Love's Second Chance (Second Chances Series)

by L. P. Dover

  “I won!” I bragged, smiling devilishly at her.

  “So you did,” she agreed. “Now what would you have me do since I’m your slave for the night?”

  I could think of a million things we could do, but I didn’t want her thinking sex was the only thing on my mind when I was with her. It was one of the main things, but only because I wanted to be close to her. Looking down at my watch, I was shocked to see that we’d been out there for three hours. “How about we change into some warm clothes and watch a movie? Then we can make dinner together. How does that sound?” I asked her.

  “It sounds great, but what about all of that ‘having your way with me’ stuff?” she mocked.

  “Trust me, that’ll come later,” I promised. Pulling her up by the hand, we headed inside to the warmth of the cabin. There was still the one thing I had yet to ask her, even though I had skirted around it before. I just needed to find the right time to find out if she was ready to work for me.

  After being kicked out of the kitchen three times, I finally went to the living room to watch TV. The dinner Korinne was cooking smelled amazing. I should’ve known she’d make my favorite dish. Garlic and Italian seasonings were potent in the air, making my mouth water and my stomach growl. Breakfast didn’t last too long after the afternoon Korinne and I had running around the yard for three hours. I had always believed that no one could outdo my mother’s spaghetti, but I was completely wrong. Korinne’s blew my mother’s out the window.

  “Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes,” Korinne informed me.

  “Sounds great! I hope you brought some movies to watch because there’s nothing good on television right now,” I said while flipping through the channels on the television.

  “As a matter of fact, I did,” she answered slyly. Her mischievous smile peeked out when I turned to look at her. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say I had a pretty good idea what movies she had on her mind. “Do you think you can guess what I brought?”

  “Let me think. Is it Pride and Prejudice?” I asked blandly.

  She laughed. “Nope.”

  “Harry Potter?”

  She laughed again. “Nope.”

  “How about the last season of True Blood?”

  “No, but I actually like that show. Bill and Eric are completely swoon-worthy.”

  “I should’ve known you would like that show. If it’s not any of those then I have no clue what movies you brought,” I said, throwing my hands up in the air. She left the kitchen and walked over to the couch with a serious glint in her eye. She climbed up and straddled my lap, which took me completely by surprise. What just happened, I wondered? One minute we were talking movies and then the next she was climbing on my lap to seduce me. I definitely wasn’t expecting that. She began by kissing my lips, to my jaw, and then down my neck taking bites along the way. My groin instantly hardened, so I grabbed the soft mounds of her ass and pulled her in tighter against me. I wanted to feel that heat between her legs rubbing against my cock.

  She moaned in my ear and nipped my earlobe. Her warm breath on my neck sent chills down my body, and all I wanted to do was make love to her. To feel the heat of her flesh wrapped around mine. “One more chance,” she whispered huskily, trailing her tongue down my neck. “If you guess the movie right this time I’ll take you right here and right now.” She accentuated the last of her words with a tormenting grind against my cock. How could I say no to that?

  “Lord of the Rings!” I blurted out. She abruptly stopped her torturous movements and pulled back to stare at me with a huge grin on her face.

  “I knew you were playing with me!” she scoffed playfully. “Just for that I’m not holding up my end of the bargain.”

  Why did I fall for that scheme? I should have known she was testing me. I groaned when she climbed off my lap to head back to the kitchen. “You are such a tease!” I yelled playfully. She giggled the entire time while finishing dinner. I knew she’d pick Lord of the Rings. We watched it for the first time together and she had loved it ever since. If she was happy she watched it, sad she watched it, and definitely when she was sick she would watch it. I hadn’t seen it since the last time we saw it together.

  Dinner was excellent, especially when we followed it up with a piece of red velvet cake. It was the best birthday I’d had in years. Not only did Korinne bring our favorite movie to watch, but she brought the other two Lord of the Rings movies to go along with it. Sitting so close to her on the couch with touches here and there was enough to drive me insane, not to mention the time was dragging on.

