CHAPTER 16
BROOKE

I headed straight for my room after tucking the kids in. I knew they wanted their father around, and I knew they missed him and were angry that we left without them. But that didn’t give them an excuse to tear up the house and I made sure they understood that. I kissed their foreheads before making my way down the stairs, and I could already hear Kevin trying to clean up the mess.

He was stomping around and cursing under his breath, but I’d had enough excitement for the night.

I slipped out of my clothes and grabbed my robe, just as there was a knock on my door. I closed the fabric and tied a knot around my waist, my eyes glancing over at my laptop. I was hoping to get some writing done tonight. The tension alone had me fraught with ideas on where to take my characters. But the knock came again and something told me to answer it.

So I did.

“Come on in.”

“Hey there,” Kevin said.

“How’s the house? Still standing?”

“Barely,” he said.

“The kids really did a number on it.”

“They’ve never acted out like this before,” he said. “And yes, I heard you in the cab. They had a reason to be upset, but that doesn’t excuse what they did here.”

“I know. And I told them that.”

“You did?” he asked.

“Yep. And don’t bother with cleaning all of it up. The kids are helping me tomorrow. This will be a good lesson,” I said.

“Good. That means I might be able to get some sleep tonight.”

“Do you need something?” I asked.

“I actually want to apologize for our date being interrupted. I hope you’re not upset with me.”

“Not for the interrupted date.”

“But for other things.”

“I already spoke my piece in the cab,” I said.

“Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” he asked.

“I’m not upset with you, Kevin. But I am upset with the circumstances. You can’t lead me to believe you don’t see your hand in all of this. I understand the interrupted date. Your children need you and I would never take that away from them. From anyone. Ever. But they had a right to be angry with you. And so did I, all those years ago.”

“Yes, you did.”

“And just bec—wait, what?”

“You did have a reason to be upset with me. And you still do.”

“I do? I mean—yes. I do. I’m not their mother, and I can’t replace her. Or you. If you promised them a vacation—”

“They’ll get it. I promise.”

“You have to make sure you follow through on that,” I said.

Kevin took a step toward me as the backs of my legs hit the bed.

“I know,” he said.

“And you don’t owe me a promise. You owe them,” I said.

His body was flush with mine as I sat down.

“I know,” he said.

“They love you so much,” I said breathlessly.

I felt his finger under my chin, pulling my gaze to his.

“I know,” he said.

“I—loved you so much,” I said, with a whisper.

His lips slowly bent toward mine, the pulsing of his breath heating my skin.

“I know,” he said.

I wanted to fight this desire between us. I wanted to stay upset with him. I wanted to stay in control and kick him out, then write until the tension from my body released me to a stress-free slumber. But when he pressed his lips to mine I could feel myself melting, caving when I needed to stand strong.

My hands fisted his suit and I pulled him down on top of me. My back hit the mattress as his tongue slid along my lips. I parted myself for him: my jaw and my legs. Letting him in from all angles as his hands pulled my robe open. He palmed my breasts and teased my nipples to aching peaks. I slid his suit coat off his shoulders and ran my toes up his back, feeling his thick groin pressing into my thigh.

I had loved him all those years ago.

And if I wasn’t careful, history would repeat itself.

My body was on fire for him, buzzing with electricity as he kissed down my skin. Nipping at my neck and wrapping his lips around my nipples. Sucking and teasing, lapping at my skin. His hands massaged my hips. My thighs. My waist. He pressed my knees open and sank to his, pressing kisses along the lines of my stomach. My hands twisted in his hair as my head rose up, our eyes connecting as he pressed a kiss to my damp folds.

Then he dipped his tongue between them, the tip of my clit swelling with need.

My head fell back to the bed and my hips began to roll. His tongue flattened out as his hands pulled my body closer to his. My thighs tightened around his cheeks and my heels pressed into his back. With every brush of his tongue, my spine shivered. Coursing with white hot heat that ravaged my body with energy, I undulated, rolling with the rhythmic bashing of the waves against the house. I could feel his fingers teasing me. Gathering up my arousal before slipping into my entrance.

But it was the finger he teased at my asshole that had my attention.

And it was the primal want to be filled by him that caused me to buck forward.

With every knuckle that slid in, my vision began to blur. I lost my breath as pleasure crashed throughout my body. Sensations I’d never felt before twitched my muscles and soon I was losing control of my own body. I pulled his face deeper between my legs, searching for that release as his fingers crooked inside of my body.

I arched my back as my mouth opened, desperate to moan his name but no longer capable of making sound.

“Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.”

It was the only word I had. The only word in my arsenal that my throat would allow me to croak. The storm brewing in my body broke and my pussy rained down juices onto his face. I throbbed. Thrashed. Tried to back away, yet kept pulling him towards me. His tongue never relented and another finger slid into my dripping pussy, filling me and teasing me as I pulsed against him.

I rocked into his stubble. Into the hair he’d allowed to grow out just a bit as my body shook again.

And again.

And again.

“No more. No more. I can’t take it. I can’t. Kevin. Stop. I can’t handle—it—oh. Right there. Right there. One more. Just one more. Please.”

I felt him smile into my skin as he sucked my clit between his lips.

By now I didn’t know where I was or what time it was. I didn’t know how long he’d been down there or how many times my body had jerked against him. The bed was drenched beneath me, soaked with arousal. His fingers filled my body as he stretched me to my limits. Stars burst in midair and images rolled around in my mind.

Images of the man and the woman on the island. Dancing in the shadows and making love on the beach, then drinking tea as the sun set beyond the lighthouse. I saw their fights and their future children. I saw their sickness and their health. I saw the woman almost losing her childhood home and the man swooping in to buy it back from the bank.

Saving her world, even though she refused to accept it.

I collapsed to the bed, heaving for air as sweat dripped down my brow. His tongue was cleaning me up. Swallowing down my juices as his fingers slowly slid from my body. My legs hung limply off the bed as images poured to the forefront of my mind.

I wanted to get up and write them down.

I wanted to grab my recorder and talk through what I was seeing.

But I couldn’t move. Couldn't speak. Couldn't do anything except close my eyes and breathe.

Covers slid along my legs as I felt my body being moved. My eyes were fluttering closed as my naked body descended into the soft sheets. A soft pair of lips pressed against my cheek, smelling heavily of the scent still tumbling from between my legs.

I shivered at the touch of his lips and felt him smile against me, his nose nuzzling the shell of my ear.

“Good night, beautiful. Sleep well.”

Then the door to my room closed and sleep pulled me under. Fraught with dreams of my characters and storylines that would stick with me until morning.

Until I could function well enough to get to my laptop and write.