Ready to Love Again (Sweet Romance #2) (12 page)

I was already so close to coming but when she called my name on a low moan and started raking her nails down my back again, I thrust harder and faster. Alyssa’s hips met my rhythm and I was beginning to come undone.

“Come for me, Alyssa,” I whispered.

Little did I know that would be our undoing, together.

Chapter Fourteen

Alyssa

You know how they say you have this ‘after sex glow’ about you? Well, that was me as I drove Chase back to The Mermaid.

Chase kept looking at me on the drive, I could feel his gaze on me as though it was a tangible thing I could reach out and touch.

I could still feel the sensations of his tongue on and in me, the warmth of his body pressed against mine. His kisses were tender, yet there was an urgency about them. I put a hand to my mouth as I revelled in thoughts of us kissing with the juices of each other mingling on our breath.

As I pulled into the car park in front of the pub, Chase put his hand on my thigh, halting me from getting out of the car.

“Alyssa,” he whispered.

I looked at him and saw my own thoughts and feelings reflected. I couldn’t keep denying how I felt about this man. But what did I feel? Was I attracted to him? Unquestionably! Did I want to see where this went? That brought more questions than my brain could process. Questions I didn’t want to answer yet. I wanted to bask in the glow a little longer. But I couldn’t lead him on.

“Chase, can we not talk about this? I mean, let’s just enjoy tonight and we can talk another time.”

“Okay.”

He let out a sigh, seeming a little disappointed.

“I’m not pushing you away, and I’m not denying I’m glad that happened. I just want to enjoy this a little longer before we actually air everything.”

“I only wanted to say how beautiful you looked. I didn’t want to get into a serious talk either.”

“Oh.”

I could feel the blush as it crept up my neck and spread across my cheeks like wildfire.

“I’m sorry, I—”

“Don’t worry about it,” he cut in and placed a hand on my cheek.

I was hypnotised by his gaze and the hint of a Brazilian accent. His eyes were the most gorgeous green with little flecks of gold dust in them.

Looking him over, I certainly couldn’t deny there was a chemistry between us. The way he made me laugh, his genuine kindness, and of course the sex. Oh my god, the sex was amazing. Mind-blowing. I closed my eyes as I recalled the fire he lit within me.

A light kiss was placed over my lips and then I heard his car door open. His warmth withdrew as he exited the car. He came round to my door and opened it for me. Who said chivalry was dead?

We walked to the door of the pub and Chase opened it, waving his hand for me to enter before him.

The party was still going strong. Either people were excited for Chase to get the promotion he deserved, or they just liked an excuse for a good party. Maybe it was a little of both.

Clark was sat talking to Jenny as I made my way to the bar. I ordered a round of drinks and invited Chase to join us. He declined, saying that he had been gone from the party and should really make the rounds to mingle with people. I won’t deny I felt a bit stung by his rejection, but I’d be a hypocrite because I had done the same minutes before in the car.

I made my way to the table with drinks for Clark and Jenny as well as a glass of Pepsi for myself.

I plastered a fake smile on my face and squeezed through the crowded tables to get to where they sat.

“Hey!” Clark greeted as he stood to take the drinks from me.

“Hey,” I said in a false cheerful tone.

“We wondered where you guys had got to. You’ve been gone for ages.”

“Oh, well, we had to get Lexi home. When we got to hers, she was in a bit of a state, so I put her in the shower, got her a glass of water and helped her into some nightwear. Then I helped her into bed and stayed a few minutes to make sure she was going to be okay alone. We left when she fell asleep. Then we went by Chase’s house so he could get showered and changed. The smell probably won’t leave my car for days. Then I got side-tracked when Chase gave me a grand tour of his gorgeous home. He has a library, I mean a real library with a wrought iron spiral staircase.”

Okay, I was babbling. I tend to have a case of severe word vomit when I get nervous. I didn’t want to give the game away, but I couldn’t think of how to explain the amount of time we had been gone.

“A library? Wow. Sounds cool!” Jenny chimed in.

“Yeah, it was the most gorgeous room in the entire house. We entered downstairs at first, but then the staircase led to an upper level and it was just… stunning! There was an old comfy bat wing chair, a loveseat in the window. I couldn’t believe my eyes. He even had wrought iron ladders to go with his bespoke shelves.”

“Oh wow! I am so jealous. That’s the sort of thing I would do if I had the money,” Jenny replied.

“Sounds awesome,” Clark said.

“It was.”

“I remember when Parker, his cousin, came into the store for things and would make special orders for things we didn’t stock. They did that house up slowly but surely. I haven’t been since he got it finished.”

“Yeah, he said Parker was in construction.”

