Chapter Ten
After returning to his apartment to get his truck and an overnight bag, Connor drove to Abby’s. Lights from Erickson Pier lit up the sky, and the faint sound of laughter as a family walked home drifted through his open windows. The dad held a sleeping toddler in his arms, her arms clutching a stuffed unicorn Connor had seen at one of the game booths. The mom pushed a younger child in a stroller. They paused at a red light, and the dad put an arm around his wife and kissed her. A tender kiss that held the promise of a night and a lifetime of love.
Connor wanted that.
The wife…the children…a family of his own.
With Abby.
Would she want the same thing?
He parked in a resident-reserved spot in the lot behind Abby’s building and turned off the engine.
Only one way to find out.
He grabbed his duffel bag and walked up the outside stairs that led to the apartment.
She answered wearing a loose-fitting dress, her hair damp and wavy, as though she’d just showered.
His heart raced as she smiled at him.
“Perfect timing. I read your text and took dessert out of the freezer,” she said.
Stepping inside, he dropped his bag on the floor and spun her in a circle before kissing her. “You’re all the dessert I need.”
She laughed and wriggled out of his arms to close the door. “I have chocolate marshmallow ice cream.”
He backed her against the door, already hard and wanting her more than his favorite ice cream. “Let’s save it for later.”
He slid his hands under her dress, groaning when he didn’t encounter any barrier. Only skin. Soft skin pressed against him as he gripped her backside before sliding to the front, where he slid fingers along the rim of her clitoris before dipping in and finding her sleek and wet.
“I need you, Abby,” he whispered, aware of how desperate he sounded, but beyond caring. He walked with her to the island and set her on top, pulling the dress over her head.
Fully naked underneath.
Sexiest sight ever.
“I approve of your choice of undergarments,” he said, taking in her full breasts, which rose and fell like she’d been running.
“Now let’s remove yours.”
She yanked off his shirt while he shoved down his shorts and briefs in one swift move, kicking off his shoes along the way.
She had parted her legs and was reaching for him, but he had other ideas.
He bent down and traced his nose along her legs, taking in the floral scent of her body lotion—probably one of her own creations. When he reached her vagina, he inhaled the sweet scent of desire he could see glistening there. He blew gently, and her hands clamped into his hair, nudging him forward.
She cried out when he licked her. A slow, deliberate sip, as if he was tasting the most delectable dessert. And to him, she was a perfect combination of every dessert he’d ever had.
He sampled, going deeper with each thrust of his tongue, the press of her thighs against his face. When she trembled, he inserted a finger and sucked on her clit, and she pressed his head against her as she thrust her hips and cried out her release.
Best sound ever.
This time when she pulled him up, he let her take hold of him, and he entered her in one slow stroke, knowing there was no other place he wanted to be, no other person he wanted to do this with for the rest of his life.
She scooted closer and spread her legs wider, allowing him to sink further into her heat. Cupping her breasts, he teased her nipples with his thumbs, swallowing her moan with a deep kiss. He wanted to savor the sensations as he pulled out, only to have her tilt her hips and dig her nails into his ass before he slammed into her.
He felt her release build even as his own rushed forward. Then they were both coming and calling out each other’s names. The perfect release with the perfect girl.
“I love you, Abby,” he murmured against her mouth.
She sucked in air before pulling back and meeting his gaze. “I love you, Connor.”
She bit her lip, and he caught a flicker of hesitation.
“What?” he asked, still buried deep inside her.
“I’m afraid of this. We’ve been here before. What if we can’t make it work this time?”
A question he’d asked himself the past few days.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m scared too.” He lifted her chin to see eyes brimming with tears. “But I’ve learned sometimes you have to run toward what scares you.”
“Like what you did to deal with your drug addiction.”
“While this is a different kind of scary, the same principle applies. We talk openly and honestly about things, even if it makes us uncomfortable.”
“Okay. What if I want to take things slow?” she said.
He pulled out a little before thrusting up, already feeling himself getting hard again. “I hope slow doesn’t mean no more of this.”
She laughed. “Connor Maguire, you are a sex addict.”
“I can live with that, darlin’. Can you?”
“I’m offended you would think I couldn’t handle your insatiable sexual appetite, mister.”
She moved her hips, and he grew harder. He was more than halfway ready for round two.
She kneaded the muscles in his neck. “I meant we both have a lot going on right now. Me with my new business and you with yours. Let’s enjoy this and work on building a relationship.”
“I can do that.” He caught her lips and kissed her deep. “I want you again.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” she teased, wrapping her legs around his back and pushing against the table until he took a few steps away.
“The thing is…” She pulled free of him. “You got your dessert, but I haven’t gotten mine.”
With a saucy smile, she hopped off the table and reached across the counter for the quart of chocolate marshmallow ice cream. From a drawer next to the sink, she extracted a spoon.
Removing the lid, she scooped a mouthful and sucked it into her mouth, licking the spoon in a suggestive way that practically had him falling on his knees.
Lucky spoon.
“Hop up.” She patted the island.
