Chapter 1
Thursday night, June 9, 2017
Broad Ripple, Indiana
David Drummond felt exhausted as he dragged himself into the cottage. He was looking forward to a relaxing evening after lifting and welding heavy metal all day in the hot sun to make a graceful, sculptural trellis for his sister Lily’s wedding. The trellis was coming together beautifully, and he had only the finishing touches left to take care of the next day. The piece depicted lilies intertwined with sunflowers.
His sister was marrying a great guy named Finn Reilly, and Finn liked to call Lily by the nickname Sunflower. So, sunflowers and lilies seemed to be the theme for the wedding.
Just thinking about Lily made David smile. She was the sweetest person he knew, and she deserved a great guy like Finn after the tough time she’d had losing her first husband. David looked forward to attending the wedding and standing up for his sister as a bridesman. Their sister Molly would be the matron of honor. The wedding would take place in two days at Finn’s parents’ house.
David stashed a cold six-pack in the refrigerator and called for a pizza. He knew he had plenty of time for a shower before the pizza arrived, so he took his time over it. The warm water felt great on his tired muscles, and he let it cascade over his body until it started to cool. He had just pulled on a clean pair of jeans and was about to dry his wet hair when he heard a light knock at the door. Apparently, the pizza place was quicker than he’d expected, and he hadn’t had time yet to even put on a shirt.
David had been told to be careful about answering the door. Lily’s crazy-ass former housemate Sara was on the loose and hanging around again. No one knew what to expect from that piece of work, and there was a warrant out for her arrest.
Finn’s best friend Tru Dwyer was a detective with the IMPD, and he wasn’t taking chances with anyone’s safety. So, the cops were patrolling by Finn’s cottage where David was now staying. Finn and Lily had moved into Finn’s parents’ house, leaving the cottage to David for the time being. And since they’d be traveling to Italy the day after the wedding, David had no particularly pressing reason to hurry back to his place in Louisville. He liked the little cottage.
David ditched his towel and made for the door. He opened it a crack, and his eyes widened at the beautiful sight standing before him. Not even thinking, he reached out one hand and grabbed onto Amelia Hernandez, the most gorgeous woman he’d ever met. She had been the star attraction of his imagination for several months. He dragged her inside and straight into his arms as he slammed the door. “Glad to see you, David,” laughed Amelia. “I thought you might be lonely here all by yourself.”
“I was fine, but I’m so much better now that you’re here,” he growled.
Their mouths crashed together as if this was the continuation of a long conversation they’d been having, rather than their first kiss. David lost every trace of the fatigue he’d been feeling.
Amelia was the daughter of some old friends and employees of the Reillys. She was an incredibly talented fashion design student and artist, and had recently created the breathtaking wedding gown Lily would wear in a couple of days. Amelia had impressed so many people with her amazing work, in fact, that she had won a big fashion award for it. The sad thing was that this great award was a double-edged sword. Amelia would be leaving for France soon to spend three months working as an intern for CBC, a famous Parisian couture house. Working in Paris was her dream. Leaving David for three months, especially now that they’d connected with each other, was going to be very hard to do.
Amelia’s hand reached up and slid into David’s hair. For some reason, that gave her the giggles. “David, your hair is dripping,” she laughed.
“I just got out of the shower. As a matter of fact, let me go grab a shirt.” David didn’t have to go far, as the cottage wasn’t much more than a studio apartment. “Are you hungry?”
“I could definitely eat — why?” Amelia asked as she watched him yank a t-shirt over his head. She sighed inwardly as she lost sight of those muscles.
“The pizza I ordered ought to be here any minute,” he answered. He returned to her and leaned his forehead against hers as he put his arms around her. “We need to slow down a bit,” he said and then kissed her again. He didn’t want to stop. He wanted to drag her luscious body over to the bed and undo her buttons. He wanted to taste more than her delicious mouth. However, he didn’t want to give the pizza guy an eyeful of what he was already considering his. Pausing, he wondered where that possessive thought had come from. After just a kiss?
And, right on cue, there was a second knock. David again opened the door a crack, and this time he immediately grew aware of the smell of hot pizza. He opened the door wider, paid and tipped the driver, and turned around. Amelia had already begun pulling plates out of the cupboard and napkins from a drawer. She looked very much at home in Finn’s tiny kitchen. A thought crossed David’s mind that he wasn’t too crazy about.
“Amelia, have you been here in the cottage before?”
“Yeah. Why?”
David took a deep breath and steadied himself. “Where you and Finn ever involved?”
