Bleeding Hearts: The Complete Duet

by A. Zavarelli

  At one point, he apologized for it, saying that if he’d known I was in the car, it would have never happened. Of course, that didn’t make me feel any better about Brayden, but it was clear by Mick’s expression where he stood on him.

  I still hadn’t heard from him either, and it was making me anxious. I didn’t know what he was up to back in Chicago, but I worried it wasn’t good.

  Norma and I visited once a week, and she seemed to be doing well too. She was still in the rehab facility, even though she’d already been there for a long time. Her counselors said that in her situation, the longer she stayed, the better chance she had of making it sober in the real world. And since Ryland could afford it, he had no qualms whatsoever about indulging this.

  He’d even made an effort to visit her with me, and I was over the moon with happiness every time he did. I knew it wasn’t easy for him. The longer we were together, the more I understood why. To him, a mother would do anything to protect her children. He had a hard time understanding where Norma was coming from since his mother wasn’t anything like her. But even so, he seemed to be warming up to her surly personality.

  And besides, seeing the two of them attempt to find some common ground during a conversation was quite entertaining for me. They were worlds apart, but they made it work. For me.

  Even though there were still some very real concerns in the back of my mind, everything was going well. I only hoped it would last.

  ***

  I woke to Ryland’s lips on my throat.

  He kissed soft trails up to my jaw while his hands deftly roamed my naked body. A glance at the clock confirmed he was very late for work.

  “Don’t you have to go?” I pouted.

  “Not today,” he answered. “I took the week off.”

  “You did?”

  He hummed his answer against my skin before finding his way to my lips.

  “I want to take you somewhere,” he murmured.

  “Where?” I arched into him, already drunk off his touch.

  “I haven’t figured that out yet,” he replied. “Where would you like to go?”

  “You mean like… away from California?”

  “Yes.” He gripped my chin and captured my gaze with his. “I want to spend some time away with you.”

  I smiled and ran my hands through his dark hair. I hoped our son looked like him.

  “Love that smile, baby.” He dragged his thumb across my lips, and they parted for him the way they always did.

  I sucked him into my mouth, teasing the pad of his thumb with my tongue. Ryland rumbled and closed his eyes, his hips already working against mine.

  He was so hard I expected him to push straight inside of me. But instead, he kissed his way down to my breasts. They were swollen and sensitive, and when he sucked my nipple into his mouth, I was already close to coming undone. His fingers found their way between us, and I rode his hand impatiently before he even had a chance to get started.

  “Frisky this morning?” he smirked.

  “It’s the hormones.” I tugged on his hair and shoved my breast back into his mouth where it belonged. “Oh, God.”

  “Fuck, Brighton,” he murmured between mouthfuls. “I could suck on these all day.”

  I would gladly let him. Lately, the slightest touches from him would set me off. But he’d been so busy with work it was hard to find the time to connect like this as often as I wanted. When I had to go without for a couple of nights during the week, I felt like a fiend by the time I finally got it.

  The proof was in our current romp. I arched into his hand, eager and desperate for my release. I needed it so badly. Only Ryland could give it to me. It was never like this by myself, and I was damn certain it would have never been like this with anyone else.

  “I know.” Ryland paused to kiss his way down my belly, and I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. Did I say that out loud?

  “You know what?”

  “It was never like this with anyone else,” he replied, cupping my belly with his hands.

  The thought of him with someone else felt like a knife in my heart. I wasn’t naïve. I knew he had others before he met me. He was thirty years old. Of course, there were others. Probably a lot. But it’s something we never talked about. Now the orgasm that had been so close seemed like a distant afterthought.

  Ryland had my legs spread wide, his eyes feasting on the most vulnerable part of me. He looked like he was about to dive in, but I couldn’t let him.

  “How many others were there?” I asked, propping myself up on my elbows.

  He stared up at me in disbelief. “You want to talk about this now?”

  “Yes.” I clamped my jaw shut.

  He shook his head. “Brighton, that’s not a good idea.”

  “Well, that’s too bad.” My lip wobbled, and I was fully aware I’d boarded the crazy train as I got jealous over his past. This was definitely the hormones talking, but the fact he didn’t want to tell me made me think it was really bad. Like hundreds of other women had probably had him before me. I couldn’t stand the thought.

  “Were you with anyone else while we were apart?” I accused.

  “Baby, are you crazy?” he gave me his signature arrogant smile. The same smile that had probably melted panties off of countless virgins before me.

  “Yes, I’m crazy!” I snapped. “I’m carrying your child, and it’s making me crazy. That’s part of the package, Ryland, so deal with it. Now give me an answer.”

  The tears welled up in my eyes, and all humor faded from his face as he crawled up between my legs and captured my face in his hands.

  “Brighton, it was all over for me the minute I saw you on that porch six years ago. Since you came into my life ten months ago, I have not been with another. Nor do I want to.”

  “That still doesn’t answer my question,” I protested.

  “You really want a number?”

  “You know mine,” I told him. “How is it fair that you get to know mine, but I don’t know yours?”

  Another grin broke out over his face, and I glared.

