Save Me From Myself (9 page)

The four of us, and Anna, sit chatting for a few minutes. I discover that Jeremy is an architect, and SarahBeth is a graphic design major at NOSSI with her best friend Olivia, one of the girls who was with her last night at the mall. After we talk about her school, and her plans for after graduation, she turns and asks Jeremy to take her home.
 

Once they’re gone, David turns to me and asks what I’m doing the following night. When I say nothing, he invites me to his house for dinner, and I accept, wanting to learn more about this man who makes me feel for the first time in a very long time.

Before Anna and I leave, David kisses me deeply again, and I swear my knees almost buckle. When he finally lets me go, Anna’s giggling. I don’t remember getting in the car, or walking into my apartment. I don’t even wash off my makeup before falling into bed with a huge smile on my face.

David texted directions to his house earlier this afternoon, and I’ve spent most of the day talking myself into and back out of showing up for dinner at his house. Yes, I like him, a lot, but I didn’t come to Nashville to get right back into a relationship. I came to start over, to concentrate on me, and he’s messing up all my plans. When I told Anna this, she told me that “the best things in life are unexpected” which didn’t exactly make everything okay. She told me to put my big girl panties on, and deal with it. So, here I am, in a gated community on the outskirts of Nashville. How on earth does a bar owner own a house
here
?
 

When I pull up outside of the house, I’m very intimidated. The house is all brick, with ivory trim around the windows. The roof looks almost blue in the setting sun, and the lawn is beautifully manicured. It looks like the kind of house you’d see in landscaping or architecture magazines.
 

There’s a circular driveway, passing a walkway to the front door that has three steps up from the actual driveway. In the distance, to the left side of the house, I can see a two-story three car garage which is separate from the house. I stop my car in front of the house, and just sit. I’m trying to convince myself to get out. It’s not that I think David is too good for me, because my family isn’t exactly in the poor house, but I really didn’t think he was
this
well off. He definitely doesn’t act like the wealthy guys I know back in New York. He’s friendly, outgoing, and down to earth.

I continue to sit and stare at the yard around me, when all of a sudden, there’s a knock on my window that startles me so much a small scream escapes my mouth. I place my hand on my chest, and look towards the door. David’s standing there with a half-smile on his face, and that one eyebrow raised, like he’s daring me to get out of the car. I unlock the door, and he pulls it open. “Hey darlin',” he greets me warmly, his smile widening.
 

“Hi,” I respond softly. The butterflies are back, and I’m not sure how to act with him now that we’re completely alone. David doesn’t let me wonder long though, and holds his hand out for mine. When I place my hand in his, he pulls me out of the car and into his embrace. He smells wonderful! I don’t what cologne he wears, but he smells clean, and a little woodsy. I just want to burrow further into his chest when he hugs me. He pulls away all too soon, and lays a soft kiss on my cheek.

“Were you planning to stay out here in your car all night? Or were you going to come in for dinner?” He asks me.

“Of course I was coming in, I was just admiring the view.” I reply indignantly. Jeez, you’d think I’d been out there for hours, instead of just a few minutes. Laughing, he pulls me into his side and leads me into the house.

***

When we enter the foyer, I see a table with fresh flowers, and a staircase leading up to the second floor. The floor looks like old wood, and there’s a small rug just inside the door. Looking down the hallway, I can see two doorways on each side leading into rooms and the hallway stretches the entire width of the house.

David’s leading me towards the end of the hallway, and when he turns to look at me, he smiles and uses his finger to push my chin up, closing my mouth. “You’re going to catch flies if you’re not careful,” he says with a wink. I can’t help it. This house is amazing. I must be looking at him funny, because he stops, and gesturing at the house, tells me, “This was my parent’s house. When they died, it became mine. SB was still in school so Jeremy and I moved in here. Since we moved back to avoid her changing schools, we couldn’t exactly sell the house. Plus, she would have been pretty upset about leaving all the memories.”

