Up All Night-nook

by Lyric James

  “You’re not your mother, Stella,” Harper said.

  She winced at the thought. All her life she’d done everything completely opposite from her mother. No kids at a young age, went to college, opened a business, stayed away from men. But what did that leave her? “We kinda had a fight about it. I got so angry I pushed away from him. I just wanted to get away, but when I did, I unintentionally flung myself down the damn steps.”

  They were quiet for a few minutes, watching her.

  “Stella, what’s wrong with having a relationship with Ian?” Violet asked.

  Incredulous, she gaped at her. “What do you mean? Ian doesn’t do relationships. He does women. Lots and lots of freaking women.”

  “Maybe because the one woman he wanted to have a relationship with kept pushing him away,” Dayna said quietly.

  Stella did not want to hear this. She glared at Dayna. She was supposed to be her friend. Why was she taking Ian’s side? They were supposed to be helping her man bash him.

  Dayna continued. “But you finally gave him an opportunity tonight, and he took a chance. He told you how he felt.”

  Her legs went weak, and she sat on the edge of the windowsill. “But…but that can’t be true. If he really wanted a relationship with me, wouldn’t he be here now instead of going back home?”

  Dayna rose, moved forward, and took her shoulders and shook her. “Because he thought it was his fault, Stella. His fault that you fell. He blamed himself. Over and over again he kept saying it. Now I know why. How do you think he feels? You wanted away from him so bad, you didn’t want a relationship with him so bad, you almost killed yourself trying to get away from him.”

  What Dayna said was like a sucker punch to the stomach. Covering her eyes, she knocked her head back against the window. “Shit.”

  All that time she spent avoiding relationships with men had warped her. In her mind, something clicked. It wasn’t that her mother couldn’t find a good man. Her mother always chose to pick the wrong man. She chose them, chose her behavior toward them, and allowed those relationships to poison her life.

  When she thought about it more clearly, Ian wasn’t like any of those men. Yes, he would never have to work a day in his life, but that didn’t mean he didn’t do anything with it. He helped parents. He helped kids. He taught computer classes, GED classes. And coached football and basketball. He gave his time to help others.

  The men her mother dated only took…took and never gave back. And when her mother was broke and had nothing else to give, they vanished.

  Ian wasn’t like that.

  “Oh God, what have I done?” She stood, swaying on her feet a little. “I have to go find him.”

  “Okay, slow down. You’re not going anywhere tonight,” Violet admonished.

  “But I have to go to him. I have to tell him.”

  “Okay, sweetie,” Harper said in her you just jumped on the crazy bus tone. “You almost broke your neck falling down a flight of stairs. You’re not driving anywhere tonight. Plus, Ian’s not going anywhere. Believe me, once he gets home, he’s not going to want to go anywhere. Hell, he’ll probably drink himself into a stupor.”

  After Harper saw the look on her face, she winced. “Sorry. But true.”

  Dayna took her hand. “What Harper means is, you have time. No need to rush and try to see him tonight. But we gotta get you out of here first. And that’s my job. I’m going to go talk to the doctor and see when we can get you back to the beach house.”

  * * * * *

  The next morning, Stella stood in front of Ian’s home.

  God, it was massive. It wasn’t ostentatious by any means, but she wasn’t used to such opulence. Her eight-hundred square foot apartment would probably fit inside the foyer.

  Now that she’d driven here to see him, the thought of actually walking up to his door was daunting. What if he didn’t want to see her? What if Dayna had it all wrong and he didn’t care for her at all?

  Crap. She might have driven all this way for him not to even be home.

  Her finger hovered over the buzzer.

  Just get it over with.

  Pressing down, she held it for about five seconds then released. She unbuttoned the top button of her shirt but fastened it back. Gazing down at herself, she cursed. Why did she always wear the predictable? It was almost an exact replica of what she’d worn on the steps when he stopped her and convinced her to put off working in the attic to play with him on the beach. The truth? She really didn’t have anything sexier she could have worn.

  It was time for a wardrobe adjustment.

  She nibbled at the corner of one nail until she jerked the digit away looking at her fingers. And she needed a freaking manicure too. Shaking out her hands, she walked to the other side of the drive to admire the begonia bushes but sprinted back when she heard his voice over the intercom.

  “Yes?”

  One syllable. That’s all it was. But the deep timber of his voice washed over her in waves.

  “Um…Hi, Ian. It’s Stella,” she answered, rubbing her hands down the seams of her navy blue shorts.

  A beat passed before she heard the soft buzz of the gate as it swung inward.

  Fifty feet.

  Fifty feet of paved, light-brown cobblestone stood between her and Ian’s front door. She could run back to her car, jump in and pretend it never happened, that this weekend didn’t happen. But the days of Stella Lewis being a coward were over. She would get this over with no matter what it cost her.

  She glanced up at the house again as she walked. The light brown texture of the brick and sparkling white trim and French windows were spectacular. An even row of hedges were on each side of the light, double oak doors and two steps led up to the porch. It didn’t look like a playboy lived her. In fact, if she drove by this house and didn’t know who lived behind this massive and beautiful structure, she’d think it was a family.