  I yawned. “It’s getting awfully late. With all the running around we did today I’m beat.” If I had my way I would have taken her on the couch, but I held back because she loved her movies and I didn’t want to take that away from her, even though she’d watched them probably over a hundred times.

  “You can’t go to sleep now! We haven’t finished our movies yet.” She grinned, and I could see the mischief in those eyes of hers.

  I could tell she was goading me, but before I could make a move, Korinne moved in first. She rubbed her hand lightly over my cock and that stilled me. Just the slightest touch from her got me rock solid in seconds. She lowered herself to the floor and spread my thighs apart, sidling to position between them. Unbuttoning my jeans, she slowly released me with her soft, warm hands. I stared into her smoky gray eyes while she stared into mine, claiming me just as I was claiming her. She took my cock in her hand and glided it up and down, squeezing tightly. My control was easily being tested today, and I didn’t know how much more of her teasing I could take. Closing my eyes, I relished in the feel of her touch. She began to slow her hand and I was caught off guard when I felt something warm and wet taking hold around my penis. Leaning my head back against the couch, I groaned while she licked and sucked my cock, massaging me at the base and taking me as far as she could into her mouth. She began to moan and it took all the control I had to keep from exploding.

  “Korinne,” I pleaded. She released her hold, and as much as I didn’t want her to stop, I knew that if she wanted me to last longer then she must.

  “Are you okay?” she replied breathlessly. Her beautiful face was flushed and her lips were as red as fire, a fire I was dying to let scorch me. Taking her by both elbows I lifted her to her feet.

  “Everything’s great, but I don’t want to finish this here.”

  “Where do you want to finish it then?” She smiled.

  “I don’t care where we finish it, just as long as I get to make love to you,” I replied with all the love in my heart.

  She jumped in my arms and planted her lips fiercely on mine. Stumbling down the hall, I tried desperately to get us to a room and to a bed. The first door I came to in the hallway would have to do. I barged in while Korinne was ravishing me with her lips. Before laying her down on the bed, I grabbed her shirt and tore it away from her body. Unable to contain my desire, I massaged her breasts firmly and pulled down her bra to take a plump, round nipple into my mouth, teasing it with my tongue. She always tasted sweet like berries, but there was another sweetness I’d been dying to taste. Korinne gasped and began tugging on my pants. Her milky, white skin glowed in the darkness of the room, and I wanted nothing more than to explore every inch of it with my hands and to claim her body with my own.

  I crawled off the bed to take off my pants and boxers, and all the while Korinne stared mesmerizingly at me. She lay there, propped on her elbows, half-naked in her bra and black yoga pants. Gripping the waist of her pants, I slid them down her long, smooth legs along with her underwear. She settled herself down on the pillow and smiled up at me. Damn, she was so sexy and beautiful, I thought. I knew why I would never be happy with anyone else other than her, because no one had even come close to comparing with her.

  Moving her legs aside with my knee, she sighed in anticipation. I could tell she was aching for me, but I needed to taste her first. It had been too long since I’d had her this way. I kissed along
her thigh on up to her lush opening. She shivered as I slowly licked across her sensitive spots. I could taste her sweet wetness on my tongue and my cock throbbed with the need to take her hard and fast. I told myself, Not yet. Entering her with my tongue, she arched her back in pleasure and moved her body against my face. She gripped the headboard and I looked up to see her breathing hard, making her breasts rise and fall enticingly with her chest. I reached up to massage one of those breasts while I tortured her with my tongue. I loved watching her squirm. Leaving her slick heat, I moved slowly up her body, trailing my tongue to her stomach until I reached her breasts. Korinne opened her eyes and watched me as I massaged along her soft mounds. I unlatched her bra and threw it across the room. Her nipples were peaked and ready for the attention I had to offer. Her breasts were my favorite part about her body, and I couldn’t help but ravish them. Sucking greedily on one of her puckered nipples, I massaged firmly on her other breast.

