“It’s amazing what the force of water can do,” she said. “Cutting through rock like that.” The breeze blew over them, the sound of the falls rushing below them. “I fell hard for you once already. I never stopped falling. Then I got buried in an emotional rockslide. Don’t jerk me around. I refuse to manipulate you like she did, but I’m going to be honest that I can’t and won’t go through that misery again. I can’t promise I won’t get bitchy sometimes over this, either.”
He nuzzled her left cheek. “I’m not going anywhere, I promise. This time, it’s a promise I will keep.”
She turned in his arms, draping hers around his neck, staring into his eyes—
And then her phone rang, Terrie’s ringtone.
“Shit.” She fumbled her phone out of her pocket again. “Hey, what’s up?”
“I’m here safely, and he’s landed. Just waiting for him to deplane. How you holding up?”
“Oh, fine. Had lunch and now I’m at Falls Park.”
“That’s cool. Is it pretty? Take pictures.”
“Yes, it is, and yes, I am. I’ll probably hit their visitor center.”
“Get a receipt if you buy anything. If you use it in a book, don’t forget, it’s tax deductible.”
“Will do. So what will—”
Somewhere nearby, a loud siren started blaring, making her jump.
“Lynn?” Terrie asked. “What the hell is that?”
“I don’t know.” She and Paul both looked around in confusion. People were starting to run. “It’s a siren. I don’t know where it’s coming from.”
“A siren? Hold on, I’ve got my iPad with me.” Terrie spoke seconds later. “Fuck, it’s a tornado warning. Get out of there!”
“Where do I drive to?”
“Not your car! Whatever you do, stay out of a car. It can pick them up and toss them. Get into a building, someplace solid.”
Lynn turned, scanning, and spotted a small concrete bathroom. “Over there.” They started running, Paul grabbing her free hand and not letting go.
“The tornado?” Terrie shrieked.
“No, a bathroom. We’re heading there now.”
“Take shelter. Hold on to the toilet if it hits the building.”
“How do we know it’s safe?”
“The siren will stop. And check your phone weather app. You’ll be able to see the radar. You’ve got like ten to fifteen minutes before that system hits. I think it’ll be to the northwest of you, but get inside now.”
“I’ll call you back.” As they raced toward the ladies room, she shoved her phone back into her pocket. They dove inside and scurried down to the farthest stall from the door, the large, wheelchair-accessible stall, where they locked themselves in and hunkered down.
She stared at Paul.
He stared back.
Heart pounding, Lynn grabbed Paul and kissed him, hard, shoving him against the concrete wall.
Outside, the sirens still wailed as she reached for his belt to unfasten it, fumbling at it until he pushed her hands away and grabbed her belt, quickly working it free and opening her jeans.
He spun her around, her back against him and cradling her body against his, his left hand gently cupping the front of her throat, the right sliding down the front of her jeans, into her panties, her clit tingling as his finger immediately found its target.
“Who’s my good girl?” he whispered in her ear.
A shiver raced up and down her body, gooseflesh rippling her skin. “I am, Sir.”
“How long’s it been since—”
“I haven’t,” she admitted, wishing he’d just shut up and give her some relief.
“What?” When he started to release her throat, she clamped her hand over his and refused to let go.
“Please, Sir,” she whispered. “Please!”
The hand cupping her throat tightened again, the other hand…
Her eyes dropped closed as his fingers stroked her clit and a moan escaped her. Her hands slid from his left wrist and to his lower arm, where her fingers closed around him, holding on.
His left hand, over her throat, slid north, covering her mouth. His warm breath blew across her right ear as he nuzzled it with his lips. “Come for me, pet.”
She did. Hard. Tears streaming down her face, she rocked her body against his, the first orgasm she’d had since the last time they’d been together filling her with pleasure, relief, release long denied her.
The hand over her mouth firmly pressed down, muffling her cries, a wise move on his part.
His right hand sped up, relentless, Lynn apparently not the only one who still remembered how things had been between them. He kept her orgasm going, spinning.
“My good girl,” he whispered. “Such a good girl.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks, emotions overwhelming her, her brain short-circuiting. Somewhere, she was vaguely aware of the tornado sirens and the sound of rain now pelting against the roof, but she didn’t care.
If irony struck and the tornado killed her right then, she’d die a happy fucking woman.
No shit.
She dug her fingers into the flesh of his arm, afraid to let go, that maybe this was just a dream and she’d open her eyes and find herself in her bed at home, alone, no lotto ticket, no Paul.
His fingers slid lower, into her pussy and back again, up and down, stroking, finger-fucking her with two and wringing more pleasure out of her body. Finally, he pulled his hand out of her pants. He swapped hands, sliding the two fingers into her mouth as his left arm dropped, encircling her waist. He nibbled on the side of her neck as she deep-throated his fingers, sucking her juices off him.
Finally, he loosened his hold on her, and she turned, dropping to her knees and freeing his cock, his gasp of pleasure as her mouth engulfed his hard shaft sending another jolt of need to her pussy. He held on to her head, tight, fingers digging into her scalp.
