A Love Stolen (7 page)

"What if you need his biological father? Jeremy could still need him for his illness."

"We'll cross that bridge if we have to, but I hope we never do."

"What about his father? Doesn't he deserve to know he has a son?"

"I'm leaving that up to Mary Grace," he said. "I know there's a good possibility I could lose my son, or, at the very least, I'd have to share him with another man. I spent months thinking he was going to die. I can't lose him now."

"I understand." Lila wrapped her arms around him. "I had no idea things were this complicated for you. I always envisioned you having this perfect life. It made my decision to leave somehow easier."

He traced her lips with his fingertips. "Every time your dad would tell me how you were doing, I always hoped you were happy, and, as much as it hurt, I wanted you to find love. Did you?"

She shook her head. She'd dated several guys, and did have one serious

relationship, but it didn't work out. She'd always found a way to sabotage every date because they weren't who she wanted them to be. She never opened herself up to

anyone, for fear she'd get burned again.

"How come?"

"They weren't who I was looking for." She swallowed back the lump that formed in her throat. "They weren't you. I tried so hard to move on."

"We could move on together." He took her face between his hands.

"I'm scared." She closed her eyes, feeling more vulnerable than she had in years.

* * * * *

At least she was being honest with him.

"What are you afraid of?" He kissed her eyelids. "I won't hurt you again."

"Everything is different now." Her golden eyes glistened with tears. "All these years I spent trying to forget you, trying to justify what you'd done, but you didn't do anything."

"I slept with another girl." Trevor hated he'd hurt Lila that way.

"When we were broken up. I guess you could have told me. You said you were going to choose me. I always thought you'd picked her over me. And now, you didn't even get her pregnant."

"It sucks."

"All these years, I got by thinking we weren't together because of the

circumstances. I somehow feel like we were robbed."

"Our love was stolen."

"We're getting another shot at this. The expectations are so high. What if we can't live up to them? What if we really aren't meant to be? I don't think I could pick up the pieces a second time." He recognized the panic in her voice.

"Don't over-think this," he said. "We're together now, and that's all that matters."

He slipped the blanket from her shoulders as he lowered his lips to her neck.

"We deserve this."

"You always knew how to calm me." She straddled his lap as she slid her hand down his stomach, swirling her finger below his belly button.

"If you keep touching me like that, I won't be real calm."

"Maybe I'm not going for calm." She smiled as she lowered her hand, taking his now erect cock in her palm. "Let me make you feel good, just like I used to."

He stroked her hair and then looked down, watching, as she stroked him.

"You still like to watch, don't you?" She spoke against his mouth, nipping and sucking his bottom lip between her teeth. "Look what I can do for you."

"Fuck, woman." He gripped her hair. "You're going to make me lose it."

He continued to stare as she brought him closer to the edge with her hand. She

swiped her thumb over the pre-cum that had gathered on his tip, and used it as a lubricant, rubbing it over the head.

"Let go, Trev," she said. "Lose control with me."

He felt like he was twenty again. In that moment, he had no responsibilities or cares. She was the center of his world.

She lowered her lips to his jaw, and then down to his neck, never loosening her grip or breaking her steady rhythm.

Trevor felt heat building in his stomach and traveling down to his balls. He

wanted to hold off, but need took over. He could smell her lavender-scented shampoo, as he ran his fingers through her silky hair. He wanted to warn her, but he couldn't form a coherent sentence if his life depended on it.

She must have sensed the inevitable because, in the precise moment he came, she moved closer and positioned his cock so his warm seed shot all over her breasts and stomach.

He let out a loud breath as he collapsed against the sofa. He rubbed her scalp and ran his hand through her hair. He didn't want to stop touching her.

"That was something." He grabbed the towel that he'd used when he stepped out of the bathroom and gently wiped her breasts and stomach. "You're amazing."

"Thanks." She laughed.

"How does a hot bath sound?" He kissed her. "You could relax."

"Only if you'll join me."

