Seven Books for Seven Lovers

by Molly Harper, Stephanie Haefner, Liora Blake, Gabra Zackman, Andrea Laurence, Colette Auclair

  Alexiana grabbed Oliver’s arm. “He’s lying. Don’t believe a word out of his filthy mouth.”

  “She told me she wanted to destroy the bitch who stole her fiancé.”

  “Are you gonna believe this worthless yoga instructor or me?”

  Oliver let go of Chris. “I’ll take my chances on him.”

  Alexiana released a guttural growl as she charged at Oliver, like a lioness attacking a zebra.

  Chris grabbed her in a full nelson kind of thing. “Stop. You’ll hurt the baby.”

  “Like you care.”

  Mia watched Alexiana, rage bubbling out of her. The same rage she’d felt for her father. The way she’d treated him, and he was actually innocent, as he’d claimed. “Why would you do that to me? You don’t even know me.”

  “But you sure as hell know my fiancé pretty damn well, don’t you? Everything was perfect until you came along. I would be getting married next month and living happily ever after if it wasn’t for you.”

  “Even without Mia, I wouldn’t have gone through with it. How could you be so vile?”

  “Let go of me,” Alexiana shrieked and jabbed Chris in the rib with an elbow. She adjusted her dress then flashed her devilish gaze at Mia. “Nobody takes shit from me without paying dearly.”

  “Well, news flash,” Mia said. “My business is better than ever. Amazing how the gays took to my shop. They love it!” She looped her arm through Oliver’s. “So now I have my successful business, and your man.”

  It was wrong to rub it in like that. Mia knew, but she couldn’t help it. This woman had messed with her business and her family.

  “Ready to get out of here?” Mia asked Oliver.

  “So ready.”

  They walked toward the bathroom door.

  “Ollie, please!” Alexiana turned on the waterworks full blast. “I’m your oldest friend. You can’t just leave me like this, pregnant with a bisexual deadbeat dad.”

  “Hey,” Chris said. “You don’t know I’ll be a deadbeat.”

  “Good-bye, Alexiana.”

  CHAPTER Thirty-One

  Mia led Oliver out of the club, the fresh air cooling her skin. Life all of a sudden seemed new and different.

  When she’d realized it was Alexiana behind it all and not her father, a feeling of relief washed over her. She’d been in a constant state of animosity with her father and pretty much her sister, too, for years. And to now know everything he’d said to her that morning was the complete truth felt wonderful. He really did love her and want their family back. Mia hadn’t realized until that moment just how badly she wanted that, too.

  And there was something else she wanted pretty damn bad. She and Oliver reached the end of the old brick building, once some kind of factory, and Mia pulled him into the narrow alleyway between buildings. She pushed him up against the wall, recalling the way he’d roughed up Chris. God, that testosterone had really aroused her.

  She pressed her body to his, ravenous lips finding his even in the dark. “I want you,” she murmured between kisses. “Take me to your place.”

  Massaging her body with his powerful hands, he grabbed hold of her ass. “Uh-uh. Your place is closer.”

  Mia giggled as she pulled away and grabbed his hand, running toward the street where they’d parked. Oliver flashed the headlights with his remote as they approached and Mia dropped his hand, practically leaping into the passenger seat. When he got in she collected the front of his shirt in her hand, yanking him to her for another steamy kiss.

  “We’re not going to make it to your place if we keep this up.”

  “Fine by me.” She leaned even farther across the seat to him.

  After a few more kisses, he interrupted the make-out session. “I want this to be right. Every other time we’ve been together has been either hurried or weirdly preplanned.” He ran his hand through her hair and rested it at the nape of her neck. “I want to take my time and make love to you.”

  Well, didn’t that just make her want him more? Mia pressed one last simple kiss to his lips and sat back in her seat, yanking at the seat belt. “You better drive fast.”

  “I think I know a shortcut.”

  The first time Mia had led Oliver up the staircase to her apartment, her gut had been filled with jittery bugs. No butterflies, just nervous little gnats, her stomach telling her she was completely insane. But this time, definite butterflies. The happy kind, soaring and swooping, trying to burst through her pores so they could flutter around them.

