Third Date

by Leah Holt

  Layne wasn't telling me everything that was going on inside his head, but I wanted to give him the space to figure it out. This was his journey, and I only came for the ride.

  My body surged almost instantly, the heat crackled down my spine and pooled between my thighs. “Oh, yeah? A little release, huh?” Letting my fingers work their way down his arms, I traced the ink-painted designs in slow sultry movements.

  Rolling to his stomach, his face lit up, staring at me under half-lidded eyes. The first sign of real excitement I'd seen since getting off the plane. “It couldn't hurt to try.” The strength of his hands wrapped my thighs, thumbs digging in and pressing towards my swelling button.

  My belly began to spin, turning in spastic jolts, and flooding with butterflies. It didn't matter how many times Layne touched me, it always felt the same. His hands shattered my thoughts, washed away my concern, and flooded my brain.

  Purring under my breath, I blew hot air over his lobe, and whispered. “Let me make you forget why you're here, let me take you to another place that belongs to us and us alone.” Flicking my tongue over his ear, I nibbled it gently. “Let me show you why I'm the woman who will always make you lose yourself, and erase any fears you might have.”

  “That voice alone could put me over the edge.” An animalistic growl slipped through his teeth, rumbling up from a deep forbidden place.

  Feverishly, his hands grasped at my dress, pushing the fabric aside. I was still bare and naked beneath, ready and willing. My sex was pulsing with need, warming and soaking with just the look in his eyes.

  Layne's fingers tickled over my legs, sending a quiver through my body. Snapping his eyes up to my face, he flashed a greedy smile. He had felt it too, and it only fed his devourous nature.

  His growl deepened, rolling into a voice that was so low, so savage, it made my heart skip over itself. “You're a needy little woman, aren't you?” Layne's lips hit my inner thigh, his teeth dragging over the hot skin. “You can't get enough of my cock, can you?”

  Crawling up my trembling frame, his mouth suckled small quick bits of my body. They landed on my belly as he forced the fabric higher, making me shake. They landed on my ribs, making me inhale a short gasp of air. They landed on my chest, hovering over and around my breast, but not fully touching it.

  I couldn't stop my reaction, I couldn't slow down my heart, or rapidly throbbing clit. My nipples stiffened, eagerly trying to reach the warmth of his tongue.

  He was teasing the fuck out of me, and loving every second.

  “Stop being such a tease,” I said through air filled coos. “I'm going to make you pay for every second longer you keep me waiting.”

  “Sassy, that's hot. But I think right now I'm the one in control.” His finger gently circled my nipple, plucking it and twisting it. Arching my back, I let my head fall back. “Yeah, right now, I'm the one holding all the power.”

  Trailing his finger away from my breast, he rode my ribs down, slipping his hand into the small of my back. His nails dug in to hold me in place, lips crashing down in wanton need onto my mouth.

  He wants control, he can have it this time.

  But two can play that game.

  Stripping my clothes off, Layne's eyes glowed, flickering in small bursts of light. He wasn't just enjoying my body, his stare went deeper, wrapping around my heart, and holding it tight.

  Should I tell him now about the baby? The thought lingered for a mere second, only to be swept away as he coiled his fingers into my roots and tugged.

  A moan swept over my tongue, my lids crashing down as my head snapped back. Prickles broke across my skin, framing my spine and working their way down my legs. My pussy was painfully swollen, pulsing so fiercely I wasn't sure how much longer I would last.

  “Fuck me, Layne. Please, fuck me, I can't take it anymore.” A sultry mask glazed my pupils, tearing away the last thread of control I had.

  His grin was sexy and wicked. Leaning into my ear, he spoke with such certainty and willfulness. “You're mine now, Kin, all of you.” Lifting his finger to my face, he said, “Here, and...” Pausing, his finger drifted to my sex. “Here...” Raising to my chest, he glided up between my breasts. “And here.” Landing on my heart, he kissed the pounding muscle.

