by Marci Bolden
“You inspired me.”
I lowered the painting and looked at her. “It’s great. Thank you.”
She nodded as she took it from me and set it aside. We fell asleep tangled up in each other as we had done so many times. I woke in the middle of the night and watched her sleep for a long time before slipping the sheet away from her.
Middle-of-the-night sex had become something of a routine for us. Slowly waking her to make love had become one of my favorite ways to be with her. One more time was definitely in order.
“Kate,” I whispered in her ear.
She exhaled slowly as I kissed her neck. “I love waking up like this.”
“I know.” I pressed my mouth to hers. It was an erotically slow kiss, thick with her sleep and my emotions.
When I leaned back, I gently slid my hand over her body and pushed her legs apart. As I stroked between her legs, I watched her face. She was so beautiful, so much more than I’d ever noticed before. The realization that hit me in that moment was like a freight train. I had become resigned to the fact that I cared about her much more than I should, but it was then, in that breath, that I realized I loved her.
It wasn’t just the sex I had missed and was going to miss when I left. It was everything. Her laugh, her voice, massaging her leg as we watched TV or talked about some insignificant thing. I was going to miss her green tea while we ate Chinese food, watching her float around the pool, watching her cook breakfast on a Sunday morning with her red hair haphazardly pulled into a bun at the back of her head.
She moaned as I pushed my fingers in her, and I grinned.
I would miss her soft sighing sounds as she became excited.
I would miss everything.
Because she was everything.
But I also knew she was right. A secret affair was all we were ever going to have, and we could never have more.
I leaned down and flicked my tongue over her nipple until it tightened into a hard nub, and then I gently bit it. She arched slightly, pressing her tit farther into my mouth, and I brushed my thumb over her clit.
I eased my way down the bed and between her legs as I continued fingering her. She sighed when I put my mouth to her clit and bit it as I had done to her nipple. Her body responded, and her juices starting flowing more freely, getting her wet enough that I could ease my dick in her.
She breathed my name as I gently moved deep inside her. She wrapped her arms around me and threaded her fingers in my hair as she thrust slightly. After a moment, I put my hands in her hair and leaned back to look down at her in the dim light. Her gaze locked on mine, and I saw in her eyes that she realized I didn’t want to fuck.
Not this time. Not our last time.
I eased back and forward again, and she relaxed beneath me. I dipped my head down and kissed her gently, letting it linger as I made love to her.
Her hands ran over my face as she looked up at me. “Kyle,” she breathed.
I hushed her with another kiss, not wanting reality to crash in on us.
I don’t know how long I made love to her, moving slowly, savoring every sensation that rolled through me, before I finally grabbed one of her hips and pulled her closer so I could come deep inside her.
She came with me, a quiet, soft giving of herself rather than the screaming orgasm she usually released.
We both relaxed, and I brushed her hair from her face as I leaned back to look at her. I felt dampness at her temple. “Are you crying?”
She sniffed. “I’m a girl. We do that sometimes.”
I chuckled and kissed her. “I feel like something amazing is ending.”
She nodded. “It is.”
I ran my hand over her face and pressed my lips to hers again. I debated whether I should say it and knew I had to. “I love you, Kate. Not mad, crazy, full-of-shit love. I just…I love you. And I will always love you. And I will always be right there if you ever need me. For anything.”
She nodded. “I know that. And I love you, Kyle.”
I was kissing her again when my alarm went off, letting me know it was time to get up so I could meet my family for breakfast and take the first steps toward my future. I rolled from her and turned off the alarm.
She sat behind me and kissed my shoulder. “California is going to be amazing. And you are going to find a girl who makes me and all of this seem like nothing.”
I put my hand on hers and pulled it to my lips for a kiss. “That will never happen.”
At the graduation ceremony, Kate and I smiled for a photo of just the two of us and then another with Justin on Kate’s other side. After we took the photos, I hugged her tightly. I whispered that I loved her, and then I got pulled away by my parents.
She texted me just a few hours after the ceremony to let me know she was leaving to go back to Minneapolis.
A few weeks later, when I got settled in California, I called and let her know how to reach me. I also sent her a photo of her painting hanging on the wall of my new apartment. I still had the photos from graduation and looked at them a lot. Kate was so sure I was going to find a new girl, but every time I looked at one, all I saw was how much like her they weren’t.
We stayed in touch through the phone and e-mail, but as I got busy with my new job and her sales picked up over the summer, our phone calls dwindled.
She called me a few days before Thanksgiving and said she’d been thinking about me. As we caught up, she let me know she was seeing someone. I immediately imagined some dickhead treating her like a whore the way John had, but she assured me this guy was a gentleman.
