Reflections, A Love Ever After Series Book 3

by Amber Lacie

  Copyright © 2018 by Amber Lacie

  Gray Publishing Edition

  COPYRIGHT © 2018

  Cover Art: Bookend Designs

  Editing & Formatting: Gray Publishing Services

  Warning: This book contains explicit content including scenes of sexual nature. Intended for mature audiences. This is a stand-alone novel.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, or other status is entirely coincidental.

  eBooks are not transferrable. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever known, not known or hereafter invented, or stored in any storage or retrieval system, is forbidden and punishable by the fullest extent of the law without written permission of the author.

  To my family, thank you for accepting my characters and thinking of them as being real, as real as they are to me. You never question my sanity when characters invade my mind. Thank you for your faith in my kind of crazy.

  To my readers, you kick ass. You are the reason this book exists. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

  To my betas, I love your face.

  To Tiffany, I’m never on time. I love you for not hating me for it. I’ll try better. Okay––that’s probably a lie, but you love me anyway. Remember that.

  To that one person, I know what you did. As it turns out, I wasn’t the only one, and now others know too. Karma will find you, and when it does, I will be sitting in the corner quietly enjoying my cup of sweet revenge.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Other Books by Amber Lacie

  About Amber Lacie

  Evan

  T his is too real for me. The only reason I’m here, the only reason I came today, is because Theron asked me to.

  After Thomas’ death the media swarmed Theron, so I stayed on as his security. But I couldn’t stay forever. I needed to go. Everything was already packed; the only problem was that I hadn’t told Theron yet. It’s not that I was scared to tell him. Fuck, it wasn’t like he could say anything to change my mind. Losing Isa destroyed me. She was the first person to ever feel like home, and I was dying inside. I couldn’t stay there anymore. Everything reminded me of her.

  After checking to make sure my hotel key was still safe in my suit pocket I was grateful I had made it through their wedding and the toast I had to give as Theron’s best man. Now all I had to do was slip back into the reception, make my goodbyes for the night, and hope no one noticed me as I left. It may seem like a pussy move to run when no one’s looking, but I didn’t care. If it made me a pussy, so be it. There was nothing I could do about it.

  I could hear the band playing as I neared the reception area. Of all the venues, they could have chosen, the golf course was the best. There was even a small gazebo on the edge of a small pond, looking out over the water. Paper lanterns were hung from the trees along the thin stone path leading to the large glass doors of the banquet center.

  Upon entering, my eyes immediately found Theron. I could pick him out of a crowd of thousands without any hesitation. I’m not sure if it’s because we had been through so much together or if it was because he was family to me. I like to think it’s both.

  Eve was tucked under Theron’s arm, her long, flowy white dress trailing softly behind her on the marble floor. Her stomach was just starting to round causing a few of the soft ruffles to flare out a bit. She looked beautiful. They were perfect together. I couldn’t have been happier for them. That’s why I had to go. There were too many reminders that brought me pain. Maybe, one day, when I have all my shit together and I can deal with life again, I can come back and make this place my home. Until then, I had to pull up anchors. The water was too rough for me to stay afloat.

  Walking up to Theron, I clasped my hand over his shoulder. “It’s time for me to go.”

  He turned to face me. “Why is it that I have a feeling you and I have a different understanding of the word go?”

  “Because you know me too well. I’ll be around from time to time.”

  Eve kissed an older gentleman on the cheek, before cutting into the conversation. “Where are you off to?”

  “Oh, you know me––it’s getting late and I’m an old man. I can’t keep up with you youngsters.”

  “Evan, forty-seven is far from old.”

  “How is it you are always finding out things you shouldn’t?”

  “I have my ways.” Standing on the tip of her toes, she placed a kiss on Theron’s cheek while giving me a knowing look. Great, the bastard is ratting me out. She is probably manipulating him with sex, no less. Figures. That man will never be able to tell her no.

  “Goodnight, Theron,” I said firmly shaking his hand. Reaching for Eve’s, I gently raised it to my lips, placing a soft kiss on the back of it. “Goodnight, Eve.”

  “Stop being so formal.” Her arms wrapped around my neck as she pulled me closer to her. “Thank you. I’ll miss you.” Her soft whisper nicked at my steel reserve. It was the first time I felt choked up over leaving. I guess I really have earned my pussy card.

  With my goodbyes being said, there was no reason for me to stick around any longer. They knew I wasn’t coming back. They knew without me saying a word. This must be what it’s like to have real friends.

  Pushing open the glass doors, I made my way toward the lake instead of the stone path that led back to my hotel room. Maybe I needed some more time before I left, or maybe it was something else leading me in that direction. Either way, I didn’t have time to dwell on it. As I neared the gazebo, I began to hear soft sobs. Doing my best to be quiet, I carefully walked up the three wooden steps. There, on one of the long benches, Kayla laid curled into a ball.

  “Hey, what’s this?” Crouching down, I knelt in front of her.

