by Sherri Hayes
She took a sip before answering. “I wanted a small town but didn’t want to leave Ohio. The why to Springfield specifically is simple . . . I love my apartment.”
Her smile was polite, but he sensed that she was hiding something. Although he was curious, he reminded himself that this was their first date, and if he wanted a second, pushing her might not be in his best interests. His mother hadn’t raised him to be rude.
“Jan and Charles spent a lot of time and money restoring that old house. They gutted the entire interior, putting in all new woodwork, walls, modern kitchens and baths. They always knew they wanted to rent out the top floors, so they went into the renovations with that in mind. Chris did most of the interior work, while I handled the outside. It really is a work of art.”
“You did all the landscaping?”
“Yep.” He smiled.
“It’s beautiful. I love the rose bushes in the backyard.”
“I’m glad you like them, but I can’t take all the credit there. Jan loves her roses. She used to have her backyard lined with them at their old house. Did you know they were our neighbors growing up?” She nodded. “Anyway, she insisted I give her space for her roses at this new house even though it was impossible to have the layout and the multitude she had before.”
“I’ve seen her outside fussing over them a few times. I’d say you did well. She seems happy.”
He smiled. “I do my best. Jan’s a special lady.”
“Yes, she is.”
The conversation drifted to some of Trent’s childhood memories of Jan and his brothers, and before they knew it, their server appeared with their food.
“Wow. This is really good,” she said, taking another bite.
“Told you,” Trent said, stuffing his tortilla full of steak, onions, peppers, rice, and beans.
After sharing a desert of fried ice cream, Trent asked if she’d like to take a walk in the park. Dayton was hosting one of its free summer concerts at Five Rivers. Even if the music wasn’t appealing, it was a beautiful night, and he wasn’t ready to take her home just yet.
The night air was warm as they walked side by side down the street and into the park, and he reached for her hand as they moved toward the music. The park was full of people, and he didn’t want to lose her. Of course, there was the added bonus of physical contact too.
She seemed to hesitate, but didn’t pull away. It was only when they’d reached the edge of the pavilion and he’d moved behind her, wrapping his arms around her that she stiffened and pulled away.
He dropped his arms and walked back to her side. “Is there something wrong?”
“What?”
The band had just started an upbeat song that was going to make conversation difficult, so he motioned with his head, once again reaching for her hand. She took it and followed him away from the crowd.
Once they were a safe distance away, he led them to a nearby bench and she sat down, smoothing her dress.
“Elizabeth I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I like you. I thought that you liked me too.”
She sighed, continuing to smooth out the non-existent wrinkles. “I do like you, Trent.”
He waited for her to continue. She didn’t. “So what’s the problem?”
She could have acted as if she had no clue what he was talking about, but thankfully she didn’t. “I’m sorry. It just . . . I can’t explain it, but it almost feels as if I’m . . . cheating.”
Trent’s shoulders stiffened as he sat up straighter. “I didn’t think you were still married.” He quickly glanced down at her left hand. No. No ring.
She pushed her hair back from her face and turned to him. “I’m not.”
“Then I don’t understand,” he said.
She smiled shyly. “It doesn’t make sense, I know.”
“Elizabeth, if you feel that way then there has to be someone whom you feel you’re wronging. If there isn’t anyone else then . . .”
She didn’t answer right away. Her eyes drifted absently across the lawn not looking at anything specific as she continued to pick at the hem of her dress.
“There is someone.” She nodded, confirming his suspicions.
Trent was quiet as he thought about it. Then it hit him. “Chris.”
She sighed and he knew he’d hit the nail on the head. For some reason, confirming that she was pining after his brother didn’t give him any satisfaction. What he didn’t understand was why she was out on a date with him tonight.
Trent looked around them. Most of the people here tonight were couples having a romantic evening under the stars just as he’d hoped he and Elizabeth would be. Unfortunately, reality was not playing that game.
“Do you love him?” Why he asked he didn’t know, but for some reason it seemed important.
She paused before answering. “I-I just . . .”
Trent nodded. It might not be what he wanted to hear, but at least she was being honest.
He stood abruptly, trying to brush off the disappointment and waited until she looked back up at him. “Just promise me you won’t break his heart.”
She swallowed hard, and he could see the tears in her eyes. “I promise.”
The car ride home was filled with an awkward silence Elizabeth had no idea how to fill. Every time she thought of something to say, she thought better of it. Hindsight was twenty-twenty. She should never have agreed to this date given her feelings for Chris.
Trent’s question kept replaying in her mind. Do you love him?
She had answered as honestly as she could, given that she didn’t know what she felt for Chris. It was certainly strong. Stronger than what she’d felt for Jared. Even with him all hot and cold, he’d showed more care for her well-being than Jared ever had.
She wondered what that meant for her future. Although Chris had kissed her twice, he’d shown no interest in having a relationship with her. Every time she got close, he pulled away.
Of course that could be because he knows you murdered your husband.
