DirtyBeautiful (26 page)

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It felt weird to be in LA again. The quiet stillness within
the apartment seemed in stark contrast against his roiling emotions. Vane was
happy enough to hear from him and already had something lined up for him to do
in the next couple of days. Dylan propped his elbows against the balcony and
let the cool air ruffle his hair. Dusk had hit and the orange streaks across
the sky reminded him of Erica. He straightened and knocked back another drink
in hopes of getting rip-roaring drunk.

For the hundredth time today he’d wondered why Erica called
him and why he told her the truth. He expected Ruby to keep his secrets and
didn’t want to think she called him because Ruby had spilled. There was nothing
worse than loving someone and not knowing if they loved you back with the same
intensity or if it was out of pity they stuck around.

“You sure you don’t want to go out tonight?”

Dylan glanced at Max propped against the wall. “Nah. I think
I’m just gonna have an early one.”

“She pulled a real number on you, didn’t she?”

He looked toward the fading sunlight. “You might say that.”

“Huh.”

Dylan glanced at him, a brow raised. “What was that for?”

Max shrugged. “No reason. Hey, Vane ask you about Ruby?”

“What? No.”

Max chuckled. “Two of his favorite performers go AWOL. He
was mighty pissed to say the least. But at least you’re back. You wouldn’t know
where she is?”

“Wouldn’t have a clue.”

The silence that stretched between them was weighed down by
unspoken truths. Max’s insightful gaze seemed to rip through the layers and see
beyond. Dylan braced himself.

“You really think you can do this?” he asked.

“Sure,” he lied.

“You know, I don’t think you can.”

Dylan twisted away. He didn’t want to hear this shit. Didn’t
want the guilt that rode his back since he decided to come back to LA. He
finished off the last of his beer and slipped it onto the bench, the bench he’d
laid Erica upon and touched her intimately. Even now he could still hear that
breathless whimper she made when she got close. He pressed his hands against
the smooth top and closed his eyes, hoping to exorcise her from his mind.

He sensed Max somewhere behind him, watching him with that
quiet perceptiveness that he always had. Dylan canted his head, catching his
friend in the corner of his eyes. “What?” he snarled.

“What are you doing here, Dylan? I’ve never seen you so
strung up over a woman.”

Dylan pushed off the bench and stalked over to the fridge.
He didn’t need to have this conversation sober. Hell, he didn’t need to have
this conversation at all. He yanked open the fridge and snatched another
bottle, twisted the lid off and took a generous swallow.

Max watched the move in silent reproof and Dylan felt it
down to his gut.

“What, it’s okay for me to fuck people for money, but a man
can’t have a beer?”

“I think you’re avoiding the point. You’re not going to like
yourself if you do this.”

Dylan’s laugh was caustic. “I got news for you. I already
don’t like myself.”

Max recoiled. Clearly it wasn’t what he expected to hear.

A knock at the door saved Dylan from further conversation
and he shouldered by Max to answer the door. No doubt it was Vane ready to go
over his contract. He swung the door open and a whoosh of air left his body.
Erica stood in the hall looking tired, bedraggled and sexy as hell.

“Erica? What are you doing here?”

She shifted on her feet, uncertainty written across her
features. “I’m here to win you back.”

His mouth dropped open as Max chuckled in the background.

“Well,” Max said, squeezing by them. “That’s my cue. Tell
Ruby I said hi.”

With that he sauntered down the hall, whistling as he went.

Erica peered up at him through her lashes. “Can I come in?”

Dumbly he stepped back, watching as she glided inside,
skirted the lounge, fingered the table and finally turned to face him. Dylan
shut the door and leaned on it. Her fingers twisted in her palms, the sunlight
circled her gorgeous hair like a halo. It reminded him how far removed he was
from her pureness.

He pushed off the door and approached, and stopped only when
the halo disappeared. “You shouldn’t have wasted your money.”

“Well, I wouldn’t have if you’d given me a chance to tell
you how I feel about you.”

He paused and wondered if he should remove her from his
home. Yearning stirred in his stomach again and before he could stifle it the
words tumbled out of his mouth. “How do you feel?”

Erica licked her lips. “I love you, Dylan.”

