St. Helena Vineyard Series: Building Forever (Kindle Worlds Novella) (The Forever Series Book 1)

by Cary Hart

  “Really I’m fine. You almost have all the glass out of my knees and this little buddy right here…” I pick the last piece out of my palm and drop it in the bowl. “…is the last one.”

  Silently we work to piece me back together. Not talking about what happened or the confessions that came after, we find ourselves just staring at each other, saying nothing and everything at the same time.

  Patting my shin, he gets up and starts to run bath water. “Looks like we got it all, but now it’s time to clean you up. We don’t want infection to set in.”

  I stand and walk over to the tub, thinking he’ll leave and let me be, but instead he unbuttons his shirt and hangs it on the back of the door.

  “I thought you ran the water for me, to clean my wounds?”

  “I did.” He removes his belt and his pants fall low enough to be dangerous.

  “Then why are you undressing?”

  “Because we are going to wash you.”

  He steps behind me, lifting up my hair with one hand and pulling down the zipper with the other. He slowly lowers it until the dress is pooling at my feet. I should cover myself, but he has already seen me in the mirror. Forgoing modesty, I step out of the dress and turn around.

  By the time I turn to face him, he has already picked up my dress and hung it on the door, next to his white button down. When he turns, he stops to drink me in.

  Keeping eye contact, he unfastens his pants and drops them to the floor, leaving him in just his black boxer briefs. Now knowing his intentions, I place both of my index fingers on either side of my nude lace thong, and begin their descent down.

  I lean over and check the water with my hand. “Perfect.” I smile and lower myself into the tub.

  “Ahhhhh!” I lie back, closing my eyes. “So good.”

  “Good. Now scoot up, so I can make it feel even better.”

  I open my eyes and find Colin standing in front of me in all his naked glory.

  “Eyes up here,” he chuckles.

  I scoot forward and he gets in behind me, pulling my back to his chest.

  “Can you hand me the soap and loofa?” he asks, pointing to the corner.

  “Sure.” I lean up, grabbing the items and quickly fall back, splashing water over the sides. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay, it’ll clean up.” He takes the loofa and lathers it up. “Lean up.”

  Colin slowly massages my back as he washes me clean. Slow and soft is driving me crazy, but as soon as I relax into his touch, he moves to the front. Washing my neck, working his way down, spending an equal amount of time on each breast before he cleans my stomach.

  Tapping my leg, he points to the side of the tub. Understanding what he wants, I prop my leg up so he can wash my knees.

  I wince. “That’s tender.”

  “I’m sorry, babe, but we have to get it clean. Put the other one up there and let’s get them out of the way.”

  Doing as he says, I lean back and try to relax as the burn subsides. Loving the feeling of being taken care of, I almost fall asleep but suddenly, I’m awakened by a slow ache building between my legs from the slow, lazy circles Colin is making with the loofa.

  “Colin, I think I’m clean.” I try to remove his hand, but he keeps going back to the area that is crying out for a release.

  “Let me make you feel good.” His voice is soft and raw, whispering in my ear.

  “It’s…good…it’s just…oh God.”

  The pressure is growing inside and I can feel his cock pressing into my back. The feeling is too much to handle. I don’t know what comes over me.

  “Screw it,” I say, before I throw my head back, reaching around for his neck to pull it down to claim his mouth. Desperately attacking it, I gently bite down on his bottom lip to open for me. Invading his mouth I move my tongue in time with the loofa.

  Losing control, I move my hips trying to find the pressure I need. Not finding it, I reach down and remove the loofa, taking his hands, begging him to do the things the loofa couldn’t do. It takes less than a second for him to catch on and a minute later I’m falling apart at his fingers.

  The events of the night, combined with what just transpired in the tub, have left me drained. As if sensing my exhaustion Colin stands, grabbing a fluffy towel from the rack and gentle lifts me out of the tub.

  “What about the mess?" I yawn.

  "Let me worry about that, sleeping beauty," he whispers in my ear as he carries me and lays me tenderly on the bed, letting the towel fall to the floor.

