by L A Cotton
“Kyle...” She whimpered, hooking an arm around my neck and pulling my face down to hers.
Our lips met in a gentle caress. I didn’t want to rush her or push her for something she didn’t want to give. Slow and soft, our tongues tangled together. Kissing Laurie was always like coming home. I knew the shape of her mouth, the taste of her lips. I knew exactly how to kiss her to leave her breathless and wanting.
“God, Kyle,” she breathed curling her fingers in the hair at the base of my neck. “Why does this always feel so good?”
I eased back to stare down at her. “Because you were made for me, babe. You’re the other half to my soul.”
Sliding a hand between us, I found her cotton panties and dipped my fingers inside. Laurie swallowed a moan as I slowly worked a finger inside her, curling it just the way I knew she liked. “There is no better sight in the world than watching you like this,” I rasped, as I dragged my thumb over her clit in lazy circles.
Her eyes were blown with lust, lips parted, and skin flushed. She looked incredible. My perfect girl, put on the Earth for me to love, and me alone.
“More...” Laurie panted. “I need...”
“Ssh.” I leaned in, kissing her. “I know what you need.” I always knew.
I added another finger, working her faster, harder, until my name spilled from her lips in a tumble of breathy sighs.
Making quick work of shedding my boxers, I slid Laurie’s panties down before pulling my jersey off her body. “You are perfection.” My eyes drank in her curves, lingering on the swell of her breasts.
Dropping onto my elbows, I dipped my head and closed my mouth around one of her nipples.
“Kyle,” Laurie whisper-cried, arching into me. But I didn’t let up. I licked and sucked, nipped and teased until she was writhing beneath me, desperate for more.
Trailing my tongue up the damp curve of her neck, I fixed my mouth over hers. Laurie took control, grasping my dick in her hand and guiding me home.
The second I was sheathed inside her, our bodies stilled, our eyes locked in silent acceptance. Nothing, nothing would ever feel better than this.
And it wasn’t because I loved sex, and I did, a lot.
It was her.
Laurie.
The girl who had stolen my heart when I was just a thirteen-year-old kid, and never given it back.
She owned me.
Heart.
Body.
And soul.
Afterwards, Laurie lay on her side, my body curled around hers. She’d been silent a while, but I gave her space.
“Penny for your thoughts?” I eventually asked.
“I’m just thinking how quickly life can change, ya know?”
Resting my chin on her shoulder, I let out a steady breath. “It’s why I believe in living life to its fullest. Nobody knows what the next day will bring, or the one after that.”
“Yeah, I mean look at Lo and Maverick. He was going to propose and then...” Her voice trailed off.
“Lo told you that?” I asked.
“Yeah, when we went out for cocktails the other week. God, I don’t know how she’s dealing with all this. If it was you lying in that hospital, I’d be a wreck.”
“Lo is strong.” She was one of the strongest people I knew. It was one of the reasons I knew her and Rick would be good together, back when she first moved to Wicked Bay. He needed someone to not only stand up to him, but to stand up for him.
“I can’t believe it. He waited so damn long to finally pop the question, and then this happens. It isn’t fair.”
None of it was.
“Do you think they’ll figure it out?” Laurie whispered.
“What do you mean?” Dread snaked through me. “Is Lo having doubts?”
“I don’t think it’s Lo we have to worry about, babe. It’s Rick. He’s different with her.”
“He’s just trying to protect her.”
“By pushing her away? By refusing to make decisions about the future, their future? Lo is beginning to wonder where she fits in.”
“She said all of this to you?” I knew things were tough for them, for Lo, but perhaps I’d underestimated just how much this was affecting her.
“She didn’t need to. Don’t you see it every time you look at her? She’s lost, Kyle.”
“Maverick just needs some time.”
“Well he’d better hurry up and figure it out.” Laurie let out a small sigh. “They need each other, babe. The way we need each other.”
My arms tightened around her. “Rick and Lo are going to pull through this.”
They had to.
But as I said the words all I could think was I hoped to God my stepbrother knew what the fuck he was doing.
Chapter Sixteen
Summer
“I can’t believe it’s almost the end of summer,” I said, leaning back against JB’s chest. We were at my parents’ house in the yard, huddled around the fire pit, not that we needed it with the blistering summer heat. But Kyle always liked to get the thing going. He said there was something about an open fire that made him feel like a man. Which was fitting really, because I was almost certain he still had the maturity of a twelve-year-old.
“You can stay,” JB whispered against my ear. “I’ve already told you that.”
“She’s going with you,” Lo said, taking a long pull on her beer. She looked so sad, so lost... my heart broke for the girl I already considered my sister, even if it wasn’t yet official.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “JB is right. I can stay until classes start.”
“No.” She shook her head gently. “Life needs to go on. Rick will be coming home soon.” The words didn’t seem to offer her any solace.
I wasn’t surprised my brother had decided to take Mom up on the offer of coming home. He was too proud to let Lo care for him. But I knew how much she was hurting over it. And it pained me there was nothing anyone could say or do to make it better.
