Dahlia buried her face in his neck, gently nipping at the skin. His hands cupped her backside, maintaining the tempo of their bucking hips. He brushed his lips over her shoulder, his trailing tongue mopping the tiny beads of sweat salting her skin. Release neared with every thrust of their hips, and when he reached nirvana, Norris wanted Dahlia with him.
His hands on her hips, Norris flipped Dahlia to her back and entered her with renewed urgency. His lips found hers, squelching her cries with a deep kiss. Their tongues connected, mating as frantically as their joined bodies.
Dahlia nipped his lips and arched her back, bringing him as far as he could go. Norris pushed into her once more, crying his release as Dahlia did the same. Their bodies crashed to the bed, their breathing heavy, labored.
Minutes later, his body still tingled from his earth-shattering release. If he knew this was what love did, he would have been open to the idea a lot sooner.
“Somebody took vitamins,” Dahlia said between breaths.
Norris laughed. “So it was good for you, too?”
“Good?” She closed her eyes, purring like a content kitty. “Good doesn’t begin to describe it.” She snuggled against him, kissing his chest. “That was so much better than good.”
“For me, too.” His fingers combed the flattened curls of her hair, while the fingers of his other hand twined with hers. “It was different this time.” He kissed her nose.
“You can say that again.”
“No, I mean it was really different. The most incredible and unexpected kind of different.”
Dahlia’s body tensed against him. She released his hand and eased up, holding a pillow to her chest. “Norris, the sex was wonderful, but . . .”
“Sex? Dahlia, I know you’ve been fighting what’s been happening between us for a while. I have, too, but what just happened here was more than sex. We connected on a totally different level tonight. We made love.”
“Norris—”
“No, Dahlia, you said it. What we just shared was incredible. Can you imagine how much more incredible it would be if we stopped pretending things haven’t changed?” His fingertips slid along her arm. “Things have changed.”
Dahlia jerked her arm away. “Stop it, Norris! I don’t want to do this. I’m not pretending anything. I like things the way they are, and I want them to stay that way.”
“What way? It’s not no-strings sex anymore, Dahlia. I can’t undo this and make it something else. I love you.”
“Damn it, Norris! Why did you have to say that?” He shrugged. “I don’t know, because it’s true.” Dahlia shook her head. “You ruined it.” She left the bed and reached for her clothes.
“Ruined it?” Norris pulled up, stunned by her reaction. “What are you talking about? Dahlia, where are you going?”
“Home.” She slipped on her panties and pulled on her dress. “You changed our arrangement, Norris. It was supposed to be two consenting adults giving and receiving physical pleasure.”
“Having sex!” he barked.
“Okay, having sex. Whatever it was, it didn’t entail feelings.” Dahlia stepped into her shoes and trailed her fingers through her hair, bringing life to the curls of her short style.
“I didn’t plan to fall in love with you, Dahlia. I never expected to fall in love with anyone. You think it was easy for me to say those words to you?”
“It seemed pretty easy to me.”
“Couldn’t have been too easy. I didn’t hear you saying them back! But that’s okay, because you showed those words to me in this bed. We were of one mind when we were of one body. You can deny it all you want, but I know the truth.”
“That’s your truth, Norris, here’s mine. We’re over!”
Norris left the bed and stepped into his slacks, shaken by her words, but not deterred. “You don’t mean that,” he said.
“I do.”
“You say a lot of things, but your eyes give you away.”
Dahlia dropped her head. Teardrops fell to the floor.
“You’re crying because you know I’m right. You care about me. Hell, you love me. I know you’re scared to trust and you’ve shut yourself off to relationships because of what Jonah did, but . . .”
“No buts, Norris.” Dahlia’s teary gaze met his. “You’re right. I’m turned off on relationships. I never denied that. We were on the same page when we started this. Because you want to confess feelings doesn’t mean I do. I don’t.” New tears filled her eyes. “I can’t.”
“Dahlia.” He reached out to brush away the tears, but she stepped back.
“We’re over, Norris.”
