Running Into Love - The Complete Box Set

by Annalisa Nicole

  On my way into the office, I drive by Savvy’s condo to see if the brown Chevy is hanging around. No brown Chevy and there doesn’t seem to be anything out of place, so I head to work. I park in the underground garage and take the elevator to my floor. The second I get in my office, even before I can put my briefcase on my desk, Asher comes in.

  “Knock knock. Do you have a minute?” he asks, knocking a knuckle on my door.

  “I always have a minute,” I tell him.

  “Please tell me you’re good for more than just one minute?” Asher asks with a smirk.

  “Dude, we’re at work. And I can go all night long,” I tell him.

  “In your dreams,” he says smugly.

  “Is there a reason you’re bugging me at nine in the morning?” I ask.

  “This merger with Stran Corp. isn’t going well. We have some major issues and I think you’re going to have to take a trip to Chicago to iron them all out,” he says.

  About a month ago, Asher put in an offer to buy Stran Corp. The deal was accepted, but some of the contingencies aren’t being met.

  “This isn’t a good time for me to be leaving. Can you send Ava?” I ask.

  Ava recently joined Wellington Corp. after leaving a prestigious law firm. I’m actually relieved she’s here, she’s been a huge help.

  “This is more in the area of your expertise than hers,” he replies. I’ve always been a corporate lawyer, where Ava has more general experience. “Is this about Savvy? How’s she doing?” he asks.

  I start pulling out files from my briefcase, then stop and look at him.

  “Why does it take women so long to see what we see?” I ask.

  “Man, your guess is as good as mine. I’m with you. You know it when you feel it,” he says, patting his chest.

  I honestly didn’t believe that until that night at the bar.

  “She’s got a lot of issues to work out. She’s been staying at my house for the past few days. Have you heard anything from Max about Reno?” I ask him.

  “I haven’t heard anything, but no news is good news, right? Look, don’t worry about going to Chicago. I’ll see what we can do from here, and if I have to, I’ll send Ava. You take care of what you need to take care of. You need anything, you ask. Call Max, see if he’s got any news for you,” he says, and leaves my office.

  I take my cell phone out of my briefcase and call Max.

  “Yo,” he answers.

  “Do you have any news for me?” I ask him.

  “I’ve got it under control. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Keep Savvy with you at your house until you hear otherwise,” he says and hangs up.

  I sit down in my chair. Two seconds later, Ava walks into my office. “Oh for crying out loud,” I say and stand.

  “Sit down. Don’t get your panties in a wad. I want to talk to you about something from last night,” she says, and takes a seat in a chair across from my desk.

  “What happened last night?” I ask concerned, sitting down.

  “It’s not exactly what happened, but something Savvy said,” she says.

  “Go on,” I push.

  “She said that she’s not like us and that she’s last week’s trash. We tried to set her straight, but I think she has some pretty deep emotional scars and I think you need to be gentle with her heart. I can see by the look on your face that you see the same thing I see,” she says.

  “You don’t have a clue what I see,” I say angrily.

  “Panties. Bunch. Chill. I was going to say, that for her to put that smile on your face and that same love in your eyes that I feel for Jax, that she’s priceless. She’s not trash and I’m happy for you both,” she says.

  “I know it’s only been a few days, but really, she’s been a part of this family since Chloe introduced all of us. If I have it my way, I plan on showing her for the rest of my life just how priceless she is,” I tell her.

  “I honestly believe you’ll make that happen,” she says, winks, then leaves my office.

  I work through lunch to make sure I get all of my work done and leave at four forty-five. I pull up to the spot where I dropped Savvy off this morning and she’s sitting on a bench with her nose buried in a book. I open my door and step out of the car. The noise from the door opening gets her attention. Her face comes up and lights my world. She smiles, packs her messenger bag, and walks to the car.

  We both get in at the same time and an idea hits me as I drive off.

  “Do you have to work at the bar tonight?” I ask.

  “No, I don’t have to work until Friday night,” she answers.

  “Do you have homework you need to do?” I ask.

  “I always have homework to do, but it won’t take that long. Why?” she asks.