  I couldn't speak, there were no words. He was right in so many ways, and yet...

  Layne still knew nothing.

  He didn't know that as much as he had claimed me right then, that he had me from the beginning. He didn't know that my heart had made room for him, and was more than open to having him forever.

  And he didn't know the secret I was carrying.

  Our baby, our life we shared, the family we were going to have.

  Lifting his body, he tore his pants down in one quick snap. His cock was standing proudly, thick and firm. The tip was damp and glistening, shaft hard and pulsing as he laid his body over mine.

  Reaching down, he grabbed his wallet and pulled out a condom. Stealing it from his fingers, I threw it to the floor.

  You don't need that, you haven't needed that for awhile now.

  Layne watched the rubber drop from my hand, and as his mouth opened to protest, I hushed him with one finger.

  His eyes studied my face for a second, brows furrowing up. He didn't object, he didn't try and reach back down to grab the protection.

  Then as if he had read my mind, his muscles relaxed, letting his chest sweep across my breasts. Layne settled into the thought of me taking the control.

  Wrapping my fingers around his member, I guided it to my pussy, slipping it just into the opening. Our eyes were still locked on each other, bodies doing the talking for us.

  Holding himself up on his elbows, Layne slowly slid himself in. Pressing me open, his balls tempted my ass as he held steady in place.

  Running my fingers though his hair, I stared into his soft expression. Our emotions had turned from feral and needy, to something more. We weren't just having sex, or fucking, or screwing, or any other simple name you could give it.

  We were no loner just two people longing for comfort and finding more in the life we had grown to know.

  We had become one.

  One body, one soul, one heart.

  This was love.

  I saw it spark in his eye, I watched it change his body from rigid to realization. And as it settled between us, he began to move, thrusting with such passion I felt him in every single pore, vein, nerve; he made love to me.

  My hips met his rhythm, pumping and gyrating up. His tongue flicked my nipple, teasing the hardened bead, and I lost all sense of myself. The heat of his body swept over mine, his heart thumping against my chest as his engorged cock stretched my walls.

  Harder and harder Layne pushed himself inside me, my pussy milking and wrapping tightly around him to keep him inside.

  The tingles began to spread through my muscles, breaking over my skin and emerging in small droplets of sweat. “Layne! Oh, Layne! Don't stop, don't stop,” I screamed as he hit my clit with such force I couldn't hold back the electricity scorching my core.

  Raking my nails down his back, my toes curled as the orgasm liquefied my insides. A long moan escaped my lips, my chest rising and falling in rapid bursts.

  Slowing his pace, Layne reached under my shoulders and gripped hard, his head falling into my chest as his body gave way.

  Pulse after pulse his pearly come filled my sex, sealing us together, cementing the feelings that flowed through my body like water.

  Lifting his face, his cheeks were flushed, breathing hard and shallow.

  And together we breathed, we stared.

  We lived.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Layne

  It's happening, it's happening and I'm not even sure I'm ready for it.

  The rental car purred quietly beneath my hands, vibrating through my palms and silencing the world around me.

  Kinsley sat beside me, her eyes large and awestruck by the massive house we had just drove up to.r />
  My knuckles had drained to ghost white, fingers digging into the leather wrapping around the steering wheel. It was strange, to be parked out front of the home that my family... My family lived in, laughed in, held memories and grew children in.

  This was what I always dreamed of, but now that it was here, I couldn't breathe.

  The muscles in my chest were clenching my ribs, making the air difficult to swallow. A sour taste filled the back of my throat, and all I wanted to do was throw up.

  “Are you ready?” Kinsley asked. But her words were so distant and quiet I almost missed them completely.

  “I... I don't know. I want to be, but this just seems so strange. I don't even feel like I'm really here, like I'm someone else and this is just a wild dream.” My eyes stayed static on the house, watching the windows, and trying to imagine what it would've been like to grow up here.

  To play in the front yard, to feel the grass on my bare feet as a young boy, to wake up on Christmas morning to a tree full of presents. The flashes kept coming, more and more vivid, more and more elaborate.

