Kara (Starkis Family #4)

by Cheryl Douglas

  Kara didn’t say a word as I took her hand and walked to the water. The sun had disappeared a while ago, and I knew the water would be cool, bordering on cold. I walked into the ocean behind her, gripping her hips. I reached for the ties securing her bikini top, and she sucked in a sharp breath.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Life is about taking risks, right? Living dangerously?” When we were kids, I’d never been able to talk her into skinny-dipping with me. She’d always been too cautious, too reserved. She said she’d changed and I believed her, but I wanted her to remember that taking chances could be fun. “So are relationships. Isn’t that what we were just talking about?”

  “Yes.” She leaned against me, her hands curling around the backs of my thighs.

  “If you want me to stop, I will.”

  “I don’t.” To prove her point, she tugged on the ties at her hips and tossed the scrap of fabric onto the sandy beach before slipping her top off and tossing it aside too. She turned in my arms. “What about you? You’re still wearing too many clothes.”

  I grinned, losing my black swimsuit in record time. I’d never been shy about getting naked, especially when the woman of my dreams was the one doing the prompting. “I love this new side of you. Fearless is sexy on you.”

  I kissed her, and she wrapped her legs around my waist as we waded deeper into the water. Thankfully she was light, or I might have taken a tumble when a wave crashed against us.

  “You make me feel that way,” she whispered, grazing my bottom lip with her teeth before her tongue darted out to soothe it. “As though nothing can hurt me.”

  The irony wasn’t lost on me. The one thing we were both most afraid of was the impact a retreat and fade would have on our already battered and scarred hearts. Feeling her naked body wrapped around mine while the water splashed around us felt cleansing, as though we were washing away the film of pain and suffering that had been with us for far too long.

  “I want you,” she whispered, tilting against me.

  I’d had sex in the shower, with a solid wall for support, but never in the ocean with the threat of the current at my back. I thought about suggesting we take it inside, but my own words came back to me, reminding me that we were supposed to be living on the edge, embracing risk.

  “What about a condom?” Certain risks weren’t worth taking, and she’d never forgive me if I didn’t take precautions to prevent a pregnancy she wasn’t ready for.

  “Do we need it?” she asked, her lips slightly parted as she fixated on my eyes. “I’m on the pill, and this would be the first time I haven’t used a condom. You?”

  “Mine too.” I’d thought the only time I would forgo that would be with my wife when we were trying to get pregnant, but I could trust Kara. That was when it hit me. This was the ultimate act of rebuilding the trust we’d lost. “You’re sure?”

  I dipped my tongue into her mouth as I held her tight. She answered me with a kiss that put all my doubts to rest. I prodded her gently to make sure this wouldn’t be uncomfortable for her, but when she sensed my hesitancy, she pushed forward, teasing me just enough to strip away my inhibitions about the logistics of our position.

  Plunging deep inside her, hearing her contented cry as she clung to me tightly, was one of the most satisfying experiences I’d ever had. Gripping her ass with one hand, I pumped hard and fast, knowing our time before another wave came in, knocking us off balance, was limited.

  “Oh God,” she whispered, letting her head fall forward as her teeth sank into my shoulder. “This feels unbelievable.”

  The heat of her body coupled with the cool water was the ideal fusion. “Come on, baby,” I whispered in her ear, relentlessly pounding into her. “Let go for me. Now.”

  She tossed her head back, her arms locked around my neck, as she came apart. The sight of her totally uninhibited with the moon illuminating her beautiful face, coupled with the intense pulsing of her body wrapped around mine, was all I needed. I tensed, tightening my grip on her as my body shook with the force of my release. She buried her face in my neck, both of us revelling in this first, the culmination of one of the hottest, most erotic experiences of my life.

  “Damn,” I whispered, chuckling. “I think I have to set you down, baby. My arms are gonna give out any second.”

