by Erika Wilde
What Raevynn noticed was how awesome and patient he was with Harper and Lucas. So attentive and playful and fun. He was the perfect uncle . . . which would undoubtedly make him an equally amazing father someday. The thought of him having a family with someone else made Raevynn’s stomach twist uncomfortably.
“Has Collin dated much or had any long-term relationships?” she asked Avery. Something she’d definitely wondered since he’d whisked her away from the fairy-tale ball.
Avery’s eyes widened in surprised. “You haven’t asked him yourself?”
Shrugging, Raevynn drew up her knees and wrapped her arms around them. “He said he didn’t have a girlfriend right now,” she said, remembering that piece of information he’d given her. “Which surprises me because he’s such a great guy. But I didn’t ask about any long-term relationships . . . because a part of me didn’t want to know.”
“And now you do?” Avery asked with a slight tilt of her head.
She met her friend’s gaze and answered honestly. “I’ll admit I’m curious.”
“Okay. Well, then, this is what I know,” Avery said, and Raevynn braced herself to hear about any potential women Collin been in a committed relationship with.
“He’s dated a few women over the years, but nothing that’s ever turned out to be serious,” Avery told her. “I’m certain of this because any time I’d ask Collin to bring whatever girl he was ‘seeing’ over for dinner so the family could meet her, he’d always come up with some kind of excuse not to, which told me she wasn’t anything special. I honestly believe he never got over you.”
Raevynn lost her breath at that declaration, along with the possibility that Collin felt more than just lust and desire for her after all these years. Before she could truly process that knowledge, the object of her own affection came running across the sand toward her and Avery, chasing a laughing and squealing Harper and Lucas until the three of them collapsed in a heap on the vacant blanket.
Collin grinned up at his sister, while his niece and nephew climbed all over him. “Your gremlins are hungry,” he said with a laugh.
They ate lunch, and once their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches had time to digest, they all went down to the ocean to play in the water. While the two little ones were content to just dip their toes into the water lapping against the shore while holding on to their mother’s hand, Collin came up behind Raevynn, swept her into his strong arms, and walked with her straight into the ocean.
Ignoring her attempts to break free and shouts of protest, he dared to grin at her as he dropped her unceremoniously into the waist-deep water. Without her legs beneath her, she went under and came up sputtering. Harper and Lucas laughed with glee, and what ensued between her and Collin was the kind of splashing and dunking challenge they’d enjoyed as teenagers. Everything about the rest of the afternoon was light and fun and filled with so much laughter that Raevynn returned to the beach house with a perma-grin on her face.
Collin went to take a shower first, while Raevynn helped Avery give the kids a bath in the spare tub. Once Harper and Lucas were cleaned and changed and occupied with the puzzle they’d started earlier while watching a Disney show, Raevynn approached her best friend with a huge request. One that had been playing through her mind all afternoon, since their conversation about Raevynn cutting her hair.
Nerves shot through her as she joined Avery in the kitchen, where she was cleaning out the cooler, because this change would be monumental. But Raevynn was so ready to make the decision and equally prepared to deal with her mother’s displeasure and anger. Her confidence had grown exponentially over the past few days, in large part because of Collin’s support, and she wasn’t going to deny herself the things she wanted out of her life any longer.
“I have a big favor to ask you,” Raevynn said, leaning a hip against the counter.
“Sure,” Avery said with a smile, accentuating the youthful freckles sprinkled along the bridge of her nose from her time in the sun today.
Raevynn exhaled a deep breath. “I want you to cut my hair. Short like yours.”
“Me?” she asked in shock as she set aside the cooler. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait for your personal stylist to do something so . . . drastic?”
“No,” Raevynn shook her head adamantly. “I want you to do it. My best friend, who is a fantastic hairstylist, and someone I trust implicitly.”