Dylan waited for an orchestra of angels to break out into
chorus, but none of that happened. The misery in his gut remained. “Why?” he
rasped.

Erica stepped forward. “Because you are the most giving man
I know. You are patient and incredibly understanding. You don’t allow others to
dictate your actions and operate by your own judgment. You never judge anyone
on anything but their merits alone…and you love to save stray dogs.”

He couldn’t speak, his emotions difficult to decipher.

She licked her lips nervously. “And you saw beyond this,”
she swept her hand over her body, “and saw me.”

“I see you, and you’re beautiful.”

Her smile was wobbly and incredibly endearing.

“What about my past?”

“It doesn’t matter. Whatever your reasons for doing this, I
don’t care. I love you. Everything about you. Please, forgive me for not having
enough faith in us. In myself.”

Joy bubbled beneath the surface and he struggled to keep it
at bay. “So you don’t know why I started doing films?”

She shook her head, a sheen of tears glistening in her eyes.
Unable to stop himself, Dylan closed the distance between them and kissed her
with all the pent-up emotions inside her. He tasted the saltiness of her tears
but also the passion she held for him. All the weariness that weighed him down
dissipated to be replaced by a euphoric thrum.

Erica pressed against him, her ragged moan swallowed by an
answering one of his own. Without breaking off the kiss, he swung her up in his
arms and carried her into his room. She landed on the bed, and he followed. His
cock surged with almost painful desire. He’d been dreaming of claiming her, and
he couldn’t wait. Knees pressed on the mattress, her luscious thighs gripping
his hips. All he had to do was settle his denim-covered dick over her and have
some relief, but he wanted her naked. Wanted to feel her soft body on his. He
fisted her dress. Fabric tore and buttons hit his chest as he tried to remove
her clothing. Finesse ceased to exist under the desperation riding him. He
needed her more than he needed his next breath.

Her breasts spilled free and he cupped one, feeling the hard
tip press against his palm. Abandoning her mouth, he drank up her flushed face,
pausing over her swollen lips. He brushed aside a lock of hair from her face. A
lump settled in his throat, his fingers trembled as he traced the apple of her
cheek.

“I thought I’d never be able to touch you like this again,”
he rasped.

Erica blinked rapidly. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Dylan kissed each eyelid. “Don’t be. I’m just glad you’ve
forgiven me.”

He kissed with reverent need. Their tongues met in a foray
of joy and love. He suckled her top then bottom lip before trailing a line down
her jaw. Nails dug into his shoulders, but he didn’t care. He burned for her.
His dick throbbed in painful arousal. Panting, he stared down at her flushed
breasts, her nipples tight with desire. He leaned close and blew hot air onto
the coral tips. Erica arched into him and her hands pulled at his shirt. The
palm of her hand slid under the collar to find bare skin and scorched him.
Dylan shuddered, feeling her desire through the core of his being. He pinched
one nipple and rolled it gently until she whimpered, “Please.”

Her fingers dipped under the waistband of his jeans to touch
the tip of his cock and he shuddered. Damn it, he had to have her. She undid
the buttons on his pants, Dylan rucked up her skirt and pulled her underwear
aside to touch her wet center. Erica gasped and clutched his dick, sending all
thought from his mind.

He pushed two fingers inside her, his thumb circling the
swollen nub. He finger-fucked her with fervor, loving her unique perfume of
musk and peaches. The cadence of her moans and the wet sound of her pussy as he
pummeled her were like music. Everything about her filled his senses. This was
what he wanted. Her and only her. He was a fool to think he could fuck another.

He nibbled her neck, tracing a line upward to the lobe of
her ear. He bit it enough to catch her attention and she groaned, her pussy
clenched beneath his touch. “I want to fuck you.”

Erica shuddered. “Yes, fuck me.”

He pulled his hand away and guided himself to the entrance
of her body.

“You want me?”

“Yes,” she gasped.

