by Ashley Ladd
His son looked to be about fifteen, and she felt like a home wrecker. But she said nothing except, “Hi. I’m Tiffany, and this is my dad, Ted.”
Dax put his hands on his son’s shoulders. Pride gleamed in his eyes. “This is my son, Max.”
“Ah, Dax and Max. They rhyme.” She held out her hand in greeting. “Nice to meet you, Max.”
When Max looked up at him with a tented brow, Dax said, “Tiffany’s an old friend of mine.”
Max nodded and mumbled, “Nice to meet you.” Limply, he shook her hand.
She moved to the side of her booth with her dad. Dax and Max slid into the other side.
“I’d heard you’d moved to Florida,” Dax said, as he settled in across from her. When their knees touched, sparks singed her, and she trembled. Not wanting anyone to see her hands shaking, she folded them in her lap.
“I did. I mean, I live in Florida now. I’m just here on a visit.” Her nerves clamouring, she squeezed her hands tighter.
Disappointment clouded his eyes for a moment, but disappeared so quickly she wondered if she’d imagined it.
The waitress chose that moment to bring their food, looked at Dax and drawled, “I’ll bring your order here, okay?”
Dax smiled. “Please.” After the woman turned and left, Dax leaned across the table. “Fancy meeting you here. This is one of our favourite places, isn’t it, Max?”
Max mumbled, “Yeah.”
The kid looked like he’d rather be anywhere else but there, and a tremor of fear rocked her. If she’d thought their lives were complicated all those years ago, this boy proved it would be a lot tougher now even if they wanted to get back together.
Dax stared long and hard at her as if trying to decipher her, and she tried not to squirm under his scrutiny. “Why’d you move to Florida?”
“My husband.” When Dax’s expression fell, she hurriedly added, “Well, he’s my ex now. I have a good job so I stayed. I sell socks.” Put that way her job didn’t sound so elite, and she cracked a crooked grin. “I represent the manufacturer, and my clients are the big distributors such as Sears, Wal-Mart, and all the major department stores.”
“I own my own computer software firm. We handle a lot of government contracts,” Dax said as he carried a slice of his pizza to his lips.
Her dad, being a retired software engineer, dove into the conversation and asked Dax several questions. She sat back and observed as she nibbled on her dinner, trying to keep the gooey cheese from dripping down her chin and embarrassing her. She hadn’t been so aware of a man, or of herself, since the last time she’d been with Dax. No one else, not even her ex-husband, had ever had this effect on her.
At the end of the meal, she was afraid to say goodbye. Dax pulled her aside and took her phone number.
“I’ll call you as soon as I get Max home, and we can speak in private. Are you free tonight?”
Tonight? She wanted to jump up and down and yell ‘yes!’ But then she remembered all the magazines and books she’d read that advised not to be too easy, not to be a booty call. Still, she had a little over a week before she went home, so she didn’t have a lot of time to play with. She tamped down her excitement and forced herself to say calmly, “I’ll have to see if Dad has plans.”
When his dusky lashes shuttered his eyes, her heart fell. She wondered if she’d just spoiled her chances and if he thought she was putting him off. She wasn’t used to this dating stuff anymore. She didn’t know how the game should be played.
“Give me a couple hours to take Max to his mom’s house. We really need to talk, just the two of us.”
One hundred percent agreement welled up in her so she nodded. When he touched her hand, frissons of desire ran up her arm. She was afraid she’d burst, waiting that long. But she tilted her head and gave him a small smile. “I’d like that.”
Max shuffled up to them with a big pout. “I’m bored. Can we go? Justin wanted to do something tonight, and he’ll think I’ve ditched him.”
Dax shrugged as if in apology. He tousled his son’s hair before the boy could duck all the way. “You’re getting too big to hang out with your old man, huh?”
Max scowled. “You’ve done your parental thing.” He slid a sly glance at her. “Don’t you want to go do your own thing, too?”
