Dangerous Exes (Liars, Inc. Book 2)
Page 24
“What?” Colin and Blaire said in unison.
“See ya!” I laughed while Stanley grabbed someone’s cane and went to town spinning it over his head.
We laughed the entire way home.
Home.
Our home.
I let out a happy sigh and hoped he’d like what I did with the place.
Chapter Sixty-Five
JESSIE
I couldn’t wait to get her inside.
The minute I opened the door, I was ready to take her against the wall, whisper promises into her ear, strip that gorgeous dress from her body.
Instead, she dropped my hand.
“Isla?”
She crooked her finger at me. “This way.”
Dumbly, I followed her down the hall.
She opened the door to her old guest room.
Black-and-white everything.
And then when I looked closer, I could see red.
Red throw pillows.
Red accents in the pictures.
A red leather chair.
“You said to do whatever I wanted . . . but I didn’t want to take over the room . . . the black-and-white is you, the red is me, the perfect match.”
I didn’t let her finish.
Instead I attacked her in the doorway and gripped her hips. “I missed you.”
“I missed you.” She laughed against my mouth. “Do you like it?”
“Love it. Love you.”
I flipped her around and started undoing the buttons to her dress.
There were at least seven hundred.
And I died a little bit with each one I undid.
“It’s like they’re multiplying!” I cursed under my breath as she leaned against the doorframe and thrust her ass out. “Not helping, and it’s too pretty to rip.”
She glanced over her shoulder and smirked. “Sorry, that must be sooo hard on you.”
I was going to strangle her.
“It’s hard when you have a hard day like that, and you drink tea that makes it even harder and—”
I ripped the damn dress.
“Not another word.” I pulled it down, apologized to my credit card, and thrust my tongue into her mouth before she could utter the word hard again.
She tasted like my forever.
The person made for me.
I pulled back for air, her greedy hands were at my shirt, and then her lips twitched and she ripped it open. “All’s fair . . .”
“God, you’re hot when you get violent.”
I couldn’t get the rest of my clothes off fast enough. We fumbled around as she rid me of my pants, still kissing me as I stumbled with her toward the bed, and then it was just us.
Skin on skin.
My mouth on hers.
And every damn dream I’d had came true.
I was inside her in seconds.
Filling her completely.
Coming home.
“Isla.” I drove into her and pressed a small kiss near her ear. “You’re my forever.”
A tear slid down her cheek, one I’d created, a good one. She whispered back, “You’re mine too.”
It was the perfect moment.
Followed by complete surrender on both our parts.
In a room filled with ghosts of our past, present, and future.
After a few minutes of panting, then silence, we held one another like we couldn’t believe it was real, that we were together.
I looked over and fell off the bed.
“Are you okay?” Isla reached for me.
“Isla, I love you, you know that, and I’ll put up with a lot of shit, but why the hell is there a chicken in this room, and why did it just watch us have sex without making a noise?”
She looked where I pointed, made a little yelp, then ran for the front door.
I was close behind her.
She slammed it shut and grinned up at me. “That, that was all Goo-Poh, I wouldn’t give her a key if I were you.”
A knock sounded at the door. I scrambled for a blanket while Isla dove behind the kitchen island. Traitor.
“Hi!” Goo-Poh walked right in. “I knew you’d be hungry after making babies, so I brought leftover food.” She waltzed right by me. I closed my eyes and prayed the blanket wasn’t see-through.
She put the food in the fridge, shut off the kitchen light, humming the entire way back to the door before calling over her shoulder, “Isla, eat the rice, you look pale.”
The door closed.
Isla popped up, her cheeks rosy red from embarrassment.
“Yeah, too late,” I confessed.
And barely had time to run away as she chased me with a red pillow.
Hey, at least it wasn’t white.
Acknowledgments
I always say the hardest part about writing a book is thanking everyone who made it possible. God gets all the honor and glory—He’s the only reason I’m on the path I’m on (even though sometimes I’m stubborn and decide to take a detour and end up a total mess), and I fully know what a blessing I am living. I’m so thankful it’s hard to even put it into words. To my amazing Viking/Dutch husband, Nate, thank you for being more than just support and encouragement but a partner, an inspiration, someone who “gets” it, especially when I need help plotting something out, though let’s be honest, you do tend to go off on tangents, and no, I’m not going to write that book . . . you know which one ;) To my adorable son, Thor, who makes it hard to even want to be at the computer. Next to your daddy, you, my boy, are the love of my life. I see joy in your eyes and my life is better just being next to you, even if it means you’re crying or screaming or looking at me with crazy eyes. You are my soul. Thank you to my amazing agent, Eric, for always supporting me and pushing me to be better. I’m so thankful for you in my life. To Maria and the Skyscape team, I’m so honored to be a part of team APub, and the threat still stands—YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE TO LET ME WRITE FOR YOU. You know I would even beg, straight up drive over to Seattle (this is the part where the author threatens said publisher awkwardly). Okay, so I wouldn’t go that far, just know that I am so appreciative of everything you do and so blessed to have you! Maria, your emails brighten my day! And your friendship is everything. My publicist, Nina, dude, it’s been an INSANE year, and I have a feeling it’s just going to get better ;) Thank you for letting me own my crazy, and thank you for being that rock I need on a daily basis. Jill and Becca, you have made this such an incredible year as well, thank you for all your hard work and picking up the pieces when I call you sobbing into my coffee because I accidentally deleted a chapter and can’t remember a word I wrote. You guys are everything. To my beta readers, Jill, Liza, Kristin, Tracey, Stephanie, Krista, and Jessica, you are crucial in the making of a book—I so appreciate your willingness to be brave and tell me when I suck. I love you guys! To my rockin’ reader group, the best group on Facebook *dances*, your love and support truly make us feel like a family, and I’m so thankful we have a safe place we can chat about books and all the reasons reading is the best. You have been there through thick and thin, thank you for being such an amazing team and family!
To the readers—even the ones who are actually reading the acknowledgments with a slow eye twitch because they’ve been up since two a.m.—YOU GUYS, the ones who purchase the book, the ones who get lost in all the words, thank you for taking a chance on me, thank you for reading, and thank you for your continued support. I could NOT do this without readers, and I wouldn’t have a job if you didn’t exist, so thank you for being passionate about the words, I’ll keep writing them if you keep reading them. Bloggers, PAs, publicists, graphic designers—all of the book world, thank you for constantly pushing books and authors. A lot of you do what you love for free just because you love it—know that it doesn’t go unnoticed. Thank you. If you want to follow me on social media, hit up my Facebook group, Rachel’s New Rockin’ Readers, or follow me on Instagram @RachVD. Until next time!
HUGS,
RVD
About the Author
Photo © 2014 Lauren Watson Perry, Perrywinkle Photography
Rachel Van Dyken is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and #1 New York Times bestselling author known for Regency romances, contemporary romances, and her love of coffee and Swedish fish. Rachel has also recently inked a deal for her Wingmen Inc. series—The Matchmaker’s Playbook and The Matchmaker’s Replacement—to be made into movies.
A fan of The Bachelor and the Seattle Seahawks (not necessarily in that order), Rachel lives in Idaho with her husband, a supercute toddler son who keeps her on her toes, and two boxers. Make sure you check out her site, www.RachelVanDykenauthor.com, and follow her on Twitter (@RachVD).