Finding Eva (Highland Creek Series) (23 page)

“Hey,” she whispered shyly, unsure why she was timid all of a sudden.

“Get up here,” he told her before he reached for her.

She went willingly, stroking him one more time before she moved, hearing his sharp intake of breath. She kissed him lazily, enjoying the early morning sunlight that streamed through the window as she made slow love with her guy. She loved the way that he cherished her, kissing her slowly before stripping her out of her sleep shirt and rubbing his hands all over her body. He flipped her over gently so she lay on her back before he kissed his way down her stomach, kissing her thighs.

“Aaron,” she said impatiently, putting her hand on his head and tugging gently.

He chuckled, knowing what she wanted, and bit lightly on her thigh before looking at her innocently. “Kinda busy.” He continued to kiss the insides of her thighs, crawling closer to her center but slowly torturing her by just missing it. He knew she was getting impatient by the way she squirmed and moved, trying to force him closer.

“I need …”

“I know what you need.” He chuckled and licked her folds in one long stroke.

She arched off the bed, and he moved her leg over his shoulder and spread the other one before he anchored it. He feasted, plunging his tongue in and out slowly, and Eva thought that she was going to die from the exquisite torture. He was ruthless, attacking her. All she could do was writhe and moan while he held her down. She couldn’t think, knowing that she was close, moving her head from side to side when he moved his tongue to plunge two fingers inside her.

“Babe, let go.”

She grunted, trying to press closer when he moved his fingers frantically as she just lay there unable to speak if her life depended on it. When he pressed them onto her clit, she lost it, already sensitive from his earlier attention, and she exploded on his fingers. She lay boneless, unable to move, as he continued to stoke her with his fingers.

“Not yet.” He kissed her, seemingly on a mission, and continued to work her over. He freed himself, already ready, and replaced his fingers with his cock as he stroked it up and down her slit. She grabbed his head, pulling him down for a kiss as he plunged to the hilt. She lay there, still reeling from her earlier orgasm, as he rocked slowly in and out. Eva knew that wasn’t working for her, and curled her feet around the back of his legs, trying to find some way for him to go deeper. He responded by trailing kisses down her neck while saying her name, wanting this as much as she did. He increased his pace, and she knew he was close.

“So … close …” she told him, and he reached between them to play with her clit again.

He was trying to kill her, she was certain, because she didn’t think she could take any more stimulation. This was unlike anything she had ever experienced, even with him, and she knew they had somehow turned a corner from summer sex into something more. She didn’t know what to do, and she was suddenly ready to get this over with. She used his distraction to her advantage, rolling him over before he knew what was what while she sat on him.

“My turn.” She smiled and planted her hands on his chest before she lifted up to slowly pull him out. She got to the tip before she sat back down, causing him to throw his head back and yell her name. She laughed, loving what she did to him, and continued to push in and out. He leaned up and played with her breasts, licking one nipple until it pebbled before moving on to the next one. She was close and oh so thankful when he wrapped his arms around her and began to move in and out rapidly. Eva swore she saw stars as she screamed his name, writhing in his arms as he pushed a couple more times and let go himself.

They rode it out together before he collapsed on the bed with her on top of him. She lay on top of him, not wanting to move, while he rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. He was always touching her, like he couldn’t get enough, something she would consider later on. His heart beat rapidly, and she turned her head to kiss his chest, thankful that she had this amazing guy even if she didn’t quite know what to do with him. For now she was just going to lie in his arms and enjoy the day, strangely feeling like she was home and passing out before she could think about it.

The next time Eva woke she was alone in bed; the stillness in the air told her that she was all alone in the house. She thought about how domestic this all was but didn’t want to dwell on her wayward thoughts as she went down in search of coffee. She found a note near the coffee pot, and smiled as she read it.

You were too cute to wake up, but I had to get to work. Help yourself to coffee and a shower. Call me when you get up; we can do lunch
.

I could get used to this,
she thought as she went and got her overnight bag while the coffee brewed. The overnight bag just reminded her of the conversation she had yet to have, and she knew that lunch was more than just a social call. Aaron was so involved, and although it got on her nerves in some ways, she was thankful that he was truly interested in what was going on with her.

She wasn’t trying to keep it from him, but after being put through the emotional wringer, she didn’t know if she wanted to take another ride. One trip down memory lane was probably enough to last her for a while. Not wanting to think about her mother, she thought about her second least favorite subject: August. She was going to have to go back; she had a job that she loved, her family, and her place. But the thought of leaving Aaron held less appeal as the days wore on.

She hadn’t mentioned this to anyone because she didn’t know what they were going to say. They’d probably tell her she was crazy to think she could move two hours away for a guy she had just met. It was crazy, but she no longer thought that she was falling in love with him; she was in love with him. It wasn’t a boom, but more of a softening that occurred with every word, every touch, and every consideration that he gave her that told her she was his number one. She didn’t know how he felt about her, but he made it pretty clear he wanted a future with her. He was still operating under the assumption that they were going to be doing the long distance relationship, but the more she thought about it, the more she didn’t want to do that. Despite thinking that he would want her closer as well, she decided to just let it play out and see what he said.