“He’s one of the store’s best customers. Has been for a long time.”

I was glad the conversation was going in this direction. This, I could cope with.

***

The rest of the night passed with idle chitchat and some flirting between Clark and Jenny.

I didn’t see Chase for the remainder of the night, at least not to speak to. I noticed him making his rounds to talk to friends and work colleagues. He looked happy, but if you looked a little closer there seemed to be something bubbling under the surface.

I didn’t like to think that I had inadvertently hurt him. Was I being self-absorbed, assuming that it was because of me? Was he even hurting or was it my imagination? I needed to talk to him, but not in the pub.

I drove Clark home and took Jenny with us.

“Thanks for the lift, Lys,” Clark said after we dropped Jenny off.

“We both know it’s not out of my way,” I replied as I kept my eyes on the road.

“This is truly a sweet ride,” he said, gesturing to my gorgeous new car.

“Yeah, I’m glad the money came through from the house. You still on for helping me house hunt next week?”

“Sure thing. If you can get a house as sweet as this car, you’ll be laughing!”

I chuckled quietly. Clark really is one of the best friends a girl could wish for. He had taken my mind off the events that unfolded tonight without even knowing he was doing it.

“Jenny seems sweet on you,” I changed the subject.

“She’s a really great girl,” he replied quietly.

I chanced a look at him and saw him blush a rosy colour.

“She’s perfect for you. She works at Emerging Butterfly, you know.”

“Yeah, she filled me in while you were gone.”

“So?” I prompted.

“So, what?” He wasn’t biting tonight.

“Oh come on, Clark, we share everything, I want details.” Well, we don’t share quite everything. The mind-blowing orgasms I’d had at the hands of Chase remained my secret.

“Okay, okay. I asked her out on a date next Saturday and she agreed.”

His smile almost cracked his face open.

“That’s brilliant. Aw, you two will make such cute babies.”

“Umm…” His blush came back.

“Sorry, I know, too early. But I’m a woman, we think about these things way ahead of time.”

I had always wanted children but Ethan hadn’t wanted to burden a child with ALS. We both knew that in 90 per cent of cases, ALS isn’t hereditary, but Ethan didn’t want our child to fall in the other 10 per cent. Plus, we were a little too young to be having children. We wanted careers and other stuff first. Now we’d never know if our child would have been okay. We’d left it too late. Ethan’s ALS had been fast onset and he had declined quite quickly.

“Lys, we’re here!” Clark pointed out, bringing my mind out of the past.

“Sorry, I was just thinking.”

I pulled up just outside Clark’s house. In all the time we’d been friends, I hadn’t yet been inside his house. Friday nights when we had a takeaway and a movie were always at mine.

“Go home and get some rest, you look tired,” Clark said as he made to open his door.

“I’m pretty exhausted.” Not to mentioned sated, but that was for me to revel in when I lay in bed tonight, remembering the night’s events.

Clark gave me a friendly peck on the cheek and hopped out of the car.

“Enjoy your lie-in. I’ll call you,” he said as he closed the door and I opened the window.

“I will. Thanks for a nice night. I’m glad you hit it off with Jenny.”

“Me too!” he called with a wave as he stepped up to his front door.

I watched as he went inside, then drove away.

I drove home, but dreaded walking into the shithole I lived in. I look forward to the day I can move, but I have to find somewhere first. There are a couple of possibilities that Clark and I are checking out. I hope one of them turns out to be “the one”.

Chapter Fifteen

Chase

I got out of the cab and opened my front door. I stopped for a moment as I remembered what had transpired the last time I was home. Alyssa. The beautiful, fiery red-head with a sassy attitude and an incredible body.

I hadn’t stopped thinking about her all night. I had made my rounds in the pub, but had been careful not to interact with her after how we left things in the car. I got that she didn’t want everyone to know. Jeez, I didn’t exactly want to broadcast it either. Not because I’m embarrassed, more because I am a private person, especially when it comes to my love life or lack thereof.

I can still smell her scent in the house, on my skin, on my clothes. If I close my eyes, I can conjure up an image of her beautiful, creamy smooth skin. I had explored a large area of exposed skin, but there’s still more to be explored if she’s willing to let me. As I conjure up an image of her breasts, my cock twitches.

I walk upstairs to my room and strip naked, ready for my second shower of the night.

The water beats hard against my skin as I close my eyes and conjure up image after image of the woman I have been obsessed with since I met her. My hand automatically reaches for my cock as it hardens when I think of each part of that amazing body.

From her fiery red hair, to her ocean blue eyes, to the full mouth, pert breasts, and ass. Oh my god, it’s like I can still taste the sweetness of our mixed juices on her tongue as she fucked my mouth with it.

