Summer Heat: A Steamy Romance Boxed Set

by Carly Phillips

  I worry my bottom lip and a storm brews inside of me. A storm that feels as though it’s never left, like it was only waiting in the darkness. Preparing for when it could come out and destroy the little piece of me that remains.

  It’s not until Daniel’s gone that I close the door, lean my back against it and fall to the floor on my ass.

  I’ve made a mistake. More than one. But I can’t keep going on like this, making mistake after mistake and running from them.

  Helplessness overwhelms me and I’ve never felt weaker. Why is it all so complicated? Why can’t love and lust be one, and right and wrong easier to decipher?

  Chapter 18

  Daniel

  Five years ago

  Every small movement makes the pain spread deeper. I shouldn’t have called him a drunk. I shouldn’t have yelled back when my father yelled at me. I know better. I brought this on myself.

  I let out a deep breath, but even breathing hurts. Carter will cover for me. He always does. I swallow thickly as I hear heavy footsteps coming to my door and my heart pounds for a moment, thinking it’s him. Thinking I fucked something up.

  Like I did last night, losing thousands of dollars. Thousands and thousands of money and merchandise are gone. Stolen off the truck. And it’s my fault. I’m the one who opened it, getting the fucking CD Addison left in there and not remembering to lock it back up.

  This is all because of her.

  There’s only a slight bit of relief when I hear Tyler yell out my name as he bangs on the door.

  I struggle to put my shirt back on, but do it through clenched teeth while wincing. It was only a belt, I grit out with the part of me that thinks I’m pathetic. That I deserve all of this and more.

  I open the door without thinking of the cuts on my back and the pain sears through me.

  “Why do you have to be such an asshole all the time?”

  Tyler’s question is met with nothing from me. Not a single emotion that I can give him.

  “You don’t have to make her feel like she’s not welcome.”

  Anger makes me swallow hard. I still don’t respond.

  I’ll never tell him how I feel about her, but at least now I know how she feels about me.

  “Are you going to say anything?”

  My lips part and I want to give him something, anything. But the fact that I went out of my way for her last night … maybe that’s why. Maybe she knows I want her. The idea hits and steals my words from me.

  “She’s a good person,” Tyler tells me as if that’s why I stay away from her.

  “I love you, Tyler. God knows it. But you’re a fucking idiot.”

  I should have kept my mouth shut, but everyone has their limits.

  “She loves me and she’s not going anywhere,” he tells me with a confidence I’ve never seen in my baby brother.

  My baby brother who’s oblivious to what we really are and what goes on here.

  My baby brother who’s never been struck once by my father.

  My perfect baby brother who wants to make everyone around him smile because he’s never known pain like I have.

  “She only loves you because she has no one else who loves her.” My gaze pins him where he is as I say the words. “Remember that.”

  ***

  Loneliness is a bitter pill to swallow. I know I’ve brought it on myself, but still. A sarcastic, humorless huff leaves me as I grab the bottle of whiskey and take a swig.

  It must be karma.

  I left Addison to her loneliness so I could survive.

  Now she’s leaving me to mine to ruin me.

  Touché, little love.

  The whiskey burns as I take another heavy drink. And with it every possibility of where I lost her flashes in my mind. The times from back when we were younger and I held back so much, to only moments ago when I didn’t hold back a damn thing.

  I lick my lower lip and then pick the bottle back up, but a timid knock stops me from chugging back more of the amber liquid.

  “Daniel,” I hear Addison’s voice from beyond the door. Hope flickers deep inside of me, flirting with a darkness that’s nearly consumed me.

  My heart pauses. So do my lungs. It’s only when I hear her again that they both decide to function again. She’s here. She came to me.

  My blood buzzes as I stand up and make my way to the front door. All while I stride to the door the alcohol sets in, and I hear her call out again. “Please open the door, Daniel.”

  She’s mid-motion of knocking again with her mouth parted and more to say when I pull the door open. She looks shocked and even flinches slightly.

