Lanie“Where to, ma’am?” Andrew asked, kicking the door to the porch closed behind him.“That way!” I pointed at the bedroom with the champagne bottle.Nipping at my neck, Andrew carried me across the living room and into the suite’s bedroom, where he set me on the edge of the bed before standing back and looking down at me. Water ran in little rivulets down his neck and chest, making the already delicious muscles that much more lickable.“Anything else your heart currently desires?” he asked.“Hm. Let me think.” I dramatically leaned back against my elbows, taking my time appraising his nearly-naked form. “How about you dance for me?”Andrew’s jaw fell. “Dance?”“Yep.” Setting the champagne bottle on the floor, I made a big scene of crawling across the bed, shaking my rear as I went. Andrew growled, but I ignored him, grabbing my phone from the bed stand and putting on the first upbeat pop song I came to.“Dance,” I repeated, settling against the pillows. I knew I was dripping water
LanieI pierced his gaze with mine. “I want you more than ever.”Andrew’s lips parted, and his breathing quickened. We continued to stare at each other, lust and admiration filling the air till it seemed as if the room would explode from the force of it all.“Wait here,” Andrew huskily said.“I wasn’t planning on going anywhere.”Jumping from the bed, he rummaged through his bag and pulled out a condom. I watched him hungrily, my fingertips itching to get a hold of him. Andrew came toward the bed, but before he got the chance to put the condom on, I shimmied over and kissed the tip of his length.“Lanie,” Andrew murmured.How did he do that—turn my name into music? I wanted to hear it again and again. Lightly stroking the base of his dick, I swiveled my tongue over the tip. A bit of pre-come leaked out, and I swallowed it down. I wanted to taste everything he had to offer me. Nothing could go to waste.Opening my mouth wide, I swallowed him down, not stopping until his tip hit the bac
AndrewI stretched on the bed, my feet meeting a crisp spot in the sheets. My eyes were still heavy, sealed tight after what felt like a decade-long sleep.Rubbing my face, I forced my eyes open. Sunlight was coming through the open curtains, but I must have been really tired because it hadn’t woken me up. Instead, I’d slowly come back to consciousness, embracing the morning only when I finally felt like it.On the left side of the bed, Lanie stirred. She lay on her stomach, hands curled under her chin. Reaching over, I ran my palm down the length of her back. She looked so pristine and angelic sleeping there. For as long as we’d been dating, it was a shame this was only our second time waking up together.I wanted her by my side every morning. In my bed. My kitchen. My office. I wanted her filling up every corner of my life.Feeling my touch, she licked her lips and sleepily blinked her eyes open. I stayed where I was, head propped in my hand and watching her.“Hi,” she whispered.“H
LanieThe only thing worse than a tragedy was the silence that followed it.I never knew that before—not until I sat in the back of a cab with quiet cutting me to the bone. Next to me, Andrew had given up on calling the hospital, Karen, and the police. None of them had been able to provide him with all the answers he wanted.There was a car accident. Raven was in a coma. Someone else was driving. Come right away. That’s all any of them would say.Andrew sat forward, his fist pressed against his mouth, staring at the back of the driver’s seat but surely not seeing it.“Hey,” I whispered, my voice cracking.I reached over and took the hand that lay on his knee. It was too cold. He’d forgotten to put his gloves on. If it weren’t for me grabbing his jacket as we rushed out of the hotel room, he wouldn’t be wearing that either.“Raven’s a fighter,” I said.His lips twitched, and his eyes stayed where they’d been the last ten minutes. After getting the call from Karen, we were finally back
LanieKaren answered Andrew’s question. “Raven’s friend Jason was driving.”Andrew stopped pacing to stare at her. “Jason? Jason who?”I swallowed. “A friend of hers from school.”Andrew blinked and stared at me. “Okay. How come … Wait, why—?”“I’ve seen him around,” I explained, hoping that was good enough. Raven and I had talked about Jason some, but those conversations were technically confidential, and sharing them wouldn’t change anything currently happening.“Jason.” Hands on his hips, Andrew nodded. “Do we have a last name?”“Um.” Before I could answer, he stomped over to the desk. I exchanged a look with Karen, finding her eyes full of fear and despair. I’d only seen hints of Andrew’s temper before, but I got the sense I was about to experience the full force of it.“I need to know about this Jason kid who was in the car with my daughter, Raven,” he told the woman at the desk.She frowned. “I’m afraid we can’t release any information on patients.”“You have to be kidding me.”
