Unforgotten Passion (Dirty Sexy Fairy Tales Book 4)

by Erika Wilde

  But stuffing all that resentment down deep inside was like trying to keep a cork on a shaken-up bottle of champagne. At some point, it was going to erupt in spectacular fashion, and the fallout wasn’t going to be pretty and she’d end up following in the footsteps of Brittany Spears’s, Amanda Bynes’s, and Lindsay Lohan’s public meltdowns.

  Raevynn grimaced at that possibility as she rinsed the conditioner from her long, thick hair, wishing she could chop off the ass-length strands into a shorter, sassier, modern style that didn’t require so much maintenance. Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen, either, according to her mother, because then they’d lose millions in hair product endorsements.

  Finished with her shower, she turned off the water and towel dried her body, then her hair, smiling at the wonderful silence that greeted her. She’d desperately needed this peace and quiet in her life and in her head right now, to think about her future clearly, without any interference from her manager mother, her agent, or all the other handlers Joyce had hired to keep Raevynn’s image and her brand squeaky clean.

  And she owed Collin for giving her the opportunity. She thought about how much fun she’d had with him in Walmart, how many smiles and laughs they’d shared as they’d shopped. Despite everything that had happened between them years ago, he was still so easy to be with. With Collin, there were no pretenses or expectations of having to be someone or something she wasn’t. He didn’t treat her as a celebrity, didn’t look at her as an international superstar.

  No, he still just viewed her as Rae . . . the girl who’d grown up next to his house and had been his sister’s bestie. And if she wasn’t mistaken, by the heat she’d seen in his eyes, the awareness in his touch when he’d held her hand, and the attraction that had sparked between them more than a few times tonight, she’d like to hope and believe he still felt something for her. That maybe now, he looked at her and saw the woman she’d become, because if a different and more intimate kind of opportunity presented itself, she wasn’t opposed to exploring that inviting option with him.

  After braiding her hair so she didn’t have to blow it dry, which took her at least an hour, Raevynn wrapped the towel around her body and walked into the adjoining bedroom. Collin had placed all the bags of clothes and toiletries on the bed, and she rummaged through the purchases until she found the cute pajama set she’d picked out. After putting on a clean pair of panties, she donned the silky camisole and loose-fitting shorts, then made her way down the short hall to the kitchen and living room area.

  The beach house was small. Just three regular-sized bedrooms, a functional kitchen, and enough space in the living room to deem it cozy and comfortable. She smiled at the fond memories she had of spending summers and weekends here, how Collin’s mother and father had treated her as if she was part of the family.

  She’d loved that feeling of belonging. Her own dad had passed away of cancer when she’d only been two, and after that, her mother had focused all her time obsessively on Raevynn—clearly having a vision for her daughter even at that young age. Now, as an adult, she could look back and realize that Joyce had made Raevynn responsible for her own happiness—the beauty pageants as a toddler, dance recitals, singing lessons—instead of her mother finding her own life’s pleasures elsewhere, like with another man. Everything had revolved around Raevynn and still did.

  She found Collin in the kitchen, shifting things around in the refrigerator, his bare, very toned, and muscular back to her. Remaining quiet, even though she really wanted to touch and caress all that smooth, firm flesh, she instead propped a hip against the counter, taking in the sweatpants he’d changed into while she’d been in the shower. They rode low on his hips and drew her gaze to the sexy divots at the base of his spine. Clearly, he had some of his own clothes here.

  After a few moments, he closed the refrigerator door, and when he turned around and saw her standing there, a startled look passed across his features.

  “Oh, hey . . .” His gaze briefly flickered to her pajama set, a quick but deliberately seductive pass down to her thighs that had her nipples tightening against the thin fabric and him clearing his throat before he met her gaze again.

