Undeniable Love

  Tristan pushed his hand through his hair and I fought to hold pack the tugging motion in my core. I loved when he did that. There was something extraordinarily hot about it.

  “Ryn, I thought you and I were just having fun, and then something happened.”

  Smirking, I asked, “Liberty couldn’t get time off of work to visit good old mom and dad, so you took the runner up?”

  “No! It wasn’t anything like that at all. I couldn’t decide between the two of you.”

  He did not just say that. Motherfucker.

  “No, wait . . . that’s not what I meant. I mean it is, but it isn’t. I wasn’t dating Liberty when I was with you at Christmas. It’s always been an off and on relationship with her.” Dropping his head back he let out a frustrated breath before looking at me. “I got confused, Ryn. I started feeling things . . . I mean . . . I had feelings for you that I’ve never had for any other woman before.”

  Oh my. That was not what I was expecting. My stomach flipped a little, but I was sure as hell not going to let this prick know that. “I see, so these feelings caused you to call your other part-time girlfriend. Makes total sense. You’re such a prick.”

  I started walking away from him. His hand grabbed my arm and I let out a gasp from the instant tingles that spread through it. “Ryn . . . can you please just stop?”

  I stopped walking and stood there. “I have nothing to say to you, Tristan.”

  “You wouldn’t take my calls. I tried to call you for months. Do you know how pissed I was when you were dancing with that dick . . .”

  Spinning around, I placed my hands on his massive, hard as a rock chest and pushed him as hard as I could. He stumbled backwards but was able to keep from falling.

  I wasn’t sure if I was pissed or if the hurt was all re-surfacing. “Fuck you, Tristan! You fucking called another woman and told her how much you missed her for Christ sake! You ignored me. It was if I was no longer there. No talking to me, no kissing me, you didn’t even look at me!” I quickly wiped a tear away.

  Tristan’s face looked pained as he took a step closer to me. “No!” Shaking my head, I whispered, “No. You don’t get to try and make up for that now.” Turning, I quickly made my way back to the beach house I was renting. And to Dodge, the only man who could make me forget about Tristan Williams, at least for a little while.

  Walking up the stairs to the deck, I heard Dodge on the phone. “I can’t make it back tonight, but I’ll leave first thing in the morning.”

  My heart started pounding. He’s leaving?

  Dodge smiled as I walked up to him and slammed my body into his. He wrapped his arm around me and I instantly felt better. Dodge kissed the top of my head and I had a brief moment of feeling guilty. I had a feeling Dodge wanted more from our relationship than I did. To me, it was just about sex. Although I had to admit I was beginning to feel something more for, Dodge. I wasn’t sure if I was afraid to let him in or unable too.

  “I’ll call you back later, Lefty. Yeah, the deliveries for this afternoon have all been paid and taken care of. Just sign the paperwork and put it in the coolers.”

  Tightening his grip on me, he pulled me closer to his body. I felt his hard dick pressed against my body and smiled. Dodge had a way of giving me attention, even while he worked.

  “I’ll be back tomorrow night. Right. Later.” Pulling his cell phone away, he hit End. I glanced up to his face, stuck my lower lip out and pouted.

  “You have to go?”

  Dodge let out a chuckle. “I do, but not until tomorrow. We have all of today together.”

  I had to admit, the idea of spending the entire day with Dodge had my stomach dipping with excitement. Not the same excitement I felt ten minutes ago when I saw Tristan running by, but it was still excitement.

  “What do you want to do today?” I asked as I pulled back and looked into his breathtaking blue eyes. His dark-blond hair had that messy look to it. Like he just ran his hands through his wet hair and let it dry.

  Raising an eyebrow, Dodge gave me the sexiest smile. The pulling in my lower core told me he wanted to start off the day on a happy note. “I did drive all this way to fuck you. I haven’t fucked you anywhere downstairs yet.”

  Oh yes. Now he was talking my language.

  I slipped my hand behind his neck and pulled his soft plump lips to mine and whispered against them, “The kitchen?”

  Before I knew it, Dodge was swooping me up and carrying me back into the house. I laughed as I turned my head and looked back toward the ocean. I must have sensed him standing there. My laughter faded away as I saw Tristan watching Dodge carry me away.

  Closing my eyes, I turned and gripped Dodge harder as he headed to the kitchen. Slowly sliding me down his body, Dodge pressed his lips to mine as he kissed me tenderly. My hands went to his hair as I grabbed a fist full of it and tugged. Dodge let out a low rumbled growl as his hand moved under my T-shirt and pushed my sports bra up. The moment he twisted my nipple, I moaned into his mouth. I needed this. I needed raw passion. For some reason, last night Dodge needed love making. I had wanted to be fucked senseless to drown out Tristan’s voice and the piercing look of his hazel eyes.

