Another Chance at Love (Another Series Book 1)

by Suzanne Sweeney

  “Poor boy? Gimme a break. I think he broke my hoo-hah.”

  “Sore?”

  “Um, yeah.” I flush.

  “Men,” she says in mock disgust. “They’re animals.”

  We both laugh.

  My phone starts ringing and I rush to answer it, hoping that it’s Cole. Boy, I couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s my mother. If I don’t answer, she’ll just call Philip and harass him. Then he will call and harass me. It’s probably best to just answer it and get this over with.

  “Hi, Mom!” I answer as cheerfully as I can. I look as Cait rolls her eyes. She heads back into the office, giving me some space to chat with my mother.

  We have a lovely conversation about nothing in particular. I tell her how business is going and she details how much good work her charity has accomplished. Dad’s in Arizona for another week with work and Mom loves it when he’s away.

  And then the question comes in her trademark high-pitch Long Island voice, “Have you met any nice boys?”

  “Everyone here is nice, Mom.”

  “Oh, Kensington. You know what I mean. Is there anyone special? You’re young, beautiful and so smart. I hate to see you waste away all alone.”

  “I know, Mom. But you don’t have to worry. Cait and Brie would never let me waste away.”

  I decide that I’m not going to tell her anything about Cole. At least not until I know that he’s going to be around for a while. It’s just too new.

  A delivery arrives, giving me the perfect excuse to cut the conversation short and end my mother’s interrogation.

  Just as Cait and I finish unpacking the last magazine from today’s delivery, Brie comes bounding up with a long white box held tightly closed with a big red bow. “Delivery for Miss Kensington Harper,” she announces.

  Brie hands me the box and waits, grinning. “Open it – you know it’s from him.” I examine the front of the box. All it says is my name, my address, and the contents are listed as one dozen Stargazer Lilies.

  I untie the bow and slide the top off the box. Reaching in, I lift out a beautiful bouquet of long stemmed lilies wrapped in brown paper. They have a striking pink hue with a white edge and crimson specks splattered across the petals. Their heavenly sweet smell wafts through the air, filling the space with a fragrant perfume.

  Leaning down and looking deep into the box, Brie reaches in and grabs the card. “Read it,” she demands.

  I hesitate, wondering whether or not his words are meant to be read in private. But then I look up at the two women standing beside me and I realize that regardless of how intimate the message might be, I would wind up sharing it with them anyway. So throwing caution to the wind, I open the flap and pull out the card.

  The card reads:

  You’re the one I want to lay under the stars with ~C

  I think back to our night spent under the stars and I smile. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch a movie in a theater or cinema again.

  So I grab my lilies and head for the privacy of my office. I have to send Cole a thank you and let him know I’ve received his flowers. As soon as I send my text, my phone rings in my hand before I can even place it down.

  “Hey there, Stretch. Shouldn’t you be warming up or something?”

  “The game starts at seven. I have another hour. I’m glad you got my flowers.”

  “Yeah, about that . . . you dropped me off on your way to the field. When did you have time to do this? It was very thoughtful, by the way.”

  “My cousin is a florist. I called her while I was out jogging this morning and she took care of it.” He must be talking about Evan’s sister, the only female branch of the McGuire family tree. “Listen, Kenny – I got a call from Evan earlier. Derek asked him to call and remind me about the party at Rush tomorrow for the Fourth of July. He asked if I was still coming over. I told him I’d have to check with my girlfriend and get back to him. What do you want to do?”

  I feel my heart skip a beat at the sound of the word girlfriend. “So, you have a girlfriend? Do I know her?” I ask, fooling with him.

  “Don’t make me hang up on you,” he threatens.

  “No, I really want to know. Is she hot?”

  “Hot?” He pauses before changing his tone. “Yes and no. I’d say she’s more . . . irresistibly beautiful and incredibly sexy than hot. And I’m insanely crazy about her, so watch what you say.”

  “Wow,” I breathe out as I felt my face heat. “Good thing I don’t know her. I’m getting really jealous.”

