by Hayden Wolfe
He needed a plan. No way did he want to flounder. A girl like Ronnie wouldn’t be content living paycheck to paycheck like he did. Not that she was stuck-up. He’d never thought her snotty or obsessed with material things.
Ronnie had to succeed.
Buying only the groceries his budget allowed would be getting by in her eyes, not conquering life. That was what she’d always strived for. She’d told him enough times growing up she hated failure. It meant she was too weak to overcome her challenges. He supposed that was why she had dual degrees and a successful gallery.
A plan.
He worked the thought over. He supposed he could borrow some money from Levi and Jack. Their restaurant was doing well. Kyle had been considering expanding his business by converting the garage into a workshop anyway.
Most of the money he’d made over the past year had been from the custom kitchen cabinets and furniture he’d built using his dad’s tools. It’d be nice to have his own workshop. That would work. He’d put out some feelers and see how much interest there’d be in handmade cabinets. Or furniture. He’d built a lot of the pieces in not only his house, but his brothers’ homes.
The churning in his gut eased. He had his goal and a plan. Nothing would stop him from claiming the ultimate prize: Ronnie.
And breaking the Axel curse once and for all.
A day, huh? He grinned. Yeah, he could do it. He’d start with breakfast and move them to the bedroom before taking her to the cabin. They could pack a picnic basket and watch the sun set over the valley like they used to. Then tonight, he’d love her and finally sleep with her in his arms.
He leaned against the counter to wait for her, his gaze locked on the entryway. After twenty minutes and no Ronnie, he wondered if he’d made a mistake leaving her alone so long.
She’d already established a pattern of running.
He lifted the curtain on the window above the sink. His truck still sat where he’d parked it. She hadn’t left him, unless she’d decided to walk. An image of her hauling a heavy trunk came back to him. He shook his head. He wouldn’t put it past her.
He shoved from the counter and strode to the stairs. No sounds from the shower reached his ears. He opened the front door. The wooden trunk remained in the bed of his truck. She wouldn’t leave without it. He faced the steps. She was avoiding him, the only explanation. Did he give her space or go after her?
A day. That was all he had. He took the steps two at a time and hurried down the hall.
He half expected the bedroom door to be locked. It stood open. The room, quiet. He put one foot onto the hardwood and froze. Ronnie lay curled in the center of his bed, naked and asleep. He stared at the sight she made and hated the years they’d spent apart.
What had he done wrong? He’d given her everything he could, loved her with his heart and soul, and worshipped her as if she were a queen. They’d never even fought about anything. The only thing she’d complained about was college. She’d wanted him to move to Virginia with her.
He would’ve loved to go, but he hadn’t been able to afford it. He’d even looked into it. The measly scholarships he could’ve gotten barely covered a tenth of the cost, and his parents had been adamant about him not taking out loans. He couldn’t have asked them to remortgage the house just so he could go to school with Ronnie. He’d settled for the community college, and even that had sucked his parents’ budget.
He made his way to the bed and let his gaze caress Ronnie. The bruises stood out starkly on her pale skin, but she was still beautiful. His fingers itched to touch her, explore her, and reacquaint himself with her body so he could picture every detail with his eyes closed. The idea took root. He craved it. He also knew it’d be best if he didn’t make it happen. She was obviously exhausted, and Ronnie sleeping the day away worked to his advantage. She wouldn’t be able to leave as soon.
He headed back to the kitchen, cleaned up, and texted Wyn to get her some clothes. A quick shower later and he crawled onto the bed with her. She didn’t wake, so he settled behind her, spooning her. She sighed and pushed against him. He gritted his teeth to stop his groan. She felt right in his arms, in his bed, in his life.
“I love you, Ronnie. I always have.”
A small smile graced her mouth. He hoped she’d heard him. If she hadn’t, she’d learn the truth soon enough.
And this time she wasn’t getting away from him.
