Dare Me Forever (A Solana Beach Book)

by Paige Edward

  CHAPTER 26

  Amy

  I thought the lobby was gorgeous, but it paled in comparison to the sumptuous suite where Ryan was living. I didn’t know hotel rooms could be so big. It took all my self-restraint not to run and jump on the huge king size bed and see how high I could bounce.

  Ryan took of his jacket and slowly loosened his tie. I liked watching him, wanted to touch him, but I wanted him to make the first move. I walked further into the room and noticed small chocolates on the bed pillows. I couldn’t resist the chocolate. I stood by the side of the bed, and reached over to grab the small sweet. I heard Ryan walking towards me and then felt his body behind my back.

  His hands circled my waist, and he began kissing my neck, starting at the nape and working his way down to my shoulder.

  “Oh Amy, you have the most gorgeous body.” He tightened his hands on my hips, and slowly caressed my ear with his mouth. I tried to turn around to kiss him but he wouldn’t let me.

  Ryan bent down and took off my shoes, and then stood back up and unzipped the back of the dress, helping me out of it. My panties were already off, and I felt a bit nervous with only the matching push up bra. I quickly forgot my hesitation as he stroked my ass with one hand, while gripping my breast softly with his other as he held me against his body. He was still wearing his shirt and pants, and I yearned for him to take them off.

  He turned me around and playfully pushed me onto the bed.

  I landed on the soft mattress and watched excitedly as he unbuttoned his shirt. His eyes scorched my body and I couldn’t wait for his hands, his mouth, his whole body against mine.

  “Come here,” I murmured, gesturing for him to slide on top of me. He moved closer.

  “Close your eyes.”

  I did as he said. I could feel his breath hovering over my face, on my chest, and then I felt his lips on my stomach, giving me gentle kisses, making his way down to my center. He came back up to my face and tied his tie around my eyes. I felt a rush as the fabric obscured the room around me.

  I’d never been blindfolded before. It was different, and I felt and heard everything more intensely. My skin seemed even more sensitive than it had a minute before when I could see.

  He pulled my legs apart, and continued his slow descent, kissing, licking till he was on top of my mound. He began licking me down there. I tingled with desire.

  “Oh Amy, you taste so good.”

  It felt incredible, bringing me to heights of ecstasy I’d never known. I felt like my body was made for this but once he could tell I was near an orgasm, he pulled back, not letting me come. He started to put less and less pressure, until it was barely more than a stroke here and there, making me die for more. It was delicious agony. Suddenly, he stuck a finger in me and I gasped.

  “Do you like that?” he asked teasingly. He went back down with his mouth and started sucking me. I shuddered. I was so near a release.

  “Wait,” he ordered. I did my best to obey, but it was so hard. I wanted him inside me, but my body was impatient.

  He lowered himself on top of me and slid in. His cock filled me with an incredible completeness. It was like we were made for each other. He ripped the blindfold off my eyes.

  “I want to see you come,” he said as he thrust into me. I blinked my eyes. Even just being blindfolded for a little while had made me a bit disoriented, and had heightened every sensation. I still felt that high. When my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw Ryan staring tenderly into mine. He began kissing me again, teasing at first and then deeper and more passionate, as he continued to plunge into me. It was like fireworks going off in my brain. I could see he was about to have his release, which only made me hotter.

  He pushed inside of me, thrilling me with his hard body. Grabbing my hair in his hand, he pulled my mouth to his own. Pressed up against him, his wet tongue in my mouth, his cock deep inside me was too much to bear.

  We came together. Out of breath and overwrought, my body continued to shudder around him.

  It was like nothing I’d ever experienced. I couldn’t think. He’d done me so well, I felt like I was in a stupor.

  Ryan kissed me again affectionately on my lips and then the side of my face and neck.

  “I could get used to this. That was incredible.”

