“So are you.” My cheeks warmed. “I, um, I’ve never seen you in a leather jacket before.”
“The stylist wanted me to wear it. I thought it was dumb without a shirt underneath, but the way you’re looking at me right now, I don’t give a shit if it’s dumb.”
“Not dumb,” Penny said quickly, then cleared her throat. “You should listen to Lenore when it comes to fashion. She knows what she’s doing. But hey-ho, I gotta go.”
She gave me a one-armed hug.
“Stay close to him,” she whispered. “To the people who feel like sunshine.”
“I will,” I said, thinking she was one of those as I watched her move toward the door.
“I’ve gotta take off too.” Tess pulled me in for a hug, then leaned back. “I’m in charge of beverages since you’re going as a fan tonight.”
“Thanks, Tess,” I said, so relieved that Ash had asked her and not me about bartending tonight.
“Happy to do it.” She gave me a firm look. “I’ll see you there.”
She took off and Sophia took her place, hugging me, then kissing my cheek.
“Love you,” she said.
“Love you.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Thank you for everything.”
“Didn’t do much. But you’re welcome.” She turned to Storm. “You’re missing something with that outfit.” She tapped her cheek. “Around the center, the pec area.”
“Don’t blow my surprise.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Go away, bestie.”
“Peace out,” she said, giving me the peace sign over her shoulder as she moved toward the door.
“Peace received,” I said, losing sight of her as Storm swept me into his arms.
I placed my hands on his wide shoulders, and he slid his to the small of my back, leaving a trail of heat on my skin. When he reached the hem of my dress, he slipped his hands under it, gripping a globe of my ass in each hand and squeezing. My pussy gave a very interested and eager spasm.
“Love this dress,” he said low, giving me a dark look. “Easy access.”
Grinning, I shook my head. “Sophia said you’d like that about it.”
“I like your best friend,” he said.
“I have excellent taste in best friends.”
“I agree.” He grinned at me, then released my ass to grab my hand and tug me toward the door. “Let’s go.”
“Why are we leaving so early?” I dragged my feet. “I’d rather get back in that bed with you, if we have any free time before the concert.”
“Not enough time for the bed.” He led me down the hall, grabbing a set of keys along the way that I hadn’t noticed before. “But that dress gives me options. Creative ones that just might be doable for later.”
“That sounds promising,” I said as he opened the door for me.
“Promising is definitely how I feel with you, Lilly.” He closed the door and locked it with his own key.
“Me too with you. So, where are we going?”
“Down the beach stairs to the water first,” he said. “Then to the house.”
“What house?”
“You’ll see.” His sculpted lips curved, and my belly fluttered.
“Is the house where Cork has been hiding all afternoon?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.” I followed him down the stairs. At the bottom, he gestured to a large smooth rock. “Have a seat.”
Giving him a funny look, I did. What is he up to?
He took a seat beside me and turned his head to the sea. I watched as the wind tossed a sun-lightened brown curl over his eye. When he turned his head to look at me, his expression was serious. I brushed the curl back, waiting patiently for him to formulate his thoughts.
“Remember the day,” he said, “when I asked you to let the hurt and bad stuff go?”
“I remember,” I said softly, dropping my hand into my lap. That was the day I’d figured out he was Storm.
“I want to release all the bad stuff right now. Start our brand-new life together with nothing but good currents to steer us.” His gaze turned reflective. “My old man lost my mother, not when she had an affair, but when she decided to stay and he failed to forgive her. He held on to his resentment, taking it out on her, me, and my brothers, when he could have had years of the two of them working together on a way forward instead.”
“I know. I’m sorry I overheard Graham telling you he wasn’t your father. I know you would have preferred to tell me, and he was awful to you. Your mom would have told you more gently. I’m sorry her marriage was so bad. Sorry for the way you grew up. I wished better for you.”
I reached out, took his hand, and did some reflective sharing too.