Chapter 6
Ronnie woke to the soft, rhythmic sounds of breathing, and it wasn’t hers. She tensed, a scream lodged in the back of her throat, but awareness returned in a rush of memories.
The break-in, her mom’s will, driving to Sander’s Valley, and…Kyle.
He slept naked, at her back, an arm locked around her chest and a leg draped over hers. His groin pressed against her bottom, and his breath heated the top of her head. Not once in all the years they’d known each other had they ever slept together. She wasn’t quite sure she liked it. It stirred too many youthful dreams and added to the mess of emotions barraging her.
Her obligatory visit to Sander’s Valley wasn’t supposed to end up with her naked in her ex-boyfriend’s bed. Nor was it meant to make her question choices she’d made a decade ago. Maybe she’d been wrong to walk away without talking to Kyle, but she had. Life went on. At seventeen, they’d both wanted different things. There was no shame in it. A decade later, she didn’t know what she wanted.
She also hadn’t meant to fall asleep. After her shower, she’d sat on his bed to get her emotions under control before the larger-than-life Kyle Sander sent them whirling into a tailspin. Decisions based solely on feelings were never wise. Her mother had drilled that into her. She applied the knowledge to business and life, but lately her head had been hazy and she’d been second-guessing everything.
It’d be wise to put some space between them until she could think. No way did she want to hurt Kyle again. She wrapped a hand around his wrist to lift his arm off her. He tightened his hold on her body.
“Are you finally awake, doll?”
Drowsy and low, his voice slipped through her, touching every intimate inch of her body. She squeezed her eyes shut against the surge of arousal. “I’m sorry I fell asleep on you.”
He slid his hand down her stomach, settling it against her lower belly. “You were tired. It’s okay.”
“I was. There’s a lot going on in my life.” She waited for him to drill her about what. He didn’t. She cleared her throat. “I guess I ruined breakfast.”
“No big deal. I wrapped up what I could. We can reheat it later if you’d like.” He brushed his lips against her throat. “Much later, Ronnie. I want to enjoy this moment with you. It’s one I’ve fantasized about for years.”
“Getting me in bed?”
“Yes and waking up with you in my arms.”
Lust gave his voice a lulling quality. Her eyelids drifted closed. “I didn’t come back here to rekindle our love.”
He shifted his hips, and the head of his cock slid along her cleft. His breath escaped in a slow hiss, and hers caught. Desire sparked. Her body went lax, moisture pooling low. He groaned and repeated the stroke, spreading her arousal over her lower lips. Another incredibly slow glide of his penis over her sex, and her womb clenched. She squirmed over him and fought the urge to impale herself.
“I hadn’t planned on it either.” He gripped her hips to stop her restless movements.
“I have a lot going on in my life.”
He brushed his lips over her neck. “Me too.”
“I live hours away.”
“I know.” He dragged his cock along the seam of her sex, parting her wet folds, until the head pushed at her opening. “At the moment, I don’t care about any of that.”
Her inner muscles squeezed, her body’s attempt to drag him inside. One tilt of her hips, and he’d breach her sex. She took a deep breath to settle her raging desire. It didn’t help. Kyle’s scent filled her lungs, pushing her lust higher.
She
turned her head to look into his face. Big mistake. His heavy-lidded brown eyes and his slackened look of raw carnal need filled her vision. More arousal flowed to coat the length of his erection nestled between her lower lips.
She blinked and focused on his mouth. “What do you care about?”
“Making love to you. Right here, right now. No barrier between us. Just like we used to.” He licked his lips, first the lower one, then the upper. She followed the slow glide of his tongue with her gaze. “I’m safe, doll. Haven’t been with another woman in over a year and always used condoms whenever I bothered myself with one.”
She took in his features. A little rougher than the boy she’d known, with stubble covering his jaw, but he was still Kyle, the man she’d given her virginity to and the only one who’d ever found his release inside her. Hunger rose. She wanted to feel the hot rush of his seed along with the jerking of his cock.
