The fiction novels certainly opened my eyes to the world of sex and eroticism. My mind had boggled reading some of the scenes in the books they’d sent me. I’m so glad that they had no idea of my age otherwise I’d have missed out on some very steamy lessons in what a guy likes, and what he can do with his tongue and dick. I have one word to describe them—fuckin’ hot—okay, maybe two words.
Donovan is going to have a shock when he discovers what I know. I’ve never wanted to practice on anyone but Donovan. To be honest, I can be shy by nature, but something tells me I’m going to be too lost in the man to worry about being shy. And now I get to spend hours in the car with him while he drives me home. I’m not even going to ask him if he wants me to share the driving because I know what his answer will be. One very big, fat NO! He’s rather possessive about his truck. And yes, I’m rolling my eyes.
Chapter Four
Donovan
Turning down the road to Mara’s apartment to pick her up, I spot a space directly out front, which doesn’t happen often. Much to the annoyance of the car that comes up behind me, I reverse into the space and spot the woman of my obsession struggling through the front door with her suitcase and bag.
Jumping out of my truck, I run over and help her by taking the suitcase out of her hands.
“I’ve got this,” I say, pulling it the rest of the way through the door.
“Thanks. The door keeps sticking.”
“It always has.”
She turns her face up to look at me, but not before I catch the scent of her perfume.
Very subtle, but it’s there teasing my nostrils. I’m going to be damned uncomfortable on our ride back south, and I’m not talking a couple of hours here. It’s probably going to take us about seven hours to reach our destination, which is why I wanted to get going so early in the morning.
Now I have my fresh-faced beauty standing in front of me with a smile on her lips as she waits for me to get moving. But I can’t move, instead, I’m blocking her way with my feet feeling like lead.
“I thought you wanted an early start,” she comments, tilting her head to one side as she observes me.
“Um, yeah.” I turn away and put one foot in front of the other back to my truck.
Her soft footfalls behind me tell me she’s following. My only hope is that I can pull myself together before we’re cooped up in the truck all day. It’s going to be a long drive trying to keep my distance from her. I’m not sure why Reece suddenly decided it was cool for me to hang with his ‘out of bounds’ sister, but apparently it is.
If I can manage to bury the lust to have this woman as my own then I’m planning on enjoying my time with her because I might not get the chance again.
She’s beautiful today, as always, and looks stunning and fresh. Her dark curls have been left down, and if I close my eyes, I see my fingers sliding through her lengths as I wrap the strands around my hands while I slowly make love to her.
I try to shake the image from my mind. These are the kind of thoughts that I need to keep for when I have privacy and not when I’m opening the back door of my truck to toss her stuff inside.
“Do you want me to put your bag in here as well?” I ask, keeping my back to her so she doesn’t see the bulge in the front of my jeans.
“That would good. I don’t need anything out of it.”
She hands me her bag, which I store in the back before shutting the door. As I turn to get into the truck, she’s still standing behind me.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
“Yeah.” I laugh to hide my embarrassment. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Um,” she glances down, “no reason.”
With a smirk on her face, she walks around to the passenger side and climbs in while I’m left cussing—me and my fuckin’ dick.
Slamming into the truck, I pull out into light traffic while I try to get my thoughts off a naked Mara and onto our destination.
Mara’s sisters will be there, hounding me as usual, but this time I’m more nervous about being around them than before. Sarah, Mara’s slightly older sister has been texting me on and off lately. I’ve kept it to one-word answers—not wanting to get drawn into a conversation. She’s like all Reece’s sisters and when they set their sights on something or someone, everyone else better watch out.
The problem is the only girl I want to be with is Mara, and having one of her sisters trying to get more out of me isn’t going to go down too well with anyone. I sure as hell don’t want to cause conflict between the two sisters. They’ve had enough recently with the discovery of Dahlia to want or deserve any more. Reece wouldn’t be too bothered, I don’t think, if it was Sarah that I had it bad for, but he’s close to Mara and always treats her as though she needs protection from me.
He has every right to be worried because he knows me and my appetites. I mean, you can’t exactly share a woman and not know what a man whore your friend is, or should I say was.
Up until Reece got his shorts in a wad over Callie and asked me to take a step back, I’ve been having a dry spell. Although I suspect Mara turning up on my doorstep five weeks ago might have something to do with that.
She always pops into my head, but to have her in front of me looking sexy-as-fuck killed my libido for anyone else. I’m so screwed.
Flexing my hands on the steering wheel, I briefly turn to glance at her. She looks comfortable surrounded by the plush leather seat. She is curled up with her shoes removed—if we were a couple, I’d be holding her hand right now.
My fingers twitch wanting to touch her. This is the first time we’ve been alone together for as long as I can remember, and, for the first time in history, I’ve no idea what to say. Before she moved here, when we were together we could talk and talk, but now it feels awkward between us. And I hate it.
I sigh. This is going to be a long drive but it’s the perfect opportunity to bring our relationship back to what it should be—simply friends. It won’t be easy but we need to try because I’m sick of walking on eggshells around her, especially when Reece is present.
