In the elevator shaft where three confused chickens had made their nests they suddenly disappeared and became three even more confused butterflies in Africa. They flapped their wings in earnest. Upstairs, Mrs. Esperanza’s baby decided it was time to be born and her water broke. Mr. Denton’s teeth, which he had been looking for all day, turned out to be right in his mouth where he hadn’t really looked for them. The moon swung an inch closer to the Earth and the tides rose a bit higher on the beaches. Out in the reaches of space an asteroid which had been plotting to collide with earth and wipe out all life on the planet felt the wave of change and was confused enough to get distracted and lose track of its course, and ended up being pulled into the sun instead. So that was all right.
Deep beneath the ocean the Old Ones, sleeping as though dead, were very surprised to learn that not only were they not going to rise again to reclaim the world from humanity but that they had never existed to begin with. "SHOGG!" they cursed collectively as they winked out of existence. And around the world a million nightmares filling people’s subconscious with images of dread and insanity suddenly ceased and were replaced by images of butterflies flapping slowly through time and beautiful people making love.
This time the building shook and the lights went out, and Amber tumbled to floor with her dress up past her waist. She blinked. A bright light was shining into her eyes. She felt a draft of cold air blowing through her clothes and shivered as she came to her senses. "Where am I?" she asked the man holding the flashlight as he turned it off. Her eyes were level with his chest. "Gene" said the ID badge around his neck. She looked up into calm gray eyes that were looking back at her appraisingly. "Where am I?" she asked again.
"You are in an ambulance. Your building was evacuated" Gene said.
An ambulance? Well hopefully she was wearing clean underwear. But for some reason she suspected that she wasn’t wearing any underwear at all. The draft she felt through her dress seemed very focused. Gene was oblivious to her thoughts.
"There was an earthquake of some kind. The search teams found you unconscious on the floor when your neighbors couldn’t account for your whereabouts. How are you feeling?"
"I’m fine. I think. I feel like something I should remember has happened. Something important"
"I know that feeling," said Gene. "It’s getting worse as I get older."
Amber looked at his muscular middle-aged build and shaved head and noticed the absence of a ring on his finger. "I’ve never gotten a ride from a real professional paramedic before." She said and then blushed. That was an obvious Freudian slip.
Gene didn’t seem to notice. "Actually I’m a volunteer," he said. "I’m a handyman during the day, but I do this at night. I just like to help people. I like to fix things when I can."
"I feel like I’ve met you somewhere before, Gene." She said slowly. "But I think I’d remember you if I had."
"I feel the same way," Gene said. "But now that we have met I don’t think we will forget each other." He held her hand and she believed him.
A moment later the ambulance ran over a patch of bumpy road and Amber was flung against Gene’s body as he caught her to keep her from falling to the floor. She felt the front of his pants against her and felt strangely relieved to feel exactly what one might expect to feel in the front of a man’s pants pressed against her.
"Thank you" she said to Gene.
Epilogue
At this time in the here and now, there lives a beautiful woman who almost got everything she could want but instead made the very wise choice to want everything that she has.
Also.
At this time in the here and now, there lives a man who gave up on spending eternity trying to make people happy and instead made the very wise choice to be happy with one person for one wonderful lifetime. They have together traded a kind of magic that has long since outlived its purpose in this world for another kind of magic which is needed more now than ever.
And they live happily ever after.
Heart Full of Secrets
CHAPTER ONE
The sharp knock on the front door interrupted my train of thought. My fingers hovered over the keyboard of my laptop and I took a deep breath, tempted to just pretend I wasn’t at home. It would be easy. No one was around. My car was in the garage and there were no lights on or noise to give me away.
It couldn’t be a neighbor. There were none way out here on this isolated end of the island; something I was happily getting used to. Besides, I hadn’t lived here long enough to make friends with anyone.
A bill collector? No. I’d paid off all my debts when my husband was killed in a car accident almost a year ago.
And then I’d moved from hot, dry Texas to the sunny beaches of South Carolina and purchased this comfortably-sized bed and breakfast. It was perched on rocks that overlooked a pristine, almost private beach and had been empty for a while. It took every dime I could scrape together, but I had done it. I’d followed through with minor renovations, mostly cleaning and fresh paint, but hadn’t even started an advertising campaign. I knew it wasn’t a customer at my door.
Despite all that I felt good about my future, lonely as it might seem.
Visitors would arrive soon enough. Visitors that I longed to see and dreaded at the same time. My twin daughters were traveling through the state on the way to visit friends in a week or so. I had asked them to stay with me for a couple of days so we could talk. They weren’t happy about my sudden move to the beach or the purchase of the bed and breakfast.
And it was obvious from the brief, stilted conversations we’d had during the past few months, that they frowned on me having a romantic relationship with anyone. Not that that seemed likely to happen. I thought that if they saw how happy I was here and reassured themselves that no one had taken their father’s place, I could convince them that this wasn’t a mistake.
The knock came again. Louder, more insistent this time.