About to choke, she coughed. The kid was too darned smart. Were they that obvious? Were they both in for an inquisition? She really wasn’t ready for it and wondered how she’d stave off her dad’s curiosity. A jumble of emotions, she wasn’t sure what to expect. Definitely she didn’t want to discuss this with her father.
Chapter Four
That night, they got together at Dax’s apartment. It was a typical bachelor pad without any feminine touches, which cheered Tiffany. From the looks of it, he’d been a bachelor for some time. She wasn’t a home wrecker. At least, she didn’t think so.
Although she knew she was here to make things right, she still had questions of her own she needed answered before she could move forward. Running her fingertip over the rim of her glass, gazing into the amber liquid and wishing it could give her answers, she pondered how to ask the questions burning in her heart. She curled her legs beneath her on the couch and leaned against the cushy arm. She gazed at him with a mixture of awe and consternation for several moments before screwing up the courage to ask, “What really happened all those years ago? Why did you tell me you were getting a divorce then went back to your wife?”
She winced. God, how big of a harlot had she been? In her defence, however, he hadn’t told her he was married, separated, or anything until after she’d fallen deeply, madly in love with him. By then, she’d wanted to believe him when he’d sworn he would soon be a free man, and they weren’t breaking any rules being together. She’d had no reason not to believe him. Of course, as she’d mourned all these years in between, she’d been young, inexperienced, and stupid. Now, she was an adult, and she knew better.
Before she could take this any further, she asked, “You are single, aren’t you? Any wives, fiancées, or significant others I should know about?”
Sadness pooled in his eyes. “God, I wish you didn’t feel the need to ask that, but I know I deserve it.” He sat beside her and trailed his fingers down her arm.
She tried not to shiver at the electricity his touch sparked, but she could no sooner stop an avalanche. She couldn’t look away from his gaze and felt trapped waiting for his reply. For fortification, she downed a gulp of the rum then coughed when it burned her throat. However, she was grateful for how fast it warmed her insides and took the edge off her nerves.
“I’m very single. I’ve been divorced almost ten years, and I’ve not gone on a date in over two. What about you?” He leaned forward and looked like he wanted to erase the past, to pull her into his arms and make everything better. “I remember you said you’re divorced, but do you have a special someone back in Florida?”
“No one.” She hadn’t in a long time and never anyone else she’d cared for even a smidgen as much as she’d loved him.
He still hadn’t answered her other question, and she wondered if he’d forgotten or was hoping she’d forget. As much as she didn’t want to know, she needed to. All these years she’d imagined everything from him being a secret agent to aliens kidnapping him and whisking him away to a different planet. “Why did you call things off between us? What happened?”
A sigh shimmied on his lips, and he gazed down at his hands. After a long pause, he looked up, regret mirrored in his eyes. “Mary Jean went into rehab. She swore she’d change, but she begged for my help. And she’d told me she was pregnant. I’d made vows, and as long as she was working to save our family, I could do no less. As hard as I tried, it didn’t work. She couldn’t stay off the drugs. She was a lousy mother and wife. By then, you were gone.”
He rocked her in his arms and tightened his arms about her as his heart beat strongly against hers.
Again, she felt horrible for jumping to conclusion
s. She made a vow to hear the entire story from now on and to only make judgments based on complete knowledge. “You really went through hell, didn’t you?”
He pulled back a few inches and gazed deeply into her eyes. “Didn’t we both? God, I missed you. I figured you’d long forgotten me and got on with your life. I didn’t want to interrupt and take a chance on ruining anything for you.”
She thought about why she was here and knew what she had to do. She slashed a kiss against his lips then put a finger to them. “No more recriminations. Let’s keep the past in the past and get on with the future. Enough time has been wasted. We’ve both had enough heartache for two lifetimes.”
He nodded and lowered his lips to hers. Against them, he murmured, “Let’s start over. We deserve a second chance.”
God, how she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. But Max’s wariness haunted her. She moved away and asked, “What about your son? Max didn’t look too happy last night.”