With that in mind, I ask her, “So Harry was fine with you up and leaving as quickly as you have?”
Before she answers, I feel her eyes on me and fight the urge to look at her.
“I texted him last night after I realized Reece wanted me to go home with everyone because of the wedding. He wasn’t happy when I told him I was travelling home with you.” She shrugs her shoulders. “We’re not dating so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
I’d already worked out that she wasn’t dating him, but I feel relief hearing her confirm it.
With a quick glance at her, I catch the crinkle across her brow as she uses her fingers to rub her temples as though she has a headache.
“What’s with the frown? Are you okay?”
She sighs. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Hmm.”
“What does ‘hmm’ mean?”
“I’m thinking you’re not liking Harry as much as he likes you.” I shouldn’t say anything because I’m just going to piss her off all the more. At least we’ll be talking—arguing, which is better than silence.
“Leave Harry out of this. He’s a nice…guy.”
I snigger realizing she was probably about to say boy before she thought better of it.
“He’s nice. At least he likes me.”
She folds her arms across her chest, which I always try my hardest not to look at, but my eyes somehow find their way back. Mara isn’t exactly small and when she crosses her arms, it kind of shoves ‘em up. I’ve seen guys’ eyes widen when they’ve been confronted with her.
Gripping the steering wheel, I say, “What’s with the comment? I like you.”
“Yeah. Right.” Now I get the shoulder toss as she stares out of her window. “If you liked me, you wouldn’t be avoiding me.”
I swallow feeling like the biggest dick around. I want her. I want her so damn much that I’ve tried to stay away from her before I take what
I want. I’m not just talking about taking her for a night; I’m talking every night. I want so much more than I’ve ever wanted before, and I want it all from her.
“I do like you, Mara.” I sigh. “I like you too much, which is why I avoid you.” I’m an idiot for telling her this, but the thought of her thinking I don’t like her is unbearable. “Don’t say anything, okay. I just wanted you to know that I don’t hate you.”
“I like you, too,” she whispers after a minute.
I groan inwardly at what her words do to me. Instead of replying, I distract myself with traffic. This is one time I wish I’d kept my mouth shut, but losing my parents kinda made me realize that you won’t always have tomorrow to say or do what you can’t be bothered with today.
When my parents died, I was lost. In fact, I don’t know what I would have done without her family. Her mom basically held me together and made sure I ate. Reece and Phoenix were around me all the time like brothers and stopped me from drowning in despair. Losing someone you love is never easy whether you know it’s about to happen or it’s a total shock.
I’d be lying if I told anyone that I’m over it because I’m not. Driving back home, knowing my mom isn’t going to be at home waiting with her apron on after baking up a storm that morning, is a pain straight to the heart. Knowing that my dad isn’t going to be bugging the shit outta me about taking the boat out with him to fish is just as painful. Sure, the conversations were boring as shit, but I’d do that everyday for the rest of my life if it meant I had him back. Had both of them back.
Chapter Five
Mara
Sensing Donovan’s mood shift, I start to look for somewhere to make a pit stop. Not only could I do with a bathroom break, but I’m also in need of another caffeine fix. The quick cup I had this morning was really too quick, not enough. At least it’s an excuse to get him to pull off the road for a bit.
I’m not sure what’s going on with him though. He seemed fine when we left, but since he admitted to liking me too much, he’s been quiet. Not the travel in silence because we’re at ease with each other, but the ‘I’m about to lose it’ silence. Pondering the tension between us, I almost yell in delight when I spot a coffee house. Not Starbucks, but right now coffee is coffee and I need to get Donovan to loosen back up. So with that in mind, I point out the window and say, “Let’s pull over and grab some coffee.”
He glances at me from the corner of his eye as he starts to indicate he’s pulling over.
Why am I nervous now? I shouldn’t be nervous with him but I am. It’s always there, the attraction, just under the surface. I’m nervous with him off and on whenever he’s around. Brooding, which he’s doing right now, makes it worse. It definitely isn’t helping to calm me down any.
Pulling into a parking slot, Donovan turns the ignition off and just sits staring out of the window. With a sigh, I open the door. Jumping out, I take a second to enjoy stretching my legs—it feels so good. Closing my eyes, I lift my face to the sun, and let the rays soak into my skin for a few minutes before I feel eyes on me.
Looking around, not too far away, I spot a guy who looks to fill his jeans and shirt pretty well staring at me. When he catches my gaze, he winks and starts walking towards me, but pauses mid-step. Catching movement beside me, I turn and see Donovan resting with his back against the truck staring the guy down.
I feel like kicking him.
I’ll show him.
Turning back to the guy, I give him my megawatt smile, which gets him moving towards me again. He stops in front of me, and asks, “Is he your brother?”
“No.” Then I add, “He’s a friend of my brother whose been lumped with driving me home for a friend’s wedding.”
“Where’s home?” he asks shuffling closer.
“None of your business,” Donovan interrupts, glaring at the guy before he turns back to me, and says, “I thought you wanted a coffee.”
“I do,” I reply trying my best to hold eye contact with the new guy while I wonder if this is making Donovan jealous. “But I’m making a new friend.”
