Where Promises Die: A Second Chance Romance

by R. C. Stephens

  Through ragged breaths, Grace nodded her head in affirmation, so he quickly got to work unbuckling his jeans and ridding himself of his shirt and boxers. On the bed, Grace flipped her dress over her head, revealing a simple white bra and panties. As Eisav’s gaze landed on her body his charcoal eyes turned liquid. Eisav licked his lips and shifted above her, claiming her lips again. His tongue dipped inside her mouth to taste and sweep, driving her senses wild. And wild she was, bucking her hips, needing friction. Eisav’s large hand landed on her breast as the pad of his thumb caressed her pert nipple, causing a sweet moan to leave her lips.

  The bra and panties were sexy as hell. She was his sweet Grace, but right now he needed her naked and beneath him. He worked quickly, unclasping her bra with one hand while lowering her panties with the other. He flung them both to the floor. When he looked back at her, he felt almost winded. Her long, chestnut hair sprawled across the bed. Emerald eyes sparkling with a heated glare. Fair skin running down her nape, perfection leading to a pair of the most succulent, full breasts he had ever seen. In fact, in this moment he thought naked Grace would make a perfect portrait. The way she was lying in front of him splayed, wanting, it was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen in his life. His dick was throbbing so hard he worried about hurting her. Then she licked her lips and a slow smile curved along her succulent mouth.

  “Stop looking at me like you want to devour me. You’re all talk and no action.” She grinned wide, purposely pressing his buttons. “You’re acting as if you’ve never seen me naked before.” She lifted a brow.

  He chuckled deep and throaty. “I haven’t seen you since you’ve grown into a woman’s body. I’ve never seen anything like you before. You’re the most beautiful, exquisite woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

  A small blush crawled up her cheeks. “You don’t need to flatter me. I’m here and willing,” she said with a small smile.

  Eisav cupped her face lovingly. “I’m not sweet talking you, angel. You’ve literally taken my breath away, and if I’m being honest, you took my breath away a long time ago and never gave it back.” He paused after reciting an old poem he’d made a few adjustments to—a poem from a lifetime ago. He knew she would remember the words, the rhythm, the rhyme he’d created for her. She did. Her eyes swelled with tears as he kissed each cheek then moved to the corner of each eye.

  “Christ, Gracie … being here with you like this … I feel alive for the first time in a long time,” he confessed. All the anxiety and pent-up anger he had felt for so long melted away.

  “Kiss me now,” she demanded with a bout of laughter.

  And with that demand, he claimed his Grace’s lips, kissing her hard, knowing her lips would swell from the friction and loving the idea he was marking her. He moved just as hungrily, back down her collar, spreading kisses and licking as he traveled down to her navel, stopping for a moment to tease her as she let out soft moans. She ran her hands along his shoulders and whispered his name softly, almost as if she was convincing herself he was real. That this was real.

  He found her thighs, kissing and sucking on her inner leg as she trembled with need. He loved this look on her. As his tongue ran over the soft skin of her thigh, he looked at her wet pussy dripping and continued to nip and suck.

  “Eisav, please,” Grace begged, her voice low and thick.

  “What, Gracie? What do you want? Do you want me to make you come? Do you want me to run my tongue over your sweet little bundle of nerves?” he asked, turning her on further.

  She was ready to completely detonate. It had been a long time since she had sex. “Eisav …” she growled almost angrily, raking her hands in his hair.

  Eisav’s lips curved upward mischievously. He loved driving her wild, loved watching her vivacious hunger. His wild girl. He finally plunged his tongue inside her then flicked it along her clit, flattening his tongue to lick every inch. She was moaning loudly, bucking her hips like a wild bull. This was his Grace, wild and free. Not some modest, quiet person who obeyed. Not the girl he saw when he first returned home. She was hiding herself behind a façade. Behind his brother. She wasn’t truly behaving like herself. She wasn’t truly living.

  “Keep it down. My father may be dead, but we don’t need my sisters, mother, and brother knowing what’s going on in here,” he warned playfully.