Amelia stopped what she was doing and stared at David. Then she burst out laughing. “No! For heaven’s sake, David, Finn is like a big brother to me. I’d never date him. What would make you even ask?”
“Well, he’s a single guy, or at least he was until he met Lily, and you’re a beautiful woman… and… um…”
“Thank you, David. You’re sweet. I swear that Finn and I have never even so much as held hands. We’ve known each other virtually our whole lives, but we’ve never really hung out together or anything. The only reason I’ve been here is that once he had the flu, and my mother made him some of her delicious chicken soup. She sent me over to give it to Finn because she was busy getting ready for a dinner party. When I got here, he was in such bad shape, I had to heat it up, get a bowl out for him, and serve it to him. Then, a couple of days later, I came back to pick up my mother’s soup pot. Pretty scandalous!” She started laughing at the relieved look on David’s face. “David, you’re not jealous, are you?” she asked sweetly.
“Uh, well... I guess not then.” He looked sheepish. “So… you’re not dating anyone now?”
“I’ve been known to date, but there isn’t anyone special now. But… maybe there could be.” She smiled sweetly at him.
“Uh, yeah.” Suddenly David was tongue-tied. He grabbed a couple of beers and they sat down together at the table. David opened the box, and the piping hot pizza smelled divine. He served them both a slice and said, “I hope you like the toppings okay.”
“It looks great. I’m not picky anyway,” she said.
“Good to know. Um, Amelia?” David found he needed to find out more about her motives than eat at this very moment.
“Yes?”
“Why are you here tonight?”
“Don’t you want me here?”
“You’re answering a question with a question. But yes, I like having you here very much, and I’d like to know what made you come over tonight.”
Amelia chewed her pizza for a moment and looked down at her plate. David was struck by the beauty of her dark lashes surrounding her lovely green eyes. She had smooth, pale golden skin and thick, straight dark hair. It was soft and silky, and he longed to run his fingers through it.
Finally, she looked up and answered, “David, I really like you. Each time we’ve talked, I’ve found you to be very interesting, and we have a lot in common. I want to get to know you better, and yet I understand this is the worst timing two people could possibly have. I’ll be leaving soon for three months, and it’s not like I’m just going to the next town over. I’ll be in Europe, for heaven’s sake! So, if you want to tell me to shove off, I’ll go. Or, I’ll go after I finish this excellent piece of pizza anyway.” She tried for a laugh, but it came out as more of a cough.
David stared at her long enough that it made her start to squirm in her seat. He hoped he wasn’t sending her mixed signals, but he knew his eyes expressed his desire for her, and his silence wasn’t helping her understand.
She held her slice of pizza halfway to her mouth, not eating. Finally, she put it down and started to push her chair back to stand up.
“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. I guess I’ll be going,” she said in a soft voice.
“No!” David had even shocked himself with his vehemence. Still, he jumped up from his seat and lunged for Amelia, wrapping her in his arms. “Don’t leave. You can’t leave.”
“Why?”
“I’m not sure, really. I just know I need you here. I’m not used to feeling like this, Amelia. I’m generally a total asshole with women. I date them, and sometimes I sleep with them, and then I don’t ever want to see them again. But with you, I feel like I need to see you more and more, and we haven’t even dated. I’m pretty confused. But just… don’t go. Please. Let’s finish the pizza before it gets cold, and then we’ll talk about this… whatever it is. Okay?”
“Yes. Um. Okay. That sounds good.” Amelia wasn’t sure what to say, either.
For the next few minutes, they enjoyed the pizza and beer and talked about Lily and Finn’s upcoming wedding. Then David had to know, “Are you going to be at the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night?”
“Yes, I was invited — although, since I’m not in the wedding party or part of the family, I’m not exactly sure why.”
“Oh please, if it hadn’t been for you, that gorgeous, incredible dress would never have happened. I’m sure Lily feels very strongly about having you there. But will you go with me as my date? You haven’t invited anyone else, I hope, to go with you...?”
“There is no one I’d rather go with than you, David. Thank you.”
Relief was written all over his face.
They finally stashed the remains of the pizza in the refrigerator and took their beers over to the small couch. David sat down and extended his arm across the back so that Amelia had no choice but to sit where he could embrace her. She started out a few inches away, but David immediately pulled her in tightly to his side.
Amelia let out a tiny sigh and leaned her head against his muscular chest. It just felt so… right.
“So, tell me about this internship. What will you be doing exactly and where will you live?”