“Me too. I’m safe. On birth control.” Her words rushed out.
His nostrils flared and mouth opened on a shaky exhale. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes, but this is sex. Do you understand? Not an invitation to start dating again.” She said the words as much for her benefit as his.
He didn’t respond. He tilted his hips and drove his cock inside her with a steady push that stole her breath and her sanity.
“God, Ronnie.” He pressed his open mouth to her neck. “Feels good.”
She moaned, the only response she could manage with his thick penis lodged deep. He waited a moment more, then dragged his length back. A forward push parted her sensitive muscles and ignited her nerve endings. Another thrust and her core quivered. He pulled back before the sensation built and drove into her on a rough stroke. She shuddered, the thump of his cock reverberating through her womb.
“Tight, doll, but so wet.” He rolled his hips and groaned. “You’re strangling me. Fucking love it.”
“Kyle.” His name was all she could manage.
He slid his fingers over her lower belly and pushed the tip of his finger against her clit. Sparks danced from where he touched to her womb. Tingles skipped across her skin. Her breath rushed out.
“Again, Kyle. Do that again.”
“This?” He rubbed the hard bud. The callus on his fingertip added to the sensation building within her.
“Or like this?” He flicked her clit once, then twice more. Her body clenched over the rigid erection piercing her. He cursed while she moaned.
“Yes. That. Do that.”
More quick flicks, more shallow thrusts of his cock, and she hovered on the edge of paradise.
“Are you close, Ronnie?”
“Yes.” She barely managed to get the word out. Her world centered on the sensation of Kyle’s cock moving within her and the magic he created with the strokes of his finger.
“Too bad.” He pulled out and pushed her onto her back. “I’m not ready yet.”
He settled between her legs. The straight length of his erection glistened from her arousal. She focused on it and lifted her hips, offering herself to him. He didn’t push his thick shaft into her. He gripped it and used the head to tease her clit the way he had with his finger.
Her eyelids fluttered.
“Is that good too, doll?”
She nodded.
He rubbed the erect bud more. She writhed, adding to his stroking. Tingles skipped to her womb, and she tensed as the first hint of her orgasm danced up her core. He pushed her hips to the bed and eased his cock away from where she wanted it.
She whimpered. “Please, Kyle.”
“Do you want me to fill you up?”
She nodded as best she could with her body strung tight.
He pushed his erection into her, slowly…oh so slowly. Her muscles clenched and released over the length piercing her, but the steady drive didn’t push her over the edge. He made her ride it. Fully seated, the head of his cock kissed the mouth of her womb. They both groaned. The connection she’d never felt with another man flared to life.
Eyes closed, he hung his head and panted. She took in the sight of Kyle lost to passion and accepted the truth. She’d tossed him aside but had never let him go. A part of her still loved him, always had. That was why she’d never been able to commit to another guy.
What was she supposed to do with this knowledge? Their lives had gone in different directions. She’d forced them to forge their own paths by leaving. Sweet heaven, a decade had gone by. Nothing she did would erase the time apart or make up for the hurt she’d caused him.
Even if they did get back together, he’d always harbor the resentment. Blame her for screwing up the perfect life he’d planned for them.
Make her give up what she’d worked so hard to build.
“Valley boys never leave home. If you want to love one, then you’ll have to sacrifice everything. Is that what you want, Veronica? To toss away our legacy, the gallery…for a silly boy?”
Her mom’s words repeated in her head. Ronnie sucked in a rough breath, her emotions threatening to overwhelm her.
“Ronnie.” Kyle focused on her. Lust and possessiveness showed in his expression. “This is more than sex.”
She shook her head. “No, I—”
He lowered his head and kissed her, stopping her words. The strokes of his tongue matched the thrusts of his cock. He rocked into her. After a moment, she matched him and returned his passion. She couldn’t help it. The intimate dance they shared was one she remembered. Her body took up the rhythm without thought. She was helpless to resist him, so she gave him everything and let her regret and fears drift away. They’d return. Of that she had no doubt. She’d deal with them then.
