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  “OK, dressed,” I said, sliding open the repurposed barn door that now served as bathroom door. “Now shoes and we’ll go.”

  Sebastian was standing by the window, hands in his pockets. He turned to me, his eyes traveling down my body. A muscle in his jaw twitched, and he cleared his throat. “You got the bin pulls attached. I like them.”

  “Me too.” I hurried over to the corner shelves, beneath which I had shoeboxes stacked, and dug out my light brown wedge sandals. “Actually, I’m happy with the whole place. Wish my mother wasn’t kicking me out of it next week. It’s rented for the summer,” I went on when I saw the question on his face. I shoved my feet into the sandals and tugged the straps over my heels.

  He nodded in understanding. “So you need to find an apartment?”

  “Yes.” I grabbed my phone off the table and led the way out, pulling the door shut behind him. “But before that happens, I’ll need to find a better paying job. Working for Natalie is fun, but it won’t pay my rent.”

  Sebastian fell silent as we headed across the drive toward my parents house, and he walked sort of slowly and stiffly, like a prisoner headed for the guillotine.

  “Hey.” I grabbed his hand. “No worries, OK?”

  He looked down at our hands, his mouth set in a grim line.

  “Are you nervous?”

  “A little.”

  “You know what I used to do when I’d get nervous before auditions?”

  “What?”

  “I’d imagine the very worst thing that could happen. Like forgetting my lines or falling on my face. Wetting my pants. Those things still wouldn’t kill me.”

  He stopped walking right before we got to the front porch. “Except when I imagine the worst thing that could happen tonight, Skylar, I’m not wetting my pants. I’m stabbing someone.”

  I turned to him. “Who are you stabbing?”

  “I don’t know. Whoever’s closest.” His worried expression told me he was serious, and I was tempted to hug him, tell him he didn’t have to come to dinner if he didn’t want to, assure him I understood. But somehow I thought that wasn’t what he needed.

  “Well, remind me not to sit next to you, then.” I headed up the steps. “Come on. Let’s do this.”

  My family welcomed Sebastian warmly, Natalie giving me a smug smile behind his back as he shook our father’s hand.

  “I take it things are going well,” she whispered on our way to sit down at the big antique table in the dining room, which was already laden with platters and serving bowls full of food.

  I shrugged. “They’re OK.”

  “I want details!”

  “Tomorrow at work,” I promised.

  “Sebastian, why don’t you sit here next to Skylar?” my mother suggested, pulling her usual chair for him. I sent her a grateful look.

  Natalie sat on Sebastian’s other side, and Dan next to her. I wondered if she’d confronted him about the text messages yet. We’d have to talk about that tomorrow, too.

  “Sebastian, do you have an older brother?” asked Jillian, who was seated across from him. “I went to school with a Malcolm Pryce.”

  He nodded. “Yes, that’s my brother. He’s three years older than I am.”

  “Does he still live around here?”

  “Traverse City. He’s an attorney in my father’s practice also.”

  OK, so far so good. He wasn’t exactly relaxing in his chair, but his tone of voice sounded normal.

  Jillian picked up a salad bowl. “Oh, are you a lawyer?”

  “Yes.” He swallowed, maybe bracing himself for more questions about his past, and I put my hand on his leg to remind him he had a friend at the table. I wasn’t going to let the conversation go anywhere that would embarrass him. I might not have a college degree but I was a master at manipulating a crowd. He patted my hand, and I smiled at him.

  Suddenly I could feel my mother’s eyes on me, and I could just imagine how pleased she was—not only had I brought a handsome new friend to dinner, but he was a lawyer too. Imagine that, Skylar did something right! Frowning, I picked up my wine glass and took a big sip.

  The rest of the meal went smoothly, and even if Sebastian remained a little tense, he fielded questions politely and complimented my mother on her cooking. I winced once when Dan asked him why he’d moved back here from New York, but he simply said he missed the area and wanted to be closer to his family. My shoulders wilted with relief, and I put my hand back on his leg under the table. He covered it with his again, and this time, he left it there.