“My father lived most of his life mourning what he lost instead of celebrating what he had. He was a great father, but his sadness affected me.” It made me feel insecure, though fortunately it hadn’t affected my brother the same way. “I try too hard to please others when I should just be happy being myself.”
“You’re perfect to me.” Storm captured my hands and brought them together.
“Thank you. I feel perfectly brave and strong, my best self when I’m with you. Since that day I first met you on the playground.”
“I’m sorry I went away. Sorry I didn’t contact you. I thought I was too angry and messed up for you, that I would drag you down instead of helping you to fly.” He dipped his chin. “Can you forgive me?”
My hands next to his mouth, I felt his warm breath as he peered up at me.
“Yes, of course I can.” Tears filled my eyes.
“My worst hurt was failing you.” He pressed a kiss into each palm, then closed my hands. “Thank you for forgiving me.”
“You’re welcome.” I opened my hands and released the things he needed to let go of into the sea.
“My turn?” I asked, returning my gaze to him and noting that the brown in his eyes was lighter than ever before.
“Yes,” he said, and I took his hands.
I swept my thumbs over his skin, staring down at his long masculine fingers and the colorful ink as I found the words to describe the things I most needed to let go of.
“I failed you too. I should have held on to the bravery and strength you gave me. I could have looked for you when I got older. I should have fought harder to keep you after we argued in LA. Not gone back to Saber the second time.” I pressed a kiss into each of his palms. “Can you forgive me?”
“Of course I can,” he said, setting my bad stuff free. “You’re everything to me.”
“And you are to me, Storm. Or should I say, Storm Journey Hardy?” I asked, my tone as light as a moonbeam tiptoeing across the surface of the deep.
“You can call me whatever name you want,” he said firmly. “I don’t care as long as you call me yours.”
My eyes bright, I nodded. “I have something to give you.”
“What?”
“This.” I withdrew the necklace from my pocket. “It’s just a leather cord, not expensive. But the pendant is the infinity symbol. Sophia made it for me to give you.”
“Infinity for the ocean.” His brown eyes blazed. “No matter how many times the waves are sent away, they return to the shore. It’s their home, where they belong. You’re the ocean to me, Lotus. My love for you is limitless and unchanging like it is. I love the necklace. Thank you.”
He grabbed my shoulders and brought me to him, crushing his lips to mine.
“I love you too,” I said huskily after he reluctantly ended the kiss.
His cell rang. Standing, he pulled me up, then withdrew his phone from the front pocket of his jeans.
“Hello, Cork,” he said, answering without even looking at the caller ID. He nodded to whatever my brother said. “Yes, we’re coming over right now. Give us a few. Sorry for the delay, but your pretty sister is distracting me.”
“Me?” I squinted skeptically at him after he ended the call. “I’m not the distracting one. It’s you running around all over the place with your shirt
off.”
“Any man looking at you in that dress is only going to want to take it off you.”
I stamped a hand to my hips. “And any woman looking at you is only going to want to take your jacket off to get to the rest of you.”
Storm’s gaze dropped to my chest, then lifted. “I don’t care about any woman. Just you.” He took my hand. “C’mon. We need to get somewhere less remote. You in that dress is too much distraction. I want to flip up the skirt and have you here.”
“Do.” I licked my suddenly dry lips. “Have me here. Please do.”
“Lotus, no. We’re out in the open.”
“No one will see me but you. Unless there’s someone on a boat out there with binoculars.”
“If someone comes from downtown . . .” He glanced over his shoulder.
“Or down the stairs.” I glanced up. “There’s that risk, but not if you’re fast. Hurry.”
I moved to the sandstone wall, placed my hands on it, and wiggled my hips as I glanced at him over my shoulder.
“Fuck,” he muttered, raking a hand through his hair.
“That’s the idea, baby,” I purred. He looked so sexy, torn between his need to fuck or protect me.
Need won, or both did.