  She quickly sat up and wiped her eyes while trying to tuck the loose curls from her bun behind her ear. “Sorry, I thought I was alone.”

  “You are, or at least, you were––until I got here. I was just on my way out. You okay?”

  “Yes,” she replied, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. Her eyes avoided mine while she forced a smile, though I knew better. Before I could stop myself, I was wiping a stray tear from her cheek. Her smile broke and more tears flowed from her already puffy eyes. It killed me to see her like this. She was always so strong and self-assured, for as long as I knew her.

  It was obvious someone had broken her. Just then, the sudden urge to protect her came flowing over me, possessing my every thought and action. Before I knew it, I lifted her off the bench and into my lap. Pulling her close to my chest, I ran my fingers up and down her arm soothingly. Goosebumps spread across her skin and every part of my body took notice. What the hell am I doing?

  I’m not sure if it was because she was upset, or maybe because she felt something different change in the air between us, b
ut she didn’t fight me. Fuck! I want to do things to her she’s never even thought of. Curling up against me, she wept against my shoulder. I gently brushed a few blonde curls from her face with my fingers. In that moment, what were supposed to be sexy, bright eyes looked up at me, full of sadness.

  “He was cheating on me this whole time. I thought we were going to get married. I thought he loved me,” she cried.

  It didn’t make sense. She was fucking perfect. My mind flipped from wanting to make her scream, to destroying him. “Isn’t he here?” Fuck Paul! I thought, rage taking a hold of my body. I wanted nothing more than to pummel him into the ground for hurting her like this.

  “No. I caught him texting some chick outside when he stepped out for a cigarette. He was licking his lips and had a weird look on his face while staring down at his phone. I thought maybe it was something for me. You know, for later? I peered over his shoulder and saw ‘Candace’ lit up on his phone. When I asked him who she was he told me––and I quote, ‘The best fucking lay I’ve ever had. Way better than you’ll ever be.’”

  Leaning her head back against my chest, she took a deep breath. “Then he turned around and just stared at me. I mean, I knew he was drunk––fuck, we both were, but to say something like that…. How long has he hated me, Evan?”

  “Baby, no––don’t think that. He doesn’t hate you. No one could hate you.” Fuck. Two things registered in my mind in that moment. The first was how badly I wanted to kill Paul. The other was that I had just called her baby.

  “You’re sweet. You really are, Evan, but you’re a shit liar. You only say things like that to people you hate. I told him we were over and to call his bitch for a ride. He laughed and said he already had. I just stood there in shock, staring at him. The next thing I knew a black sedan was pulling up with some skinny bitch in the driver’s seat. Just like that he was gone and so was my future,” she finished, tears beginning to flow once again.

  Fucking prick. If I ever see him again, I will make him pay. “He’s an asshole. He doesn’t deserve you. No one does.”

  Straightening her body in my lap, she pressed her soft hand to my face, tracing the outline of my scruff. I should have shaved, but I gave up caring about how I looked anymore. I wondered for a split second if she saw a broken man looking back at her, but when her eyes captured mine I felt a peace I hadn’t felt in months. Almost instinctually, my fingers wrapped around the back of her neck, pulling her lips to mine.

  Fire.

  It’s the only word I could use to describe the way my body lit up beneath her touch. I knew the kiss was dangerous, but I couldn’t stop. It was too addicting.

  My hands traveled down the soft curve of her neck to her chest where my fingers slipped beneath her strapless gown. Her nipple pebbled under my touch. Fuck. The warmth of her skin and the light moans coming from her lips brought my body to attention, and I mean all of it.

  “Evan—” Her words caused me to pause, but I wasn’t having any of it.

  “No, don’t say anything. Fuck. I need this…I need you.”

  “We’re outside,” she whispered.

  “Fuck. You want me to take you inside, baby?” My mind flashed to the hotel key still in my pocket. I could have easily taken her back to my room and devoted every last bit of my attention to her. One thing was for damn sure––I would have made sure every inch of her was well and truly fucked.

  “Yes. No. I don’t know.” Spinning, she wrapped her legs around my waist as her hips ground into me. My cock was flush against my zipper and the grating on my skin was only making matters worse.

  “Baby––tell me what to do,” I pleaded.

  “Fuck me, Evan.”

  “Here? You want me to fuck you right here? Someone could see us. They could step out and see me deep inside of you.” A throaty moan escaped her lips as my mouth ascended upon her neck. “You want that, don’t you? You want to be caught. God, you’re so fucking hot.”

  She moaned again as she fumbled with the buckle on the belt of my suit pants. Pulling her breast from her dress, I sucked her nipple into my mouth, biting it until a hiss spilled from her lips. Sliding my hands under her ass, I carefully slid her silk panties to the side, slipping one finger into her soaking wet pussy. Fuck. She was so warm and tight.

  “You sure you want this, baby?”