  I wasn’t ready to tell him I felt the same way. I just snuggled in closer to his body and he wrapped his arms around me. I was afraid of the thoughts going through my head. I could love this man. I really could. It wasn’t just the sexual satisfaction--it was the intimacy of being close to him. Sure, I still had a lot to get to know about him--I didn’t know anything about his troubled past--but I felt on some level that I recognized who he really was, deep inside.

  He hugged me tighter. “And now for your surprise.” He carefully let go of me and started walking towards the other room. His naked body was strong and lean, and well, perfect. The muscles on his back were tight, like his body was coiled, ready to pounce. I could look at him all day. But I immediately missed his warmth, his arms enveloping me, his smell. I wanted him back next to me.

  A minute later, he entered the room, coming towards me with a big smile on his face, a small rectangular box, beautifully wrapped present held in front of his cock. He looked hot and adorable at the same time. Handing me the present, he quickly got back in bed next to me.

  “Open it.”

  I slide the dark red paper off, and found a charcoal grey box embossed with what looked like a royal crest. Slipping the box open, I saw a gorgeous silver letter opener. I felt my heart stir at how beautiful it was: elegant, but dignified, and obviously made with real silver. It was such a perfect gift for me, totally obsessed as I am with all things paper and it clearly cost a fortune.

  Before I could say thank you, Ryan kissed me gently on the lips.

  “It’s from the seventeenth century, the court of Elizabeth I.”

  Now my heart really stirred. It felt like I had been plunged into hot water—the gift was thrilling, but almost too much to handle. “I can’t accept this. It’s, well, this is amazing.” I took it out of its case, gently turning it over, feeling the coolness of the silver against my palm. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

  Ryan took if from my hand, turning it so the point was towards his palm. He laid me back down on the bed and gently trailed the cold silver rod between my breasts, to my belly button. He circled it, and then slid it further down to my clit. The cold shocked me.

  Batting my clit lightly with the hilt, Ryan glanced up at me, a cheeky look on his face. I could feel myself getting more and more aroused.

  “How does that feel?”

  I couldn’t speak--it felt so good and illicit. Somewhere in the rational part of my brain, I was thinking how outrageous it was to use a priceless antique for something like this, but my mind was totally clouded over with how amazing it felt.

  He put down the opener, and replaced it with his tongue. I gasped as he began to suck my clit.

  I didn’t think it was possible to become so aroused again, just after the most incredible release I’d ever had. But the way Ryan handled my body, touching me as if he was reading my mind, doing things to me I’d never even dreamed about, blew me away.

  Wrapping my legs around his head, I slowly rocked to the rhythm of his strokes. Grabbing my hips, he buried his face into me. I came so powerfully I shocked myself.

  Ryan trailed kisses up my body and held me close. I relaxed into his arms, feeling totally sated and secure.

  CHAPTER 27

  Amy

  Driving to the Fletcher Cove to meet Hunter the next morning, I felt guilty. Why was I spending time with him, when I’d just spent the night with Ryan? Why did he have any pull on me, at all? Even with these regrets running through my head, heading towards the beach brought up so many hazy, happy memories. Jamie and her old boyfriend, Chris, used to come with us and we’d all go swimming, listen to music, play with Luke, who at that point was my semi-permanent side kick.


  We’d bring a bunch of food and just stay all day. By the time it was dark out, we all had that too-much-sun tired and total relaxation feeling. It was a great tonic to anything stressful.

  I remembered one time in particular. Luke must have been at a friend’s house, probably Matt’s, and Hunter and I hadn’t invited anyone else to meet us. We parked the car and ran like banshees towards the water, stripping down to our bathing suits as we ran.

  “Woohoo!” I’d yelled, laughing and diving in the water first. I remember seeing Hunter race after me. He swam up to me slowly, and the sexy look on his face took my breath away. He’d kissed me so deeply, like I was his reason for breathing.

  Only a few weeks later, Mrs. Morgan, with embarrassment in her eyes, had very politely asked me to stop coming over so much, but not to tell Hunter. Just to make him come to my house more. I had understood. I couldn’t fault her for her reasoning, but it was a terrible loss for me. It really broke my heart. She’d been such a support to me, and she couldn’t be anymore.