“I’d do anything for my kids except give you up. I did that once, and it was a huge mistake. I swear I’ll never repeat it. Give him a chance. I’m sure he’ll be fine once he gets to know you.”
“I don’t have much experience with children. How can you be so sure?” What if he was wrong? What if Max hated her forever more? What if he made their lives hell?
Dax rubbed his nose against hers and smiled into her eyes. His thumbs rubbed hypnotising circles on her bare arms. “I know you and I know my kid. Trust me.”
* * * *
The next night, after Dax had taken Max home, he showed up on her doorstep with a bottle of wine and a big bouquet of flowers. “Surprise,” he murmured against her lips after she’d answered the door and gaped. “I couldn’t bear the thought of even one more night away from you.”
Tiffany melted and almost purred. When he thrust the yellow roses into her arms, she buried her face in the beautiful blooms and sniffed appreciatively. Their velvety petals caressed her cheeks and she smiled dreamily, grateful her father was away for the evening and Dax was here.
“I removed all the thorns,” he murmured as he crossed the threshold and closed her door gently but firmly behind him. “I won’t let anything hurt you ever again.”
Tears pricked her ears, and she nodded around the big lump in her throat. She wished she could believe him. She longed to go back in time to before the heartache and anguish. She yearned for a magic wand so she could wave it and erase all the bad memories and only keep the good.
He followed her to her room where she put the roses on the dresser. The mirror behind let her view their beauty on all sides, just as she could see Dax’s—his tight butt, his powerful thighs, his broad shoulders, his silky hair. She wondered if she was dreaming, if she’d awake on her couch to the movie Scrooged. If this was a dream, she never wanted to awaken. She wanted Dax any way she could get him.
“Can we get past everything that happened? Can we truly start over?” She caught her breath and wondered if she’d said too much, if she’d scare him away. He hadn’t exactly promised happily ever after, as sweet as his words were.
He backed her against the dresser and splayed his hands around her waist. His gaze darkly intense and possessive, he looked down at her as if he longed to devour her. “You’re everything I’ve ever dreamed of. All that I’ve ever wanted. I only feel alive and happy when I’m with you. I’ve been like a zombie since I lost you.”
Her heart did a happy flip. He didn’t look like a zombie. And with the way his cock bulged in his slacks, the way he was rubbing his erection against her, he didn’t feel like one, either.
Letting a chuckle escape her throat, feeling wanton, she moulded her hips against his and ran her hands up and under his shirt and over his bare chest. Her pussy convulsed and her panties were already wet. She could smell their desire and yearned to be bathed in their special perfume forever. Gazing up at him, feeling as if she was sparkling, she tossed him a come hither look. Huskily, she murmured, “You feel very alive, very hot. Are you on fire like me?”
“Ooh, yeah, baby. About to combust.”
“Why waste a perfectly good fire?” She ducked from under his arms and sashayed away. She crooked her finger at him then glanced pointedly at the bed. “How about if we stoke each other’s flames? I bet we can reach heaven.”
“And beyond,” he said as he swaggered over. He reached for her and massaged her breasts, paying special attention to her nipples, beading them between his fingers. “You’re so extra special. I want you so much.”
“What’s stopping you?” She paused strategically then arched her brow. With a sly smile, she added, “Lover.”
Moans ripped from his lips, and he pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it behind him. Then he buried his face between her breasts, and his tongue delved beneath her bra, seeking her nipple, as his fingers fumbled with her bra’s clasp.
Her breasts felt constricted and smothered, and they ached to feel his naked flesh so she helped him remove the wispy material. When he pulled her nipple into his mouth, she flung back her head with a cry and pushed her breast deeper into his mouth. Although she’d known other men over the years, none had brought her to the brink of ecstasy. No others had made love to her. It had only been pure, physical sex. This transcended sex. It transcended anything she’d ever known, and she didn’t care if she drowned in it as long as he was with her.
She caressed his head, ran her fingers through his silky hair, and cradled him against her breasts. She dropped fevered kisses on him and trembled with euphoria as he continued to worship her nipples.
