For Life (33 page)
“This is everything. This is the whole world, right here, Cass.” His breath is hot against my face as his lips brush across my eyelids, down my cheekbones, and finally capture my mouth. When his tongue thrusts inside it tastes chocolaty and faintly like me, and I moan into his kiss.
The night air and the campfire cling to his skin and mingle with his clean, masculine sweat. I tuck my face into his chest and breathe him in while he moves in me, faster and faster.
I could do this all night and so could he, but the kids are in the next tent and even though I know they sleep with their headphones in, I don’t want to risk it. Besides, I want to come now. The whole day was foreplay. I want my satisfaction.
He’s thrusting deeper now, whispering things I can’t even understand because I’m almost there, almost there. My belly tightens in anticipation of the surge, my spine and scalp tingle, and I shiver against him and hold my breath, chasing it. Grady clamps his hand over my mouth and growls, “That’s it, beautiful girl. Give it to me.”
My climax washes over me and I’m dragged under, barely conscious, bucking beneath him. My body is weightless, hurtling, then shattering apart as I scream into his palm, my cries mercifully muted by his hand.
I watch Grady’s face as he follows, the cords in his neck tightening and his jaw clenching as he chokes on the force of his silenced release. Panting, he buries his face in the crook of my neck, his lips pressed against the artery, and I feel him smile against my hammering pulse. He’s still half-hard inside me and groans as I milk him with my inner muscles.
We’re silent until Grady whispers, “I wish I could fall asleep inside you.”
“You used to say that to me when we were younger, remember? When you used to come visit me at school.” I trace my fingers through the film of perspiration between his shoulder blades and nuzzle the two-day stubble on his jaw. “Me and you in that tiny twin bed in the dorm.”
“I don’t remember.” He sighs. “I mean, I remember that bed. I remember what I did to you in that bed. We made Chloe in that bed.”
“Yeah,” I say softly. “You probably even said it that night.”
“Nothing new from me, huh? Guess I better step up my game.”
He’s teasing but I’m not letting him go there. I cup his face in my hands and pull back so I’m eye to eye with my handsome, generous, loving husband, the man I almost let slip away. The man who would move heaven and earth to give me what he promised me when he was sixteen years old. My past and my destiny.
“Everything’s exactly as it should be,” I promise him, looking deep into his blue eyes so he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that I mean what I say. I stroke his jaw, rub my thumb over his sensuous bottom lip.
This is everything
, he said.
This is the whole world.
And at this moment I know it’s the truth. “It’s beautiful, my love. And it’s ours.”
THE END
Coming Fall 2015
Back to Life
When Renée Mahoney’s husband is killed in a car accident, leaving her to raise their four young children alone, it takes everything she has to keep getting out of bed in the morning. Though she’s always been a strong, vibrant woman, losing Carl seems to have sucked the life out of her. A few months after his death, she turns her back on her friends, her church, and her job and slips into a dangerous downward spiral.
Local police officer Joel Jarewski has known Renée since childhood and fell in love with her long before Carl Mahoney swept her off her feet. When he sees the former wild child at a bar a few months after Carl’s death, he knows she’s just looking for a way to escape her pain, but despite his better judgment, he can’t resist a taste of his dream woman when it’s offered.
Joel atones for his sins by introducing Renée to a much healthier means of dealing with her emotional pain: kickboxing. Watching her train, grow stronger every day, and regain her former self-confidence should be its own reward, but Joel wants more. And patience is not his strong suit.
Whipping her body into shape clears the fog in Renée’s head and helps give her a new lease on life. But she’s confused about her feelings for Joel, who has always been brooding, self-contained, and passionate - a man so different from the sweet, tender, steadfast husband she lost. While her attraction to Joel is undeniable, she doesn’t think that her heart will ever be whole again for another man - and she’s sure that no man will ever take the place of Carl, especially not a man with a dangerous job and a questionable relationship history.
Can the man who’s never settled down take on a ready-made family? And can the woman who swore she’d never give her heart away again find happiness with the person she least expected to love?
Joel
It’s the shit with Shaun Perry that sends me over the edge.
Shaun is our resident dirtbag, the kind of guy who’s okay with other men but a manipulative dick to women. If he wasn’t so good I’d ban him from the gym, but he trains hard and is a great sparring partner. Even still, I think about getting rid of him every other day. I can see his bullshit moves from across the gym, the way he finds reasons to brush against her even as he’s talking to her with a face as innocent as a fucking Boy Scout. He has her hit the bag and offers phony enthusiasm for her form, which he should be correcting.
Ahh, there he goes, correcting her. Should’ve known he wouldn’t mis the chance to touch her yet again. He lays his hand lightly on her hip and twists her through the motion, something he could have easily demonstrated for her. That oily fuck. I should’ve told him she was off-limits, but since everyone in town knew her husband, I shouldn’t have to. And she’s actually being friendly to the asshole, which makes me even more pissed off. She brushes her hair back from her eyes, then gives up and tugs out her ponytail. Her long blond hair spills across her shoulders before she twists it into a rope and works the hair tie back into it. I watch Perry eying her like his next meal and that’s enough for me.
“Perry!” I holler. “Take over for me a minute.”