  She giggled as she unwrapped her legs, swimming just far enough out that she could find solid ground while still being concealed by the water. I moved toward her slowly, reaching for her hands as I brought her in for a kiss.

  “You just blew my mind, girl.”

  “And just think, we have the whole weekend to look forward to.”

  I groaned, dropping my head on her shoulder. “Should I be scared?”

  She held my face, looking serious. “You have nothing to be afraid of. I’m…” She took a deep breath as though she had to steel her courage. “I’m falling in love with you. Again.”

  I grabbed her waist, hauling her against my chest as my lips found her neck. “I don’t think I’ve ever stopped loving you.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Kara

  The weekend passed too quickly, and I never wanted it to end. We made love as though we were trying to make up for lost time—anywhere, everywhere, we could.

  Dustin backed me against my Range Rover after he’d loaded my suitcase into the trunk. “I wish you could stay a little longer,” he said, brushing a lock of hair off my cheek. “I don’t want to sleep without you tonight.”

  I didn’t want to leave him either, but I had to work tomorrow, and I had a follow-up appointment with my OB-GYN on Tuesday that I didn’t want to miss. I’d been experiencing a lot of abdominal pain, especially during my cycle, and she’d run some tests to hopefully isolate the cause so she could treat it. I hadn’t told anyone about it, mainly because I didn’t want to worry my friends and family unnecessarily. I was sure it was nothing.

  “I don’t want to leave either, but I have to get back to the city.” I sighed. He was so lucky to be able to stay here. There was nowhere else on Earth I’d rather be, especially since he was here. “I’ll call you when I get home.”

  “You better,” he said, opening the car door for me. Once I was safely inside, he watched me buckle my seatbelt before he leaned in to kiss me. “I love you, baby.”

  He’d said that a few times over the weekend, and every time I got butterflies. “I love you, too.” I wrapped my arm around his neck, drawing him in for a kiss. I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to keep kissing him, to pretend that I never had to let him go.

  ***

  My sister was sitting on the couch, eating Ben & Jerry’s from the container, when I walked into the apartment. That wasn’t a good sign.

  “Hey, what’s up?” I asked, leaving my suitcase by the door. I could tend to that later. Right now, it looked like Catia needed my attention.

  “Why do we waste our time with men?” she asked, scooping the remaining ice cream from the container and shoving it into her mouth as she looked solemnly at the TV screen.

  She was watching a rerun of 2 Broke Girls. One of the characters was explaining to the other why men couldn’t be trusted and were only good for one thing. I assumed it wasn’t a coincidence she’d chosen to watch that particular episode given her mood.

  “Um, I take it you didn’t have a good weekend?”

  She rolled her eyes before setting the ice cream container on the coffee table. Normally I would have lectured her about the sticky container leaving a ring, but I knew she wouldn’t care, so I picked it up and set it on a magazine instead.

  “Tell me what happened,” I said, settling into the chair across from her while I reached for the remote to silence the TV.

  “I had a date with this electrician who was working at the restaurant last week. We went to Exodus.”

  That was what I loved about my sister. She didn’t care whether a guy was a blue collar worker or blueblood; she treated them all the same.

  “I assume it didn’
t go well?” I asked, tucking my legs under me.

  “He was nice enough,” she said, shrugging. “But you’ll never guess who was there with some bleached blond pin-up hanging all over him.”

  I knew only one man could get that kind of reaction from her. “I’m guessing Chase.”

  “Can you believe that?” she asked, glaring at her phone when his name flashed across her screen.

  “You said you guys haven’t slept together, right?” It wasn’t like Catia to get so territorial, even if she had slept with a man.

  “So?” She curled her arms around the pillow in her lap. “I think he just did it to piss me off. He heard me make a date with Mike, and he wanted to send me a message.”

  “Sounds like his plan worked.”

  “Please, I’m not interested in a man who plays childish games to get attention.”

  But Chase definitely had my sister’s attention. “Did you talk to him?”

