I Hear...Love (A Different Road #2) (24 page)

Serving dishes are passed around and everyone fills their plate. Joss dishes her plate, then dishes River’s.

“Balsamic pork tenderloin is at six, green beans with caramelized red onions and bacon are at three, garlic parmesan bread is at nine,” Joss tells River, then picks up her fork and starts to eat.

“Why does she do that?” Cooper whispers in my ear.

“Close your eyes,” I say, leaning closer to him.

He does what I ask, then I say, “Now where is your food?”

“Ah, got it,” he replies, opening his eyes.

While everyone eats, the table is filled with conversations about everyone’s day. All except Stephen. He hasn’t said more than ten words, but I’m pleased as punch that he’s here.

“Is everyone ready for dessert?” Nina asks after everyone is done eating.

“I am,” Cooper says enthusiastically, patting his belly.

Josh and Nina clear plates, then Nina comes back in carrying a serving platter of cupcakes.

She sets them in the center of the table, and they’re not what I would normally expect from Joss and Nina.

“What happened to the cupcakes?” I ask.

“Cooper happened to the cupcakes,” Nina replies.

“Yep, I frosted them,” Cooper says, proudly.

“Yes, please let it be known that indeed, Cooper did frost the cupcakes,” Nina confirms.

“What’s wrong with them?” Cooper asks, admiring his handy work.

“They aren’t all bad. Look, that one looks perfect,” I say, pointing to one of the cupcakes, offering support.

“I did that one,” Nina says, taking it off the platter and setting it on her plate.

“Oh,” I reply. “I bet they still taste fantastic.”

Fifteen minutes after everyone is done eating dessert, Stephen compliments Joss and Nina on dinner, and politely excuses himself, then leaves.

“Excuse me,” I say, then stand up.

Cooper stands, then scoots my chair out to help me. I quickly walk outside and find Stephen still standing on the porch with his back turned to me.

“Stephen,” I softly call.

He turns around and looks at me, then looks down at his shoes.

“Thank you for coming,” I say.

He nods his head, but still won’t look at me.

“Goodnight,” he finally says, then turns around.

“Stephen,” I call again.

He stops, but this time he doesn’t turn around.

“Goodnight,” I call.

We both stand there for a minute, and just as I’m about to turn around and go back into the house, Stephen turns around. He walks over to me and stops in front of me. He pauses, then leans down and quickly kisses me on the head. He turns back around and walks to his car. He gets in and drives away without another look. I smile, knowing progress is progress, and go back into the house.

“Do you need any help with the dishes?” I ask.

“Nope, we have it all under control, you go rest,” Maddy says.

Cooper walks up to me and takes my hand, “I’m going to take Sadie for a walk, then home to feed her dinner. I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll come with you,” I say.

“Are you sure you’re up to it?” he asks.

“More than sure.”

“Do you need your sling?” he asks.

I haven’t worn it most of the day, but then again, I haven’t moved around that much either.

“I don’t need it. I’ll just be careful, it actually feels so much better,” I assure him.

I take Kate’s hand, then Sadie and I walk slowly out the front door. Sadie carefully selects her patch of grass, then does her business. She runs back to us, then we walk between the houses and down to the beach. Kate reaches down and flips off her sandals, then dangles them from her fingertips as we walk along the shoreline.

Kate stops almost in the exact spot where I picked up Sadie’s leash. She turns her body toward the sunset and sighs. She’s yet to talk about what happened last night. She turns her head up toward the cloudless sky and closes her eyes. There’s the gentlest breeze rolling off the water, barely enough to tousle her hair. Her mask is off, but the kaleidoscope of emotions churn in her eyes.

“I didn’t . . .” she starts to say.

“Babe, I know you didn’t. I never thought that for one second,” I say, wrapping my arm around her waist.

There’s a long pause before she sighs a cleansing breath.

“It’s beautiful out there,” she whispers, looking at the horizon.

