by K. C. Harper
His eyes locked on her and he slowed his movements, taking his time to feel all of her from the inside Their bodies moved together. A sweet rhythm of passion and desire exploded around them as their breathing became uncontrollable. It was as if they were one heartbeat, one soul that was connected by something more than lust. Grace pushed back deeply with every deep stroke. Tyler could feel it, and he saw it in her eyes when she clenched and shuttered. He was about burst too. They reached their climax together, and let the incredible feeling overtake their bodies with waves of pleasure. He buried his head in her neck as she wrapped her legs and arms around his body. Her back arched, pushing him further into her, and making his climax go on forever..
CHAPTER ELEVEN
It was a little before sunrise and Grace was asleep in Tyler’s bed. He lay there watching her sleep for the past hour, wondering how he got so lucky, and how Denny could leave a woman like her. With every passing second he found himself falling deeper. The thought of not spending every moment with her scared the hell out of him. He never felt this way about anyone, not even his fiancé, who left him at the altar. He wasn’t sure what to do, or how to tell her, but he did know it was going to have to come up sooner or later. There was no way, after the night he just spent with her, he could just let her walk out of his life. Reaching for her, he pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her. He fell asleep to the sound of her heartbeat and the warmth of her body against his.
The sun was shining brightly through the curtains as Tyler began to wake. He looked at the clock on the table beside the bed and saw that it was a little after 10:00am. He fell asleep holding Grace, and must have been out cold because he was alone in bed now and her clothes were gone. He sat up and looked around the room as he got out of bed. He walked to the bathroom looking for Grace.
“Grace? Are you in here?” he asked, and pushed the door open. She wasn’t there.
She had snuck out of bed early, making sure not to wake him. He stood naked in the middle of the bathroom with his hands on his head, and ran his fingers through his hair as he wondered what went wrong. It didn’t take him long to decide he wasn’t going to just let it go. He was going to find out why she ran and tell her how he felt.
After a quick shower, and searching for his pants that were left downstairs in the living room, he got dressed and started looking for his keys. He wanted to go see Grace before any more time passed. He wasn’t waiting two more days like he did the last time, and he wasn’t going to let her avoid him again. The feelings he had for her were real. He made his way to the front door and opened it to find Missy standing there about to knock.
“Missy? What are you doing here?”
“I want to talk to you . . . about us.”
He rubbed his face, pushing his wet spiky hair back. “There is no ‘us.’ You left me at the altar! Remember?”
“I told you that was a mistake. I was scared Tyler. I got cold feet. I let my mind take over instead of listening to my heart.”
“Just what did your heart tell you, Missy?”
“It told me you are the one for me. We belong together. You know we do,” she said, taking a step toward him so
that he had to step back, letting her in the house. She closed the door behind her, leaning her back against it and pushing her hips out.
“Don’t you miss me, Tyler? Don’t you miss us? We were great together, and if I remember correctly, we had amazing sex.” She was grinning as she said this and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I remember everything just fine, Missy. I remember I loved you and I wanted to marry you. I also remember the feeling of finding out you ran off and left me on our wedding day. Do you have any idea how much that hurt me? I loved you! You were my entire life! I gave you the world, Missy! You threw it away over wedding jitters?”
“I told you I’m sorry about that. Can’t you find it in your heart to forgive me? I want to be your wife. I am ready to be your wife now, and want spend the rest of my life with you. Don’t you miss holding me in your arms and kissing me? You used to love kissing me when you got home from work. The first thing you would do was come find me and pull me in and hold me and kiss me until we were both breathless. Don’t you want that again? Don’t you miss it? I know I do. Right now, being here with you like this makes me want it even more.” She brushed her lips over his and pressed her body tightly against his. “Please Tyler, I miss you. I love you baby, you know I do. Let me make it up to you right now.” Her lips were on his before he could tell her to stop, and she was kissing him. It was a kiss that made him feel nothing. All he could do was think
about kissing Grace. He tried to pull back, pushing her hips away from his body.
“Missy, please,” he said, as she pushed herself up against him again.
“I know you want me, you always have. I am yours Tyler, and will always be yours,” she said, wrapping herself tightly around him.
Just then, they were both pushed forward by the front door opening, and Grace stood there feeling her entire world come crashing down around her. It was like she was in a dream and tried to turn to leave, but her body wasn’t responding and she couldn’t move. Her heart dropped at the sight of Tyler holding Missy and kissing her the way he had just kissed her last night. She could feel the tears falling down her cheeks.
“Grace, please! This is not what you think! I was leaving to go find you and she showed up here and she kissed me!”
“Tyler you don’t have to explain anything to her. We are getting married and she means nothing,” Missy said, pulling Tyler closer to her body.
“Get off of me already Missy!” He unwrapped himself from her arms and turned, reaching for Grace, but she took a step back. “Don’t do this Grace, please. She means nothing. I want you! I had no idea she was going to show up here!” He felt his heart kick against his chest when he saw the look on Grace’s face and the tears running down her cheeks. He took a step closer, reaching for her again, but she shook her head. She wiped her tears and turned to walk away, leaving him standing on his front porch with Missy standing behind him.
