“Lyssa, Lyssa, Lyssa,” Dan said, stroking the side of my face with a sweaty hand. He pulled out of me and flopped down beside me on the bed. As he put a hand on my lower belly, I snuggled close to his warm, muscular body.
“I love you so much,” I murmured, more for the pleasure of finally being able to say the words out loud than the desire for Dan to hear them.
“I love you,” Dan said. He kissed me gently, then grinned.
“What is it?” I asked.
Dan snickered under his breath. “If we keep this up, we’re going to have to buy a house with ten bedrooms,” he joked.
A broad grin spread over my face and I reached for Dan’s hand.
“That’s just fine with me,” I said. “As long as I have you, we can have all the kids in the world.”
Epilogue
Lyssa – One Year Later
“She is so beautiful,” Anna whispered.
I nodded. “I’ve never seen anyone so gorgeous before,” I said. “It’s like, a miracle.”
Anna nodded.
The two of us stepped back from where we stood. Emmaline Mae Andrews was sleeping in her bassinet, looking like a tiny perfect doll. Her chubby hand was at her mouth and she sucked her thumb as she twitched gently in her sleep.
Being a mother was like nothing I had ever experience before. Every time I looked at my daughter, I felt that my heart was going to explode with love and happiness. And each day, I loved her more deeply than the last. I’d always thought that the most perfect love was between a man and a woman in love, but now, I wondered why more love songs and poems weren’t written about the love between a mother and her daughter.
Having Emmaline had changed me completely. Falling in love with Dan and marrying him had been the most wonderful experience of my life, but I didn’t feel truly complete until I gave birth to our perfectly healthy daughter. The idea that I had grown a tiny human being inside of me, nourished and cared for her, was astounding to me, like a supernatural phenomenon.
I couldn’t believe that just a year ago, I had been miserable and alone and trying to eke out an existence that belonged solely to me. So much had changed over the last year that it was like a dog’s life – like nine years had happened in the span of just one.
“We should let her sleep,” I whispered, tugging on Anna’s sleeve. The two of us walked out of the nursery and down the hall, where Trina was playing with a pile of paint color samples that I’d bought that morning.
“What are you going with for the living room?” Anna asked. She sat down on the floor and pulled Trina into her lap. The toddler was so engrossed with matching the color shades together that she didn’t even notice, and I smiled down at her. It was hard to believe that in just a few short years, Emmaline would be the size of a small person.
“Lyssa?”
“Sorry,” I said, flushing. “I think I still have a touch of the preggo brain. And I don’t know – there’s this cerulean which is nice, but kind of obvious, you know?”
Anna nodded.
“Dan really likes green, like a forest green,” I continued. “But I think that might be too masculine for the living room.”
“Maybe for his study?”
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
Anna glanced around. “You guys got an amazing deal on this place. I’m so jealous,” she told me. “And I wish you weren’t all the way out here in Manhattan.”
I smiled guiltily. “I know,” I said. “But we have to be close to Dan’s practice.”
“And close to your office,” Anna said. “When are you going back again?”
I winced. “Too soon. Next month,” I said. “I used all the unpaid leave I could, but my boss said they can’t hold the position for much longer and if I want to keep my job, I’ll have to go back.”
Just thinking about it – going back to work and leaving my perfect, sweet baby behind made me want to cry. I’d enjoyed spending the last year at home – first, decorating for the baby and then, spending almost every hour of the day holding her and reading to her. The thought of missing major milestones made me want to weep.
“Do you have to go back?” Anna asked.
I sighed. “Dan says that I don’t have to,” I replied. “But I’d feel so guilty if I didn’t. And to be honest, some days I feel a little starved for human interaction. I love Emmaline, but I can’t wait for her to start talking.”
“Yeah,” Anna said. She sighed. “I wish that I didn’t have to work, but you know, it’s good to have a routine. Now, Trina loves going to daycare. Don’t you, hon?” She brushed a stray piece of hair away from Trina’s temples. “Things have gotten so much better in the last year. I’m so proud of her.”
I beamed. “You should be. She’s wonderful. Emma already loves her – you can tell. Her face lights up when Trina walks in the room.”
The front door opened and Dan stepped inside, holding his coat and briefcase. When he saw me, he grinned and I felt my heart melt. Even after all this time, just the sight of him was enough to excite me.
I couldn’t believe it, but I was the luckiest woman in the world.
“Hey, girls,” Dan teased. He walked over to us and bent over, kissing me on top of my head.
Anna blushed. “I should get going,” she said as she got to her feet and picked Trina up. “You ready to go home, love bug?”
Trina stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry, making all three of us laugh.
“It was great to see you.” I leaned in and gave her a one-armed hug, then patted Trina on the head. “You be good, bug,” I told her. “Auntie Lyssa will see you soon.”
“Bye, Anna,” Dan said.
Anna waved, then walked to the door and let herself out.
