FOREVER SERIES: COMPLETE BOX SET

by Lynn, Sandi

  The way he shook her hand made me melt inside, so gentle and pure. I got up and took her by the hand and motioned for Connor to do the same. He got up and took her other hand as we walked her up and down the beach. I heard a woman yell Chloe’s name. Connor and I turned around as the small woman with blonde wavy hair came running up to her and hugged her tight.

  “Chloe, you scared me!”

  She stood up and looked at me and Connor. “Thank you so much for taking care of her.”

  I was surprised when Connor spoke out.

  “No problem, but you need to keep a closer eye on her.”

  She shot him a look, took Chloe by the hand, and walked away.

  “Connor, that wasn’t very nice.”

  He sighed. “Look at her, she looks all of what nineteen or twenty? She shouldn’t even have a kid. She’s still a kid herself.”

  I wasn’t sure where that came from, but I had a suspicion it had something to do with his sister. We walked back to the blanket. He spread his legs and pulled me in between them as my back laid into his firm chest.

  “The very last memory I have of my mom was at the beach. I think that’s why I love it so much. I feel closer to her when I’m here,” I softly said as I stared out into the blue ocean.

  Connor tightened his grip around me and kissed the top of my head.

  “Tell me about your memory.”

  I lifted my head back as he leaned down and kissed my lips.

  “It was our last vacation before she died. My dad took us to the beach because she wanted to see the sunset over the water. I remember her sitting in a lounge chair with a big floppy straw hat on and big white sunglasses. I was building a sand castle, and just as the sun was starting to set, she called me over to her and had me sit on her lap. She pointed to the sunset and said, ‘See that, Ellery? There’s nothing more beautiful than the sun setting over the ocean water. I want you to remember something for me: if you ever feel sad or lonely or need to talk to me, come here and wait for the sun to set, and I’ll be here with you.’”

  Connor lifted me up and turned me around so that I was facing him. He stroked my face with the back of one hand while the other was around my waist.

  “Memories are our way of holding on to the things we love, and I plan on making the most beautiful memories with you.”

  I stared into his enchanting eyes as I leaned over and softly kissed his moist lips. I could feel him harden beneath my thighs.

  “I love you, Connor Black,” I whispered.

  He hardened our kiss as he ran his hands through my hair.

  “I love you too.”

  I jumped up and took his hand, pulling him behind me.

  “Where are we going?” he asked as he adjusted himself.

  “You’ll see,” I said.

  I took him to a lighthouse I noticed earlier in the day at the end of the beach. I prayed the door would be unlocked as I turned the handle and it opened. I turned to Connor and smiled.

  “Ellery, what are you doing?”

  I shut the door and pulled him by his shirt into me, kissing him passionately.

  “You said you wanted beach sex. Well, this is the best I can give you right now. We’ll call it ‘sex in a lighthouse on the beach.’”

  He growled and then his face lit up. “You kinky girl,” he said as he pushed me up against the wall.

  His hands moved up my shirt and to my breasts as his tongue explored my neck. I unbuttoned his pants and took him in my hand. He moaned as I ran my hand up and down the length of him. He easily took down my shorts and panties and slid his fingers inside me to make sure I was ready for him. He wasted no time as he grabbed himself and entered me, not gently, but rough and with such force it made me scream. He moved in and out of me at what seemed like at the speed of light as he savagely kissed me. He grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head with one hand as he took the other hand and pulled my leg up to his waist. His roughness was something that I had never experienced before, and it made me wonder if this was what sex was to him with other women. My body shot up in flames as he brought me to the point of no return.

  I moaned his name as he commanded, “Tell me you want me to fuck you. I want to hear you say it.”

  I obliged by telling him what he wanted to hear. He gave one last hard thrust as we both moaned and came together. He buried his head in my neck as he let go of my wrists, and I held him tight. As our breathing slowed, he lifted his head and brought it to mine.

  “You never cease to amaze me.”

  “Let’s get out of here and go home.” I smiled.

