Sacred Serenity (Lotus House Book 2)

by Audrey Carlan

  My buddy kissed my cheek. “Just trying to show a pretty girl a good time. That’s all.”

  Uncle Cal glared. “Not this girl you’re not.” His tone was loud and mad like when my papa was scolding me for sneaking his cookies.

  Landen pushed his water aside angrily. It tipped over and the rest of the ice and water sloshed out all over the bar top. “Why not?” he roared but then saw the water and his indignation ran out. “Oh shit.” Landen tried to help by sopping up the water with his shirtsleeve. Puddles of icy water spilled in every direction and soaked both his arms, leaving giant water rings.

  “Dammit, Landen. Boy, just leave it.” Uncle Cal looked like he was gritting his teeth the same way one of the dogs did, the ones that always had the mean faces. What did they call those? Ugh. I couldn’t think. My head was so dizzy.

  “I’m not leaving anything. I like Amber and she likes me. Right?” He smacked a wet spot on the bar, and it sprayed out.

  I piggy-laughed at his silliness. He turned to me, and his face was so cute and sad that I patted his cheek. “Yep!”

  A voice I dreamed of nightly broke into our conversation. “Well, she’s in love with me, so get your goddamned hands off my girlfriend.”

  Big fat meanie! “Hey! You, you can’t speak about God like that. He gets pissed!” I swung around in my chair and knocked heads with Landen. “Owee!” I rubbed at the sore spot but knew that voice. The voice that could make angels sing. Dash. My Dash Alexander.

  Dash stood with his arms crossed over his chest. “Little bird, you’re drunk.”

  I nodded a bunch of times while trying to get out of my chair. I wanted to make a graceful jump into his arms, only my limbs would not comply. The second my foot hit the floor, I wobbled and fell forward. My body was jerked upright and slammed against the widest, warmest, most comfy chest I’d ever had the pleasure of snuggling.

  “Are you drinking away our troubles, my love?” Dash asked and then kissed my forehead.

  Our troubles. The simple fact that we even had troubles at only the three-week mark struck a chord with me, and the water faucet turned on. Tears filled my eyes and fell down my cheeks.

  “Oh, little bird…” He kissed away as many tears as he could, but they kept coming. “I need to get her home. Can I settle up her tab?” Dash offered.

  See? He was a good man. Even though we had a problem, he wanted to cover my tab. “I love you.” I held his face as best I could. I needed to tell him what he meant to me, but the words were all garbled up in my brain, and I couldn’t get any more of them out.

  Dash locked an arm around my back and cupped my cheek. “I know. Relax. It will be okay.”

  “Promise?” I touched my thumb to his lips. I wanted to feel his response, not just hear it.

  “On my love for you, I promise.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Crow Pose (Sanskrit: Bakasana)

  Crow pose is considered an intermediate to advanced pose that helps with balance, strengthening, determination, and pride. Standing at the top of your mat, bend your knees and lower into a squat. Drop your torso forward and bring your upper arms to the inside of your knees. Then lift one knee onto the back of your bicep. When you have your balance, repeat on the other side. Consult a yoga instructor on ways to work up to this asana prior to attempting the full pose.

  DASH

  A real-life angel lay snuggled against my chest. Her bare leg was thrown over my thigh, and one of her hands lay directly over my heart. I wondered if she could feel the contentment spilling out of my pores. This is what it felt like to hold your future. I’d never had that before now.

  She sighed, her breath tickling the hair over my sternum. I curled a hand low on her back, and the other I planted firmly on her ass. I couldn’t help tilting my pelvis against her, creating a bit of friction against my cock. Having this girl sprawled over me was the sweetest form of torture. Temptation dressed in white. Only she was barely dressed.

  By the time I got ahold of my girl, it was past midnight, and she was three sheets to the wind. I didn’t want to disrupt her grandparents any more than I already had. Hell, I’d had dinner with Sandra and Harold St. James waiting for my little bird to come back to her nest. When it was clear she wasn’t coming home any time soon, I took my leave and paced my loft. I’d warned her grandparents that if it was late when I located her, she might not come home. Her grandfather warned me about his granddaughter being a good girl. Not the kind of woman a man took home for a wild ride, but the kind a man put a ring on.

