Mistaken Identities

by Lockwood, Tressie

  Stasia shook her head. “I can’t stay in Caldwell, too many ghosts walking around.”

  “We’ve got a plan. We’re going to open a map and both put our fingers on a spot and pick the place in between,” Bryce said.

  “Way to research,” Cole said.

  Stasia pointed at him. “Shut it. Let’s not forget we’re trying to play nice.”

  “I think it’s a good idea,” Kim said. “A little adventure is never a bad thing and Piper’s Glen is your home when you come visit me.”

  “I paid off the other half for you,” Bryce said. “I paid Mrs. Eden because she didn’t know if you were coming back. I wanted that place to be waiting for you.”

  Kim smiled. “Thank you, you big old goof. When I get home I’ll cut you a check.”

  “You don’t have to—”

  “I know, but this is my life and I’m in control of it, so, yes, I’ll be paying you back,” Kim said firmly. “Now you guys need to go grab dinner or walk on the beach. My visiting time is over, but you can come back tomorrow and for the next few days so we can talk, and if you would like you can come to a few sessions with me.”

  They all agreed to be back without hesitation and she hugged them all as they left. He could see Cole felt the same way—that if they left she might be gone in the blink of an eye. He knew it was an overreaction, because he’d never seen his sister so levelheaded in her life. Her eyes were no longer haunted. He was supposed to be the one who was put together and here she was trying to heal all of them. She was taking big steps, like confronting their father and making plans for a future. It was all he ever wanted for her and it was finally happening.

  Back at the hotel, Cole begged off having dinner with them to walk on the beach alone.

  “I hope you packed a dress, because we’re going out on the town to celebrate,” Bryce said.

  “I’d prefer jeans and Downtown Disney,” Stasia said.

  “Really? You want to do the Disney thing?” Bryce asked.

  “I’ve been in Arizona working my ass off and, trust me, there has been very little time for entertainment,” Stasia said. “I want a stuffed Mickey and Minnie.”

  “Oh, you do, and what do I get?” Bryce asked.

  She gave him a sidelong glance and teased, “You may be surprised what I would do for Mickey and Minnie.”

  “You have fifteen minutes to get showered and dressed. Let’s get this ball rolling so we can get to the after party.” Bryce hustled her along to the bathroom.

  Stasia laughed. “Just the assumption that you’ll get laid puts a fire in your steps.”

  He kissed her hard. “Wrong, the promise that we’ll be making love later puts a fire everywhere, not just in my steps.”

  “You and those charmer words will be my downfall,” she called over her shoulder before closing the bathroom door.

  Life was certainly dealing out many cards in his life and while a few of them made him wonder at times if Karma was truly a bitch, right now it felt like he was the luckiest man in the world. She came out of the shower wrapped in a towel and he thought about preempting Disney and dinner for room service and naked romps in the bed. Stasia put that notion to rest and insisted they go and be kids again. She was dressed in cargo shorts that showed off her long ebony legs that seemed to shimmer in the sunlight and a belly cropped T-shirt that said ‘wicked’ across her breasts. She wore white sneakers and pulled her hair into a high ponytail and finished the look with a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses. She looked good enough to eat and this time she took his hand and led him out the door. At the theme park, Bryce felt like they were on the first date he never got to ask her out on. They rode rides and visited every area of Disney.

  “That was just plain creepy,” she said as they came out of the It’s a Small World After All attraction.

  He laughed. “It wasn’t that bad.”

  “Were you even looking? Puppets dressed like natives from every country in the world singing It’s a Small World After All over and over again while their beady little eyes blink at you?” Stasia shuddered. “They look like they come alive after dark and kill people. I’ve seen horror movies like that. Nothing good can come from millions of evil-looking puppets. And that hippo has an eye problem.”

  Bryce laughed out loud. “You are insane and highly critical of a beloved Disney ride.”

  “Who said it was beloved? Show me the people who said it, but you can’t and you wanna know why?” Stasia asked.

