Unrequited

by Melody Grace

  “Or here?” He increases the pressure stroking on my clit.

  I gasp.

  “No… I think you want me right here.”

  Dex slides a finger inside me.

  Oh. My. God.

  I cry out, my body arching up, tensing around him. He plunges deeper inside of me, curling up to hit a sweet spot I never even knew was there. Pleasure crashes through me; I clutch the sheets and shriek.

  “That’s right, baby.” I hear the chuckle in Dex’s voice, piercing through the haze of ecstasy. “Sing to me, sweetheart. Sing me home,”

  And then he lowers his head and claims me with his mouth, and the world shatters in a gasp of pure heaven.

  10.

  DEX

  I could taste her for hours, sweet and willing and shuddering under my tongue. The world disappears, contracting until there’s nothing but the fire racing through my bloodstream, the ache of lust in my groin, and her perfect body, liquid in my hands. I grip her hips tightly and gorge deeper, swirling my tongue over her clit and rubbing my finger high inside her up against her walls.

  Damn, I’m close to losing control, straining to sink into her; claim her for good, but I have to hold back. I swore I’d show her a pleasure beyond words, and I’ve barely begun.

  “Dex!” she cries out, sobbing and writing in the sheets.

  I growl against her, my breath coming ragged and fast. It’s never been like this before, such a fevered need, I think I could die. She’s perfect, so wet and ready. Her body rises up, bucking desperately against my mouth, but I shove her down, holding her in place as I continue my wild assault, licking relentlessly, claiming every shudder and moan.

  She’s close, I can feel it; the tremble in her body, the clench of her thighs.

  That’s right, baby, give it all to me.

  I can’t resist lifting my head for a moment to revel in the sight of her: splayed on the bed in abandon, spread wide to me. Dear God, she’s beautiful. Her creamy skin, those rosy bud nipples... Alicia writhes, clutching at the sheets as I slide a second finger inside of her, stretching her tight pussy, fucking her slow and deep.

  “Please!” she begs, and I’ll be damned if I’ll deny her now. I pulse my fingers deeper, lowering my head to take her clit between my lips and suck.

  She comes apart with a scream.

  “Dex!” she cries out into the night, and I swear, it’s the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. She comes, over and over, her body convulsing against my tongue as I drink her in, wringing every last moment of pleasure from her climax until she’s collapsed and gasping for air on the bed.

  Slowly, I rock back on my knees and watch her surface. Alicia lifts her head, eyes filled with a dazed disbelief. “What was that?” she gasps.

  I chuckle, triumph glittering in my veins. “That, my sweet thing, was only the beginning.”

  Her mouth drops open in shock, and damn, I need her so badly I can’t take it anymore. I strip my T-shirt over my head and crawl back up her body to claim her lips in a searing kiss. Her hands slide over my bare skin with a sigh, and it feels like heaven.

  The sharp sound of the phone ringing cuts through our haze.

  Alicia tenses.

  “Ignore it,” I whisper. “It’s just for Ash.”

  I reach behind her, unfastening her bra and tossing it aside. Now she’s totally naked, spread beneath me, the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. She bites her lip and then reaches for me, pressing hesitantly through my jeans, feeling my hard length.

  Goddamn.

  I groan, thrusting against her. Alicia’s breath quickens as she slides a hand inside my jeans, stroking me through my briefs, her delicate fingers driving me crazy. “Stop,” I gasp hoarsely, too close to the edge. I feel like a teenager again, ready to lose myself completely in her. Alicia answers with a teasing smile. She licks along my jaw, her words whispering against my ear.

  “Make me.”

  With pleasure.

  I grab her hands and pin them above her head with a growl. I thrust against her, yanking my jeans and underwear off and reaching for the bedside table.

  I’m tearing the foil wrapper open with my teeth when the goddamn phone starts ringing again. This time, the answer machine by the bed clicks on.

  “Dex, what the hell man, you’re ignoring my calls now?”

  It’s my manager, Eddy. His voice cuts through the haze of lust, ringing in the dark.

  “You’re a fucking hit, everyone’s talking about the show tonight!” He keeps talking, sounding like he just won the lottery. “Why didn’t you tell me you were playing? Someone filmed the set on their cellphone. The internet is going crazy. I’ve had calls all night from labels, the Tonight Show, the Grammys. Everyone wants you, Dex, this is it. Comeback time!”

  My blood runs cold as ice.

  “I told you, buddy, you couldn’t stay away for long. The past is the past; you’ve got to let it go. You belong up there, we both know it. So call me back; let’s make this happen.”

  He hangs up. The room falls silent again.

  “Dex?”

  Alicia’s voice drags me back. I turn. She’s looking at me funny, and I realize, I’ve let her go. I’m sitting, frozen on the edge of the bed, blood pounding in my ears.

  “What’s wrong?” She sits up, hugging her knees to her chest. “Who was that?”

  “My manager,” I answer numbly.

  Damn, I should have seen this coming. I thought I could fly under the radar, but everyone has a cellphone these days. The video was probably streaming up online before I finished my encore.

  “He sounded pleased.” Alicia watches me with a confused expression. “That’s good, right?”