  “Well, if you knew her like I do, you’d be crazy about her, too. She has a soft and tender side that makes my knees weak paired with a strong and driven side that makes her the envy of everyone in the room. But what really gets me is that she’s got this dirty side that really turns me on.”

  Awww.

  “Why, Miss Harper, are you speechless?” he teases.

  “Yes. Completely.”

  “Good. Now while you’re stunned into silence, I’m gonna get going. I want to grab something to eat before the game. Can I confirm with Evan?”

  “Yeah, of course. I’m looking forward to it. Go kick some ass.”

  I hate closing at TitleWave. By the time I get home, Brie’s already sound asleep in bed and Cait’s long gone. She hit the road hours ago and is probably with Declan right now hanging out at some surly bar in Manhattan.

  As the clock ticks closer and closer to midnight, I begin to worry. Why hasn’t Cole called? My mind begins to wander, considering all the possible reasons why I haven’t heard from him. And none of them are good.

  I know the Red Hawks lost to the Royals tonight, but the game ended almost two hours ago. He didn’t get hurt; I would have seen it on T.V. during the game.

  It’s a long drive home late at night. I kept him up late last night, much later than I should have the night before a game. Sleepiness and driving are a dangerous combination. Suppose something happened while he was driving on the Parkway? I’d never forgive myself.

  Damn my overactive imagination. It’s probably something much simpler . . . and harmless.

  Who knows? Maybe the team had a meeting after the game to discuss a few things. Or he forgot to charge his cell phone. I know the old clunker he calls a truck doesn’t have a USB charging port.

  I try to quell my nerves by finding something else to concentrate on while I wait patiently. Puttering around the house, careful not to make too much noise and wake Brie, I gather everything I’ll need to settle in: a soft throw blanket, a glass of Sambuca, and my Kindle. I plop myself on my brand new leather couch in the living room and make myself cozy. It arrived just yesterday and I’m seriously loving it.

  Flicking through the list of unread titles that fill the screen, I quickly select “Rabbit, Run” by John Updike. It’s a part of my reading collection of once-banned-books and I cannot wait to sink my teeth into it. It touches on some delicate issues like prostitution, male and female orgasms, alcoholism, adultery, blowjobs, homosexuality, birth control, abortion, and accidental infanticide. Things that in the sixties would have been scandalous.

  I’m almost done with chapter three when my phone finally rings, so I know without checking that I’ve been reading for nearly an hour. He must have just gotten home. I wonder why he didn’t call sooner.

  “Hey, Stretch. Where are you?”

  “I’m sorry I’m calling so late. It doesn’t sound like I woke you.”

  Just hearing his voice assuages all my anxieties and fears. “No, I’m sitting here just catching up on some light reading.” Yeah, right – light reading.

  “Oh, good. Could you do me a favor?”

  “Of course. Name it.”

  “Answer the door.”

  What? I must not have heard him correctly. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” Suddenly, I hear a light rapping on the front door.

  “Answer. The. Door,” he slowly repeats.

  I pad over with the phone held tightly against my ear and peer out the small wind
ow on the front door.

  Holy crap.

  Cole is standing on my porch in the middle of the night. He’s just standing there with his shorts hanging low on his hips in a way that makes every cell in my body stand up and take notice. I can’t get the door opened fast enough.

  We stand there just staring at each other, waiting and gauging each other’s reaction. He is trying to be a gentleman and not force his way into my home without an invitation, but in my mind, no invitation is needed. I grab his hand and yank him inside, closing and locking the door behind him.

  He wraps his arms around me, leans down and softly kisses me. His kissing is slow, passionate, as if every touch of his lips is meant to convey a specific feeling.

  His strong hands press me closer to his chest. He kisses me passionately. My fingers tangle in the back of his hair as the intensity of our kissing consumes me. I want – no, I need – to feel his skin on mine. Slowly I slide my hands down the front of his shirt, across his waist, until my fingers slip beneath his waistband. A soft moan escapes his mouth as I tense my hands; his warm hands hold my face to his. His kiss becomes soft and slower.

  I could spend an eternity kissing this man.