“Uh-uh.” Norris shook his head. “I won’t accept that.” He said the words calmly, but felt anything but calm with the threat of tears burning his eyes.
“You don’t have a choice!” she shouted, racing out of the room before he could offer a rebuttal or get his feet to move. Moments later the front door closed behind her.
Norris dropped to the bed. What just happened here? Ryan’s words of advice seemed to mock him. Norris mumbled an expletive and fell backward on the bed. Hot tears burned down the sides of his face. So much for telling Dahlia how he felt.
* * *
Dahlia raced up to her bedroom, tossed her purse on the bed, and headed straight for her Jacuzzi tub. If ever there was a time she needed the comfort of the bubbling jets and steamy water, it was now. She should have stopped by the grocery store and gotten some chips, too.
Why did he say it! Dahlia groaned as the tub filled with hot water and foamy suds from the drops of lavender bubble bath she added. Why did he have to say it!
Dahlia slid into the frothy water and rested her head on the bath pillow. She closed her eyes, trying to enjoy the constant force of water pounding against her body, but thoughts of Norris and his pounding force inside of her kept interfering. Their sex life had never been bad, but tonight . . . Tonight he had loved her. And she’d felt loved. Cherished. Desired. The same things she’d felt with Jonah that had left her devastated. Love hurt.
Why did he have to say the words? Why did hearing them make her feel so good? Who was she kidding? She knew why.
A romantic at heart but a realist in practice, the idea of love made her happy and hopeful, but the pain of love kept her feet firmly planted. Waves of euphoria didn’t define love, and tingles of pleasure didn’t sustain it. Love equaled pain. Trusting someone with your heart meant it could be smashed to smithereens. She didn’t want that anymore, and Norris had never wanted it. At least that used to be the case.
Believing Norris could have feelings for her when she stood deep in denial about the feelings she’d developed for him was one thing, because moments of hypothetical what ifs didn’t matter. But hearing these words straight from his mouth made it a truth she didn’t want to deal with, because as much as she tried to fight it, Norris was right. This man who loved African art and leather furniture and who doted on himself and his best friend’s children had stolen her heart. She had fallen in love with him, too.
Chapter 9
“Norris, this is a surprise.” Lara’s bright eyes dimmed when she peeked out the door around him. “You’re alone?”
“More than you know,” he answered, stepping into the house. “Your husband around?”
Lara chuckled. “My husband? Ryan is giving Angelica a bath. What’s with the tone?”
“I have a lot on my mind.”
“As well you should. I haven’t been able to stop smiling since I heard about you and Dahlia. Why didn’t you bring her?”
“Why? That would be your husband’s fault.”
“There’s that word again. Are you angry at Ryan?”
“Yes.” Norris plopped to couch. “I should have never listened to him.”
“Listened to him about what? What’s wrong?”
“Everything,” he said, the word coming out strangled as he fought the resurgence of tears.
“Ryan!” Lara cried, waddling over to the couch and sitting.
“Ryan, come out here!” She took Norris’s hand in hers. “What happened?”
Ryan raced into the room with an underwear-clad Angelica padding behind. “Lara, are you okay?” he asked as Justin rushed in behind him equally alarmed.
“Mom, what is it? Are the babies coming?” said Justin.
“No, Justin, I’m fine. It’s Norris.”
Ryan placed his hand over his heart. “Babe, are you trying to scare me to death? I thought you’d gone into labor.”
Justin nodded. “Me, too,” he added.
“I’m sorry I scared you, but Norris has scared me. He’s upset about something.” Lara touched his shoulder in an offer of comfort. “I’ve never seen him this sad.”
“Sad?” Justin grunted. “With a hot daughter like Reese?” Justin plopped next to Norris on the couch. “Mom told me all about this great news. Uncle Norris, could you get her to stop treating me like a little kid? It’s really annoying.”
“Justin, you are a little kid,” Ryan said. “And now is not the time to bother Norris with this. Go to your room.”
“Aww, Dad. He can make her . . .”
