by Kimi Flores
She whimpered before moaning his name, “Oh, Stefen.”
Then something shifted in the air. There was an energy in the room that didn't belong.
“Stefen is not the type to settle down. He won't be faithful to you. He doesn't know how.”
As he covered her body with his own, Leah peeked over Stefen's broad shoulder to see where that toxic voice was coming from. Leah knew exactly who it belonged to, but she couldn't see anyone.
“He'll come crawling back. You'll see. He always comes back to me.”
Then she did see.
Lisa was standing in the doorway, wearing an outfit that could only be found in a Hookers-R-Us catalog, see-through clear acrylic high-heels and all. Her bleach blond hair flowed down her back as she turned and walked away.
“She's right.” Stefen lifted his head as he smirked down at her. “I won’t be faithful.”
Feeling herself being shaken, she heard, “Leah, wake up.” Her tear-filled eyes opened to find the man of her dreams—and now nightmares—above her. “Are you okay?” Panic filled Stefen’s voice.
“Oh shit.” She placed her hand on her hammering heart as she jolted up, forcing him to move back. “It was just a dream,” she spoke softly. Closing her eyes, she wiped away her tears.
He lifted his hand then put it back down, seeming to fight the urge to touch her. “What were you dreaming about? I heard you moaning my name, then when I came in, you screamed for me to get off of you.” Clearly, he was shaken.
Inhaling deep calming breaths, she said, “I'm okay now.” Her skin was instantly on fire when she grasped that he'd ran into her room only wearing underwear and was now straddling her shins.
There went her pounding heart again— for entirely different reasons this time.
“Do you want me to stay?” He leaned in close. They’d agreed to continue to sleep in separate rooms until their relationship became physical. It was Stefen’s idea, and Leah had been so thankful for his consideration.
She reached to pat his chest, then regretted it once her palm touched his skin. “No. I’m fine. I need to go back to sleep, and you have to go.” Pulling the blanket over her tank top, all she really wanted to do was throw it on him so she wouldn't be tortured by his impeccable half-naked body.
“You scared the shit out of me.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Can I please stay with you?” he pleaded.
Staring at his bare chest, she closed her eyes. “Fine, but you have to go get dressed. You can't sleep next to me only wearing that.” She pointed to his nicely fitted underwear.
A smile slowly crept up on his face. “I'll be right back.” He leaped off her legs and trotted down the hall.
Leah groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. There was no way she’d be able to fall asleep next to him after that dream.
The room was dark, but she knew when Stefen returned that he was sporting his blue plaid pajama pants. Her favorite pajama bottoms.
“Better?” He motioned to the pants.
“No, go put on a shirt, too.” She pointed her index finger at his chest.
“But I'm really hot,” he complained.
She grunted, then flicked her wrist at him. “I know you are, that’s why I need you to put on a freaking shirt!”
Hope sparked to life on his face, and she sighed. “Maybe you should just sleep in your room.”
“No.” His shoulders slumped, that hope completely gone. “I’ll go put on a shirt.” He ran out of the room again, almost falling as he turned the corner. Catching himself, he grabbed onto the doorframe and pulled himself up. “Be right back.”
Leah ran her sweaty palm on her thighs, and it dawned on her what she'd worn to bed. Jumping up, she pulled on a pair of yoga pants and a sports bra under her lacy tank top, then she scooted back into her warm bed before he returned.
“Do you mind if I open the slider a little?” He pointed to the glass door attached to her balcony.
“Stefen, it's December in Santa Barbara. It’s freezing.” Maybe that was what she needed, though, because her body was about to combust.
Lowering his chin, he grumbled, “Please, Leah. I'm from Chicago. This is not cold.”
She could see his disapproving scowl in the dimly-lit room. Shivers traveled down her back, then her eyes landed on his lips. Damn. Those lips. She could see their outline even in the darkness of her room.