  Mia’s hands trembled as she tried to push the key into its slot, Oliver’s warm lips on the back of her neck making it extremely difficult to concentrate on anything, let alone connecting a key to a tiny keyhole. He took the keys from her and opened the door effortlessly. They stepped through and Oliver closed the door behind them, his lips once again on her neck, his hands at her waist, pulling her shirt from her snug pencil skirt. As he unbuttoned it, she arched into him, a nice hard protrusion pressing into her lower back. I can’t wait to have you naked!

  He spun her around and buried his face in her cleavage, pulling at the lacy cup holding her breast. As he suckled her nipple, Mia thought she might explode with orgasm right there. She wrapped her arms around his neck and head, pulling him to her.

  Mia reached for his belt, fidgeting with it, since once again her fingers were not functioning properly. She pulled her body from his starving lips, a groan of disappointment, and sunk to her knees. His groans would take on a whole new meaning in about two and a half seconds. She’d waited for this moment, and embarrassingly, it had run through her mind many times.

  Concentrating on the leather belt in front of her face, Mia ignored the salivation in her mouth, the throbbing in her body. She unzipped his jeans and tugged them down, preparing to unleash the real live Oliver, its glory so massive it almost stuck out the top of his elastic underwear band. Yanking the cotton away, she took him into her mouth.

  “Holy fuck,” he whispered and rested against the back of the door, intertwining his fingers in her hair.

  She’d never been a huge fan of giving head, but with Oliver, she craved it. And the way he massaged her scalp with his magical fingers made the entire experience far more exhilarating than it had been with any other guy—ever.

  “You gotta stop,” he said and reached for her hand, pulling her up.

  Did she do something wrong?

  But by the way he drew her in, covering her mouth with his, she’d no reason to think there was anything wrong at all. His hands to her ass, he lifted her and started toward the bedroom, which seemed like a mile away.

  Finally reaching it, he set her down, wasting no time in yanking her skirt and panties off. Mia watched him undress, standing in almost the exact same spot as that first night, this time feeling not one ounce of trepidation.

  Unhooking her bra and flinging it and her shirt to the floor, she waited for Oliver to come to her. He crawled across the bed, stopping to dip his head for a taste of her. Jolts of pleasure tore through her body, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

  As amazing as it felt, she wanted him on her and in her, connecting them. “I need you,” she begged, pulling an arm he had tucked under her body.

  “Uh-uh,” he said, continuing with his sensual task.

  No use fighting it. Mia relaxed her body, letting him take her far past anything she’d ever experienced before. And as he brought her to ecstasy, she gripped his biceps, riding the waves of orgasm.

  Mia’s chest heaved, labored breaths, but no desire to calm herself yet. As Oliver kissed a trail up her body, her need to hold him had never been stronger. She spread her thighs even wider to accommodate his masculine form, her arms around him, pulling his mouth to hers. The sweetness of her taste was still on his lips, and she didn’t care.

  He pulled back, her body aching for him. Why won’t he just do it? Fingers in her hair again, his gaze deep into hers, he gave her that smile she fell for the second she’d seen it.

&nb
sp; “I didn’t think this would ever happen again,” he whispered, his expression having changed. “Are you sure this is what you want? Have you forgiven me?”

  Had she? Would she want this so badly if she hadn’t? Yeah, she was desperate to make love with him right in that moment, but there was more. Much more. Everything that had happened that day had proved it.

  Her hand brushed his stubbled cheek then made its way to the nape of his neck. “I have.”

  Oliver lowered his mouth back to hers, a kiss starting soft, his supple lips caressing hers. As the kiss gained intensity, he pushed himself into her.

  Oh, I missed this so much! Mia moved her hands to his behind, firm muscles tensing beneath her touch with every thrust. She met him, move for move, his eyes now on hers. He slowed down, and while the horny Mia would have begged him to give it to her fast and furious, this felt . . . different. She wanted to watch his face, share in the joy of ecstasy with him. She was no longer embarrassed to let him see such vulnerability in her.

