“I want to, unless you have to get home to Ainsley?”
“No, she’s staying with my aunt tonight. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be here, so Aunt Bella picked her up from school and they’re spending the night at her house.”
“Hmm.” He took a step closer, brushing her hair off her neck. “Remind me to thank your aunt. That means we have the whole evening to ourselves, right?”
She snuck a peek over his shoulder at the bag sitting on the table. “You don’t play fair. That’s Chinese, isn’t it? You know that’s my favorite.”
He slipped his blazer off, hanging it on the hook with her coat before loosening his gray silk tie and unfastening the top two buttons on his shirt. The way her eyes followed his actions told him Chinese food wasn’t the only thing she was craving tonight.
“How the hell are you even more gorgeous than I remember?” he whispered, sliding his warm mouth across her cheek.
“I was just thinking the same thing about you,” she admitted breathlessly. “I never expected to be so attracted to you after all these years.”
He chuckled as he slipped his hands around her waist and drew her closer. “I’m not sure if I should be flattered or offended.”
Her eyes were hooded when she lifted her head to brush her lips against his. “You do something to me,” she whispered. “You always have.”
“The feeling’s mutual, sweetheart.” He’d dated a lot of beautiful women over the years, both before and since her, but she was the only one who’d become a part of him. “I’m not gonna lie, it intrigues me, this attraction, but it scares me too. You hurt me once. I’d hate like hell for that to happen again.”
He hadn’t expected to open up to her so soon, but she’d always had a way of drawing the truth out of him, whether he was ready to share or not.
“I’m scared too.” She circled the back of his neck with her hands, her bright blue eyes wide and serious. “I never thought I’d feel this way again. About you or anyone.” She smiled. “I feel like I’m in high school all over again. Ever since I saw you at Rennie and Zach’s, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. Being here,” she said, inclining her head toward the family room, “there were all kinds of crazy thoughts running through my head.”
His mouth travelled up and down her neck as he trapped her with the evidence of his arousal. “Tell me what you were thinking.”
“That this could have been our life.” She exhaled slowly, as though she was trying to contain her emotions. “This could have been our home, our family.”
He picked her up, holding her tight as he breathed in her scent. “My father robbed us of that and I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to forgive him for that, but maybe this is our second chance, baby.”
“We have to take things slow,” she said, setting her hands on his shoulders. “We’re getting caught up in the rush of seeing each other again. Old feelings are blending with new and we’re both a little overwhelmed. We need to take a step back—”
“What if I don’t want to take it slow?” His hand moved under her shirt and he suppressed a moan when he felt her smooth bare skin. “You make me remember what it feels like to be young and impulsive and in love.”
“Yeah, but we’re not kids anymore, Kev. We’re adults now, parents, and we have to think about how this is going to affect Ainsley and Danny. Not to mention the fact I haven’t even filed for divorce yet.”
“No problem.” His hands roamed her ribs as her eyes closed. “I’ll put one of my best guys on it tomorrow. We can have it wrapped up early in the New Year if he doesn’t contest.”
“Oh, Lyle will contest,” she said, planting her hands on his chest.
“I don’t blame him,” Kevin said, smirking. “If you were my wife, I sure as hell wouldn’t let you go without a fight.”
Bree grabbed his roaming hands, taking a step back. “But you did let me go without a fight. Once we broke up you didn’t even try to contact me again. Why?”
Kevin knew he had a choice to make: the truth or his pride. He opted for the truth. “You destroyed me.”
Bree looked pained when she said, “Please don’t say that.”
“It’s the truth. Seeing you again, hearing you tell me again that you didn’t want me… That would have been more than I could’ve handled. Keeping my distance was the only way I could hold on to my sanity.”
“I loved you so much,” she whispered fiercely. “If there had been another way I would have—”
“Sssh,” he said, placing his index finger on her lips. “I don’t want to talk about the past. I want to talk about the present and the future. Our future.” He held up her left hand. “And I want to start by doing something I wanted to do ever since I spotted this ring on your finger. Tell me you’re ready to take this off.”
Her eyes captured the ring on his finger as she said, “I’m not the only one wearing someone else’s ring, sweetheart.”
“And I’m more than ready to close the chapter on that part of my life. Can you say the same?” He sensed her hesitancy, so he said, “I can’t love a woman whose heart belongs to another man, Bree. I’ve got to know whether you’re over him.”
“I am,” she whispered.
“I know we’re just getting started,” he said, kissing the palm of her hand. “And we’re both a little gun shy, but I think closing the door on the past is a good first step. Don’t you?”
“I do.”
* * *
Bree laughed as Kevin held a slice of barbeque pork in his chopsticks, pulling away when she got close enough to seize it. “You’re such a tease.”
He grinned as he finally relented, letting her have it. “I could say the same about you.” He leaned in to kiss her. “Being here with you like this reminds me of how happy we were together. It makes me want things I haven’t wanted in a long time, but I can’t read your mind. Tell me you’re feeling it too.”