  Other than crossing her arms over her chest in an obvious gesture, there wasn’t much she could do about her body’s response to the heat she’d seen in Collin’s eyes or the way her breasts had firmed and peaked or the spiraling warmth swirling in her belly and lower. And truthfully, she didn’t want to hide her desire for him. No, she decided she was going to embrace it.

  “I, uh, honestly didn’t expect to see you until morning,” he said, which probably explained why he was shirtless, not that she minded the gorgeous, overtly masculine view. “I thought for sure you’d take a hot, relaxing shower and crash from exhaustion.”

  She glanced at her pile of junk food he’d left situated neatly on the kitchen counter and grinned. “Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t be able to sleep with those Oreos calling my name all night long. A few cookies and milk to dip them in and I’ll crawl into bed with a big, happy smile on my face.”

  When she met his gaze again, she realized he was staring at her features intently, making her feel suddenly self-conscious since it had been a long time since a man had seen her without an ounce of makeup on. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked softly.

  In bare feet, he slowly closed the short distance between them, and she remained right where she was, barely able to breath when he stopped a few inches from her. She had to tip her head back to meet his striking green eyes that were filled with the sweetest, most honest affection.

  “Because this is the Raevynn I remember,” he murmured, brushing the backs of his fingers along her cheek, causing her breath to hitch in her throat at that gentle but sensual caress. “Fresh-faced. A natural beauty who doesn’t need anything to enhance this perfect, flawless skin. Lush lips that are so naturally soft and pink . . .”

  His words trailed off, as if he realized he was starting to travel into intimate territory. Instead, his hand moved to the hair she’d plaited, the long, intertwined strands that came over her shoulder and hung down past her left breast. As if mesmerized, his fingers slowly, gradually traced the woven pattern all the way down to the hairband she’d found in the bathroom and had used to secure the end.

  “And this braid . . .” He gave it a gentle tug that was probably meant to be playful, but the suddenly deep, sensual tone of his voice vibrated its way up her spine and resonated inside her body. “Remember all the times I pulled it when we were kids running around my parents’ backyard playing tag?”

  She swallowed hard and nodded. “Yeah.” At that young age, yanking on her hair had been a way to antagonize her, and it worked. “You’d make me so damn mad.”

  He chuckled, the sound like warm honey sliding down her skin, seeping inside her. “And then years later, when I’d come over to your house at night and call up to your bedroom—”

  “Rapunzel, let down your hair,” they said in unison and laughed. Unlike the fairy tale, he’d climbed up the tree next to the house and had managed to make his way inside her window.

  “I want to cut it so badly,” she said.

  He blinked at her in surprise. “Your hair?”

  She nodded. “Yes. It’s just so . . . cumbersome.”

  His hand fell away from the end of her braid. “Then why don’t you?”

  “Because all this hair is part of my image and my mother and advisors would have a heart attack if I cut it as short as I’d like.”

  “If it’s what you really want, then you should do it,” he said with a casual shrug. “It’s your hair, not theirs. Besides, what are they going to do once it’s gone?”

  He made it all sound so easy and simple, but it was always the fear of her mother’s wrath and any related consequences of her actions that stopped her from walking into an unknown salon, where her personal stylist did not work, and ask for someone to chop it off to her shoulders. Unfortunately, she’d never had the guts to
follow through on that particular inclination.

  He tipped his head at her, smiling. “So, are you still interested in those Oreos?”

  Grateful for the change of subject, she nodded eagerly. “Definitely.”

  A few minutes later, Collin had two short glasses filled with milk and a small plate with Oreos for them to share. They carried their late-night snack over to the couch, placed the treat on the coffee table, and sat down next to one another, close enough that their thighs touched. They each picked up a cookie and dipped it into their own glasses of milk, and Raevynn moaned with pleasure when the moist chocolate wafer melted in her mouth, along with the delicious cream filling.

  “Oh, my God,” she said, savoring the sweetness. “It’s been forever since I’ve had something so good in my mouth.”

  He chuckled and arched a wicked brow, and she blushed when she realized the innuendo in her comment. “Clearly, you need to treat yourself more often.”