  “Daniel,” she says my name with a hint of surprise, but quickly her expression and tone change. “I wanted to explain.”

  And that right there is why I didn’t let that hope grow. The coldness in my chest puts out the small flame. It’s hard to school my expression. It’s hard to hide it from her. But a part of me is screaming not to. To let her see what she’s doing to me. To make sure she knows she’s destroying me bit by bit.

  “Explain?” The question comes out with a bit of anger and I have to readjust my grip on the door and look away from her for a moment.

  “You don’t owe me anything, Addison,” I tell her and turn to walk down the hall, but I leave the door open. I let her come to me willingly.

  When I hear the door shut and her following me inside, a smile slowly forms on my face. It’s only a trace of genuine happiness. But at least I know she can’t let me go as easily as she thinks she can.

  “Daniel, please,” she says as she catches up to me in the living room, gripping my shirt and making me turn to face her.

  “What is it you want to explain?” I ask her and almost call her little love. Almost.

  “I didn’t think that you wanted anything but a good fuck.” God, she does something to me when she talks like that. When foul and dirty words come out of that pretty little mouth of hers.

  My own indecent thoughts keep me from responding quickly enough. So she storms over to the leather chair in the corner of the room and sits down angrily, crossing her legs and then her arms.

  Of course that’s what she thought. It’s what this started out as. But she’s fooling herself if she thinks what we have could ever be anything so shallow. Even I can admit it. “I’m not leaving until you talk to me,” she demands and it’s cute. She’s so fucking adorable thinking she can make demands like that. My bare feet sink into the rug as I make my way to the chair opposite hers.

  With the blinds closed, the only light in the room is that of the tall lamp in the corner.

  “Say something, please. I feel awful. I didn’t expect you to react the way you did.” She leans forward and grips the armrests of the chair. “The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you,” she confesses and I know she’s telling the truth. Addison isn’t a liar.

  And that gives me hope.

  “I don’t know what I want, other than you.” My voice comes out rough as I lean forward and put my elbows on my knees so I can sink down to her eye level.

  “What does that mean?” she asks breathlessly. Her chest rises and falls as if my answer is everything she’s ever needed. The only thing she’s ever desired.

  Licking my lower lip, I stare into her eyes but the words don’t come. I don’t know how else to say it. I want her.

  I want her to be mine. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.

  Not just in my bed. I want her touches, her kisses, her intentions. Moving forward, I want each piece of her. Every little piece. I want them all.

  More than that, I want her to give them to me.

  Her words spin chaotically, as do her emotions. “I need something to hold on to, Daniel, and this, this is intense and overwhelming and emotional-”

  “But do you want it?” I cut her off, asking the simple question.

  “Why did you come get me in that bar? Don’t lie to me. You knew I’d be there, didn’t you?” she asks me and I don’t know if she knows more tha
n she should, or if she’s just that damn good at knowing who I am.

  I lean back in my seat and decide to be careful with my words as I slowly say, “I wanted you for so long.”

  “So that’s all this is? You wanted to fuck me, so you finally did?

  “You already know that’s a lie.” My words come out like a vicious sting and she drops the act. “I know you feel this too.” I finally speak the words that feel as if they’ll break me. But they’re true. “There’s always been something between us.”

  Addison’s expression is pained.

  “I know you feel guilty admitting it, Addison. I do too. I’m just as much to blame.” She doesn’t know how true those words are.

  Time wears on and more than a moment passes. Addison pulls her knees into her chest and all I want to do is grab her ass and pull her into my lap. But my fingers dig into the leather, pinning me where I am until I have the only answer I need from her.

  “Do you want me?” I ask her.

  “It’s not that easy,” she whimpers. Torn between the desire she feels and the guilt she won’t let go of.

  My body tenses and the rage from knowing the past may forever darken my future takes over as I lean forward. “The fuck it isn’t.”