“Fine,” she gave in. “Can we just go to sleep? I’m exhausted.” Pulling the covers over her shoulders, she watched him move the thick drapery they'd picked out together. He opened the sliding door just a crack, then turned and busted her ogling him.
She threw her head back onto her pillow and stared up at the ceiling. This night is never going to end. Maybe I’ll move to the other guest room once he falls asleep.
Rounding the bed, Stefen pulled the blankets down and scanned Leah's completely covered body before climbing in. After placing a pillow between them, Leah turned her back with a huff.
“Can I ask you a question?” His deep voice vibrated through the room.
“Uh huh.” Chewing her lip, she dreaded what he was going to ask.
“Were you having a naughty dream about me?” It sounded like he stopped breathing, but she couldn’t really tell if it was him, or just her.
“Goodnight, Stefen,” she sing-songed.
Concern coated his voice as he asked, “What happened? You seemed so upset.”
She was beyond self-conscious. This was the man she loved and wanted to spend the rest of her life with, but she’d never had a sex dream before. And she’d certainly never talked about it with her co-star.
As bold as she was in other areas of her life, she was, without a doubt, very shy when it came to things of a sexual nature. But if she planned on sharing her life with Stefen—a man who oozed sensuality—then she’d have to get over this.
Not tonight.
Plus, she was still a bit shaken over the part that Lisa played when her fantasy turned into a nightmare. “Can we talk about it later?” Biting her lip, with her back still facing him, Leah hoped he wouldn’t push her further.
“I'm not trying to embarrass you, amor. I'm just wondering why you were yelling at me to get off of you. Did I hurt you?” His hand lightly touched her arm.
He was worried if he'd hurt her in a dream?
She finally turned toward him. Bringing her arm up, she bent her elbow and tucked her hand under her head. “It was only a nightmare. It doesn’t mean anything.”
He pulled the pillow away that separated them and moved closer. “Tell me. Did you dream that I hurt you?”
Huffing, she finally resigned, “I was dreaming that we were, you know,” she mumbled, “about to have sex, then Lisa showed up and said you would never be faithful to me. It just shook me up, that’s all.”
“Leah, I hope you don’t really believe that. I may be many things, but I’m not a cheater. You must have that somewhere in your subconscious if you dreamt it.” Running his hand up and down her arm, he said, “I would never do that to you.” In the dim room, she could barely make out his expression, but he looked hurt.
Leah brought her free hand up to his face, caressing all of his worry lines and smoothing out his eyebrows. “I know you won’t.”
In an attempt to lighten the mood, she explained some of her other nightmares. “I've dreamt about zombie shark people and vampire cats before. It doesn't mean they’re living in my subconscious. It just meant that I ate too much chocolate before bed.”
The bed rustled as he scooted closer, caressing her face. “I know you’re a master at redirecting conversations, but I want to make sure we’re okay. You’ve never put on a suit of armor or asked me to get fully clothed before when we lay next to each other. I swear I’m not going to make any moves. I’m leaving that ball in your court.”
“We're fine. Really.” Unsure if he could see her reassuring smile, Leah leaned up and kissed his lips. As she pulled away, he held her face with both hands.
&nb
sp; “Leah, I'm serious. I would never hurt you, and I’d beat the shit out of anyone who tried.”
“I know.” She kissed him once more before turning and nestling her back on his chest. “I have to get some sleep since I’m working the McCormick wedding in the morning before we meet up with everyone for lunch.”
Stefen wrapped his arm around her stomach and nuzzled his chin into her neck. “You know, even though we aren’t actually having sex, there’s no shame in dreaming about it.” She didn’t need to look at his face to know that he was smiling. “I fantasize about you every night,” he growled. “Pleasant dreams, mi amor.”
With all eyes on them, Stefen pulled Leah’s chair away from the table before sitting beside her. He leaned in and whispered, “I think everyone is still trying to adjust to seeing us together, now that we explained that we aren’t engaged.” He kissed her temple. Although they seemed fine after her dream last night, Leah looked a little lost.