  Our eyes met in the mirror above the sideboard on the opposite wall, and something about the look we exchanged made my insides swoosh, my panties get a little wet. Maybe it was just the candlelight playing tricks on me, but I liked the fire I saw in his eyes, which looked darker in the dim room.

  After coffee and dessert, my sisters and I helped my mother clear the table, and then they shooed me back into the living room, where Sebastian sat with Dan and my father discussing the lack of skill in the Tiger bullpen.

  He stood when I entered. “I should get going.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” I said, hoping our evening wasn’t over but unsure how to keep it going.

  Sebastian thanked my parents for dinner and shook everyone’s hands—I wondered if handshakes still bothered him—and we walked outside. The sun was setting, bathing the undulating landscape in beautiful amber light. Row after row of cherry trees grew on the hills, and I inhaled the lush air, which was much cooler than it had been all day.

  “So was it torture?” I asked as we strolled toward his truck, wrapping my arms around myself to fight the chill.

  He shook his head. “Your family is very nice.”

  “They are, thanks. Sorry for all the questions. They can be so overbearing sometimes.”

  He smiled slightly. “That’s OK. Nothing I couldn’t handle tonight.”

  “I’m glad.”

  We reached his truck and he took his keys from his pocket. Part of me wanted to invite him in to my guest house for a beer, but another part said that wouldn’t be wise. Maybe it was enough today that we’d spent time alone, that we’d kissed, that he’d had dinner with my family.

  “Well, goodnight. Thanks for coming.” Rising up on tiptoe, I put my hands on his chest and kissed his cheek. He kissed mine too, and then pulled me in close for a hug. I held him tight, my arms around his neck, our chests pressed together. I could smell the clean, masculine scent of his skin, feel his breaths start to come faster, igniting the hum inside my body. My thoughts strayed to my vibrator.

  “It’s the craziest thing,” he said in my ear, his voice low and raw.

  “What is?”

  “I don’t want to leave you.”

  My heart nearly burst open with longing for him. “I don’t want you to, but this house is, like, right next to my parents, and—“

  “Come home with me.” He released me slightly, keeping his arms around my waist and looking down at me. I saw that fire in his eyes again like I had in the mirror, felt the heat radiating from his body. “Give me another chance to make up for this afternoon.”

  “Yes,” I said without any hesitation. “Just give me a second.”

  “Skylar, wait.” He grabbed my arm, and I worried that he’d changed his mind.

  His face was grave. “I want you so bad I can hardly breathe, but I have to be honest. I’m not looking for—”

  “Shhh.” I put a finger over his lips. “I’m not asking for a commitment, Sebastian. I just want to be with you.”

  Heart pounding, I ran into the house and pulled Natalie aside. “Can you grab my phone from the kitchen? If Mom asks, just tell her Sebastian and I went for a drive.”

  “Awwwww,” she said, her voice rising like I’d been caught doing something naughty. “I’m gonna tell.”

  I slapped her arm. “Shhhh! Just grab it please.”

  Laughing, she ducked into the kitchen, where my mother was blasting Pavarotti and loading the dis
hwasher. Not that she’d have cared what I was doing—she’d probably have been happy, actually—but I didn’t want any questions tonight.

  A moment, later Natalie returned with my phone. “Here you go. Have fun. Details tomorrow,” she said forcefully.

  “Promise.” I scooted for the door.

  “And don’t be late for work!”

  I rushed back outside, where Sebastian was waiting for me at the open passenger door of the truck. “Everything OK?” he asked, helping me up.

  I smiled at him. “Yes. Everything is perfect.”

  “Good. Now buckle your seatbelt. I’m planning to speed.”

  Seventeen

  Sebastian

  I drove back to the cabin with a heavy foot, one hand on the wheel and the other on Skylar’s lap. She held it in both of hers, almost like a child clings to the string of a helium balloon. I knew why—she was scared I’d change my mind.