  “Okay, I’ll bite, why?” Bryce said.

  “Because the puppets ate them and their bones are under that water we were floating on,” she answered.

  “That’s morbid. You are a very unusual person,” he said.

  “Just calling it like I see it,” she replied and took his hand. “Let’s find junk food.”

  They stayed until the sun set and watched the light parade of Disney characters covered in lights. She whooped and yelled like the kids when Alice in Wonderland passed by on her mushroom, then stared in awe as Tinkerbell flew across the sky before the firework show began. He watched the wonder in her eyes as the lights from each set of pyrotechnics played across her face. She was beautiful and each minute he stood there watching her instead of the show he loved her all the more. She looked at him with a big smile of her pink lips and Bryce swooped in for a kiss. Their lips clung and she held on to him as the sound of fireworks went off not just around them but also in his heart. She stared at him with her full lips parted after the kiss ended and he caressed her cheek with his thumb.

  “Let’s go get some dinner,” he said and took her hand.

  “After I get my Mickey and Minnie.” She dragged him off to the Disney store.

  The night was perfect and when they got back to the hotel, the bubble of fun and magic stayed with them.

  “You go shower and then I’ll go after you,” Stasia said.

  “It would save time if you showered with me,” he said and wrapped his hands around her waist.

  “Be gone with you, and take your shower. If not, no surprise,” she said firmly and slapped his hand away.

  “There is a surprise?” he asked.

  “Oh, yes, there is a surprise,” she purred.

  That sealed it. He was gone in a flash and her laughter followed him. Bryce hummed as the hot spray ran over his body and by the time he opened the door, she was waiting to get in the bathroom and slipped in before he could get his hands on her. He noticed she took a bag in with her and it piqued his curiosity all the more.

  “Be in bed waiting for me, lights on low, sliding door open so we can catch the breeze,” she ordered.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said and did as she requested.

  Twenty minutes later he watched eagerly as she came out of the bathroom and he swore his heart stopped for a minute. Stasia was dressed in a purple nightie that stood out exotically against her dark skin. She wore a garter belt, which held up matching stockings and royal purple stiletto velvet heels on her feet. Her hair was down, flowing in thick, dark tresses over her shoulders. She did a slow seductive turn for him to see clearly there were no panties anywhere. His cock was rigid with arousal as he hungrily watched her.

  “Well, what do you think?” she asked.

  “That tomorrow I’m buying shares from whatever store you got the outfit from,” he said. “Can I touch?”

  “If you didn’t I’d be sorely disappointed,” she answered moving toward the bed. “Stilettos on or off?”

  “Keep them on,” he growled. He sat on the side of the bed and she stood between his legs. Bryce pressed a kiss between her breasts before saying, “This is going to be the roller coaster ride of our lives.”

  “You know me. I like a good screaming ride.” Stasia tunneled her fingers through his hair and leaned down to kiss him deeply.

  Their eyes met and Bryce again lost himself in her gaze. It was like being pulled by a magnetic force and he couldn’t stop himself if he tried. He watched her as their lips met, her eyes closed and Stasi
a made a soft sound of pleasure that made his cock throb. He wrapped her in his arms and he deepened the kiss until every nerve ending in his body screamed her name and begged to be closer to her. They broke the kiss and with lips just a breath away from each other, Bryce buried his hands in her hair. She purred and arched against him while he massaged her scalp.

  “I want you every night for the rest of our lives,” Bryce said huskily. “You feel so perfect in my arms.”

  His mouth rained kisses down her neck before he sucked the soft skin at the base of her neck.

  “I don’t want to be anywhere else,” she whispered. “Make love to me!”

  A growl escaped his throat in surrender and submission to the desire that raged through him. He was hers twelve years ago and no matter where his life took him, Stasia was his reason for being. Their lips met again with such heat it could melt sand to glass. The soft lights of the room cast a glow across her skin and she looked like liquid moonlight. With the amazing evening they had and, now, tonight, Bryce felt like his life had come full circle. She still had the taste of Moscato wine on her when her tongue slipped inside his mouth to dance and twine with his. She was lying on top of him and his hands moved in lazy circles at the dip in her back before cupping her ass.