  “Have you ever been to a drive-in?” I ask, getting on the freeway.

  “Is that like a drive thru? Like for dinner?” she asks innocently.

  Again, I can’t help it, I laugh. She’s like a baby just learning to walk. The things that come out of her mouth light my belly on fire.

  “Are you laughing at me again? Man, I’m sure glad someone finds what I say funny,” she says, laughing at herself.

  “A drive-in, as in drive-in movie theater,” I explain, trying not to laugh too hard.

  “Get out! They still have those?” she says, pushing my arm excitedly.

  “They do, it starts at eight. My mom and dad used to pile all of us kids in the family Suburban on a Friday night with pillows and blankets. My mom would pop popcorn; we’d all sprawl out all over each other. Asher, Adrian and I, used to take bets on which one of our sisters would fall asleep first. Without fail it would be Ava, every single time,” I tell her with a chuckle.

  “That sounds like fun, I’ve never been. To be clear though, isn’t there a type of restaurant also called a drive-in where you pull your car up to a parking spot and order food from a board or from a person on roller-skates, you order your food, and they bring it to your car?” she asks.

  “Yes, they do, and I suppose they are called the same thing. You’ve never been to Dick’s?” I ask.

  “Nope, can’t say that I have,” she says, popping a piece of gum into her mouth.

  “Alright, we’ll do both. Two drive-ins in one night,” I say with a smile.

  “Goodie!” she says, clapping her hands, and chomping on her gum.

  I pull into Dick’s and park the car. I order us a double order of cheeseburgers, fries, and milkshakes, something Dick’s is famous for.

  While we wait for our food I ask, “What’s one thing you’ve always wanted as a little girl, but could never have?”

  She thinks about it for a few minutes, then answers, “I always wanted a puppy. Aunt Molly told me she was allergic to dogs. I think it was a big fat lie, just like her ass, big and fat,” she says, holding her arms out wide. “She would never have allowed me to have one, probably because it’s something that would have made me happy. I must have peed in her Cheerios when I first moved in or something. I don’t know what I ever did to her to make her hate me,” she says, like it’s nothing. Our food is delivered, Savvy digs right in eating and eats every last bite.

  I drive to the drive-in theater and pick the 1976 classic, The Legend of Bigfoot. I pull into our spot and to make her experience complete, I get popcorn and drinks.

  The movie is almost over and I feel like a teenager taking out a date for the first time. We both reach in the bottom of the popcorn bucket at the same time, our fingers touch, and then our eyes meet. Yep, I totally feel like a teenager again. I take the popcorn and set it in the back. Her eyes sparkle in the dim light from the movie. I inch closer to her lips; they touch with the gentlest of touches. They’re salty from the popcorn and form perfectly to mine. I thread my left hand in her hair, her mouth opens, an invitation. My tongue dances with hers in a slow, warm, tangled kiss. I break the kiss, start the car, and drive home, my pants a little tighter than comfortable.

  I pull in the garage, open her car door
and take her hand. I take her purse from her and set it on the coffee table along with my suit jacket, then guide her to the bedroom. I stop just inside the doorway. She presses her body and her face to my back, then she wraps her arms around my chest. I cover her hands with my own. I love the way her body feels on mine. I turn around in her hold. She tips her chin up and rolls up on her toes. She cocks her head to the side, then smiles a crooked smile. I smile back at her, put both my hands on the sides of her face and kiss her. I’ve kissed my fair share of women, but Savvy’s lips feel like they were made just for me. I take a step backward and then another toward my bed. I sit on the bed. She straddles my lap, grabs the hem of her shirt and pulls it off over her head. She’s wearing another orange bra, this one neon orange. Looking in her eyes, I reach behind her back, unhook her bra, and toss it to the floor.