  While holding Amber, I stared at the ceiling and recalled the private little chat I had with her grandfather last night.

  “Have a seat, son.” Harold St. James ushered me into his den after Mrs. St. James had stuffed me full of her self-proclaimed world-class pork chops and peppers. She had not lied. They were by far the best chops I’d had, my own mother’s included. Not that I’d ever admit that to Mom.

  I sat stiffly in one of the lounge chairs, legs spread apart, elbows resting on my knees, hands locked together. I’d known it was a risk coming to her house, but after a full day of her ignoring my calls, I was desperate.

  The older gentleman sat down in the chair across from me. “Now, you seem like a nice fellow and you are obviously concerned about my granddaughter, which leads me to believe you are smitten with her in a way that makes a man feel things deep. Her absence seems to have rattled you something fierce. So tell me, son, why are you so worried about her not being home? It’s not uncommon for Amber to come home in the wee hours after studying or carrying on with Genevieve next door.”

  “Mr. St. James, sir. I’ve already contacted Genevieve. She’s not talked to her all day, and I know she had class. I’ll admit I wronged your granddaughter through my silence. She shared something with me, and I didn’t handle it well. I want to make up for that, which is why I’m here.”

  Harold grinned, and one of his eyebrows rose up on his forehead. “Sounds to me like you’re in the ol’ doghouse. Is that right?”

  I rubbed a hand through my hair, pushing the loose strands away from my forehead. “Yes, sir. That about sums it up.”

  The man chuckled and crossed his legs, resting his ankle on the opposite knee. He steepled his hands and rested his fingertips against his lips. He could have been sitting there solving the world’s problems for all I knew. I, on the other hand? I was stewing in guilt.

  Guilt for walking out on Amber.

  An arrow of sadness ricocheted through my chest, bouncing off every rib until it pierced my heart. I stood up. I had to find Amber.

  The old man’s eyes rose, but he didn’t move otherwise. “Son, Amber is special. She’s not like other girls her age.”

  “I know that, sir. That’s why I’m in love with her.”

  The man stood, his rounded belly leading the charge. He narrowed his brows and put a hand on my shoulder. “You say you’re in love with my girl, eh?”

  I nodded but noticed the intensity in his eyes. He wanted to hear it and do so while looking me dead in the eyes. “Sir, I’m in love with your granddaughter. We’ve only been dating a few weeks, but that doesn’t change how I feel. And I know she feels the same.”

  “You think so?”

  With a hardened chin lift, I focused my gaze on his steely one. He was going to make me work for it. When it came to Amber, I’d do just about anything. Hell, I’d grovel at this man’s feet if that’s what it took to stay in her good graces.

  “I know so. And now, I need to fix what I screwed up.”

  Harold tightened his fingers on my shoulder. “You hurt her?”

  Hurt was a relative term. “Not physically. I’d never lay a hand to one hair on her head. I swear it.”

  He scowled and narrowed his eyes. “What’d you do?”

  I swallowed the football-sized lump in my throat. “She shared something private, and frankly, sir, it scared me. So much that I walked away from your granddaughter without staying to hear her out.”

  The
man nodded and squinted. “You going to do that again?”

  I shook my head almost violently. Maybe having my brain bang around in there would knock some sense into me. “Never. Lesson learned. But now, I just want to make things right.”

  On that note, he turned around and sat back down in his chair, placing his hands over his burgeoning stomach. I could now attest to the fact that Sandra St. James was an excellent cook, and it was obvious that Harold partook handsomely in the results of that talent.

  “All right, son. She told her grandmother earlier that she was going to have drinks with a friend from class.”

  A prickly heat started low in my back and crawled over my spine. The green monster inside me unfurled its evil body and wound its way up my chest to claw at my throat. She was with him. Landen. The professor’s son. I hadn’t even met the soon-to-be-doctor yet, and I already despised him. Now that response was one I’d never had with any other women I’d dated. With Amber, everything felt different. Better when I was with her, Hell when I wasn’t. She was my personal double-edged sword.