  She spread her legs and rubbed against him intimately until she gasped and the friction made his cock so hard he ached. He rolled and she wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed herself against his hardness. Bryce groaned and took control of the kiss, devouring her lips.

  He tore his mouth away from her. “I’ve never wanted a woman like I want you.”

  She looked into his eyes. “Take me then. Make me come for you.”

  Her hands roamed over the strong contours of his shoulders. Her touch enflamed him as each caress was like fire against his skin. He filled his hands with the smooth globes of her breasts and she pushed herself into his touch.

  “I love how you touch me,” she whispered.

  “I feel the same way,” he replied.

  “Then I get to explore,” she said and with a deft move he was on his back and she was on top.

  His cock was rigid when she settled herself on her knees between his legs. Bryce watched her movements while she ran her hands down his body and caressed his chest and then flicked her fingernail over his nipple. He gasped and she moved slowly to the part of his body that ached to be inside her. When she took his cock in her grasp and stroked, his breath hissed and his hips lifted to her touch each time she stroked his hard length. Her lips descended and wrapped around the head of his shaft and a low moan left his lips. Stasia took him deeper into her mouth and Bryce thought he could die from the bliss her lips and hands were creating.

  When he could no longer stand it, Bryce pulled her roughly against his chest and claimed her lips in a hunger-filled kiss. His hand slipped between their bodies to her pussy. There he found her slick and moist and slid two fingers deep inside her. Her body bucked above him and she cried out in pleasure.

  Stasia undulated and took his fingers deeper. He spread his own legs so that her thighs were wider around his and he could watch his fingers move in and out of her. She was lithe and beautiful to watch as she took his ministrations. Her back was arched in enjoyment and she cupped her own breasts and played with her nipples.

  “Ride my fingers, darling,” he coaxed her softly. “Take them deep like you fuck my cock.”

  His thumb circled the sensitive nub of flesh between the pink folds of her pussy and she bit her lip and closed her eyes as she moved. A sexy little moan escaped her lips and he continued to watch her body rise and fall, the way her thighs clenched each time her body took his digits inside her. Her wetness glistened against his fingers and her pace increased.

  “I’m going to come, Bryce.”

  Hearing her say his name in the throes of passion drove him wild. She said it in a breathless kind of sultry way that made him want to throw her down and fuck her like there was no tomorrow. He pressed his fingers deeper inside her and used his other hand to play with her upturned nipples, sending her spiraling into an orgasm. He did not wait for her to catch her breath. Watching her come drove his need higher. He loved her, God, how he loved her beyond reason and he hoped she loved him too because no matter how close they seemed to have become she hadn’t said the words yet.

  Bryce pulled her down on his waiting shaft and the feeling of her hot, slick pussy enclosing his engorged cock wrung a harsh cry from his lips. The sheer pleasure of it almost sent him into his own orgasm. He gritted his teeth as Stasia began to move frantically, not a slow build up but a pulse pounding ride that was meant to shatter them in a matter of minutes. Her body writhed and she took his cock over and over again in a feverish thrust of her hips. Bryce cupped the cheeks of her ass while she moved and looked at him with her lips parted and her lids heavy with passion. She was in the throes of her own fervor and he could feel his own release rising. He grabbed her hips to still her movements but she would not be denied.

  “God, Stasia, you’re pushing me to come if you don’t stop,” he groaned, his breathing harsh.

  Stasia didn’t stop. Instead, she braced her hands in the pillow next to his head, clenching them into the softness. “You are so thick and hard. I want more, it drives me crazy. Just let go.”

  “I want to make it last—” Bryce began to say.

  She leaned over and kissed him fiercely, never stopping her rhythm. “We don’t only have this one time. We have forever.”