My cock hardens even more and begs to be touched. Only it’s not my touch it’s begging me for. I want Alyssa again. She is the most extraordinary woman I have ever met. I stroke my cock and lean my head back against the wall. My eyes close of their own accord and I remember the feeling of Alyssa’s warm wet walls surrounding me, milking me for all I am worth. Her pussy was tight, hot, and wet. Every man’s fantasy is to look down at a body like hers beneath them—only, for me this was no fantasy. I had been lucky enough to have the real thing earlier this very evening.

Stroking myself was nowhere near as much fun, but the images my mind retained helped me to get my release. I sagged against the wall, sated yet wanting more. I lowered myself to the floor and sat below the steady stream of water. The beads of water hitting my back relaxed me. They released a tension in my muscles that I hadn’t realised was there.

I walked out of my wet room and realised how exhausted I was. I towel dried myself and walked to my king size bed. I laid my towel over the chair next to the bed and crawled in under the covers. I turned off the lamp and lay there thinking about what had happened in this bed earlier.

How could I make Alyssa see that we’d make a good couple? That was the question I fell asleep uttering.

Chapter Sixteen

Alyssa

I crawled into bed, pulled the covers to my chin, and lay awake wondering what would come from tonight. Every action has its consequence. I knew that by now. But what would Chase expect from me? Anything? Nothing? Everything? And what would I be able or willing to give him?

Lys, you were my best friend, my soul mate and so much more. I believe we’ll see each other again someday when our souls reincarnate. But for now, I am out of time and out of goodbyes. I can’t say the word, it seems so final.

I want you to know that one day, when you least expect it, you will find love again and it is with my blessing. I want someone to give you everything that I never got time to give you. Children. A house with a white picket-fence. A dog. I know, such cliché things, but I want you to promise me you will live on and you will live life to its fullest. I want you to embrace each day as though it were a friend and welcome the comfort the night brings.

I woke with sweat covering every inch of me. I had dreamed of the note Ethan had left me. His ALS meant he couldn’t hold a pen properly to write, but he could type slowly. Finding the note had torn me apart. The words that replayed in my head taunted me. He told me he wanted me to love again. But surely he hadn’t meant so soon? Could I fall for Chase?

I got out of bed and retrieved a cigarette and my lighter. I opened the window and sat on the windowsill. The nicotine didn’t help me think straighter or anything, it was something I did when I was stressed or upset about something. I had learnt to keep some in a drawer for when my nightmares occurred. There was something about the act that soothed me and helped me focus on the here and now instead of the dreams that haunted me.

I finished my cigarette and sat looking out into the night, or the early hours of the morning, I wasn’t sure. There was something so tranquil about the neighbourhood. Sure, I hated this pokey little bedsit, but I could be happy here in Brockwood.

I shut the window and got back into bed. I pulled the covers around me like a cocoon and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

***

The next morning, I got up and went straight into the kitchen. A good strong coffee was called for. I opened the cabinet and retrieved my caramel lattes. I boiled the kettle and got some bread out to make myself some toast.

I sat at my small dining table and ate my peanut butter on toast. The caramel latte delighted my taste buds and everything seemed okay. For now, at least.

I had nothing particular planned for the day, so I sent a text to Jenny asking if she’d had a good night. She replied saying she had and that she was grateful for me introducing her to Clark. I asked if she wanted to meet for a coffee in the week and she eagerly agreed. Girly gossip was something I lacked these days. I missed my best friend from back home. Phylis is the greatest. She makes you laugh until you cry. She has the best gossip and always knows what to say to me. Of course, Phylis isn’t her real name. Her name is Justine, but when we first met, we were talking about something—I completely forget what—and I called her a philistine. From that, I decided her nickname should be Phylis. Her husband Gage and I found it hilarious how she reacted the first time I referred to her that way. Needless to say she didn’t react well. But over time, she had come to expect me to call her by her new nickname and was more comfortable with it.

Thinking about Phylis made me text her. I hadn’t caught up with her since my move. She had sent me a couple of texts, but I couldn’t talk to her as well as I used to. Before Ethan’s death, the four of us went everywhere together. Ethan and Justine were twins, born only a couple of minutes apart and Gage was his best friend, so it was always fun to hang around together. If we went anywhere without each other, people in town would ask where the others were.

I was desperate to get my friendship with her back on track and could only hope that she was still the ever patient woman I knew and loved. Sure, it had only been a few months since I left, but that didn’t excuse my lack of contact with my best friend and sister-in-law.

It was hard to think of what to say to her. I had lost my husband but she had lost her twin, the other half of her. They were so close that it was almost like she had lost part of herself when he died.