Love Renewed (Love Trilogy) (10 page)

Heating up the stove, he cracked open a few eggs and mixed them with some milk before pouring the mixture into the pan. Wandering around the kitchen making the rest of his breakfast while keeping a sharp eye on the stove, he went back to his thoughts.

Trevin knew that people might think he was obsessed with Charlotte, but the truth was that he was just a one woman man - a rare breed from everything he had ever learned when it came to what people thought about men and their dating habits. And truth was simply that she had been everything he had ever wanted in a girl since the first time he had laid eyes on her.

Placing everything he needed to eat on the table, he turned off the eggs and put them on his plate before setting down to eat.

Then there came a knock at the front door.

I sure hope that is Charlotte,
was his first thought as he stood back up and went to answer the door.

~*~

As he opened the door, he knew that he had been hoping for too much.

Shelby stood at the door, smiling at him with a mischievous look in her eyes. Her face was practically filled with glee at him opening the door for her.

“Hey Trevin! I’ve come to visit!” She bounced through the door like a little kid who had consumed just a bit too much sugar for this early in the morning. “Did you miss me?”

“Shelby…it is only just barely past eight in the morning. What made you think it was appropriate for you to visit me this early in the day?”

Instantly, she frowned at the censure he had let creep into his voice, and he could see the tears filling her eyes. “Are you mad at me Trevin? I knew you would be awake, and I missed you. Please don’t be mad at me.” He noticed her lower lip wobbling as if she were going to burst out sobbing if he turned her away, so he shook his head in denial, sighing.

“No, I am not mad at you, but I am in the middle of eating breakfast. So you can come and sit in the kitchen with me if you want.”

He walked away, knowing she would follow immediately without further comments, which she did.

Sitting back down at the table to eat, he watched her flounce around the kitchen, humming the whole time.

It is like she’s in her own little world and she came over just to let me be her audience, he mused. She looked over at him then and realizing he must have made a sound in his amusement, he smiled at her, taking another bite of his eggs.

“What is so funny, Trevin?” She cocked her head to the side as she put her hands on her hips as if she were offended, but he could see that she seemed pleased at his amusement.

Shaking his head, he took another bite of his food as he observed her from half-lidded eyes.

Shelby wasn’t wearing a dress today which surprised him because she usually wore dresses or lacy things that made her look like a little girl playing dress up. That wasn’t the case today, and she looked like the grown up she actually was.

She was wearing dark, skinny jeans that accentuated her figure, something he quickly looked away from because he didn’t feel right checking her out for more than one reason. Her sweater had a V-neck and was pink. It appeared to be quite soft so he would guess that it was cashmere since it was her favorite fabric - a fact she had informed him of in the past even though he hadn’t asked. She was wearing her hair down, along with a headband that was holding her bangs back from her forehead.

As she walked towards the table finally, Trevin glanced back down at his food, finishing it up quickly. When she sat down, he looked at her in the face, which for some reason caused her to lower her eyes immediately. That was when he noticed that she was wearing make-up again, which was something she hadn't done since the accident happened.

Standing up abruptly, he saw the flash of irritation on her face as he walked away, but it was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared.

He washed his dishes off in the sink, listening to her humming behind him and getting louder by the second. Turning off the water, he turned around and lifted a brow at her, knowing that she was going to irritate him until she got whatever she wanted from this visit.

“What did you come here for Shelby? I am gathering that it wasn’t just to visit, and you usually don’t dress up so nicely, so now I’m suspicious,” he remarked, crossing his arms over his chest while glaring at her.

She grimaced, mimicking his actions as she crossed her arms over her chest too. “I don’t know what you are talking about, Trevin. I just came to see you, like always.” He watched her stick her lower lip out, and he didn’t know why, but he wasn’t buying her reasoning today. Something just seemed off.