  "But I don't wanna sleep," I pout, yawning again. I'm too afraid this moment will pass, and that I'll wake up in the friend zone.

  "There's plenty of time to not sleep later." Winking, he climbs into bed and reaches across me to shut off the light.

  He pulls my back to his front, wrapping me in his arms and our legs intertwine. The gentle caress of his hand on my hair and the rhythm of his heartbeat against me makes my eyes grow heavy.

  "Our night wasn't supposed to end like this," I say softly.

  "Well I envisioned the night ending exactly like this." He hugs me tighter. "We just skipped a few steps." Colin kisses me softly on the shoulder and rests his head on the pillow as my eyes close.

  A few hours later I wake, too warm from the heat of our bodies tangled together under the down comforter. In my wiggling, I threw a leg over his waist and as I'm about to turn back around, I feel his body start to respond to mine. I freeze unsure of what to do. Then his eyes blink open and he's staring right at me. I lean in to kiss him. He grabs my leg, pulling me tighter and taking control of the kiss.

  "Nat, wait you need to know—" He starts to speak.

  "Not now, not tonight Colin," I plead, trying to kiss him again.

  "Nat, just listen for a second, please," he orders. I silence him with my mouth.

  He growls, rolling on top of me and the pressure of him between my legs is sweet agony. He caresses my breasts as his kiss moves from my lips, down my neck and back up again. He reaches a hand down and finds me more than ready as his finger gently strokes my sensitive bundle of nerves.

  "So wet, baby," he rasps, inserting one finger, then two. Hearing his voice like this, deep and turned on, I buck up to his hand.

  "Colin, no more waiting." I urge him on running my hands in his hair. He pulls back and the loss of touch has me sitting up.

  He reaches into the nightstand and retrieves a foil packet and covers himself.

  "Easy, Nat, I'm not going anywhere."

  He gently urges me back down, lining up at my entrance, both hands firmly gripping my hips. I'm lost in this feeling. My hands tangle the sheets, griping hard.

  "Open your eyes," he demands.

  I've waited so long to feel him, this time is so much more intense. And we're no longer two innocent kids joking around on top of a hill, we're grown adults and the spark I felt all those years ago is nothing compared to the raging fire he's stoking inside me. I open my eyes and meet his gaze, seeing my future reflected there.

  In this moment, he pushes into me, a slow burn spreading throughout my body and I arch towards him. He increases the pace and I wrap my legs around his lean waist and rest my hands on his arms. He's rough and tender at the same time. Our mouths are fused together and we become one, hands and lips everywhere, consumed by each other and the need to release...I lose all track of time. Just when I think I can't take anymore, he presses his forehead to mine and drives us both over the edge, gazing into my eyes.

  "Wow." I break through the silence.

  "Yeah." A cocky grin spreads across his face.

  I playfully smack his shoulder and feel him stir between my legs.

  "Let me take care of this." He hops up and heads to the bathroom, bringing a warm cloth when he comes back. "Here,” he offers. Willing to clean me, but even after what we've done it still feels so intimate.

  I take the cloth from his hand, press a kiss to his lips and head for the bathroom. "I'll be right back."

  I ca
n see the doubt in his eyes and it breaks my heart that he thinks I would run again, especially after what we shared. "Colin, I'm just going to use the restroom." He nods and slides into bed, stretching out his delicious body. Tempting me.

  "Like what you see?" he teases.

  I turn and head for the bathroom and blow him a kiss over my shoulder. "Cocky much?" He just smiles.

  I return to find Colin sound asleep, so I crawl into bed gently, careful not to wake him. As if sensing me he rolls over and pulls me close, wrapping me in his arms. The place I finally feel at peace.

  Chapter 20

  Natalie

  Last night, the hold the past had on me collided with the present, and the impact was hard. I wasn’t sure we would be able to survive.

  Not wanting to dwell on the past we decided to move forward and figure things out as we go. He is going back to St. Helena and I feel I need to prove myself and build a career with Hampton Enterprises. Somehow we will make it work.

