by Alli Sims
Frank was right about one thing, he realized, Desmond was gone and he was wasting a perfectly good life. It was insulting to all of them. He closed the door, looked at his face before he grabbed his shaver and got to work.
When he woke the next morning, it didn’t matter that he hadn’t slept much. He walked into the kitchen, poured hot coffee inside of a travel mug and headed to the hospital. The sun had barely risen an hour before, his dash flashed 6:15 in green letters. He knew that Stacey wouldn’t be up yet, but he craved being near her.
Pulling into a spot at the hospital, he pulled a black box out of his pocket. Popping it open, a diamond glittered up at him. He held it up to the light, smiled. The ring had been shoved to the bottom of his nightstand for too long.
He slid out of the car, pushing the ring back into his pocket as he went. When he walked into her room, Stacey was already up, a smile on her face. He handed her a bag of clothes that she could change into.
“You’re amazing,” she said as she slipped out of the bed.
“Are you supposed to be doing that yet?”
Stacey rolled her eyes. “I hate hospitals. Besides, I stayed the night. The nurse said she can get my papers in an hour or two. Is that coffee?”
She reached for it, but he slapped her hand. “No caffeine, remember?” He said pointing towards the baby.
Stacey grinned. “You passed the test.”
“I’m sure.”
“You shaved,” she said as she ran a hand over his chin.
“Just for you,” he leaned down, pressing his lips to hers.
After she was showered and dressed, they sat around for a while until the nurse appeared. She was a plump woman with a wide smile and a mass of curly, blonde hair. The woman went over the discharge papers with her until Stacey signed and they could finally leave. Stepping out into the sun made Stacey smile.
“The world looks a whole lot different when you think you’re going to die,” she mused as she followed behind him to the car.
“I know exactly what you mean. Home for a cooked meal or a restaurant?” He asked as he closed the door behind him.
“Home, please. I need to not see people for a while.”
They drove the distance in comfortable silence, her hands slipped inside of his. Sometimes, his fingers would give her hand a squeeze as if he couldn’t believe that she was actually sitting next to him again. With Stacey beside him, he felt complete in a way that wasn’t possible when she was gone.
“Oh look at this, you cleaned!” She said with a laugh as she stepped through the door.
The house was spotless. Fresh flowers adorned Stacey’s vases that hadn’t held them in months. He’d scrubbed the floors, washed the windows. The soft smell of lemons still lingered mingled with the aroma of fresh coffee.
“I could get used to this,” she said as she leaned against his chest, tilted her head up to capture his lips in a kiss.
When he tried to pull away, she pulled him in closer. He grinned. “I thought you were hungry.”
“Let’s work up a real appetite,” she mumbled against his lips.
Her fingers pushed up his shirt, her fingers grazing his chest. The muscles in his already sculpted stomach tightened, a shiver of pleasure sweeping through his body. Stacey was on a mission as she undid his pants, pushed them to the floor. He kicked them off.
She turned, her hips swaying as she made her way to their bedroom. Ryan walked after her as if in a trance, his eyes traveling over her abundant curves. As soon as they were in the room, she slipped out of her clothes. Standing there, Ryan felt his length twitch within his boxers. He shoved them off quickly, too impatient to play the usual cat and mouse games that they enjoyed.
Ryan grabbed a hold of her. He let his tongue slip into her mouth as his fingers ran over her skin. The look in her eyes was one of longing and desire. He knew exactly how she felt, it had been weeks since they’d felt another person’s touch. Every brush of fingers against one another’s skin was electric, Ryan found as he led Stacey to the bed.
The woman moaned as he dove between her thighs. It wasn’t long before her legs trembled within his strong grip. She was writhing her hips, head thrown back as she tried to draw out every ounce of pleasure that his tongue had to offer. When her wetness covered his mouth and she panted, she sat up, pushing him down.
A grin spread across her face as she gripped his length, wrapped her lips around it. Ryan shuddered, his stomach muscles clenching tightly as she started off slow, teasing. It wasn’t long before she had abandoned her soft, playfulness in favor of bringing him to the edge again and again. When Ryan couldn’t take anymore, he had to push her away.
Stacey lay back on the bed, her fingers running over her bare mound. He trailed fingers over her softness, before he slipped inside of her. Every sliding inch brought forth a series of light moans and pants from her lips, his own breathing stuttered the more he slipped inside of her. When every inch was buried, she wrapped her legs around his waist as he began to thrust into her.
As she throbbed and pulsed around him, Stacey’s back arched from the bed. He leaned forward, captured an erect nipple between his lips. His tongue flicked it mercilessly, his lips sucking her in, making her hold his head to her breasts as she moaned. They didn’t stop there.
The weeks of separation seemed to pull from them an energy that they hadn’t seemed to possess since they were teens. Stacey climbed on top, rode him until she couldn’t take the overwhelming sensation of pleasure that ran through her body. Ryan pushed her to her knees, gripped her hips as he thrust into her. The sound of their moaning filled the room, their lips moaning against each other when they could kiss. When they were reduced to a pile of shivering nerves and exhaustion, Stacey slid from the bed.