  “This isn’t funny.”

  “I know, I’m sorry.” He smothered down his amusement. “But in all fairness, you’ve only been with me. So it’s pretty much a given that I would know your number.”

  As soon as he said the words, his eyes clouded over, and he looked like he was considering something else. “Unless there’s something else you need to tell me.”

  “Don’t get all broody and possessive of me now.” I shoved against his chest. “Especially when you don’t give me the same courtesy.”

  “I’m not fucking around, Brighton,” he snarled. “Have you been with anyone else?”

  I smiled up at him in return. “Tit for tat, Ryland.”

  He looked like he wanted to belt the shit out of me. I was sure if I wasn’t pregnant, he probably would have.

  “You know what I’m thinking.” He leaned closer and fenced me in with his arms. “Your ass would be so sore tomorrow if you weren’t carrying my baby right now.”

  I smoothed my palms up and down his biceps and watched the frustration dissipate from his eyes. It surprised me how quickly it had gone.

  “You can spank me,” I offered. “If it makes you feel better. I don’t care, so long as I get a number.”

  “I’m not spanking you because you like it too much.”

  I frowned at his words. “You’ve hardly even marked me since you’ve been back inside of me. Don’t you want the world to know I belong to you anymore?”

  “What’s gotten into you?” he rocked back onto his heels and sighed.

  “I told you,” I whined. “I’m cranky.”

  He moved up beside me, patting the space next to him. “Come here, cranky girl.”

  I went, of course. The way I always did. He kissed my forehead and stroked my hair, my face pressed against his heart.

  “Before I tell you this, I need you to promise me you aren’t going to get upset, Brig
hton. I don’t need to lose any more time with you over something that’s in the past.”

  “I won’t.” It was a complete bullshit lie. Of course, I was going to get upset.

  “There were five others before you,” he admitted.

  His grip on me tightened, and I released a breath. “That’s it?”

  He stared down at me in surprise. “What were you expecting?”

  “I don’t know,” I confessed. “I thought it was going to be so much worse. Were any of them serious?”

  “No,” he said without hesitation. “Never. They were just a couple of girls in college and then after that it was no strings attached sort of agreements.”

  “Oh.”

  He rolled me onto my back and positioned himself between my legs again. “Don’t deny me what’s mine, Brighton.”

  “Okay.”

  He groaned and rubbed his cock against my arousal, squeezing his eyes shut as he pushed inside. And then he paused. I wiggled my hips but to no avail. He wasn’t moving.

  “Jesus,” he rasped. “You feel so fucking good, baby. Just give me a minute. You’ve got me all worked up here.”

  I grinned and wiggled my hips some more. My jealousy always got him worked up for some reason. He liked it when I was possessive of him too.

  He started to move, bracing himself on his forearms as he brought his forehead to mine. He kissed me soft and tenderly before twining our fingers together. Our eyes locked, and then I shattered around him. It was the most intimate moment we’d ever shared.

  Ryland pumped a couple more times before he swelled inside of me, filling me with his warmth. “I fucking love you,” he choked out.

  I brought my hand to his face and smiled. “I fucking love you too.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Brighton

  I stared at the bungalow before me in a state of awe and disbelief. It had a thatched roof and was completely ensconced by palms and lush greenery. But it was the white sand and ocean view behind that really had me at a loss for words. The aquamarine water lapped against the shore no more than fifty feet from where we stood. It was peaceful and serene, and completely surreal.

  “This is amazing,” I squeaked.

  “You like it?” he asked.

  “Are you kidding me?” I stood up on my tiptoes and pulled his mouth to mine. “I can’t believe that places like this even exist.”

  He smiled and threaded his fingers through mine before tugging me inside. Since I hadn’t been able to decide on a location for our ‘getaway’, he’d picked it out for us. One week on Little Palm island in the Florida Keys sounded like the stuff dreams were made of.

  Inside, the suite was decked out like a luxurious island hut. Bamboo shutters filled the rooms with an abundance of natural light, and I could smell the sea breeze filtering through every inch of the place. It was cleansing. Peaceful. Romantic. And it felt like a fresh start for us. It was so unlike Ryland, but seeing me happy made him happy. And right then and there, I made it my ultimate goal to get him to relax completely on this trip with me.

  “Thank you for bringing me here.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed. “This is exactly what I needed.”

  “Anything for you, baby girl.”

  He hauled me towards the bedroom without any more preamble, and I laughed at his impatience. The room was romantic with a mosquito net draped from the ceiling and fluffy white linens piled high over the bed. A bottle of chilled champagne sat tucked off to the side, and I pouted when I realized I couldn’t have any of it. That thought disappeared when Ryland started to grope me in earnest.

  “I need to be inside of you,” he murmured. “It’s been too long.”

  “You were just inside of me this morning,” I retorted.

  And yet I agreed with him. It had been too long. He pulled my dress up over my head and discarded it on the floor before kneeling down in front of me. His hands inched up the back of my thighs and gripped my ass, squeezing before he lifted me up onto the bed.

  Next came my sandals, followed by him massaging my instep as he went.