I decided to ignore whoever it was and resumed typing; doing something that I knew would keep this roof over my head. I write and design greeting cards. I’ve done it for almost 20 years, which allows me to work from just about anywhere. Several large companies know my work and keep me steadily employed. I’d get around to running the bed and breakfast and beefing up its clientele in due time.
More knocking, almost pounding.
Probably someone lost - or maybe a traveling salesman, I corrected myself. No one gets lost anymore with all the technology available. That narrowed it down to a salesman. Then I laughed at the thought of a man traveling through the coastal area selling vacuum cleaners or encyclopedias. Did they even make encyclopedias anymore?
“Or maybe it’s Prince Charming on his white steed coming to rescue me from all this,” I said aloud and looked down to reassure myself that I was dressed. Yep, I was wearing my usual working at home outfit, shorts that showed off too much thigh and a tank top that only emphasized my ample cleavage. “Once he gets a look at this, he’ll turn tail and run.”
Again, I laughed. Since my husband’s death I hadn’t even looked at a man. Wait, that’s not true. I’d looked, but at this stage of the game I was content to be alone. Who was I kidding? Curvy women are not the “in” thing. I didn’t stand a chance on the singles scene.
Besides, I couldn’t imagine love finding me a third time.
Grabbing a pen, I jotted down that thought to be used for a greeting card sentiment. Maybe I could do a whole line of cards for…
More pounding. On my back door this time interrupting my train of thought yet again. Whoever it was wasn't going to go away.
Sighing in resignation, I stared longingly at the line I’d just written down. Then I picked up my coffee cup and headed down the hall. I’d refill my cup in the kitchen after sending my unwelcome guest away. Suddenly, I was eager to get back to work.
“Okay, okay. I’m coming. But this had better be an emergency,” I threatened my unknown visitor.
A man’s silhouette fill
ed the pebbled glass of the back door, bulky and broad shouldered. He appeared to be wearing a hat of some sort. I opened the door and came face to face with the one person I’d never expected to find at my door, never expected to even see again.
“Billie?” he asked quietly.
His voice, that lopsided grin and the dimple in his right cheek made my heart beat a little faster…just like it always had.
“Billie,” he said.
And the sound of him saying my name brought back white-hot memories that I thought I’d buried long ago.
CHAPTER TWO
Speechless, I simply stood there staring up into the face of a man I hadn’t seen since I’d given him back his ring on the night of our senior prom. We both moved on. The bad boy joined the Army and I settled down to raise a family with college bound, level-headed Michael.
My breath caught in my throat. The cup slipped out of my fingers. I only vaguely heard it shatter at my feet.
“It’s me, Brent,” he said and took off his cowboy hat…that ever present Stetson. A muscle twitched in his jaw while he waited for my reaction.
“Brent,” I whispered, struggling to breathe.
“Surprised to see me?” he asked.
“What…When…How did you find me?” I stammered, so confused I thought I had gone temporarily insane.
“I’m the sheriff here in town,” he answered and jerked his thumb in the direction of the black and white police car parked in my driveway. “Been here since I came out of the Army.”
I hadn’t even noticed the squad car outside.
“I thought I saw you in town the other day and did a little investigating,” he added. “Imagine my surprise when I realized you’d bought this old place.”
I barely heard him, thoughts reeling. In the end I simply stared up at him, unable to think of anything to say.
“I’m sorry about Michael. He was good for you.”
My blood was pounding in my ears and I felt the fragile little world I’d built for myself, my safe haven, my protection, beginning to crumble.
Secrets don’t stay buried forever. Another greeting card sentiment with a broken heart on the front?
He leaned forward and placed a hand on either side of the doorway, towering over me. As always, his presence was overpowering. His scent filled my head and he was so close I was sure he could hear my heart thudding in my chest.
“And you haven’t changed a bit. You’re even more beautiful than you were twenty years ago when you dumped me,” he said, his voice low and sultry. Even though those blue eyes were gazing into mine, I knew he’d already taken inventory.
Old habits die hard and my bad boy had loved my curves…and a few others as well.
“Please… Please, come in,” I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. I felt naked and vulnerable under his gaze.
Opening the door wide, I backed into my kitchen, allowing him to step inside. He simply filled up the room with both his size and presence, just like he filled up all my senses. After a quick look around, he placed his hat on a nearby chair.
“Do I smell coffee?” he asked.
“Yes. I’ll get you a cup.” Glad to have something to do with my hands.
“No need,” he said, giving me a teasing wink. “I know where you keep them.”
I watched in amazement as he crossed the kitchen, moving with the ease of a well-trained military man and the confidence of an officer of the law. He opened the door just to the right over top of the coffee pot and reached inside for one of the heavy mugs I kept there.
“Michael was left handed so you kept them to the left while he was alive. You’re right handed,” he explained when he saw me staring at him. Filling the mug with coffee, he held it up to his face and inhaled deeply. Then he leaned back against the counter.
We stood there in silence staring at each other.
The last time I’d seen him his hair had been long, curly unruly. I had loved running my fingers through it. The memory of straddling his lap in the back seat of his car, hot kisses and even hotter hands, flooded through me making my knees weak.
