Rebekah took a deep breath and knocked on Isaac’s apartment door. She knew she probably shouldn’t show up unannounced. He might not even be home. She wanted to clear the air between them now. She didn’t want anything to weigh on her thoughts while she was having dinner with Eric. Or while they picked out her engagement ring.A minute later the door swung open, and Trey Mills stood in the doorway in nothing but a pair of black satin boxer shorts. “Hey, Rebekah,” he said with a devilish grin. “What brings you here?”“Uh…” Why was Trey in Isaac’s apartment? Maybe they’d hit it off after she and Eric had left the evening before. Okay. That made sense. But why was he almost naked? “Is… is I-Isaac h-here?”“Yeah, he’s here. Why don’t you come in?”Trey stepped to the side, and Rebekah entered the apartment. She could smell dinner cooking. Garlic, oregano, parmesan. Isaac had always been an excellent cook. Italian cuisine was only one of his specialties. Trey shut the door behind her and pre
“I’m always interested in a party,” Trey said.“No,” Isaac said emphatically.“I’ll see you guys later,” Rebekah said.Trey grabbed her and hugged her. “Thanks for introducing me to your ex-boyfriend,” Trey murmured into her ear so Isaac couldn’t hear. “He’s way fun to f**k with. Mmm, and f**k.”Poor Isaac. He had no idea who he’d gotten himself tangled up with here.Trey released her and offered a lopsided, ornery grin. He winked. Rebekah’s heart skipped a beat. On second thought. Lucky Isaac. He had no idea who he’d gotten himself tangled up with here.“You should totally mess with Eric when you see him. Make him think you were doing something with me and Isaac. It will drive him insane.”She shook her head. “No way. We’re still in the making-up phase.”“He wouldn’t hesitate to do it to you, you know.”Probably true, but she’d already kept him waiting for over an hour and needed to put the poor guy out of his misery. “Bye, Isaac.” She waved at Trey and let herself out of the apartme
“Just Eric in fancy lettering. And maybe a music staff and music notes on either end to bracket it, and tiny, multicolored butterflies above it to make it look feminine.”Butch nodded, obviously picturing what she wanted in his mind. “I’ll draw up a stencil real quick. See if I can capture what you want. Then we can make adjustments before we make it permanent.”Rebekah’s tummy fluttered as if she’d swallowed a few of those feminine little butterflies. “Okay,” she croaked.“I’m going to help him,” Eric said. He handed her a book that had photos of the tattoos Butch had done. “Keep yourself occupied.”Nervous, she looked through the pages. Butch really was a talented artist. She could tell she was in good hands. Some portraits he’d inked on people looked so real it was as if she were looking at a photograph taped to their skin. Ten minutes later, Butch and Eric returned.The stenciled drawing he showed her stole her breath. It was perfect! She imagined brides must feel that way when th
She squeezed her eyes shut. Her mouth dropped open. Her body arched back in abandon.He followed her this time, spasms of pleasure gripping him so hard, so deep, that his vision blurred and he had to cling to the comforter with both hands to keep himself grounded.She collapsed on top of him, breathing hard. He eventually found the strength to lift his hand and cradle her head against his chest.“Wow,” she gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me getting a tattoo was so f**king sexy?”“It usually isn’t.” And now that her full weight was on him, the only thing registering in his new tattoo was stinging pain, like that of a bad sunburn. He carefully shifted her onto the bed beside him and then cuddled against her back. Their names were pressed against each other. Even though it was mildly uncomfortable, he liked the reminder that no matter where she happened to be, her name would always be a part of him, and his would be a part of her.The next morning Rebekah woke alone. Her clothes were in a p
“Rebekah?”She needed a minute to collect herself. Putting her head between her knees would probably be her best bet. She flipped forward and banged her head on the keyboard with a discordant blam!She was going to get married! A dream she had all but given up on. She hadn’t thought any man in the world would want to marry a woman who could never give him a family, and here she was engaged not to any man, but the most wonderful man she’d ever known. The man she loved so much she couldn’t imagine a single day without him. The man who probably thought she’d lost her mind.“Reb?” he whispered as he tried to pry her forehead from the keyboard.She gulped air.“Look, if you changed your mind about getting married—”No! She sat up abruptly and lifted her hand to cover his mouth, but managed to accidentally hit him in the nose. Her hand was shaking so hard, she was surprised it found his face at all.She shook her head vigorously. “Of course I d-didn’t change m-my mind. I’m j-just so… so… h-
“That son of yours…” Dr. Mills muttered under his breath.“Oh sure, he’s my son when he’s chasing skirts,” Mrs. Mills said, “but yours when you need to impress your shallow clients. Your son, the famous electric guitarist.”“My sons, the famous electric guitarists,” Dr. Mills corrected. “Your sons, the notorious skirt chasers.”“They don’t get it from me.”Dr. Mills chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose. “I stopped chasing skirts after I found the right one.”Rebekah smiled, hoping she and Eric still shared that kind of affection after thirty years of marriage, and looked over to see how Isaac was taking Trey’s continual indiscretions.Isaac had vanished. The floor-to-ceiling window behind his favorite drape was opened. Had he honestly snuck outside through the open window? Rebekah sighed and rubbed her forehead to stave off a threatening headache. She really didn’t need this right now. She already wanted to go home. She had enough drama to deal with in her own life, thank you very
He smiled. He’d never been greeted with a birthday present on his pillow. The guys had once woken him by smashing a birthday cake into his face. It had been one rude, but rather delicious, wake-up call.He untied the ribbon and lifted the lid, expecting to find something sexy nestled in the tissue paper. Instead, he found a baby monitor.“A baby monitor?”He lifted the device from the box and found a second note tied to its short antenna. I’m at your beck and call, birthday boy. Press the button, and let me know when you’re ready for me.His heart thundered with anticipation. He pressed the button. “Rebekah?”“I’ll be right up,” her voice came from the little speaker.He was already up. When it came to his woman, he was always up. He covered his excitement by dropping a pillow on his lap.A moment later the bedroom door opened and Rebekah entered carrying a tray of food. She wore a frilly little apron. Just a frilly little apron. Damn, she looked good enough to eat. If he hadn’t alrea
She looked up, her bottom lip trembling. “I do not please you?”He knew she wanted him to play a role, but he simply could not stand the devastated look, even if it was an act. He tucked a finger under her chin and moved in for a tender kiss. “You always please me. You are incapable of displeasing me.”She chuckled, dropping her act. “I think you’ll need tutoring on this scenario.”“Now?”“Unless… Do you want to open more presents?”He hesitated, then grinned and nodded eagerly.“Anything you want to save for another day, you can. You have a lot of presents. Probably too many to enjoy in one day.”He couldn’t pretend to be anything but excited. He grabbed her in an exuberant hug. “What’s next?”“Your next present is in the kitchen. Go put on some shorts and meet me downstairs. No peeking until I join you.”He grinned. “So you don’t want me naked for this one?”“Not all your gifts are sexual in nature.”“Bummer.”“The racetrack gift certificate, for example.”He squeezed her and rooted