  But I wanted Skylar in my bed more than I could remember wanting any woman there. Maybe it was the ten-year crush, maybe it was the way she kept touching me during dinner, maybe it was the smell of her hair when I’d hugged her or the feel of her breasts against my chest. Maybe it was her willingness to be patient but also to push me to do things I was reluctant to do.

  I still couldn’t get over the way she’d made me grab her throat this afternoon. What had possessed her to do that? Why did she trust me more than I trusted myself? What did she see in me?

  Whatever it was, she’d silenced the voice within me. I knew better than to think it would last forever, but I hadn’t had one disturbing thought at dinner, unless you counted thinking about fucking Skylar with my tongue while her parents were at the table. That was kind of disturbing. But it didn’t scare me—in fact, when I was hugging her goodbye, the only fear I had was, What if I don’t touch her tonight and tomorrow I’m a prisoner of my own mind again?

  I couldn’t waste this chance. I’d dreamed of her for too long, and I was tired of being so fucking alone. I wanted her. I needed her. Now.

  I took my hand and put it on her bare leg, just above her knee, tempting the voice to tell me to stop.

  Nothing.

  I slid it higher up her thigh, heard her breath catch.

  But in my head, exquisite silence.

  She widened her knees, inviting me, and I slipped my hand to her pale inner thigh, beneath her dress. The skin there was silky beneath my fingertips, and I traced a little spiral pattern, moving toward her pussy.

  “I’m going to kiss you here,” I told her, never taking my eyes off the road. “And here.” I brushed my fingers over the crotch of her panties, and she spread her legs farther. “And especially here.” Edging my fingers inside the silk, I teased her open. She moaned lightly as I circled my fingers over the hot little button. “I want to feel your clit get hard against my tongue.”

  “Oh God,” she gasped, tilting her hips toward my hand.

  It was so fucking sexy I nearly pulled over. But I didn’t want to rush this. I’d been dreaming about her for ten fucking years. The first time had to be perfect, slow and sensual and romantic. Candles and wine and soft, clean sheets.

  If I made it home.

  “I love that you’re wet already,” I said, sliding one fingertip inside her, the other hand gripping the wheel tightly.

  “I’ve been wet since you took your shirt off on the dock,” she breathed. “God, that feels so good. I want more.” She grabbed my wrist and pushed my finger deeper inside her, nearly causing me to run off the road.

  Breathing hard, I fingered her as she moaned softly, imagining my dick sliding between those soft, snug velvet walls. It swelled inside my pants, bulging against the seam. “My cock is so hard right now,” I told her, trying to keep my voice steady as my foot pushed harder on the accelerator. “I want to fuck you with it. I want it right here.” I plunged two fingers inside her.

  “Sebastian,” she panted, gyrating against my hand. “I want you so badly. I want my hands on your cock, and I want it inside me. Hurry.”

  My mouth fell open. Jesus Christ. I’d never been with a woman who talked that way, ever. And the fact that it was Skylar had me jumping out of my skin.

  OK, fuck the candles and wine.

  I turned off the main highway on to my driveway, tires screeching, gravel spitting, and flew fifty feet through the woods toward the cabin before slamming on the brakes.

  Before I even had the truck in park, she was slipping her shoes from her feet.

  I undid my belt and jeans and shoved them down enough to free my cock. “Shit, I don’t have a—“

  “I don’t care.” Eyes on my erection, she slid her panties down her legs. “I’m on the pill.”

  “Then come here.” I reached for her, flipping her onto my lap.

  Reaching beneath her dress, I fisted my cock as she straddled me and positioned the tip between her legs. For just one second, I had a flash of doubt. Not an obsessive thought, but just a concern. She’s so small.

  “Don’t you fucking dare.” Lowering herself, she took me in deep, slowly sliding all the way down, her eyes steady on mine, her hands squeezing my shoulders. “I want this, Sebastian. I want this so badly. I fucking need it. Give it to me.”

  My name on her lips as she glided over the most sensitive part of my body set fire to my blood. With her tight, wet pussy sheathing my cock, any thought of turning back was abandoned. My body took over, yanking down the loose straps of her dress and taking her breasts in my hands. They were perfect—not too big, but round and plump and creamy white, with pert little light pink tips. “Yes,” she breathed when I sucked on one taut peak, her hips beginning to move over mine. “Oh God, that feels so good.”