  Cole pulls me into a warm embrace before releasing my lips from his. He has a smug grin on his face. All I’m wearing is a soft cotton nightie with lace trim. And nothing else, which Cole has just discovered. The fingers of both his hands caress my bare ass.

  I tug at the hem of his T-shirt, my hands frantically chasing it off of him and then coming back to roam his hot hard chest and abs. My hand on his nape brings his head back down to mine and I kiss him. It is a desperate, sexual tangle of tongues and hot breath, my sex pulsing readily just from the wet hardness of his kiss.

  So consumed by him, I barely notice Cole hauling me none-too-gently against a wall, his mouth breaking from mine as he trails kisses down my neck, his strong arms hooking under my thighs to wrap my legs around his waist. My body slides up the wall, his hard cock nudging against my crotch.

  “Fuck,” Cole murmurs hotly, his mouth dipping to the rise of my breast. He holds me up with one hand on my backside, the other peeling my nightie down, letting the cool air whisper across my nipple. It puckers up for Cole’s kiss and I gasp at the bolt of pleasure that shoots between my legs as he sucks it into his mouth. I jerk my hips, rubbing against his erection.

  “I can’t wait,” I breathe, gripping at his shoulders.

  I whimper, pressing up against his fingers as they dip inside of me.

  “Christ.” His head falls against my chest as he slides them in and out. “So tight and wet for me.”

  “Now,” I growl, my nails digging into his skin. “Cole.”

  And suddenly we’re moving, me holding onto him as he turns us and brings us down onto the couch, his hands moving quickly as he pulls the nightie up and over my head. Panting with anticipation, my skin on fire, I fall onto my back, my legs parting for him.

  He stops, frozen, as he looks down at me lying naked beneath him, my chest rising and falling with short, excited breaths, my hair spread out all around me. I watch his expression change, no less turned on, but softer somehow. He presses a hand to my quivering belly, and he glides it gently up my stomach, between my breasts, to my jaw as he moves over me. “Ask for it,” he whispers gruffly against my lips.

  I glide my hand down between us, slide under his boxer briefs, and curl around his dick. I tug it out of his shorts and watch his eyes close, his breath stutter. “I want you to fuck me,” I give a little lick at his lips that shoot his eyes back open, blazing down at me.

  With a growl, Cole tugs his shorts down a little, and then wraps his hand around mine so we both guide him between my legs. At the slightest brush of him against me I grow even wetter. I let go, my hands moving around to grasp his ass as he slides slowly into me. I squeeze his backside, urging him to go faster.

  Which he does with pleasure.

  “Harder,” I moan. “Harder, Cole. Harder.”

  He kisses me and then slams home. Pleasure coils tight in me. His cock kisses me so deep, I throw my head back, fighting to keep my passionate cries silent, as he pounds delicious strokes into me. What he is doing to my insides, the sight of him straining above me, the sounds of our excited pants and muffled groans and the wet, primal noise of sex, all of it surges me towards ecstasy. I blow apart, whispering his name as I come. I come so hard, my sex pulsing around Cole, that I milk him into his own orgasm, his body tensing as it shoots through him, his hips continuing to jerk him in and out, prolonging both our releases.

  Best. Sex. Ever.

  Cole groans and collapses against me. I stroke my hands against his ass soothingly before gliding them up his back to hold him close. He turns his head against my neck and presses a familiar kiss there.

  “I missed you,” he murmurs.

  A small laugh slips from my lips. “It’s only been like twelve hours.”

  He frowns. “I could leave if you want.”

  I smile, teasing, “You’re still inside me.”

  “I can feel that.” He moves his hips. “Well, at least let me get out of you before you ask me to go.”

  I lean up and kiss his lips. “Not in a million years.”

  Cole exhales slowly and withdraws from me. He tucks himself back into his shorts and sits up. His eyes scan the room and land on my throw blanket. Swiftly, he crosses the room to grab it and returns to me with his hand outstretched.

  I place my hand in his and let him pull me to my feet. He wraps the blanket around me and gathers all our discarded clothes. He nods at the stairs. “Lead the way.”