  Chapter 33

  Home. Referring to us going home was bittersweet. Connor walked over to the easel and looked intrigued by my painting.

  “I have to say, Ellery, you are a very talented artist. This painting is stunning.”

  I walked over and slipped my hands in his back pockets and put my chin on his shoulder.

  “Thank you. This is a glimpse of my future. It looks so peaceful there.”

  “It’s very beautiful. I suggest you keep it and don’t sell it,” he said.

  I kissed him on the cheek. “Maybe I will.”

  I paused for a moment as I looked into the depth of my painting.

  “I was going to tell you, you know.”

  He reached for my hands and brought my arms around his waist.

  “Tell me what?”

  I took in a sharp breath. “About coming here and seeing Dr. Murphy. I wanted to talk to you about it that day, but you were so angry. I heard you on the phone, in your office, with Ashlyn.”

  He looked down. “I’m sorry, Ellery. I never should have said those things to you. I was…” He couldn’t find the words he needed to say, so I interrupted him.

  “You need to tell me about her, Connor. We can never move forward if you don’t, and I think I have a right to know.”

  He turned around so that he was facing me and pressed his forehead against mine. “I know, and I will; just not tonight.”

  I was starting to wonder if he was ever going to tell me because if not, I would have to find out for myself, and that was something I didn’t want to have to do. I sighed as we headed to the bedroom.

  * * *

  I awoke the next day to the sensation of my neck being covered in small, light kisses. I smiled as I rolled over to view the sexy man who was sending shivers throughout my body.

  “Happy birthday, baby.” He smiled as he lightly kissed my lips.

  I interlaced our fingers and nestled into his chest. “Thank you.”

  It amazed me how fast things changed. I was dreading this day not too long ago for the fear of celebrating alone. Not that I would celebrate because it was just eight short years ago that I was diagnosed with cancer the first time, and here I was facing it again, but Connor being here made things better. He made me feel safe and happy.

  “Don’t move,” he said as he swiftly got off the bed. I bit my lower lip, anxiously waiting for his return.

  Wearing only dark gray pajama bottoms, he strutted into the bedroom, holding a tray. I could do nothing short of holding my breath as I looked at his perfectly chiseled chest and his exposed hips as his bottoms hung so perfectly below them. Connor Black knew he was a sexy man, and he didn’t have any trouble letting me know. He sat the tray across my legs and sat down next to me. With a grin that went from ear to ear, I looked down at the scrambled eggs, bagel, fruit, and bacon that sat before me.

  “How? When? Where?”

  He laughed as he took my fork and stabbed the eggs.

  “Since you didn’t have anything besides eggs, I headed down the street to the café.”

  He smiled as he opened his hand and handed me my daily dose of fifteen pills; needless to say, I rolled my eyes. He picked up the fork and brought it to my mouth as I graciously took the eggs from it.

  “You’re amazing.” I smiled.

  I grabbed the fork from his hand and shared my eggs and bacon with him. A happiness grew inside me
that I never thought could exist. I was so happy, and it scared me. It scared me to death because all I kept thinking was that nothing lasts forever, and I never wanted this feeling to end.

  “Present time!” He smiled as he reached one arm under the bed. He pulled out three beautifully wrapped boxes and then removed the tray from my lap.

  “I love presents!” I squealed.

  The expression on his face was pure bliss. He was just as happy in this moment as I was. He handed me the first box, and I carefully unwrapped it. My mouth dropped as I pulled a new iPhone out of the box.

  “Your phone number is the same as your old phone; you know, the one you threw away?” He smirked. “Who just throws away their phone?” He shook his head.

  I playfully smacked him on his arm. “I’m crazy, remember?”

  He laughed and kissed me on the head. I turned the phone on, and instantly, there were text messages from all my friends wishing me a happy birthday.

  A text from Peyton read, “Happy birthday, bitch! Nah, you know I love you. Call me soon. We have a lot to catch up on. By the way, have lots of birthday sex. You deserve it.”