  The right door swished open and there he was.

  Ian.

  Even in basketball shorts and a plain white tank, he was simply gorgeous. Was it only yesterday she’d felt his body against hers, the slide of his arms, the rock of his hips? Ian Hollis was a package that oozed sex appeal. Her belly squeezed tight with lust.

  “What are you doing here, Stella?”

  From the first moment she met Ian, she could always look at his face, into his eyes and know what he was thinking. It had disturbed her on so many levels that she’d ignored it. But now, he was completely unreadable, closed off to her in such a way it caused an empty feeling to form in the pit of her stomach.

  No turning back now.

  “May I come in?” she asked.

  The slow perusal he gave her body from head to toe made her fingers and toes tingle. He stepped back.

  Stella lightly grazed his stomach with her arm when she stepped past him, and she heard him grunt. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” he said, his face still a mask.

  For a moment she stood stunned into silence. Intricate black ironwork and cherry wood banisters welcomed you up two staircases, one on each side, curving upward to the second floor. Marble, light gold floors led all the way to the back of the house to a dining room that was only broken by a circular and triangular inlay in the middle of the room. Recessed lighting and a huge chandelier lit the space in warm peach hues.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said and turned to smile at him. But the grin froze on her face. He said nothing. Gave away nothing and only stood there watching her.

  “You left last night before I—”

  “I didn’t think I was needed after I found out you were going to be all right.”

  “But you didn’t go back to the beach house.” She stepped closer to him, trying to erase the distance between them. The man standing in front of her wasn’t her Ian. He wasn’t the fun loving, flirting guy everyone wanted to be around.

  “I had some things to take care of, so I came home.”

  Stella took another step and saw,
briefly, when his eyes flared. He wasn’t completely immune to her.

  “I’m sorry, Ian.”

  “For what?” he asked, the lines around his mouth tight.

  “I shouldn’t have run away from you like that.”

  “You almost killed yourself trying to get away from me. I should have let it go when you asked. I should have walked away and left you alone.”

  They were so final, his words. But she shook her head. “No. You were right to challenge me, challenge my fears and insecurities. You were right, and it freaked me out.”

  “I pushed you where you didn’t want to go. You wanted a one-night stand. I wanted…shit.” Ian sighed. He blew out a shaky breath and gazed at the ceiling then back down again. “Look, it’s over and done with. You don’t look like you have any lasting injuries. I won’t bother you again.”

  When he reached for the door handle to open it, she touched his arm, and this time he froze, staring at her fingers. Making her touch light, she grazed a trail down his arm until she had his hand in hers, their fingers interlocking.

  He still didn’t look up.

  “What if… What if I want the same things you want?”

  He closed his eyes tight and opened them again before releasing her hand and stepping away, his back almost against the closed door. “What do you think I want?”

  Calling up her courage she said, “You told me you wanted today, tomorrow, next week.” She smiled slightly. “You said you wanted to take me to Paris.”

  “And you rejected me.” The skin bunched around his eyes, and pain filled the deep recesses. The anguish in his voice almost did her in. Never in her life had a man…anyone…looked at her the way Ian had.

  “You ran away from me. That was my fault.”

  Vehemently shaking her head she told him, “No, Ian. No. That wasn’t your fault. It was mine. If I hadn’t been such a coward it never would have happened.”

  He lifted a single eyebrow and gave her a nervous laugh. “So…what? You’ve changed your mind now? You want a relationship with me?”

  She stepped forward, but Ian stepped back and had nowhere to go since the door was behind him. She placed the palm of her hand against his chest, and he lowered his gaze. His heart hammered in his chest, which was a good sign, she thought.

  “I do.”

  He gripped her wrist and was about to pull it away until Stella slid closer, almost melding her body with his. Ian’s head clunked against the door, his eyes closing as he took a couple of deep breaths.

  “Please, Stella. Don’t do this to me. I can’t… I can’t do this with you anymore. This back and forth, this push and pull. I heard you loud and clear at the beach house, okay? You don’t want a relationship with me. Sex maybe, but not a relationship. And I can’t do it. I just can’t.”

  Stella was about to take her not a coward anymore to a whole new level. As she moved back, she reached for the top button of her white shirt and released it. Then she undid the next one, and the next, without shifting her gaze from Ian’s.

  His eyes widened and his breathing became increasingly rapid as she revealed more of her skin. “What are you doing?”

  Today she would seduce him.

  When her shirt fell to the floor, Ian was shaking his head.

  “You…um…you don’t have to…have to…”

  One flick of her fingers, and her navy blue shorts joined her blouse on the floor. Thank goodness she was always about the sexy when it came to her underwear. The white lace bra she wore barely covered her nipples, and the matching panties were a G-string.

  “Stella,” he groaned. “I’m not…”

  A tucked finger under the strap of her bra and it was sliding down her body where she unhooked the clasp and dropped it to the floor on top of her pants. She gave him a coy smile and walked toward him slipping her feet out of her black loafers. “You were saying?”

  His voice shook. “Why are you doing this?”