He slammed his hand down on the counter, causing her to jump and her eyes to widen in surprise. “Don’t lie to me, Shelby!” He lowered his voice to indicate his anger and frustration as he said, “Tell me why you are here, actually looking like a grown up and as if you are trying to get a man’s attention.”

She was utterly silent for several minutes after that remark, but he stood patiently and waited for her to answer him. Finally, she lowered her arms from her chest and folded them in her lap, notching up her chin defensively as she spoke.

Staring at Trevin, she declared, “I remember the argument.”

Not knowing what argument she was referring to, he gave her a confused look. “What? What argument? Did someone pick a fight with you?”

She stood up then, pushing her chair back angrily as she slapped her hands onto the kitchen table and raising her voice just slightly as she glared at him. “No! I remember our argument. You know, the one we had the night of my accident?”

It was Trevin’s turn to gape then, shocked speechless. Before he could say anything, she continued on, her voice sounding rough to his ears as if she were going to cry.

“It was a few days ago,” she admitted, glaring at him. “I recall you telling me that I would regret if anything happened between you and Charlotte. Then, I got hit by a car.”

Over his shock, he let out a bark of laughter. “Are you kidding me, Shelby? You remember the argument after all this time, do you? Are you actually standing here and accusing me being the one to hit you with the car? I know you damn well remember that it was a woman who hit you as you were walking across the street when it was pitch black outside because she came to visit you in the hospital!” His voice had risen as he felt on the verge of shouting at her ugly accusation.

And before she could reply, the front door opened, and Charlotte’s voice rang out.

“Trevin! Are you here?”

Chapter
 
Nine

“Shit!” The word slipped out before Trevin could stop it and looking over, he could see that Shelby was utterly terrified. He hadn’t told Charlotte about Shelby yet, and he did not think this was an opportune time for that conversation, especially with her accusation hanging in the air now. “She can’t find you here! Stay quiet!”

At her nod, he walked to the front door to greet Charlotte. She was standing just inside the doorway, gripping her purse as she held it in front of her like a shield. She was wearing an ankle length black skirt with a white long sleeve blouse, her brown hair hanging straight down her back. She caught his eyes as he walked towards her, and he smiled uncertainly, unable to read her expression.

As he drew near her, he could see the sudden intake of breath she took as if trying to steady her nerves.

Casually sticking his hands into his pockets, he stopped about a foot before her. “Hey. What are you doing here? It’s pretty early; I wasn’t expecting anyone…”

He trailed off, his eyes focusing on her biting her lower lip as if she weren’t quite sure what to say. When she licked her lips and still didn’t say anything, he walked closer until they were nose to nose. His lips were inches from hers, and although her eyes widened, she didn’t step back as he murmured, “What can I do for you Sprite?”

“I…I…” she stammered, before taking a deep breath and trying again. “I just…came to tell you that I am sorry…for slapping you last night.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise. “You came all the way to my house just to tell me you are sorry for hitting me? You could have just called me.” He smirked, lowering his voice just a little to indicate he didn't believe that was her only reason for coming. “Are you sure that is all you came here to say?”

He saw her swallow as she gave a quick nod and he was about to step back when he saw her glance at his mouth before looking up into his eyes again.

“Why are you so nervous Charlotte? You look like a lamb about to be eaten by the wolf.” He grinned then, his statement causing her to blush and to take a step back.

Not willing to let her get away just yet, he stepped forward - a movement that put her right up against the door. He knew her sudden inhalation was in recognition of her current predicament. Putting his hands on either side of her, he leaned into her, his mouth close to her ear.

She stood still, her head turned slightly as she was afraid to look at him. Bringing his right hand up, he gently moved some of her escaping hair behind her ear and nipped at her earlobe.

Her slight jerk in reaction, as if he had startled her, made him chuckle, and she looked up at him then, her eyes so dark they were almost black. To him, they looked like melted dark chocolate which made him want to gobble her up even more.