  “I do,” she agreed, and dipped the second half of her Oreo. “So, what are you doing with yourself these days?” she asked, curious to know anything and everything about Collin and his life in the present. “Your social media pages are sorely lacking.”

  He glanced at her in shock. “You’ve checked up on me?”

  She ducked her head in embarrassment. “It’s my only contact to the outside world,” she admitted. “To real people I’ve known and any friends I used to have, and what their lives are like now. But you clearly don’t share much online.”

  “No. Social media isn’t my thing, really.” He popped the rest of his cookie into his mouth and chewed. “After college, I came back to New York and was offered a job at MadX-Tech as a security analyst, which I love, and that’s pretty much where I spend the majority of my time.”

  He’d already told her he hadn’t had a girlfriend in a long time, and though she was curious about the reasons, she didn’t ask. “Now, your sister is much more open about her life on social media.”

  “Yeah, she posts everything,” he said, clearly not understanding the appeal of sharing things online.

  “I love that she married Kevin,” Raevynn said of the guy Avery had dated exclusively in high school. “And their two kids are adorable.” Yes, she’d scrolled through all of Avery’s posts and photos when she’d had the chance, which had been her only connection left to the best friend she’d grown up with, and she regretted not keeping in touch, because she truly missed their friendship.

  “Yeah, Harper just turned four, and Lucas is three,” Collin said of his niece and nephew, then grinned as he ate another cookie. “They’re definitely a handful, but Avery loves being a mom and I love being an uncle.”

  Raevynn swallowed hard at the envy crowding in her chest. How many times had she and Avery talked about their futures . . . both of them getting married and having babies and being best friends forever? And their kids would be besties and cousins, too, because Raevynn had envisioned her life with Collin. Avery had made all her dreams come true, even the goal she’d had of going to cosmetology school to become a hairstylist, while Raevynn’s future hadn’t been her own.

  Finished with his half of the Oreos, Collin relaxed against the couch and stretched his arm along the back of the sofa. “And what about you, Rae?” he asked, his fingers lazily trailing along her bare shoulder, causing chills to tumble down her spine. “When you’re not touring the world, where do you call home?”

  “Most of the time, since I’m all over the place, I live out of hotels,” she admitted, meeting his warm gaze while trying not to be too distracted by his light caresses now at the nape of her neck. “But about a year ago, I bought a house in Hidden Hills in Calabasas, which is just outside of Los Angeles. However, I’ve spent maybe a month total in the place.”

  She’d purchased the house—which was more like a mansion and far bigger than anything she’d ever needed for one person—because her financial advisor had told her she needed the investment and write-off. Yet another person dictating her choices and future. But the place was huge and lonely and not at all what she wanted for herself. No, what she’d always envisioned as a teenager was marrying Collin, having his babies, and them living happily ever after—the whole white-picket-fence dream with this man sitting beside her that she’d always wanted and desired.

  She still wanted and desired him. Despite the way things had ended between them, there was one thing Raevynn knew with absolute conviction. She was still in love with Collin, which she was certain he’d never understand or even believe when, to the outside world, she’d been coupled with Zane Bishop for three years. But their pairing hadn’t been based on love or the kind of deep emotional connection she’d shared with Collin. No, it had been a relationship of convenience and an easy friendship, for both her and Zane.

  And with her body blooming beneath Collin’s light feathering strokes on her skin, just as it always had whenever he touched her, and his gaze gradually darkening as he, too, felt the growing awareness between them shifting into something more seductive, her heart raced in her chest.

  She craved this man like no other. Seven years apart hadn’t lessened that deep, sensual hunger but had only amplified it now that they were together again. And for the first time in a very long while, Raevynn did something solely for herself. Because she’d given up so much, and this moment with Collin was what she wanted, and everyone else’s opinions and rules be damned.