  She loosens the knot in my tie and slowly pulls it through. She wraps the ends around her hands and pulls me close, kissing my lips. Letting go of one end, she slowly runs the silk fabric across the back of my neck then tosses it to the floor. Her lips come to mine again; her fingers go to the top button of my dress shirt, she unbuttons one button, then another, each slow and torturous. She untucks my shirt from my pants one side at a time, grinding her ass in my lap. She runs her hands up my chest, under my shirt, up and over my shoulders pushing my shirt behind my body. She sits up on her knees and watches as she pulls it down the back of my arms. I bring my wrists between us; unhook my cuff links and the buttons, removing my shirt completely. I reach for the button on her pants, unbutton and unzip them, exposing the top of her lacy neon orange panties. I run my finger just under the delicate fabric and she exhales a sigh. She grabs the bottom of my t-shirt and pulls it over my head. Slightly bending, her lips come to the center of my chest. She kisses up and over to my collar bone. Her tongue trails on the top of my shoulder, up my neck, then over to my jaw and into my mouth. Lying down, I take her with me, never breaking our kiss. My hands trail down the exposed skin of her back, under her panties, then down her legs. Her hips grind into mine, her hand comes to my face, her hair cascades down the side of her head.

  She trails short kisses down my jaw, down my throat, then down the midline of my chest. When she reaches my pants, her hands come to my belt and zipper. I lift my hips as she pulls down my pants and boxers. She comes back to my face, and kisses my lips.

  I turn her over and remove her pants and panties completely. There she is, lying in my bed, open and beautiful, just for me. I kiss her as she writhes and grabs at my back. Her hands go to the back of my neck, massaging, running through my hair. I nose her chin up and kiss down the side of her neck.

  “Aiden,” she whispers.

  I take a nipple in my mouth and she sighs. I knead her breast and suck hard, then lick her smooth skin. I run my hand down her stomach, splaying it flat, then around her waist, down her ass and down her thigh. She’s so on fire, she can’t keep still. She’s panting in desperate anticipation. Coming up the front of her thigh, I find her wet. I rub her sweet little nub in small circles.

  “Oh, Aiden,” she whispers.

  I position myself over her and rub my tip on her entrance.

  “Yes,” she whispers, pushing her hips up to meet me.

  “You’re so beautiful,” I tell her.

  She whimpers. Slowly I push inside an inch, then back out half an inch.

  “Uh,” she sighs in protest, pushing her hips up again. I push halfway inside her. God, she feels so perfect. I pull half way out; her lips come to my ear, her hot breath exhales in my ear wanting more. “Please, Alden,” she begs. Quickly I enter her, rooting myself deep inside her. “Yes!” she screams, meeting me thrust for thrust.

  Her hand slaps on the mattress, then she pulls my hips in with every inward thrust, harder and harder. Her fingertips dig in my ass cheeks.

  “You feel so damn good,” I tell her.

  Her fingernails rake up my back. I bury my face in her neck and lick up her jaw. I lift my chest off hers so I can see her. I need to see her. I need to see what I do to her, because I know what she’s doing to me. Her face is filled with pleasure, mouth slightly open, panting. She grabs her breasts, massaging them hard as she raises her hips to meet mine. Her panting starts to get quicker as she builds and comes closer to her release.

  “Aiden,” she moans, removing her hands, fisting them in the sheets.

  I take a nipple in my mouth and gently roll it between my teeth, then lick softly. I go to the other nipple as her insides convulse and she moans with an explosive orgasm.

  I remove myself all the way to the tip, then thrust back inside, once . . . twice . . . the third I root myself all the way and come, whispering her name. She pulls me in tight as I throb inside her. She gently places a kiss on the top of my shoulder. I look in her eyes, then kiss her on the lips.

  “I better get cleaned up,” she says.

  I roll to the side and let her up, but grab her hand before she leaves. She turns and looks at me with a smile. She leans back down and kisses me on the lips, then I watch her perfect, sexy ass walk to the bathroom and close the door.