“Justin,” Ryan said more firmly.
“Oh, all right.” Justin groaned, dragging off to his room.
Norris pressed a kiss to Lara’s hand. “Thanks for your concern, Lara, but I don’t want you worrying about me,” he said. “I’ll be fine.”
Angelica walked over and touched his knee. “Uncle Norris, do you have boo-boo somewhere? You look like you have an owie.”
Managing a smile, Norris brushed his finger against her nose. “I have a bit of an owie right in here,” he said, poking his finger in his chest, “but a kiss from you can make it feel a lot better.”
“All right.” Angelica reached up and kissed his cheek. “You feel better now?”
Norris nodded. “I sure do.”
Angelica smiled brightly. “Good.”
Norris gave Lara a hand as she struggled to her feet. “I’ll finish dressing Angelica and give you guys some time to talk.” She whispered something in Ryan’s ear and then gave him a kiss when he nodded. “Angelica, tell Uncle Norris goodnight,” she said over her shoulder. “Night-night, Uncle Norris.” Angelica waved. “Goodnight, sweetheart. You sleep well.”
Angelica walked over to Ryan. “You still going to tell me a story, Daddy?”
“Sure will, precious. I’ll be there in a little bit.”
She nodded and took Lara’s hand. “Come on, Mommy.”
Ryan made his way over to the couch after Lara and Angelica left. “I take it things didn’t go well tonight,” he said.
“Considering your three-year-old figured out I had an ‘owie’ just by looking at me, I’d say that’s a pretty good assumption.”
“What happened?”
“I followed your advice. Dahlia came over, we were together and everything was so . . . It was fantastic.”
“So?”
“I told her how I felt, and she flipped. She said we were over and she left.”
“You just let her walk away?”
“Let her? I didn’t let her. I poured my heart out to her. I said things I can’t believe were coming out of my mouth. And she didn’t take it well.”
“Oh, man, I’m sorry.”
Norris grunted. “You ought to be. It was your rotten advice that caused this.”
“I guess that’s what Lara was talking about. You blame me for this.”
“So that’s what the whispering was about. Humph. I should have known.”
“She was worried about you and wanted to give me a heads up. You’re in pain right now, so I’ll take your anger, but you can’t tell me you’re sorry you told Dahlia how you feel.”
“I’m not sorry, but had I known what her reaction would be before I told her, I think I might’ve reconsidered.” Norris took a deeper dive in the pool of self-pity he’d been swimming in for the last two hours. “I lost the woman I love before I even had her. Now I don’t have anything.”
Ryan groaned. “Please, spare me an invitation to your pity party, Norris. You’re hurting right now, but your pain will lessen. In the meantime, you still have a lot in your life.”
“Yeah? Name one thing. And don’t say money. I’d give every dime I have if it meant I could have Dahlia.”
“I’ll tell you what you have, Norris,” said Lara, returning to the living room and settling on the couch between him and Ryan. “You have a daughter, you have us, and you have two, soon to be four, godchildren who love you. As for Dahlia, I think you should give her more time.”
“That all sounds good, Lara, and I do appreciate you, Ryan, and your family. But my daughter is still a stranger to me, and Dahlia seems content to live the rest of her life without me being a part of it.”
“Has love made you a quitter, Norris?” Ryan asked. “I’ve never seen you give in so easily.”
“And I’ve never had what feels like a Mack truck slam into my chest. Experiences change people.”
“They do indeed, and people are also responsible for seeing if those changes are positive or negative. You can control that. Don’t you want to try? Or maybe you don’t think Dahlia’s worth it. Maybe all that talk today about wanting Dahlia and your daughter in your life was just talk.”
Reverse psychology. Norris smiled in spite of himself. “I know what you’re doing, Ryan.”
Ryan grinned as he curled his arm around Lara’s. “Is it working?” he said.
Norris expelled a breath. “Dahlia’s response today didn’t make me happy, but I think a strong measure of her anger was from the fact she returns my feelings, and doesn’t want to face it. I’m not going to give up on her.” He smiled. “And I hope to have brunch with Reese tomorrow, so all is not lost. Thank you both for helping me to remember that.”