I told her if he didn’t treat her right, I’d come to Minneapolis, kick his ass, and then spend the next few months fucking her. She laughed and told me he was actually a nice guy, that I’d broken her of the bad ones. She thanked me for that, but I didn’t think I’d done anything. I thought she had been done with that when John left.
“Make him be good to you, Kate,” I said before we hung up, this time without even a hint of phone sex.
“When are you going to find yourself a nice girl?”
I smiled. “When I find one who can compare to you.”
It was three years before I saw Kate again.
Justin had asked me to be his best man when he married Melody. I showed up a week before the ceremony for the final fitting of my tux and to meet up with Eric and Jason so we could plan a bachelor party.
I pulled in front of Justin’s suburban home, and my heart thumped when I saw Kate’s car in the driveway. Even though I knew she was still with the same guy, part of me had hoped that he wouldn’t be there and I could somehow convince her to spend the week with me, maybe stay a few extra days after the wedding and catch up on our fucking.
I hadn’t said as much when she’d texted earlier, asking when I would be arriving. I didn’t want to deal with the rejection over text if it came to that. But I realized my dream wasn’t meant to be when I walked into Justin’s home.
I gave Justin a brotherly hug, swept Melody up and kissed her on the cheek, and then moved into their living room. Kate was there, looking exactly like she had the last time I saw her, but this time, there was a man sitting next to her. He was looking at her like she was everything to him, and when she smiled at him, I could see she felt the same.
It was disappointing, but it also somehow felt right. It was good to know she was with someone who thought more of her than John ever had. She deserved that. She deserved to be looked at like she was the only woman in the world. And that was exactly how he looked at her.
“Hey, you,” I said as I walked in.
“Kyle.” She stood and hugged me tightly. I could immediately feel the difference. It was a friendly hug. It was a woman hugging her son’s best friend. There was nothing sexual about it, not even an undercurrent. “How are you?”
“I’m fantastic. And you?”
“I’m good. I’m really good.” She leaned back and put her hand to my face and sighed heavily. “Look at you.” She whispered
so only I could hear, “Handsome as ever.”
“Sweet-talker,” I said just as quietly.
She turned to the man who was now standing behind her. “This is Steve McMahon. Steve, this is Kyle.”
I shook Steve’s hand, and unlike when I had met John all those years ago, I felt at peace with this man. I could sense that he was a good man, he was gentle, and I knew he was good to Kate.
Sitting on the sofa across from Kate and Steve, I smiled at the couple and listened to them talking about the trip they’d just taken to Greece. Kate was finally traveling. She was finally seeing the places we’d talked about during my summer stay with her, and she was seeing them with Steve by her side.
I’d never seen her look so happy and content, not even after a good romp.
As we laughed about a mishap with their luggage, Steve excused himself to get her another glass of wine while Melody and Justin disappeared to check on dinner. Once we were alone, I leaned forward and held my hand out. Kate took it and squeezed it tightly.
“You look amazing,” I said.
She smiled. “I feel amazing.”
“He’s a lucky guy.”
“Thank you. Still no girl for you, huh?”
“I told you. I won’t settle down until I find another you.”
She giggled and lifted her brows. “Well, good luck with that.”
“Yeah.”
I released her hand when I heard Steve coming back into the room. We settled in for more stories to catch up with each other’s lives, and then there was another knock at the door.
Melody jumped up to answer it, and a few minutes later she came back into the room. “Everyone,” she announced, “I’d like you to meet my mom, Cheryl.”
I turned and felt my breath catch as I looked over the woman. Her hair was long like Kate’s, but Cheryl’s was blond. She was wearing a black sundress that accentuated her curves, and when she looked at me, I felt a stirring deep inside my groin.
When I turned back around, I found Kate cocking a brow at me. I gave her a slight shrug, and she rolled her eyes and chuckled.
Also By Marci Bolden
Stonehill Series:
The Road Leads Back
Friends Without Benefits
The Forgotten Path
Jessica’s Wish
This Old Cafe
Forever Yours
Other Titles:
California Can Wait
Unforgettable You (coming soon)
A Life Without Water (coming soon)
About the Author
As a teen, Marci Bolden skipped over young adult books and jumped right into reading romance novels. She never left.
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Marci lives in the Midwest with her husband, kiddos, and numerous rescue pets. If she had an ounce of willpower, Marci would embrace healthy living, but until cupcakes and wine are no longer available at the local market, she will appease her guilt by reading self-help books and promising to join a gym “soon.”
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Visit her here:
www.marcibolden.com