  “You can do that all day,” I encouraged.

  “You like that?” he asked. “What about this?”

  He kissed the bottom of my foot, and I tried to wiggle it away from him. “Ryland.”

  He kissed it again with a smirk and then proceeded to do the same all the way up my calf. When he reached my thighs, he nudged them apart and pulled me to the edge of the bed at the same time. My panties were directly in front of his face, and they were already sticking to my skin. Two seconds of him touching me and I was a panting, writhing mess.

  He leaned forward and rubbed his nose along the cloth, inhaling deeply. I didn’t get embarrassed anymore when he did that. Now I savored these moments. The moments when he flagrantly indulged in his sordid whims and enjoyed every second of it. He took it to another level when he ran his tongue along the material and then sucked it into his mouth.

  “You taste so good,” he grunted. “It’s been too long since I’ve had this.”

  “I know,” I whined.

  Since my hormones had interrupted him this morning, I’d missed out. I had no intention of allowing that to happen twice, so I reached for his hair and pulled him closer. I needed his mouth on me, and I said as much. It drove him crazy.

  My panties disappeared down my legs, and soon he was spreading me apart with his fingers. His tongue slid inside of me, and I jerked against him. I wasn’t going to last. At all. Knowing how sensitive my breasts were, Ryland further sped up the process when he reached up to fondle them.

  “Oh, God.” It came without warning, fast and hard, tearing through me and leaving me dizzy and gasping for air.

  “You’re making my job exceptionally easy these days,” Ryland remarked as he stood and undressed.

  I watched with heavy eyes and felt my arousal stirring again already. “Not really, because I think I’m going to be insatiable this week. You’ll probably need a vacation from this vacation by the time we’re through.”

  “Don’t provoke me, Brighton.” He lowered himself between my legs. “I have every intention of giving you a very thorough fucking every day that we spend here.”

  “Ever the incurable romantic,” I teased.

  He pushed into me and dragged his teeth along my throat at the same time. “Do you want romance, Brighton?” he murmured.

  It sounded like a genuine question, but I didn’t have time to analyze. My baser desires were taking over, and he was still entirely too gentle with me. I sank my nails into his back, and he made a noise of approval.

  “I want you to mark me,” I declared.

  He gripped my chin between his fingers and glared. “Remember who you’re talking to.”

  His eyes had that look in them. The one that told me Ryland was about to take charge and totally rock my world. Or so I thought.

  He started to move, in much too gentlemanly of a fashion, and it frustrated the hell out of me. The further along I got, the more he restrained himself. I understood his fears, but my doctor assured me it was fine.

  “You aren’t going to hurt me,” I coaxed.

  “Brighton.” His voice was thick with warning.

  I smiled and pulled his mouth to mine, whispering against his lips. “Please, Ryland. I need you. This is what we do- what we’ve always done.”

  My words seemed to melt some of his resolve, and I was glad for it. He kissed his way down my jaw and into the valley between my throat and collar bone. And then he sank his teeth into me with a groan.

  He’d missed it too.

  I tugged on his hair and panted against him, urging my hips upward to meet his thrusts. They were getting faster, harder, and I was so fucking happy I could scream. When my orgasm swept through me, I did.

  My contractions set Ryland off inside of me, and soon he was collapsing beside me with a groan. He pulled me into his arms and spread my hair across his chest before he started stroking my back. His heart stutter
ed beneath my cheek, and I smiled up at him when mine followed suit. We were in sync again, and I felt like nothing could tear us apart.

  ***

  I fluttered my eyes open and let the sun wash over me as the hammock swayed gently in the breeze. This truly was paradise. Ryland lay beside me, reading from one of the baby books he’d brought with him. I thought it was adorable how much he was studying up on this. At least one of us would be prepared.

  “We’ll have to start thinking of some names soon,” I told him.

  He blinked up at me, and there was something weird in his expression that told me he’d already been thinking about this. But I wanted to run my idea by him first. The problem was, it could either go very well or very badly.

  “I have one in mind,” I volunteered. “If you’d like to hear it.”

  He shut the book and gave me his full attention. “You do?”

  “Yeah.” I shrugged and started drawing circles on his chest with my finger. He looked like he belonged on this island year round with his skin. I was jealous.

  “Well?” he grabbed my fingers and pulled them to his lips, kissing them one by one. “What is it?”

  He was being so sweet. I really didn’t want to ruin this moment. But I also really wanted to have this name on the table. I closed my eyes when I said it so I didn’t have to see his reaction. I couldn’t bear it if I hurt him.

  “I was thinking maybe Jacob Jackson Lockhart.”

  I felt him tense against me, and there was a long pause of silence. I still couldn’t open my eyes. I was too chicken.

  “Brighton,” he spoke gently. “Look at me.”

  I did. And I was relieved to find his eyes weren’t nearly as cloudy as I expected them to be. In fact, there was something else there. Something that looked kind of like a small glimmer of hope.

  “I like it,” he said.

  “You do?”

  “Yes.” He kissed me on the temple. “It’s just like you to think of something like that.”