Automatically, her hands slipped behind his thighs, holding on, the warmth of his body through the denim warming her palms as she let him fuck her mouth, use her.
Claim her.
She didn’t know how he managed to stay quiet when he came, but his cock deep in her throat muffled the happy moans she made when she tasted his cum flooding her mouth. His grip eased, stroking her hair as she held his softening cock in her mouth, her forehead pressed against his belly.
Finally, he gently tapped the top of her head and helped her stand, pulling her into his arms. They were still standing there, tightly wrapped around each other, when the sirens shut off.
Deafening silence filled the building, and they froze as they heard people filing out.
That’s when the giggles hit her.
She pressed her face against his shoulder as she laughed, Paul laughing with her, both of them standing there disheveled and laughing and leaning on each other for support.
Until her phone rang, startling them both.
Terrie.
“Why didn’t you call me? Are you okay?” she practically screamed when Lynn got it fished out of her back pocket.
“Yeah. The siren just shut off.”
“Okay. So what did you mean earlier when you said ‘we’?”
Panicked, she looked up into Paul’s eyes. She knew he could hear her, from how loud Terrie was speaking.
He held a finger up and circled it, indicating the park. “Everyone from the park,” he silently mouthed.
“A bunch of us were standing by the falls and we all ran,” Lynn said.
Lynn hated lying to her, but it was for a good cause.
She knew damn well Terrie would drive back up there if she knew Paul was there.
“It looks like the storm cell broke up,” Terrie said. “Get your butt back to the hotel, though. It looks like there might be another one coming through.”
“Heading to the car now,” she said, staring into Paul’s eyes. “Let me get going.”
“Call me when you get back to the hotel,” Terrie ordered.
“I
will. Let me go.”
Once she got Terrie off the phone, they cleaned themselves up and Lynn peeked out through the stall doorway to make sure it was clear before they bolted out the door and toward the rental like a couple of guilty teenagers.
And, she realized, they were both laughing.
She didn’t know about him, but she was laughing like she hadn’t laughed in two years.
Chapter Fifteen
As soon as they returned to the hotel, the first thing Lynn did was call Terrie and update her.
Then she put her phone on silent and laid it on the dresser.
Paul set his things on the floor next to her suitcase and stared at her.
Next thing she knew, she was in his arms and they were kissing.
“Shower,” he muttered, backing her toward the bathroom. “No offense, pet, but after a morning on a plane and then in a bathroom, I want a shower.”
She laughed. “Agreed.”
Clothes hit the floor, both of them naked by the time they made it into the shower. It felt good to be back in his arms. Better than good. But it also felt hesitant…wary.
She felt that way.
Part of her wondering when the other shoe would drop.
“Oh, crap,” she muttered. “I don’t have condoms, and I’m not on the pill anymore.”
“I got a vasectomy.”
She pulled back to stare up at him, a hand on his chest, staying him. “What? When?”
“About a month…after.” He didn’t have to specify when.
“Why?”
“Because I knew between the meds they put her on, and her issues, and everything else, that I didn’t want to have a child. I was already sure, but I didn’t want an oopsie baby.”
“I never thought you’d get one.”
“Neither did I. Honestly? I was genuinely worried about her maybe ‘forgetting’ to take her birth control. I wasn’t going to go through that. Damn sure wasn’t going to put a child through that. Especially when Sarah went apeshit when I told her I was going to get the vasectomy. That more than anything made my mind up for me.”
“Oh.” She reached out and stroked his cheek. “Grow back your beard and mustache, please, Sir.” She missed the goatee he’d had, and it actually made him look thinner.
“Absolutely.”
Besides, she’d always loved the way it felt against her skin when he went down on her.
He grabbed a washcloth and the soap and started bathing her, his hands sliding over her body, gently, slowly. She closed her eyes and let the warm water wash her happy tears away.
Maybe this would prove to be a horrible mistake. Maybe she was setting herself up to get emotionally nuked again.
She didn’t care.
Wrapping his arms around her from behind, he cupped her breasts in his hands, brushing the pads of his thumbs over her nipples and pebbling them, making her whole body tingle. She felt his cock pressing against the seam of her ass, sliding against her flesh.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I love you so damn much.”
She covered his hands with hers. “Love you, too. Please be honest with me.” She turned, draping her arms around his neck. “Is this going to last?”
His hazel eyes bored into hers. “Yes. I won’t let you go again. If you walk away from me, that’s it. But I’m yours. You are first in my life.”
Resting her head against his chest, she listened to the beat of his heart.
It’d been one of her favorite sounds. How many times had she drifted to sleep, her head against his chest, his pulse thrumming in her ear?
This was the same but…different. Old and new mingling and merging. They were both different, and two years had passed.
“So, question,” he said. “Earlier, you said it’d been two years since—”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “Can we not talk about that right now? Please?”
He finally nodded.
“Thank you.”