“Look, Mama and Daddy, I told you that Uncle Stefen was going to marry Auntie Leah,” Madison blurted out from the opposite side of the table.
Smiling up at his favorite little girl, Stefen said, “Not yet, squirt. But you’ll be the first to know when that happens.” He winked at Madison, and she rewarded him with a gap-toothed grin.
Stefen caught his girlfriend eyeing her sister at the other end of the table, and he silently questioned what was going on. Both Dani and Bri had come into town that morning and asked that the family get together for a late lunch.
After helping Leah with her wedding that morning, she and Stefen rushed off to make it on time to the restaurant. The couple hoped their sisters were here to tell them what they’d wanted to hear for a while.
Caleb, Abby, Stefen, Leah, and Madison all sat and watched as Bri made an announcement. “So as you all know, Dani and I have talked about becoming roomies and finding a place here in town. Well, when we visited during Thanksgiving, we snuck out and looked at a few places and signed a lease not too far from Leah and Stefen’s. The movers came this morning, and,” both Dani and Bri stood up, looking at each other before squealing, “we are now officially Santa Barbarians.”
Excited energy filled the table as everyone responded simultaneously.
“Are you serious?”
“I can’t believe it!”
“Why did you keep this a secret?”
The girls sat back down and Bri told them, “It seemed like a good move, and to be near all of you is a dream come true. But we wanted to have the wiggle room to back out last minute without any of you giving us shit.” Although Madison was sitting next to her, Bri had apparently forgotten there was an impressionable child at the table.
With her mouth gaped open, Madison pointed at Bri. “Ooooo, you said a bad word, Auntie Bri.”
Bri cringed, then kissed the tip of the finger pointing accusingly at her. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. That was a very adult word to say in front of you.”
Madison wiggled her shoulders and settled into her chair. “That’s okay. My daddy says that word, too.”
Caleb squeezed his giggly daughter. “Way to throw your old man under the bus, pumpkin.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Leah asked.
His Leah. Always the first to offer her help. Damn, he loved that woman and her generous heart.
Dani spoke up, using her thumb to point at Bri. “Apparently, girlfriend here doesn’t know anything about hiring some homeboys down at the local lumberyard to help out, so she paid for professional movers to bring our stuff up the stairs.”
Bri snickered and smacked Dani on the shoulder. Dani laughed before she continued, “We could use some help hanging pictures and that kind of stuff. Do you guys want to go see it after we eat?”
The entire group nodded, so they made plans to head to the new condo after they left the restaurant.
Stefen and Dani had a lot of fun teasing each other, but he’d noticed that she seemed to carry a lot of stress. He was happy that both sisters were here getting the fresh start he’d just experienced.
Stefen looked at his caller ID as his phone vibrated in his pocket. Steps In Time’s flashed across the screen. It was the dance studio where Leah taught.
That was odd. He’d call them back later.
Right now, he was going to enjoy the fact that his closest family members, as well as his girl were all sitting and enjoying their time together, chattering about the future they were all going to share, in the same town.
They’d just finished eating, and Leah had already given Dani a hard time about keeping her out of the loop. Having her favorite sister living so close was going to be great. And she looked forward to getting to know Bri even more.
Stefen excused himself to make a call, triggering her insecurities once more. She really wanted to believe that he would be faithful, but there was that lingering feeling that he could easily find another girl.
Bri and Dani left for the restroom with Madison when Abby placed her hand on top of Leah’s, “You ok, sweetie?”
Caleb rubbed Abby’s back, seeming to wonder if he had a place in this conversation. Leah loved Caleb like a brother, and he was welcome in any conversation they had, but she wondered if his loyalty to Stefen would cloud his opinion.
She looked down somberly at Abby and her hands. “I’ve just been thinking. Stefen’s changed so much since he’s been here, but there’s a little voice nagging me, wondering if he could fall back into old habits. I don’t think he will, but I can’t help but wonder every time he walks away from me on a phone call.”
