I Hear...Love (A Different Road #2) (15 page)

“Yeah,” he says, rolls back over, and looks at me.

“Thank you,” I tell him.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he replies.

“Yes, I do. Thank you for everything you did. I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me. You . . . uh . . . ,” I start to say.

“I didn’t look. I promise,” he quickly says.

Didn’t look? Oh my God, he had every opportunity to see me naked, but the gentlemen he is . . . he didn’t.

“No,” I say and laugh. “I was going to say, you put my music on my ears. You knew all the perfect things to do to help me. Thank you.”

“Anytime, babe,” he says, leans toward me, and kisses me on the lips. “Get dressed and I’ll take you to lunch.”

He gets off the bed, walks to the door, then closes it behind him.

I get dressed, then run a brush through my hair and apply minimal fresh makeup. I look at myself in the mirror, and as hideous as I look from crying, I smile at myself.

I won this round.

I am strong and I’m getting stronger every day.

Cooper knocks on the door, then opens it slightly and asks, “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” I reply, turn off the bathroom light, then walk into my bedroom. “Come on girl, let’s take you back home,” I say and pat my leg.

Sadie jumps off the bed and follows me into the main part of the pool house. I grab my purse off the back of the chair and see my phone flashing at me, telling me I have a missed call or text. I swipe my finger over the display and see I have several missed calls and texts. I check the texts. There are a few from Joss, asking if I’m alright, to please call her back. There’s a few from Maddy saying the same thing.

Nothing from River.

I quickly text both Joss and Maddy, and say a very short ‘I’m fine,’ then shove it into my purse and turn to Cooper.

“Ready,” I say.

“Did you have somewhere, in particular, you’d like to go?” he asks.

“No, just as long as it’s not in Malibu,” I tell him.

We leave Sadie home and drive an hour outside of Malibu. I pull into the gravel parking lot of an old, retro looking diner. The front door squeaks as I open it, and the floors have large, shiny, white and black checkerboard tiles. The waitress is wearing a light blue button-up dress with thick white, cuffed, short sleeves and a white apron. She’s even wearing a paper pin on hat.

“Take any seat in the house,” she calls from the large coffee machine behind the counter.

I slide into a booth and Kate slides in opposite of me.

“What can I get y’all?” she asks, stopping in front of the booth.

She pulls a pencil out of her updo, then licks the tip and rests it over her small green order pad.

She’s definitely not from around here.

I order a double cheeseburger, french fries, and a chocolate milkshake, and Kate orders a veggie burger with a side salad and a lemonade.

She nods her head with a smile, then spears her pencil back in her frizzy orange updo, without writing anything down.

I slowly slide my hand across the table, palm up and look into Kate’s eyes. She smiles one of those breathtaking smiles, that flashed in front of my eyes only a few hours ago, then slides her hand across the table and places it in mine.

My milkshake is delivered in a tall, fluted tip glass with the silver milkshake container on the side. The waitress returns and places Kate’s lemonade in front of her.

She eyes the extra milkshake in the container and smiles.

“You want this?” I ask, sliding it closer to Kate.

“No, I shouldn’t,” she replies.

I take a sip of my milkshake, then let out a loud, satisfied, “Ahhhh.”

“You sure? It’s really good,” I tempt.

“Maybe just one sip,” she says, taking the container.

She removes the straw from her lemonade and places it in the silver cup. She places the straw between her lips and draws up the thick milkshake. I smile at her with a lump in my throat, grateful for the opportunity to see that smile I love so much again.

Our lunch is set in front of us and the waitress asks, “Can I bring you anything else?”

“No, these look great,” I answer.

Kate leans over the table and removes the top bun from my burger, peels off one of the patties, then sets it on the side of her plate. She smiles that radiant smile, then picks up her veggie burger and digs in.

I cock my head to the side, wondering why she did that.

The waitress comes back to check on us twenty minutes later, drops off the check, and says, “Y’all take your time, no rush.”

“Can I have a doggie bag, please?” Kate asks her.

I instantly smile when she calls it a doggie bag. She saved one of my patties for Sadie.

We take the hour drive back home with our fingers laced together resting on the console, and I park in the garage.

Once inside, Sadie instantly smells her treat and noses the bag in Kate’s hand, wagging her tail with excitement. Kate takes it out of the bag and holds it out for Sadie.

“Here you go girl,” she says.

Sadie softly puts her teeth on the burger, then gently removes it from Kate’s hand and swallows it whole in one big, giant gulp.

I dump a scoop of food in Sadie’s dish and she gladly eats her dinner. After she finishes, I leash Sadie so we can take her for a walk. The three of us walk down the steps and Sadie immediately pulls to the left. She doesn’t want to walk toward River’s house.

We take a slow leisurely walk on the sand, hand in hand. The sun is low in the sky by the time we get home. I flip on all the lights and let Sadie free in the house.

“Did you want to watch some television or a movie?” I ask.

“Sure,” she answers.

“I’ve got beer and wine?” I tell her, going to the refrigerator.

“I’ll just have water,” she answers.

I open the refrigerator, remove two bottles of water, then turn around and almost run right into Kate.

She smiles at me, then leans against the counter. I set the water on the counter, then stand in front of her. She raises her hand to my shirt and lays it flat over my heart. I take a step closer, then bend my head down to hers. I trail my open lips over her cheek and take her lips in a kiss. Her hand smooths down my stomach, then she grabs my belt in her hand and pulls my body into hers with a soft thud. I cage her in against the cupboard and rest my hands on the counter behind her. Her hand goes around my back and up my shirt. She grabs the ends of my shirt and shoves it upward, breaks the kiss, then removes it over my head. Before I take her lips back, I tip slightly back, bend my knees, and look her in the eyes.

