, wearing an ultra-mini-skirt she’d tie-dyed a few days ago and the new purple bikini top they’d bought while they were in Provincetown. “What’s going on? Where is everyone?”

  Desiree stared into the bowl, trying to force a smile, but it refused to come. It had been hard enough playing happy on the video for Rick and lying to Serena and Drake when she’d sent a text telling them she was going out this morning and wouldn’t be making breakfast.

  “Cereal.”

  “No shit, sis. But why?”

  She shrugged, set Cosmos on the floor, and carried her bowl to the sink, unable to watch the cereal get any mushier. “Just tired today. I didn’t sleep very well last night.”

  Violet crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Desiree turned away. She didn’t have the energy for that either.

  “We do have sex toys,” her sister suggested.

  She gave her a deadpan look.

  “I’m only kidding,” Violet said more empathetically. She leaned her hip against the counter beside Desiree. “I know you miss him. What can I do to help?”

  “I don’t know. I think I made a mistake. A big mistake.” She met her sister’s gaze. “I want to be here with you, but I feel like I’ve got this big hole inside me. I’ve never felt like this before, except…”

  “When Lizza left,” Violet said flatly.

  “When you both left. Only it’s different. When you guys left, I was angry and sad. But this…Vi, I don’t even know how to explain it. I’m a grown woman, and two weeks is nothing. Soldiers and their wives go months without seeing each other. But Rick’s gone for one day and my heart actually hurts like it’s been manhandled.”

  “You’re an idiot.”

  “Mean girl, much?”

  “What? Jesus, this is so simple.” Violet poured herself a cup of coffee. “You know you can live without me. You’ve done it for years. But you’ve never been in love before, Des. Rick lights you up, inside and out. Being in love is totally different from loving someone. Of course you feel like you have a hole inside you.”

  “How would you know? You slept with the first guy you found when we got
here.”

  Violet rolled her eyes. “I knew the guy I slept with. I’m not a total whore. He’s lived here since we were kids. We used to make out while you were up in the widow’s walk reading Little Miss Muffet.”

  “God, it’s like you had this whole life I was never a part of.”

  “I did.” Violet shrugged. “Look, Des. I’m a big girl. I’ll hire someone to help me run the inn. I bet Serena knows a dozen people who would be willing to work here.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that I can eat cold cereal without you, but by the looks of your sappy ass, you can’t eat squat without him.”

  Desiree’s heart thundered against her ribs. Could she leave Violet and go after Rick? Did that make her the worst sister in the world? “I’m not just going to leave you hanging. I’m not Lizza, and I don’t want you to hate me.”

  “Holy shitballs, Des. You’re as far from Lizza as anyone could be. You’re going after the man you love. I’m your sister. Your blood. I’m here for you no matter what. I might miss you, but I could never hate you.”

  She’d waited her whole life for this connection with Violet, and her emotions erupted. She threw herself into Violet’s arms. “Thank you. I really needed to hear those things.”

  “Great, this again.”

  Desiree laughed. “One day you’ll hug me back. Until then you just have to suffer through it.”

  She kissed Cosmos’s head, feeling a little better, and grabbed her purse and keys from the counter.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Out to Indian Neck. I have a lot to think about.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  RICK CHECKED HIS watch for the hundredth time since the meeting with his partners had begun, wishing he could take a break and call Desiree. It was nearly four o’clock. She would be wrapping up work for the day. Or maybe she was painting or taking Cosmos for a walk. While his partners outlined a strategic plan for the next twelve months, Rick tried to remember what about this city, and this business, had sucked him in all those years ago. Drake’s voice roared through his mind. You know why you work eighty hours a week, hundreds of miles away from us.