  “Please, Galen,” she murmured helplessly. I chuckled lightly while gently biting her nipple. She opened wider and tried to move down on my penis, but I didn’t let her. She groaned and stared at me impatiently. “I need you. Please, Galen, I don’t think I can handle it much longer.”

  The need in her eyes had me mesmerized as I stared into those swirling gray pools. I would do anything for that woman lying beneath me. If she would’ve asked me to follow her back in college I’d have done it. She didn’t because she knew that was where I needed to be. Touching her face lightly she leaned into it, kissing my palm. It was an intimate and loving gesture. I was going to make love to this woman and there was no way in hell I’d let her go after this.

  I entered her fully and as deep as I could. Moaning loudly in my ear, she gripped me tightly across the shoulders. Her fingernails dug into my back as I moved inside her body, in and out slowly. She was tight as hell, but oh so ready. Her legs tightened around my hips and she moved rhythmically along with my thrusts, clenching tighter the more I glided across her nub. We kissed each other feverishly, demanding, taking … claiming. She was about to let go at any moment.

  “You’re so tight,” I groaned into her ear.

  “Oh my God, Galen, I can’t hold off any longer.”

  “I … don’t … want … you … to,” I pleaded. Her orgasm finally reached its height and milked me to the quick. Her screams began to level off just as my release exploded inside of her. I held her tight while I savored in the feel of her contracting around my cock. Sweaty and breathing heavy, I waited for the aftermath of our love making to settle before I declared the words I’d been dying to tell her.

  Still melded as one, with me fully inside of her, I whispered in her ear, “I love you.” Holding her face in my hands a hot trail of tears began to slide along my fingers. I pulled back to look at her, scared I’d see horror on her face from me saying those words, but that wasn’t what I found. Only love showed back, and a smile so happy that it beamed brightly through the dark room, making it light. My light is what she was, my beacon, and my new beginning. Staring into the glow of her eyes, I decided to confess my true feelings. “I don’t think I ever stopped loving you, Korinne. You were on my mind every day, and I always wondered what it would have been like if you never left.”

  “Oh, Galen.” Sighing, she paused and locked her hands around my face before saying the words I’d wanted to hear. “I love you, too,” she cried.

  “You know what this means, don’t you?” I said while kissing her again, lingering on her lips an extra second longer to enjoy the feel of them.

  “What does it mean?” she whispered softly.

  “It means that you’re mine, and only mine from this day forth. Never again will I let you be anywhere else other than with me.”

  “I think I can live with that.” She smiled before crushing her body to mine in another round of passionate love making.

  The ride home from the mountains went extremely fast. Every minute I spent with Korinne flew by in a heartbeat. It wasn’t until she pulled into my driveway that I remembered I forgot to ask the question I was too afraid to ask before. “I need to ask you something,” I said hesitantly. Korinne put the car in park and looked questioningly at me.

  “Okay,” she mumbled, drawing out the word.

  “I know things have been changing for you and getting better, and we also know that your mad skills have resurfaced. So … what I want to know is if maybe … maybe you would like to work for the company?” I gritted my teeth in anticipation waiting on her answer. I knew she was ready for it, but I didn’t know if she knew that she was ready.

  She stared at me blankly for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter. That laughter took me completely by surprise. “I’ve been waiting on you to ask me!” she beamed brightly.

  “You have?” I asked, sounding shocked.

  She nodded. “Of course I have. I mean, I wasn’t ready before when you skirted around it, but now …”

  “So is this a yes?”

  “Yes! I would love to, but isn’t there a policy against dating coworkers? Because if so, then I’m afraid we have to call it quits,” she said it seriously, but I could tell she tried to hold in her smile. She failed miserably.