  “Wrong.”

  It all comes crashing back to me, and suddenly, I can’t breathe. I have to get away from her. I need a moment to think. I stride to the bathroom and slam the door behind me, sinking my head against the wall.

  “The past is the past; you’ve got to let it go.”

  Eddy makes it sound so simple. And to him, maybe it is. He doesn’t know how it haunts me, waking me at night in a cold sweat, a chorus of guilt in my mind. He doesn’t know the scars that are branded on my soul.

  “Goddammit!” I yell, spinning to sweep the counter bare. Soaps and bottles go crashing to the floor, smashing everywhere.

  There’s silence as I try like hell to pull myself together, to beat back the storm of memories and confusion swirling in my mind.

  There’s a tap on the door, light and hesitant.

  “Dex?” Alicia’s voice shakes a little. “Are you OK?”

  Shit.

  I catch my breath and pull the door open. Alicia’s standing there, wearing her slip again, looking at me with a concerned expression. “I’m fine,” I lie, my heart still racing with panic.

  If she knows I’m lying, she doesn’t say. She folds her arms, looking down, her cheeks flushed. “I think I should go.”

  “No!” I protest, but Alicia shakes her head. “I promise, this isn’t about you,” I tell her, feeling a hollow desperation rise in my chest.

  “It’s OK.” She offers me a wistful smile. “This... This was wonderful, but it wasn’t meant to be. Let’s just say goodnight and take it as a sign.”

  A sign of what? That my manager has the worst timing in the entire universe?

  I watch helplessly as she slides her feet back into her heels and pulls her dress over her head. Her hair is a copper tangle, wild and free, but she smoothes it back into a low knot, taming the chaos. In just a few seconds, she’s neat and restrained, as if the girl who was moaning in my arms was just a dream. She gives me an embarrassed smile across the room.

  “I can show myself out.” She pauses. “Thanks, for... Well... everything.”

  I didn’t give her everything. Not even close. But as Alicia turns and walks away, I realize I’m frozen in place, still gripping the door frame, caught up in nightmares of my past. I listen to her footsteps tap down the hallway, and then the sound of the d
oor closing echoes through the apartment behind her.

  She’s gone.

  What the fuck are you doing?

  I sink back against the wall, torn. I want to go after her, everything in my body is screaming at me to run down that hallway and make her stay, whatever the price. But just as strong, I feel it: the dark, greedy ache twisting in my bloodstream, ordering me to forget the girl and call Eddy back instead.

  There’ll be other girls, the voice taunts me. Fuck, you could make a call right now and have a dozen of them scratching each other’s eyes out for the chance to spend the night.

  Book the tour, sign the deal, do what you were made to do.

  I clench my fists to keep from reaching for the phone. I can’t do it. I swore I’d never go back. I owe it to Connor. If he doesn’t get to play another show, then neither should I.

  And there’s only one thing that can stop me making that call.

  Alicia.

  I feel a pang in my chest just thinking of her. She’s different; I’ve never met someone so honest, so open, so true. Her sweetness is the only balm I’ve found for the darkness. These moments I just spent lost in her kiss, her touch, her miraculous body -- they’re the closest thing to salvation I’ve ever known.

  I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t make her stay; I only know I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.

  I grab my jeans and take off towards the door at a sprint.

  11.

  ALICIA

  I stand alone in the elevator, watching the floors tick past. Now that the haze of satisfaction is leaving my body, a whirlwind of confusion takes its place.

  What did I just do?

  I told myself I’ve been waiting all this time for a reason, saving my body for the man who has possessed my heart since the day we met. All these years, I’ve stayed strong, clinging to the distant hope we would be together; that he would wake up one day and realize the love of his life was right in front of him all along.

  He’ll never be yours, I remind myself. You’re free to be with whoever you want.

  But I want him, that much hasn’t changed. Dex might have made me forget him for a little while with his devastating dark eyes and wicked charm, but now that he’s not consuming my senses, driving me wild with desire, I remember everything.

  Let it go, Alicia. How will you ever be happy if you keep running back to the past?

  It’s crazy, I know, to be torn apart over something that isn’t even real, but I can’t help it. Guilt crashes through me as I realize what I’ve just done. I let myself get swept away -- surrendering my body to pleasure while my heart still aches for another man.

  I’ve always prided myself on my loyalty and morals. But what kind of girl does that make me now?

  Tears sting my eyes as I arrive in the lobby and hurry for the exit, my heels clattering on the marble floors as I fight a battle inside my mind. I know I can’t live this way, stuck in this cycle of disappointment and misery. I was happy with Dex. In fact, tonight was the happiest I’ve been in a long while: forgetting everything, losing myself in his commanding touch. There was a freedom in surrender, letting go of all my fears and doubts.

  He told me it was just the beginning. I can’t imagine how it could be any better.

  But then the phone call came, piercing through the bubble we’d created, reminding me that the world was still out there; my life hadn’t disappeared. All my confusion and doubts came rushing back in -- and for Dex, too. I don’t know what demons he’s been running from, but I could see in his anguished stare they were still lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike.

