Chapter 15
GINA
Owen Stone was like a ball of fire at my back all evening.
He sat in that chair behind me in those loose, faded jeans and dark gray T-shirt that could barely contain his broad chest just watching us.
Haddy’s comment, Heather’s comment, that silly tarot reading, all of these things swirled around in my mind, and it almost made me believe… Until I saw that dumb text from idiot Baxter still on my phone, reminding me just how bad it can be.
Swiping my finger, I deleted it.
Thankfully, I have the dogs. Dogs are so loyal and trustworthy. They’re better than people.
A dog would never pretend to love you, then disappear without a word. Dogs work hard to make you proud. They sense when you’re sad and put their head on your lap or snuggle beside you.
In a way, they’re a lot like little kids.
Maddie is adorable doing her best to train Ladybird, and I don’t have the heart to tell her some dogs just aren’t cut out to be show dogs. Even when they are, it takes years of training, usually starting from the time they’re puppies.
It’s possible we could get LB to that point, but I’m concerned Mads needs to grow several inches first.
Stepping out of the shower, I quickly dry my body with the towel, making sure the bathroom door is securely closed. Spanky has been less of a prankster since Ladybird showed up, but he still can’t resist snatching a towel.
I open the door carefully, peeking my head out, so I don’t run into any of our house guests. Then I dash across the hall into my bedroom and shut the door—again, securely.
Lord knows I don’t need Ladybird dashing in and stealing my personal massager either. Of all the things these dogs have done. Maybe they are conspiring to get us together…
Silly thought.
I’ve just pulled on my thin, cotton sleep pants and a white tank when my phone lights up on the bed. For a second I freeze. If it’s that stupid Baxter again… but I blocked him.
My shoulders relax, and I pick up the device, expecting it to be Haddy trying to pull me into another hockey scheme. My eyes flash when I see the text.
Owen
John is wondering if Kendall might be available tonight.
I gulp air. My heart beats hard in my chest, and I’m having trouble inhaling. What is happening today? Is Mercury in retrograde?
Standing in the center of my room, I read and re-reading his words, trying to figure out what he means and how to reply. Finally, I just ask.
Gina
Available for what?
Owen
John would come to her, but it might be less noticeable if she came to him.
My eyes drift to the wall my bedroom shares with Haddy’s old room. They’re not paper-thin, but I can hear the occasional bark of a dog or cheer of a kid from the movie they’re watching.
With trembling fingers, I reach out to open my door. The hall is dark with only the faintest, flickering light coming from beneath the room where Heather and Maddie are staying. I look left, down the hall to the yellow light shining beneath Owen’s door.
I take one step in his direction, pulling my own door closed. Another step closer, and his door opens. He stands there, looking straight at me, and my heart jumps to my throat.
He fills the doorway, and the light coming from behind casts him in silhouette, accentuating his broad shoulders, muscled arms, narrow waist, and thick thighs.
Adrenaline surges in my arms and legs. My stomach quivers, but somehow I manage to take another step closer, then another.
His dark hair is messy around his face, and his dark brow is lowered.
Still, I can see a naughty grin curling his mouth.
His blue eyes are fixed on me like a predator, and it’s thrilling and forbidden, and I can’t stop myself.
I’m drawn to him like a flame. Even if I don’t know what this means or if I’m afraid it’s a bad decision, I’m making it.
When I reach him, he takes my hand, pulling me inside and shutting the door behind me. My back is to the wooden barrier at once, and his arms are on each side of my face, caging me against his massive body.
We’re breathing fast. The energy radiating between us is crazy, and I can see my breasts rising and falling rapidly.
“What do you want?” It’s a shaky whisper.
He leans closer, tracing his lips along the line of my jaw. “John is wondering if Kendall might be up for one more night.”
Heat floods my veins, and I swallow the thickness in my throat.
My voice is barely audible as I try to understand. “When… Where?”
Lifting my chin, I meet his darkened eyes, and my core clenches. He leans forward so slightly, dipping his nose into my hair and inhaling. My eyes flutter closed.
“Delicious,” he murmurs before pressing his lips to the top of my brow.
I melt against them. Reaching out, my fingers grasp the front of his gray shirt, curling in the fabric. He smells like soap and cedar, and as his mouth moves lower, down to my cheek, closer to mine, I want him so much.
When… Tonight.
Where… Right here.
“Can I kiss you?” His voice is low.
“Yes.”
A whimper slips from my throat as he consumes me. I’m off my feet, legs wrapped around his waist, and our lips part. Tongues curl together, and I chase his kisses, meeting him in the middle.
His hard cock is pressed to my center, and tilting my waist, I rub my clit up and down the length, heat rising with every stroke. He groans deeply, turning and carrying me to the bed.
He steps back briefly to lock the door, then he returns to where I’m lying, looking down on me with a desire that matches my own.
His chest rises and falls, and he curls his fingers, dragging his nails along my skin as he slides my pajama pants down my legs.
I’m left in only my lacy white underwear and the thin white tank top. He licks his lips, devouring me with his eyes as he unbuttons his jeans.
“Come up here.” It’s a low order, and I rise onto my knees in front of him.
He hooks his finger and thumb in the straps of my tank, pulling them together in the center of my chest, causing my bare breasts to spill out.
Then he moves his hand higher, circling one hardened nipple with his thumb.
“Fuck, you’re gorgeous.” With his other hand at my back, he lays me down on the bed, then proceeds to cover them with kisses, sucks, bites.
My fingers stab into his thick hair, and I writhe, moaning as fire singes my veins.