  I shook my head. “You have nothing to worry about. I wouldn’t be your boss anyway, because you’d be more of a freelance designer than anything. However, you would need an office at my firm. How does sharing one with me sound?” She chewed on her bottom lip, avoiding my question. It looked like she needed a little bit of persuasion. Leaning down towards her luscious lips, I captured them with my own. “Are you in?” I asked. “Just think of all the things we could do in that office together.”

  “Oh yeah,” she replied huskily. “I’m in.”

  I kissed her long and hard before the time came for me to leave. Grabbing my bags from the trunk, I walked around to her side of the car to tell her good-bye. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning by nine?”

  “I’ll be there,” she agreed.

  She waved me good-bye and drove off down the street. I unlocked the door and the phone rang as soon as I entered the house. “Hello,” I said into the phone.

  “Happy Birthday, old man!”

  I laughed at my brother. “You’re a day late, but it’s okay though. I’m just surprised you remembered at all.”

  “I blame it all on the concussions I got playing football,” he joked, even though we both knew those concussions were not a joking matter. “I heard Korinne took you away for the weekend. How did that go?”

  “It went great, as a matter of fact, but of course I’m not going to give you the details,” I pointed out.

  “No worries. I didn’t really want to know about your sex life anyway.”

  “That’s good to know. Hey, do you mind if I talk to Jenna? I need her to do something for me,” I added. I had an idea for something special for Korinne and also myself, but only Jenna could do it for us. It would be something we could cherish for the rest of our lives.

  “Yeah, I guess so. I do a good deed in calling my brother and all he wants is to talk to my wife. I can feel the brotherly love,” he joked. “Anyway, here she is.”

  “Galen, is everything okay?” Jenna asked as soon as she took the phone from Brady.

  “Oh yeah, everything’s fine. I need you to paint something for me.”

  “Really? What did you have in mind?” she asked, intrigued.

  I explained to her what I wanted and she was more than willing to comply with my request. “This will be amazing!” she squealed. “It may turn out to be the best work I ever put out there. Give me some time and I’ll have it done. I don’t want you having to wait for it, but trust me, it’ll be worth it.”

  “No rush, Jenna. I know for a fact you’ll make it perfect.” We both hung up, and I went to get everything ready for work the next day. Korinne spoiled me with her presence and now I had to spend the night alone, but at least I’d get to see her the next day and the day after that. Working with her was going to be amazi
ng.

  Chapter Eleven

  “How did it go?” Jenna asked. I called her as soon as I got home from dropping Galen off.

  “It was the best weekend ever!” I screamed excitedly. “It was the greatest time I’ve had in a long time.”

  “Did you have sex? Please tell me you had sex?” she teased.

  “Of course we did, and it was amazing, but something else happened, too.”

  Jenna gasped, “What? What happened?”

  “He told me he loved me,” I said softly.

  “Oh my goodness! What did you say?”

  “I told him I loved him, too,” I admitted sheepishly.

  “Then why do you sound sad about it, Ducky?” she asked.

  “I’m not sad exactly, but I can’t seem to shake the guilt I have over Carson. I haven’t told another man I loved him since him.”

  “Wow.” She sighed. “Well, did you mean it when you said it to him?”

  “With all my heart I meant it.”

  “Then you have nothing to feel guilty over. Oh Ducky, I’m so happy for you! You need to be able to move on and it looks like things are going great for you,” she said happily.

  “I know,” I agreed. “I’m also going to work for him. I start tomorrow.”

  She squealed again, only louder that time. “It must have been one amazing weekend for all these things to happen!”

  I laughed. “It was, but I’ll let you know how my first day on the job goes.”

  “You do that. Take care, Ducky, and I’ll talk to you later,” she said, wrapping up the conversation.

  “Will do, Twink! Love you!”

  I finally made it home to my small, lonely condo. The getaway weekend was phenomenal. Hearing Galen say he loved me made me extremely happy, but it also scared me to death. Was I really ready to take that big leap on fully opening my heart? I wasn’t completely sure.