“I got a long email from them a few days ago explaining that my job will be sort of a glorified gopher. My words, not theirs. It sounds like I’m going to have to do anything they tell me to do. It might be getting coffee, sweeping the floor, wrangling models, or cutting fabric or whatever. I guess it will be up to me to prove to them what I’m capable of. Anyway, it was obviously a form letter they send to all their interns, just so we don’t get our hopes up about doing anything glamorous or exciting.
“And they said they have a rather large flat where their interns and a few of their models have stayed off and on. There’s supposed to be a room for me in the apartment. That’s good because I wasn’t looking forward to figuring out housing on my own. The job is five days a week with weekends off.”
The entire time Amelia had been speaking, David was caressing and playing with her hair. A couple of times, she’d also felt his lips kissing the top of her head.
It was going to be hard for her to leave David, she just knew it. Amelia already felt her heart aching.
“David?”
“Hmm?”
“Have you ever been to France?”
“Yes, but it’s been several years. When I was a junior in college, I actually studied in Paris.”
“You did? What did you study?” Amelia pulled back to look at his face.
“Art. And women,” he chuckled.
“Hmm.” Amelia laughed softly at his answer and looked pointedly at him.
“My parents were infuriated with me about going, so I had to raise all the money for it myself. I’d also managed to get a scholarship to college. I had to, because they would only pay for tuition if I agreed to study accounting or some stupid, boring shit like that. They thought I ought to become an actuary like my dad. I couldn’t think of anything worse, frankly.” David briefly closed his eyes, nearly seeming to shudder. “So, when they pulled the plug financially, I looked for every scholarship and grant I could find that would get me through undergrad and graduate school. And I took a lot of odd jobs, as well.”
Amelia couldn’t keep the indignance out of her voice. “But you’re so talented! Aren’t they proud of your accomplishments? Aren’t they thrilled about the big project you’re working on in Canada now?”
“No. They think I need to get ‘this foolishness’ out of my head and get a ‘real job.’ I’ve been thinking about moving up here to Indy where I can be closer to Lily, and well… maybe to you, if or when you get back. There are some good opportunities for studio space here, so I could make the move easily. And I can still maintain a presence in the Louisville galleries from here with no trouble. I went to IU in Bloomington for grad school, and I’ve always liked Indiana. They have an excellent art department and, almost more importantly for me, they offered lots of funding for deserving grad students.”
Amelia looked a bit indignant as she asked, “David, what do you mean, if I come back? I’m not planning to stay in France.”
“Oh, you never know. What if some dashing Frenchman sweeps you off your feet?”
“Huh-uh. I like it here,” she said, looking David right in the eyes as she did.
“You’ll love Paris, too, though, Amelia. It’s a tough place to leave.”
“Those Frenchmen would have to be pretty special to get me to stay away.”
“How many of them do you need, you naughty girl?” He gave her a wink.
Amelia gave him a playful prod on his thigh for that comment. “You know what I mean.” She raised her face up with a look that invited a kiss.
David leaned in, and this time their kissing was more relaxed — more of a lovely savoring of each other’s lips. He continued stroking her hair and gently rubbing up and down her back. Then he moved his lips from hers and began tracing the contours of her jaw and down the side of her neck below her ear. Her skin was warm and smooth, and so very delicious. She had a faint scent of something earthy and spicy. She smelled like a woman who wasn’t afraid of adventure. Just the one little taste of her he’d had, and David began to realize that he was so screwed.
Amelia couldn’t stop running her hands through David’s blond curls. One hand tightened at the base of his hair and stroked him as he browsed her neck with his lips and tongue. Her other hand ran through his hair over and over again, and then she started to use her nails lightly on his scalp.
He felt his sensitive skin tingling under her fingers.
Slowly, David moved his face away a few inches, and Amelia let out a small sigh as her hand fell away from his hair.
“I’d really, really like to take you to bed, Amelia, but I don’t think we should just yet.”
“You’re probably right,” she moaned.
“When are you leaving?”
“A week from Tuesday.” Her flat tone made it sound more like a death sentence. “Up until now, I was so excited to go, but now…”
“Yeah. I get it. But what I was going to say is that I don’t have to be back in Louisville and can leave for Toronto from here. I’ve shipped all the tools and materials up there already, and I’m waiting for the installation crew to be available for the heavy lifting. I can get ready for my next show from here just as easily as Louisville because I’ll just be making preliminary sketches for now anyway. Let’s please try to spend some time together before you leave. Would that be okay with you? You’re not too busy getting ready to go?”
“I’d really like that.” She snuggled against him again. “All I have to do is pack. I’ll be keeping the same place to live when I get back anyway, so I don’t need to move anything out.”