His hand sliding down to cradle the side of her neck, he quickly touched his lips to hers in a sweet caress, his thumb stroking her cheek. Pulling away just enough to speak, he whispered, “What do you want right now Charlotte? Tell me.”

He heard the sound of her purse hitting the floor seconds before her arms wrapped around his neck, looking into his eyes as one word escaped her lips.

“You.”

With that one word, Trevin felt his stomach drop as his heart jumped into his throat. Many thoughts flew through his head as he debated what he should do.

Shit! Damn it! What am I supposed to do? Shelby’s hiding in my kitchen accusing me of having something to do with her accident and Charlotte is hitting on me. Why the hell did they both have to show up here at the same time?
He mentally cursed at his predicament, coming to a decision he prayed he wouldn’t regret. Shelby would hopefully figure out how to leave the house without making noise.

With that thought, he put Shelby out of his mind.
 
Then, reaching down and pulling Charlotte against him, he took possession of her mouth with a ferocity that made them both moan. Keeping one hand against her back to hold her close, he brought the other up to grip her hair, his tongue and hers touching and gliding against each other in the now shared space of her mouth.

Gliding his hand under her shirt, he skimmed the palm of his hand along her back, which was warm underneath her clothing. She moaned her appreciation into his mouth, her body seeming to unconsciously move closer to his as her breasts rubbed against his chest, nipples puckering instantly due to the sensations. Taking advantage of their position, he pushed her back against the door, moving along with her to trap her altogether and moved his hand down to the waistband of her skirt before bypassing it with his hand.

Her nails were biting into his shoulders as she arched her body towards his. Slipping his hand inside her panties as well, he gripped her ass, making sure she could feel his arousal trapped between their bodies, causing them both to moan with the friction of their movements.

Breaking their kiss and keeping his grip on her hair, he tilted her head slightly to growl into her ear, “this is what you do to me. This is what you have always done to me.” Urging his arousal against her again, they moaned in unison. “You, Sprite. Only you.”

As he was leaning to capture her mouth once again, she suddenly tensed in his arms.

Oh, no.
That was his first thought.

“What’s wrong, Sprite?”

Looking up into his eyes, she whispered, “I think I heard something. Footsteps. They were coming from your kitchen.”

He cleared his throat, relaxing his grip on her. “Oh yeah, about that…”

Before he could say anything, Charlotte's eyes widened, and Trevin groaned.

Releasing Charlotte, he turned around, already knowing what he would find.

Shelby was standing in the kitchen doorway with a frown on her face.

~*~

Charlotte was pretty sure that Trevin was going to start undressing her right there in his foyer. They were clutching each other, as close as two people could be with their clothes on, their lips locked with his hand on her bare ass.
 
She had surprised him along with her own self when she told him that he was what she wanted even with everything else going on. Not until that moment had she admitted how much she wanted him to touch her out loud, but the way he’d been staring at her was not something that should be ignored. He had looked hopeful, hungry and just a tad bit desperate to touch her.

It was so lovely being this close to him again. She didn’t want to come straight out and say it, but she hadn’t come just to say she was sorry. She knew he had just been frustrated with being unable to fix things because she kept blowing him off and hadn’t meant what he had said. The fact he loved her was written all over his face and she knew the problem was that she just didn’t know how to move past the hurt she’d been carrying around.

“Only you,” he said in her ear before moving back to bring his mouth near hers, both of their eyes closing as he moved in to kiss her. That was when she heard the noise and tensed, her eyes flying open as she looked towards the kitchen.

She knew she said something to Trevin, but her head was buzzing at the appearance of a woman in his kitchen doorway.

Not recognizing the woman, she took a deep breath to try and clear her head as Trevin released his grip on her and turned around.

Nobody said anything for a few moments, which appeared to make the woman nervous, her hands twisting together as Charlotte stared at her. Deciding to break the silence on her own, she turned to Trevin and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me, Trevin?” Her voice came out a bit low, the remnants of desire evident. Clearing her throat, she waited expectedly.