She still sees beauty in the very thing that almost took her life. I move behind her, widen my stance, wrap my arm around her chest, then bury my nose in her hair.

“I don’t know how to swim,” she admits, leaning her head back on my chest.

“I know,” I reply.

She gets quiet, then turns around in my arms, but doesn’t look into my eyes.

“Just before . . . out there . . . I made peace with myself . . . but the one thing I regretted was that I didn’t say out loud how I feel about you when I had the chance,” she says.

I gently take her chin in my hand and tip her head up, forcing her eyes to come to mine.

The chaos in her eyes clears and her eyes focus on mine.

“I love you, Cooper. You are my
L’amour vrai,
” she says, as a tear rolls down her cheek.

I lower my head and softly press my lips to hers. I move my hand from her chin to the side of her face and palm her cheek, as I deepen the kiss and wipe the tears away with my thumb. The gentle waves splash at our ankles, as I tip her head to the side and run my hand through her hair. Sadie rests her weight on both of our legs, letting us know she’s there.

I soften the kiss, pull away, and place my forehead on hers.

“I love you, too, Kate Mason,” I say.

She wraps her arms around my back and rests her head on my shoulder. We turn around and face the setting sun, then watch as it dips below the horizon.

We walk to my house and quickly feed Sadie, then walk back to River’s house and climb the stairs to the back deck, holding each other close.

At the top, Kate looks toward River’s house and calls, “Good night, River.”

“Good night, Kate,” he returns softly, then closes the door.

Sadie walks to Kate’s closed pool house door and gently paws at it. I open the door, then she runs inside and disappears down the hallway.

“I’ll come back early in the morning,” I tell Kate.

Kate looks up at me, as the moonlight casts a beautiful glow over her cheeks.

“Stay,” she says, pulling me into the pool house, then she drops her shoes just inside the door.

Without flipping on any lights, she leads me through her house and into her bedroom. Sadie is already on the bed, but to my surprise, she’s laying at the foot of the bed and not taking up her usual two-thirds.

As Kate stands in front of me, I run my hands up and down the back of her arms. I unbutton her shirt, then gently slide it over her shoulders and down her arms, revealing a cropped, lace tank top underneath. I unbutton her shorts, then send them to the floor. I kiss her temple, then trail my lips down her cheek. She tilts her head to the side, as I drag my lips down her neck to the top of her shoulder.

I squeeze her hand, then walk to her side of the bed and turn back the covers. She climbs in, scoots over, then pats her hand in front of her with a smile. I remove my shoes, pull my shirt over my head, drop my pants, then slide in next to her on my back. She lifts up, then lays on my shoulder on her side, then drapes her leg over mine.

I run my hand through her hair and rest my cheek on the top of her head.

After a few minutes, I ask, “Did you want your headphones?”

When she doesn’t answer, I lift up to look at her. She has a peaceful look on her face, a small smile on her lips, and her eyes are closed as she sleeps.

The next seven days are spent in this exact way, with her safe and sound in my arms. She’s now completely healed from all of her external injuries. Her stitches in her head have been removed and the cuts on her hands have healed. Now only time can heal the internal injuries.

Saturday morning I wake up to an empty bed. I heft my legs over the side of the bed, then stand up and slip my pants on. The smell of fresh coffee pulls me out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. There’s a clean, empty cup sitting next to a brewed pot of coffee. I pour myself a cup, then lean my ass against the counter and take a much needed sip.

I scan the front room, then look out the door. I see Kate and Sadie on the deck, both in some sort of yoga position. I walk to the door and take a closer look. Kate is sitting cross-legged with her back perfectly straight and her hands pressed together in front of her. Sadie is sitting on the backs of her rear legs, sitting straight up with her paws together in front of her face. Who knew my dog knows yoga?

I stand there and watch them as I finish my cup of coffee. When it’s empty, I walk back to the kitchen and refill it. The front door opens, and Sadie and Kate walk back inside. Her face lights up with a beautiful smile when she sees me in the kitchen.