“Where do you live? Not with your parents?”
“No. I moved out when I started college. I love my parents, but it was time to be on my own. I share a carriage house over near Butler University, behind one of the old mansions. It’s a lot bigger than this cottage, but the same kind of arrangement.”
“So, you have a roommate?”
“Um, yes.” She gave a little nod. “Hunter. We’ve been best friends since middle school.”
“Hunter. As in a guy.” This was a statement, not a question.
“Yes, Hunter as in a guy — a gay guy.” She poked him softly in the ribs. “He’s an excellent roomie, and it’s a great deal because his parents live in the big house and let Hunter and me live in the carriage house in back for free. I think you might have met him at the fashion show. He modeled my other outfit. He’s getting his MFA in photography and he’s really talented. I keep telling him he’s on the wrong side of the camera, but he’s so unpretentious and completely not vain. He cracks me up.”
David suddenly remembered the outrageously handsome young man who’d been with Amelia that day. It had pained him to think of them being together. Now, he felt so relieved, he let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. Even though she’d said she wasn’t involved with anyone, further confirmation of that was making him more and more relaxed.
“Are your parents okay with you living with him?”
Amelia laughed and explained, “They’re fine with it. They’ve known Hunter for almost as long as I have and completely understand the arrangement. He’s a great guy.” She began to run her hand along his forearm and smiled shyly. Obviously, she was done talking about her roommate.
“Okay, enough about that. Now I want to know more about what you like.” David looked deeply into Amelia’s eyes, and she saw the heat building in them.
“What do you mean?”
“Are you experienced? Have you ever…?” He let his voice trail off as he nuzzled her neck.
Amelia couldn’t disguise her blush. “Well, I’m not a virgin, if that’s what you mean. But I must admit a certain lack of… experience. I had a high school boyfriend, and we messed around a little and actually slept together on prom night. I know, how cliché, right?” She rolled her eyes when David sat back and let out a little snort. “It wasn’t a very enjoyable experience for either of us frankly, and we broke up a couple of weeks after that. Since then, I’ve had some dates, but nobody I’ve wanted to sleep with. God, this is so embarrassing to admit.”
“There’s absolutely no reason to be embarrassed.” He gave her a gentle squeeze. “I’m just incredulous that you don’t have guys falling at your feet all over town. Why is that, do you think? Or… do you?” David nuzzled her neck.
“When you study fashion at the Art and Design Institute, straight guys are pretty rare, and I’ve been keeping extremely busy. So… not a lot of opportunity, I guess. But what about you? Why did you say you’ve acted like an asshole to women after dating them? Am I setting myself up here for a broken heart even before we begin anything?”
David sat up straighter. “I have no intention of breaking your heart, but I’m actually kind of a relationship virgin, and may be more trouble for you than I’m worth, I admit. I just know, though, that I really want to get to know you better. I don’t think I’ve ever been so attracted to anyone before. I mean, you’re beautiful, obviously, but I feel this amazing kinship with you.”
“Um. Wow.” Amelia’s beautiful green eyes flashed.
“Yeah, wow.” Smiling, he went on, “I felt like a total perv until I found out you were over 21. Unless…” David’s blood ran a little cold suddenly. “That wasn’t a fake ID you used when you were carded at the restaurant after the fashion show, was it?” He cringed a little, having to ask.
“Relax, grandpa. I’m 23 — 24 very soon, actually. Want to see my ID? I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” She batted her lashes at him.
“No need, you little flirt. I trust you. And, I just turned 32.”
“So... I’ve told you my embarrassing sexual history, so it’s time to share, Casanova. What was your first experience like?” Her fingers toyed with his chest as she eyed him coyly.
David burst out laughing and said, “It was pretty mortifying.” He closed his eyes and shook his head at the memory. “I was 14 years old, and one of the older girls at our school kept flirting with me.”
“A young Casanova!” Amelia laughed.
“Yeah. So, I asked her to go out with me. Since I couldn’t drive, our so-called date ended up with both of us back at her house. I have no idea where her parents were, but she was 17, so it wasn’t so unusual that she’d be home alone. Anyway, we ended up in her bedroom, and she started putting some serious moves on me. I had no idea what to do, so I tried to follow her lead. We kissed a while, and then she took off her top. I just gawked at her breasts, and then she told me I could kiss them if I’d like. She also reached for my zipper and undid it. I was reaching for her tits, and she was going for my dick, and then… poof. It was all over. She cracked up and called it the Immaculate Ejaculate. I was so embarrassed, I left right after that and ignored her for the rest of the school year, and then she graduated. It wasn’t until the next year that I actually had sex. It took a while to figure things out, but I managed. Give me your hand.”