  She nodded her head but could barely contain herself when Eisav inserted two fingers inside her, pumping her hard while licking her pussy. Her thighs began to quake and her insides clenched around him as he pumped hard and licked relentlessly. The loud noises coming from her mouth seemed ethereal.

  When she came down from her high and rode out her longest orgasm ever, Eisav continued to lick her. “I don’t think I can stop. I may be addicted to you right now,” he rasped.

  She looked down to him with adoring eyes and a sweet sated smile. “If I remember correctly, you will need some taking care of rather quickly.” She winked at his raging hard-on.

  “You remember well.” He bounced to his feet and made his way up the bed like an animal getting ready to catch its dinner. Grace laughed in anticipation. “Is your sweet little pussy ready for me?” he asked and then his smile fell.

  Grace frowned. “What is it?”

  “I don’t think I have any condoms on me. I mean I didn’t know what to expect when I returned home …” he murmured.

  Grace took in his defeated stance. Her eyes roamed over his body. Her hands ran over his inked skin. She let out a loud grown that sounded almost defeated.

  “Are you clean?” she asked.

  He was a little taken back. His brows creased together. “I haven’t been with anyone. I told you.” He paused, glaring, trying to understand what she was thinking.

  Grace seemed to contemplate his answer before she responded. “I’m on the pill,” she explained, causing his heart to sink. Why would she be on the pill if she hadn’t slept with his brother? He wasn’t going to get into that messy conversation now. Not when his cock was rock hard and practically throbbing between her legs.

  “Are you sure it’s okay?” he asked, needing her confirmation once more.

  Her eyes fell to his left shoulder inked in greens, reds, and blues. Her eyes worked their way down to his chest where above his heart written in black was Grace among all the color. Her breath hitched and her hand slowly floated up to touch his skin as she lightly ran her fingers over her name. She stared back at Eisav in a way that didn’t require words. It told him that he was the one, that he’d always been the one.

  “Make love to me,” she practically begged.

  With a request like that, no more words were needed. He claimed her lips as if she was the air he needed to breathe. In one swift movement, he sank inside her. She gasped at the full feeling of him.

  “Are you okay?” he asked while his lips pressed soft kisses along her neck. He moved slowly in and out of her, but he was having a hard time controlling the slow rhythm when all he wanted to do was sink in deeper and harder.

  “Yes,” she rasped, bringing her legs up and wrapping them around his back.

  “You feel so damn good,” he groaned, thrusting his hips so he was balls deep inside her. “I’m going to take you hard. I can’t take this,” he grunted through clenched teeth. He could be a gentle lover when he wanted to be, but he really liked fast, hard fucking. And from what he remembered so did she.

  She nodded her head and he picked up speed, thrusting so deep inside her he felt her inner walls tremble as she met him thrust for hungry thrust. This felt so good. Eisav picked up speed, pounding her hard into the bed. Her breasts bounced and his eyes turned molten as he gazed at her, groaning and moaning between ragged breaths. Her eyes flew shut, her head fell back, and her chin tilted upward. Eisav could feel her insides tighten, ready to come. He adjusted himself slightly so he could rub her clit with each thrust and BAM! she detonated like a fucking firecracker, setting him off on his own volcanic eruption. Grace cried out his name. Eisav groaned hers. Any
awareness of guests in the house had been thrown out the window. There was only Eisav and Grace, long-lost lovers reunited in lust but foremost LOVE.

  The two lovers spent most of the night awake, making love. As the sun rose, breaking the dawn, over another day in Sade, Iowa, they lay entangled in a peaceful sleep.

  A knock on the door caused Grace to shift a little in bed. As she pressed her behind into Eisav’s morning erection, a slow smile curved her lips. She needed to pinch herself to believe it wasn’t a dream.

  “Hey, you guys alive in there? It sure as hell sounded like it last night,” Ilana quipped as she continued to knock on Grace’s bedroom door. “Sorry to break up this shindig, but I was told we need to head out to the funeral early.” Ilana continued to knock. “Did you hear that love birds? Time to leave the nest.”