  He hit her G-spot, vibrating her body, and laced his fingers with hers. He gave them a squeeze as he lowered to grace her lips with a soft kiss. Moving inside her, the pulses became more intense until she cried out in pleasure. All the while, she forced her gaze to stay on his, letting him see her, all of her. And when he erupted with his own orgasm, she held tight to him, watching the euphoria in his eyes.

  Oliver descended on her, exhaustion overcoming him, fingers still intertwined, his chest heaving on hers.

  “I could stay like this forever,” she murmured, in a state of bliss so deep she had no control over her thoughts. Normally she might have regretted letting them come out, but that moment, with Oliver, she didn’t.

  He pulled up, letting go of her hand, and rested on his elbows. He kissed her and moved a stray hair from her face. “I love you, Mia.”

  Her heart stopped. Her lungs stopped. The world sat still. Everything faded away but Oliver’s face. And the expectation in his eyes.

  Mia thought of Bryn and Johnny, the only authentic true love she’d ever witnessed. Bryn had taken the chance at love all those years ago, no clue what would happen. And even after all the tragedy, she still believed in love. Mia had thought she was crazy. Couldn’t understand how Bryn could encourage her to put herself in the position to possibly meet the same misery.

  But walking away now and never claiming Oliver’s love? Could she do that? She owed it to herself, to Bryn and all the true loves who’d found the same terrible fate as she, to push her fears aside.

  Mia’s heart started beating again. Her lungs filled with air. Eyes welling with tears, an uncontrollable smile stretched across her face. “I love you, too.”

  OLIVER WOKE with Mia in his arms, her bare back to his chest. He knew in that moment he’d do anything to make sure he’d wake that way every morning for the rest of his life.

  He nuzzled her neck and kissed it, a satisfied “mmm” emanating from her gorgeous throat.

  “I love you,” he whispered, an undeniable urge overcoming him. He just had to say the words again. And wanted to keep saying them. He’d never said them to Alexiana, not even once. And before that, there had only been one girl, in college.

  Mia turned to him, pressing her lips to his, and pulled away, eyes wide, her smile contagious. “I love you, too.”

  “What do you want to do today?” he asked, his hand stroking her satiny skin, then moving between her thighs.

  She followed suit and took hold of his already hard cock. “Well, after this, we can do anything you want to do.”

  “I’d like to go to the hospital, if that’s okay with you. I know my mom will be so happy to see us together.”

  “Absolutely.” She ran her tongue up his Adam’s apple and nibbled at his earlobe.

  It was getting real hard to continue the conversation. “After we get her settled at home, we can do something fun.”

  “This right here is perfect,” she said and moved on top of him, covering his hard on with her warmth. “We can do this all afternoon.”

  “If you insist.”

  AFTER TWO more take-your-breath-away orgasms, Mia flopped onto the bed next to Oliver, too spent to move.

  “What time do we need to leave?” she asked him.

  “Probably soon, since I have to go home and change. Though I could always wear what I had on yesterday. I know my mother would approve. It would confirm that I spent the night at your place. My dad, on the other hand, would have some kind of comment to make.”

  “And your place is kinda far from here, isn’t it?” She sat up. “We should probably get going.”

  But he yanked her back to his warm embrace, both of them giggling. “I think I want to move. I lived there with Alexiana and all I see when I’m there is misery. And after being at your place and seeing how cool it is, my condo just seems boring. I want to live somewhere like this, with the exposed brick and the bay window.

  A thought popped into Mia’s brain, and right away she knew it was too impulsive, too crazy. They’d just started this relationship, barely twelve hours earlier. The thoughts spinning in her head were insane.

  But isn’t that how real love worked? Mia had known Oliver was special that first day meeting him, even though she thought he was Ryan, her first model interview. They’d had a connection.

  For once in your life, damn it, follow your heart and do something crazy! Maybe crazy was just what Mia needed in her life. It sure as hell had become a lot more interesting since she and Bryn had hatched their crazy idea months earlier. And a big part of it had been Oliver.