  Pressed against him, she moaned and slid her foot up his calf. “Because I want you, Ian. I’ve always wanted you. I’ve denied it, despised it, but the body wants what the heart wants.”

  His hands gripped her waist, and his thumbs drew lazy circles on her stomach, pressed deep. The touch of his hands was like ice and fire, simmering, smoldering, and teasing her skin.

  “And this isn’t just about sex. You’re not going to disappear and come back a month later wanting more, just to ease your itch?”

  Stella shook her head and nipped at his lips. “No. I want tomorrow.”

  Before she finished the last syllable, he’d lifted her up and was kissing her. They made it to the third step of the curving staircase to the right.

  “God, you’re going to kill me,” he muttered and closed his lips over her left nipple, sucking it deep into his mouth.

  The pleasure skyrocketed through her body like a missile. Yanking at his shirt, she heard it rip as she pulled it up and over his head. By step five his teeth grazed her hip and brought her panties down her legs. His tongue found her then, making her cry out in ecstasy induced shock. “Next week. Oh yeah. I can’t wait for next week.”

  Back at her nipples again, he tugged and tugged until her body sparked between pleasure and pain. At step eight she flipped him over and yanked at his shorts. She smiled. “You’re not wearing any underwear.”

  Stella sat him down on step ten and crawled between his legs like a cat thirsty for milk. And oh…she wanted his milk. Palming his cock, she stroked it up and down, and he hissed when she wrapped her mouth around him.

  “Never again,” he said. “I’ll chain you up in the basement before I let you leave me.”

  She giggled and lapped at him, closing her mouth over the head, swirling her tongue around. “That sounds like forever to me.”

  “Damn straight,” he said and turned her, knees on step twelve as he took her from behind, hard, fast, wicked. She gripped the banister and held on as Ian pounded into her, one hand palming her stomach, the other, her hip.

  It was quick, sensuous, blinding.

  And when they collapsed onto the five feet of space from the first set of steps to the next, she welcomed the cool marble of the floor on her heated skin. Ian wrapped her in his arms and kissed the back of her neck.

  “I thought I lost you.”

  Stella shook her head snuggled closer, laughing lightly. “Let’s just say that it took a huge bump on the head and a couple of really good friends to make me come to my senses.”

  He chuckled behind her. “Remind me to kiss those three the next time I see them.”

  Stella twisted around so she could face him. “Oh no,” she quipped and tweaked his bottom lip. “These are mine and mine only.”

  “Tomorrow, next week. Forever.”

  Joy, intense joy like nothing she ever felt before spread through Stella. From somewhere she heard a soft laugh and a quiet voice say, now that’s my baby, and she smiled. “Don’t forget about Paris.”

  The End

  Did you miss how it all began?

  Lover’s Revenge

  Beach House Nights Book #1

  Throwing a summer party at the beach house she inherited from her grandmother is just what Dayna needs to take her mind off her two-timing ex. After his best friend arrives to check up on her she realizes her desire may have been focused on the wrong friend. When they share a late night walk on the beach, it’s clear he shares her lust. Now, Dayna is determined to take advantage of their mutual attraction. What’s a little revenge sex among friends?

  EXCERPT

  She crossed and then uncrossed her arms around her knees. She didn’t want to talk about him. “Why are you apologizing for something you didn’t do?”

  Jared came up, picked up a rock, and tossed it into the ocean. “He was—is—my friend. What he did… You didn’t deserve that.”

  Dayna stood and walked into the water, slicing her leg through the cool liquid and said, “Forget about it.”

  “If I was lucky enough to hav
e someone like you, I’d never fuck that up.”

  That gave Dayna the opening she was looking for. She turned to face him. “And if you had me, say, for one night, what would you do with me?”

  Even in the darkness, she saw his irises flair and smolder. He was up in one fluid motion and came toward her, splashing water on her legs as he did. Jared didn’t touch her, but his nearness caused heated desire to slither down her spine. “I would worship every inch of your body. When I was done, you’d know you were the only woman in my life and no other could ever take your place.”

  Here goes nothing. “They why don’t you? Have me for one night.”

  Jared moved closer until their toes touched in the water. The look he gave her could cause a lustful and lethal combustion. “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.”

  Dayna reached out, touched his chest, and willed the butterflies zinging around in her stomach to settle. She stroked him right above the slit before the buttons began, moving her finger in a slow, sensuous circle. What she wanted to do was tease him, tempt him, but instead she struggled for breath as her skin connected with his. Every cell in her body blistered with unbridled need. “Who says I don’t?”

  He grabbed her forearms and squeezed. It didn’t hurt, but it let her know that she was playing with a fire she might not be able to put out or contain once it started. “He could come crawling back. If we do this, how will you feel when he does?”

  Slowly, she began to unbutton his shirt. Eager to see him naked, her tongue snaked out over her bottom lip. “I wouldn’t take him back if he came to me crawling across a pile of diamonds and gold.”

  He enclosed both of her hands in one of his and tilted her chin up with the other. “Are you sure about that?”

  She moved around him to return to the blanket and glanced around. She took off her tank and removed her shorts, carrying her panties down with them. Once she stepped away, she was completely naked. “I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.”