  Not ready to wake up just yet, I keep my eyes closed and will myself to go back to sleep. Colin, still asleep, reaches out and pulls me in close. Any time during the night I found myself on my side of the bed, I was quickly brought back to his arms.

  Colin confessed he was afraid I was still going to run. I’m sure his subconscious is still protecting his heart.

  Ping!

  Ping!

  Ping!

  Colin’s phone goes off. Not sure if he is missing texts or emails, I nudge him to let him know. It’s seven a.m. and if someone is trying to reach him this early on a Sunday, I’m sure it’s important.

  “Colin…Colin,” I whisper loudly, trying to wake him up.

  “Hmmm?” he answers, still asleep.

  “Colin, your phone.” I give him a little nudge to draw his attention. Nothing.

  Taking matters in my own hands, I roll over and stretch my hand out for his phone. It’s just out of my reach, so I lean over further until I collapse on top of him. This causes him to stir, pulling me down against him. I’m sure he thinks I was trying to get a piece of his morning goodness.

  “You didn’t get enough last night?” His voice is sleepy and raw as he holds me down on top of him.

  “I’m good…” I wiggle on top of him. “… For now.” Smiling I hold out his phone for him. “This was going off. I wasn’t sure if it was important or not so to be safe, I woke you.”

  “Thanks babe.” He goes in for a kiss, but I turn just as quickly and give him the cheek. “Go back to bed, I’ll make this call and join you in a few.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Closing my eyes, I hear him shuffle to his office and the door shut. I drift off to sleep.

  “I don’t care how you make it happen, just make it happen.” My eyes spring back open upon hearing Colin raising his voice.

  Looking at the clock I notice I’ve only been asleep for fifteen minutes.

  “She is nothing to me! I swear.” Lowering his voice, he continues. “I don’t know what you expect from me. She is staying, I’m heading back to run my company. I’ll do what I have to do.”

  I’m such a fool!

  I have to get out of here. He is using me just like Evan did. Anything for success, right? Throwing my legs over the side I quickly gather my things and set them beside the bed. Realizing I don’t have my car or money, I do the one thing I didn’t want to do.

  Me: I need you. I made a big mistake. Can you pick me up?

  Daisy: You and me both. I’m on my way home now. Where are you?

  Me: At Colin’s hotel. *cringe*

  Daisy: He’s that bad?

  Me: Not funny. I’m crushed. Please come, now.

  Daisy: Give me 5 minutes.

  Throwing on my dress and grabbing my purse, I sneak past his office and out the door.

  Taking the elevator, I’m to the lobby and out the door in three minutes. Standing on the corner, I wait for Daisy to pull up.

  Looking back toward the hotel, I wait for Colin to come but he doesn’t. I bet he doesn’t even notice I’m gone. Or maybe he just doesn’t care.

  Daisy pulls up, in Ferris’ car. That’s weird.

  “Someone need a ride?” she hollers as she rolls down the window.

  “Thank God! You are a lifesaver.”

  “I’ve been called worse.” Handing me a coffee, she asks, “Where to?”

  “Gamms. I need Gamms.” I take the coffee. “How did you get coffee so fast and why are you still in your gown?”

  “Nat, can we just agree to forget last night ever happened?”

  “Daisy, that sounds like the perfect plan.”

  **********

  Colin

  Waking up to bullshit after fixing a delicate situation with Nat pissed me off.

  First, I had to deal with my real estate agent telling me that Nicky wasn’t going to sell the land to me. I explained to him that there was no choice. He needed to make it work and get it done.

  Then, while I was wrapping that conversation up, Lexi beeped in. Quickly switching over, I discovered that this call should have went to voicemail.

  Lexi was concerned about Natalie since we left the ball suddenly, not telling anyone why we were leaving and where we were going.

  “I thought I told you if you hurt her, I was going to cut your balls off, put them in a grinder and bake them into our new daily special…who is this Katrina that had her hands all over you?”

  “She means nothing to me. I swear!” I explain what happened, and after letting her in on my plan, she finally calms down enough to let me get off the phone with my balls intact.