“Owen…” I gasp, not even caring if this is real or pretend.
Everyone keeps telling me to hold onto hope, and I’m about to have a victory. I’ll take an orgasm as a victory. Several orgasms, thank you very much.
His mouth moves down the cotton shirt until he reaches the top of my panties. Yanking them off, he buries his face in my bare pussy, his mouth moving fast as I cry out in pleasure.
Just as fast, a pillow covers my face, and I clutch it with both hands as he circles his tongue rapidly over my clit. My back arches, and my noises are muffled.
Orgasm surges to life in my belly. My hips circle in time with his movements, and my legs start to shake as he drags me closer to that magical cliff with every stroke. Three more passes, and I fly over the edge, stomach jerking, legs quaking, mind erased.
He kisses my lower belly, and stands, and I hear the rip of foil. I’m still buzzing when I toss the pillow aside so I can see his face.
He’s focused, feverish, lining up his cock at my entrance. He drags it up and down, coating himself in my orgasm before finding the place and driving it home with one hard thrust.
We both groan loudly, and he bends his arms, lowering his face to the pillow beside me to muffle his own noises. Hearing his desire makes me hotter, and I lift my hips to take him deeper.
He’s thrusting fast, scooting me across the bed with every hit. I squirm beneath him, grasping his shirt, pulling it up so I can trace my nails over his luscious body.
Our skin slaps together, and he rises again. I hold his neck, doing my best to ride him as he fucks me hard and fast. A bead of sweat trickles down his cheek, and I lean up to kiss it away, savoring the taste of salt on my tongue.
Again, our mouths collide, chasing and licking, and all at once he holds, groaning deeply as I feel him coming inside me. His dick pulses and his arms circle my waist, pulling me flush against his body.
It’s primal and perfect, our bodies melding together. We’re still breathing fast, and his large hands smooth my hair back from my face as he kisses my cheek, my eye, then down to my mouth.
Holding his face, I kiss him back. It’s less frantic now, more savoring, tasting. We’re returning to Earth together, holding onto each other.
“Come here.” He takes a second to dispose of the condom, then he lays on the bed beside me, gathering me into his arms.
My cheek is against his chest, and I listen to his heart beating steadily, gradually slowing. I listen to his breath swirling in and out as he traces his fingers along the line of my back.
It’s so peaceful, so secure, my eyes start to close.
“You’re not bad at sex.” His voice is a low vibration against my cheek, and my eyes pop open. “You’re actually very good at sex. Ten out of ten.”
I lift my head. “You heard that?”
A grin curls his lips. “I was walking out to check on Ladybird’s progress, and I overheard you and Heather talking. That Baxter’s a dickhead.”
“Yes, he is.” I nod, resting my head on my hand.
My eyes trace down the line of his shoulder to the swell of his bicep. He lifts his finger, tracing it along the line of my hair and sliding a piece behind my ear.
I blink up to meet his eyes, needing to know. “What are we doing, Owen?”
His lips press, and his brow furrows briefly. “We’re having fun. I’m trying to understand why I don’t feel guilty being here with you.”
“Because of Maddie?”
“Not really. I’m pretty sure my daughter adores you.”
“The feeling is mutual.” I smile.
He blinks down. “After my wife died, I swore I was done. I’d never build my life around someone again. It hurt too bad to lose it.”
“You were grieving.”
“It was more than that.” His voice is rough. “I wanted to bury that part of me with her. I wanted to shut it off.”
We’re quiet, and my chest aches. I don’t know what to say, so instead, I ask softly. “How did she die?”
He hesitates. The second hand on an old analog clock ticks once, twice…
“Her heart stopped. She had Maddie, and that was it. They couldn’t bring her back.”
“Oh.” My stomach drops, and I sit up, holding the sheet over my body. “Owen, I’m so sorry.” I imagine him with a newborn. “You must’ve been devastated.”
“The doctors said it was a pre-existing condition, but it made no sense. She was so alive and ready. They asked me if she’d had weak spells or if she seemed unusually tired. She did, but I thought it was because she was pregnant. Why did I think that?”
By the end, his voice breaks, and I lean forward, gently placing my hand on his cheek. “No… it’s a tragic thing. It’s not your fault.”
“Everyone says that, but it doesn’t change how I feel. Only time has helped.”
Blinking down, I understand the need for a pseudonym, the need for John and Kendall. It’s an escape, permission.
“At first, I lived like a monk, thinking if I devoted myself to her memory, I could make up for letting it happen. Then, I grew angry at her, like I wondered if she hid it from me… Then I hated myself for being angry. Then I decided to block it out.”
“That only works for so long.” I slide my hand down the length of his arm, threading our fingers at the bottom. “You have to feel it eventually.”
“That was my life.” He lifts my hand, pressing it to his lips. “Until now. It’s the first time I’ve felt like I could move on, the first time I’ve felt strong. I don’t know why.”
His warm lips trace my knuckles, and my eyes close again. My eyes heat, and I press my lips together. I scoot around in the bed, placing my cheek on his chest again, wrapping my arms around his waist. He’s such a good man, a devoted father.
So many feelings for him are in my heart, so many feelings for Maddie. Tonight was incredible, and I can’t go back to pretending there’s nothing between us. Not after this.
With a deep inhale, I push myself to sitting, looking down on his perfect form twisted in the white linen sheets. “I’d better get back to my room.”
He sits up, reaching out to cup my cheek. “Okay.”
I turn my face to kiss his palm. “It’s more than a fantasy to me.”
Our eyes meet, and his are clear now. “I want this.”
My stomach twists, but I know the truth. “Me too.”