  Before she lost the nerve, she boldly, brazenly straddled his lap, framed his face between her hands, and kissed him.

  Chapter 6

  Raevynn caught Collin completely off guard when she suddenly sat astride his thighs and pressed her soft, sensual lips to his, but he quickly recovered from his shock. She’d made the first move, had all but given him an open invitation to taste her, consume her, and savor the heat and desire that instantly burned between them. After seven years of carrying a torch for this woman and no one else, resisting her wasn’t an option, not when she’d just opened the floodgates to all the lust and need and hunger coiling tight inside him.

  Now, all that unforgotten passion broke free, rushing through his veins like an addicting drug he had to have. He cupped the back of her head in one of his hands to take control of the kiss and anchored his other arm around her waist, pulling her body closer to his, until the crux of her thighs met the hard bulge straining against the front of his cotton sweatpants.

  She gasped into his mouth when she felt the stiff length of his shaft pressing along the seam of her sex through their clothes. Taking advantage of her parted lips, Collin swept his tongue deep inside, elevating the contact between them with a demanding, possessive kiss she returned with equal need.

  They spent several minutes making out like they used to . . . hot and heavy kisses that segued into soft and slow and deep, then increased in intensity once again as she arched her body seductively against his. She rubbed herself along his aching cock, making him groan deep in his throat at the image of burying himself inside her again. Their mouths were ravenous, and eventually he lifted his lips from hers and stared into her face, only inches away from his.

  Her skin was flushed, her lips damp and swollen from his aggressive kisses, and her chest rose and fell with quick, erratic breaths. Her blue eyes were hazy with desire as she rubbed her thumb along his bottom lip, then raised her gaze to his, revealing raw, vulnerable emotions.

  “I’ve missed having your mouth on mine like this,” she whispered, the reverence and longing in her voice unmistakable.

  “Yeah?” He arched a brow playfully. “What else have you missed, sweet girl?”

  She dropped her hands to his bare shoulders and caressed her palms down his muscular arms, as if reacquainting herself with his body. “The way you used to kiss and nuzzle my neck until I was shivering and moaning and begging you for more.”

  Those sensual memories were seared in his mind, and he didn’t hesitate to recreate them. The fingers still resting at the back of her head managed to find their
way into her hair despite her braid. He gripped the strands tight against her scalp, causing her to suck in a startled breath as he used that hold to pull her head back, giving him access to the column of her throat.

  Lowering his head, he touched his lips to that place right beneath her ear that was still a very sensitive spot, judging by her soft whimper and full-bodied quiver. He pressed his nose against all that soft skin and inhaled the familiar feminine scent that was imprinted on his brain. His dick throbbed and ached to make her his again. This time forever.

  Shoving that impossible thought from his head, he burrowed his face against her neck, his breath damp and hot on her flesh as he traced a tendon with his tongue, followed by the gentle scrape of his teeth, and ending with a love bite that had her making the hottest, sexiest sounds in the back of her throat.

  “What else, Rae?” he murmured, wanting to hear all her secret desires.

  She slid her hands down to his chest, her nails digging into his flesh with a slight erotic sting as she dropped her head forward to meet his gaze, her own fueled with a bold dare. “I miss your mouth on my breasts and how hard and deep you’d suck my nipples, until I’d cry out with the pleasure of it,” she confessed huskily, and bit her lower lip before shattering the last of his restraint with her next admission. “And I miss your fingers between my legs, touching me and making me come.”

  One second she was straddling his lap, and in the next, Collin had her laid out on the couch, his body half on top of hers. He pressed one of his thighs between her legs as he stared down at her startled expression, which gradually ebbed into sensual anticipation.

  The hem of her camisole had ridden up her torso when he’d abruptly repositioned her on the sofa cushions, and he placed his hand on that strip of exposed skin between her breasts and the waistband of her silky shorts. Holding her gaze, he stroked his fingers along her flat belly, watching the way her eyes darkened with uninhibited arousal.