“I hope I didn’t break up the party,” Dan joked as he leaned in for a kiss. The touch of his lips to mine made me shiver with pleasure and arousal. Ever since I had been cleared to have sex again after giving birth, I had been so horny for Dan, even hornier than I had been before having Emmaline.
“Mmn,” I moaned softly, nibbling on Dan’s lip and pressing my curves to his body. “I missed you.” I put my arms around him and slid my hands down his back, squeezing his cute ass.
“I missed you,” Dan groaned. To my surprise, he took my hands and stepped back.
“What?” I pouted. “Don’t you want me?”
Dan grinned. “Of course, I do,” he said. “But I have some good news.”
I looked at him expectantly.
Dan reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of paper. He handed it over to me and I skimmed it, then squealed with delight.
“We’re going to Hawaii?” I gasped. “All three of us?”
Dan nodded. “Hell yes, we are,” he said. “You realize that you and I never got to have a real honeymoon?”
Happy tears came to my eyes and I nodded.
“I did a lot of research – this place has great childcare, and they even have on-site nannies. One will be assigned to us when we get there, and she can watch Emmaline anytime we feel like having some alone time,” Dan said. He winked at me and I blushed hotly.
“What about now?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
I reached for Dan and put my arms around him.
“Some alone time,” I whispered, kissing him deeply. “You up for it, baby?”
Dan kissed me deeply, teasing my lips with the tip of his tongue. White-hot arousal exploded in my pussy and I moaned softly as I took his hands and brought them to my breasts.
“I was thinking,” I whispered, breaking the kiss and nuzzling Dan. “That maybe, we can start trying for a sister or brother for Emmaline.”
Dan grinned as he kissed me back. “Baby, I’ve never heard a better idea in my life,” he said.
As Dan and I held hands and made our way down the hall to the master suite, butterflies of lust and happiness danced in my stomach. I couldn’t believe that this was my life – that I had the perfect husband, the perfect daughter, even the perfe
ct Manhattan condo.
And I knew that from here, things would only become more wonderful.
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Prologue
Leigh
Tonight was my brother’s 22nd birthday, and guess who of all people wasn’t invited.
Yeah, you guessed it: his own sister.
Sure you could say that he had a legitimate reason: I was only nineteen, and he knew there’d be alcohol and God only knew what other kinds of insanity going on, and he didn’t want me to get into any trouble. But whether it was a legitimate reason or not, I still felt left out. I was at that age when a three-year age difference was starting to feel like less of a gap, and a lot of his friends were my friends. Especially since I’d spent my childhood tagging along after him. That included his birthday parties, which were always the best.
There was no way I was going to skip out on this one, either, even if I was still too young to have alcohol—legally, anyway.
I waited until Andy had gone out, and then told my parents I’d be at Dawn’s place. Dawn had been my best friend since we were in kindergarten together—my parents didn’t blink twice at the thought that I’d be over at her house again. We were constantly living in each other’s pockets.
Dawn wasn’t going to this party. She was too much of a rule-follower… and honestly, so was I usually. If this wasn’t Andy’s birthday party then I wouldn’t be going at all. But it was Andy, my brother, and so I knew that everything would ultimately be fine.
By the time I got there, the party was in full swing. It was a warm summer night and the bonfire made it even warmer, the flames climbing up so high I felt like they could touch the moon.
It wasn’t as crazy of a party as I’d imagined. There was a picnic table covered in food and booze, but people were mostly just hanging around and talking, goofing off a bit. Someone had brought a guitar and was plucking out a song, making up humorous—and dirty—lyrics as they went. Was this what Andy had been so worried about for me? Honestly? It didn’t seem like too much to me.
I wanted to go and join them, especially in case I could find Jace, but I hung out by the cars, lurking in the shadows. I felt like a bit of a creeper, but I didn’t know how to join the group without Andy noticing me. Once I was in the group, that would work, there were plenty of people to help me blend in. But getting from the cars to the bonfire I’d be all alone and Andy could spot me easily. I was in no mood to get into an argument with him.
Where was Jace? I couldn’t see him. Usually he was in the thick of things, telling jokes, making everyone laugh. Including me. I’d had a major crush on the guy for years. Now that I was older, and hopefully our age difference didn’t seem as large, I wondered if maybe…
A pair of hands covered my eyes and I jumped in surprise. “What do you think you’re doing here?”
I recognized that deep voice. Jace’s voice had dropped pretty damn far, into a rumbling bass, when he was sixteen. It had startled people until the rest of his body had grown up to match and he’d grown into the tall, muscular young man I was secretly drooling over.
It sent a thrill through me to hear his voice so close, to feel the heat of his body behind me, his hands over my eyes.
“You shouldn’t be out of your crib so late,” Jace continued, teasing me, and I frowned.
“Pretty sure you used up all the baby jokes five years ago,” I pointed out. “And what can I say? I’m a free spirit, can’t be tamed. I staged a prison break.”