“Where are you going?” Ryan asked, his eyes shifting to her.
“Water,” she called back as she slipped into a pastel pink nightgown. “Want some?”
Ryan nodded. The sound of her footsteps padding into the kitchen were quickly followed by the sound of water coming from a bottle. When she brought it back, ice cold, she drank some before passing it to him. The sound of her phone sounded from the next room.
“Probably mom,” she mumbled. “I better answer it.”
“I can get it for you,” he said as he started to shift from the bed.
She pushed him back down. “I’ve got it. Relax.”
Ryan grinned as she walked away again. He loved how independent she could be, even if it drove him crazy occasionally. The sound of her searching for her phone reached his ears as he slipped into a pair of sweats that hung from his waist showing off a deep v. She shifted something and the sound of something hitting the floor made him sit up straight. A few moments she walked around the corner with a small, black box in her hands.
“What’s this?” She asked breathlessly, her eyes wide.
Ryan shook his head. “I didn’t want to do it this way, but I guess it’s too late.” He slipped the box from her fingers before shifting down to one knee. “Stacey Cartwright, will you marry me?”
Stacey’s eyes had misted up. She nodded her head quickly as he took the ring from the box and slipped it onto her finger. Her eyes lingered on it a moment or two longer as if she still couldn’t believe it, before she leaned down and kissed him deeply. He stood up slowly, wrapped his arms around her.
“I love you, Stace,” he whispered against her hair.
“I love you too,” she said as she pulled back.
When his lips captured hers, he knew they would be together for the rest of their lives. He didn’t expect things to get magically easier, but with her by his side, anything was possible. When they pulled away from each other, she had a wide grin on her face.
“I have to go call everyone!” She said as she placed one more kiss on his cheek before dashing out into the living room in search of her phone.
Ryan laughed, shaking his head. “I’ll make us some food!” He called to her.
He headed tow
ards the kitchen, peeking his head into the living room as he went. Stacey was sitting on the floor, hair spilling over her shoulders, admiring the ring in the sunlight. The phone rested on her knee. He’d never seen her so happy.
Ryan smiled.
The End
Crazy, Sinful, Friends
Prologue
5 years ago
“Little August Walker, is that you?”
She turned around with a smile, instantly recognizing that deep and playful baritone. Lifting her gaze up and up and up, she stared into a pair of royal blue eyes as smooth as velvet and as deep as the ocean. Hands on her hips her smile brightened, “Not so little anymore.”
Jake Stone tossed his wavy black locks back and roared with laughter. “No. Little Augusta is all grown up. Very nicely I might add.”
She smiled and felt the telltale blush creep her up face. This was a new side to Jake. When she knew him as a child he didn’t even know how to flirt, never mind do it with such ease. His nose was always buried in a book and she was right beside him with her pink rimmed glasses and lopsided pigtails. “Thanks. Charmer.” She took several steps back to calm the effect his nearness was having on her and so she could see him without craning her neck. “You grew up pretty nicely too.”
Now it was his turn to blush a little. It seemed she wasn’t as shy as she used to be. “Well thanks. That’s what a late growth spurt and the gym will do to you.” He smiled again and flashed those dimples her way. “You should see how nice I look under these clothes.” That deep husky laugh that came out of her mouth didn’t belong to the Auggie he remembered. His Auggie had the high pitched giggle of a little girl, not a sexy grownup laugh.
“I’ve missed you Jake,” she closed the gap to give him a hug. Immediately she realized she’d made a mistake stepping into his orbit. He would pull her in and deprive her of oxygen until he was the center of her world. She would breathe him and become part of him if she didn’t, so she took a few large steps back. “I really have missed you. How are you?”
He shrugged in the trademark careless way he always had. “I can’t complain. Just started a new company so my hours are long and my pay is small. Impressed?”
She was, actually. Jake could have gone into the family financial business and been an instant millionaire. Instead he decided to make his own path, a much harder path that she had to admire. “Wow Jake that is really great! Tell me, is the company about dinosaurs, spaceships or video games?” The smile that split his face weakened her knees and if not for the bar holding her up she would be on the floor.
“All of the above.”
Her eyes widened. “No way!”
He nodded again. “Yep. You are looking at the owner and CEO of Stone Cold Games.”
Auggie laughed and laughed. She wiped the tears from her eyes. “Of course you did. Wow that is really amazing Jack. I’m so proud of you.”
His skin flushed an adorable shade of pink. “Don’t be too proud yet, I haven’t done anything yet. Our first game is still in development.”
“What kind of game? Are you developing it yourself or with a team? What’s the story?” She stopped, sipped her drink as embarrassment washed over her. Jeez she was babbling like the love struck teenager she used to be. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He smiled at her, finding her curiosity endearing. “Listen I don’t think this is the proper venue to go into detail.” He ignored the pleased sensation he felt as her shoulders fell in disappointment. “How about we meet tomorrow for breakfast and I’ll fill you in?”