  Realizing, sleep is not an option, I head to the kitchenette to make us some coffee. Trying to be quiet, I call room service to bring us up breakfast in about an hour. That should give me enough time to wake her properly.

  Pouring two cups, I head back to the bedroom. Pushing the door open with my foot, I walk over to her side of the bed and sit down. “Nat, babe, I have coffee just the way you like it…what the fuck?” I set the coffee down, then reach over and throw the blankets off the bed. She ran!

  Running over to the balcony, I look down and see her. She is getting in a car that resembles Ferris’ car. I holler down, but I’m too far up. She can’t hear me.

  “FUCK!” No matter how many times I hold her close, she always runs.

  Chapter 21

  Natalie

  “Gamms! You home?” I call out, running through the house desperate to find her. Please be here.

  “Baby girl, I’m out back!”

  Rushing through the kitchen and out the sliding door, I find Gamms sitting on her swing.

  “Oh Gamms…” I plop down next to her and lay my head on her shoulder.

  “Oh dear, what’s wrong, love?”

  “Colin. He used me. I thought he cared about me, but turns out I’m not his type after all.”

  Gamms turns toward me, bringing me in to her embrace.

  “How could I have been so stupid?”

  “Truth?” She gives me a squeeze.

  “Yeah, truth.”

  “You are not stupid, my dear. You are a beautiful, talented young woman. Who doesn’t know her own value? You let immature children tell you who you were and you believed them. You let them determine your future instead of following your dreams. I’m not going to say that you don’t fight, because baby girl, you are one of the strongest women I know. You just haven't figured it out yet. Embrace your inner lioness and ROAR, honey. Don’t hide behind some man. Learn to stay and fight your battles. Running will get you further away, but sooner or later you will stop and whoever is chasing you will catch up.”

  “Gamms are you Dear Abby? Because that was some serious stuff.”

  “I’ve lived, I’ve lost, but I've never regretted.” Hugging me tighter, she grabs my hand, giving it a squeeze, and continues. “Do you love Colin?”

  “I do, but sometimes that's not enough.” Remembering this morning and the hurt that followed, I say, "It’s hard to love someon
e who doesn’t love you back.”

  “Oh? Because I’m pretty sure that boy loves you.”

  “He practically screamed from the rooftop that nothing was going on with us.”

  “He told you that?”

  “Well, no, but it wasn’t meant for my ears.”

  “Truth is, communication is the key. Sounds like you need to find out some answers before you make any decisions.”

  “You may be right, but I need some time to think about things.”

  Hopping up, I decide to go up and go to bed. I need more sleep before I can formulate a plan. Bending down to give Gamms a hug, I notice something. “Did you paint your swing?”

  “Nope, but Colin came over one day to ask me for a favor, so we traded. A dress for a painted swing.”

  “I’ve offered to paint that swing a number of times and you always tell me no.”

  “I felt it was right.” Shrugging her shoulders she gets up and heads back inside the house. “You coming? I saved you some banana nut bread, it’s on the counter.”

  “Sure!” Sleep can wait.

  **********

  Colin

  It’s been three days since she walked out of my life and I’m still clueless as to why. I’ve slept, ran, worked and got drunk. Nothing takes my mind off the fiery redhead that lit a spark in my life 18 years ago.

  I’ve tried calling, but she sends me straight to voicemail. It’s a fucked-up situation, but it is what it is.

  Even though I’ve wrapped up the job with Hampton Enterprises, I called Daisy and made an excuse to schedule a meeting with Ferris, thinking I could make Nat talk to me once I got there.

  The only problem: She wasn’t there. She told Ferris plans changed and this was no longer her dream and staying on board wouldn’t benefit either of them.

  I cornered Daisy the same day, but she hadn’t seen her since she picked her up from my hotel.

  There is only one person who can help me with this situation. Picking up the phone to call Jack, I hesitate for all of five seconds. I wasn’t the most supportive friend when he was fighting to win Abby over, but when it boiled down to it I put our differences aside and accepted his choice.