  “Eisav.” Grace rubbed her hand along the line of his jaw as she watched him in a peaceful rest. “We better get up. We have to get going.”

  Eisav murmured something, still half asleep. After the sex marathon last night, he must have needed the extra sleep. “I’ll stay behind and sleep.”

  Grace leaned in to press a kiss to his mouth. “We need to take a shower,” she chortled. “We smell of sex and sweat.”

  Eisav growled and grabbed her body so it was flush with his. “Just the way I like you. Let’s never leave this room.”

  Grace stared at him lovingly and ran her fingers through his hair, pressing her hips into his. “I love that idea, but right now I think we should join everyone at the funeral.” She let out a breath. Saying the word funeral made everything seem so final, and she still wasn’t sure how to feel about the man she had thought was just an adoptive father to her most of her life. Knowing he was flesh and blood now made her think of genetic links to him.

  “Grr. I’m not ready for this moment to end,” Eisav admitted, almost frustrated. “And neither are you.” Eisav’s gaze dropped to the sheets covering his body. Grace was grinding into him, making it clear she had something else in mind instead of a funeral.

  “Save your thoughts for after,” Grace encouraged. Her own resolve was waning.

  “Are you sure about that?” He cupped her behind and lifted her above him so she was spread on top of him.

  Grace grinned widely. “We have to make this quick.”

  “That’s my girl.” He swatted her behind as she sat on his morning erection. Then they made mad, passionate love for two minutes and thirty seconds.

  “I don’t think I’ll be able to walk straight today.” She burst out laughing. “I can barely feel my legs. Still, I think we need to make the effort to go. As much as I hated what Isaac did, I still feel a part of this family and I need to go for them.”

  Eisav grimaced. “You mean for Jacob. You want to go because Jacob actually looked up to the man.”

  Grace pursed her lips. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous. Yes, your brother has become a dear friend to me, but you know I’ve never felt that way about him. I thought last night made that clear.”

  Eisav rolled over, landing right on top of Grace, holding his hands in front of him to support himself. “You’re mine. And no, I’m not jealous, but I’m seriously pissed with my brother.”

  “Don’t. We all need to accept responsibility for what happened. Isaac had become completely crazed. We both knew that, and yet we took the risk of getting caught. If it hadn’t been your brother, it would have been something else. I believe that.”

  Eisav opened his mouth to speak.

  Grace placed a finger on his mouth to stop him. “Before you accuse me of defending him, I’ll tell you that I’m not. If you consider my words, you’ll see I’m right.”

  Eisav wouldn’t argue with her. Grace always got the last word. He pressed his lips to hers. “It doesn’t make me any less angry, but right now I’d rather kiss you than argue.”

  “We need to go,” Grace reminded him.

  They both got out of bed.

  “I’m going to grab some clothes.” Eisav swatted Grace’s behind then placed a soft kiss on her lips.

  The lovers parted to their separate rooms and that was when reality kicked in. It was so easy to fall into each other’s arms and bed all night. It was as if they were living in a parallel universe where they didn’t have to deal with reality. Now in the light of day, everything was seen from a different angle.

  Back in her room the world came crashing down on Grace. What had she done? Sleeping with Eisav wasn’t right or fair. Her stomach sank as she fell back on her bed, which now smelled of sex and Eisav. Her head was spinning. They should have spoken first, she should have told him the truth, she should not have rushed into sex, even though it was better than her memories of being with him.

  Grace forced herself from the bed by convincing herself that after the funeral she would take him to the forest and finally reveal her secret. She dressed in a black pencil skirt and a dark gray blouse to finish the outfit. Taking a quick glance in the mirror, her mood turned even more somber. A simple farm girl was looking back at her. When she arrived to Sade, she had been a fashionable city girl but that changed over the years. She wondered if Eisav knew the truth if he would still want the simple small-town girl she had become?

  She ran a brush through her long, wet hair and tied it up in a tight ponytail. Then she turned the knob to leave her room. As she passed Eisav’s room, he opened the door and met her gaze with a bright smile. He took her hand and led her down the stairs into the kitchen where Marie and Ilana were dressed, sitting at the table drinking coffee and eating toast.

