Love's Second Chance (Second Chances Series) (8 page)

“Galen,” I whispered. My voice was raspy with a want so great I could barely focus. Lifting his head, he licked his lips enticingly while he stared at my mouth.

“Are you okay? Do you need me to stop?”

Shaking my head, I moaned, “No, it feels too good for you to stop.”

He smirked seductively before taking my bottom lip between his teeth, sucking and pulling, driving me over the edge. His hands left my breasts and travelled down to the waist of my pants. Unbuttoning them easily with those lithe fingers of his, he then slid a hand down in between my legs. Rubbing my nub gently, Galen slowly entered me with his long, warm fingers. A gratifying moan left my lips and I arched my back, moving my hips along with his strokes. I could feel the orgasm building and there was no way I was going to be able to stop it from coming.

“Galen!” I cried out. “Oh, my God, Galen!” I closed my eyes as the force from the orgasm had me exploding from the inside out. Galen’s hooded gaze swept up and down my body while I rode the final waves of orgasm.

“You are so hot,” he admitted heatedly once I came down from my high. I moaned, wanting more of him, more of his touch, and he eagerly complied. He began to pull my pants down slowly over my hips and past my thighs until he finally got them removed, along with my underwear. He kissed his way up my leg to my stomach, and then across my breasts until he reached my lips.

“Are you on birth control?” he asked with a hint of nervousness. I shook my head and looked away. There had been no reason for me to be on it since I hadn’t been with anyone in a long time, but there was also another reason.

“No, I’m not.” I sighed, and he turned my face to look at him.

“Talk to me, Korinne. Why do you have that look on your face?”

I took a deep breath before revealing my terrible secret. The tears threatened to spill, but I kept them at bay. “I’m not on birth control because I can’t have kids, or at least it’s really difficult for me to. Let’s just say I have ovarian issues. Carson and I tried, but it turns out we couldn’t.” The tears began to fall and I felt ashamed with having to admit I was defective. If Galen wanted kids he sure wasn’t going to get them from me.

“Korinne,” he whispered gently. “Everything will be okay. You’re perfectly fine the way you are.”

I nodded, but the tears kept falling. The mood had cooled and what started out as an amazing and heat filled night turned into something depressing. Galen moved from in between my legs to lay down beside me. Propping himself up on his elbow, he wrapped a well-muscled arm across my bare stomach. He didn’t seem angry at all about our abrupt stop, and I couldn’t have been more thankful. When I got the nerve to look at him again he smiled gently, his eyes showing nothing except concern and understanding.

“Did you really want kids?” he asked apologetically.

I nodded. “I did and I still do. The misery I felt when I found out we couldn’t have children was devastating. There’s always that one percent possibility that I could still have one on my own, but the chances of that are very slim. We were going to adopt, but Carson passed away before we ever signed the papers.” Looking away for a second, I hesitated before asking him the same question. “Have you ever thought about having children?”

He looked me in the eye and smiled. “I’ve thought about it sometimes. You know, there are a lot of children that need to be adopted. I think it was a good idea that you were going to do it.” Releasing the breath I’d been unconsciously holding, I sighed with relief. I didn’t want to deprive him of having children of his own, because if he stayed with me he wouldn’t have them. Galen would make a great father. He was a completely selfless, caring, fun-spirited, and had the most loving heart of anyone I knew. However, what really sparked my interest was that he was single and not married. Any woman in her right mind would have jumped at the chance to be with him.

“Why aren’t you married? I’m a little shocked that you’re still single,” I asked skeptically. I knew he was dating someone before, but I didn’t know what happened to her or how long they had been separated.

He turned his head away and looked at the ceiling. Judging by his reaction, I guessed things with his last girlfriend didn’t turn out too well. “You don’t have to answer,” I said quickly. “I didn’t mean to pry, I was just curious. You’re an amazing guy and I can’t believe that you would even be single.”

Galen shook his head and laughed in disbelief. “No, it’s perfectly fine you asked me. Brady would tell you that I’m still single because of all the hours I work, but I don’t mind telling you,” he offered. “Do you remember Amanda? She’s the woman who was with me at Brady and Jenna’s wedding.”

Remembering very well the woman he spoke of, I rolled my eyes and nodded. She was a complete bitch around me, and it took all I had not to say something to her. “How could I forget,” I quipped sarcastically. “I do have a question though. Was she always a rude ass bitch, or was that just me she was acting that way to? I swear I could sense some rivalry there, but I chose to ignore it for the sake of Carson.”

“Oh, her bitchiness was just at you.” He laughed deeply. “She knew who you were and she knew of our past. Amanda actually accused me of still having feelings for you that night. She said she saw the way I was looking at you, and that I never looked at her the same way. Well anyway, we dated for a while and she kept pressuring me about marriage, which was the last thing on my mind. I didn’t love her, not in the way I love …”

He stopped abruptly and our eyes widened at the same time. Was he about to say he didn’t love her like he loves me? Waiting on him to finish his sentence, I was disappointed when all he did was run his fingers through his hair and laugh, completely trying to divert the attention from what he was going to say. He spoke again quickly, “Anyway, when I failed to profess my undying love for her, she cheated on me with one of my friends.”

I gasped. “Oh wow! I know that couldn’t have been easy to swallow. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

He shrugged. “It wasn’t nearly as hard as what you went through with your husband.”

I turned my head away in shame. How could I talk about my husband when I was lying half-naked in bed with another man? The tears began to form, and before I could hide my face Galen leaned over me. “Don’t cry, Korinne. I’m sorry I brought it up. It’s just I know you went through so much and I want you to be able to talk about it with me.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you about it,” I whispered.