  Since I am naked and sated and really in no mood to argue, I take the lead and escort him up to my bedroom.

  After locking the bedroom door, I divest myself of the blanket and crawl into my bed. I watch with pleasure as Cole strips down to nothing and gets in beside me. I am immediately settled into his side, my head on his warm chest.

  He pulls my leg over his hip so our bodies are as close as they can be. I snuggle deeper into him, my nose pressed to his throat, and Cole’s arms tighten around me.

  I wake to a heavy arm wrapped tightly around my waist, a nose pressed to my cheek, and a large, muscled leg draped over mine. I sigh and wiggle, trying to stretch without untangling myself from Cole. He feels good.

  “Good morning,” he whispers.

  I turn my head, rubbing my nose against his and grin. “’ Morning.”

  “Sleep well?” He asks and hugs me tight.

  “Yeah. You?”

  “I did.”

  “I like waking up with you.”

  He leans back and offers me a contented smile. “Two mornings in a row; a man could get used to this.”

  “Mm. Me, too. What time is it?”

  Cole leans over and looks at the clock. “Quarter to seven.”

  “Good, that means Brie’s gone and we have the whole house to ourselves.”

  “I think we should get up.” Cole pulls away from me and bounds out of bed, all naked and rumpled from sleep.

  “Well I think you should get your sexy ass back in bed.”

  He grins wolfishly at me and pulls the covers away from my naked body. “Nope, up.”

  “Hey! It’s cold.”

  “Get your hot ass out of bed and into the shower. I have a present for you.” He rolls the blankets into a ball and throws them on the floor, stomping across the hall and into the bathroom to start the shower.

  “What about morning sex?” I yell after him.

  “In the damn shower!” he yells back.

  “Do you mean we can have morning sex in the shower?” I yell.

  Cole appears in the doorway and leans his shoulder against the jam, crosses his muscular arms over his chest, naked as a baby.

  “I love it when you’re naked,” I tell him joyfully from my position on the bed.

  “I’m happy to hear that,” he smiles and crosses one leg in front of the other, looking all relaxed. “Are you g
oing to get in the shower under your own power, or do I need to carry you in there?”

  “Why are you so bossy this morning?” I ask with a laugh.

  “I’m bossy every morning, sweetie. Now,” he pushes away from the door and saunters to the bed, grabs my ankle, and pulls me to the edge of the bed, “let’s get in the shower.”

  “Okay,” I hold my arms up, and he pulls me to my feet, but rather than letting me walk into the bathroom, he lifts me onto his shoulder and carries me. “I can walk,” I tell him and slap his firm ass.

  “Not fast enough.”

  “Tell me about this present,” I slap his ass again just before he sets me on my feet.

  “No. You said something about shower sex.” He grabs my shower gel and lathers up a washcloth.

  “I’ll have shower sex with you if you tell me about the present,” I offer and have to grip his biceps to hold steady as he glides the soapy cloth over my breasts and down my stomach, landing between my legs.

  “Are you sure?” he asks.

  “What was the question?”

  “I’m starving,” I complain from the passenger seat of Cole’s truck.

  “We’re almost there.”

  “You know, Stretch, I’m still waiting for that present you promised me.”

  “What? One present before breakfast isn’t enough for you? You’re insatiable,” he mutters as he parks right next to TitleWave.

  “Sex was the present?” I ask with raised eyebrows.

  “Stop talking, Kenny.”

  He exits the car and opens my door for me, pulls me up by the hand, wraps his arm around my waist and plants a hard kiss on me, right there on the boardwalk.

  “You can shut me up like that anytime, baseball star.”

  We share a quick breakfast together before Cole has to rush off to the field. Luckily, he’s got an early game that starts at noon. That means he’ll be back in plenty of time for us to join Evan and Derek for their party tonight.

  “You’re whistling,” Brie says as she foams the cup for a waiting customer.

  “Sorry. I’ll stop,” I apologize, fearing it is annoying. “That will be two dollars, sir.” I smile at the older gentleman that I’d just rung up for her.