Andrew“You’re sure?” I asked, clenching the phone tighter.“That’s what the hospital’s blood work shows us, Mr. Marx,” Officer Dean replied from the other end of the line.I held my breath, tired of the painful inhales and exhales, and looked over at Raven. Nothing had changed since I last checked her over a minute before. Same machines hooked up to her. Same bruised hands. Same cast on the arm. Same closed eyes.She looks dead.I hated myself for that awful thought, but it couldn’t be helped. I’d carry the image of Danica’s lifeless body with me for the rest of my days. I didn’t want to have to carry a mirror one featuring my daughter as well.“Things are looking good.” That’s what the doctor had said. There was a high chance Raven would wake up sometime in the next few days. Hopefully.Part of what the doctors fed me seemed to be bullshit, carefully-polished phrases and words meant to stop me from becoming hysterical. I wasn’t a fool. I knew nothing was certain and that, at any mom
LanieErica smoothly pulled her car into a spot in the hospital’s side parking lot but kept the engine on. We sat side-by-side, staring at the building in front of us.“Thanks,” I told her again. “You didn’t have to drive me.”She gave me a sad smile. “It’s okay.”I nodded, eyes tearing up again. This time, I blinked the waterworks away. I’d cried so much already, and I didn’t want to walk into Raven’s room and have Andrew see me this way. I didn’t know how much hope he still possessed, and if he saw me breaking down, it wouldn’t help any.“Have you talked to Jason?” Erica asked. She knew the whole story from A to Z. I’d called her on my way home to grab blankets and pillows on Sunday. I knew they probably had those things at the hospital, but I’d needed an hour to break down somewhere Andrew couldn’t see me. Erica, as always, had provided the crucial listening ear.“No. He wasn’t at school today. I called his parents, and they said they’ll send him to me if he wants to talk.” I shrug
Lanie“Let’s go talk in the hallway.” I slowly stood. It had occurred to me while reading to Raven that if she could hear the articles like I wanted her to, she could probably hear everything else we were saying.In the hall, I closed the door behind us. Andrew had already set to pacing, walking up and down along the hall. A bad kind of tingling covered the back of my neck.“What’s going on with the police?” I asked.“They can’t do their fucking jobs. That’s what’s going on.” Andrew pivoted, doing another march away from me. “They keep saying Jason wasn’t drinking, that he wasn’t doing drugs, that everything was normal. It was just an accident.”I bit down on my bottom lip. This again.“Car accidents happen sometimes,” I quietly said.“Not out of the blue. I’ve avoided missing dozens of animals since I started driving. Shit. Hundreds if you count the squirrels. And never once have I driven into a tree because I was trying not to run something over. Have you talked to him?”“No.” I unc
Andrew“How are you doing?” I rubbed Lanie’s shoulder, feeling silly for asking the question.She huffed out a breath, looking out the window instead of at me.I nodded. Right, then.What was it I learned in that maternity class we took? For the life of me, I couldn’t remember one thing. My pulse was racing a million miles an hour, and all my nerves were bunching up in my stomach.Lanie exhaled again, long and low, as she had another contraction.The door opened, and the doctor strode into the room with a big smile. “Let’s check you out,” she said.Lanie just pressed her lips tight together and nodded, her face growing red.“You’re doing great, honey,” I told her.She smiled up at me, but I could see the exhaustion in her eyes. She was ready for this to be over with.Taking her hand, I held it tight as the doctor checked her dilation.“Ten centimeters,” she announced. “We’re ready to push.”“Thank god,” Lanie gasped. She gritted her teeth and squeezed my hand so tight, I thought it wa
LanieI whisked the curtains open, taking in the white beach and the sparkling blue water. Palm trees and other foliage covered the far side of the bay. A few people surfed, but other than that, the area was empty.“Oh my god,” I breathed. “It’s beautiful.”Andrew’s strong arms wrapped around me from behind. “Yeah?” he murmured, laying a kiss on the side of my neck.We’d gotten to the resort after dark the night before, and all I’d really gotten to see were the patios and the lobby. I’d pored over the brochure, though, listing all the things I wanted to do.“I can’t believe we’re here for a whole week.” I rested my arms against Andrew’s.“What do you want to do today?”“Mm.” I leaned against him, thinking about it some. “Sunbathe? Take a surfing lesson? I dunno. What do you want to do?”“Spend time with you.”I spun around to face him. “I like that answer.”A knock on the door made me look over his shoulder. “It’s so early. Who is that?”Andrew shrugged but couldn’t hide the knowing l
AndrewThe door of the old house opened, and Erica came out first. She smiled at everyone over her bouquet, and a low whistle came from somewhere in the crowd.“Inappropriate,” Saxton dramatically gasped under his breath. For a moment, my nerves loosened, and I almost laughed—but Raven was coming out the door then.She wore a blue dress like Erica, just cut in a different way, with the skirt longer and no sleeves. Smiling wide, she made her way down the aisle. She walked with the slightest limp, one that might have been unnoticeable if you weren’t paying attention. It was the one leftover symptom from the car wreck, something that would likely be with her for the rest of her life, as she’d broken her leg so badly.The limp didn’t get her down, though. Overall, she’d been positive about the whole thing. Now, as she reached the end of the aisle, she looked my way and absolutely glowed.Love and pride filled my heart. Our relationship had gone through some tough times, but the last six m