  “How could I when blondie had her tongue stuck down his throat all night?” She grimaced. “It was disgusting, the way they were pawing at each other. I finally had to suggest they get a room.”

  I’d never seen Chase outside of work, but he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who was into public displays of affection. “Do you think he took your advice and got a room?”

  Her cheeks burned as she dug her nails into the pillow. “How the hell should I know? It’s not like I plan to ask him.”

  I pointed at her phone on the coffee table. “Is that the first time he’s called you today?”

  “Yeah. He probably just figured out how to get rid of her. Let me tell you, this woman gives new meaning to the word clingy.”

  “Maybe that’s what he’s into.” I didn’t want to be mean, but my sister had to face facts. Chase was a hot, rich guy who clearly wasn’t afraid of commitment. If Catia didn’t want him, I was certain there were plenty of women who did.

  “She can have him,” she said, reaching for a half-eaten bag of potato chips.

  It wasn’t like Cat to binge on junk food. I knew seeing Chase with another woman was bothering her a lot more than she was willing to admit. “Are you sure about that?” I asked, gesturing at the chips she was scarfing down. “Looks to me like you’re trying to quash your feelings with food.”

  “Who the hell are you, Dr. Phil?” she asked, tossing the bag aside as she reached for a tissue to wipe the red stains off her fingers. “I just feel like pigging out, okay? It’s that time of the month.”

  If she was hormonal, she would have been eating chocolate, not chips and ice cream. This was definitely emotional eating, but I couldn’t force her to acknowledge her feelings for Chase if she wasn’t ready.

  “Sorry,” she said, sighing. “I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

  “It’s okay. I get it.” I remembered how I’d felt when I saw Dustin with Jana. It nearly killed me.

  “Tell me about your weekend. It must have been better than mine.”

  I was hesitant to tell her. I didn’t want to seem like I was rubbing my happiness in her face.

  “Don’t even think about holding out on me,” she said, stretching her leg to nudge my knee with her foot. “I need a distraction. Tell me about what happened with Dustin.”

  Since she seemed genuinely interested, I said, “It was great. We really connected.”

  She wiggled her eyebrows, grinning. “Literally?”

  I laughed. “Literally.”

  Catia bounced up and down, clapping. “Yay, I’m so happy for you guys! Was it awesome? Was it even better than you remember?”

  I sighed contentedly as I closed my eyes. Memories from the past two days washed over me. “Way better. It was perfect. He was amazing.”

  “Oh my God! So you guys are back together now?”

  While we’d never defined our relationship, I knew it was getting serious for both of us. “Well, we agreed we wouldn’t see other people, so I guess you could say that.”

  She clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.

  “What?” I asked, slightly anxious about her reaction. Catia always said whatever was on her mind, and I got the feeling she was trying to suppress something now, which couldn’t be good.

  She shook her head, letting her hand fall. “I just never thought this would happen. I mean, I hoped ‘cause I always thought you guys belonged together, but I never thought you’d get past all the shit that happened.”

  “I didn’t either.”

  “Are you going to tell Mom and Dad?”

  “Eventually.”

  I didn’t want my parents putting pressure on me. They both liked Dustin, but they were a big part of the reason I’d ended it eight years ago. They’d thought I was too young to get married, that agreeing to move to North Carolina with him meant I was the only one willing to make a sacrifice for the sake of our relationship. Though things were different now and their opinions mattered a lot less than they did when I was twenty-one, I didn’t want to hear anything that could stir up old misgivings.

  My phone rang, and I ran to grab my purse, which I’d left by the door. “That must be Dustin. I forgot to call him.”

  “I’m going to the grocery store,” Catia said, stuffing her phone into her purse. “You want anything?”

  “No, thanks.” I connected the call while she slipped her feet into a pair of flip-flops.

  “Tell that sexy man of yours I said hey,” she yelled.

  Dustin chuckled. “Tell her I said hi back.”