  Oh fuck.

  This could potentially be over ridiculously, tragically fast. She was too beautiful, too warm, too wet, too fearless. And the way she was looking at me, like my cock was the best thing she’d ever felt inside her, like she couldn’t get enough and yet it was too much, like she wanted this as much as I did. Was that even possible? I slid my hands beneath her dress, clutching her to me as I flicked her nipple with my tongue and thrust up inside her.

  “Yes, yes,” she murmured, rocking against me, her fingers digging into my arms. “I love your mouth on me, and your body is so hot, and your face is so beautiful, and your cock is so big—”

  “Fuck,” I seethed, sucking air between my teeth. “Goddammit, Skylar. I wanted to take my time, give you everything you want. You keep moving like that, talking like that, I won’t be able to last.”

  “I’m getting everything I want.” Grinding against me, she arched her back and swiveled her hips in some clever little female maneuver that had me groaning in agony. “Right now. Right here. Right there…fuck yes, right there.”

  “Yeah? You want it right there?” I tilted my lower body to give her a deeper angle, and she cried out, her eyes closing, her movements small but fast and frantic and fuck she was so beautiful when she came, her head thrown back, her mouth open wide, her pussy clenching my cock in tight, hard contractions I could feel.

  Heat buzzed through my arms and legs, centering in my groin as I grabbed her hips and worked her up and down my cock, my eyes fastened on her perfect tits as they bounced in front of me. God, she was so wet and tight and her little noises were so hot and this was so much better than my fantasies because she was here and I was coming inside her right. fucking. now. I growled, my body seized up as the climax hit, but she kept moving, sliding up and down my shaft, crying out every time her ass hit my thighs, taking every last drop I had to give.

  When my body had gone still, she ran her hands through my hair, down my arms, up my chest, finally taking my head in her arms, pulling it to her chest. I lay my cheek against her breasts and listened to her heartbeat, closing my eyes and thanking whatever gods existed for letting me have this, even if it was only for tonight.

  “Did I rush you?” she asked breathlessly, her lips against my forehead.

  “No.” I slid my
hands up the back of her dress and locked my arms around her. “Believe me, I’m happy I held out as long as I did.”

  She laughed. “I like hearing you’re happy.”

  Then stay with me, I thought. Stay with me.

  Eighteen

  Skylar

  He seemed so different. So relaxed and at ease in his skin, so unafraid. I wondered if it was stress relief—the sex itself—or if it was that he’d broken down a barrier—sex with me. But I didn’t dare ask about it. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, right?

  We went into the cabin and cleaned up, Sebastian offering the bathroom to me first. “There are clean washcloths in the bottom left drawer, towels under the sink, soap in the shower. Use anything you want.”

  I felt pretty wet and sticky, so I decided to take a quick shower. I hung my dress and panties on the door and washed up with a bar of soap in his shower that smelled delicious and looked like it had honeycomb in it. After drying off with a fluffy navy blue towel, I hung it up and slipped back into my panties and dress.

  When I emerged from the bathroom, Sebastian was just coming in from the patio, his feet bare. “I thought maybe we could lie in the hammock. It’s cool out there, but the sky is clear. Good night to see stars.”

  “I saw stars twenty minutes ago in your truck,” I told him with a smile. “Right through the roof.”

  He grinned back at me before pulling a thick charcoal gray fleece blanket from an old trunk serving as a coffee table. “We’ll take this blanket out, but if you’re cold just tell me.”

  “OK.” I picked up a framed photograph on a side table. “Who’s this?” I asked, turning it so he could see the photograph of the two grinning little girls, one missing both front teeth.

  “Emily and Hannah. My nieces. They gave that to me last Christmas.” He switched off the living room lamp as I set the frame down.

  “Ah. They live around here?”

  He nodded and turned the kitchen light off. “Malcolm and his family live in Traverse.”