Falling for Him (Stories of Serendipity) (10 page)

Suddenly, his fingers were pulling her folds apart, and he was tonguing her, hard, fast, powerful strokes with his rough tongue.  She couldn't stop herself.  She leaned her hips back against him to feel more, she was so close…

He closed his lips around her nub and sucked.  Hard.  Something exploded inside Amy, and she cried out as her knees went weak.  She leaned over the railing, as he continued licking her.  She could feel him stand behind her, and he whispered in her ear, "Do you want me to go on?"

"Yes, please," she whimpered, unable to move.

She heard his belt buckle, then a zipper, and her next coherent thought was fullness.  She felt so full, as he sunk into her heat.  He was hard and warm, and he fit her just right.  As he sunk in fully, he mumbled against her hair, "Tell me what you're thinking.  Right now."

"You fit perfect,” she rasped out, her voice unrecognizable.

"Damn right I do."  He growled and proceeded to pump in and out of her slowly, wrapping his arms around her body and holding her close to him.  It was a possessive gesture, but Amy didn't mind.  His movements were gentle, and damned if she wasn't going to come again.  She felt cherished and protected, at the same time that she felt his arms around her hold her impossibly close, as if he were feeling the same.

She could hear his raspy breaths and feel them on the back of her neck as one of his hands snaked down to rub the tender bundle of nerves between her legs in soft circular strokes.  She pushed her hips back to meet him as he thrust into her, and they both exploded together in a flash of white-hot heat.

Amy closed her eyes and sank to the ground, and he went with her, turning her to face him as she sank.  She kept her eyes closed to draw out the tension, unwilling to give in to the temptation of seeing him, yet.  Here she was.  She had just made love with Cool_Hand_Luke and she still didn't know what he looked like.  Or his name.  And at this moment, she didn't really care.  All she knew was that this man could make her feel the way she wanted to feel.

"Was that what you wanted?"  His whispered voice in her ear was better than she imagined.  It was low, and reminded her a little of Bryan's bedroom voice.

She nodded.

"Open your eyes, Amy."

How did he know her name?  Her eyes flew open in shocked surprise, to find Bryan holding her in his arms, cradling her gently.

"You!"  She gasped and sputtered, disbelieving.  "It was you?  The whole time?  And you knew?"  She started to stand, slapping away his help.  "How could you?"

"Amy, listen.  I didn't know.  I swear.  Not at first."  He grabbed her against her ineffectual slaps and pulled her close in a bone-crushing hug.  "I didn't know it was you, at first."

"So you were cheating!  You are such an asshole, Bryan."  She felt tears of confusion stream down her face, but since Bryan was still holding her, she couldn't swipe them away.

His thumb came up to her cheek.  "You were too, Amy.  You were cheating on me, with me."  He chuckled.  "Don't you see?"

Amy paused, the irony of the situation sinking in.  "W-When did you figure it out?"

"I figured it out the night you made the bleu-cheese stuffed steaks.  That's when I realized that I'd been talking to you.  That I'd fallen for you, and the dick head whose ass I wanted to kick was me."  He chuckled, ruefully.  “I’d already lost you by that time.  I tried to break it off, but was afraid that you’d just find somebody else.”  His hand cupped her face and stroked her cheek tenderly.  “I've really messed a lot of things up, Amy, and I'm sorry.  I don't know how to tell you how sorry I am."  He kissed the trail of tears on her face.  "But I love you.  I love the mother of my children.  I love the woman who takes care of me.  I love the family and the home that we've built.  Please don't leave me." 

Amy could see his eyes sparkle with tears, and the realization dawned.  Finally.

"So you're Cool_Hand_Luke?"

He nodded.  "Yup.  And we have two beautiful children.  And we re-enacted the old Rupert Homes song, whether we wanted to or not."  He clasped her hand in his, and kissed the empty ring finger. 

“I was so angry at you.”  Tears choked her voice, and her heart pounded.  She wasn’t losing her marriage.  It had all been in her head.

“I was mad too, when I realized that you had been talking to another man.  It took me a while to get over that, and then I tried to win you back from myself.”  He chuckled softly, as his hand stroked her back.  “But I realized that I had done more damage than I’d thought.  Reading what you really thought about me was eye-opening.”

“Now I’m going to have to go back and read everything you wrote about me before you realized it…”

“Don’t.  I wanted someone who would look at me like a man, the way you are doing right now.”  He kissed her nose.  “I wanted things I already had, I just didn’t appreciate them.”  His kiss moved to her lips, and encompassed her in a feeling of yearning.  His lips nibbled at hers softly, his warm tongue speaking promise of their future together.  She sank her face into the crook of his neck and inhaled the spicy fragrance he was wearing.

“You smell different.”

“You gave me the cologne…”  He said quietly.  She hadn’t even smelled it when she’d bought it.  She laughed to herself.

"Why did you do…all this?"  She swept her hands to the bridge.

"I was losing you.  You'd fallen in love with Cool_Hand_Luke, and I couldn't let you go.  When Christmas didn't work, I knew I had to do something drastic.  I was afraid that if I broke up with you as Cool_Hand_Luke, you would divorce me anyway.  Don't you see, Amy?  We've done it.  We've fallen in love not once, but twice.  Not many people get that many chances." 