The pressure built. His cock thickened. And his steady, full strokes shortened into quick, hard thrusts. He pounded into her, stimulating her and sending her body up in flames.
All she could do was accept him. Love him. And she did. She kissed him and matched his wild pace. With her hands fisted around the sheet, she raised her bottom and met his driving strokes. Their bodies smacked. Her pleasure spiraled. Ecstasy hovered within reach.
On a grunt, he rammed his cock deep and let go. The hot burst of his seed tipped her over. Paradise surrounded her, buoyed her up, and completed her. On and on, it went, and a lifetime of memories washed over her. Promises they’d made, secrets they shared, and dreams they swore to make into reality. She’d destroyed them all the day she’d walked away.
Tears pricked her eyelids, but the sadness couldn’t take root, not when her body hummed under Kyle’s skilled touch. She embraced the heaven he offered. Finally, the waves crashing over her slowed. The jerking of his cock eased. She returned to reality.
He buried his face against her neck. “I love you, Ronnie. Always have, always will.”
And that was what made everything worse.
She wrapped her arms around his head and held him close, but the words she felt in her heart wouldn’t come out. They’d sound shallow after what she’d done. Silence was easier, so that was what she gave him. She’d learned that from her mom too.
Chapter 7
Kyle propped himself on his elbow and stared into Ronnie’s face. She’d fallen asleep in his arms after a second round of slow, sweet loving. He’d succeeded. He’d bet money on it. She regretted leaving him, if only for what they shared between the sheets. Her praise and touches were genuine, exactly as he remembered. The sadness in her eyes afterward, however, was something he’d never thought he’d see. He wanted to erase it if it was the last thing he did.
They needed to talk. So many things were left unsaid. He just couldn’t bring himself to broach the tough subjects, like why’d she’d left and what their future held. If they even had one. Logically, he knew it was too soon to tackle the latter question, but he knew it was the one that mattered most. The past couldn’t be changed. He hated it, but the truth remained the same.
Ten years. They’d wasted ten years of living together, loving together. He didn’t want to lose a single day more
, but he didn’t know how to stop it. She had a life that didn’t include him or Sander’s Valley. He also didn’t think she’d believe him if he mentioned his gut feelings. Nonsense, she’d say.
And if he mentioned the curse? She’d laugh. Had laughed. He’d brought it up once after they’d watched some scary movie together at the drive-in. She’d ticked off all the reasons her ancestors had died.
Her grandfather had been killed in a drug deal gone bad. Her great-grandfather had been shot in the war. Her great-great grandmother had been beaten to death by her estranged husband. The relative before that had been kicked by a horse. None of those were connected to any silly curse, she’d said. Coincidence, nothing more.
Maybe she was right. Maybe not. Kyle only knew he refused to gamble with her life, not after last night. Not after realizing she still loved him. He’d seen it in her eyes. Felt it in her touch.
He wished he could change the past. Couldn’t, though. He only had control over the present.
He brushed a stray lock of hair from her face and went over his plan. Love her, worship her, and make her yearn for him. On top of that, she’d enjoyed spending her summers here with him. He’d remind her of it and pray the combination of him and home was enough to convince her to stay.
He kissed her small nose. She sighed, and he couldn’t help but smile. Awake, she left him aroused and edgy, but asleep, she was adorable.
“Ronnie, love.”
She wrinkled her nose but didn’t wake.
“Doll, it’s time to get up.”
“Kyle.”
His name whispered in her sleepy voice was the best damn thing he’d heard in a long time. He took her mouth on a slow kiss until she linked her arms around his neck. On a tug, she pulled him over her, spreading her legs and welcoming him inside. His cock slid along her damp cleft.
He would’ve enjoyed taking her again, loving her from the inside out, but they needed to get out of bed or they’d miss the first step in his plan. His mama didn’t hold dinner for anybody, not even the girl she’d once considered a part of the family.