  Catia’s phone rang again.

  “That’s probably him again. Why don’t you just answer it? You’re going to have to face him at work tomorrow,” I said.

  “He can go screw himself,” she said, slamming the door.

  “What was that all about?” Dustin asked.

  “Some guy’s got under my sister’s skin, if you can believe that.”

  “No way. What’s he like?”

  “He’s great. Nice but not too nice. Sweet but not too sweet.”

  He laughed. “Okay, whatever that means.”

  “It means he’s a guy’s guy, but he knows how to treat a lady.” Like you.

  “So what’s the problem?”

  “You know Cat. She doesn’t do commitment, and Chase has two small kids.”

  “He’s divorced?”

  “Yeah.” I’d met his kids. It would have been hard for any woman not to fall in love with them.

  “You’re right, he doesn’t sound like the kind of guy Cat would normally go for.”

  “That’s what makes him perfect for her.” I’d never seen her happier than she was when Chase was around. She laughed more, smiled more, and was always aware of him but tried to pretend she wasn’t. I thought it was cute, mainly because it was so out of character for her. “He’s not safe.”

  “He’s not safe?” It sounded like he’d turned down the volume on the TV in the background. “You can’t tell me Cat’s been dating safe guys. That’s not her style.”

  “Safe in the sense that they don’t want a relationship any more than she does. Chase isn’t like that. He wants more from her, and he’s not afraid to tell her that.” I loved that I could talk to Dustin about anything and he really seemed to care. “She saw him with some other girl this weekend. That’s what set her off. She thinks she’s going to miss out on her chance with him.”

  “How did you say y’all know this guy?”

  “He owns Clement Construction.”

  “No way. I know Chase.”

  Oops. I should have known that was a possibility. Chase owned one of the largest commercial construction companies in the state, and while Dustin specialized in residential construction, his online portfolio highlighted a few buildings he’d worked on in New York. Yes, I’d visited his website a time or ten over the years to see what he was up to.

  “If you talk to him, please don’t say anything about Catia. She would kill me if she knew I’d talked to you about this.”

  “Aww, come on. Now I’m curious. I want to
know what the deal is.”

  It occurred to me Dustin’s interest could work in our favor. I wondered if Chase would share things with Dustin that he wouldn’t share with me. “What are you thinking?”

  “I don’t know. He told me to give him a call next time I was in town. Said we should get together for a drink. What do you think? Should I take him up on it?”

  “I don’t want to compromise your friendship with him,” I said, thinking through the possibilities.

  “I’ll tell him the truth, that I’ve known you and Cat for years, and see what he says.”

  “Okay.” I supposed it couldn’t hurt if Chase knew that Dustin was friends with Cat.

  “What’s on your agenda tomorrow? If I’m going to come into the city to meet up with Chase, maybe I can see my favorite lady too?”

  “I can do you one better,” I said, grinning. “How about you spend the night with me?”

  “I’d love that.” I heard the smile in his voice when he said, “I’ll text you with the details as soon as I talk to Chase.”

  “Cool.” I’d just left him, and already I couldn’t wait to see him again. How sad was that?

  “Love you, baby.”

  A grin spread across my face. I would never get tired of hearing that. “Love you too.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Dustin

  Chase and I had just placed our order when his cell phone rang.

  “Sorry, man,” he said. “It’s my ex. I gotta take it. Must be about the kids.”

  “No problem.” I scrolled through the messages on my phone while he spoke in a hushed tone. I smiled when I saw a text from Kara telling me she missed me and couldn’t wait to see me later.

  “What’s that about?” Chase asked.

  “What?” I asked, frowning as I slipped my phone back in my pocket.

  “That dumb-ass grin on your face.”

  I chuckled as the waiter returned with two scotches on the rocks and the bread basket. “A text from my girlfriend.”

  “Your girlfriend?” Chase frowned. “Last I heard, you were engaged.”