He complied without hesitation. It was going to take all his strength to maintain control, but he was up for the task.
She finished the contents of the spoon and trailed it down his ribcage, stopping just below his belly button. Then she reloaded the spoon and gave him a sample before finishing the rest. Down she went, lower until she paused right over his erection, which was so hard that Connor thought it may break off.
Then the she-devil swallowed the cream and covered him with her cold lips. Connor cursed as she sucked him, the coldness from her mouth quickly heating him up. His resolve to not come too soon went out the window when she dipped a hand in the chocolate and proceeded to coat his cock, lapping the cold cream off with her tongue.
Her fingers worked his balls while her mouth did mind-blowing, torturous things to his cock until he couldn’t hold on anymore.
“Fuck, Abby,” he groaned as he held on to the side of the island and came in a rush that gave him a buzz more than he’d ever had when he was high.
Breathless, and even a little dizzy, he opened his eyes, watching as she swallowed and licked her way up his body until she got to his mouth.
“Best. Dessert. Ever,” she said.
He clamped his mouth on hers, reveling in the taste of chocolate and himself on her tongue, intent on imprinting the memory of this moment in his mind forever.
“Definitely loved that,” he said, and helped her onto the island with him. She straddled him and fed him a spoon of the now-soft ice cream.
“You’re so beautiful, Abs.” He kissed her, sharing his ice cream with her. “My beautiful seductress, lethal with a loaded spoon.”
With his hands full of her breasts, he flicked her nipples, hearing the catch in her breath.
“You can’t be ready again,” she said.
Not yet, but soon.
He flipped her onto her back, pinning her arms over her head and taking control of the spoon.
With one hand restraining her hands, he dug into the container with the other hand and extracted a large spoonful, which he spread over her breasts.
She squealed.
He didn’t stop.
He coated her and wished he could take a picture of her.
Aroused.
Breathless.
Covered in chocolate ice cream.
While his mouth explored and ate his fill, his free hand wandered down and slid inside her. She was drenched. He fed her ice cream from his mouth while seducing her with his hands until she trembled and cried out, thrashing against him.
Then he was inside her and, unable to stop, made love to her on the island until they both lay in a pool of chocolate, depleted and fully sated.
Abby rolled over, happily exhausted despite being up almost all night with Connor.
Showering off ice cream with Connor.
Talking, followed by more sex with Connor.
Being woken up for morning sex with Connor.
He was even more insatiable than he had been as a teen. And open for any suggestion and position.
And they’d gotten quite creative.
Especially on the kitchen island.
She pressed a kiss to his chest, loving the feel of waking in his arms. Why had she suggested they go slow when she could easily start every day like this?
“I think we should stay here all day,” she said, burrowing into him.
He tightened his hold on her. “Wish I could, but Jace is already going to be ticked I blew off our morning meeting. I need to get to the lighthouse and supervise breaking ground on the museum.”
“The permit came through?”
“Yesterday. We had our team on standby, so we can start today.”
“Will this be filmed as part of the Beach House Flippers?”
“No. This is our own project.”
Abby raised her head. “You mean you’re paying for it?”
“The town council insisted on paying for the materials, but Jace and I are only charging them at cost, and we’re paying the salaries.”
She absently traced the dark circle around his nipple. “That’s a nice thing to do.”
“What’s on your agenda today?”
“With the display shelves in the store all in place, Nat and I are going to stock them.”
“I’ll be pretty busy today and may not be able to stop by or touch base until late.”
“No worries. You know where I am.”
“I do.” He kissed her long and tenderly. “Last night was amazing, darlin’.”
“Just last night?” she teased, reaching between them to find him hard.
Again.
“Last night and this morning.” He pulled her hands away, kissing them. “And if you don’t stop, I’ll be late.”
“How about a quick shower before you go?”
He took a peek at the clock on the bedside table. “It’s going to have to be quick.”
Abby watched his fine backside as he walked across the room to the bathroom.
He loved her. He’d spent the night telling and showing her how much.
Although it still frightened her a bit, she’d meant it when she told him she loved him too. Yet she was afraid something would ruin what they’d found. It was one thing to take chances with things like surfing or getting creative in the bedroom, but taking a risk with her heart or her career? Not as easy.
She’d struggled since Hurricane Samantha, waiting to start college until a couple of years after the storm. Once she graduated and got a job, she’d stayed at the cosmetic company in Texas longer than she wanted and procrastinated taking a chance on the soap shop.
And now here she was, naked and getting ready for another round of morning sex with Connor. And only a few days away from the grand opening of her place. She was afraid the house of cards she’d built would come toppling down.
“I’m starting without you, darlin’,” Connor called from the bathroom.
Brushing aside her worries, she joined him.
Fifteen minutes later, she emerged clean and thoroughly ravished. With her hair damp, she tugged on clothes and went to fix Connor a cup of coffee to bring with him.