  I shook my head and laughed. Connor knew how Peyton was, so he didn’t even ask what she said. He could just tell by my reaction.

  He took the phone from my hand and set it on the bed while he handed me the next box. I smiled as I bit my bottom lip, anxiously unwrapping and excited like a child on Christmas morning, the perfect silver square box. I removed the top and inside sat a stunning silver bracelet with the infinity symbol encased in diamonds. I gasped as I ran my finger along the diamonds.

  “Connor, I…I love it! This is the most beautiful gift that anyone has ever given me.”

  He took the box from my hand and took out the bracelet. He unclasped it and put it on my wrist.

  “I love you, Ellery. Not only for who you are, but for the person I’ve become because of you. This is my forever to you.”

  The uncontrollable tears that seemed to plague my face recently started their trail down my cheeks, but they were quickly stopped by Connor’s response.

  “Oh no, you don’t! There will be no tears on your birthday, whether they’re good tears or not. I forbid it. Do you understand, Miss Lane?”

  I couldn’t help but break into laughter at his commanding voice.

  I wrapped my arms around him as tight as I could and met his mouth with mine. He responded, but quickly broke our kiss.

  “You still have one more present to open.”

  I smiled as I leaned back on my pillow.

  “You spoil me.”

  He handed me the long box as he smiled. I took the box and, with the same finesse, I un-wrapped it like the others. I took off the top and stared at the voucher inside. I looked at Connor as my eyes started to swell.

  “Don’t do it. No tears.”

  I couldn’t help it this time. My emotions were too far fallen, for inside the box were two tickets to Paris. As he looked at me, he gently wiped the tears from under my eyes.

  “I know your dream is to go to Paris. I saw it on that list you hid in your desk, and as soon as the doctor says it’s okay to go, we’ll be on the first flight there for however long you want to stay.”

  I couldn’t believe he remembered what was on my bucket list from that brief minute he looked at it. I was overwhelmed by the love I was receiving from this man, who, not too long ago, couldn’t bring himself to love anyone. I straddled him and cupped his face in my hands.

  “Thank you for everything. I love you, Connor Black,” I said as I kissed him and showed him for the next two hours how grateful I was.

  The day was perfect. All days were perfect when I spent them with Connor. It didn’t matter if we were held up in a cave in the middle of nowhere, it would still be perfect. Mason and Landon were taking us to a swank bar in downtown Los Angeles for my birthday. They had it planned before we knew Connor would be here, but he was game and said it sounded like fun.

  Chapter 34

  We entered the bar as Mason pulled us through the crowd of people to a booth in the back. The side we sat on was the one with the stage and a piano. It was the stage where the local bands performed. But there was no band playing tonight; it was a free for all for any patron who wanted to show off their talent on stage.

  We sat in the round booth, Connor on one side of me and Landon on the other. A redheaded waitress, dressed in a tiny black skirt that barely covered her ass, and a tank top that was exposing her entire breasts, came over to our table to take our drink orders. Landon and Mason ordered a couple of martinis each, and Connor ordered a scotch. I could tell Connor was uncomfortable because she was eyeing him up and down instead of taking my order, and he was afraid of another comment like the one at the seafood restaurant. He looked at me and could see me gearing up to say something, so he stepped in and put his arm around me.

  “My girlfriend will have a glass of white wine.” He smiled at her.

  She looked me up and down.

  “Oh, I thought she was with one of them.”

  I shifted in my seat as Landon pulled me in closer to him.

  “Sweetheart, she’s with all three of us, and you should see the things she can do to us at the same time. Oh my God, it’s incredible.”

  She gave him a dirty look and walked away as the three of us did a high-five in the air, and Connor sat there, shaking his head. I leaned over and snuggled into him, taking in his scent, which was already making me ache.

  “Don’t be jealous, sweetheart. You know I love you more.”

  He laughed as he took his hand that was resting on his lap, placed it on my bare thigh, and slowly moved it up my skirt, stopping as soon as his fingers reached the lace on my panties. My body shook and shivered as he grinned. The waitress brought our drinks and never took her eyes off me as she set them down on the table.