  My sister as a child, chasing me around the house, playing hide and seek between the large bushes decorating the house line. Anna and myself celebrating birthday after birthday, and family barbecues under the hot summer sun.

  The images were so real, and I had to close to my eyes to try and bring myself back to reality.

  That wasn't my childhood, that wasn't even close to what I had. I had holidays alone while my foster dad got drunk, and spent every last dime at the casino. My birthdays were either forgotten completely or honored by the quick, 'Happy Birthday,' sentence thrown my way in passing.

  Every picture in my head was everything I dreamed of, everything I imagined a normal childhood would be like.

  But none of it was what I had.

  I'll never really know what's it like, there's no point in wondering.

  Fire brushed my cheeks and made them prickle. I didn't need to hear what their life had been like, but I did need to hear why I wasn't a part of it.

  For the few hours before we arrived, I tried to convince myself that this was how my life was supposed to be. That everything that happened to me made me who I was, and led me here.

  But the longer I repeated those words, the harder it was for me to believe it.

  I wanted to prepare myself for the answers I might get, and those I might not like. The reason why they had given me up, the reason why they never looked for me until now.

  And the biggest question... Where do we go from here?

  Kinsley's fingers brushed my arm, tearing my eyes from the worry flooding mind. “This is real, Layne, and you are here. You're about to get everything you've ever looked for, you're ready.” Squeezing my forearm, she sent me a reassuring smile.

  “What if they don't like me?”

  “Is that what's been bothering you?” Veering her stare, her eyes bored into my heart. “Layne, that's ridiculous. What's not to like?” Slipping her fingers through my hair, she brushed the strands back. “You're successful, you're smart, you're a great person. There isn't one bad thing about you.”

  Smiling through thin lips, I wanted to tell her she was right, that I knew they were my blood and that should be thicker than any personality quams. But I didn't feel that, I didn't believe it myself.

  Drifting my eyes back to the front door, Anna was standing in the doorway and waving us in. “Looks like we've been spotted, too late to run now.” I joked, trying to force out a laugh.

  “Let's go meet your family, Layne.” Pulling the handle, Kinsley exited first, as I stayed for a few seconds longer.

  Inhaling a few deep breaths, I cleared my thoughts, and pumped myself up the best I could.

  This is it, this is everything, right here right now.

  Why run away when you've done nothing but run to it your entire life?

  It's time.

  Stepping out of the car, Kinsley waited at the front, her hand held out. Braiding her small fingers into mine, a twinge of strength coursed through my veins. This woman had been through a lot.

  Kinsley knew what it was like to lose someone she loved, she knew the pain it felt to have your family torn apart. And she was here with me, leading me to my family.

  If anyone could understand my feelings... It was Kinsley.

  And I couldn't thank her enough for coming with me.

  Nearing the door, Anna had the same forced smile she did the day before when we parted ways. Her arm extended to open the screen door. Stepping back, she offered us into her home.

  “Hey, how was your night?” she asked, shutting the door behind us. Stepping back, she created so much distance between us that I knew she wasn't interested in a hug. So I offered a handshake.

  “It was good.” I wasn't sure what to say to her, what to ask, where to drive our conversation. Luckily, Kinsley took the lead.

  “Your house is amazing. Is this real marble?” Gliding her finger over a large statue set in the entryway, Kinsley's eyes explored the rest of the miniature mansion. Cautiously, she watched her footing as always, taking a wide step around the statue.

  Always afraid of her toes. But never truly afraid.

  One thing I admire about her is that strength.

  Nerves were something everyone dealt with at different points in their lives, today mine were stewing and boiling. But nerves and fear are different.

  Kinsley, she was fear's worst nightmare.

  And I was drawn to that, like a moth to a flame. Confidence spilled from her, from every pore, every crack; She was everything I could ever want in a woman.

