STORY EXCERPT

She was just glad she would not run into Rick. Seeing him would just be too painful. Running into Phillip would make her sad, but she could handle it. She had loved Rick’s family almost as much as she loved him.

Lena entered the store and looked around. It still looked the same. The familiarity sent a feeling of warmth through her. She felt at ease being in public. A young couple stood over some light fixtures and a young man with a blue vest was helping them.

She decided to look at the paint cards and find the exact color she had in mind. She found it and walked to the paint aisle. The color she needed was on the top shelf. Great. No one was around to help her. Maybe she could stand on her toes and reach up. She set her purse on the ground and reached up as far as she could. She saw a shadow behind her and assumed it was the young employee.

“Can you help me reach that can of paint? Buttercup yellow.”

“Sure,” said a deep voice behind her. Her body tensed up. It couldn’t be Rick could it? Was she that unlucky?

He reached across her shoulders, grabbed the paint, and set it on the floor. Her belly quivered and her nipples tightened. Only one man made her feel that way.

“Is this the right one?” She had heard that voice so many times in her dreams. Was it real or her imagination?

She couldn’t even speak so she nodded her head and turned to face him. Two long, agonizing years of not seeing the man she loved. Looking into his bright-blue eyes she felt her heart speed up, she felt alive. She was supposed to feel nothing but indignation and pain.

His brown hair had grown and it was shaggy instead of short and proper. His gray T-shirt fit snuggly across his chest and did nothing to hide the muscles on his arms. He had a lot more of them than he used to.

He stood there just as silently as she did, looking so solemn and serious. So unlike the man she remembered, who was always joking around with everyone. Her dad hated that about Rick. He thought Rick didn’t take life seriously.

She could feel his eyes traveling from her much shorter blonde hair to her slimmer form. He frowned and she felt self-conscious. Was she unattractive to him now? Then she got angry with herself. Why should she care what he thought? They were not together, although they had never officially broken up.

She lifted her chin up and gave him her best ‘I don’t care’ look. She reached down and grabbed the paint, her purse, and stalked off to the register.

“Hey. That is too heavy for you.” He grabbed it from her hands and walked over to the counter to set it down. “You need to eat your Wheaties, Lena.”

She frowned at him and tossed her short blonde hair over her shoulder. Two years of absence and his comment was on how much weight she lost. She cleared her throat and gave him a cold look. “What I need is some trays and brushes. If you’re working here, you should find some for me.”

He grinned at her and saluted like a captain.

He came back a few minutes later with a bunch of both items in his hands.

“I don’t need that many. It’s just me,” she informed him, trying to keep her voice cold. It wasn’t easy either. She wanted to just stand and stare at him for a while. She wanted to throw herself in his arms and ask him to kiss her. How pathetic was that? Her therapist would have a field day with Lena and her weakness for one man.

He gave her a friendly smile. “Today’s special comes with a free helper.”

She looked up at him. He looked totally serious and once she would have joked back with him, but those days were gone. This was the man who hurt her, who accused her of playing with his heart and left her with Alexander. She could not afford to let her guard down. She was barely picking up the pieces from the last time he broke her heart. She would never survive round two.

“I don’t need help.”

ADULT EXCERPT

Then she felt his hand under her T-shirt, caressing her bare skin on her stomach. It felt so good. She could think of a hundred reasons to protest his actions, but she liked the way his hands felt on her skin. It had been so long since she had been touched with intimacy. He cupped her breast over her bra and she moaned his name again. Her nipples turned into little beads.

She put her hands on his chest but instead of pushing him away, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer. She felt his tongue tracing her lips and she opened up like a flower desperate to feel the heat of the sun. His tongue explored her mouth and she could feel her belly tightening up with desire. She wanted this man, why try to deny it? She needed, wanted to feel the heat burning though her blood. Burning away her fears and doubts.

He deepened the kiss and she felt his groan. He let go of her lips. “You are as addictive as any drug, baby. I have dreamt of you so many times and woke up devastated it was only a dream.”

“If we’re dreaming, then we might as well go for it, right?” she teased, looking up at him. She cupped his cheeks and smoothed her palms over his face, a face that appeared in her dreams often. His blue eyes were so bright it made her catch her breath.

He grinned and stripped her of her shirt. She was glad she had worn her pretty purple bra today instead of the plain white one. She wanted to look sexy for him.

He barely noticed. He unclipped her bra in a hurry and went straight for her nipple. Her body quivered with the force of her desire. His tongue swirling around her breast made her feel hot and excited. He used his thumb and forefinger to tug on the nipple until she writhed in pleasure with the sensations he was creating.

She caressed his back and pushed his shirt up until he removed it. There were so many more muscles to explore. She felt like a kid in a candy store. Her hands were everywhere, exploring his new form.

“You won’t regret this later?” he stopped and asked cautiously.

She shook her head. No matter what she decided, she wanted him right now. She craved to feel his touch one more time. “I need you, Rick. I have felt so lonely without you.”

His eyes were so warm and shiny with desire. He kissed her lips lightly, in a tender gesture. His lips continued to her neck and shoulder blade. “I have missed you, Lena.”

His thighs had her pinned to the mattress but she loved the feeling. He nudged her thighs until they were wide open. His fingers stroked across her pussy. Lena closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of him touching her again. He knew all the right spots that melted her resistance.

“You are so wet. Is it for me, baby?” She loved the sound of his husky voice as he spoke to her.

She couldn’t speak as he found her clit and swiped a finger over it.

“Mmmm,” she mumbled, feeling her stomach muscles clench at what he was doing. He was taking his time exploring her pussy with his fingers. He knew it would get her hot and bothered, more than she already was.

“I need to be inside you, Lena. It’s been much too long,” he whispered against her throat, licking her skin with his tongue. She wanted that too.

“Are you still on the pill, Lena?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

She felt his hardness at her entrance. It had been so long and she tensed for a second. He looked at her with a question in his eyes.

“Sorry.” She forced her body to relax. This was Rick, he would be patient with her. “It’s been a long time for me.”

He gave her a soft, sympathetic look. “For me too, baby. Hang onto me. We’re taking this ride together.”

He took her mouth in a steamy kiss that made her stomach do a flip-flop. She started feeling hot again, floating away on a cloud of sexual haze. Her nervousness disappeared. The only thing she could do is feel. His hands exploring her body was sending shivers along her skin. She could feel his shaft in between her legs at her entrance. She knew she was wet and ready for him. He entered her slowly, pushing in with gentleness. Her vaginal walls expanded to let him in. She could feel his hard cock invading her and she loved it.

“That feels amazing, Lena.” His voice sounded heavy with emotion and she grabbed onto his hips. “You are so tight, it’s killing me already.”

She wrapped her legs around his waist just as he thrust upward. She felt his hands underneath her ass. He began to thrust in and out of her at a steady pace. “Oh yes, Rick. Faster.”