She took the soap and washcloth and started bathing him, sad that she’d wished their separation would be as hard on him as it had been on her. He’d always been in pretty good shape, and to see the weight he’d gained pained her heart.
Didn’t make him any less attractive in her eyes, but she worried what the stress had done to him.
Part of her couldn’t believe she’d so easily jumped into this with him. This wasn’t responsible, it wasn’t rational, and it damn sure wasn’t smart.
The boom hung over her head.
Until she knew for sure where this was going, though, she didn’t want to talk about it yet. She didn’t think that, even if he knew about it, he’d be a dick and just want her for the money. He’d never been like that before.
Paul was a man of a moral code, and she got that even if others didn’t understand it.
And that was exactly the point. Terrie might automatically think the coincidental timing was due to the boom.
Then again, Terrie had known about his divorce and hadn’t revealed that to her.
Once they were both rinsed off, they stood under the water again, arms wrapped around each other. “What do you want to do now?” she asked.
“Dry off, curl up in bed with you, and take a nap,” he said. “And then more talking. I’m exhausted, though, and it’s really starting to hit me.” He kissed her. “If that’s okay?”
“Of course it’s okay. Thank you for coming up here.”
“Hey, I’m no idiot. Well, actually, apparently I am an idiot, but I do learn from my mistakes.”
They shut the water off and got out, toweling each other dry. On the way to the bed, he grabbed his cell, glanced at it, then frowned.
“What?”
“Another text from Sarah.” He walked over to the bed and set the phone on the table. “She’s going to force me to block her at this rate.”
Lynn struggled to keep her fears in check.
He was here, with her.
Divorced.
Not many men would have responded the way he had to her ultimatum.
“Do you need to talk to her so she stops texting?”
“No.” He turned her, gently cupping her cheeks in his hands. “I know how difficult it was for you to be so patient while we were together. Believe me, I recognized her pattern of calling and texting when she knew we were together as well as you did. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate how you handled that so well. I did notice. But now she doesn’t own me, she doesn’t own my time, and I don’t owe her anything.”
Lynn felt the tears stinging her eyes and gave up trying to hold them back. “We followed all her rules. All of them. I wasn’t trying to take you from her. I only wanted the parts of you she had no interest in.”
He pulled her into his arms. “I know, pet. I know that, and you know that. What I didn’t know at the time was how deep her issues ran.”
“She lied to us.”
He let out a sigh, one she knew, even after all this time, was him being patient. “It was an omission, but I understand why you feel like that.”
“Why’d she give us permissions if she didn’t want to?”
“Because she thought, in her mind, that she had to. She even admitted to the counselor that she knew I wasn’t forcing her to say it. She felt guilty that she hadn’t told me everything about her past, and she agreed to let me play with you and be poly with you—in her mind—to make up for her guilt over what she never revealed to me before. I was her safety net. She left home after college and married her ex, moved right in with him. She wasn’t even divorced from him when we met, just separated. I didn’t even realize she hadn’t told her parents they were getting divorced until a few days before we were supposed to travel out of town to go meet them.”
“That wasn’t a clue?”
“Yeah, in retrospect, it absolutely was. I take responsibility for not digging deeper. I didn’t realize I was coming at our relationship being fully open and honest and she wasn’t. I suspected there were maybe some issues, but I did
n’t know how deep and big they were.”
He made her look up at him again. “I’m sorry you got caught in the crossfire. You have no idea how shitty I’ve felt about that—”
She stopped him again with a finger to his lips. “I think the nap idea was a good one,” she said. “I need time to process.”
He nodded, kissing the tip of her finger.
He was still semi-hard, but she loved that he wasn’t even trying to pressure her for more than just cuddling.
Frankly, she did need to process.
Part of her brain was still screaming bloody murder at her that she was a stupid idiot for not running hard and fast in the other direction.
Meanwhile, her heart was slowly dragging the rest of her bruised and bleeding psyche toward Paul.
They curled up in bed together with the TV on low enough to drown out sounds from outside and the hallway.
For the first time in two years, she didn’t dread closing her eyes and trying to sleep.
* * * *
Part of Paul wanted to simply nuke the final bridge between him and Sarah and walk away without a look back, get it over with. It was increasingly apparent that it was the inevitable conclusion.
Reconciliation absolutely would not happen. He also didn’t want to trigger her hurting herself if he could avoid it, even though he knew that wouldn’t be his fault.
As a friend, even though he knew Sarah would likely make it impossible for them to remain friends, he wanted to at least be able to nudge her back in the direction she needed to head.
One of the things he’d learned—something he’d refused to accept at first—was that, yes, he was codependent to Sarah. He’d spent their entire relationship until the bombshell trying to help and heal and steer and save Sarah, even when he hadn’t realized that’s what he’d been doing.
He’d thought it cruel to simply pull the safety net out from under her and walk away.
In the end, it turned out that’s exactly what he had to do. It’d finally hit him squarely between the eyes that she never would have a chance to really recover unless he walked away from her. Especially when she’d made it perfectly clear that she was done trying to recover.