"I'd love to." He cuddled her against his chest and kissed the top of her head. "I'll go anywhere you want."

Chapter Nine

Lila watched from the bed as Trevor buttoned his shirt. She was exhausted, but

in a good way. They'd spent the rest of the night making love and reconnecting. She'd always thought they'd had a pretty explosive sex life when they were younger, but their time before was no match for the last twelve hours.

"I hate having to leave you." He sat on the edge of the bed, resting his hand on her thigh. "But, I have to survey the damage and see when the state is coming out to determine what needs to be fixed."

"I understand." She knew he had a job to do.

"Now that the electricity is back on, I could make you breakfast." She wanted him to stay with her.

"Not this morning, angel." He kissed her forehead. "I have to get going. I already spoke to my deputy. He slept at the station. I want to relieve him. My dad's going to step in and help me today."

"Okay." She looked down at her hands, feeling disappointed he was leaving. She wasn't sure why she felt clingy.

"I'm going to miss you, too." He took her hand.

"You'd think I was eighteen, by the way I'm acting."

"You want have dinner at my place tonight? I could get take-out, if you want to meet me there when I get off."

"That sounds perfect." She crawled into his lap and brushed her lips against his.

He smelled of her soap and shampoo. He'd snuck out of bed and taken a shower before she awoke.

"Make sure you pack a bag."

"How come?" She ran her fingers through his damp hair.

"I'm not going to let you come back here alone." He trailed his lips along her jaw.

"Not after holding you in my arms all night. Will you stay the night in my bed?"

She nodded, because she agreed with him. It was nice falling asleep in his arms.

She wanted the chance to do it again.

"Good." He stood up and extended his hand. "Walk me out."

She moved out of bed and slipped her robe over her body. Trevor watched as she

pulled her hair out of the back of the robe. She smiled at him.

"Why are you staring?"

"I can't believe we're together. It's a bit surreal." They headed down the stairs. "A week ago, I never would have imagined we'd have a night like last night."

"I'm glad we had last night, Trevor. I'm happy you were able to confide in me."

"It felt good to talk about what happened between me and Mary Grace. I've been carrying the fact that Jeremy isn't my son for over a year. Thanks for listening." He kissed her. "It helped."

She stood on her toes as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'll see you later."

Their kiss started out slow, but soon the heat radiated throughout her body. She tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him close to her. He tugged at the sash of her robe, enabling him to run his hands along her bare breasts. Just as she reached for the buttons of his shirt, someone knocked at the door.

She jumped back and laughed. "I guess we got carried away."

"A little." He glanced down at her exposed body. "You might want to fix that. I'll get the door."

She pulled her robe closed as Trevor answered the door.

"Don't you have a town to clean up?" Cali asked as she barged in, with Jenson close behind her.

"Good morning to you, too, Cali." Trevor smiled at Jenson as they entered the house.

"Hey," Lila said. "What are you two doing here?"

"Checking on you," Jenson said. "The storm is over, if you haven't noticed. The road was passable today, but we saw Trevor's truck at the bottom."

"It looks like you got special attention from the sheriff." Cali looked Lila over.

"Real special attention."

"I have to get going." Trevor kissed Lila's cheek. "I'll see you soon."

"Have a good day." Lila could see her friends' jaws practically hitting the floor.

He placed his hat on his head, then nodded. "Ladies, I'll see you around."

"Goodbye, Sheriff," Cali said as he closed the door behind him.

Jenson giggled, but Lila was mortified.

"Okay, Ms. Crofton." Cali headed into the family room. "Spill."

Jenson and Lila followed her in and sat on the couch.

"Was the sex as good as you remembered?" Cali picked up the blankets Lila and Trevor had abandoned the night before, then threw them over the chair.

"Cali!" Jenson said. "Lila, you don't have to answer that."

"The hell she does." Cali squeezed in between them. "I want all the details."