  I took a deep breath and held out my hand. “Sir, thank you for dinner and the chat. I promise from now on, I will treat your granddaughter with the utmost respect that she deserves.”

  He nodded. “You better, or you’re gonna have me riding your ass, son.”

  Hearing this old-fashioned man curse struck a chord deep inside. He meant business. I had no doubt he’d hunt me down and cut me to size if I so much as spoke ill to his precious granddaughter. Knowing that they’d lost her mother after Amber’s birth meant she was all they had left. Protective didn’t quite cover the intensity of this man’s gaze. It blinded me with a fire so bright it would shake the knees of a lesser man. But I was up for the challenge. Right then and there, I vowed internally that I’d soon make this man proud.

  “You have my word.” I held out a hand.

  He shook mine, gripping me with firm intent.

  Message received.

  My sleeping angel shifted her leg, brushing against my erection. Down boy. I tried to rationalize with the more carnal side of my anatomy, but with the most beautiful woman sprawled on top of me, my greatest dream incarnate, I didn’t have much hope it would relax any time soon.

  Not being able to control myself, I rubbed a hand from her knee up her thigh. Silky smooth. She hummed sleepily against my chest and nuzzled in like a snoozing kitten. I glanced down when I felt a fluttering along my chest. She blinked her green-eyed gaze open, crinkled her nose, and then pressed her lips together. One of her delicate hands came up and pushed against her forehead as her brow furrowed.

  “Oh, my, who are the little gremlins dancing around my brain, and why do they have jackhammers?” She groaned and nudged my nipple with her chin. I bit back a groan and fought the desire to rub my lower half against her heat for fear I’d scare off my little bird.

  All of a sudden, her entire body went ramrod stiff. Her eyes fluttered open, and she tried to extract herself from my arms. Not happening in a million years. I was not ready for reality to break into my slice of sweet bliss just yet.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” I asked.

  She swallowed and nudged her chin up, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. “H-How…uh…did I get here?”

  I smiled and wrapped my arms around her. “You were drunk. I saved you from the young doctor and brought you home.”

  Amber squinted. “This is not my home, and I’m lying half on you, and I think I’m naked.” Her eyes widened and she gasped. “Oh no, did we…”

  I tunneled my hand into her hair and held her head, ensuring she looked directly into my eyes when I spoke. “Amber, I’d never take advantage of you. You were in no state for anything more than crashing out. Unfortunately, you spent some time hovering over the porcelain throne prior to face planting on my comforter.”

  She frowned. “I got sick. Threw up on my shirt and pants. And you! Oh gross. I’m so sorry, Dash.” Her lip trembled, and she glanced away almost as though she was afraid to make eye contact.

  I hiked her up and over me with both arms so that she was lying completely on top of me. She attempted to escape by wiggling out of my hold, but I gripped her with just enough force that she wouldn’t get far.

  “Hey, hey, Amber, don’t look away from me.”

  Her pretty green eyes focused on mine. “I’m sorry you had to take care of me. Honestly, I never drink like that. It’s just I…”

  I cupped her face and caressed the apple of her cheek with my thumb. “Stop. You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the one that screwed up. You trusted me with something very private, and I didn’t handle it well. I’m the one that’s sorry.”

  She swallowed and her lip shook. “Does it bother you that I’m a virgin?”

  I let all the air out of my lungs slowly. “No. I’m rather impressed. Surprised even. I’ve never been with a woman that’s held onto her innocence so long, but it doesn’t bother me.”

  Amber smiled and propped her chin on her hands where they rested on my bare chest. “Do you still want to be with me?”

  Now that was an easy question to answer. I found it telling, however, that she was worried I wouldn’t want to be with her over it. “Amber, this changes nothing. It means that, when the time is right, I’m going to be given something special. A piece of you that no man has ever had.”