Digging into his pocket, he pulled out her wedding set.  "Here.  Please put these back on and give me another chance."  His pleading eyes met hers.  His hand was poised over hers, his eyes haunted, begging her.

Amy nodded, tears streaming freely from her eyes.  She didn't even try to stop them.  His wistful expression was so reminiscent of his boyhood innocence, her heart filled with a love she thought she’d lost.  "Yes, Bryan."

His jubilant look was all she saw before he swept her in his arms and kissed her senseless.

“I have a reservation at a bed and breakfast in town.  Do you want to go tonight?”

She nodded.  “Yes, I do.”

“Good, then we can continue our conversation in bed, instead of on a bridge behind a bar.”

She looked around.  “I have a new appreciation for bridges behind bars.”

“Yeah, I bet you do.”  He growled as he nibbled on her neck.

“Well, this one saved our marriage.”

Epilogue: Valentine’s Day

Cool_Hand_Luke:  Hey gorgeous, what’s for supper tonight?

Mommee_dearest:  Well, the kids are gone for the evening, so I thought we might have something sweet and savory mixed together fo
r supper.  How does that sound?

Cool_Hand_Luke:  Sound
s amazing.  Do I get any hints?

Mommee_dearest:  Do you remember what we did last week, after everyon
e was in bed?

Cool_Hand_Luke:  Oh shit, Amy.  I get ha
rd just remembering that night.

Mommee_dearest:  Yeah, so I was thinking we could do a little more of that and add in some food stuff.  I’ll m
ake it nutritious, don’t worry.

Cool_Hand_Luke:  I could come home a little early, if you want.  Are the kids c
oming home after school at all?

Mommee_dearest:  Nope.  They are both going to their respective d
estinations right after school.

Cool_Hand_Luke:  Fuuuuck.  Let me finish some stuff up, and I’ll be hom
e in twenty minutes.

Mommee_dearest:  I’ll be ready, honey.

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Flip the screen for an excerpt from Anne's favorite Pride Novel by Jill Sanders.

Discovering
Pride

A
cool breeze drifted over the tall trees, floating down towards the still waters of a large pond, which caused the lily pads to stir. Dragonflies buzzed from flower to flower and frogs hopped along the grassy shore.

Every now and than, a lone leaf would break free from a branch and float slowly down to the moss covered forest floor. Soon it will be winter and this little piece of heaven will be covered in snow. All the insects and animals will be tucked away for the cold days and nights. But, for today the pond waters were buzzing with life.

Lacey Jordan was a free spirited woman who enjoyed the fresh air, blue skies, and nature sounds that surrounded her home in Pride, Oregon. Even though summer was ending, the fall temperatures had reached a record high. A true Indian summer was in full swing.

Lacey was happily floating alone in the large pond that bordered her property. Well, she wasn’t quite alone; Bernard had been running in and out of the water, digging in the mud near the shore. Bernard was Lacey’s first love, and to date, her only. He was everything she wanted in a man; loyal, loving, brave, and a great listener. Not to mention he was blonde, brown eyed, and loved to snuggle. His only faults were; he hogged the bed, slobbered a lot, and was extremely hairy, but n
o one was perfect.

Bernard was Lacey’s three and a hal
f year old Labrador Retriever.

As she floated her short black hair bobbed around her face, a face often described as pixy like. Her straight nose was, in her opinion, her best asset. However, most people claimed it was her crystal slate eyes that stood out the most. An artist, who had once painted her, had compared her to an exotic creature from beyond this world.

A small crease formed between her eyebrows at the thought of being compared to an exotic or even mythical creature. It happened often enough; however, she was getting tired of it. To her, she was just Lacey, a down-to-earth woman in her mid-twenties whom, at this point, had yet to
fall in love.

Most people in her town knew she had an uncanny way of predicting what was going to happen and often even able to control the outcome. However, she felt she shouldn’t be faulted for just paying attention.

But,
today she didn’t want to think of the town or its inhabitants. She forced herself to relax again as she studied the bright clear sky. Today, she was going to enjoy her favorite place, the pond, which was in the woods laying between her house and her brother Todd’s house.

Every once in a while Bernard would swim out to check on her or bark to make sure his presence was still known. She could spend hours out here, lost in thought, which would sometimes make her late for work. She was grateful she wasn’t expected any where today so she could continue floating and relaxing as she pleased.

Lacey had been born and raised in Pride, and this was home. There had been a time when she’d craved to travel, to expand her horizons, and become a woman of the world. However, after spending over a year traveling around Europe, she had needed to be home again. She missed taking walks along the beach or sitting in front of a fire with her father and brothers. She had made it home only to lose her father. She struggled through her loss; her family needed her close, and she needed them in return.

She started treading water as she remembered the weeks after she had come home. It had been some of the hardest times for the Jordan family, learning to adjust to the changes after the accident that had claimed their father’s life and left her brother, Iian battered and without his
hearing.