“Sounds good. I’ll meet you after my run at nine. You know Ginny’s Good Eats diner?” He nodded, a smile kicked up on one side of his face. “I’ll see you then.” She hugged him one last time. “It was really great to see you Jake.” She set her drink down, snatched her purse from her abandoned bar stool and made her way through the doors and out of sight.
Damn little Auggie Walker is a knockout!
Chapter 1
Today
Jake sat at their regular booth at Ginny’s waiting for Auggie to show up. Their run had been especially brutal this morning and he didn’t quite understand it. Something was bothering her and his attempts to weasel it out of her were met with mute indifference. He perused the menu thinking about how different things were now. Who would have thought when he ran into her five years ago at Pistol Pete’s that she would now be his best friend? His incredibly hot best friend that he wanted to take up against a wall, in a car, on a bed, hell anywhere. Everywhere.
But he wouldn’t do anything about it because his friendship with Auggie was the most important relationship in his life aside from his brothers and he didn’t want to ruin their friendship. Especially over something he was sure wouldn’t last. Jake didn’t think he was the lasting kind of guy, not quite cut out for relationships. The women he dated didn’t hold his attention for very long. He always found work, or poker night with his brothers more interesting, more entertaining.
He was surprised how easily they were able to slide back into their old friendship. His friends thought it was weird that he’d been so close with a girl yes, but also a girl who was related to the help. Her father was the landscape architect and landscaper for his family home, Stone Mansion and her mother was a teacher at the local middle school. All three lived in a small cottage on the outskirts of the property but that hadn’t stopped their budding friendship. They shared a love of books—he, science fiction, and she, romance and murder mystery—and could often be found tucked under an old oak side by side, buried deep between the pages.
When the time came for college he and Auggie had gone their separate ways. Him to an Ivy League school on the east coast and her a state school on the opposite coast. Their contact then had been minimal and after a few years had dwindled to nothing. Until Pistol Pete’s. That was the start of a whole new everything for him. His company was in the process of making their very first game when he’d run into Auggie that night. And now five years later Stone Cold Games had three games in the top ten bestselling games this year. Two games the year before and three the year before that. His game was succeeding beyond his wildest dreams and a lot of it had to do with Auggie. She kept him on his toes, pushed him to think outside the box and always offered up solutions to his problems. He smiled thinking of her input while they played his upcoming first person shooter, between expletives that would have made his younger brother the marine, blush.
“Whatever is on that menu that has you smiling like that, I’ll have two of them.”
The smile on her face was like a kick to the stomach it was so powerful. “I was actually just laughing at the way you were swearing like a sailor while we played that demo game.” At her defiant, upturned chin he laughed. “But I do find myself drooling over these Snickers French toast.”
She groaned as she slid into the booth across from him. “That sounds so good I can actually taste it already. But if I have that we both know I’ll be out on the trail running to keep my ass from expanding.”
Jake let the menu fall to the table with a thwack. “We both know your ass looks fantastic Auggie.” Damn that blush was so adorable.
“Thanks Jake. But we both know that’s only because I run so faithfully. I’m not like your skinny models. I need food for fuel, which means I have to workout.”
He cringed at her reminder of ‘his models’. He didn’t only date models but that’s how she always categorized his dates. If he were a betting man he’d say she was jealous but he knew that wasn’t the case. “Speaking of models, how’s Chadley?”
Auggie rolled her eyes. “Actually we broke up.” She bit the inside of her cheek to stop from laughing at the expression on his face. “Yesterday. He’s jealous of our friendship and commanded that I stop hanging out with you.”
Jake stiffened in shock. “I’m sure that went over like gangbusters.”
“You got it. I told him to get a clue, get a life, and get the hell out of my face.” She’d been so furious at him for e
ven thinking he had a say in who she spent time with, especially when it came to Jake. He was her oldest friend, dammit, and the fact that he was drop dead gorgeous with wavy black hair that was too long for a CEO and magnificent blue eyes, dimples bracketing his heart stopping smile and that long body with its casual gait, well that had nothing to do with anything.
“And that’s all?” He knew that Irish temper was out of control, hell he’d been on the receiving end of it more than a few times and it was brutal. And beautiful. The way she diverted her eyes behind the large plastic menu told him everything he needed to know. “Come on Augusta, out with it.”
She sighed heavily. “Fine. I told him he couldn’t command his way out of a paper bag and I only kept him around because he was so pretty.”
Jake laughed so loud other diners began to stare and she couldn’t help but join in. “Damn Auggie, you and that mouth.” His gaze dropped to her lips, pink and plump and, dammit, now shiny from a sexy swipe of her tongue across the bottom lips.
“Honey if a man that looks like that were looking at my lips like he is, breakfast would be the last thing on my mind.” Jake looked up at the cheeky waitress wearing a tight white shirt, red checked Capri pants with a matching scarf and Keds. She looked like a bobbysoxer, only twenty years too old. She winked at him while she wrote down Auggie’s order. “For you sweetheart,” she smiled as she wrote and Jake had the feeling she was laughing at him.