Jace chuckled. His hands lifted from my eyes but dropped to my shoulder. “Andy’s going to kill you the moment he sees you, jailbird.”
“That’s only if he sees me, and he won’t.”
Jace let go of me, and I immediately missed the warmth of his touch. He walked around me, facing me. His dark hair was flopping down into his eyes a little, looking unbearably soft, and his blue eyes pierced me, pinned me in place like a butterfly in a glass case. “And why shouldn’t I go to him right now and tell him that you’re lurking around? It’s his birthday. He set the rules.”
“You wouldn’t do that,” I said with more confidence than I felt, lifting up my chin. I’d gotten curves and weight, but not height, with puberty, which meant Jace towered over me. It was sexy, but also annoying when I was trying to stand my ground with him.
“How do you know that? Best friends have to be loyal.”
I shrugged. “I just know it.”
Jace folded his arms. “How about you give me a reason not to tell him? And a good one.”
I knew that he didn’t mean it the way that I was thinking, but it still thrilled me, sent heat spiraling right down between my legs, to hear him say that. Should I do it? Could I do it? This wasn’t exactly what I’d been planning when I’d come here, but I’d been dreaming about Jace for so long—I’d be an idiot not to do something about it now.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward so that there was barely an inch separating us. “I’ll do whatever you want,” I whispered, keeping my eyes locked on his, my voice dropping into what I hoped was a seductive whisper. I’d never tried to be seductive before.
Jace’s eyes went wide, and the next thing I knew he was grabbing my arm and dragging me out behind the cars, into the woods. I could still see the bonfire through the trees, could follow it back so I wouldn’t get lost—but it was far enough away that I couldn’t see any actual people, and nobody could see us.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing!?” Jace asked, his voice low and rough. “Would you say that to just anyone who caught you?”
“Of course not!”
“This isn’t a game, Leigh.”
“I know, do I look like I’m playing?” I stepped in again, pressing our bodies together properly this time, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I mean it. If you keep quiet about my being here, I’ll do anything you want. Because it’s what I want, too.”
Jace’s hands fell to my waist, squeezing, and I felt another thrill inside of me. Just being pressed against him like this with the promise, the possibility, of more was making me so wet. It was all I could do not to squirm against him.
“This is real,” Jace confirmed. His eyes were searching mine. “This isn’t some kind of joke?”
“Why would I joke about something like this?”
“I don’t know, maybe because you saw the way I’ve been looking at you since your graduation?”
Graduation? From high school? That had been a year ago. Jace had been looking at me that whole time? And I hadn’t noticed? How could I have missed something like that?
“I had no idea,” I admitted honestly. “But I want you. I’ve wanted you, for so long. And I’m offering. Don’t tell Andy I’m here.” I grabbed his hand and guided it up underneath my shirt. “Let me give you what we both want.”
Jace made a noise that was halfway between a growl and something much deeper, something wounded almost, and seized my mouth in a passionate kiss.
I moaned helplessly. I’d been kissed before, although not for a couple of years, and none of those fumbling attempts had been anything like his. Jace knew what he was doing, sliding his tongue along my bottom lip and then pushing just the tip inside before darting back, teasing—and then going in again, this time sliding his tongue all the way inside.
God, it felt so fucking good. Jace ground against me and I clung to him, along for the ride, feeling like I was soaring higher than any drug. I had wanted this for so long but I hadn’t dared to dream that it would be this good, that Jace would be this good at it. I could feel him getting hard against me, oh God he felt so thick, I wanted him so badly…
Jace tore his mouth away, pant
ing. “Leigh—Leigh c’mon. Andy would kill us.”
“That’s Andy’s problem,” I shot back. “We’re adults, we’re consenting, and it’s our business, not his, what we choose to do. Besides, I can keep a secret.”
Jace stared at me. I could see him struggling, trying to decide what to do. “Leigh…”
I kissed along his jaw, then down his neck. I never wanted to take my mouth off of his skin. “Please, Jace, please. I’ve been thinking about this for years, wanted you for years… I want you to fuck me, please—please take me…”
Jace let out a groan that vibrated through his entire body, against mine, and then he grabbed me again, kissing me hard. My head was spinning. This was it, tonight I was finally going to get with my dream guy.
Jace
Greenville hadn’t changed at all in the seven years I’d been gone. I felt like I was a whole lifetime away from who I’d been the last time I’d been here but coming back was like being in a time capsule. There were the same small business, the same people, the same… everything.
This town was even small enough that there weren’t any of those chain stores that usually popped up—no CVS Pharmacy or anything like that. It was a short enough drive that you could get to one if you wanted to, though. Not even Greenville could totally escape progress. But with less than two thousand people living in it, they sure could try.
We were the kind of town Stephen King wrote about: remote, set in our ways, everyone knew everyone, and we were set in Maine. All that was missing was a killer alien clown lurking in the sewers.
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