Come Together (12 page)

He rubbed my back. “You’re different,” was all he said. He pecked me lightly.

I was tired. Too tired to read into his comment. Instead, I melted into the feeling of his hand on my back.

“You can barely keep your eyes open.”

I nodded and yawned again.

“Bed, baby.”

“Hmm?”

I heard him laugh, and he scooted off the bed, picking me up with him. My arms wrapped around his neck, I nuzzled my nose into his neck and I drifted.

~

I can’t breathe. Oh my God. Hands on me, holding me still. There’s blood, so much blood, David’s blood, and I . . . can’t . . . breathe . . . .

I bolted upright and gasped for air. My hand flew to my bare chest. I tried to scream, but my throat was dry, and I started coughing violently.

Someone was standing over me in the dark. “What’s wrong?” David’s voice was panicked. “Olivia, what?”

I pressed my hand harder into my throat and gulped in a breath. “Someone – ” I croaked and started coughing again.

“You need water,” he said, turning away.

“No!” I exclaimed, grasping his hand. “No, please, stay,” I begged.

He crawled into the bed and melded his front to my back. His powerful arms snaked around me, securing me tightly.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“What happened?”

“A nightmare. I’m sorry I woke you.”

“You didn’t. I’d just set you in the bed and was putting out the fire.”

“Good,” I said, gripping his forearms and snuggling closer.

“What was it about?”

I closed my eyes. “I couldn’t breathe. I never can. Someone was holding me down, smothering me . . . and there was blood . . . your blood. You were bleeding.”

He made a strangled noise. “I’ve been too rough with you.”

I shook my head emphatically. “I think it’s because of the fight with Bill tonight.”

“You have nightmares often?”

“Only since . . .”

“Since what?” he prompted.

“The night in the alley.”

His head popped up behind me. “With Alvarez?”

“Yes,” I said quietly.

“Oh, baby,” he said, burrowing in my neck and rocking me. “It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have restrained you.”

“No,” I breathed. “It’s not that.”

“I will never let anyone touch you the way he did.” He shook me gently in his arms. “Do you hear me?” he asked fervently in my ear. “I promise. You’re safe with me.”

“I know,” I said. “My superhero.”

“Do you need water?”

“Don’t leave,” I sighed. I rotated in his grasp and wrapped my arms tightly around him. “Don’t go.”

CHAPTER 9

DAVID STIRRED underneath me. My eyes opened to a light-infused room that felt as warm and happy as I did. His arms pulled me closer, and I lifted my head from his shoulder to look at him. “Did we fall asleep like this?” I whispered.

He nodded.

I sighed. “Sorry.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t mean to cling to you all night.”

His chest shook underneath me with a laugh. “Cling? I believe you ladies call it cuddling.”

“I hate cuddling. At least I think I do,” I said.

He laughed harder. “Were you uncomfortable?”

“No. I slept great.”

“Then maybe we should do it every night. Until you hate it again, that is.”

I smiled and resettled on his chest, relishing the feel of him under my cheek. His skin was inviting, and I was warm from a surprisingly peaceful sleep. I couldn’t help but reach out and run my hand over his suntanned pecs; they were planes of sprawling hardness with some dark hair. And they were mine to touch, to kiss, to wake up against. He moaned softly . . . .

I climbed up swiftly and straddled him, tossing my hair over one shoulder. He raised a perfect black eyebrow at me, and I leaned down to kiss him. He licked my bottom lip and took it gently between his teeth. Propping myself on him, I felt his chest rise and fall faster as the kiss deepened.

His hands glided over my back and down to my hips, kneading and pulling my ass while my heart rate quickened. He took himself and slipped inside of me easily, as though he belonged there. His hands pressed down on my lower back while he gave me short, deep thrusts.

Our moans were soft into each other’s mouths, a stark contrast to the rapid-fire fucking of the night before. I felt every single inch of him moving in and out of me, every ridge and contour that glided against me. I was sensitive and sore, but his touch alone had me melting like butter on top of him.

He kissed me thoroughly. Eventually, currents of electric bliss began rippling through me. He secured the back of my neck with one hand while the other splayed covetously on my lower back. I could only whimper into his open mouth as my climax crested between my legs and crashed throughout my body. His orgasm started as mine was finishing, and his hands flexed into my skin, detaining me until he was done. Even after, he didn’t let me go, but continued to kiss me sweetly.

We got up and moved to the spacious shower. The stone was rough and cool under my feet, and since there was one-way glass along the wall, my body thrilled at the panoramic views. David sat me on the shower’s built-in bench and cleaned himself from between my legs with unnecessary focus. When he straightened up, I was faced with a purple mark on his side.

“Oh, God,” I said, shooting up. “You’re hurt.”

“It’s fine.”

I set both hands on his abs gently. “Are you okay?”

“It’s just a bruised rib.” He grabbed the shampoo bottle.

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

He shrugged. “There’s nothing you can do. I’ve had worse from surfing.”

“What if it’s something serious?”

He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Don’t worry, sweet girl. If anything, it was last night’s activities that aggravated it.”

I clamped my hand over my mouth. “It’s my fault. I didn’t know you were in pain.”

“Trust me, I forgot all about it when we stepped through the door,” he joked. He handed me a different bottle of shampoo I hadn’t noticed before and began scrubbing his hair.

“What’s this?”

“Lady shampoo,” he said.

“What’s lady shampoo?”

“I asked my sister, she says that’s a good brand. I have all sorts of girly shit for you: conditioner, body wash, a pink razor, a fucking loofah.”

I laughed. “Don’t you use a loofah?”