  Bryce let go and thrust upwards to meet her body every time she moved. Their breathing echoed harshly in the room while his fingers bit into the smooth skin of her chocolate thighs while he pounded inside her and she rode him hard.

  “Now, please, now!” she cried out.

  Her pussy clenched around him like a velvet glove as her orgasm took hold and Bryce felt his own release begin. His harsh groan mixed with her cries of bliss as they went over into the abyss of ecstasy that they found with each other. She fell against his chest and he automatically wrapped his arms around her, cocooning her in his embrace.

  He had stopped believing in soul mates and relationships and, even worse, family life left him embittered to the fact that there was some one for every one but him. But he figured out that he was meant for one certain person and that was Stasia. With the wind blowing a gentle cool breeze through the sliding doors of their seventh floor hotel room, Stasia snuggled close to him and he pressed soft kisses against her neck, inhaling her scent. He’d do this for the rest of his life, even when he was old because she was the other half that made him whole.

  Chapter Seven

  “We need to talk.” Bryce came in the room and stood by the doorway.

  “Sounds ominous.” Stasia tried to keep her voice even and her walls down. Words like that made her instantly defensive.

  The five days that they’d spent with Kim went by quickly and that was almost three weeks ago. They all went to sessions with her, even Stasia because she was one of the first who knew about the abuse. She didn’t know how much it affected her until she began to talk about it. Her defenselessness at not being able to help Kim was one of the contributing factors in her life. In the end, they all had burdens that meshed with Kim’s and they were all connected. So, in that respect, it was good for them to all talk and share sessions with Bryce’s sister. She called them every few days to check in and Stasia ended up talking to her for over a half an hour each time. Now that things seemed to be going well, here was Bryce using the dreaded ‘we need to talk’ sentence.

  “So what are we talking about?” she prodded.

  “Don’t act like I can’t hear the tightness in your voice.” Bryce sat down next to her on the couch and dropped a map between them. “We need to pick a place to live. I have to put in for a job with whichever police force is there.”

  She laughed as her mood instantly lightened. “I thought we were kidding about that?”

  “You said you weren’t going to stay in Caldwell
and I refuse to live without you so we need to find a middle ground,” Bryce explained. “So, come on, let’s roll this out and pick a place.”

  She sat on the carpet and patted the place in front of her. “Okay, let’s do this. Eyes closed and we go on three.”

  Bryce nodded and spread out the map before sitting across from her. “Ready? Eyes closed.”

  “You too and no peeking.” Stasia closed her eyes. “One, two, three.”

  She put her finger on the map and felt his arm very close to hers. “Did you look?”

  He shook his head. “No, did you?”

  “Nope,” she answered and looked down. “We both picked Hatteras Island.”

  “Should we pick again?” he asked.

  “No, I like the beach and it’s warm,” Stasia said and added hesitantly, “If you join the sheriff department there, it will be a small community. Do you want a big city cop job?”

  “No, I like being a small town sheriff. I just don’t want it to be here anymore,” Bryce replied. “Too many ghosts. Hatteras is far enough away that I feel like it’s a fresh start and close enough so we can visit Kim when she comes home.”

  “So Hatteras Island it is,” Stasia said.

  He nodded and pulled her into his arms as he lay back on the floor. “Yes, ma’am, I’ll file for a job there tomorrow. There is one more thing that we need to discuss.”

  “And that is?” Stasia said as she lay against his chest. She looked down into his blue eyes and the small flecks of gold in his irises.

  “Do you love me?” Bryce asked.

  Her heart rate increased. Was she ready for that kind of commitment? If he knew she loved him, would he use that as a weapon and play her emotions against her? Being with him and being in a relationship was one thing, telling him that she loved him was a whole other level.

  “You’ve been quiet way too long. Are you contemplating running away?” Bryce nibbled her neck. “Because I don’t plan on giving you up without a fight.”

  “What if I said I didn’t love you?” she asked quietly.