Abby walked into the kitchen and stopped short at the disaster before her. The island streaked with ice cream, the container—empty—on its side along with the spoon, and clothes strewn all over the room. Connor’s tan shorts and boxer briefs had taken the brunt of the mess and sat in a pile on the floor where chocolate had dripped on them. She picked them up and set them next to the sink to rinse them out before washing them.
Despite the mess, Abby smiled at the memory of their night. It topped her list of erotic food exploits, for sure. After starting a pot of coffee, she reached into a cabinet to get a mug, but it slipped out of her hands and fell, shattering with a loud crash.
“Abs? You okay?” Connor called.
“Yeah. I dropped a coffee mug.”
She picked up the bigger pieces and was tossing them in the trash when Connor came in, freshly dressed for work.
“Wow, we did a number on your kitchen.” He planted a soft kiss on her lips. “Best night of my life.”
“Mine too.”
“Let me help you clean up this glass. You have a dustpan?”
“In the closet in the corner.”
While Connor searched, Abby grabbed a takeout mug and fixed the coffee the way he liked. When he hadn’t returned, she called out. “You find it, babe?”
She found him in the closet fixated on something in the back.
“What’s that?” he asked, and his voice held an edge that sent a shiver down her spine.
“What? The dustpan’s right here.” She reached past him to where it was on the shelf, pausing when she saw what had caught his eye.
In the corner, partially hidden behind a bucket and mop, were several cans of spray paint. Someone had done a poor job of trying to cover them up with a couple of old towels.
She wrinkled her brow. “I’ve never seen those before.”
“They’re the same color as the paint used when Erickson Pier was vandalized. And at both the mini-golf and the museum sites,” Connor said.
“It’s probably common spray paint. Most likely from the past owner,” Abby said, not liking the accusatory tone in his voice.
“But then there’s this.” He held out a newspaper. It was the front page of an old issue of the Pelican Bay Herald and covered an article about the renovation of Erickson Pier and the filming of Beach House Flippers. In the margin, someone had written the words GO HOME.
Abby remembered Connor mentioning similar wording being painted at the lighthouse.
“Oh my God. You think I’m responsible for the vandalism?”
He raised pained eyes to her. “Do you know how these things got here?”
“I just told you I don’t. Does that make me guilty?”
“You organized the protest about the pier expansion, Abby. You have to admit it’s a strange coincidence to find this in your apartment.”
“You have some nerve.” She stomped into the kitchen, wincing when she stepped on particles of glass she’d forgotten about.
“Dammit.” Hopping on one foot, she moved to the counter and bent over to pull out shards of glass.
Connor had followed her. “Fuck. The glass.”
He disappeared into the pantry and returned with the dustpan and brush to sweep up the pieces.
Abby thought about the past couple of months. Sure, she’d been pretty peeved when she learned the Ericksons were going to expand the pier and block her store’s view of the beach. The view was the main reason she’d chosen the location for her shop. Only after signing a two-year lease did she fully grasp the extent of the renovation.
And sure, she’d banded together with the Egg Harbor Beach Preservation Group, who helped her understand her rights and proposed protesting with a few other business owners to make their point.
But for Connor to think she’d break into the pier while it was being renovated, destroy property, and paint childish words was beyond ridiculous.
It was insulting.
“Here.” Connor put something in her hand. “Put this wet paper towel on your foot.”
“Fuck my damn toe.” She pushed away. “Do you really think I’m capable of vandalism?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Then why did you practically accuse me?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I found the paint in there, and it seemed an odd coincidence you’d have paint the same color. Then I saw the newspaper article, and I didn’t know what to think.”
“So, you assumed the worst of me?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
Except it was completely like that.
“You’re supposed to believe in me. How can we build a relationship if you think I’m capable of something like this?”
“Abby, I didn’t think. I just spoke. I’m an ass.”
She crossed her arms. “No argument there.”
She racked her brain but couldn’t for the life of her figure out where the paint had come from. Could Natalie be involved?
“I think you should call the cops,” Connor said.
“The cops?” Abby shrieked.
“Let Ethan know. He’s been gathering evidence on the other vandalism. He told me when I dropped off the necklace I found.”
“What necklace?”
“I didn’t tell you? I found it at the museum site yesterday. A stainless-steel chain with a baseball charm on it.”
Abby’s blood ran cold.
Connor continued, “Oh, and the letter P, for the Phillies, on the baseball.”
No, no, no. It can’t be. Not sweet Liam. Please no.
Abby remembered Liam got caught a couple of days ago smoking a joint at the mini-golf place. Had he and his friends been working their way through the town, playing childish pranks?
Connor’s cell dinged with a text. “Fuck, I’m late.”
“You should go. I’ll clean this up,” Abby said.
“What about the paint?”
“I’ll deal with it, and call Ethan.”
“And what about us?”
“I don’t know, Connor. I need to think,” she said, unable to keep the hurt and anger out of her tone.
“I’ll come over after work, and we’ll talk. I don’t want this to mess us up.” He came over and kissed her. “I love you, Abby.”
She closed her eyes. “I know you do.”
Another kiss, and he was gone.
Abby placed her face in her hands.
If only you could trust me, too.