He balks a minute before smoothing his face into an agreeable smile. “Sure, Boss.”
Fucking asshole.
Renée smiles as I approach her, but it fades as she sees how pissed off I am.
“Enjoying yourself?” I fume.
“I’m sorry?” I forgot how she was as a teenager, sassy just like this. Her tone is exactly as it was when she was sixteen, as if she knew she was pushing buttons and she was going to push them just a little harder.
“The fuck was that all about?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I walk close, leaning into her space. “I’m talking about that.” My head jerks in Perry’s direction. “Why the hell are you flirting with that piece of garbage in
my gym
?”
“Flirting? With Perry? Are you out of your fucking mind?”
“I look across the room, he’s got his hands on you. I look a second time, he’s got his hands on you. I look a third fucking time, you know what I see?”
“Just stop it.” Two bright red splotches appear on her cheeks and she narrows her eyes.
“Him. Touching. You.”
“He was
helping
me. Grow up, Joel,” she snaps.
“Yeah, he was helping you all right. He’d help himself to your pussy if he thought he could, and that’s my point.”
“Why are you talking to me that way?” She’s pissed, but she sounds hurt, too.
“What way?”
“That way! You’re being crude.”
“Maybe it’s so I’ll get your attention, since you don’t seem to be real swift at picking up social cues.”
“This is ridiculous! Please stop being so hateful,” she begs. “He wasn’t flirting with me, and I definitely wasn’t flirting with him. Okay?”
She’s trying to reason with me, but all I can see is his hand on her hip. And then his hands all over her, in all the places no one but me should ever touch.
“It’s not okay. He’s trash. Stay away from him.”
“How can I stay away from him? This is his gym, too.”
“It’s not
his
gym, it’s
my
gym. He’s just here.”
“And you’re the one who wanted me here.”
“So you could get your shit together. Not so you could moisten Perry’s dick.”
Her whole face turns bright red and I’m almost sorry for what I said when she says in a low, trembling voice, “You’re disgusting!”
“That’s me, disgusting.” I shake my head. “Sweetheart, you have no fucking idea how disgusting I can be.”
“I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know if you get any more disgusting than that. And FYI, the last time I checked, I was a grown woman. I can’t help it if you’re suffering from some kind of weird jealousy.”
“Jealous? Of Perry? You must be out of your fucking mind.”
“Yeah, jealous of Perry,” she taunts. “Because at least he knows how to be
nice
.”
“There’s only one man I’ve ever been jealous of, sweetheart, and he’s dead.”
The words are out before I can call them back, and she actually jerks as if I’ve struck her. Her face drains of color, but her eyes never leave mine.
“I fucking
hate
you,” she spits, and she means it. I’m surprised she’s not clawing my eyes out or practicing the right hook Cassidy’s been teaching her. Her chest heaves as she glares at me, and I know I’ve fucked this up beyond repair.
“Fine. Good. Stay the fuck away from Shaun.” I turn and walk back to my office where I drop the blinds and wait until she’s gone to come back out.
* * * *
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To properly thank who I need to thank, I need to start at the beginning. Last fall, when I was 4500 miles away from my friends and family and social media was my lifeline, I started For Life. Like most projects, it was inspired by some random thought that stuck in the gears of my mind for whatever reason and wouldn’t go away. And then Grady appeared, and the rest is history.
Grady had some early fans. To Amber, Dana, Kristi, and Terri – THANK YOU. It was your encouragement in the very early drafts that kept me laboring on this project. Your belief in Cassie and Grady’s story means more to me than you will ever know. For the encouragement, the many rounds of feedback, the teasers, the pimping, and the love, a million hugs and kisses.
My betas –Dorota, Eva, Jen, and Marlena – thank you for your investment in this story and your honest, thoughtful feedback. The book is so much better because of you.
Camisha, my Boo, thanks for being my cheerleader throughout this process and in my year of transition. You are as real as it gets, and I am keeping you.
Kim. You are a one-woman wonder. I aspire to be like you when I grow up! Thanks for being my unofficial PA. Big hugs!
Jena, if I did ten favors a day for you for the next ten years, I’d still owe you. Thank you for your advice, artwork, and inspiration. I am dazzled by your multitasking skills and amazed by the amount of stuff you accomplish on a daily basis. One day the drinks will be on me.
The Saucy Minxes, especially Terri – you ladies are a daily delight. Thanks for infusing sunshine and laughter into my life!
My Bitchfaces. You know who you are. Thank you for the crazy online shenanigans. I love my little family! Susan, Lisa, and Jennifer, thanks for taking it to the next level and being part Grady’s Girls. (How many groups are we in together now? Like, a thousand?)
My blogger friends, all of whom have been so gracious to me. You ladies work so hard and make so many people happy. A special shout-out to After Dark Book Lovers for hosting my very first author takeover!
To Christine, Ella, Jane, and Julie – watching each of you do your thing is awe-inspiring. Thank you for showing me how it should be done and occasionally allowing me a peek behind the curtain.
Last but never least, a big thank-you to Sharlene for believing in me more than anyone ever has. This is why you are my person.
If I have forgotten to say thank you, it’s not because you’re not amazing. It’s because I need a handler.
And thank you, lovely reader, for being willing to read every last word.