Lila's cheeks were hot, as memories of the night before flashed before her. After they'd made love on the floor, he'd carried her up to her bed and held her. They'd drift off to sleep for an hour or so, but then one of them sought out the other's lips. His scent lingered on her skin.

"Well?" Cali said.

"The sex was better than I remembered." Lila covered her face with her hands. "I almost couldn't keep up with him." Age had done a few things for Trevor; one of them was to increase his stamina. The twenty-eight-year-old man could definitely outlast the twenty-two-year-old boy she'd left behind.

"You lucky bitch." Cali laughed.

"Cali? You don't even like Trevor," Jenson said.

"I never said I didn't like him. I didn't like some of the things he did to Lila.

When he got Mary Grace pregnant, I thought he was a real pig."

Lila felt guilty, knowing the truth about Jeremy and not being able to share it with her best friends. It was Trevor's secret, and he'd confided in her. She would never violate that trust.

"But," Cali said, "the fact remains that the sheriff is hot. I remember the stories Lila used to tell when we were younger. If the man was that good at age twenty, I can only imagine what he's like now."

"Lucky bitch." Jenson shook her head as Lila and Cali laughed at her.

"Are you together?" Cali asked. "Now you can stay in Steeple."

"That's great news." Jenson smiled.

"Um, wait," Lila said. "We haven't discussed that."

"You just spent the night having mind-blowing sex with the man. What do you mean, you didn't discuss it?" Cali said. "I saw the way he looked at you, before he left.

He's still in love with you."

"You still love him. Don't you?" Jenson looked at Lila. "I don't think you ever stopped."

Lila couldn't fight it any longer. Not after what she and Trevor had shared the night before. All those years she'd spent believing she'd never have another chance with him weighed heavily on her.

"Lila?" Cali said. "Do you want to be with Trevor?"

"I've always wanted to be with Trevor, but we're different people now. And, to be honest, we never had a solid relationship. We were on again, off again for so long."

As much as she wanted to lose herself in the fantasy, she had to face reality.

Trevor was her first and only love. When it hadn't worked out with him, she had shut down and never allowed herself to feel. She hadn't felt anything in years, but in a matter of days, he'd managed to unleash emotions she'd buried deep inside herself.

Maybe it was too fast.

"You were finding your way before Mary Grace got pregnant," Jenson said. "You told me how much you loved him. You said you felt like the two of you finally realized you were meant to be."

Lila remembered how good things were going before Mary Grace showed up.

Trevor had just graduated college, and they were talking about moving in together.

They were making plans that were supposed to last a lifetime.

"Maybe I was too young to know what love really meant."

"Don't over-think this," Cali said. "I can already see your wheels spinning."

"I'm not." Lila stood up and paced the room. "Okay, maybe I am."

"Why?" Jenson said.

"What if we are nothing more than high school sweethearts? He was my first everything. It was explosive and fun and all the things it should have been. I don't know if we would have made it, Mary Grace or not."

"She's over-thinking it." Jenson threw her hands in the air. "One of us needs to find love, and you're the closest to it at the moment. Don't let us down."

"I should take a chance on love?" Lila looked to her friends for the answers. "On Trevor?"

"You should definitely take a chance." Jenson smiled. "You'll never be able to live with yourself if you don't."

"
We
won't be able to live with you if you don't," Cali said.

"I wasn't that bad." Lila folded the extra blankets thrown over the chair.

Neither of them said a word. They just looked at one another.

"What?" Lila said.

"Tell Trevor how you feel and what you want," Cali said. "We'll all live more peacefully that way."

"Yes," Jenson said. "You were that bad."

The three of them laughed. Lila felt something she hadn't felt in a long time.

Relief.
She no longer had to worry about her dad, she wasn't wondering what Trevor was up to or how his life turned out, and she was with her two best friends. Everything seemed right in her little world.

Chapter Ten

Lila pushed the carton of Chinese food toward the center of the table.

"You done?" Trevor stuck his fork in the container, spearing a shrimp.