  Shaking off the old memories, I arrived at the Cove.

  A minute later Hunter pulled up. He walked up to my car door just as I was about to get out and opened it for me. As I stepped out, he took my hand, pulling me playfully towards the shore.

  “Remember when we came here as kids?” he asked longingly.

  “It was a magical place,” I replied.

  He glanced over at me as he said, “It still is.”

  We walked down towards the water and sat near it. I knew Hunter had something he wanted to say, and he kept opening his mouth to speak, but then pausing again before he even got one word out. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what it was.

  “Amy, you know how we had it really good in high school--I mean when we were together?”

  I nodded. I didn’t know where this was going, and I didn’t really feel like helping him along.

  “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I know I ended things abruptly and was a real shit. And I know this apology is like six years late, but I’m telling you I feel like an asshole still. And I guess, well I want to start over.” He looked at me uneasily. He was never very comfortable with apologies. I guess no one likes to admit they were a total jerk.

  What he was saying, it was exactly what I’d wished to hear years ago. I wished I could go back in time and tell my younger self, that this would happen. It would have helped me. I’d still would have been devastated by what Hunter did—leaving me with no real explanation, showing up with another girl from our class the next day. But it would have helped me heal faster. Now if felt good to hear it, but I still didn’t understand what he wanted.

  I decided to be honest. What did I have to lose? “Thank you for saying that. But it doesn’t erase all the pain I felt after we broke up, but it’s definitely good to hear.” I frowned. “But what do you mean ‘start over?’ We can try to be friends.” I didn’t want him to think otherwise. He gotten even more handsome, but attraction wasn’t everything, especially when I felt such a connection to Ryan, not to mention that I wanted to be with him and on him practically all the time.

  “That is not what I was thinking.” Hunter cleared his throat. “I was thinking we could go out again. I’ve changed, and for the better, I hope. And I want to try. You are a beautiful woman, smart, and complex and everything I could hope for. Please consider us. Give me a chance.”

  I felt like I’d been doused in cold water. I was totally shocked. Even with our conversation the other day in my store, I didn’t seriously think he wanted me like this.

  I paused, gathering my thoughts. “You don’t know me anymore. I’ve changed. I’m not sure it would work between us.” I tilted my chin up.

  His eyes looked at me beseechingly. “Amy, please.”

  I didn’t want to continue the conversation, it felt like it came completely out of left field. Maybe the best way to stop it was to appease him.

  “Ok, I’ll think about it.” I just wanted to stop talking about it.

  “Do you promise?”

  I think he was trying to be funny, I hoped so. This all felt like too little too late, no matter how flattering his words, no matter our history. But I hated to admit it, I couldn’t just erase it from my mind.

  I didn’t want to run back to my car and make it more awkward, but I also needed to get going. After a few minutes, I spoke again.

  “I need to get to the store to open.”

  He grabbed my hand. “Ames, I know I was a total shit. I’m not that guy anymore. Please give me another shot.” I nodded. At least I would think about it.

  CHAPTER 28

  Amy

  Ever since seeing Hunter, I’d had an annoying headache. I would try to think of what he said, and to understand what he wanted, but my mind would just come up blank. I decided I needed to stop thinking. It wasn’t getting me anywhere, except totally irritated. I was working on another really cool commission for a new clothing company called Rags that was opening nearby. They were extremely opinionated about what they wanted, but I liked that. It was a good challenge. We spoke the same language about design and the person I was dealing with over at Rags seemed like she could become a friend. It made me feel like I was back in school, working on a group project.

  And it was doubly great, because not only was it a lot of money, but it took a lot of concentration which helped take my mind off of Hunter’s behavior and my Ryan obsession. I kept reminding myself, if I didn’t have the history with Hunter, I wouldn’t be thinking of him at all. Ryan would dominate my thoughts, hands down. But something about our shared past kept me thinking of Hunter, even though I was pretty sure I wouldn’t want to date him if we had only just met now. He had grown a lot since high school, and he still had some kind of crazy sexual energy, but he still seemed immature somehow.