When they reached her place, Trent came around to help her out and walked her to the door, waiting patiently while she dug in her purse for her keys. “Thank you for a lovely evening, Trent. Dinner was great. I had a nice time.”
“So did I.” He smiled.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
He held up his hand. “It’s okay. You can’t help the way you feel. I’m just glad you told me now and not after I made a fool out of myself by asking you out again.”
She chuckled.
“Friends?”
She nodded. “I’d like that.”
Trent gazed up at the sky for a moment before returning his attention to her. “If you really care for Chris, don’t give up on him. He’s a good guy.”
“I know,” she said. “It’s . . . complicated.”
He shrugged. “Life is complicated. You just have to decide what’s important enough to fight for.” Another awkward silence fell between them. “I should probably head home,” he said, stepping back. “Goodnight, Elizabeth.”
He got into his car, and she waved before inserting her key into the door and stepping inside, waiting in the foyer until she heard the truck engine start and then fade away before setting the main alarm and walking up the stairs.
She was so lost in her thoughts about Chris that she failed to see him sitting at the bottom of his steps, and she gasped. His shoulders were hunched over as if carrying a heavy weight, his face twisted in pain.
She took a step forward, reaching out to him.
Suddenly, Chris’s expression hardened as he pushed himself up off the step and came toward her. She was caught unprepared and fell hard against the wall behind her.
By the time she found firm footing again, her heart was pounding in her chest. Panic set in from the feeling of his large body suddenly towering over her, pressing her into the wall. Chris’s hands had surrounded her face, and he’d caged her in. She opened her mouth to protest when his lips crashed onto hers, silenci
ng her.
His mouth was hard and demanding against her own. She only hesitated for a second before kissing him back, her conversation with Trent fresh in her mind.
Without warning, Chris pulled back. “Promise me you will never go out with him again.”
She nodded mute.
That seemed to be all it took as his mouth descended on hers once more. She felt that warmth spread through her body as she had every time he’d kissed her. This time she didn’t hesitate to return his kiss. She rejoiced in the fact that for this moment at least, Chris wasn’t pushing her away, and she was going to enjoy it.
His hands pressed against her sides again on their way down. Then, before she could register what was happening, he was lifting her off the ground.
He groaned, burying his face in her neck. His hot breath felt good against her skin, and she felt her body reacting.
The next thing she knew, they were climbing. With each step, her anxiety grew. Could she do this? Is that what he wanted? Is it what she wanted?
Her body rigid, she held tightly to his broad shoulders. When they reached the top, she expected Chris to put her down. Instead, he only readjusted his hold on her, bringing her into closer contact with is body. He felt good, but she couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. His hands were still holding her firmly. He had to feel all the flaws she hid beneath her cloths.
Chris planted a hard kiss on her lips before he started to walk again. She buried her face in his neck, and combed her fingers through his hair as she tried to calm herself.
She both heard and felt him kick a door closed as the muscles in his body shifted. Then moments later, she was falling.
She landed softly on top of his mattress, staring up into his eyes as he crawled toward her.
She watched him with wide anxious eyes.
He paused.
In the hours she’d been gone, he’d felt miserable, an ache settling in his chest that he couldn’t get rid of. When he’d seen her standing there, looking down at him in that dress, instinct had taken over.
It wasn’t pretty, and he wasn’t exactly proud of it, but the first thing to cross his mind had been to make her forget his brother. Trent was a great guy, and while he loved his brother and would fight tooth and nail to defend him at any other time—Elizabeth was an entirely different matter. In this one instance, he would fight Trent with everything he had in order to have her.
But no matter the need he had boiling inside of him to take her, to make her forget Trent, he didn’t want to hurt her. He knew her past, and the last thing he wanted was for her to fear him. She was too important. If he’d figured out nothing else in the hours she’d been gone, he’d figured out that much.
He closed his eyes, breathing deep and trying to calm himself.
His fingers brushed her hair away from her face. Two minutes ago, she’d been right there with him in the moment. Now, she looked more like a scared rabbit, ready to dart into the nearest hole and hide. “Are you okay?”
Her response wasn’t immediate, but eventually she nodded.
Needing to see her face better, he reached to turn on the light. But her whispered please caused him to pause.
“You don’t want me to turn on the light?” She shook her head. “Why not?” Her eyes closed, but she didn’t answer.
His eyes closed and his head fell to her shoulder in defeat. He wanted her. Man, did he want her. But she had to want it too.
With a deep breath, he pushed himself up on his arms and away from her.
It was the feel of her hand on his cheek that caused him to open is eyes again. “Please,” she whispered, “don’t stop.”
“What’s wrong?” His voice was a little harsher than maybe it should be, but he was hanging on by a thread. The woman he’d been fantasizing about ever since she’d cross his path was lying beneath him, her skirt riding up, revealing the creamy skin of her thighs. He wanted to feel that skin wrapped around his waist as he found ways to show her the way he felt about her. Instead, he was trying to figure out why her words were telling him one thing and her body another.