  Mia kissed him and ran her hand through his hair, resting it at the nape of his neck, playing with his fuzzy little hairs just how he liked. “Move in with me.”

  His eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “I wasn’t hinting for you to ask that. You need to make sure this is really what you want.”

  Well, that didn’t sound like a guy who was happy he’d been asked to move in. “I am sure. But if you’re not, it’s okay.” She sat up again, trying to keep her voice as nonchalant as possible, even though she felt like she might burst into tears. “You don’t have to move in.”

  He sat up, too, and wrapped his arms around her from behind, kissing the back of her neck. “No, I want to! I love you, Mia, and I want to spend every minute with you. I just don’t want you to regret asking.”

  She laced her fingers with his. “I already know I won’t.”

  A half second later, Mia was tackled onto the bed, laughter from her throat as Oliver covered her with kisses.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “You better believe it,” he said and covered her mouth with a steamy kiss that made her never want to get out of bed.

  “We should go,” Mia managed, breathless, as Oliver’s lips moved south on her body. She found it very hard to speak with such wonderful things going on. “So you . . . have time to . . . uh . . . change.”

  He paused to look up at her, nothing but mischief behind those baby blues. “Fuck what my dad thinks.”

  CHAPTER Thirty-Two

  Standing in line at the coffee shop, it took every ounce of restraint in Mia’s body to keep her hands at her side. All she wanted to do was touch Oliver, run her hands over his stomach, his ass, through his hair. Kiss his earlobe, his neck, the lovely path that ran between his abdominal muscles. But she’d have to be satisfied with her hand intertwined with his as they stood in a never-ending line to grab coffee and a couple of muffins before heading to the hospital.

  They ordered and Oliver paid, hating that he had to drop her hand to reach for his wallet. But when they moved to the side to wait for their order, she was able to face him and stand on tiptoes to plant a kiss on those luscious smiling lips.

  The wail of a baby pierced through the hum of conversation in the coffee shop, even above the gurgle of the espresso machine. Mia peeked over Oliver’s shoulder toward the noise, finding a very familiar looking head o
f dark curly hair atop a shirtless body and a momma with a very unhappy little boy in a carrier against her chest.

  “Oh no.” She broke away from Oliver.

  “Do you know her?” he asked.

  “It’s my sister. I’ll be right back.”

  Mia trotted over, grabbing Gianna as she jumped off a chair and ran around a table. Riley met her gaze, tears ready to roll down her flushed cheeks. “Thank you.”

  While Mia redressed her niece, Riley unhooked the carrier from her body and yanked a bottle from the diaper bag. She shoved the nipple into Nico’s mouth and sat down with a sigh. “This was a bad idea.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “Nico has a doctor’s appointment down the street. I got there and they told me his appointment wasn’t for another hour. I musta wrote it down wrong. So instead of staying there, I brought them here so I could get Gianna something to eat and I could get a caffeine fix. Clearly it was a dumb idea.”

  “No. Not dumb, just a little difficult.” Mia sat Gianna on her lap and handed over her cell phone with a kids’ app she’d downloaded awhile back when she was baby-sitting Bryn’s kids. She noticed the wide-eyed expression on Riley’s face. “Relax. It’s only for five minutes while you drink your coffee in peace. Her brain won’t explode.”

  Riley let a minuscule smile bow her lips as she said a quiet, “Thank you,” then sipped her coffee.

  “So, I . . . uh . . . ” Mia knew what she had to say, but damn was it hard. “I’m sorry I haven’t been the sister you’ve needed me to be.”

  Tears welled in Riley’s eyes again.

  “Bryn and I are close, yes, but I shouldn’t have let our friendship come between you and me. I love you and I’m making some big changes in my life. One of them is to make sure you know that.”

  “Really?” A tear trailed down Riley’s cheek.

  “Yes. And I’m going to make changes with our family, too. I want to get back to how we used to be. Before everything changed. I think we can do that. Don’t you?”