In spades. They’d talked and laughed, teased each other, shared secrets and dreams, nibbled on food, polished off a bottle of wine, sang off-key to their favorite old songs, kissed, held hands, and talked about what might have been.
Bree was falling in love all over again and she never wanted this feeling to end. “You were my best friend,” she said, as though that would explain everything. “You were my first serious boyfriend, my first love, my first lover… my everything. A girl doesn’t forget that, no matter how many years have passed.”
He set the container of left over Chinese food aside and reached for her hand. “I’ve always wondered how it would feel, seeing you again. Now I know. It feels amazing.”
Little by little she’d seen the old Kevin re-emerge tonight. The hostility gave way to laughter. Confusion was replaced by clarity. He remembered how to laugh and forgot how to scowl. And she’d seen glimpses of the boy she’d fallen in love with mixed with the man she was learning to love all over again.
“I like the way this looks,” he said, kissing her bare ring finger. “It represents a clean slate, potential. Seeing his ring on your finger reminded me that someone else stole the life that should have been mine. You should have been my wife, not his.”
Bree never thought she’d hear Kevin say those words and they represented a gift more precious and rare than anything else he could have given her. “We can’t go back,” she said, wishing time travel were possible. “We can only learn from our mistakes.”
“And I have,” he said, sighing. Shifting his body, he leaned his head against the back of the plush silk sofa while linking his hand with hers. “I can’t be sorry that I married Trena. If I hadn’t I wouldn’t have Danny in my life.”
Bree couldn’t wait to see Kevin interact with his son. She wanted to see a side of him she’d never seen before: the dad who adored his only child. She couldn’t deny she felt a twinge of resentment when she thought of the woman who shared that child with him, but she knew Trena would always be a part of Kevin’s life and if they were serious about a future together she would have to learn to t
olerate the woman, for Danny and Kevin’s sake.
“And I can’t be sorry I married Lyle, for the same reason.”
“Tell me about him.”
“You don’t really want to hear about him, Kev.”
He tipped his head to the side, opening one eye. “He’s a big part of your past. He’s your daughter’s father. I can’t pretend he doesn’t exist.”
She was impressed by his maturity. The Kevin she remembered practically spit fire every time another guy hit on her. “What do you want to know?” she asked, stretching her legs out on the upholstered ottoman.
“I want to know what he did to make you want to leave him, so I don’t make the same mistake.”
“You would never do what he did,” she said, squeezing his hand. She didn’t want to re-count the ugly truth, but keeping secrets was no way to start a new relationship.
“Tell me about it.”
“He, uh…” She closed her eyes, thinking it would save her from having to witness his outrage. “Slapped me.”
“He what?”
His voice was low and even, but she knew better than to think he was calm. She could practically feel the hostility emanating from him. “He was drunk, not that it’s an excuse. Believe me, it was the first and last time he put his hands on me in anger.”
“Why the hell haven’t you divorced him yet? Guys like that don’t deserve a second chance to make the same mistake, Bree.”
“I know, you’re right.” She inhaled slowly, trying to keep her emotions in check. “I can’t trust him anymore. Even if we did get back together I’d always wonder when or if he’d lash out at me again. I respect myself too much to live in fear.”
“Then you’re ready to start divorce proceedings?” he asked, gently. “To put an end to this once and for all?”
“I am.” Spending this time with Kevin helped her to realize she’d never had with Lyle what she had with Kevin. And whether she and Kevin had a future together or not, she deserved a man who made her feel the way he did. “But I can find my own lawyer. There’s no way I could afford your firm’s fees.”
He chuckled as he kissed her hand, “Believe me, this is one case I’d gladly handle pro bono.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that,” she said, quickly. “I believe in paying my own way. I don’t need anyone’s help.”
Uh-oh, the scowl’s back.
“If we’re going to be in a relationship, you’re going to have to get used to it because I want to make your life better. I want to help you, to make things easier for you. I’ve always wanted that.”
Bree could hear the feminist in her protesting that she didn’t need anyone to take care of her, but she couldn’t deny the prospect of leaning on Kevin’s strong shoulder was tempting. It was a heavy load to bear on her own, and having never been through a divorce before it would be nice to have someone on her side who understood the legal system.
“You have a daughter to think about,” he said, gently. “Based on what you’ve told me about your ex, you may want to consider whether unsupervised visits are a good idea.”
“He would never hurt Ainsley,” Bree said. “He may have a lot of faults, but he loves his daughter.”
“I bet he still loves you too,” Kevin said, softly. “And the prospect of losing you may drive him to do things you never thought he was capable of.”
She couldn’t deny she never would have thought Lyle would strike her, yet he had. Maybe Kevin was right to be cautious. “Let me think about how I want to proceed.”
“It’s your decision,” he said, pulling her onto his lap. “Just know that I’m here if you need advice, or just someone to vent to. It’s a stressful process, especially when both parties aren’t on the same page. I just want to be here to help you through it.”
“Thank you.” One sensuous kiss quickly led to another and before she knew it she was parting his shirt and kissing his chest while he eased his fingers into her hair.
“I want you, Bree,” he murmured. “Stay with me tonight.”