  I falter at the memory of his pain, coming to a stop on the dark sidewalk just outside the building.

  He’s upstairs still. Hurting. I could feel his conflict radiating from every muscle in that magnificent body, and now I can’t help but wish I could make it better for him somehow.

  He’s not yours to help.

  “Alicia!”

  I whirl around. “Dex?” I gasp in shock.

  He rushes out of the building dressed only in his jeans. His chest is burnished a dark gold in the night, his tattoo intricately webbing across his arm. “You can’t go,” he tells me, his breath ragged.

  “People are watching.” I look around, seeing the looks from passersby.

  “Let them.” Dex grabs my waist, holding me tight. “Alicia, please. You want to stay.”

  My heart twists. “I told you,” I whisper helplessly. “I’m not this kind of girl.”

  “You don’t even know who you can be.” Dex growls. “You’ve hidden yourself away all this time, pining over some man who doesn’t even deserve your love!”

  I reel back. “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s the truth, isn’t it?” Dex demands. His face is shadowed, determined in the dark. “You’re using any excuse to run, because this -- you and me -- this is real. And you’re scared to death to take that chance.”

  His words echo through me. “You don’t know anything about me,” I protest, pushing weakly at his chest. The feel of his skin beneath my palms makes my breath stop, my stomach twist.

  Oh, how I want him.

  “I know you’re passionate, and honest, and the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met before,” Dex shoots back, his eyes glittering with passion. “I know you want me, but you’re clinging to the fantasy of a man you can never have. Are you really going to just walk away?” he demands, holding me against him, so I can feel the heat of his body, the force of his words. “I’m telling you, Alicia, you need to move on. We both do.”

  I stare up at him, confusion crashing over me. I’m torn, my heart pulled in opposite directions. Everything he’s saying is true, but still...

  How can I let go of the only hope of love I’ve ever known?

  “Dex,” I whisper, feeling his name wash over me. It feels so perfect on my lips, but I know, deep down, it’s wrong.

  It has to be. Something that feels this good can’t possibly be right.

  “I made you a promise,” he tells me. “That I would show you pleasure like you’ve never known. Let me make good on that promise. I have a place at the beach, away from everything. Spend one week there with me, and I swear I’ll make you forget this other man is even alive.”

  I gape at him, shocked.

  “I mean it, Alicia.” Dex cradles my cheek in his hand, his dark eyes blazing into mine. “One week. No rules, no limits, just us. I can save you from this unrequited love of yours. And you... You can save me from myself.”

  Before I can respond, he pulls me in and claims my mouth with a devastating kiss.

  It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before, hungry and desperate, blazing out of control. His body is hard against me as his lips brand mine with passion, his tongue demanding complete surrender. I fall, deep into the velvet darkness of his embrace, but all the while, I cling to my last thread of reason, the choice whirling in my mind.

  What on earth do I do now?

  **Find out what happens next! Dex and Alicia’s story continues in UNINHIBITED**

  THE BEACHWOOD BAY SERIES:

  BOOK 1: UNTOUCHED

  (Emerson & Juliet’s story begins - novella)

  BOOK 2: UNBROKEN

  (Emerson & Juliet’s story continues)

  BOOK 3: UNTAMED HEARTS

  (Brit & Hunter’s story begins - novella)

  BOOK 4: UNAFRAID

  (Brit & Hunter’s story continues)

  BOOK 5: UNWRAPPED

  (Lacey & Daniel’s holiday novella)

  BOOK 6: UNCONDITIONAL

  (Garret & Carina)

  BEACHWOOD BAY: THE CALLAHANS

  BOOK 7: UNREQUITED

  (Dex & Alicia’s story begins - novella)

  MAY 22nd

  BOOK 8: UNINHIBITED

  (Dex & Alicia’s story continues)

  JULY 2014

  BOOK 9: UNSTOPPABLE

  (Rylan & Tegan’s story begins - novella)

  SEPTEMBER 2014

  BOOK 10:
UNFORGETTABLE

  (Ryland & Tegan continue)

  OCTOBER 2014

  Author’s note: each book can be read as a stand-alone story, but you'll enjoy reading the other Beachwood Bay books, too.

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  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  I have so much love and gratitude for all the amazing authors, bloggers, friends and fans who make writing these books such a wonderful experience. To the NWB ladies: Lauren Blakely, Violet Duke, Monica Murphy, Jessie Evans, Kendall Ryan, Lexi Ryan, and Sawyer Bennett; my fabulous agent, Rebecca Friedman; to Dylan Borgman, Fred diBella, and Amy Granfors for the sexy-as-hell cover shoot; Abby Shulman for the edits, my mom, (for not reading the dirty bits), Brandy Colbert; and my Thursday yoga crew, Julia, Nadine and Jenny.

  And everyone who has clicked, liked, followed, blogged, read, and supported me: I love you all!

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  Read below for an excerpt from the #1 New Adult Romance VERY BAD THINGS by bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills.

  Born into a life of privilege and secrets, Nora Blakely has everything any nineteen-year-old girl could desire. She's an accomplished pianist, a Texas beauty queen, and on her way to Princeton after high school. She's perfect. Or is she?