Kate walks over to me, grabs onto my unbuckled belt and pulls it through the loops of my pants, then walks out of the kitchen, through the house, and into her bedroom.

I cock my head to the side with a grin, set down my coffee cup, and follow her to her room.

Inside, I hear the shower running in the bathroom. My belt is thrown on top of the bed and the bathroom door is cracked open. Sadie follows me into the bedroom, climbs on the bed, and curls into a ball in the center and closes her eyes.

Kate’s naked body appears in the sliver of the open door by the shower. She glances at me with a smile, then steps in. I walk into the bathroom, then close the door behind me. Steam from the hot shower quickly fills the room. I drop my pants and boxers, then step into the shower behind Kate. Her back is turned to me with a sight of her beautiful ass. She turns her head and eyes me over her shoulder with those sexy as hell eyes. I press my body against her back and run my hand up her arm, while I gently kiss the back of her shoulder.

She turns around in my arms and immediately her warm, wet lips find mine. I run my hands over her slick body, while she backs up and rests against the shower wall. She grabs my hard dick firm in her hand, and slides her fingers up and down my length. She releases my lips, then slowly kisses down the center of my chest. Her hands splay on either side of my hips, as she continues down my body. With one hand, she grabs my dick and lifts it straight up, then places her tongue on my balls and licks upward. At the tip, her lips wrap firmly around, then sink firmly down to the root.

“Kate,” I whisper, then close my eyes and tip my head back.

As she continues deep throating, I lean slightly forward and rest my clenched fists on the tile wall behind her. Her lips increase pressure and she speeds up the pace. I tip my head down and watch as I disappear in and out of her mouth. It’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.

Every muscle in my body contracts as I grit out through my teeth, “I’m coming.”

Her lips soften and she slows her pace as I pulse inside her mouth. She looks up at me and smiles the sweetest smile. Bending down, I place my hands around her waist and sit her on the bench at the end of the shower. I sink to my knees in front of her and take one of her breasts in my hand, and the other I flatten my tongue over her rock hard nipple. Her head falls to the side as she moans. I wrap my arm low around her back and pull her writhing body tight to mine. She ever so gently rocks her hips into my chest. I work my way to the center of her breasts, then lick down to the dip in her navel. I slowly run my hand down her left leg, massaging as I go. On the way back up, I lift it up and place her foot on top of the bench. I run my other hand down her right leg, lean to the side, and slowly kiss up her leg as I place her heel on top of the bench. She leans back against the tiled wall, as I place my lips on her. She exhales with pleasure, as I flatten my tongue and insert two fingers.

Hot water beats down on my back as she moans with pleasure. I flick my tongue in short, sharp flicks, then long soft swirls all around. Her back arcs off the tile wall, then she firmly grabs the top of my shoulders and comes on my tongue. God, there’s nothing better in this world than Kate coming on my tongue.

Her mews soften and her back relaxes on the tile behind her. I increase pressure on her with my tongue, then remove my fingers and run them up and down her clit. Her eyes fill with lust and lock on mine. I bring my fingers to my mouth and suck on them. Her mouth opens while she brings her hand to the side of her face, then runs it through her wet hair. I remove my fingers from my mouth and place them back inside her. I stiffen my tongue and place it firmly on my fingers, and thrust it inside her. She moans wildly and smacks her hand on the edge of the tile. In rhythm, I continue in and out of her. I remove my tongue and softly place it on her tight little nub, while her insides start to clench around my finger.

She rides out her orgasm, then I remove my fingers and replace them with a soft kiss. She sits up and wraps my head in her arms, tight to her body. She reaches for the shampoo sitting next to her thigh and squirts some on her open palm. With me on my knees in front of her, she washes my hair. I close my eyes, as she massages the lather down my neck and shoulders. She places her lips on mine and presses her body to mine.