“Has there been any word yet when visitors might be allowed again?” Laurie asked.
“He says it’ll be another couple of days.”
“Cheer up, cous,” Kyle said around a strained smile. “He’ll be home before you know it and it’ll be like old times, the two of you locked away in the pool house.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Lo got up and brushed her hands together. “I’m going to the bathroom.” She disappeared toward the house, and silence fell over the four of us.
“She’s really struggling, huh?” JB said.
“She just needs to hold on a few more days.”
My eyes snapped over at Kyle and he blanched. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” he rushed out quickly. Too quickly.
“Kyle...” My brow lifted. He was hiding something.
“What is going on?” Laurie glanced between the two of us.
“It’s nothing...” His lips pursed.
“I don’t envy you right now, Stone.” JB chuckled, toying with the lace on the neckline of my blouse.
“Dude, that’s my sister. Do you have to sit there feeling her up?”
“Nice deflection.”
“I am not deflecting.”
“Look at me.” Laurie gripped his jaw and pulled his face to hers. “Do you know something we don’t know? Because you told me it was nothing.”
“Babe, I—”
“Swear on my life.”
“Seriously?” He laughed but it came out strangled.
“You lied to me. There is totally something you’re keeping from us.”
“Ssh, keep it down. If Lo hears—”
“Kyle Weston Stone, if you don’t tell me the truth right this second, I will remove your husband privileges for a week.”
“Shit, Stone. Your woman is kind of scary when she’s mad.”
Kyle grumbled. “You don’t know the half of it.”
“I mean it, Kyle. I will—”
He clapped his hand over Laurie’s mouth. “All yo
u need to know is that everything is going to be fine.”
“But—”
“No buts. This is important to Maverick and I won’t ruin it for him. You’ve got to trust me on this, okay?”
She nodded, and he finally dropped his hand. “Now act cool because Lo’s on her way back.”
“What’s going on?” She ran her eyes over each of us as tension crackled in the air.
Laurie forced a smile. “Don’t look at me, babe. I’m drunk.” She wafted her bottle in the air.
“Summer?” Lo turned her attention on me. I didn’t want to lie to her, but I didn’t want to get Kyle into trouble either. Thankfully, though, I didn’t have to answer.
JB cleared his throat. “We were talking about how Stone lets Laurie get kinky in the bedroom.”
Lo frowned. “That is... Wait, I’m not sure I want to know.”
And just like that, the guy I loved more than anything in the world broke the awkward tension and saved the evening.
“Thank you.” I leaned up and kissed his jaw.
“For you?” He kissed me back. “Anything.”
Lo
“We’re going to widen all the doors and lower the switches and then replace the bathroom suite with something more accessible.” I trailed after Rebecca as we moved around the pool house. “We’ll also need to think about access in and out of the main house. But given we don’t have much time, we’ll start here and see how we go.”
“That’s great.” I forced a smile. I didn’t want to be here, listening to all her grand plans for Maverick’s return. We were still no closer to knowing when that might be, but she wanted to make a start.
“This will be your home too, Lo.” She turned to me. “I hope you know it was never my intention to make you feel like you weren’t a part of this. It’s just... well, Maverick is my boy and I want to do right by him. God only knows I let him down enough when he was younger.”
“I know.” I got it, I did. But my head and heart were at war over wanting to resent her and thank her.
Rebecca reached for my hand, taking it in hers. “All that matters is that Maverick comes home to us. The rest will fall into place.”
I nodded, too overcome with emotion to answer.
I hadn’t seen him for days. They were hoping to start visiting again tomorrow. It felt like forever.
We’d texted and talked on the phone, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t the same as looking into his eyes and knowing we were going to get through this.
Because every day that we were apart was just another day the roots of doubt coiled further around my heart.
I woke to the sound of my phone ringing. The stream of sunlight pouring in through the blinds told me it was still the afternoon. I must have fallen asleep after returning from the Stone-Princes' house. Rebecca had asked me to stay for dinner—Loretta was making something special for Laurie and her mom—but I’d declined. I didn’t want to spend another two hours pretending I was okay, when really, I was barely holding myself together at the seams.
Fumbling to answer, I croaked, “Hello?”
“Hey, did I wake you?”
“Yeah. I must have fallen asleep.”
“Are you okay?” Any other time, the concern in Maverick’s voice would have melted my insides, but it barely filled the pit in my stomach.
“I didn’t sleep well.” There was no use in lying.
“I’m sorry...”
“It isn’t your fault.” But the second the words left my lips, I knew it was a lie. Because part of me did blame Maverick for letting us get to this place. All I’d wanted to do was be there for him, and time and time again, he’d pushed me away and made me doubt myself.
Doubt us.
“Your mom invited me over to see the plans for the renovations. The work starts in a couple of days.”
“Yeah, she called earlier. Couldn’t get her shut up about it. She loves that shit.”
“I have to let the administration department know what I plan to do soon.”