Determinedly, he moved toward me. Grabbing both my hands in one of his, he pressed them into the sandstone. Covering my body with his, he flipped up my skirt. Truly, no one could see me but him.
“A thong. Thank fuck.” He ran his hand across my breasts. The already puckered nipples hardened to points.
“Yes, so good.” I threw back my head, panting already. “Every time you touch me, I throb.”
“How wet are you?” he whispered into my neck as he reached into his pocket.
“Soaked,” I said huskily.
He palmed my ass and slapped one cheek, a firm love tap. I felt the vibration in my very wet and throbbing pussy. Then he was there. Moving the scrap of lace aside, he positioned himself and drove his hard, sheathed cock inside me.
“Oh, Storm.”
I shuddered with need. He felt so good, so hard, filling me so full. And the idea that someone could come along was an erotic prompt that flushed my body with more heat.
Apparently, he felt the same sense of urgency I did. He pulled almost all the way out, only to drive inside me again. Hard. My toes skidded across the sandstone, but I recovered quickly to push back into him on his next deep plunge.
“So sexy. You’re so bad.” He grunted in my ear, whispering wicked naughty things to me.
Between his hard cock, his shortened breaths against my skin, and my racing heart, I was already there. Wet, primed, and ready to explode.
“I can’t hold back,” I said low, warning him.
“Give it to me, babe.” His hot breath streamed in my ear. Cooler air rushed everywhere else, except where we were joined. “Don’t hold back.”
“Oh, Storm. Yes.”
I let go, giving it to him, knowing he would catch me.
And he did. Driving into me one last time, he sent me over the edge.
Climaxing, I flew, but not alone. Never alone again. Storm was with me—my partner, my lover, my best friend.
Moments later, he yanked down my skirt. After adjusting his own clothing, he threw the condom away in a nearby trash receptacle, then returned to give me a chastising dark look.
“You’re a naughty girl.”
“You loved it. I loved it.” I stretched out my arm and wiggled my fingers. “Come on, rock star. Take me to this house and my surprise.”
“Gladly.”
Storm led me up the beach stairs and past our apartment complex, then we turned left on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. For a moment, I thought we were going to continue to his old house, but then he stopped in front of a cute Mediterranean bungalow with a red tile roof. The arched wood door popped open, and my brother came out.
“Finally,” Cork said, walking toward us on the flagstone path that cut through the chaotic but beautifully landscaped yard my father had designed.
“What’s going on?” Looking at my brother, then Storm, I asked, “Who lives here?” remembering the house had always been a favorite of Storm’s.
“We do. You, me, and Cork. Welcome home,” Storm said, his green-flecked brown eyes glistening.
“What?” My knees went weak and I grabbed his arm. “But our apartments . . . yours and mine?”
“We don’t need two,” he said. “Yours is going back up for lease. Shield wants his own bachelor pad, so he’s going to move in and take over the lease on mine.”
My eyes rounded. “Wow. I don’t believe it.”
“It’s not huge, but it’s adequate. There’s two bedrooms in the main house. I put Tess’s photo of our alcove in the master. There’s also a full apartment unit in what used to be the detached garage in the back.” Storm studied me closely. “Do you want to have a tour of the inside first, or the backyard and your garden?”
“There’s a garden?” My eyes filled. “Truly?”
Storm nodded. “There will be one once you plant it.”
“We brought all your supplies over this morning,” Cork said.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Storm took my hands. “So, which will it be?”
“You tell me since you know me so well,” I said.
“The garden.”
That was what I would have chosen. “I can’t believe you did all this.”
“I hope it’s okay.” He gave me a chagrined look. “That I bought it without showing it to you first, I mean.”
“I love it already because you love it.” I smiled, glancing down at the infinity symbol dangling over his chest. Like the earth, sea, and sky, our love was infinite and sure, something I could count on for the rest of my life. “I love you, Storm Journey Hardy. I was barely getting by, barely living before you returned. Now my life is full and hopeful because of you.”