  She glanced away and pursed her lips. I could tell there was something she wasn’t saying, but right now was not the time to push it. Her psyche was fragile enough and besides, I had a hot brunette straddling my lap. There were far better things to do than to grill her for more information.

  “Listen, when you’re ready to take that next step in our relationship, it will be an honor, a gift that I will cherish.” I focused my gaze so that she could see only the truth clearly showing through my eyes.

  Instead of responding, she leaned forward and laid her lips over mine.

  AMBER

  Dash understood and didn’t think I was a weirdo for having held onto my virginity this long. I should have known God wouldn’t lead me to a man who wouldn’t see my vow as something special. I flicked my tongue against his mouth wanting to taste him fully. Just because I was a virgin didn’t mean I wasn’t willing to test the boundaries of my chastity. And honestly, I wanted to feel him touch me, take me to places I’d never been before, as long as it didn’t cross the line.

  Dash ran his hands down my back, his fingertips tickling my spine as he skimmed over each bump before landing squarely on my panty-clad ass. He lifted his hips up and pressed my ass down, creating the perfect friction against my clit. My, my, it felt so good. Like heaven on earth. I nibbled on his lips and sucked his tongue. He moaned into my mouth, dipping his tongue flat against mine over and over. The man could kiss. He made a meal out of each kiss. A sweet nosh of rubbing lips against one another. Then a main course where he delved his hot tongue deep, repeatedly, until all I could taste was him. When he lacked air, he’d back off and suck the top then the bottom lip as if each bit of flesh was the most decadent of desserts.

  Following his lead, I lifted my knees and rubbed my center down against the hard steel between his thighs. He wore only a pair of burgundy boxer briefs that clearly outlined the long shape and width of his male anatomy. I’d never touched or tasted an erect penis before, and in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to wrap my fingers around his length and tug, knowing it would make him lose control. In Dash’s presence, I felt lost to his words, being, and everything in between. Sitting atop him, I had all the cards in my hand and could play whichever I chose.

  “What are you looking at?” He jerked his hips and smirked.

  I swallowed and pushed my hair out of my face. “Can I touch you?” I gestured to the general vicinity of his groin.

  “Amber, I’d like nothing more than to have your hands all over me. Have you ever…”

  Before he could ask, I shook my head. “Never.”

  He grabbed my hands an
d gestured for me to lift up off his thighs. He pushed his briefs down far enough that he could hook them with a foot and kicked them off. Then he clasped the meaty part of my hips and had me sit on his muscled quads once more.

  He dug his fingertips into my thighs. “This okay? Me naked? I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

  I nodded demurely and inspected every inch of him from his dirty blond hair, sticking up in every direction yet still ridiculously sexy, down his rock-hard chest, to where two perfectly flat disc-shaped nipples stood erect. I laid my hands over his taut pecs. His skin was so warm, far warmer than mine, especially when he was lying naked above the covers. I trailed my hands over the square bricks of his abdominals. They bunched and shifted when I ran my fingernails across each one, before moving to the hair at his navel. The brown-blond wisps formed an arrow pointing directly at the close-cropped thatch of curls surrounding the root of his penis. Every inch of Dash was beautiful, especially the well-formed, impressive length reaching up his pelvis. His penis was long, thick, and perfectly rounded at the crown.

  The medical community seriously needed to work on better depictions of the male body. Compared to what I’d seen, the illustrations of a male’s penis in the height of an erection were nothing compared to Dash and his magnificence. Worlds apart, in fact.

  “Well…” His voice bordered on a low growl, barely tamed, and filled with a heavy dose of arousal.

  “You’re so hard. Everywhere.” I really didn’t know how to explain it. From his broad shoulders to the tapered in V of his waist and the erect penis, hard best fit the bill.

  He chuckled and slid his hands up and down my thighs, wooing me without even trying. Or perhaps he was, but I was too inexperienced to know otherwise.

  I focused my gaze on the thick root between his legs. With tentative fingers, I ran just a fingertip from top to bottom. Instantly, it jolted up and back down again. I chuckled and did it again.