“I don’t want you to put your life on hold, Lo,” he said with complete conviction. “We can still spend time together if you’re shuffling back and forth for classes.”
I really didn’t want to get into this again, so I changed the subject.
“The funeral is next week.”
“How is she doing?”
“Surprisingly, well. I think she’s just relieved it’s over.” Nobody wanted to watch their loved ones suffer.
“I’m sorry I won’t be there.”
“Yeah.” I fought back the tears that seemed to find me whenever I spoke to Maverick lately. “Me too.”
“But I have some good news.” He hesitated. “You can finally visit tomorrow.”
“That’s great.”
“Wow, don’t sound too excited.” Maverick’s strangled laughter filled the line. “I had hoped we could talk about some things.”
“What things?” I sounded like a petulant child, but I was tired.
So freaking tired.
“Tomorrow,” he said.
“Okay, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.” I went to hang up, but Maverick’s voice gave me pause.
“No matter what happens, it’ll always be you, Lo,” he said, but the words were drowned out by the rush of emotion coursing through me.
He wanted to talk.
He probably wanted to tell me not to defer the semester because he didn’t need me, not when he would have Rebecca there to help him.
I hung up and inhaled a harsh breath, blinking away the tears.
“Lo, sweetheart,” Dad’s voice filtered through the door. “Are you joining us for dinner?”
“I’ll be right there,” I shouted, trying to compose myself.
If I didn’t go down, Beth would only come up and get me. Drying my eyes, I took a calming breath.
Maybe everyone was right, maybe I needed to focus on college and let the rest fall into place. I could still be around for Maverick and attend classes. SU was a forty-minute commute at most, and I didn’t have classes all day every day. I could split my time between here and there.
But as I headed downstairs, nothing about that scenario felt right. I wanted to be there for Maverick in the early stages. It wasn’t just about him; it was about me too. We were a team. A partnership.
At least, I’d thought we were.
We’d been through a lot, but we had never faced something like this before. Losing your ability to walk changed you. I’d done enough research on living with an SCI to know that. The long-term impact on a person’s emotional and mental health could be as bad, if not worse, than their physical injuries.
“Everything okay, sweetheart?” Dad asked as I entered the kitchen.
“Fine.”
I don’t know whether he saw through the lie or if I’d just gotten really good at hiding the truth.
Because I wasn’t fine.
Not by a long shot.
And I didn’t know how to fix it anymore.
“Have you been crying?” Beth frowned as I sat opposite her.
“Beth,” Stella scolded. “Lo has a lot on her mind.”
“Because Rick is paralyzed?”
Jesus, this girl.
I curled my fingers around the edge of my chair, biting back the fresh wave of tears.
“Beth, remember we’ve talked about this.” Stella shot me an apologetic glance. “You can’t just say things like that.”
“I didn’t say anything wrong. Rick is hurt and Lo is sad. I don’t get why you’re freaking out about—”
“It’s okay,” I said, offering Beth a weak smile. “I am sad, and Maverick is hurt, but sometimes we have to try to think about the way we say things to people.”
“Mrs. Chalford says I think before I speak, is that what you mean?”
“You think and speak just fine, sweetheart.” Dad gave her a warm smile. “But Lo is right, sometimes when our friends and family are going through a hard time, we have to try to think about
how the things we say might make them feel.”
She looked at me with her brows furrowed and nose scrunched up in contemplation and smiled. “I’m sorry you’re hurting, and that Rick is hurt. But you have forever love, so you’ll be okay.”
“That’s better, sweetheart.” Stella patted her hand, her expression softening.
It was a sweet thing to say, but what they didn’t know was, it was the worst possible thing she could have said.
I used to think we had forever love, but now…
Now I didn’t know if love was enough.
Chapter Seventeen
Lo
“It’s going to be okay, Lo,” Dad said as we rolled to a stop outside the hospital. He’d offered to give me a ride. Part of me wondered if it was because he felt my hesitance. I wanted to see Maverick, of course I did. I just wasn’t sure I could take any more hurt and disappointment.
“Sure, Dad.” I swallowed over the lump in my throat.
“Maverick is a proud guy. He just wants to do right by you. And I have to say, I’m inclined to agree, sweetheart. The reality is his rehab could take months. You can’t put your—”
“Please don’t.” I bit back the emotion bubbling in my throat.
He let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry. I’m just worried, you seem so... so lost, sweetheart.”
“I should go, he’s waiting.” I went to climb out, but he caught my arm.
“Whatever happens, Lo, I hope you know I’ll always be here for you.”
With a small nod, I hurried out of the car, slamming the door behind me.
My body trembled as I entered the hospital, playing over in my head all the things Maverick could possibly want to discuss. I rode the lift numb, my heart already breaking from whatever blow he was about to deliver.
By the time I reached Maverick’s floor, my heart was beating so hard, I felt a little lightheaded. Moving on autopilot to his room, I’d almost reached the door when a voice said, “Are you looking for Maverick?”
“I am.” I turned to meet the unfamiliar nurse.
