After dragging myself away from Derek’s house, I slumped into the tatty old armchair in my lounge and that was where I’d remained. I was not sure how many hours had passed and I couldn’t find the will to care.

All the miserable thoughts circled through my head, on repeat, unable to put a halt to the spiral I was heading down. I mulled over what could have been and what I would have done differently. He was gone from my life forever, and I didn’t even have his number. What I wouldn’t give to have his arms around me again right now.

A knock on my door startled me.

I sat up rubbing my sore, red eyes. My initial thought was, Derek was back. I imagined jumping into his embrace as I pulled open the door, kissing him so much that he couldn’t get a word in edgewise. We’d laugh, we’d talk. We’d kiss some more and we’d make up. Everything would go back to normal, and he would help mend my heart.

But it was never that simple. It made no sense that he would be at my door, did it?

Tentatively, I got up and slowly turned the door handle.

“Hey… Oh dear, you look rough. What the hell happened to your face?”

“Fiona,” I gasped, letting all my hopes escape with the breath I’d held.

“Well yeah, who else were you expecting? You forgot about our lunch date, didn’t you? And aside from your face, what the hell happened to your steps? I nearly rolled my ankle trying to climb up.”

“It’s not Mount Everest, Fiona,” I grumbled, as I tried to imagine her clambering onto the porch as she must have done. But that was the least of my concerns.

“Someone has an attitude… not even a hello?”

“God, sorry. It’s been a crazy couple of days.”

“You’re not forgiven yet. Come on then, tell me all about it,” Fiona said ushering me inside.

She made tea while I rambled until my mouth went dry, about the occurrences of the past two days. Derek’s ex, the house up for sale, their sudden disappearance. My stupid argument with him, getting angry over him only trying to help fix up my porch. Why had I been so bloody relentless? I should’ve swallowed my pride and asked him to help me… but no, not me, I couldn’t do that. So fucking stupid.

“It’s all gone to shit. And I think it’s all my fault.”

“Oh no it’s not. He just doesn’t know your reasons.”

“Exactly. It’s my fault. I didn’t tell him!”

“That’s easily fixed. You’re not losing him that easy,” Fiona said confidently with a quirk of an eyebrow.

Here we go again, I thought with a strange mixture of dread and hope; more of Fiona’s motivational advice.

“You want to chase him down don’t you? That’ll be so epic, like the movies!”

“I’m sure it would, but I have no idea where he went. California is a big place, you know.”

“Don’t be a smart ass. Let me think. There has to be a way…” she said, trailing off as her mind set to work.

I considered her words for a while, it sounded ridiculous but Fiona always made things sound feasible and completely within reach. As if I only had to do one simple thing to make my dreams come true. To reach out and touch the stars. But this was reality, and my feet were firmly planted on the ground.

“Do you not have any clue? Surely he mentioned something… Maybe where his ex was living?”

“I don’t know, if I did I can’t remember,” was the best response I had at the moment. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way, babe. You rack that little brain of yours, I might have an idea. There’s an investigator at the law firm I could call.”

“Wait. Kadee did mention where her new stepdad worked. He’s some kind of big shot dentist I think. Dentist to the stars… She called it Reed medical or something.”

“Close enough, time to get your Google on, girl! And I’ve probably got the air miles you’ll need once we know exactly where you need to go.”

* * *

Was I really doing this? Was I about to chase a man across the country and declare… declare what? My love? Tell him I needed him and that he should come back… abandon his daughter and be with me instead? I groaned just thinking how selfish the idea was. But I had to at least tell him how I felt, right? Maybe somehow we’d find a solution, for Kadee to return too.

I had no idea what I could expect, I just wasn’t going to wake up another day not knowing. I grabbed my hastily packed case and rushed out the door to hurry for my flight. I flung my case in the back seat and was about to jump in the front when I heard someone driving up behind me. I presumed it was the mailman because of the time of day but when I turned I saw the back of Derek’s truck pulling into his drive. My heart lurched and I braced myself, pressing a hand against the steel of my truck. Unable to believe my eyes.

Stunned, I could only blink in his direction. What on earth?

Derek got out and started toward me. His look weary, tired eyes, his hair ruffled as if he’d been up all night. But his smile grew as he approached. All the emotions of the past days suddenly collided together within me. Then a rush of violent, vulnerable anger burst free.

“Where the hell have you been? I thought—” I yelled, choking back the tears. “What’s going on?”

My sudden outburst stopped him in his tracks as a look of puzzlement crested onto his face.

“Have you any idea what I was about to do?” I continued, practically shaking with relief that he was here.