Caleb spoke up, giving her reassuring smile. “Leah, you know how happy I’ve been about the changes he’s made, but to be honest, he didn’t change because of what happened. He seemed different when I dropped him off at the airport, after he’d spend all those weeks with you. This isn’t a new thing. He loves you. Trust me. I’ve never seen him like this before.”
Even if Leah thought Caleb was full of crap, the adoring look Abby gave him would have convinced Leah otherwise. She trusted Caleb. Now all she had to do was learn to trust the one that held her heart.
Leah enjoyed spending her days off, relaxing with Stefen. They’d slept in again today and had a late lunch in bed. He sat with his back to her, yelling at the TV while slapping his palms down on the mattress.
His favorite hockey team was playing in the live telecast game. She didn’t get the whole love of sports thing, but was thankful that this was the only one he followed. He joked with her saying that one of the benefits of living in California was that he got to watch his games at an earlier hour than in Chicago.
Abby had to endure the same torture with Caleb this time of year. Then again, she’d learned to love it herself after going to a live game.
Sitting with her back against the headboard, she had to admit it was pretty hot watching a shirtless Stefen get all riled up over a bunch of padded-up guys, hitting a little disk around on the ice. She could see why girls liked hockey guys.
The timing was perfect for her to catch up on her bookkeeping. The last few months, she’d been so busy spending time with Stefen, helping their sisters settle into their new condo, teaching her weekly dance class, and planning Abby’s upcoming baby shower that her accounting had suffered.
Thankfully, Melissa was a wiz with numbers and helped with payroll, billing clients, and all the other financial matters Leah was too distracted to deal with. She relied so much on Melissa, she wanted to find a way to properly thank her. She’d even thought about letting Melissa move into her apartment with her son, since Leah was at Stefen’s pretty permanently now.
Grumbling, she opened up her laptop and started working on the accounting program. She had just realized some of the papers she needed were at the shop. Dammit. Without that information, none of the other numbers would make sense.
“Man, I have to go into the store to get some paperwork,” she whined, closing the laptop. Setting it on her nightstand, she scooted down to lay her head on the pillow.
Too sucked into the game, Stefen quickly glanced down at her. “What’d you say?”
Sticking her bottom lip out, she grumbled, “I don’t want to go to the shop, but these numbers aren’t working out. I can run there and back while you’re watching the game.” She said it but didn’t want to leave the comfort of her cozy jammies, or the bed that occupied her gorgeous boyfriend.
A commercial came on, freeing him to give her his full attention. Nestling his chest between her thighs, he laid his chin on her belly. “It’s the third quarter and my guys are winning. If you give me about another half hour, we can go for a walk, then bring the girls some dinner before they close the store. I can help you with your numbers later.”
Wow, he paid attention to what I said, even with his game on.
“It’s too cold to go for a walk,” she pouted.
He sighed, shaking his head. “Too cold? Leah, its sixty-two degrees. That’s not cold.”
Pursing her lips, she scrunched up her forehead. “That’s freezing.”
Taking his time, he gently touched every centimeter of her exposed skin with his fingertips, driving her mad with desire as he inched up her body. She trembled when he glanced up with a knowing look and a mischievous smirk.
“Games back on,” he said. He had the nerve to wink before giving her a peck on the lips and turning back to the TV.
She let out a cry of frustration. Damn sexy jerk! He knew exactly what he did to her.
Throwing the blankets off, she dragged herself into the bathroom. “I’ll get ready for our icy walk while you finish the game.”
True to his word, the game ended within thirty-minutes. He put on his running shorts while she bundled up in a hoody and thick cotton pants before they headed out.
Leah crossed her arms, hugging herself for warmth as they strolled along the shoreline. “It’s so cold. How can you walk around in shorts?”
He smirked at her. “It’s not cold.” Stefen bent down and scooped up a handful of water. “But this is.” Then he tossed it at her.