  I’d been working non-stop for a few hours, and decided to treat myself to a coffee across the street. I put the “back in 5 minutes” on the door, and walked over to Groundworks. As I stepped through the door, the smell of espresso wafting over me, I saw the back of Ryan, who was also waiting in line. Too bad he isn’t naked. I slowly walked over, and tapped him gently on the shoulder. He turned towards me and gave me the most endearing smile I’ve ever seen.

  “Amy, I was just going to get you something and bring it into the store.”

  “That’s super sweet,” I said giving his bicep a squeeze. Man, he had amazing arms. “I was thinking of going all out.” I pointed toward the counter where an ice blended coffee awaited its owner.

  “You got it. I reckon you’ve earned it. All that exercise.” Ryan put his arm around my waist and hugged me to him. Being near him made me regret seeing Hunter that morning. I looked down at my feet.

  Putting his nose into my hair, he inhaled deeply. I was happy I’d washed my hair that morning. “You smell so good. What is that? Vanilla?”

  I loved the way ‘vanilla’ sounded coming out of his mouth. I don’t think I’d ever get used to that accent. I needed to stay in the present and not think about this morning at the Cove.

  After our drinks were ready, Ryan came over to the store, and after setting our drinks down on the counter, I showed him what I was working on for Rags.

  “Do you have time for this?” I asked, glancing up from the cardstock spread out on the table. I knew how busy he always was.

  He smiled. “I couldn’t get you off my mind, so I wasn’t really doing any work. And everyone deserves a break once in a while. I’ve been having a really frustrating morning. This is between us, but I’ve been going through the financials on certain projects, and they aren’t making sense.” He drew his fingers through his hair. “I just can’t figure something out, but I know the numbers aren’t right. They look right, almost too right.” He was sort of talking to me, but mostly to himself.

  I leaned over and kissed him. He seemed surprised, but pleased. “I’ll definitely stop thinking about the tossers at work if you could do that again.”

  I kissed him agai
n. He deepened our kiss, parting my lips with his own, putting his arms around my waist to grab me towards him. I could feel my body heating up, my nipples erect and excited. After a minute, I had to wrench myself away. I didn’t want customers coming into the shop with me getting busy on the floor. And if I hadn’t pulled away then, there is no way I could have stopped it later.

  Ryan laughed into my mouth as I pulled away.

  “Too much for you, Amy?” he asked smiling.

  “I’m definitely too much for you,” I said in my sassiest tone of voice. “Now get back to work. I have a shop to run.” I pretended to be huffy.

  “Listen, unfortunately I have work plans tonight, but let’s do something tomorrow night? Of course I’d rather be in you.” Did he just say what I thought he said? I stared into his eyes, at that new yet familiar twinkle, and laughed.

  I couldn’t wait to see him the next night.

  CHAPTER 29

  Amy

  For some reason, I’d agreed to have dinner with my mother. So instead of the usual lunch, where I could be in and out within the hour, I’d signed myself up for at least two hours, if I was lucky. And she wanted it to be “just us girls” as she’d said on the phone, so I couldn’t even use Luke as a buffer/commiserator.

  As I applied some mascara, and a touch of pale lipstick, I decided that in the worst case scenario, I could just leave the dinner early. If she was being a total bitch, as she was sometimes known to be, I didn’t need to take it.

  And all this time with Hunter, has brought back the memory of what she had done. Not just the abandonment or the insensitivity, but the very worst thing she had ever done. I didn’t even want to think about it. At this point, she was lucky I still saw her at all.

  With that in mind, I grabbed my purse, took one more look in the mirror, and hurried to my car. We were meeting at the El Royal, this pretty glitzy hotel closer to San Diego. It was all flash, where the in-crowd went, but my mom always thinks that’s the kind of place that will make me happy. Somehow she got it into her head that I’m easily bought.