“Just let her go Tyler. You have me. You have everything you need right here,” Missy said. She wrapped her arms around his waist and began kissing his neck.
“Would you stop, and let go of me! We are done, Missy! Get it through your head! What we had is over and is never going to happen again! I don’t love you anymore, and I don’t want to be with you! I want Grace! Just leave already! All you’re doing is fucking this up for me, just like you fucked up my life in California! Go back home and don’t come back here looking for me! It’s over!” He left her standing on the porch with her mouth open in shock as he went after Grace.
It didn’t take him long to get to her house. He saw her car was gone. He hoped maybe one of her sisters had taken it. He needed to tell her that Missy meant nothing to him. Grace was all he wanted and needed. He made it to the front door just as it swung open and Paige stormed out looking like she was ready to kill him.
“What the hell did you do to my sister? Give me two good reasons why I shouldn’t kick you in the balls right now!”
“Where is she? I need to talk to her!”
“I don’t think so! You’ve done enough damage! She came in here in tears! I’ve never seen her like that before! She wouldn’t even talk to me. She just said she was sick
and tired of men like Denny and you taking advantage of her. She was done with all of it and she left. How dare you do this to my sister!” she said, shouting and pushing him, making him stumble on his feet.
“I didn’t do anything, I swear. Missy just showed up! I had no idea she was coming over. She kissed me! I don’t want her, I want Grace. Tell me where she went, please. I need to talk to her and tell her this is one big misunderstanding, and Missy means nothing to me!” The panic was rising in his voice as the seconds passed. He wanted to talk to her and tell her it wasn’t what she saw. Most of all he wanted to stop the hurt she was feeling. It was killi
ng him thinking she was somewhere thinking he didn’t want her. The truth was he wanted her more than he ever wanted another woman in his life.
“I don’t know where she is! And who the hell is Missy?”
“My ex-fiancé. She left me at the altar. She showed up here yesterday and told me she made a mistake and wants me back.”
“Whoa! Your fiancé? That’s who you were with when Grace showed up?”
“Yes, but it’s not what she thinks. I was telling Missy it was over. She kept telling me we were good together, and then she kissed me. I tried pushing her off me, but she kept coming at me and wouldn’t stop.”
“Oh, sure. A strong man can’t get one woman off him? You do know that line never works, right? It only makes you guys look like jackasses!”
“Just tell me where she is. I know how this looks. It looks pretty fucked up, but it’s not how it looks.”
“She is never going to trust you again. I know Grace. It took her forever to get over Denny, and now this happens. I don’t know how she is going to get over something like this now. You screwed up big time, mister! But, you do seem sincere. I think my sister deserves to be happy, so I am going to help you. If you fuck with her again, I swear your balls are going to get it!”
“Would you stop talking about my balls? It’s kind of weird. Just tell me where to find her, please, so I can make this right.”
Paige sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning on the door frame. “If I know my sister, and I think I do, she is probably down by the harbor or near the water. Those are the only two places I can think of. You better hurry up because a storm is rolling in. I don’t want my sister out in a storm, crying again over another man.”
“I promise I will find her and bring her back. I won’t stop until I do,” he said as he turned around running back toward his house.
Tyler was in his car when the rain started. He cursed at the flash of lighting. Being from California he wasn’t aware November in Bar Harbor, Maine, called for rain, and lots of it. He wasn’t about to let a storm stop him from getting to Grace. Finding her was the only thought on his mind as he drove toward the harbor. He prayed for luck to be on his side today.
It didn’t take him long to get to the harbor. He pulled over and got out of his car, not even caring if he was illegally parked. All he wanted to do was find Grace. The rain was picking up now, and he was soaked as he searched all over the harbor for her. He saw no sight of her or her car. He turned around running back to his car to go look at the other place Paige told him she might be. The storm was approaching as it rolled onto the shore. Lightning lit up the dark skies, and thunder rumbled throughout the town as he approached the shoreline. He parked on the side of the road, leaving his car door open as he made his way down to the water. He searched up and down the shoreline hoping to find her and tell her everything, but she wasn’t there. He didn’t know where else to look as he drove back to her house. His clothes were soaked and he was freezing, but none of that mattered at the moment. Seeing her and telling her how he felt was all he cared about. Her car wasn’t at the house when he pulled up, and his heart dropped. She wasn’t at the two places Paige said she would be. He started to worry because the storm was only getting worse.
“Did you find her?” Paige shouted over the rain from the door step.
“No! I checked the harbor and down by the shoreline, but she isn’t there. Where is she, Paige? I need to know?”
“I don’t know! Those are the only two places I can think of! I called Autumn at work, and she suggested the same two spots. I am worried now! Where could she be? What if something happened to her? You know her car isn’t the best, and in weather like this . . .”
“Don’t even think about that right now, please. She has to be somewhere! She couldn’t have gone that far.”
“My sister knows this town like the back of her hand. She could be anywhere Tyler. The storm is getting worse and I am really getting worried. What if she is hurt somewhere and needs help? Why didn’t she just stay here and talk to me? Why did she have to leave and run off the way she did?”
