“Dani, you’re exaggerating,” chided Richard.
She looked at him angrily.
“Really? If you have so much faith in her goodness, why haven’t you asked her where she goes all the time?”
Richard had nothing to say to that.
“You know as well as I do that she has been cheating on you. That’s her pattern. You haven’t asked her because you don’t want to know the truth. Now you’re going to let her destroy what we have.”
Dani couldn’t keep the sobs in when she said that.
Richard sat down next to her and slipped an arm around her.
“Dani, you know that making love to you was beautiful. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever experienced. But… I don’t know… How could we let that happen? We can’t make it into more than it was.”
He looked helpless.
Dani looked up at him, her eyes direct.
“You don’t mean that. You don’t really believe that. This is a good thing, can’t you see that, Richard? I know it hurts now, but… It was over. Your marriage was over. Now we don’t have to sneak around anymore. We can be together. Richard, we can enjoy each other, however long it might last, without hiding it. I never wanted to hide it. I want to be with you. I’m not ashamed of it. I don’t want you to be ashamed of it, either.”
Richard held her tight, as if to absorb all the pain in her.
“I’m not ashamed of it, Dani. I’ll never be ashamed of it. But I need to think about all this. It’s a lot to take in. We’ll talk about it, alright? I’ll let you know where I am and we can talk about it. I promise.”
Dani looked up at him with naked trust in her eyes.
“It will be all right, won’t it? You won’t let me down. You won’t.”
The faith in her voice shook Richard. He had never had such unshakeable loyalty given to him before. He knew what a precious gift it was.
“I have to go now, Dani. But I promise it will be fine. I have to go and pack now,” said Richard, and with one final squeeze, he walked up the stairs.
When he came down with his bag, Dani was still sitting where he had left her, hugging her knees.
“Dani…”
She looked up at him.
“I’ll call you. I promise you that. Keep your phone with you,” said Richard.
Dani ran to him and hugged him, kissing him desperately. He returned that kiss with as much ardor as she was giving him.
“I will. I’ll see you soon,” said Dani.
“Goodbye, Dani.”
Richard got in his car and drove away.
Chapter Five
Dani finally got herself back to her room. She didn’t know what to do.
Making love with Richard had been amazing. It had been everything she had dreamed it would be and so much more. Dani was beginning to think she might love him. She might not be able to avoid the word anymore. She couldn’t stop everything that was in her heart.
It had torn her apart to see Richard like that. He had been so hurt. Part of her had been hurt for her own selfish reasons, though. She had seen how he had wanted to hide the truth from Liz. She had seen the sadness in his face when Liz had said everything she had said.
Richard still cared about Liz. Dani could see it, and that hurt her. She didn’t want Liz to have any part of Richard’s heart.
Anyway, he had never said he loved her. Would he have, if Liz hadn’t come in, guns blazing right at that moment?
What timing her mother had, thought Dani, bitterly. She had ruined everything. She knew that Liz had cause to be angry. For once, all her drama had been justified.
But she didn’t care about Richard. She didn’t care about Dani, either. She didn’t care about anybody except herself. She had seen her mother go through strings of boyfriends. Not because she had told Dani about them. She had pushed Dani as far out of her life as possible.
No, she had known about all of her boyfriends, thanks to the society pages in tabloids. There had been a veritable parade of them.
Finally, when her mother finally found a good man, she had made him miserable. Dani had given him happiness. She was glad about that.
Dani got more and more nervous as she stayed in the room. Her mother would be home soon. Liz had reserved all her anger for Richard earlier, but Dani knew that that would change when she came back.
She wouldn’t forgive Dani for this. There was no way she would forgive Dani. And Dani didn’t want her forgiveness.
The truth was that there was no way Dani would ever forgive her mother for how she had treated Richard, either. Or for how Liz had shoved Dani out of her life for so long.
Dani heard the door slam again. She listened as footsteps came up the stairs. They got closer, and closer. Dani held her breath, and sure enough, there was a hard knock on her door.
Dani had locked it. She was drained. She didn’t want another fight. She really didn’t want to open the door.
But she was no coward. “Chin up, Dani,” she murmured to herself, and walked to the door.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.
Liz looked cold – ice-cold bitch, thought Dani.
“I want you out of my house,” said Liz.
The words were clipped and frigid.
“What?”
Dani was a bit dazed. It occurred to her later that she should have seen it coming. But it had blindsided her.
“I don’t want you under my roof anymore. It’s still my home. My house. Did you think that you could fuck my husband and still stay here?”
She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow as if she was coldly amused at Dani’s naiveté.
“You’re kicking me out?” asked Dani.
Liz laughed. It wasn’t a pretty sound.
“You’re an adult now. I have no obligation to let you live here. I should kick you out right now, but I’ll give you till morning to pack your bags and get out,” said Liz.