“Erm, no?” he replied with a half shrug and an indulgent smile. That only made me more irate. How could he smile at me like that when I’d been such a mess? Desperate and anxious, going out of my mind… all because I was falling in love.

“Of course not… did you even think for a minute that—”

“Think about what?” he asked with clear confusion.

“About me!” I yelled. My hands flew to my face to cover my eyes and the hot tears that tumbled free.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about you,” he replied, yelling to match my loudness, his irritation clearly rising.

“You have a funny way of showing that, disappearing like that leaving me to think—”

My sentence was cut off as he closed the space between us and took hold of me in his strong arms, kissing me deeper than he ever had before. His passion immediately silenced all my doubts and fears, all my pain.

I was swept up in the intense whirlwind as he lifted me almost off my feet. I met his kisses with my own sudden immense desire. Our lips, our bodies, had missed each other and they were making up for the last couple of days apart.

“I thought you had left town. For good,” I whispered breathlessly with a brief pause, “I thought I’d lost you.”

“Not a chance. I flew Kadee home. I got the red-eye back this morning. I couldn’t wait to see you.”

“She’s gone?” I replied, my heart faltering at the news.

He nodded.

“I’ll miss her.”

“Me too…”

“Come here,” I said and reached out. Wanting to comfort him and ease our mutual pain.

With sadness in his eyes, Derek took hold of my face with his warm hands and kissed me once again. Lips melting against mine. Then he looked deep into my eyes. The flood of emotion and relief I felt combined with the sudden intensity of his advance had sparked a now roaring fire. He could clearly see it in my eyes and the look he returned only fanned the flames.

I was about to lean in to kiss him again when he lifted me up into his arms. I flung my arm around his neck for support as he carried me around the side of the house. I studied him and stroked his face, grazing over the stubble on his chin. Then my fingers found their way into his hair.

Derek dropped me by the back door where I quickly opened up and let us in. His hands were on me the whole time, and by the time we’d moved into the kitchen he had hold of me again. I was pinned against the counter as his urgent roaming hands explored me and our lips met fiercely. He was tugging open the buttons on my top as I shoved aside the stuff on the counter, not caring as the items clattered to the floor. He lifted me onto the surface and pushed up to me as I wrapped my thighs around him. I looked into his heavenly eyes now at my level.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what was happening. I’ve was caught up with everything going on, and I wanted to be sure of things. I never wanted you to think I’d left without even saying goodbye.”

“Are you sure of things now?” I asked, not certain what he meant but knowing from his smile it was something good.

“More than I have ever been,” he replied running his fingers delightfully into my hair.

He tugged open my blouse, his teasing fingers wandered up and down my skin followed by delicious tingles that had me gasping for more. I ripped open his shirt in return wanting to stroke his firm chest. His warm lips sank into my neck as our hands worked over each other with appreciation.

I tugged at his belt while he kicked off his boots. He threw down his jeans and grabbed my shoes slipping them off and discarded them in the corner as well. A sense of urgency overtook us. He couldn’t wait and neither could I.

Derek pushed up close to me again sliding his hands down my tummy to take hold of the waist button on my jeans, I smiled and watched his eyes with anticipation. He unbuttoned me roughly and helped me wriggle my ass out of the jeans, then landed me back onto the cold counter. Once they were dealt with he then slid his hands all the way back up my legs achingly slowly until they were back on my hips.

I let out a quiet whimper and coiled my legs around his to hold him to me, indulging in the warmth of his skin close to mine. I slid out of my blouse and threw it around his neck, taken hold of it both sides I pulled him back to my lips. We kissed slowly and deeply while he worked me out of my bra and started caress my exposed breasts lovingly. I was in rapture now holding him tight, the smell of him, the touch of his fingers consuming me. I didn’t want this feeling to end. I kept stroking at his rippling muscles as his lips wandered from my neck to play across my breasts. He lavished them with more attention than I might of imagined. His lips and firm tongue teased around them, and they hardened in response.

As desire overtook me I reached down to the hard bulge in his shorts rubbing and stroking until I elicited a moan from Derek’s mouth. I smile tugged at my lips, my strokes harder, more insistent now.

When he bit my taut nipple I pulled his rigid cock free and with a firm grip worked it. We went back and forth like this, both eager, breathless, and wanting to one up the other as our hands explored our bodies.

Until Derek stilled. I had him right where I wanted him.

He stood up taller, closing his eyes in pleasure. I continued to watch his face as I took hold of him with both hands, gripping him lightly, my thumb dancing across his swollen head. He was rock hard beneath my fingers now.