He glared down at me. “I’m a man.”

I laughed harder, and his eyebrows furrowed. “Trust me,” I said between gasps, “I’m aware. Didn’t Jessa ask why?”

“Of course she did, she’s nosy as hell when it comes to my love life.”

I started washing my hair when he didn’t continue. “So . . . . what’d you tell her?”

“Just that I’m seeing someone new,” he said after a moment.

“Oh.”

He looked down at me and winked. “I want nothing more than to tell my family. I’m just worried about how Jessa’ll react. Her husband cheated on her a few months after Alex was born, and it was the final straw for her. It was over after that.”

I chewed the inside of my bottom lip and switched places with him so I could rinse. How would we handle telling David’s family? Would they judge me? The idea of admitting the truth made my cheeks burn red. Then my heart dropped. Would they be angry with David? And exactly how angry?

“Hey,” he said, lifting my chin. “We don’t have to go today. We can see them another time.”

I shook my head. “No. No more hiding.”

He seemed to like that because he grinned.

I turned to grab the loofah, and his hand shot out to catch the back of my neck. “Shit. Did I bite you last night?”

“Yes,” I squealed. Despite my tenderness, arousal bloomed in me at the memory. I looked over my shoulder to see anxiety written on his face as he ran a gentle thumb over my skin. “It was hot,” I said.

He gave me a half-smile. “It didn’t hurt?”

“Are you kidding? It drove me through the roof.”

“All right,” he said and with a brief hesitation, released me.

~

After an embarrassing mix-up where the animal shelter’s manager called David ‘Bill,’ he handed us over two dogs, delighted nonetheless at the extra hands. I braced myself for the fact that there would be many confusing and uncomfortable situations still to come while David and I transitioned. Before us was an especially difficult one.

When David’s dog proved to be much more energetic than mine, I tried desperately to get him to switch with me. “You’re hurt,” I pleaded. “Let me handle her. I’m a pro.”

“I’m fine,” he said with exasperation. “Like I said, I’ve had bruised ribs before.”

“Right. The big, bad surfer. I’m not sure I believe you though. I didn’t see any surfboards in your apartment.”

“Our apartment,” he corrected. “And it wouldn’t make sense to keep them here. They’re in New York and San Sebastián.”

“Spain?” I choked out.

“Didn’t I tell you I have a place there?” he asked with a sly smile.

I shook my head slowly, even though I now remembered reading it in his
Most Eligible
bachelor interview.

“Have you been?” he asked.

I continued to shake my head.

“I’ll take you.”

I nodded.

“Something the matter?”

“I’ve always wanted to go to Spain.”

“Is that why you’ve weaseled your way into my heart? Trying to get a free trip out of it?”

My eyes widened, and I suppressed smile.

He laughed loudly and put an arm around me. He dropped it right away though, as his dog strained against the leash anytime he sensed that David was getting lazy.

“Ready for this?” David asked. I looked over at the picnic area. His dad and nephew were stationed by the barbeque as his mom and sister chatted nearby.

I glanced between him and them and nodded my head slightly. He let the dog pull him ahead, and I approached moments later with a racing heart.

His sister shielded her eyes from the sun but still squinted at me. “Olivia,” she greeted me, and surprised me with a hug. “Nice to see you again.”

I hugged her back. “You too, Jessa.”

She smiled widely. “Thanks for getting my brother out of the house. He could really use the exercise.”

To my embarrassment, David’s mom, Judy, gushed about how excited she was to see me again. When his dad hugged me tightly, I felt it in my arm where Bill had grabbed me but controlled my wince. They seemed oddly happy to see me, even though David and I made no moves to suggest that we were dating.

“I just love that you volunteer,” his mom said, bending to pet the dog.

“I wish I could do more, I really do. I just work a lot.”

“Sweetie, you’re doing more than most people. Somebody has to pay the bills, right?”

I nodded. There was something nice about the way her eyes lit up when she called me ‘sweetie.’

The dogs fell into the grass next to the Dylans’ German Shepherd, Canyon, and dozed in the sun. David’s sister invited me to sit on an outstretched blanket, relaying her excitement over the unusually warm November day. As we talked, I couldn’t help admiring David’s easy nature with his nephew. He lifted Alex up in the air while I breathlessly watched David’s muscles flex through his t-shirt. I had to look away to keep from drooling.

When I did, I realized Jessa had been watching me. Now her eyes danced in the same way they had the first and last time I’d been alone with her. When she’d looked at me that way before, I was tempted to tell her everything about my feelings for her brother. That ability to draw out my secrets seemed to run in the family.

Yes, her eyes were dancing, but they were also warm, and it felt as though we’d been longtime friends. I didn’t know if David had wanted to be there when I talked to Jessa, but it was the right moment. A combination of the direct sun and my nerves had me sweating.

“Jessa,” I started as I removed my jacket, “I really like you.”

She smiled and grasped my hand. I didn’t flinch or pull back, and I knew it was because she put me at ease. “I like you too. A little too much, I’m afraid.”

“I’m sorry?”

She looked in the direction of David and Alex and sighed. “I just . . . I haven’t seen David this easy and relaxed since we were children. Don’t get me wrong, he’s always playful with Alex, but he just seems different around you. Less edgy. Like he’s actually found . . .” She turned back to me. “I can’t help but wish for the impossible here.”

I nodded, searching for the words. As I did, silence drew out between us and understanding appeared in her eyes. For the first time, she looked at my left hand, her eyes lingering on the empty space.

“I’m leaving my husband,” I said, and then added, “for David.”

After a moment, her eyes flicked up to mine. “That must be very hard.”