He thrust home, his eyes almost rolling back from the sheer
bliss of being inside her. Her wet canal eased his way, welcoming him home. Her
legs wrapped around him and she fisted his shirt at his back. Guided by the
primitive need to mark her, he hooked one leg over his arm, forcing her open,
exposing her to his relentless hunger. A breath burst from her as he thrust
hard into her until her pussy kissed the base of his cock. He rolled his hips
to feel her clit against his flesh. Her eyelids fluttered and a feral grin
pulled at his mouth. He drew back until the head of his cock tipped the lips of
her cunt and drove forward. He fucked her in a frenzy, her cries pitching with
every punch of his cock. Her breasts jiggled with every hard thrust, her mouth
open, eyes squeezed shut. She was the best lover he ever had and he felt
humbled by her innocence that awoke hope in him.

Heat ran down his spine and tingles tightened in his balls.
He licked the valley between her breasts, tasting a combination of her sweet
skin and sweat. Damn, he missed her. One hand gripped her other thigh, pushing
her wider and giving him deeper access. Dylan groaned as rapture spiked down
his shaft. The canal of her vagina tightened and moisture gushed around his
erection. Her body tensed and her screams filled the room.

Panting, he cupped her neck and brought her up for a
ravenous kiss. She tasted of sin and heaven. Of tears and joy and everything in
between.

He slowed the pace, now enjoying the luscious feel of her
vagina encasing his dick. Nails scraped over his back and he moaned. She
whispered his name and told him how much she loved him. Each word a caress. He
rocked into her, torturing himself with the blissful agony of being inside her.
Pleasure skimmed his flesh and gathered along his balls. Heat condensed in the
base of his cock. Increasing the pace, he plundered her body. Rapture burrowed
into the depths of his being. It was heaven. Erica was his very own heaven.
Gasping, he raced toward his release, his body trembling with vicious need.
Beneath him Erica’s breathy whimper pushed him closer to release. Never had he
experienced sex like this. Both his heart and body thrummed with joy. He
yearned for her touch, but a touch filled with love.

A tingle started at the base of his spine and he knew he
wouldn’t last. For the first time he worried he would come before she did.
Shifting his body, he massaged her clitoris in furious circles, giving her
pleasure as he sought his own. The walls of her canal tightened and Erica cried
out. Dylan kissed her as he spilled his seed, his whole body feeling as though
it was sent into orbit.

Gasping for breath, he pulled back and stared into her eyes.
Their breaths mingled and her hand ran up and down his spine in a sensual
caress. Reverently he brushed back wet locks of hair from her face. “God,
you’re so sexy.”

He moved to pull out of her and realized one fatal mistake.
His heart dropped, knowing her distaste of not having safe sex. Panicked, he
looked at her. “I forgot to suit up.”

Erica smiled and cupped his cheek. “It’s okay. I wanted it.
Wanted you.”

Dylan swallowed hard. “I love you.”

“Come home with me.”

He kissed her with all the love he felt in his being. “With
you, I’m always home.”

Epilogue

It’d been three months since he’d returned home and life
couldn’t be better. The town eventually moved on to other things to occupy
their time and Dylan found a confidante in Erica. She soothed his pain over the
loss of his mother and the demise of his relationship with his sister. She
reminded him of all the good he’d tried to do and the good he could do in the
future. He’d found his soul mate and Dylan couldn’t imagine his life without
her.

After a few debates, Erica had moved in with him. He’d
honestly had much preferred to move in with her since it was her childhood
home, but Erica seemed fixated on all the work he did on his cottage and wanted
him to feel it was truly his. No amount of arguing would change her mind and he
folded.

Ruby had moved into Erica’s house and decided to take an
apprenticeship at the local bakery, an occupation she seemed to excel in. She’d
yet to master Erica’s famous brownies and Dylan suspected Erica’s secret
ingredient was love. He glanced at Erica, who fiddled in the seat beside him.
The drive home from their date was filled with a tension he couldn’t quite put
his finger on.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

Erica blinked up at him. “No. Nothing’s wrong.”

Dylan knew that owlish look anywhere and he chuckled. “No,
something is up. You can’t keep a secret to save your life.”

She smirked. “You might be surprised.”

He nodded dubiously. “Sure.”

As he pulled into the driveway he noticed the lights were on
and balloons were strung up on the porch. He leaned over the wheel. “What the
hell?”

Erica exited the vehicle and stood before the hood and waved
him out. He stepped out and accepted her hand, allowing her to drag him around
the side of the house. “What’s going on, Erica?”