Rebound Therapy (Rebound #1) (9 page)

The knock sounds again, more insistent. I slowly push the blanket off my lap onto the floor and unfold myself from the couch. I stop breathing when I look through the peephole and see Brian standing there. I can’t suppress the sudden wave of hope that washes over me.

I open the door. “Hi.”

“Can I come in?” he asks. He looks worse than when I left him earlier tonight. His hair is disheveled. I can tell he’s been running his hands through it all night. He does that when he’s thinking or frustrated or both. I open the door wider and gesture him in.

After I close the door and turn to face him he grabs me by the shoulders, giving me a little shake. “Why did you have to push me away?” he demands. His voice is raw now, pained, all of the careful control from earlier stripped away. I open my mouth to answer, but before I can he cuts me off with a kiss. This isn’t like other kisses we’ve shared. It’s hard and punishing, giving no quarter, no mercy. He breaks it off abruptly, his hands still hard on me, but not hard enough to bruise.

“Why couldn’t you let me in? You can trust me with your guilt and your pain. Why don’t you know that?”

“I’m sorry.” It’s the only thing I can say. He doesn’t really want my answers, my pathetic explanations.

He pulls me roughly against his chest, his arms tight around me. “I wanted to stay away. I told myself to stay away. But when I got in my car tonight, I ended up here. How do I know you won’t do this to me again? What will you do the next time someone that knew you with Tom sees us together and says something to you? Are you going to run from me again?”

“No,” I say. I try to shake my head, but his hold on me doesn’t allow much movement. I push back against him, and he loosens his hold, allowing me the room to look him in the eye. “I won’t. I won’t push you away again. I won’t run.”

His eyes look back and forth between mine, weighing my words against the naked openness of my gaze. I’ve dropped all the walls I started putting up earlier, letting him see to my core. He kisses me again, this one more gentle. “I love you, Jenna,” he says when he pulls back.

“I love you, Brian.”

*

I discovered it’s true what they say about makeup sex. Tom and I never had a big enough fight for makeup sex to be a thing. After our mutual declaration of love, Brian took me to bed and kept me up most of the night. Sex with Brian has always been good, but wow. This was a whole other level.

We’ve spent all day together on Saturday, mostly just talking and enjoying each other again. Brian has started asking me more about Tom and encouraging me to talk about him any time I want to. It’s weird in a way, talking about my former fiancé to my new boyfriend. But he says that if I feel comfortable talking about Tom with him then it will help me work past the residual guilt that I have for moving on. Even though the logical part of my brain realizes that Tom’s death isn’t my fault and that I’m not cheating on him by being with Brian, those feelings don’t go away overnight. Hopefully Brian’s right, and talking about Tom more will help.

Brian has to work tonight, so Amy is coming over to my apartment to get ready again.

“I need details,” she says as soon as she comes through my door, her arms full of clothes for our night out.

I had texted Amy that Brian and I were back together earlier today, and she had kindly refrained from demanding more information since Brian was still here at the time. Now that he’s gone and she’s here in the flesh, all bets are off.

I smile at her demand for information in lieu of a greeting. Typical Amy. Instead of hassling her about it like I normally do, I tell her what happened last night.

“And was there makeup sex?” she asks when I stop at the point where he kissed me and said he loves me.

I give her a prim look. “You know I don’t kiss and tell, Amy.”

“Jenna,” she whines. “I’m in a dry spell here. You know I have to live vicariously through you.”

“Yes, there was makeup sex.”

“And?”

“And, that’s all I’m saying. I’m not going to talk about the size of his…you know, or how skilled he is with his tongue.”

“So, you’re saying he’s skilled with his tongue. Interesting. What size shoe does he wear?”

I shoot her a puzzled look. “I don’t know. Maybe a ten or eleven, why?”

She gives me a sly look, and taps her index finger on her lips as though contemplating something. “So, he’s got good sized feet. Not super huge, but not small. You know what they say about a man with big feet, right?”

“I already told you I’m not answering questions about penis size, so get over it.”

“Okay, fine.” She waves a hand, dismissing that issue. “So, was the sex better than ever?”

“Amy.” I try to infuse the two syllables with warning.

“Jenna,” she says in the same tone of voice. “I’ve never had make up sex. I just want to know if it lives up to the hype.”

“Fine. Yes, it definitely lives up to the hype.”

“Good. I’m glad one of us is getting laid at least.”

I laugh at her and change the subject.

An hour or so later we’re both changed and ready to go to The Barrel Room. Amy has convinced me to wear another bra and panty set that she got me for my lingerie shower last year. She said that since Brian didn’t get to fully appreciate what I wore last night, he needs another chance tonight to admire Amy’s taste in lingerie. Since they are pretty and I never got a chance to wear them for anyone, I go along with it.

Going into the wine bar tonight is a much more relaxed affair than last night. I’m not sweaty and shaking with nerves. My salivary glands seem to be functioning appropriately. Brian greets us from the bar with a smile and a kiss for me. Amy and I sit in our usual seats, chatting with each other and Adam and Brian when they’re not too busy with other customers.