Lara kissed his cheek. “You don’t have to thank us, Norris. We love you and we want you to be happy.”
“I know,” he said, feeling better than he thought he could after the blowup with Dahlia. “I’ve not quite reached the level of happiness you and Ryan have, but I won’t give up until I do.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Ryan said with a big smile. “You hungry? There’s a pot of chicken stew on the stove.”
“Chicken stew?”
“My wife wanted chicken stew, she got chicken stew.”
Norris shook his head. “No thanks, bud, I’m good. What I would like is to read that bedtime story to Angelica.”
“I’m sure she’d love it,” Lara said.
Norris stood. “Good. My daughter isn’t three, but it’s good to know there’s a sweet little girl who cares about me without reservation.”
“Angelica knows you. When Reese gets to know you, she’ll be as crazy about you as Angelica is.”
Norris chuckled. “There’s something to aspire to.” He made his way into Angelica’s room, stopping at the edge of the bed when his cell phone rang. His breath caught. Dahlia? “Uncle Norris needs one minute, Angelica,” he said to the waiting girl.
She nodded and sat up in her bed.
Norris reached into his pocket and found Gail’s number on the caller ID. Perhaps this was some good news. “Hi, Gail.”
“Hello, Norris. I talked to Reese and she’s willing to meet tomorrow at ten-thirty.”
Norris smiled. “Okay. That’s good,” he said. “Thank you for this, Gail.”
“Thank Reese. I wanted her to do this, but she’s the one who’s making it happen.”
“I’ll be sure to thank her tomorrow.” Norris borrowed some drawing paper and a crayon from Angelica, jotted the address and directions to Gail’s house, and folded the sheet into his pocket. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
Norris dropped the phone back into his pocket and made his way to Angelica’s bed.
“You look real happy, Uncle Norris,” Angelica said. “Your owie must not hurt anymore.”
“To tell the truth, it does still hurt. But I think that owie and all the others will be all bet
ter real soon.”
* * *
“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea,” Reese said, closing the curtain after peeking out the window for the third time in the last five minutes. She jammed her thumbs in the back pockets of her jeans. “I don’t think I’m ready for this, Mom.”
“You are ready, Reese.” Gail placed her arm around Reese’s shoulders and ushered her to the couch. “Norris is your father. You don’t need to be nervous.”
“Norris is a stranger. And father or not, I don’t know him. I don’t know if I’m ready to play nice.”
“You shouldn’t have to play. Norris has done nothing wrong. He just found out about you, and he’s wasted no time in trying to get to know you. That should mean something.”
Reese grunted. “It probably means he’s expecting sixteen years’ worth of Father’s Day presents. He’d better not expect me to call him Dad.”
“I think his only expectations are getting to know you and being friends.”
Reese rushed over to the window when she heard a car pull up. She grunted. “He drives a Porsche?” She moved from the window and back to the couch. “Great. My father is some old dude who’s trying to recapture his youth by driving a flashy sports car.”
“Uhm, Reese, about that. Norris is . . .”
The doorbell rang in the middle of her mother’s words. Reese held up her hand. “You don’t have to say another word, Mom. I’ll get it.” She walked to the door and pulled it open. The tall, handsome, smartly dressed man standing on the other side was nothing like the balding, pot-bellied youth chaser she imagined, and not nearly as old. “I’m sorry, are you lost?”
“No,” the man said. The sparkle in his gray eyes grew brighter by the second. “Reese, you’re even more beautiful than your picture suggested. I’m Norris. I’m your father.”
* * *
The butterflies in Norris’s stomach grew more restless. He thought he’d feel less nervous after meeting Reese, but nothing could be further from the truth. Dressed casually in jeans and a pink pullover, Reese looked like the typical teen. But she wasn’t typical, she was his, and that made her different. This tall, slim, beautiful girl was his daughter. His daughter.
Blindsided (Indigo Love Spectrum) Page 8