“Fine by me. Did you think I was going to live with you forever? I’ll be out in the morning, and happy to be gone,” said Dani, and closed the door in Liz’s face.
Dani walked to her bed and sat down heavily.
She hadn’t really expected that to happen. At least Liz hadn’t kicked her out in the middle of the night.
Of course, it wasn’t like she had no place to go. She had a trust fund that would kick in as soon as she turned twenty-one. Her father had a holiday home right there in town. She could always just go over there and get the keys from the agents. She wouldn’t have a problem surviving. She would be fine.
But it was still a shock. She hadn’t expected her mother to just throw her out. She had always known that Liz didn’t care, not really. But still…
As Dani thought about it, she noticed that she suddenly felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Had Liz thought that Dani would be distraught? She wasn’t. She was glad to no longer have any ties with Liz.
Dani felt free.
She was finally free of all guilt that she might have felt.
Now all that was left for her to do was to find Richard, and make her happy ending come true. Dani settled back into bed and smiled. She would get her happy ending. Things looked bad right now, but she could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Everything would be fine. She would make everything fine.
The End of Book 4 of 5
* * *
Book 10: Dating the Old Man 5
Copyright © 2015 All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
This story has erotic themes and is suitable for adults, 18+ only.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Epilogue
>
Chapter One
Dani couldn’t sleep. She tried counting sheep. She tried tossing and turning. She tried glaring at the ceiling. She tried getting up and pacing the room.
Finally, she walked to her window and watched the moon rise. It was a serene night, thought Dani, as she watched the stars winking and twinkling.
There was no choice but to face it. A part of her life was over. She was nineteen, so she was used to being an adult, but it was mostly the fun part of being an adult. Her mother hadn’t been much of a safety net or a comfort, but still, she’d been there. In a way.
Now she wouldn’t be there. Dani knew that. At least she wouldn’t be homeless. She had sent an email to the agent who took care of her dad’s properties, and had been told immediately that she could pick up the key the next day.
So she should’ve felt better about things. She wouldn’t have to deal with Liz anymore. She would still be independent. She had never planned to just live off her trust fund, anyway. She had always planned to work for her living.
So why did she feel as if her heart had been broken?
Sighing, she stuck her head out of the window, hoping the brisk air would make her feel better. Nothing was going to get her to sleep, obviously.
She knew why.
Richard hadn’t texted or called.
Richard had assured her that he would let her know where he was. He would meet her and talk to her the next day. Dani planned to make sure that the talk would end exactly how she wanted it to. She was sure that she could make him see things her way.
She was a convincing talker, and she had logic on her side. Once you took Liz out of the equation, everything was just so clear. She had to believe that Richard would see it, too.
She knew that what she felt for Richard was real. She felt so strongly about him that she had to believe that she could convince him of that, too. She had to.
But he hadn’t texted. He hadn’t called. She didn’t want to leave the house the next day and go to her dad’s place. She wanted to leave and go to Richard. She wanted to be with Richard.
There, thought Dani, her face bleak. That was the real truth. No matter how secure her future was despite whatever her mother could do, she could never be happy without Richard.
She needed him to call her. She needed him to call her and tell her that he wanted to see her. That he hadn’t talked himself out of seeing her again.
Wryly, Dani reflected that she really wasn’t used to this. She had always been in control whenever she had dated before. Every time she hooked up with somebody in college, and that wasn’t that often, she held the reins.
Like with poor Brian. Dani felt a pang as she thought of him. Had he felt like this when she ignored him? Sure, she had made it plain to him that she wasn’t interested in a relationship, but that doesn’t make hope die. If you’re in love with somebody, you keep hoping that they’ll change your mind, even after they tell you that they don’t see you that way. She really hoped Brian hadn’t imagined himself in love with her.
Richard hadn’t tried to tell her to leave him alone. But he hadn’t seemed all that keen on seeing her again, either. Dani tried to tell herself that there definitely were extenuating circumstances.
When your wife catches you fucking your stepdaughter, it probably counts as extenuating circumstances that could scramble a man’s brains. He would probably need time to process that. She should give him that time. It was only fair to give him time.
But Dani needed him. She couldn’t help how much she needed him. She needed him to feel about her the way she did about him.
She had done everything she could to make him see that she was a woman. And it had worked! He had made sweet love to her like she was his woman. She had never felt like that before. She had never felt that much pleasure before.
He hadn’t just touched her body. He had touched her heart and her soul. Nobody else had touched her heart. She had never known it could be so beautiful to open her body to a man and have him pleasure her so exquisitely.
Dani could feel herself getting wet again at the memory. It had been so beautiful. He had touched her so skillfully, so much better than she could herself.