“It’s a beautiful house,”

We haven’t ventured very far in, but what I’ve seen so far it’s homey and welcoming, even though the house is huge and opulent. It’s the kind of place where you instantly feel at home.

His smile turns a little sad, “Thanks, the decorating is all my mom. Sarah wouldn’t let me change anything.” I’m sure she wouldn’t. He’d said last night that he’s been raising her for five years, and since she’s not yet 21, she would have been fifteen when their parents died. He didn’t tell me what happened, but it must have been sudden. My mother and I don’t really get along, but I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost her at that age.

We reach the kitchen, and I feel my mouth drop open again. The room is huge, open and airy. The walls are a pinky/beige color, with cream cabinets and dark granite countertops. There’s a huge fireplace standing by itself separating the kitchen from a den. The fireplace is open on both sides, able to be used from both the kitchen and den, and there’s open space on each side. In the middle of the room is a huge island with a bar, and a sink on the opposite side. There is a double oven in one corner of the room, and instead of a regular wall, it’s encased in the same brick as the fireplace. The fridge is made to look the same as the cabinets so that it blends into the room. It’s clear that a lot of thought went into the planning of this room, and David tells me that his mother was an interior designer. She was obviously very talented at her job.

He leads me over to sit at the bar, and then goes to the fridge. Pulling it open, he looks back at me sheepishly. “I probably should have asked you last night if there was anything you wouldn’t eat, or if there was anything you were allergic to. But, since I forgot, I picked up a few different choices.” He stops, and realizing that he wants answers to questions he didn’t actually ask, I respond, “I’m pretty easy, and no allergies.” His grin turns lecherous, and I clue in to the fact that I said I’m easy. “Uh, I meant, I’m easy to feed.” His grin widens, and I give up, putting my flaming face in my hands.

David chuckles, and after a few seconds, I feel his body behind me, and his arms come around to pull mine down. Turning the bar stool, he stands in front of me, seeming even taller than normal since I’m sitting. He tips my head up, and lowers his mouth to mine.

He kisses me gently, not demanding anything, and my fingers clench in his shirt. When I pull him closer to me, he groans, running his tongue along the seam of my lips. When my mouth opens, he pushes his tongue inside to duel with mine. Moaning softly, I let him explore my mouth, enjoying the taste of him. He tastes faintly of cinnamon, and something that is all him. His arms feel like steel bands around me, and he crushes me against him as the kiss goes deeper.

We kiss for what seems like an eternity, and he finally pulls away slightly, resting his forehead against mine, his breathing heavy. “This was not my intention,” he breathes. He pulls back further, and plants a kiss on the tip of my nose. The room is spinning, his effect on me is that strong! When he gets back to the fridge, he tells me I can choose between steak, chicken, and salmon for dinner. A guy that can cook, not that’s rare!

Grinning, I tell him, “Impress me with your Salmon skills chef!” and he shakes his head, taking out what he needs to cook for me. This is definitely new. Matt’s idea of being the one to “make” dinner was to stop and get take out on his way home. David, however, moves around the kitchen confidently, cutting and mixing ingredients, and soon the room is filled with amazing scents. Disappearing into a room off the kitchen, he returns with a bottle of white wine. I raise my eyebrow, and when he sees me, he shrugs and says, “Wine room,” like it’s completely normal.

Before I can say anything in response, I hear someone running down the stairs off the kitchen. SarahBeth bounces into the kitchen and grabs an olive out of the bowl on the counter.

“Where are you going tonight?” David asks her as she walks past him.

She shrugs, “I’m going to go see what Jer’s doing. If he’s busy, I guess I’ll hit up Liv.”

“I think he’s in the pool house.” David raises his eyebrow at her, “But, if you wind up with Olivia, try not to get into too much trouble, okay?”

SarahBeth rolls her eyes, “Whatever big bro. You know I’ll behave.”

“Yeah, but your definition of behaving and mine are vastly different,” David scowls.