When Brian takes a break for dinner, he pulls me back into the little office. As though to replace last night’s unpleasant memory with something better, the minute we’re inside, he closes the door and pushes me against it. His mouth is on mine, hot and demanding, and his hands are roaming my body, caressing and fondling as they go.

After a moment he breaks the kiss, both of us breathing hard. “I have something for you,” he says. He walks over to the desk and I follow him. He pulls a key out of the top drawer of the desk and hands it to me. “It’s a key to my house,” he says. My eyes widen a bit. “I was going to give it to you … before. I want you to have it now. I’ve also made some room in the dresser and the closet for you. I want you to keep some things at my house for when you stay over. Like tonight. I want you to stay over tonight.”

I step closer and kiss him, slow and lingering and full of promise. “Thank you,” I say when I pull back. “I’d love to stay over tonight. We’ll have to stop at my place first, though, if you want me to bring things over.”

“That sounds fine,” Brian says, pulling me in for another kiss. He breaks the kiss and we stay that way for a moment, his arms wrapped around me, my head resting against his shoulder.

“I guess Amy was right,” I muse aloud.

“What about?”

I smile and say, “I just needed a rebound guy to shock me out of my funk. I’m glad it was you.”

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Jerica MacMillan is a lifelong reader and lover of romance. Nothing beats escaping into a book and watching people fall in love, overcome obstacles, and find their happily ever after.
She was recently named a semi finalist in Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write 2015 contest.

Jerica is living her happily ever after in North Idaho with her husband and two children. She spends her days building with blocks, admiring preschooler artwork, and writing while her baby naps in the sling. Sign up to receive updates on her reading and writing life at
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Rebound Series

Rebound Envy

Amy's best friend Jenna is engaged ... again. And she's asked Amy to be her maid of honor again. Amy can't help but feel jealous that Jenna's ready to walk down the aisle for the second time, especially when her own love life is virtually nonexistent.

Adam has wanted Amy since she first walked into his wine bar. After he finally got the chance to take her out, issues from his past got in the way.

Now she's dating someone else, and he's jealous of the lost opportunity.

Will Adam and Amy work out the issues from the past and present that are keeping them apart? Or will their jealousies ruin their relationships and keep them apart forever?

“
A glass of red wine appears on the low table in front of me, next to my half drunk flute of champagne. A low voice rumbles next to my ear. “We just got in a new Syrah last week. Try it. I think you’ll like it.”

I turn in surprise to find Adam’s face close to mine. His dark hair has gotten a little long since I last saw him, curling more than it does when it’s shorter. I like it. I want to touch it, run my hands through it. There’s no hair product there that will make me feel like I need to wash my hands afterward. Of course, I don’t. We don’t have that kind of relationship.

“Hey, Adam. Thanks.” I reach for the wine, glad to have something better to drink than the champagne. Especially since I am now faced with Adam. A strange mix of elation and dread fills me, causing my stomach to swirl and all of my saliva to dry up. He always makes me feel something. Avoiding him for almost two months hasn’t changed that at all.

He takes the seat next to me, lounging back in the comfortable chair, his golden eyes studying me as I take a sip. He quirks a brow at me. “What do you think?”

“It’s really good. Thanks for getting it for me.”

He flicks a couple fingers at my champagne flute. “I saw your date got you that. While it’s good champagne, I know you prefer reds over whites.”

I nod. “I do.” There doesn’t seem to be much else to say to that, even though he seems to be fishing for something.

He glances over to where Scott is still talking and mingling. “I’m surprised you’re over here by yourself. Usually you like to mix and mingle. Tired of your boyfriend already?”

Summer Fling
,
Book 1

A chance encounter at a party brings Lance and Abby together.

Lance just graduated and has a summer internship. His parents expect him to come back to Texas to work in the family business at the end of the summer. He likes to have fun and doesn't want to be tied down too soon. Until he meets Abby.

Abby still has two years left of college and a mom who keeps her anchored near the town where she grew up. She is cautious in relationships, not letting people close. But Lance's persistence wears down her defenses. Knowing Lance is leaving, Abby tells herself it's just a summer fling.

Will that be enough to keep her from falling in love?

“
As he turned, someone knocked into Abby from behind. She lurched forward against the guy’s chest, crushing her cup against his abs and splashing the remains of her drink all over them both.

He let out a surprised shout. He had grabbed her upper arms to steady her when she ran into him, but had pushed her away when he felt the liquid soaking his shirt.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” Abby covered her mouth with her hand, feeling like a complete moron. He stood there with his arms out looking down at the mess on his shirt. Then he looked at the matching stain on her shirt and his lips twitched like he might be suppressing a smile.

He cleared his throat. “It’s okay.” There was laughter in his voice.

Abby crinkled her brows in confusion.
Why is he laughing at me? I just spilled my drink all over him.
Then she noticed that his eyes were glued to her chest, and she looked down.

Abby gasped. Her light pink tank was more or less see-through now that it was wet.”