Dani was so turned on now that she wanted to touch herself, just like he had. His fingers had just barely grazed her hot, wet center. He had slipped inside her at the very last minute, leaving her begging for him. She had just been a limp puddle of needs by the time he had eased his thick, long cock inside her wet, tight, needy little pussy.
He had wanted her to look into his eyes when he did that. She had seen the depth of his desire for her in his eyes. She had seen the need in his eyes.
She hadn’t imagined it. It was real. What she felt for him was real. He had felt it for her, too. She had seen it. She would not question what she knew, deep inside her heart.
If she had to show him that all over again, then that’s what she would do.
Finally decisive, Dani started to pack up her things. She would spend the rest of the night boxing up whatever she wanted to take with her. She wouldn’t put it past her mother to just burn everything she left behind.
Chapter Two
Three hours later, Dani could see the first signs of dawn. She was sweaty and filthy. She had packed like her life depended on it. She had labeled everything. She could call a moving company and get it all taken to her dad’s place at eight. Or she could book a storage unit and have everything taken there.
The phone seemed to be taunting her. Giving up, she grabbed it and dialed Richard’s number. There was no answer. Well, obviously not, she chided herself. Not everybody was awake at that time.
Impulsively, she ran out of her room, down the stairs and out through the back door. She made her way to the cliffs.
It would be another beautiful day, thought Dani. She would make it a good day, too. The sun’s rays were beginning to paint the sky in Technicolor.
Dani walked down the stairs to the beach. Slipping her sandals off, she walked to the edge of the water and let the wavelets wash over her feet. The water was cool, but she welcomed it.
She considered just stripping and taking a swim in the sea, but it was just a bit too chilly for that. Smiling, she thought of the time she had met Richard there. It had been a perfect morning, too. It had been a perfect moment.
She would have many perfect moments with him. She knew that. She let herself woolgather for a while, and finally, she walked back up the stairs. She walked around to the front of the house instead of the back. She felt like saying goodbye to the gardens, too.
It was then that she noticed a car coming up the drive. It was Liz, but she wasn’t alone. She was with an older man with silver hair. When the car came to a stop in front of the house, they turned to each other, their lips locked in a passionate kiss.
Dani watched as her mother kissed a man who wasn’t her stepfather as if she would devour him.
Slowly, she backed away and made sure that she was out of sight. She crept back around the house, though she didn’t think they would notice even an earthquake, and let herself in through the back door. Tiptoeing, she made her way back into her room.
Of course, Dani had suspected that Liz was having an affair. But she hadn’t actually seen it with her own eyes. Now she had, and she found that she was glad. Surely Richard would feel less guilty if she could tell him about this!
All that had mattered to Liz when she found them was her hurt pride. She hadn’t been heartbroken or betrayed like Richard imagined. Despite having been married to her for years, Richard had only seen the best in Liz.
Richard always saw the best in people, thought Dani, fondly. She loved that about him, too. But she had a cynical streak, thanks to her mother, and she had seen through the rage. Now she knew that Richard hadn’t had her mother’s heart for a long time.
She didn’t understand it. Her mother could use people and discard them carelessly, but she had never married any of them. To have married Richard, she must have truly cared. But i
f she did, how could she have treated him this way?
Dani looked at her phone longingly, willing it to ring.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when it actually did beep.
A text!
Eagerly, she unlocked her screen and checked, praying that it was Richard.
It was.
Darling Danielle, I’m at the Astoria. Room 405. I’ll be here all day. Come and meet me. We need to talk.
Dani read it over and over again. She felt her eyes fill with happy tears and brushed them away.
He wanted to see her. He had called her his darling.
As she read it for the fiftieth time, her phone beeped again.
I miss you.
Dani couldn’t possibly have smiled any wider. He missed her.
She agonized over what to reply to him. She didn’t want to seem too eager. Then again, why not? She wanted to be with him. He knew that. He missed her.
I’ll be there as soon as I can. I miss you so much. I can’t wait to see you.
She chewed her lip, wondering if that was too much. She deleted it and typed it again. Finally, she just sent it.
The sun was rising when Dani set her alarm for eight and finally settled down in bed.
Just for a few minutes, she told herself. She had set the alarm just in case. She wasn’t really going to sleep or anything.
Dani’s eyes closed almost as soon as her head touched the pillow. Her lips curved in a smile as she watched her happy ending unfolding in her dream.
She dreamed of being with Richard, in his arms. She dreamed of going places with him. She dreamed of holding his hand as they walked through Rome, and sat at cafes in Florence.
Dani slept like a princess, anticipating, waiting for her prince. But even in her sleep, she knew that she was the one in love. Not Richard. He hadn’t said that he loved her. She needed him to.
Chapter Three
Dani walked into the lobby of the Astoria and paused. She didn’t really know what to do.
Man of the House: An Older Man Younger Woman Romance Page 14