“What—” Donovan ends on a cuss. “Well, why don’t you let your new friend buy you a coffee while I go and take a leak?” And with that he stomps off around the side of the building.
Where the hell is he going? The restrooms are inside.
“Um. It was nice to kinda meet you, but I better go.”
I don’t give the guy a chance to respond because I take off after Donovan. I’d forgotten that the reason I’d wanted to stop was to try and get him out of the slump he’d suddenly fallen into, but I’d gotten sidetracked and hoped Donovan would act jealous.
Turning the corner to the diner, I spot him with his hands resting against the wall and his body pushed out with his head dropped between his shoulders. I slow my pace, but coming to a stop beside him, I reach out and place my palm on his back.
“Donovan, please tell me what’s wrong.”
He turns his head to the side his black hair falling over his eyes, which casts shadows over his chiseled cheekbones and plush lips as he meets my gaze, his blue eyes glowing in anger. “Where’s your friend?”
I shake my head. “He isn’t my friend, but you are,” I answer, concern filling my heart.
My hand starts to caress up and down his back. Touching him, although innocently, feels so good, and by the shudder that I feel go through him, he feels the same way.
Donovan inhales and steps away from my touch, shoving his hands into his back pockets. “So, you want to go get that coffee?”
The stubborn ass.
“Not until you tell me what’s going on. One minute you were fine, and the next you kind of tuned out and looked blank. As though you were having dark thoughts.”
He seems to sag in front of me. “I’m sorry Mara. It’s difficult…every time I head home, you know. But give me a couple of days at being back there and I’ll be good again.”
His parents. I’m an idiot. Donovan always seems so put together, more so than my brother or Phoenix, that I’d temporarily forgotten what he’s lost.
Without thought to the consequences of getting too close to him, I take the steps separating us and wrap my arms around his waist. I rest my face against his chest and just hold him. A few seconds pass before he seems to wrestle with his shock and wraps his arms around me, pressing me closer to him.
“I’m sorry. I should have realized,” I mumble into his chest.
He dips his head and kisses me on the top of my head before he says, “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. It’s just hard. Every time I pull up to the house, I expect to see my mom come running outside. I’m not sure that will ever change.”
“I’m here for you. I’m always here for you, Donovan.” I kiss his chest and feel movement lower. I’m arousing him. Well good, because he arouses me all the damn time. “Would it help if I came to your place first? We can have a drink and get the place aired some. Maybe it won’t be as hard on you if I’m there with you.”
“You’d do that for me?” He runs his fingers through my hair.
I tilt my head up to look at him. “I’d do pretty much anything for you,” I whisper the truth.
Groaning, he drops his forehead to mine, and breathing heavily, he kisses my forehead. His hands momentarily tightening in my hair before he completely steps away from me.
“C’mon. Let’s grab the coffee to go.” He wraps his arm around my shoulders to get me moving before releasing me. “And thanks, but I’ll be fine going home. I have to be.”
Opening the door for me, I walk inside and let him lead me to the counter.
He doesn’t have to be alone.
I’m guessing it’s me that he doesn’t want coming to his home—too much temptation.
Smiling, I take a sip of the coffee he’s just passed to me. I have two weeks of living closely to him so who knows what can happen. Both my brother and Phoenix are going to be wrapped up in their girls for them to spend as much time as usual with Donovan
. Oh, they’ll still hang out together, just not as though they’re joined at the hip like they usually do.
Reece won’t like me hovering around Donovan, but my sister, Sarah, better get the message that he’s mine.
I’ve seen the looks she gives him when she thinks no one else is watching, but I’m on to her. She may be my sister but I’m going to make sure she knows to stay clear. She’s two years older than me, and that much closer to Donovan in age, but by the end of the two weeks, I’m determined to make him want me, and only me. I can be very persuasive when I have my heart set on something or someone.
Chapter Six
Donovan
After a seven hour and thirty-three minute journey, I’m home. Mara had tried to talk me in to letting her come home with me first, but I’d refused. She hasn’t been with me in the past and she won’t be with me in the future. This is something I have to do alone. The fact is I don’t want the girl who has me tied in knots to witness my emotions as I walk into my home. I was raised here by two wonderful parents and I couldn’t bring myself to come home with anyone…I have to do this alone. Tossing my bag into my room, I walk around checking the place out—everything looks as I left it. Coming back downstairs, I find Phoenix on the back porch with a beer in his hand—the remaining five on the table.
“Thought I’d come and welcome you back,” he says, resting back with his feet on the table. “Actually I’m surprised you’re back so soon.”
I frown at his words.
“I thought you at least had the sense to stay over on the way back. I mean, it isn’t often you get Mara alone for that length of time.”
“What—”
“You have it bad for her.” He gives me a shit-eating grin. “I don’t think Reece realizes just how badly you want her.”
Joining him with his feet on the table, I take a drink from the longneck I’ve opened, wondering what the heck I’m supposed to say to him. We’re not a couple of girls ready to gossip, but I guess I need to say something. “Look. She’s eighteen and Reece’s sister, which makes her totally out of bounds.”
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