“I’m just . . . nervous.”
He scoffed. “You have nothing to be nervous about. Trust me.”
There was a long pause before she nodded and said, “Okay.”
Chris framed her face with his hands, watching her closely for any sign of doubt or indecision on her part. “You’re sure?”
She nodded.
Pushing all his doubts and questions aside and all his worries that this was only going to complicate everything, he leaned down and kissed her once again, much gentler this time but full of barely controlled passion. She responded, wrapping her arms around him, pulling him closer. He did the same, lifting her off the bed in an effort to mold their bodies together.
Her lips were so soft, and he tried to convey all the emotion he was feeling through their kiss, but it was impossible. What he was feeling was too complicated. She was precious to him and yet at the same time he wanted her in a very primal way. The two were hard to reconcile in his mind and right now Chris wasn’t trying.
As they kissed, he slid his hand down her neck to her collarbone and lower, following the outline of her dress. He felt the curve of her breast and traced the outline up one side and down the other until she was arching up.
She moaned pressing her herself into his touch. The feel of her beneath him was already amazing, and they were still wearing all their clothes. He wanted her, but for some reason now that he had her in his bed and willing, he was in no hurry. Not knowing if this would ever happen again, he wanted to savor every minute of it and commit it to his memory.
He sucked on the soft skin just below her ear, and she shifted her hips as she moved her hands over his shoulders and through his hair.
He gave a gentle squeeze to her nipple, and she gasped and dug her fingers into his back, giving him a sense of satisfaction he hadn’t felt in, well, ever. He needed to see her.
Leaving her breast momentarily, he slid the strap of her dress off of her shoulder, trailing kisses over the newly uncovered skin, first one side and then the other. The dress clung to her cleavage, not wanting to reveal what was beneath.
Seeming as anxious as he was to remove the obstacle keeping him from his goal, she rolled over, and he unzipped her dress, pushing it down as far as it would go. The fabric fell lose, and he quickly pushed it down out of his way to reveal the most perfect breasts he’d ever seen.
Without rational thought, he leaned down, sucking a nipple into his mouth. She responded by burying her fingers into his hair and holding him to her. He’d been dreaming about this since he’d first laid eyes on her. The reality was so much better.
Elizabeth floated in a world of sensation. Downstairs, when Chris had first kissed her, it had been raw, aggressive. Now he was treating her as if she might break. It was such a contrast, just like him. Chris could be hard and demanding, but he had also been there for her as no other man had.
Her brain was barely functioning as he used his teeth to draw her nipple into his mouth. Everything she felt was so different, new, better than she remembered.
She held her breath as his mouth left her breasts and moved down her body. He moved her dress out of the way, as he continued lower.
Suddenly her dress was gone, and Chris was kneeling between her legs looking down at her. The only thing left of her clothing was the pair of black panties.
Even with the lights off, she felt bare, and insecurity reared its ugly head as she frantically reached out for the blanket to cover herself. With clothes, she’d learned to hide her flaws. There was no masking them laid out like this.
Chris grabbed her wrists, stopping her. Their eyes met and he leaned in, covering her. “Are you cold?” he asked, placing a soft kiss just below her ear.
“No.” She shook her head.
He buried his face in her hair, brushing it out of his way before going back to work on her neck. “Then why are you trying to cover yourself?
” When she didn’t answer, he lifted his head and looked her in the eyes. “You’re beautiful, Elizabeth. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“But—”
“No, buts. Your curves are what dreams are made of. I want to worship every inch of you, and then do it again, and again.”
Chris looked so earnest as he hovered above her. The doubts were still there, but she wanted to believe he was being truthful.
Pushing that nagging voice away, she planted a quick kiss on his lips and then lay back down on the pillow, giving him what she hoped was a sultry smile. “If that’s the case, you’re wearing way too many clothes.”
Chris belly laughed, quickly removing his shirt and unbuckling his jeans, pushing them down his legs. Then he threw them in the corner, leaving him only in his underwear.
He was back on top of her. “Better?”
“Better.” She gasped as he kissed her again.
Chris could not remember the last time sex had been this much fun. They laughed and joked with each other, but it didn’t take away from his need to be with her. In fact, it was only increasing it.
She always seemed to have her guard up. It was nice to see her enjoy herself, happy.
The kiss he’d initiated had quickly gone from playful, to heated. Lips and teeth were coming together, desperate to connect. Tongues were seeking, exploring. Hands were moving, caressing. Everywhere she touched him was charged with an energy that pulsed through him, demanding more.
Soon his good intentions of going slow were out the window as he removed the final bit of clothing between them and reached into the drawer beside his bed for a condom, thankful he’d never thrown them out in one of his rare deep cleans and hoping they were still good.
Reaching between them, he made sure she was ready before guiding himself inside. Feeling her was, hands down, the best sensation Chris had ever experienced. Words failed him as he began to move.