Ravenous for all of him, she wiggled out of the rest of her clothing and pulled him down on the mattress on top of her. “Aren’t you going to get naked, too?” Knowing she’d rip off his clothes if he didn’t do so very soon, she gave him a crooked grin as she slid her hand down his chest, following the trail of hair that disappeared beneath his slacks. Blazing with lust, engulfed with love, she unsnapped his jeans and slipped her hand inside his underwear. Like a heat seeking missile, her fingers found his cock and curled around it.
“God, that feels so good. Don’t stop,” he begged arching against her.
Annoyed by his clothes, yearning to see his beautiful penis, to pump it in her hands and then feel it between her legs, she murmured against his lips, “Take off your pants. Love me.”
In case he didn’t understand, she writhed beneath him as she pushed down the fabric from his hips. “Fuck me. Ride me hard. Let’s make up for all the lost time.”
He kicked off his jeans then pushed off his underwear, and his naked body pressed hers into the bed. His cock nestled between her legs and teased her clit. He insinuated his hand between them and massaged her pussy lips then found the nub of her clit and drove her to the brink of insanity. “Do you like that, baby?”
Gasping for breath, she nodded and whispered raggedly, “L-love it. There’s only one thing I’d love more.”
“What’s that?” he asked with a wicked glint in his eyes as he poked his finger into her pussy and fucked her with it.
Squirming, wildfire scorching her veins, her vaginal walls convulsing around his finger, she could barely think. A live wire of need, she gave in to her instincts and tugged his cock toward her pussy. “Your big, fat cock shoved all the way inside me. I want you to ram it into me so far, so hard, that everyone in this hotel will hear my screams of pleasure.”
“Ooh, baby, I want that, too. You don’t know how much I’ve wanted to do that since I first saw you again. I’ve wanted to ravish you, to throw you over my shoulder and carry you away to my den and never let you go again.”
“Why didn’t you?” She spread her legs wide and whimpered, bereft without his huge cock fucking her. “I’ve dreamed of that for so very long.”
“You have? You want me to carry you away caveman style?”
Giggles bubbled up. “At the risk of being hated by all women’s libbers, a thousand times, yes. What’s my life without the man I love? Wit
hout having him naked in my bed, inside me, fucking me?”
“Keep talking like this, and I’m not going to last very long,” he warned.
“So stop talking and fuck me. We have all night, don’t we?” She prayed they’d have the rest of their lives. “I plan to come over and over and make you come over and over.”
He plunged into her, making her scream in delight. He drove into her with a rough fury she loved, that she couldn’t get enough of, that she yearned to know for eternity.
Her pussy greedily swallowed his penis, branding it hers. This time, she intended to make it hers, all hers. She thrust her hips to meet his so that he would fill her completely, so that they were one.
Tornadoes of passion whipped her to the heavens. She dug her fingers into his shoulders and clung to him so she wouldn’t be torn from him again. Her pussy clenched around his thick shaft and milked him until she’d taken every last drop of his seed.
His body slick against hers, he slammed into her. His body convulsed, and he drove inside her until with a final shudder, he flung back his head and roared as if to shout she was his.
Shooting stars soared across the skies, and she was in rapture. Still hungry for him, she pulled him to her and drank greedily of his lips. She held this precious memory to her heart as they tenderly, lovingly held one another as they drifted to sleep in each other’s arms, his cock still nestled against her pussy.
* * * *
Two nights later, Tiffany snuggled up to Dax and traced the aureole of his nipple. Then she leaned forward and licked it until it beaded, and he groaned. She couldn’t get enough of him. They had so much lost time to make up for. For all she knew, this week would be the extent of their time and would have to last her the rest of her life.
“Keep doing that, and I’ll have to ravish you again,” Dax murmured as he massaged her breast.
She couldn’t bite back the moan rising in her throat. “Why would I want you to stop? Are you trying to tell me you’re tired of ravishing me?”