  I have to close my eyes and focus on what I want, what she needs to hear. I speak so low I’m not sure she can hear me, but I pray she can. “I can’t tell you what will happen a week from now, but I know I’ll still want you.” I open my eyes to find her watching me intently as I continue, “I’ve always wanted you. It’s not going to stop, and I don’t care about anything that happened yesterday as long as I get you tomorrow.”

  “When did you turn into this man?” Addison’s question is quiet, but full of sincerity. “I don’t remember any of this from you.”

  The answer is right there. So obvious to me.

  Because she wasn’t mine and couldn’t be.

  “You were young, and belonged to someone else.” I can’t bring myself to speak Tyler’s name. The alcohol and thought of losing her if he comes up again is too much.

  Before she can respond to the omission I ask her the only thing that matters, “Do you want me?”

  Her green eyes shine with sincerity as she barely whispers the word, “Yes.” She bites down on her lip as I rise from my seat and make my way to her. Slowly and carefully, with each step knowing I’m so close to keeping her.

  “If you stay here Addison, I swear I won’t let you leave.” I swallow thickly and clear my throat when she searches my eyes and knows I’m speaking the truth. “This is your last chance to run from me.” I owe her that at least. One last chance to run.

  “I’ve never wanted to run from you.” Her words are laced with raw emotion and she reaches up to cup my face. “We’re doing this?”

  “You can’t leave me, Addison. You have to promise me, no matter what happens,” I say and hope she can’t hear the desperation in my voice. “No matter if we fight.” I start to say more, but I choke on the obvious. No matter if Tyler comes up again.

  I can barely breathe as she strokes the stubble of my jaw with her thumb and whispers, “I promise.”

  She falls into my lap so easily. Her warmth and soft touches light every nerve ending in me on fire. But so much more than that too. The pounding in my chest. The need to be close to her. To be skin to skin and show her she’s mine again.

  I’m dying inside, needing to take her, but I move so achingly slowly. Cherishing every second of something I almost lost. Every second of her.

  “Daniel?” Her voice is hesitant, but raw. As if the question itself will break her as I kiss the crook of her neck and let my fingers barely graze her skin, just a whisper of a touch.

  “Addison?” I answer her with a playful air and smile against her skin when she breathes easily.

  “I’m scared,” she whispers into the air and when I pull away from her, her face is toward the ceiling with her eyes closed tight. Her fingers dig into my shoulders as I nudge her chin with my nose to get her attention.

  “I won’t hurt you,” I whisper when she doesn’t respond. My heart races, though not in a steady rhythm. But when she lowers her gaze, her green eyes finding mine, it steadies and slows. It’s lost without her.

  Addison nods, a small nod of recognition, but the hesitancy is still there. Her slender fingers pull at my shirt and I help her, leaning back and pulling it off. Then I remove hers, and move lower. We strip each other slowly, each movement met with the sound of our breathing. Kisses in between each garment being tossed to the floor, each turning more desperate, more breathy. More.

  And when I finally slip my fingers between her folds, she’s soaking wet with need and rocks her hot pussy into my hand. Her eyes are still closed as she rides my palm and my thumb presses against her clit. Groaning against her throat, I grab my dick and push myself inside of her until I can let go and grab her hips as I fill her tight cunt.

  Sucking in a breath, her fingers move to my shoulders, her blunt nails digging into my flesh.

  Her wide eyes meet mine and I’m entranced.

  Every thrust up, I dig my fingers deeper into her shoulder. My abs burn as I fuck her like this over and over, as deep as I can while I stare into her eyes.

  The need to kiss her is all-consuming. But I can’t break her gaze either.

  Her lips part just slightly as her pussy flutters and then spasms on my dick. My name slips from her lips as a strangled moan. And it’s only when she shudders and an orgasm rips through her that she breaks my gaze. She falls forward in my arms as I keep up my pace, riding through her climax.