She cocks her head to the side, then smiles a beautiful smile at me. God, I want this woman and by the look in her eyes, she wants me just as bad. I lift her up and set her on top of the counter. She wraps her legs around me and pulls me close. I take her shirt off, then run my tongue over the edge of her bra on her skin. She palms my head and tips her jaw up. I run my tongue up the dip in her throat, then thrust it into her mouth. I pick her up off the counter by her thighs, she wraps her arms around me, and I walk her down the hallway to my bedroom.

She reaches behind her back and unhooks her bra, pulls it off and tosses it to the floor. I kick the door closed with my foot and make my way to the bed. Laying her down, I lay on top of her, and bring my hand between us to remove her shorts. I kiss down her throat, between her breasts, and down her stomach. She pushes my shoulders downward, as I trail my tongue over her black lace panties. I slip my thumbs under her panties at her pelvic bone, and trail it upward until I hook the ends at her hips, then drag them down her legs.

I place my hands on her ankles and slowly drag them upward, putting the slightest pressure outward. She opens her legs and wraps her hands around the backs of her thighs. She brings her feet up and rests them on the mattress, while I bring my thumbs to her slick entrance. I ever so lightly place my tongue low on her, then flatten my tongue out and slowly lick firmly upward. She moans and grabs her breasts firmly in her hands. I rub her outer wall up and down, then insert two fingers while flicking her tight bud with my tongue. The muscles in her stomach clench together as she lifts her head and watches me.

Her mouth opens, her lips form a perfect
O
shape, then she moans loudly. She slams her head down on the pillow, then runs her hand up the side of her face and into her hair. With every inward and outward pull of my fingers, she increasingly moans louder and louder. My dick aches to be inside her. The seconds tick by as she winds up tighter and tighter. She takes in several loud, deep breaths, then lets go with her release.

I lightly drag my tongue up and down, while she rides out her orgasm. When she’s finished, I remove my fingers and reach for the bedside drawer. I remove a condom, then straddle her low on her thighs. She grabs my belt and pulls herself up.

Sitting up, she unbuckles my belt, and slowly pulls it through each loop, then tosses it to the floor. She unbuttons my button, then drags her fingers firmly down the zipper against my rock hard dick. She reaches her hand under my boxers and palms my dick in her hand. I close my eyes and let out a deep sigh of pleasure. The heat from her silky smooth skin feels incredible on my skin. Her lips come to my chest and she kisses just under my left peck, while her hand continues to move on my dick.

I place my finger under her chin and bring her lips to mine. Sitting up on my knees, she regrettably removes her hand from my dick and places it on the top of my pants. She pushes them down as far as they’ll go, fully releasing me. She grabs on and strokes tightly up and down, before she scoots herself out from between my thighs and kneels in front of me. She presses her bare body against mine and runs her nails down my ass.

I wrap my arm around the back of her shoulder and lay her back down. I kick my pants and boxers off, then rip the condom wrapper open with my teeth. She cocks a crooked smile, removes it from my hand, and places it on the tip of my penis. She rolls it down firmly with her finger and thumb, then cups her hand under my balls.

I position myself over her and take myself in my hand. I run my tip up and down her entrance, then on a downward stroke, I slowly sink inside her. I close my eyes and they roll to the back of my head, she feels so damn good. Her knee comes up to my hip, as I slam firmly into her. Our hips move in rhythm against each other. I place my palm on the mattress next to her head, then thumb her clit in small circles with my other hand. She slightly picks herself up and pulls my lips to hers. She pants on my lips, then moans once again as she climaxes. Her insides constrict tightly around my dick. I close my eyes and see stars as I come. I root myself deep inside her, as wave after wave courses through me.

Her hand wraps around the back of my neck and she slightly massages it with her fingertips. I give her half of my weight as I pull out, then lay next to her. Her fingers come to my hairline and she smooths the hair next to my ear, then smiles at me. This is the first time I’ve seen her without her mask on at all. Beautiful doesn’t come close to what she is. Knowing that she can be with me and what we just did, without her mask, means the world to me.

I smile back at her, then kiss her on the lips.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell her, then get up.

I clean up in the bathroom, then come back to bed with her. She’s put on my t-shirt, and I think her legs definitely look sexier in only my shirt. I pull her back close to my chest and wrap my arm around her.

“Did you still want to watch that movie?” I ask.

“No, I should probably go home. It took a lot to behave like a mature adult earlier, and I’m not going to stop now. Obviously, River and I need to talk. He said a lot of horrible things and I probably said some things that I didn’t wholeheartedly mean as well,” she says.

“Like what?” I ask, smoothing her hair.

“I said I’m not going to work at Mason Group anymore and that he can buy me out. I told him I’m not stepping foot in that building again until he removes the conservatorship,” she says, then sighs.

“What part about that shouldn’t you have said? I thought you did want him to remove the conservatorship?” I say, confused.

“I do. I didn’t mean to say that he can buy me out. I don’t want that. I also don’t want to fight with River, but he can’t treat me like that, and he can’t tell me who I can see.”

“It sounds like you two definitely need to talk. If things get out of hand, you know I’m only a phone call and two houses away. Any time of the day, or night, I’m here for you. OK?”

“I don’t want to disappoint River. I want to make him happy,” she says.

“But, babe, you can’t do that at the expense of your own needs and feelings.”

“I realize that. I don’t think he realizes that right now, though,” she says.

“Let’s get dressed. I’ll walk you home. I mean it, he’s not to talk to you again like he did this morning. I will not have him disrespect you to the point that you’re crying on the bathroom floor,” I tell her, looking her in the eyes. “Do you get me?” I ask when she doesn’t say anything else.

“I get you,” she says, then kisses me on the lips.