He pulled me closer, his expression soft and his eyes like freshly watered, sun-warmed earth.
“I was lost and alone and didn’t even know how much until I met you again. I can hardly believe my good fortune to be given a second chance with you. I can’t predict all the brilliant things waiting to happen for us in the future, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that I want to spend every single moment to the end of my days with you.” Gesturing to the house, he said, “This is me, putting down roots . . . with you.”
Lotus
“WE SHOULD’VE COME early.” Sophia blew out a frustrated breath.
“Couldn’t come earlier,” I said, trying like her to see around the wall of people in front of us. “I was busy.”
“I know you were. You got some action from your man, some kinky public action, and then you got a house.”
She shook her head at me in disbelief, the end of her ponytail swishing between her bare shoulders. She blended in, wearing a crochet bikini top with denim cutoff shorts for the concert. Most of the women around us were dressed similarly. The guys mostly wore board shorts.
“You think this is close enough for Storm to find me?” I bit down on my lip, glancing around.
We were standing in the middle of a lawn as big as a football stadium. It was packed tight, as crowded as at the end of the Super Bowl, when all the players and everyone in the stands stream onto the field.
Sophia pursed her lips. “It’s as close as we can get.”
I nodded my agreement.
Since we’d arrived, we’d side shimmied and cajoled our way from the back of the large crowd to the middle, but as any experienced concert-goer knows, the fans closest to the stage are the most territorial about their position. Especially when the top two bands are about to perform. I couldn’t blame them. They’d earned their spots, coming early and standing in front of the stage for hours.
“We’ll make the best of it,” I said determinedly. Straining my eyes, I scanned the stage and the area around it, hoping to catch a glimpse of Storm.
“Not so
bad where we are, right?” She hooked her arm with mine.
“Like old times.” I leaned into her and smiled.
“Only better,” she said, searching my gaze. “Never seen you look happier. However . . .” Her eyes twinkled as she paused dramatically. “I think the best is yet to come.”
“What do you know?” I asked suspiciously.
“Something great, but nothing I’m going to give away. You stole his thunder when he had a big speech planned to declare his undying devotion to you.”
My eyes narrowed further. “How do you know about that?”
“Storm and I had a little chat.” She waggled her brows.
“About?”
“A bestie-to-bestie heart-to-heart. Expectations were clarified.” Her lips twitched. “Basically, I told him he’d better treat you right or I’d kick his ass.”
“I’m sure he was terrified.” I shook my head at her. “You shouldn’t have done that. I don’t need protecting from Storm, and I can take care of myself.”
“You can,” she said. “But you don’t have to anymore. Our discussion was illuminating. Storm is crazy about you. Makes a girl hopeful that maybe dreams can come true.”
“There he is.” I spotted Storm and the rest of the guys in the band. Exiting a trailer, they walked together single file toward the stage. Big guys wearing black shirts with security in white block letters escorted them.
My heart rate sped up, but everything else seemed to slow. The crowd faded out of focus while my view of the band sharpened.
Saber was first in line, holding the neck of his Martin, his stride confident. The sleeves of his black T-shirt were rolled up, revealing his biceps. His faded jeans accentuated his long legs. His brown hair was perfectly tousled, no doubt by the stylist. His profile was stern, his gaze focused straight ahead.
Storm was next. Noticeably taller than his brother, he eclipsed him and all other men in my eyes. It wasn’t merely his height, his muscular build, or even all his colorful tattoos. It was just him.
His leather jacket nowhere in sight, Storm wore only his black guitar strap, his gleaming ebony SG, and his dark jeans belted low on his narrow hips. All the rest of him—his sculpted physique and inked skin—was gloriously displayed. But what made him the moon blocking out the sun was the sheer magnitude of his presence. Storm was a category-five force to be reckoned with, whatever name he used.
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