Andrew3 Months Later – The Wedding“Your tie looks fine,” Bob told me.“Huh?” I dragged my gaze away from the line of trees ringing the field. “What’s that?”“You were messing with your tie again.” Bob grinned. “You ever wore one of those before?”I frowned. “Almost every day.”Bob clapped me on the back. “I was kidding, Andrew. Relax.”I took in a long breath. “Sorry.”All around us, wedding guests chatted and catering staff hurried to and from. The day was amazing, a balmy June morning. The venue Raven and Lanie had discovered couldn’t be more perfect. What was once a mansion on the outskirts of the city had been turned into a preserve complete with hiking trails and a covered area for events.“Were you this nervous?” I asked, looking Bob over.I expected him to answer in the negative—Bob was just that confident about everything. I’d only asked because I needed to keep myself busy somehow. If I didn’t spend the last fifteen minutes before my wedding talking, I’d probably die of anx
LanieLast night, he’d pulled out every time and played it safe. I knew we were taking baby steps. Going from using a condom every time to suddenly doing away with them was a leap. But I was on birth control, which I’d told him, and immediate pregnancy was extremely unlikely. I just wanted to know what it felt like to have his come fill me up.“Please baby,” I moaned. “I want to feel you.”Andrew groaned above me, and his hands tightened on my ass. I was doing him over with this talk, and I knew it. He loved it. And he probably wanted the same thing I did. So I encouraged him again by looking over my shoulder and looking him in the eye as he fucked me.“Andrew,” I purred. “Fuck me until you come inside me. Please.”And he did. He bucked wildly against me, and I came as he shot his warm silky load inside me. It was what I had needed. A closeness that we’d never experienced before. He was bent over me and kissing my spine and my shoulder blades as his orgasm ebbed away and my body thrum
LanieI woke up in the morning with Andrew’s hand on my hip. I was lying on my side, and he was behind me. I could feel his cock pressed against the small of my back. His breath was on my neck, and his closeness turned me on immediately.I was always horny in the morning, and waking up next to him was intoxicating.It was early. The room wasn’t as bright as it would be at say, seven or so in the morning. It must have been earlier, maybe six, possibly just after five. But we were both awake, and I wanted to take advantage of it before I had to leave for work at eight thirty.My life had somehow mended itself. Erica’s weekend getaway had helped, and so had Andrew’s willingness to take a good hard look at himself in the mirror and figure out what he wanted and whether or not he was willing to do what it took to get it. He shifted against me and yawned deeply.“Morning,” I whispered.His hand moved around my hip to my belly, and he pulled me in closer to him. His cock shifted between my a
AndrewHow had it taken me so long to figure out that this was what I needed? I hadn’t felt this good in years, or maybe even a decade, to be honest. Hell, maybe longer. My career had consumed my life. I’d nearly let it destroy my relationship with my daughter. Had it not been for Lanie, my life would have already imploded. Not only did she rescue the crumbling relationship with the person I loved most in this world, but she also showed me support and kindness and softness.“You’re a lucky bastard.” I smiled to myself as I rolled out of my chair and made for the kitchen.I chopped up some strawberries and tossed them on a bed of whipped cream. I added a sprinkle of icing sugar and some chocolate drizzle and left it in the fridge so that the whipped cream wouldn’t melt by the time Lanie came back down.I waited, much too nervous to do anything but pace the kitchen floor for a whole thirty-five minutes before Lanie appeared in the kitchen doorway. She was wearing a smile that eased my n
AndrewWhen I told Lanie that Raven was home, it took a lot of effort for us to cool down. We were all giggles and flirting as we went to the kitchen and each got a glass of water. Then we went out back to the patio and sat in the sun. Lanie kicked off her sandals, rested her feet in my lap, and let the sun kiss her bare legs. I ran my hands up and down them as she told me all about her weekend with Erica.“It really was beautiful there,” Lanie said. “We should go some time. You’d love the hot springs. I can only imagine how stunning it would be in the winter. And cold.”“I’ll take you whenever you want to go.”“I’ll tell you when I start to get the itch again.”“Good. What else is new? Tell me.”Lanie shrugged and sipped her water. “Besides getting totally pampered all weekend? Not much. I had some good chats with Erica, though, and I was able to sort through some things that were taking up too much space in my mind. Things about us.”“Oh?”“We need to be better at communicating,” sh
Lanie“Lunch on the corner. I saw you guys walk by and had to come after you.” He ran his hand up my hip to rest it on my waist. “Lanie, I have to apologize. I’m sorry for all this shit the last few weeks. I’ve been an ass. I want to make this work. Really. I want to be with you.”I thought I might start crying. Again. But I held on to my emotions and smiled instead. “I want that too. So badly.”He kissed me again. My heart raced and tried to fly out of my chest.He broke away and threw his arm out to flag down a passing cab. We both piled into the back seat, and he told the driver his address. Then he pulled me into his lap, pushed my skirt up so he could rest his hands on my bare thighs, and crushed his mouth against mine.“What about your car?” I asked him and pressed against him tightly.“Fuck it. I’ll get it later.” He slipped his hands into my hair and pulled me down for another long round of kisses.I clung to him and didn’t care that there was someone in the car with us. He wa