“Oh, wow,” Avery murmured, still a little stunned by the unexpected request. “Okay, yeah, I’ll do it. I don’t have my cutting shears with me, but there is a beauty supply store in town where I can get everything I need.” Then, warming to the idea, she grinned. “Want to surprise Collin?”
Raevynn thought about it, and deciding she wanted to see his reaction after it was done, she nodded her head.
“We got this,” Avery said, her eyes now alight with excitement. “After we take our showers, follow my lead and go with what I do and say.”
It was easy enough to comply. Once she and Avery took separate showers to wash away the sea and sand and were changed, they met up in the kitchen. Collin was sitting with the kids in the living room, and Avery called out to him.
“Hey, would you mind watching Harper and Lucas while Raevynn and I go and get a pizza for dinner?”
“Nope.” He grinned, completely content relaxing on the couch. “The three of us will hold down the fort while you’re gone.”
The pizza place was in the same shopping center as the beauty supply store. After ordering dinner, the two of them headed over to the retailer and Avery purchased the items she’d need to cut and style Raevynn’s hair. Once that was done, the pizza was ready and they headed back home, with Collin being none the wiser.
The meal was devoured by all, and when everything was cleaned up and put away, Avery cast Raevynn a surreptitious glance to let her know she was about to implement the next phase of her plan before approaching Harper and Lucas.
“Kids!” she announced in an excited tone, which immediately made the two children perk up. “Would you like Uncle Collin to take you to get an ice cream cone?”
Raevynn had to smother a laugh as the little boy and girl went berserk, jumping up and down around Collin and begging for the treat, while he looked as though he didn’t know what had just hit him.
He frowned at his sister, realizing that Avery hadn’t included herself and Raevynn in the trip. “Wait . . . just me and the kids?”
Avery walked up to Collin and patted him on the cheek. “Consider it quality bonding time with your niece and nephew.”
He blinked at her incredulously. “What do you think I’ve been doing all day?”
The man had a point. He’d pretty much babysat his niece and nephew so that Raevynn and Avery could have time alone.
His sister braced her hands on her hips, feigning annoyance. “Okay, fine,” she relented. “If you must know, Raevynn and I have some girl stuff to do, and we don’t want to be bothered for about an hour. Can you make that happen, pretty please?”
Collin sighed, and when he glanced at Raevynn, she just rocked on her feet and gave him a sweet smile.
“Trust me, when you come back, the kids and I will be out of here and you can have Raevynn all to yourself for the rest of the night,” his sister promised.
“Okay, fine.” He threw up his hands in surrender, but he didn’t seem that put out. “Let’s go and get ice cream cones.”
The kids trampled out of the house with shouts of delight, and as soon as Avery heard him drive off, she quickly got to work. She placed a chair in the middle of the kitchen, Raevynn sat down, and she was covered in a plastic cape to keep the hair off of her clothes. Avery re-braided her hair, still damp from her shower earlier, but much tighter this time. She secured the bottom with a band, and about an inch below Raevynn’s shoulder, so that when she cut the strands it would all stay intact and Raevynn could donate the length to a charity that would use it for wigs for disadvantaged children suffering from long-term hair loss.
Avery picked up her shears and stood behind Raevynn, holding the braid in her hand. “Are you absolutely sure about this?” she asked, suddenly sounding uncertain about being the one to sever Raevynn’s golden locks.
“I am.” There wasn’t a thread of doubt in her voice. “I’m not changing my mind, Avery. Cut it off.”
It took time and effort, but Avery managed to slice through all the thick strands entwined together. When it was done, Raevynn’s hair bounced free around her shoulders, definitely so much shorter than it was minutes ago. A giddy sensation rippled through her, and when she reached up to run her fingers through the strands to see for herself what was left, Avery smacked her hand.
“No touching or looking until I’m done,” she reprimanded. “I’m nervous enough as it is, being responsible for your new look.”