She rushed through her shower and got ready quickly because she wanted to run by her house before she met Aaron for lunch. Getting ready in his house screamed commitment, but she didn’t go there as she locked up the house with the key he left with the note before heading home. Pulling up in front of her mother’s house gave her mixed feelings. She definitely understood her mother now, and any hard feelings she had dissipated after she spoke with her father. She had already started to forgive her mother, but after knowing all that she went through, Eva’s heart went out to her, and she knew that she couldn’t continue to hold a grudge. She quickly unpacked her bags, determined to finish going through the other things in the house within the next week, and headed out to meet her man.

“Hey, babe.” Aaron kissed her when she met him in front of the Highland Creek Café.

“Hey back.” She smiled. She was genuinely happy, something she didn’t think she would be able to say after everything that happened.

“Did you have a good nap?” He kissed her head and tucked her closely to his body as they walked inside the café. She nodded yes before waving at Janey, one of the main waitresses that she had gotten to know over the past month or so. She loved the café, and the fact that it was one of the only restaurants in town meant that she ate there a lot. He waited until Janey came and took their orders before he pinned her with a look.

“How was your trip?”

She smiled, knowing what he was really asking. “It was great. My parents and I were really able to heal and move forward.” She told him about the letter that her mother had written, and how questions about her brother had prompted her to seek answers from her father. “I never knew that I had a brother, and I was really surprised that she had a miscarriage. I asked my dad about it, and he was telling me that it was a freak accident that could have happened to anyone. My mother didn’t think that, blaming herself, and decided to drink herself into a stupor instead of dealing with the real issue.”

He sat silent while she told her story and reached over and squeezed her hand in support. “I couldn’t imagine going through that. It has to be hard to know that your actions hurt your child.”

“I know.” She nodded. “And I have a different level of respect for her that I never thought I would have. I still don’t think that she should have abandoned me though.”

“It has to be hard to be the one she left behind.”

Her eyes welled with tears before she blinked them back, determined not to cry over her mother anymore. She was done. “Yeah, and I wish that she would have stuck it out, or at least waited until she went to rehab before she made any decisions about what to tell me.” She waited as the waitress put the food on the table, not wanting to add to the small town gossip that was already brewing by having the waitress overhear.

He turned over her hand and gently stroked her palm. “What did your dad say when you asked him?”

“He said that he told her to wait too, but she was determined. They had been having problems for a while, but he never blamed her for what happened to the baby. She wanted the baby as much as he did, so he was shocked when she told him to tell her I was dead. After she got out of rehab, she moved here. Said she had come here once as a child and always loved the place, and called him to tell him not to bother coming. She filed for divorce and gave him no choice. He met my mom at a grief support group. She was mourning her brother and he was mourning my biological mother.”

His brows rose to his hairline. “Wait, your dad went to a grief support group about your mom?”

She shook her head, not quite believing it herself. “Crazy, right? He said that she was as good as dead, and that he was sitting there with a baby girl that he was trying to raise with no support. He didn’t know what to do and he grieved her like she was dead and so he was seeking something. He had no idea if they could help them, but he did end up meeting my mom.” She bit into her chicken before continuing.

“They went out a couple of times and he finally told her the whole story. He knew he wasn’t going to get back together with my biological mother, and with all the previous problems, he didn’t even know if they would have survived in the first place. He had made peace with that, despite the fact that she cut me and him off like she was dead, but he couldn’t move forward with this new relationship without telling my stepmother. He said she cried, told him that she had never felt like this with anyone else, and then asked to meet me.”

“She sounds like an amazing woman.”

Eva smiled, thinking fondly of her mother. “She is. I love her. She has been more of a mother to me than my own, and I have called her that since I was four. I couldn’t imagine not having her in my life, so in this weird way I am almost thankful that my biological mother and my father weren’t together.”

“Which made you feel guilty.” He surmised from the look on her face. Eva continued to be amazed by this man, who always seemed to know what to say and what she was thinking and feeling. It was a wonderful feeling, and something that she never wanted to lose.

“Yeah. It’s stupid though, because I can’t put them on the same level. My biological mother did what she did because that is her personality. It doesn’t make her bad, it just makes her different. And my stepmother is who she is, and that is a beautiful thing. Both women shaped me and made me who I am. How could I be mad at either of them?”

“Did your dad ever contact her again?”

“He did. Remember I was telling you about that letter I found in her bedside table? Apparently he and my stepmother got in touch with her a couple of times to see if she wanted to see me or reconsider her decision. She said that she knew I was happy with them and that she didn’t want to disrupt anything that we had going.”