I tugged and worked him with horny mischief thinking of him inside me. I felt so wet with anticipation that I couldn’t bear it. Almost as if we’d shared the same thought, he drew back and took a grip of my panties. I helped him again with the wriggle of my ass and away they went together with his shorts. Leaning me back, teased himself up to my wet waiting pussy.

His bulbous thick head rested on my clit, pulsing in tandem with the furious beat of my own musical cacophony. With a look of determination, Derek controlled the end of his cock like he was wielding a pen. Drawing himself across me as if he were writing a love letter to my pussy. Tentatively he skimmed the bundle of nerves, watching me squirm when I jolted from the pressure, biting my lip as I moaned through the pleasure.

The anticipation of his slow disciplined actions made me ache. I rested my hand onto his arm, hoping to urge him to press himself between my folds, but he held firm, a devilish look in his eye.

“Derek,” I pleaded, “I can’t wait.” Digging my heels into his nice hard ass I tried again, hoping to encourage him to relent, to take me.

“You want this?” he said as he pressed the weighty meat of his cock against my clit again.

“Yes… oh god. You know I do.”

He drew his weapon back only to replace it with an excited thumb, vibrating hard and fast. My head and shoulders rolled back, eyes wide as I looked up at the ceiling but unable to focus. Everything was blurry as his fingers worked their magic on me. I could feel my heart beat pounding around my temples, my fingertips, even my toes. I gripped the edge of the counter trying to hold on… until I realized I didn’t have to hold on. Not anymore. He was here. He was mine.

We could do this all day.

My body juddered as a throaty scream roared out of me. But his thumb wasn’t finished with me yet, he tapped and teased my bud till I panted and moaned his name. Then when I finally thought I was spent Derek cruelly reminded me we’d only just begun.

Holding onto my hips he drove into me. Every inch he gave me heightened my delight, and the wave of pleasure from our union only grew stronger, higher and more intense. I couldn’t help but whimper at the heavenly feelings. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he thrust and rocked, working deeper into me as he did.

I let out a squeak as he scooped me up, removing me from the counter and slammed me against a wall. The one I’d planned to knock down… maybe we could kill two birds with one stone, I thought wickedly.

His rocking hips worked like a well-oiled piston, firmly set on a course, unrelenting. My head swam as I hung on, squeezing him with my thighs tighter as his steady and intense motion brought my tightening insides to a boil once more.

He fucked me harder and faster now almost bouncing me off the wall, as sweat dripped from his brow. The thick muscles of his arms bulged from the exertion. As if we were doing a tour of the kitchen, my back left the cool of the wall and he swung me around to lay me flat on the table. The level of which seemed to be the perfect height, his cock in line with my horizontal hips.

I reached out with a flailing arm to steady myself with little success as I bumped my head on the tops of a chair that was tucked in beneath the table. He smiled and dragged me back to him, then with a firm grip of my thighs lifted me up.

“Maybe we should find somewhere a little more comfortable?”

“I don’t care as long as you keep fucking me,” I replied.

I clung to his neck again and was carried from the kitchen. He effortlessly took me up the stairs to my bed. It was still unmade from my haste that morning. He dropped me down and immediately fell into the bed beside me, not letting me out of his grasp for too long.

Spooning up behind me he lifted one of my legs and smoothly slipped inside me again. I moaned at the new angle of assault and friction as his insistent thrusting began.

His hand ran up and down my body from my thigh, pausing to part them like butterfly wings so he could have access to my clit, then to my breasts.

Passion welled up from deep inside me, it clouded all thoughts my boiling pleasure ready to erupt. With another wild moan I escaped his embrace and rolled onto my back. Looking into his eyes with desire I lifted my knees and spread myself, welcoming him home. He shifted onto me and with a kiss drove himself up into me once more.

Now with greater urgency and intent he rocked me on the bed. I moaned and urged him on, gripping his upper arms, ready to explode and wanting him to.

My grasp wandered and I moved my hands to his neck, pulling him down, closer, and deeper inside me and watched his eyes and his groaning face as his last slow deliberate thrusts plowed into me so deeply.

His eyes met mine as he unleashed himself deep inside my pussy. I tensed up, my walls milking him, and with the feeling of his throbbing explosion and the desire in his eyes I couldn’t hold back any longer. The coil unwound with violent energy and an intense and satisfying climax raged through my body. My throat opened up, loudly praising how good he felt. He groaned too, working his still throbbing cock inside me slowly until we were spent and gasping for air… Only for our mouths, a second later, to search for each other once more.