She laughs and turns to leave. Opening the door, she looks over her shoulder and says, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” before closing the door with a smirk.

I cough to cover my laugh when I see David’s pained expression. He turns to me and frowns, “What?”

“Nothing! It’s just, it’s funny to watch you guys. You treat her more like a daughter than…” I trail off, realizing that is probably exactly how he feels.
 

***

I am the expert at sticking my foot in my mouth, but he just waves off my apology and continues to cook dinner. Bringing our plates and the bottle of wine over to the bar, he sits next to me. While we eat, he asks me questions about my family, and I tell him about Aria and how close we are, about my younger sister Kaitlin who’s eighteen, my two much older step-brothers, Philip and Edward, and my brother Andrew. When his eyes widen at the amount of siblings I have, I explain that Kaitlin and Andrew are both half-siblings, Kaitlin is my mom and step-father’s, and Andrew is my dad and step-mom’s. I avoid talking about my parents as much as possible. That’s not a light-hearted conversation, and I feel like bitching about my parents when his are dead is ungrateful.

The food is amazing, and he tells me that his mother taught both him and SB how to cook. It obviously came in handy when he was suddenly the guardian of a teenage girl, and I’m not complaining about reaping the benefits either! When we finish eating, I help load the dishwasher while he takes our wine glasses into the den.

David lets me decide which movie we’re watching. Picking a comedy from the options he gives me, I sit next to him on the couch and he puts his arm around me pulling me close.
 

Forty-five minutes later, I can’t tell you anything that’s happened in the movie. All I can think about is David. His hard body pressed against mine, his amazing scent, and the movement of his fingers on my side. We’ve been gradually moving closer together, so now, my feet are curled up on the couch with my head is resting on his chest as he leans against the arm. He’s making those damn little circles on the bare skin between the hem of my shirt and the waistband of my pants.

He must have noticed my racing heart because his hand stops moving and grips my waist. I lift my head to look at him. His golden eyes look like dark pools of molten lava. He sits up, forcing me up onto my knees. Gripping the back of my neck, he pulls my face close to his. Slanting his lips over mine, his tongue enters my mouth when I gasp at the falling sensation, placing my hands on his chest. When they make contact, he groans and yanks me into his lap. Suddenly, I’m straddling him, and his hands are gripping my waist. My breasts are pushed up against his chest as we both breathing hard.

He releases my mouth, and starts dropping kisses along my jaw, moving down to my neck. There, he places biting kisses down to the space where my neck meets my shoulder and he sucks gently. My hands are now at his shoulders, my nails digging in. He’s running his hands up and down my sides, and I sink down fully on top of him. When my core meets his groin, his hands stop and tighten on my waist as he lets out a groan.

I can feel him, hard and ready beneath me. At that moment what feels like ice water runs through my veins. I haven’t been intimate with anyone since I lost the baby, and I’m not sure I’m ready for that. He must have felt me stiffen, because he pulls away and looks at me questioningly.

“What’s wrong?” he asks. I don’t want to answer so I look away. He won’t let me get away with that though, so he grips my chin, forcing me to look back him. “What’s wrong Lyric? Where’d you go just now?”

“Nowhere, I -“
 

He cuts me off, “Don’t lie to me.” When I still say nothing, he sighs. “I’m not going to force you into anything, I just want you to talk to me. I didn’t bring you here to get in your pants. I just want to spend time with you. When I’m around you, I can’t help wanting to touch you.” He looks down at his lap, “Obviously.” He says wryly.

“So, you won’t be mad if I say I’m not ready for that?” I ask, wanting to make sure. I don’t want him to be upset with me.

“No darlin', we’re taking this at your pace. Don’t worry about me, I’ll just get very well acquainted with cold showers.” He grins to let me know he’s teasing, and I visibly relax. “Hey,” he says, “seriously, we aren’t going to do anything you’re not completely on board with, okay?”