Raevynn closed her eyes and let Avery do her thing, still trusting her completely. She listened to the snipping sounds of her friend’s shears, felt the chunks of hair falling onto the cape, and endured what Raevynn assumed was the layering process. Blow-drying and styling came next, and a little while later, when the kitchen went quiet, Raevynn opened her eyes again to find Avery standing in front of her, looking at her hair, and biting hesitantly on her lower lip.
“Okay, you’re done,” her friend said, removing the cape from around Raevynn’s neck. “Let’s go look in the bathroom mirror and see what you think.”
As soon as Raevynn saw her reflection and the new flirty, sexy cut and style of her much shorter hair, she burst into tears, which sent Avery into a panic. She quickly shook her head, and swallowing back the emotion crowding in her throat and brushing away the moisture on her cheeks, she turned to Avery and reassured her friend.
“These are happy tears. Thrilled tears. Tears of empowerment and confidence and fortitude,” she said, freely running her fingers through the silky strands and loving how the layered waves fell right back in place. “This is a new me, in so many ways, and I can’t thank you enough because I look so amazing.”
Avery laughed, the sound rife with relief. “You do look amazing.”
Raevynn hugged her friend tight, unable to express the depths of her gratitude—that something as simple as a haircut could make her feel so bold and daring going forward.
“Hey, is it safe to enter?” Collin called out from the kitchen area, back from getting ice cream with the kids.
“Yep, be right there,” Avery yelled back, then grinned at Raevynn. “Go and knock my brother dead.”
Shoulders back, chin lifted high, Raevynn strolled out to the front rooms. She had no idea what Collin’s reaction would be, but for as much as she wanted him to love the new change as much as she did, she’d done it for herself. No one else.
As soon as he saw her, his jaw literally dropped open and his eyes flared with shock. “Oh, my God,” he said, his voice etched with stunned disbelief as he closed the distance between them. “You did it. You really did it.”
“I did,” she said, unable to temper how excited she was. She also couldn’t tell if he liked the new style or not.
“What happened to all your Rapunzel hair?” Harper asked, staring up at Raevynn in confusion.
Raevynn bent down to Harper’s level, smiling at the little girl while tapping her on her cute button nose. “Your mom cut it, and I’m going to donate it so some little girl will have the long hair she’s always dreamed of.”
“Wow, so lucky,” Harper whispered, her voice tinged with wonder.
“So, the kids and I are going to get out of here so the two of you can be alone,” Avery cut in, gathering the items she’d bought at the beauty supply to take home with her. “Harper and Lucas, tell your uncle Collin and Rae-Rae goodbye.”
After quick hugs and promises to get together soon, Avery ushered her little tribe out the door, which Collin locked after her. Then he turned back to Raevynn, his gaze riveted on her face and hair, his expression now filled with awe and admiration as he approached her again.
“You are gorgeous, no matter the length of your hair, but this new style makes you even more stunning,” he said, not hesitating to slide his hands into her hair, fisting his fingers around the strands so he could tip her head back and their gazes locked. “You look fucking fearless.”
His words elevated her confidence even more, and she grinned. “I am fucking fearless,” she agreed, right before he sealed his lips over hers and kissed her, releasing a rush of desire and passion that she matched on every level.
Chapter 13
The kiss started in the kitchen and ended in the bedroom. Collin didn’t mind sharing Raevynn with his sister today, but tonight, she was all his.
Their mouths separated on a panting breath, and Collin yanked off all his clothes and watched Raevynn do the same, his gaze captivated as she peeled away each layer until she was completely naked.
His cock stiffened as his gaze moved up her long, slender legs, toned from all her performing. The enticing V at her thighs. Her flat stomach and full, firm breasts that made his mouth water to taste her nipples and suck them hard and deep until she went wild and begged him to fuck her. When he reached her face, now framed by her shorter, sassier hairstyle, a slow, sensual smile curved her pink lips.