  “God, yes. Fuck me, Evan. Please,” she begged as she pushed down my zipper, setting my cock free. Her hands stroked my shaft slowly as she rubbed her thumb over the tip using my precum as lube. The noises escaping me turned into a low growl as I lifted her by her hips and slammed her down upon my hard cock. I wasn’t waiting. I was taking her before I exploded.

  Holy. Fuck.

  Her silky cunt clenched around me, and I almost came right there. It took everything within me to keep from losing my shit and releasing everything into her tight pussy. With my mouth wrapped tightly around her nipple, she ground against me, her fingers scraping against my scalp as I palmed her ass, digging my fingers into her flesh. Circling her asshole with my thumb, she arched her back before pulling back a bit and shaking her head.

  “Don’t worry, baby. I wouldn’t do that to you––at least not tonight. When I have your ass, it will be hard, and you will be bent over touching your toes. You’ll feel every inch of me.” Her eyes went wide and another deep moan fell from her lips

  “Fuck,” I groaned. Her head tipped back as I dug my fingers into her hips. Holding her steady I raised my hips and slammed further into her. I didn’t hold back. I was relentless and she was fucking mine. Lost to the moment, her name fell from my lips as I came in her tight pussy, gripping my cock, milking it for everything it was worth.

  This isn’t what I had pictured for the night, I thought to myself.

  Kayla fell against me, her blonde curls bouncing as she pressed her head against my chest. “Evan––that was everything I needed,” she whispered breathlessly.

  I was speechless as I held her. As hot as it was, and it was fucking hot, I still had to leave. What I had done complicated matters, making everything worse. Her breathing slowed as she lay against me. Slowly pulling myself from her still throbbing pussy I adjusted myself as best as possible. After making sure everything was tucked back into her dress and in its proper place, I lifted her into my arms and pulled the keycard from my pocket.

  I’m an asshole. I know, but fuck, I can’t change who I am. Carrying her back to my room, I unlocked the door and pushed it open with my foot, trying my best not to wake her. After gently laying her down upon the queen bed in the middle of the room I watched as her arms fell above her head and soft blonde curls scattered the pillow. Fuck me. She looks like an angel. My angel. I immediately shook the thought from my head. She isn’t mine and I’m not hers…this was just two people using one another. It can’t be anything else––I won’t let it.

  Pulling the yellow duvet at the end of the bed over her, I pressed a kiss to her forehead and whispered my goodbye. Grabbing my bag, I took one last look around the room and at the angel I had left lying in the bed I once slept in. Why is she so fucking perfect? I thought to myself.

  Closing my eyes I opened the door and walked away from the one thing that could have kept me there. She’ll probably wake up in morning and be hurt even worse than when I found her, but I’m an asshole and it’s better that she found out sooner rather than later.

  Shifting my bag on my shoulder, I walked down the quiet hallways to the reception desk. Handing them one of the keys I informed them to make sure everything was charged to my card and that my guest would be checking out in the morning. Before leaving I made sure to leave my cell number, in case there was an issue. I doubt there would be since I tipped the guy a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill, but then again, you never know.

  My feet hit the parking lot and I tossed my bag into the back of my Jeep, along with everything else I owned. As soon as my headlights hit the street, I was gone, leaving behind a perfect angel who was going to wake in a few hours. And one
thing was for certain; I needed to be at least a state away. Like I said, I’m an asshole.

  Evan

  T he room was ice cold and yet, I still woke up sweating. My dreams were plagued with nightmares from my past. Sleeping was overrated, and I had learned to go without it as long as humanly possible. Eventually it would find me and unfortunately, with it came the most realistic dreams. Sometimes I was in a desert, walking paths, slowly creeping forward with my men, only to watch them die in front of me. Sometimes, I was a little boy, hiding behind the couch while a man beat my mother for simply breathing. I had seen so many therapists over the years, they eventually began to blur together. However, the response was always the same. Talking about it and pills weren’t going to erase my past. To be honest, I would have rather not dealt with it at all.

  The thing is––you can’t run from your past. It follows you like a grayed shadow, lurking around corners, waiting for you. Mine, however, visits me in my dreams, and the only thing that brings me back is the thought of her. The way her blonde curls fell softly around her face, scattering across the pillow like a halo. It’s my favorite memory––the one I hold onto when the nightmares come.

  Needing to breathe, I pushed the sheets off my body and my hand hit my dick. Fucking hard. Again. It happened any time I dreamt of her. Unfortunately for me, the brunette that laid beside me must have thought it was her doing the trick. I watched as her tongue slowly wet her lips. The stranger’s mouth may have worked the night before, but once again I woke up hard enough to fucking break someone––all because that damn siren had saved me from my dreams…again.

  Fuck me, I silently cursed. I envisioned the way her head fell to my chest and the moans that fell from her lips. It’s been years since I’ve seen her and, for some reason, I can’t stop holding onto that moment. It’s insanity.