“I’ll find her. I don’t care if I have to drive all day and night. I’ll find her. She has to be ok, Paige. If something happens to her . . . because of me . . . I don’t even want to think about that.”
“I don’t think it’s smart for both of you to be out in this storm. What if she comes back and you are still out looking for her?”
“I can’t just sit around waiting for her to come back. I need to find her and tell her everything.” He was getting in his car before she could tell him it was a bad idea. It was raining harder now, and he could barely see a few feet in front of him. In this rain, her car didn’t stand a chance. It was old, needed new tires, and starting it was hit or miss when she really needed to get to work. In this kind of weather, she would either pull over and wait it out, or not go out in the first place if she could avoid it at all cost. Right now, she wasn’t home, and Tyler hoped she was somewhere safe on the side of the road waiting it out.
The rain continued to come down with no sign of letting up. Grace sat in the back of the diner, listening to the hammering of the rain coming down on the roof, as memories of Tyler kissing his fiancé came rushing back into her mind with every passing second. She was soaked, but the cold wet clothes against her body didn’t faze her. She felt numb as she sat there staring out the window into the evening sky, mesmerized by the falling rain as it hit the street, leaving puddles and drumming on the window. Let this be a lesson to you. Stick to your plan of lonely nights and lots of cats, she thought to herself as she sat back in the booth picking at her peach cobbler.
“Do you need anything else, dear? More coffee? You haven’t eaten much of your cobbler. Is something wrong with it?” asked Betsy, the waitress at the diner.
Betsy watched Grace and her sisters grow up. She even gave them free meals some nights when their mom left. Betsy loved the Carter girls and would do anything for them. The night Denny left Grace, Betsy nursed her broken heart. She gave her a big fat brownie covered with vanilla ice cream after Grace came into the diner looking like a wet rat. She told Grace that night, “There wasn’t anything chocolate and ice cream can’t fix, especially a broken heart.”
“The pie is perfect, Betsy. I’m just not in the mood tonight, I guess.”
“Ok, spill it! I have known you since you were a little girl, and you have never turned down peach cobbler, or even left a crumb. Did Denny go and screw something up again? I swear, that man needs to be hit over the head with a cast-iron skillet,” said Betsy, with both her hands on her hips as she eyed Grace, trying to figure out what was going on with her.
“It’s not Denny, although he could use a good knocking over the head. It’s really nothing chocolate and ice cream can’t fix; you always told me that. Remember?”
“Oh hell, scoot over dear,” she said, sliding in next to Grace. “Katie, bring us the biggest brownie we have with two scoops of vanilla ice cream!” Betsy shouted to the other waitress behind the counter. “Tell me what’s going on, and what the trouble is.”
“Is it that obvious? I must look like the most pathetic person in here right now!”
“Gracie, sweetheart, this is a small town. Most people know your business before you even know it. And you do not look pathetic. You are a wonderful, beautiful young woman who any man would be lucky to have. You just have to learn to open up that sweet little heart of yours and forget about Denny Marshall. That man is a nuisance to society, and to women’s hearts. He was in here a couple nights ago going on and on about some hot little thing he brought home from the bar. I was just about ready to whack him over the head with my coffee pot.”
Grace sighed and sank further down into the booth letting her head fall back against the wall as she thought about Tyler.
“I opened my heart, and look what it got me. I am sitting here, turning down a delicious peach cobbler, and I am soaking wet. Why do I always manage to go through these thi
ngs as a storm is coming in?”
Just then, Katie brought over the quick fixer-upper of broken hearts; a huge brownie with dripping vanilla ice cream, and two spoons. “There is more where this came from if you need to drown yourself deeper in chocolate heaven ladies,” Katie said before walking away.
The first bite was always her favorite. A little part of her felt a moment of happiness when she put the piece of brownie into her mouth. “This really is good. I think I feel better already,” she said with a mouth full of brownie and ice cream.
“I told you! This cures a broken heart better than whiskey. You never have to worry about the hangover. So, who is this man, and what did he do that has you sitting here devouring a brownie like it’s the first meal you have eaten in a week?”
“I can’t help it, you know. I love your brownies. His name is Tyler, and he’s new in town. From the first night we met, I felt like he was different. Something kept drawing me to him, even after I told myself to not even think about it. I let myself open up to him like I haven’t done with anyone since Denny. I thought we had something special. Of course, I was wrong, because I found him kissing his fiancé this morning.”
“Wait a second! Are you talking about Tyler Reese? The cutie who moved here from California? The one who fixed Carl’s car the other day?” Betsy asked, grabbing another scoop of ice cream.
“The one and only. He probably won’t be in town much longer since he obviously made up with his fiancé. They are probably planning their honeymoon right now, or practicing for it on his kitchen table.” The thought was enough to make her want to throw up as she pushed the brownie and ice cream away. “I don’t even think a brownie and ice cream are going to cure me this time, Betsy. I just have to face the fact I’m going to be the old cat lady,” she said with a sigh.