Beautiful, brave, daring Raevynn, who now possessed a new self-assurance he found sexy as fuck. The change in her was palpable, all because she’d defied one of the many rules and expectations that had been mandated by the team of people dictating her life and decisions. He was so proud of her and knew this was just the beginning of her shedding the cocoon everyone else had wrapped her up in. She was well on her way to spreading her wings and becoming the exquisite butterfly she was meant to be.
She stepped toward him, closing the short distance between them, her eyes alight with desire and need as she placed her hands on his bare chest and lightly pushed him back. “Sit down on the bed,” she said, her husky request going straight to his already pulsing dick.
He lowered himself to the mattress, settling on the edge with his feet braced apart on the floor. He swallowed hard as Raevynn descended to her knees in front of him, her sultry dark blue eyes locking on his as she skimmed her soft palms up the insides of his widened thighs until she reached his thick, throbbing erection.
Her tongue skimmed over her lower lip, dampening the plump flesh, her face a pretty shade of pink. “I want to lick you and taste you and feel you in my mouth,” she said, circling her fingers much too lightly around his shaft.
He tipped his head, giving her a playful smile. “You don’t ever need to ask permission to suck my cock,” he said, using more blatant words than her couched ones. “That’s something I’ll never say no to when it comes to you.”
She leaned forward and slowly stroked her tongue along the underside of his shaft until she reached the flared head, exploring his length for the first time and teasing him with her guileless ministrations. She treated him like a breakable object, like she was going to hurt him, when there was nothing about his dick that was fragile right now.
He groaned as she tentatively flicked her tongue over the tip. “You’re killing me, Rae.”
She sat back on her heels and met his gaze. “Tell me what you like,” she asked, clearly eager to learn what turned him on. “Tell me how to please you.”
Collin realized that her demure disposition with him when it came to sex wasn’t because she lacked confidence but rather seemed to be a result of a lack of experience. It was as though she’d never given a man a blow job before, and he was once again baffled by her relationship with Zane.
But hell if he was going to talk about that now, not when she was so intent on being taught his sexual preferences. “Squeeze me harder in your fist,” he told her, and the muscles in his stomach clenched as her grip tightened. “Now put your lips nice and snug around my cock and slide your mouth all the way down, as far as you can go, and suck hard on my dick on the way up.”
She lowered her head and followed his instructions, a mo
del student as she took him all the way back to her throat, making his toes curl as she instinctively swallowed around him. When she withdrew, her wet mouth left his shaft good and slick, allowing her hand to glide smoothly along his cock as she continued to bob her head up and down. Every time she reached the tip, she swirled her tongue over the head before taking him deep again.
A heady groan rumbled up from his chest as he watched her. Just like he’d fantasized, having her kneeling in front of him, her mouth full of his cock, was sensory overload. And when she cast her eyes up at him in the sweetest supplication, he had to grit his teeth against the urge to defile her sweet mouth by coming down her throat.
“That’s it, sweet girl,” he praised her, fisting his hands in her hair at the back of her head so that he had some semblance of control, because it was quickly spiraling to a point of no return. “Your mouth feels so fucking good.”
The sultry look in her eyes was pure female empowerment as she continued to suck him off, each downward slide of her lips, each stroke of her hand along his erection only perfecting her technique. Heated lust shot down his spine and pooled in his groin. His balls drew up tight, warning him of his imminent release if he didn’t end this.
“You need to stop before it’s too late.” He rasped out the warning, which she didn’t seem to hear or just didn’t heed.
Swearing beneath his breath, he used his hold on her hair to pull her mouth from his cock. She finally released him with a soft pop of sound and glanced up at him in surprise for ending the pleasure.
She licked her bottom lip, swollen from rubbing and stretching around his dick. “You could have . . . you know.”
He smirked down at her. “Come in your mouth?” he said, just to see the sweep of color appear on her cheeks at his explicit words.
She blushed, just as he’d anticipated. “Yes.”
“Next time,” he said, helping her back to a standing position. “I want to come inside you, with you.”