  Savvy

  What did I just do? I can’t let this happen. How can something that feels so right be something that I can’t have? I’m no good for Aiden. I’m trash. It’s fun to pretend, but that just crossed over the line. ‘I can dream, can’t I?’ It’s mechanical, it’s mental, sometimes it’s physical, but it never means anything. Usually afterward I zip my pants, or theirs, and I go home. And definitely always with a condom! It’s never been emotional. What just happened out there was indescribable. It felt right, and perfect, and I want to go back out there and do it again. I need to go home. I need to get as far away from Aiden as I can. He deserves so much better than me. The zoo, the family, dinner, the movie, those are things that happen to other people. Every time I let myself think that those types of things can happen to me, I end up literally losing my shirt. It’s not even the clothes, or the things that I lose that gets me. This time, it’s my heart that’s at stake. I’ve guarded my heart since I was ten. I can’t give that to anyone ever again. It died with my mother, that’s what I told myself. Slowly over the last few days I’ve felt it come alive. This can’t happen. It needs to stop.

  I start to pace Aiden’s bathroom. I see my toothbrush in his holder and my things on his counter. All reminders that I’ve let this go too far. Shit, I don’t have any clothes in here. I look at the towel hanging on the rack, then at the window to my left. I could sneak out the window and just disappear. I can get a new place and a new job. That will protect Aiden from me.

  I roll my eyes at myself. What good will that do? I still have school; my scholarship is only for that school. I’m not letting anything stand in the way of that. Besides that, Aiden knows where I go to school. I bite my thumbnail and try to come up with another plan. I turn around to pace back toward the door, when my heart jumps out of my chest.

  “Is everything alright in there?” Aiden asks, gently knocking on the door.

  “Uh, yeah, I’ll be out in a minute,” I tell him.

  Now what do I do? I use the bathroom, then wash my hands. I crack the door open to look for Aiden. He’s lying in bed, the sheet covering him from the waist down. He has my side of the bed sheets pulled back; he smiles that killer smile at me that melts my reserve every time, then he pats the mattress next to him.

  “Come to bed, baby,” he says in a husky voice.

  ‘I can dream, can’t I?’ Those words roll through my thoughts pulling me so easily back into my fairytale. I find my feet taking one step in front of the other to his bed. I put one knee on the mattress, then the other, and lay down next to him. The heat from his chest on my back feels incredible. How can this be wrong? He covers me with the sheet, then pulls my hair to the side, tucking it between us. He places a soft, warm kiss on the center of my neck, leaving his lips lingering there. He trails down to my shoulder, then brushes them back and forth. He places one more soft kiss on the to
p of my shoulder, then lays his head down on his pillow.

  I squeeze my eyes closed hard. I’m such an easy fool. Aiden squeezes me tight to his body, then wraps his arm around my chest. I kiss his wrist, and within five minutes his warm, even breath is steady on my neck. He has a slight snore with every inhale, but even that is comforting.

  I lay for hours going over all the reasons I shouldn’t be in this bed with this amazing man. I can list a million reasons, all of them a reflection on me. I’m damaged, broken, tainted goods. There’s only one reason why I should be here, the one that keeps playing over and over in my brain. I’ve always been the dreamer, always thinking that my Prince Charming will show up one day and whisk me away to my happily ever after. I’m thirty-five years old, if it hasn’t happened yet, it never will. ‘I can dream, can’t I?’ It will always just be a dream.

  As I count the million reasons why I’m just not good enough, still I find myself threading my fingers in Aiden’s hand as he sleeps.

  I must have fallen asleep; there is soft, scratchy stubble around smooth, warm lips running up and down the top of my arm. I open my eyes and see my fingers still threaded in Aiden’s.

  “Good morning, beautiful,” he says with a kiss.

  It was as physical as any beating I’ve ever taken from a man. It was a compliment, but felt more like the most painful lie I could ever tell myself. It was so painful I couldn’t control the whimper that escaped my lips. I need to tell him now, before I lose my confidence and start listening to the delusional, whispering fantasy of my inner child.

  “Aiden,” I start.

  “Do you have class this morning?” he asks.

  “No, but Aiden, I need to . . .”

  “Good, I thought we could pick up a quick bite to eat, then head up to Mt. Rainier. Amelia and Kyle love it up there, and go hiking all the time,” he says.

  “I don’t have hiking stuff. Besides, I should . . .” I start to say.

  “You don’t need hiking stuff. There are trails for everyone. Have you ever been to Mt. Rainier?” he asks, looking at me with a smile.