  I kiss her shoulder, her neck, her hair, every bit of her ravenously, worshipping her as she grips on to me for dear life.

  My release comes in a wave so strong, I’m not ready. I’m not at all ready for this to end. But I swear I hear her whisper against my skin, her hot breath sending a chill down my spine as the intense pleasure rocks through me. I swear I hear her whisper as her lips graze my neck.

  I love you.

  My arms wrap around her and I don’t move; I don’t let her move either. I can’t say the words back. And I don’t know if she’ll say them again. But I swear I heard them.

  I swear I heard her say those words to me.

  To me.

  Chapter 19

  Addison

  Daniel Cross is my boyfriend.

  How high school. But still …

  That’s all I sent to Rae this week. I’m used to giving her long descriptions of where I’m going next. It’s all I’ve ever considered and she loves to hear stories of what new places are like. But this town brought me Daniel and I don’t want to share a ton of details. He’s mine.

  A snicker makes me lean back from the laptop as I read Rae’s response to my email.

  How big is his dick? is her opening line. Leave it to Rae to relieve the tension.

  I’ve been worried about what she’s going to say. And knowing that she isn’t judging me makes everything so much easier to accept. She even said, As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.

  That’s all I wanted. As I click out of the email, ready to close the laptop, I see my subject line again. Daniel Cross is my boyfriend.

  I cover my smile with my hand as I pull my heels up onto the sofa. With my pillow snuggled up close to me, I’m in for a night of binge-watching housewives and reality television.

  But I couldn’t really care less about any of that. I can’t get into a show to save my life— or work, for that matter. All I keep thinking is that Daniel wants to be … mine.

  It’s been over a week and that’s still the case. Nights of hanging out, watching TV or looking over photographs I’ve taken. It’s almost normal.

  Those stupid butterflies in my stomach won’t quit and it makes me feel childish and giddy. But even in the eye of the storm that surrounds us, I want him and he wants me.

  That should be all that matters, right?

  As I reach for my glass of wine sitting on the coffee table,
I can’t help but feel like the bottom is going to fall out from under us. Like there’s something waiting on the edge of all this. I can feel it with everything in me.

  Life doesn’t work like this. You don’t get what you want simply by asking for it.

  I swallow a sip of the wine and the sweetness I was feeling only a moment ago tastes bitter with the last thought.

  Daniel feels like everything. Like there was nothing before him even though I’m fully aware there was. There’s no way with our history that there will be more between us, no matter what he says and how well we play house together. There won’t be any family dinners with his brothers or any sense of normalcy in that respect.

  No matter how much I wish that were the case.

  Every day I’m waiting for Daniel to tell me he was wrong and it’s over. Or that he’s ready to go home and that I’m not welcome there. I like to think that my guard is up and that it won’t hurt when he does it. But each day that passes is another crack in that armor.

  He fucks me like he owns me. He holds me at night so tight; like if he lets go, he’ll lose me forever.

  And he kisses me like he’s dying for the air I breathe.

  We don’t talk about the one thing that plagues me. About how we’re supposed to just ignore our past. He thinks we’ve said enough, but if that were the case, I would be able to sleep without the memories haunting me.

  It’s hard to explain how I feel. I want to be happy and grateful. But it’s obvious I’m being naïve. This is too good and I know good things always come to an end.

  “You want anything while I’m out?” Daniel asks, interrupting my thoughts as he steps out of the hall to the bedroom and strides toward me. It’s odd seeing him in my apartment still. I’m more used to his place, but tonight he’ll be gone for a while and I need the space.

  The fresh smell of his body wash follows him into the room and I find myself humming in agreement although I didn’t quite hear him. He’s too distracting when he’s dressed like this. Black jeans and a crisp white button-up with one sleeve already rolled up while he works on rolling the other. Freshly shaven with his high cheekbones and strong jaw on display, it almost makes me wish he was always cleanly shaven. But that stubble …