  “Well, good morning, you two,” Ilana quipped with a bubbly voice, gazing between Eisav and Grace with a look that said I know what you two were up to last night.

  Eisav rolled his eyes at her and smiled. “Good morning to you too,” he said, playfully looking between Ilana and his sister. Ilana’s cheeks flushed.

  “Coffee?” he turned to ask Grace, who looked a little shy or unsure for some reason.

  She smiled. “Yes. Please.” She still wasn’t sure of Ilana, although she had the impression she was more into Marie than Eisav.

  Eisav made two coffees and buttered toast then brought the coffees and toast to the kitchen table and sat beside Grace, across from Ilana and Marie. Everyone remained eerily quiet. It was as if Marie was scared to say the wrong thing and Ilana too.

  “Well …” Marie finally backed her chair up. “I’ll give Mother a ride to the funeral.” Then she looked to Ilana. “You comin’ with me?” Ilana cleared her throat before giving Eisav and awkward glance.

  “Sure.”

  “See you there. We’ll cab it over,” Eisav replied to Marie then turned his gaze back to Grace as Jacob entered the kitchen with a look of pure dread.

  “I can give you a ride if you want,” Jacob offered, his voice sounding hoarse. His eyes had dark circles around them.

  Grace cringed, afraid that Jacob might have heard her in the throes of passion last night and this morning. Her attempts at being quiet were unsuccessful.

  “That would be great.” Eisav grinned and lifted Grace’s hand in his. Grace threw Jacob a worried look, hoping Eisav didn’t pick up on it.

  The funeral was quick with minimal guests. Not one of the children stood up to say the eulogy. Instead, the priest from St. Patrick’s church said a few words about redemption. Then the casket was lowered to the ground and Isaac was buried.

  It was a windy spring afternoon when Grace returned home from the funeral. Everything about this place and her life was wearing her down too quickly. All the lies she’d been told growing up. The way Dina, her only mother figure, had been cold and distant toward her when she needed a mother most had caused her to crave the love and closeness of family. It had been Eisav, who filled the gap in her heart, playing the role of friend, lover, and a shoulder to cry on. Now it was too easy for her to slip back into that pattern, and she wouldn’t allow herself to do it in fear of becoming dependent again. She had once upon a time depended on him for every
inch of her happiness and when he left, she was gutted to the core. It took her time to heal. She learned to find happiness in the small details of her life. Grace feared his rock-star status would shake the very roots of the stable life she had now planted.

  As she paced the kitchen, she stopped in front of the kettle to pour herself a cup of tea, hoping it would ease the tension building up inside her. It had been a tumultuous day watching the only father she knew being lowered into the ground. She had shed tears, but a numbness had set over her. Now that numbness slithered away and was replaced with sadness. She felt sorrow for herself as a young girl never feeling like she belonged. She felt anguish for the twisted turns her father’s life took. She believed him to be a good man that made bad choices. Choices that had cost his family dearly.

  With water boiling in the kettle, she took a mug from the cabinet and poured herself a cup of chamomile tea. She had gotten a ride back to the farm with Marie and Ilana while Eisav caught a ride with Jacob. She didn’t want to draw any attention from the few townspeople who did attend and knew of her engagement to Jacob. Eisav was expected to return any moment, and she promised herself she was going to tell him the truth today. If her father’s life and death were to have any meaning, then there was a lesson to be learned in the power of truth. Secrets only served to drown and ruin people. She didn’t want to head down the path her father had mistakenly took. With her cup of tea in hand, she took a seat at the kitchen table and waited.

  Grace was drowning, so deep in thought she hadn’t noticed Ilana enter the kitchen. “Oh hey, do you know when Eisav will be back? He isn’t answering his phone,” Ilana quipped.

  Grace blinked her eyes once before answering, “I’m not sure. He and Jacob left just after us. I assumed they’d be back by now.”

  Ilana smiled and Grace sensed her own tension.

  “Okay, I’ll just wait.” Ilana looked at the door in a possessive way while fidgeting with her phone. Grace wondered about her odd behavior.