“Then what is it?” he murmured, taking my chin and guiding me to look at him.

Letting him turn my tear-streaked face to him, I gave in and openly admitted my guilt. “In a way I feel like I’m cheating on Carson by doing this, but I also know that he’s gone and that I should move on. I can’t deny my feelings for you, but I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel. You and I have a history together, and that was way before Carson ever came along, but I can’t stop feeling that twinge of guilt when even the smallest amount of happiness comes my way,” I cried.

Galen placed both hands on my face and kissed me gently on the lips. When I opened my eyes, Galen’s clear blue gaze stared at me with pure love. He replied warmly, “Carson would want you to be happy, Korinne. You’re only twenty-eight years old. Don’t tell me you were expecting to be alone for the rest of your life?”

Shaking my head, I replied, “No, I don’t want to be alone, but I’m too afraid of losing someone else I love.”

“Oh, Korinne, you don’t have to be afraid. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You don’t know that,” I snapped.

“Oh yes I do!” he commanded forcefully. “I
promise
I’ll always be here for you. You have my word.”

“How can you promise that? We’re not promised tomorrow,” I said softly.

“I know we’re not promised tomorrow, but that’s just a risk you have to be willing to take. You can’t live your life in fear, because if you do you’ll miss out on everything.”

We stared at each other for a while until Galen smiled and jumped off the bed. “I have an idea to lighten the mood,” he said excitedly. At my questioning look he left the room and came back with my bag. “Get your bathing suit. We’re going for a swim.”

“But it’s freezing outside!” I shrieked.

He undid his pants and let them fall to the floor. Before he slid a pair of swimming trunks on, I got a good, long glance at his glorious body. Never have I forgotten that body or how it felt to be taken by him. Galen was a hard man to forget. Shaking my head to clear the thoughts, I looked up to notice Galen smirking at me. By the expression on his face I was sure he knew what I was thinking.

He leaned over the bed and gave me a quick, playful kiss. “The pool is heated, babe. I thought I would let you know there wouldn’t be any shrinkage going on.” My face bloomed bright crimson as he headed out of the bedroom and stalked down the hall. “Get dressed and meet me out there!” he yelled.

Sitting in silence, I tried to gather my thoughts and take some deep breaths.
You can do this, Korinne
, I assured myself. I’d lost one love of my life, surely it wouldn’t happen again so soon. I could only pray it didn’t, because no matter how hard I tried I didn’t think I could stop myself from falling hard for the alluring Galen Matthews … again.

Chapter Eight

The weekend turned out to be a milestone for mine and Korinne’s relationship. Talking to her brought back all of the fond memories we shared together. I wanted to make love to her more than anything, but she wasn’t completely ready yet. Maybe once she saw I wasn’t going anywhere I could get her to open up to me. Staring at my phone, I decided to send her a text.

Me:
Hey.

Kori:
Hello.

Me:
How are you?

Kori:
Fine, you?

Me:
Working.

Kori:
Sounds like fun. :)

Me:
Can we talk tonight?

Kori:
Of course.

Me:
Great! I’ll call you after work.

Kori:
Sounds good!

There was nothing I could do about Korinne missing her husband except be there for her and let her know I understood. I knew what it was like to lose someone you loved, but my loss was my father. There was a difference, but it was still a loss that hurt nonetheless. I had an idea in my head of something I could do for Korinne to show her that I understood and cared. Searching through my phone, I found the number to the man I needed to speak to.

“Hello, Richard here.” His voice came over the line.

“Richard, its Galen. How are you?” I greeted warmly.

“Galen! My boy, it’s been a long time. How’s the family?” he inquired excitedly. Richard was a really good friend of my father’s, and was also on the board of trustees at the hospital. The same hospital Korinne’s husband worked at.

“The family is doing great. Hey, listen, I would like to make a donation to the hospital.”

“Really?” he replied. “That would be mighty generous of you. How much would you want to donate?”

“Does two million sound good?” I asked. The line went silent and I was starting to think the connection was lost until I heard Richard fumble with the phone. Thankfully, I didn’t give him a heart attack.

He cleared his throat and stuttered, “Did I hear that right? You want to donate two million dollars?”

I laughed. “Yes, that’s right. If you don’t mind, I’ll have my accountant get in touch with you tomorrow.”

“No, that’s perfect, but I have to say that I’m speechless, Galen. Thank you so much. Is there a reason why you’re doing this, or for whom might I ask?”

“Actually there is,” I confessed. “I want it in Carson Anders’ memory. I heard about his accident and I wanted him to be recognized for his commitment to the hospital.”

Richard sighed. “Ah, yes, Dr. Carson. He was one of our best. His accident was such a tragedy. It hasn’t been the same around here with him gone. I know his wife took it really hard when it happened.”

“I’m sure she did,” I said.

“I know everyone will appreciate this, son. If there’s anything I can do for you, just let me know,” Richard suggested.

“Will do, Richard. Tell your wife I said hello.”

“I sure will. She’ll be glad to know you called, and she also knows what this weekend is, too. Sarah mentioned it the other day.”

I chuckled. “I knew she wouldn’t forget.”

“She never does.”

“Take care, and I’ll speak to you again soon,” I said before hanging up. Sarah was Richard’s wife and a wonderful woman. Every year she would make my favorite cake for my birthday … red velvet. This coming weekend happened to be my birthday, and I was going to be thirty-one years old. Sometimes I felt older.

A knock came at the door and Rebecca poked her head in. “We had another client call and put in a request for Mrs. Anders. Have you asked her yet if she’d come work for us?” she asked me curiously.