  The place really was spectacular. The granite tiles were arranged to depict an intricate flower design. There were paintings lining the walls, some were abstract and imageless, while others were beautifully crafted portraits of people.

  The statue that Kinsley was infatuated with had to stand nearly four feet high. It was a man holding a large nautical compass, peering off into some distant sea. The stone was deep gray, riddled with blacks and whites. But the entire piece looked like it was created from one single chunk of rock.

  Anna stood uncomfortably, twining her hands behind her back. Her eyes danced around us, but not hitting either of ours straight on. “Um, I think so. But you'd have to ask my father, he would know.”

  “Is he here? I'd love to learn more about this piece, it's absolutely stunning.” Flashing a giant grin, Kinsley angled her head in curiosity.

  “Kinsley's a teacher, so everything in here I'm sure she'll have questions about.”

  Nodding her head, Anna swayed in place, holding an uninterested; I don't care, why are you telling me that; look. “That's cool.”

  “So, is everyone here?” I finally asked. The question had been weighing on me, and I didn't want to stand here too much longer if I could help it.

  I wasn't here to explore the interior design, or grovel at Anna's feet with the small talk that comes from awkward conversation with someone you don't know. I was here to meet my parents. And if this was too much for her to deal with, I cringed at what they might be feeling.

  “Uh, yeah, yeah they're here. They're waiting in the library.” Twisting over her shoulder, Anna pointed down a long hall. “I can take you to them, if you'd like.”

  Suddenly my veins exploded with hot blood, my body heated as my insides went up in flames. Her words hit me, they shook me to the core.

  Holy shit... They're here.

  My fingers began to tremble, the subtle shake crawled up my arms, coiling around my chest. I was having a hard enough time breathing, and now it felt like all the oxygen had been sucked from the room.

  I couldn't talk, my brain was in overdrive trying to keep my body from imploding and all my insides from collapsing on themselves. Shaking my head yes, I stared at her with huge, stunned eyes.

  Kinsely's hand drifted into mine, tugging me out of my self-made solitary box. “Are you ready, Babe?”

  “I'm not sure I'll ever be ready for this.�
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  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Kinsley

  This place is incredible.

  There was art hanging that probably cost more than my car, and antique portraits that I was guessing were members of Layne's long lost family.

  A woman in an old Victorian dress was set in the center of the room we were standing in, her face held a stone-like expression, but she looked like she was watching all of us. It was gorgeous and eerie at the same time.

  It was the eyes, some say a person's spirit could be captured in a picture. And if that was true, then her picture had sealed her deep inside. I couldn't shake the feeling that her eyes followed us as we pressed on, watching us as we walked behind Anna.

  Shivering to the thought, I looked over my shoulder one last time before turning the corner.

  Another portrait greeted us as we headed down the hall, this one was an old man, dressed in a military uniform from the civil war. He was brandishing an old musket, face stern and aged, though he couldn't have been older than thirty—if I had to guess.

  Anna led us further down the hall, her head faced straight, not once turning to talk to her brother. I found her interactions strange, despite the situation.

  I didn't want to tell Layne, but she gave me a bad feeling.

  I wasn't too sure why that feeling rested like a heavy weight in my gut, it just did. There was definitely no denying that she was his sister, they resembled each other to a T. But she didn't present herself with the level of excitement I would expect.

  Then again, Layne wasn't either.

  Maybe that was a quirk the two of them had in common. A safety mechanism that lets them just shut off their emotions in a stressful situation.

  Reaching a door in the hall, Anna pushed it open, then stopped, turning to Layne for the first time since we entered. “Layne, I want you to know that regardless of how things go, I was really happy to meet you.” Her smile tugged to one side, then faded just as quickly, nudging him in with a quick snap of her head.

  Stepping in, Layne walked in slow motion, his body rigid and anxious. This was the first time since we met that he even showed a glimpse to the fact he could be nervous. Sweat beaded up on the back of his neck, sprinkling across his forehead. His hands opened and closed, as they hung tightly by his side.