Laughing, Amelia offered her hand to David. He took it in his hand and brought it to his lips. He began kissing her palm. It felt strange and at the same time arousing. Amelia felt shivers run through her body.
“I need to find out how you like it,” he said softly. Slowly, David licked her palm and dragged his tongue along her little finger until he got to the tip. He sucked the very tip into his mouth and then began to make little flicks over the end of her finger with his tongue. “Do you like a soft touch?” He demonstrated a slow, soft lick. “Or do you like a firmer one?” He stiffened his tongue and flicked it quickly back and forth over the tip. He also maintained a sucking pressure on her skin.
Amelia quickly got the picture of what he was asking, and it wasn’t hard to imagine his mouth doing those very things to her throbbing clit. The harder he sucked, and the faster he flicked his tongue, the more she moaned out her pleasure. “Yes, that way,” she breathed. He wasn’t even touching her there, but she felt close to having an orgasm, just thinking about it and watching his intent expression while he pleasured her pretend pussy.
“Okay, and what about you?” Amelia grabbed his hand in hers and slid his thumb back and forth on her lips. She licked up and down the length of it a couple of times and then closed her lips around him. Her tongue began swirling around the end of it, and then she mimicked his earlier flicking motions. Pulling back, she asked, “Do you think this would feel good to you?” with her wide green eyes looking deeply into his.
She began again, and David groaned at the sight of this gorgeous woman fellating his thumb. It didn’t take any imagination at all to think how she would look doing that to his painfully hard dick. “Oh, god. Yes, anything you’d do like that would be amazing.” He could barely hold still now, and he was afraid that at any minute he’d disgrace himself by coming in his pants with another Immaculate Ejaculate. Finally, he closed his eyes. Withdrawing his hand from her mouth, he tried to calm himself down. He put his arms around Amelia and simply held her for a while. Their breathing gradually slowed, and he said, “That’s about all I can handle for one night. If we keep going, I’ll rip off your clothes, and I don’t think we’re ready for that yet.”
“Yes, I agree. I think. It sucks, though. Even though the sucking part was fun… I bet, next time, it won’t taste a little like pizza.” They both burst out laughing at that. It was a good tension reliever.
After some more kissing, they made their plans for the next day, and then he walked Amelia out to her car. He was so into her, he forgot to look around for anyone suspicious lingering around the cottage.
***
“Honey, I’m home!” Amelia sang out as she walked through the door to the carriage house.
She found Hunter in his usual place, hunched over his laptop and studying the photos he’d taken most recently. The guy was a total workaholic. Everything for school was done for the semester, but he was still analyzing and tweaking his photos — the definition of a perfectionist. This coming year would be his last for studying, and he wanted to be ready to take on the world when he graduated with an MFA.
He looked up and smiled. “Hey, sweetie! How did it go? You look happy.”
“It went amazing. I’m going to have lunch with him tomorrow, and then we’ll be together at the rehearsal dinner later… as dates!”
“Told you so,” he said with a knowing nod. “That boy has it bad for you.”
“Yeah. I think he does. He’s kind of new at relationships, though — as in, it doesn’t sound like he’s ever had one, so I hope I’m not going to crash and burn.” She suppressed a small sigh.
“Wait, isn’t he like a little old for that? Why hasn’t he had a relationship?” Hunter completely ignored his photos and concentrated on Amelia’s face.
“He told me he’s 32, so older, yes, but not ‘old’ old. I’ll have to find out the story behind that. His sisters are both cool, but his parents are like ice cubes. They literally seem to have no personality whatsoever, unless it’s in how to dress and act like Lord and Taylor store mannequins.
“You should have seen how rude they were last Thanksgiving at the Reillys’ house. They were barely civil. But… I’m not interested in him for his parents, just for him. He’s just so… ach! Those muscles and blond curls! Then he looks at me with those pale blue eyes of his, and I want to melt, but it’s not just that. He’s also incredibly talented and really, really smart. It turns out he got his MFA at Indiana University on a graduate fellowship. Anyway, he’s charming and thoughtful too. He’s shown me some photos of his work, and I can’t wait to see what he’s working on in person.”
“Yep, you’ve got it bad, sweetie. Watch your step.”
“I know. I know. Well, I’m going to bed. Tomorrow I want to look my best.” Amelia did a happy little prance down the hall, and Hunter chuckled at her.
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