I fought to keep those old memories at bay…pushing them to the back of my mind just like the secret I’d kept for so long.
Now he sported a crisp, military style hair cut that enhanced that strong square jaw. Other than that, he looked pretty much the same. Oh he had filled out, shoulders broader, chest fuller and I was sure he turned all the female heads in town in that smart, neatly pressed khaki uniform. But those eyes were still that same mesmerizing blue-green, his grin still boyish. Dark stubble covered that strong chin and when he smiled, because he was truly enjoying the effect he had on me, his eyes twinkled.
“So are you surprised?” he asked, finally breaking the silence.
“Not surprised that you’re in law enforcement,” I said. My voice hardly trembled at all. “Your mom told me you were in the military police. She was very proud of you.”
He laughed softly. “Every time she talked to me, she threatened to kick my butt for letting you get away.”
I was able to laugh at that as well. His mother had always treated my daughters as if they were her own grandchildren; treated me like the daughter-in-law she never had.
“I’m surprised that you’re here of all places,” I confessed, giving him a weak smile and then looking away from those blue eyes that were gazing at me intently.
“When I got out of the Army, they were hiring. I liked the idea of working for a small police force in and it’s a beach town. What more could you want?” he explained. “Over the years, I’ve worked my way up through the ranks.”
“I had no idea.” His mother had never told me where he was and I certainly had not asked.
“You’re even more beautiful than I remember,” he said quietly.
“Brent, I…”
And then he was across the room and framing my face with both hands. He used his thumbs to lift my chin, forcing me to look at him. His touch burned my skin and sent bolts of excitement racing down my body, excitement that felt like it had been bubbling just beneath the surface for what seemed an eternity. Our lips were so close; I thought he was going to kiss me. I even half-closed my eyes and shuddered in anticipation of what I had, up until this moment, desperately tried to forget about.
“What were you going to say?” he asked.
He smelled like coffee and mints and spices of some sort.
I swallowed hard and fought for control of myself. I lost. “Kiss me,” I breathed.
His hot mouth covered mine in a kiss that literally took my breath away. Our lips moved together sensuously, slowly and then his tongue slipped into my mouth, teasing me with just the tip.
I placed both hands against his chest,, intending to push him away. Instead they slid up onto his shoulders where I held onto him like a drowning victim. I struggled to stand on knees that had suddenly turned to water.
His hands slid down to the curve of my back, pulling me close, so close that the full length of our bodies were touching. With a little growling sound, he worked a thigh between my legs. I pressed my suddenly aching nipples into his chest and was not ashamed to squeeze his thigh tightly with my own.
“I never got over you,” he breathed when we came up for air. “I wanted to come to Michael’s funeral but I knew I couldn’t be that close and not touch you.”
CHAPTER THREE
Breathless. His kiss left me as breathless as it had from the first time we’d met. I was completely lost, unable to speak or think or even move as his mouth covered mine again. This time, he plunged his tongue deep and I sucked on it hungrily, working my body even closer. I held on tight as he urged me to move backward toward the sturdy wooden farmhouse table that dominated my kitchen.
“Brent,” I gasped as his hands slid lower, covering my bottom easily. And then he lifted me off the ground.
“No stopping now,” he muttered easing me onto the table. “No holding back.”
Those were the words he’d said
to me the first time we’d made love so long ago.
“Brent,” I whimpered as my butt settled onto the cool wood.
His mouth found mine again. Our kiss continued, deepened and all I could do was hold on tight, thrilled when he caught the waistband of my shorts and pulled them down. The cool air caressed my damp, inner thighs and the wet on my panties. His fingers traced my sensitive skin, warming it quickly.
As his hands moved upward, closer and closer to the juncture of my thighs, I shuddered with pleasure. I knew he would find me wet, didn’t care at that point. I wanted him, plain and simple.
But his fingers never reached that hot spot.
He pulled away, just out of my grasp and gazed down at me, his blue eyes dark and stormy, full of promises. Suddenly, the twenty years that had separated us, the hurt and anger and disappointments were stripped away leaving nothing but a man and a woman. A man who wanted me. A man who would easily take what he wanted and leave me breathless and begging for more. How I wanted to stop this, here and now. But I was powerless.
“Brent,” I whispered, reaching for him, seemingly unable to say anything but his name.
He gently pushed me back onto the table. Then, keeping his eyes on mine, he lowered his head to the tender skin just inside of my knees. I gasped and shuddered and watched his hot, wet tongue make little circles on the pale, sensitive flesh there. He worked his way higher and higher, closer and closer to the wet center of my panties. I was sure he could smell my heat; sure that he knew how badly I wanted him.
Finally, his tongue reached the silky fabric that barely covered my mound and hovered there briefly. Then he began licking his way upward again. He licked my belly, his nose pushing my t-shirt up as he worked until my breasts were bare to his gaze. When he pinched my nipples playfully, I squirmed against the wooden surface. Then his mouth covered one pink bud. He caught it between his lips and flicked it with his tongue.
Star-Crossed Curves: BBW Erotic Romance Boxed Set Page 22