  Mason leaned over. “I think she likes you.”

  I laughed and took a sip of my wine.

  “Just stick to one glass tonight. I don’t think you should be drinking while taking that medication. Plus, you have your injections in the morning,” Connor said as he moved his fingers past the lace and was now touching bare skin. I jumped at his touch.

  “Thank you for your concern. I will take that under advisement,” I said with gritted teeth.

  Mason and Landon excused themselves when they saw a couple of friends across the bar. Connor smiled as they walked by, then took my chin in his hand and turned it toward him. “Do you want me to stop?” he asked seductively.

  My breathing started to increase as he lightly rubbed the area that was now pulsating for him.

  “What are you going to make me do? Come right here in the bar in front of everyone?” I asked almost breathlessly.

  He gave me that seductive smile and twisted my hips so that I was sitting sideways, facing him in the booth.

  “That was my plan, but you have to act like nothing’s happening.”

  He gently inserted his finger as I bit my bottom lip. I looked around the bar to see if anyone was paying attention, but everyone was drinking, dancing, and carrying on conversations. My skin ignited, and my heart raced as he inserted another finger and began rubbing my aching spot with his thumb.

  “Oh fuck,” I said as I buried my head into his neck.

  I wrapped my arm around him to make it look like I was hugging him as he moved his fingers in and out.

  “Why are you doing this to me?” I asked as he was starting to bring me to an orgasm.

  He brought his lips to my ear. “Because I like pleasuring you, and I know you want it. You’re so wet, Ellery.”

  My body was preparing to enter oblivion, and he knew it; he could feel it.

  “Remember, you need to be quiet.”

  It was easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one getting off in a public place, and it was not so easy to keep quiet when Connor Black was bringing me to the edge of an orgasm. I tightened my hand around the back of his neck, digging my fingers into his
delicate skin. My mouth was on his neck, lightly nipping at it with my teeth; he started to groan. Game on. It was payback time.

  My body reached the point of no return as I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my mouth deep into his neck and released over his fingers. I nipped on his ear lobe, which sent him over the edge. As soon as he was sure my orgasm was over, he grabbed my hand and slid out of the seat.

  “What are you doing? Where are we going?” I laughed, as my legs were shaking uncontrollably.

  He led me down a narrow hallway and opened a door that led to a closet. He led me inside and then closed the door. The room was dark, and the only light that I could see was the light coming from underneath the door. He lifted up my skirt and pulled down my panties. I reached for his pants as he already had them halfway down. My back was pushed against the door as he went down and joyfully licked my aching area. I ran my hands through his hair as he kept going around with his tongue, licking and sucking, making it unbearable to control myself. He stopped and inserted himself inside me as he positioned his hands on each side of me against the door and quickly moved in and out of me until he released and filled my insides full of his come.

  “Happy birthday, baby,” he panted in my ear.

  “You have control issues,” I whispered as I caught my breath.

  I heard him chuckle. “You’re the one who took me into the lighthouse. Now, I’m returning the favor.”

  “In a closet, Connor?” I laughed.

  “Hey, anywhere we can get it, right?”

  I carefully opened the door as he looked out to make sure no one was coming. We left the closet and casually walked down the hallway as if nothing happened. We walked back to the table where Mason and Landon were seated.

  They looked at us as Landon started to speak.

  “Where did you guys—” and then was interrupted by Mason yelling, “Oh my God! They have sex hair! They just had sex somewhere!”

  I didn’t say anything, but the smile on both my and Connor’s faces answered their question.

  Mason and Landon asked if we were ready to leave because they had a birthday cake waiting at home for me. I smiled as Connor motioned for the waitress to stop over and give him the bill. I excused myself to the bathroom to fix my hair and makeup. I was walking back to the table and noticed the waitress was there, bending over with her cleavage in Connor’s face. I could see his eyes fixated on me and the panic in them as he was wondering what I was thinking. I walked up to the table and tapped the waitress on the shoulder.