When one glass of wine led to a bottle, she’d assumed he intended to issue the invitation. Now that he had there wasn’t even a part of her that questioned whether this was right. She’d told him she wanted to take things slow, but they’d covered more ground in one night than she usually did over the course of three dates. Besides, this was Kevin. A man she’d once known inside out.
“I want you too,” she said, lifting her head to look him in the eye. “I need you to help me remember what it feels like to let go. Not to think, just to feel. Not to doubt, just to trust.”
“I can do that,” he said, reaching for the hem of her shirt. He pulled it over her head slowly, his breath catching when he caught a glimpse of her red silk push-up bra. “I can definitely do that.”
She loved the way he looked at her, as though he’d never seen anyone more beautiful. He made her feel special, like she was still the only woman on earth who could make him feel this way. After going unnoticed for so long, Kevin’s undivided attention was exactly what she needed to start putting the pieces back together again.
“I’ve imagined this a thousand times over the years,” he whispered as his hands caressed her ribs before moving to her back. “I know I’m not supposed to admit that, but it’s the truth. I dreamed of you. Not just when we broke up, but for years after.”
“Me too.” Bree knew there were no words to describe the depth of pain she’d felt. Her only hope of moving past the anguish was overshadowing it with new memories.
“Being here with you again feels right, Bree. Almost like we were never apart.”
She was caught somewhere between semi-consciousness and deep arousal as his hands fumbled with her button fly before delving inside her silk thong. I love you. She knew it was too soon to tell him, too soon to feel so much. They’d barely found each other again and she was already thinking beyond tomorrow to a future that included him and both of their children.
Bree knew once she’d slept with him again she wouldn’t want to sleep alone. She’d want him every night, every morning, every minute of every day. It had always been that way. All-consuming.
He shifted, laying her down on the couch as he eased her jeans down slowly. Staring down at her, his penetrating gaze mapped every inch of her body while silently making her feel as though she were his real-life fantasy.
That’s what differentiated Kevin from every other man she’d been with. He made her feel like she was the only one. No matter how many lovers he’d had before or since, he made her believe with the way his eyes caressed her, there had never been another. And he never wanted there to be another.
“Shall we go upstairs?” he asked, reaching for her hand.
“Um, I don’t—” She blushed, unable to admit the green-eyed monster was alive and well inside of her.
“There are two guest bedrooms upstairs,” he said, reading her mind as easily as he had years ago. “Take your pick.”
“In that case,” she said, allowing him to help her up. “Let’s go upstairs.”
Chapter Seven
Flashbacks of their last night together raced through his mind as she reached for him. He’d loved her more that night than all the other nights combined because that was the night he realized he wanted to make her his wife.
She whispered in his ear as he entered her slowly, but he didn’t hear the soft rasp of the mature woman in his arms. He heard the excited gasp of a teenager still learning how to push her body’s boundaries.
It was difficult to separate the past and present, especially when their past was riddled with emotional bruises he’d assumed would never heal. A month ago he’d never expected to see this woman again. And if someone had told him their paths would cross, he was pretty sure he would have told his informant to warn her she better keep walking.
Yet here he was. In her arms. Getting lost in her all over again. He tried to silence the voice in his head that reminded him this woman had crushed him once before and could easi
ly do it again. He wanted to trust her. He wanted to believe in her. But she’d made walking away look easy and that was difficult to forget. Especially since his heart kept reminding him.
It was easy to focus on the physical act when her sweet heat was enveloping him, her body tangled with his while their hearts beat in unison. When her mouth claimed his in a searing kiss, it was easy to pretend she’d never vowed to love another man for the rest of her life.
“Oh… God… Kev…”
She turned her head, sinking her teeth into his shoulder as he felt her clench him harder, draw him deeper as he struggled to see her through the kind of climax determined to do him in. He closed his eyes, focused on his breathing, slowing his strokes until he’d regained control.
There were warnings drifting around inside his head as his body settled into a fierce rhythm. Too soon. Be careful. Don’t go there. Walk away. But it was too late for him to walk away, wasn’t it? In less time than it took him to prepare a closing argument, she’d made him fall in love with her all over again.
That look of satisfaction that crept across her face as she moaned his name before sinking her teeth into her bottom lip… Did. Him. In.
Warning bells were going off. He ignored them. A choir of people sounding off in his head about why this was a bad idea. Too damn bad. The only thing that mattered? He loved this woman. And this time he was determined to make sure she never wanted to leave him again.
* * *
Hours later, they were lying on the sofa, naked, wrapped in a cream cashmere blanket as they admired the twinkling lights adorning the mantle.
“I’ll decorate the tree tomorrow,” she said, kissing the arm he had draped over her shoulder. “I have to let the branches settle first.”
“How’d you get into this?” he asked, kissing the top of her head. “The whole holiday decorating thing? I mean, you’re obviously good at it, but it doesn’t seem like your run-of-the-mill job.”
She giggled. “No, I guess it’s not, but then I’m a little out of the ordinary, aren’t I?”
Fast Break (Texas Titans Holiday) Page 7