  “Ryn, baby, you feel so good,” Dodge whispered against my lips. Squeezing my eyes shut, I did what I always did with Dodge—I blocked everything out. I stopped thinking, feeling, and just let myself go.

  “Dodge, take me now. Please,” I begged.

  Dodge dropped to the floor and quickly took off my running shoes and socks. His strong hands slowly moved up my legs as he began pulling my jogging shorts and thong off all at once. I watched him as I slowly smiled. Lifting my legs out of my clothes, my body shook with anticipation of Dodge burying his dick deep inside me. Pushing my legs apart, he slipped two fingers inside me as I dropped my head back.

  “Fuck, you’re wet, baby,” Dodge hissed through his teeth. Standing up, he unzipped his pants and pushed them down. His dick sprung free and I licked my lips as I prepared for what he was going to give me. Rolling a condom on, Dodge lifted me up and pushed me against the island.

  Dodge’s eyes lit up as he looked into mine. “Ryn,” he whispered as he pushed into me. Gripping a hold of his shoulders, I held on as Dodge pushed in hard and pulled out painfully slow.

  Yes. Yes this is exactly what I needed.

  I’D NEVER WANTED TO KILL someone like I wanted to kill the bastard carrying Ryn into the house. I knew what they were up to the moment I saw her start laughing when he picked her up. Quickly jogging toward the house Ryn was renting, I looked around before walking around to the right side. I had no idea where in the house they would be, so I made my way to what looked like the kitchen window.

  Fuck! I needed a boost up. I quickly looked around and saw a stepladder up against the side of the house. Grabbing it, I brought it back to the window, opened it up and climbed up the three steps. I slowly peeked through the window and about fell off the fucking ladder with what I saw.

  “Motherfucker,” I whispered. Gripping onto the windowsill, I attempted to pull my eyes away. Dodge had Ryn up against the island, fucking the shit out of her. Closing my eyes, I started to step down.

  “May I help you with something?”

  The unknown female voice scared the hell out of me and I missed the last step. Stumbling, I fell back and landed on my ass in the sand.

  “Oh my goodness, are you okay?” she asked.

  Looking up, a beautiful blonde stood over me, holding her hand out to help me up. I noticed her blue eyes immediately. Jumping up, I shook my head. “Um . . . I’m fine. I ah . . . I was trying to see if my friend was home.”

  There was an older gentleman, who was dressed in a jumpsuit that must have been covered in at least fifty different colors of paint, who stood behind the blonde and narrowed his eyes at me. “You didn’t think of using the doorbell?”

  My mouth dropped open slightly.

  “The truth, son, before I call the cops.”

  My mouth opened an
d the words fell from my lips. “My ex-girlfriend is staying here and I’m staying two houses down and I was trying to see what she was doing and when I saw, I didn’t like what I saw, so I was getting down and then you showed up and scared the piss out of me.”

  The blonde laughed. “At least he’s honest, Daddy.”

  The older gentleman chuckled. “Son, trust me, if she doesn’t want you, it’s best to move on.”

  I stood there and nodded my head. My heart hurt like it had never hurt before . . . and that confused the hell out of me even more.

  “That means move along, son. Now.”

  “Oh! Right, moving along. Y’all have a nice day.” Glancing to the blonde, she smiled and winked. Lifting her hand, she waved.

  “Hope to see you around, Tom.”

  I stopped and said, “Oh my name isn’t Tom.” Then it hit me. Peeping Tom. I laughed, gave her a quick wave, and got the hell out of there.

  Walking into the house, I let out a frustrated moan as I sat down on the sofa. Scrubbing my hands down my face, I fell back against the cushions. My heart was pounding as my mind tried to erase the image of Ryn and Dodge together. Attempting to control my breathing, I looked up and saw a vase sitting on the credenza. Quickly standing, I headed across the room and picked up the vase. This was my fault. I pushed Ryn into Dodge’s arms. Turning, I threw the vase against the wall and yelled out, “Fuck!”

  My cell started ringing the moment the vase crashed against the wall. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled it out to see it was Liberty. I was not in the mood to deal with Liberty right now. Rolling my eyes, I sent her to voicemail.

  Walking into the kitchen, I pulled open the refrigerator. “Is it too early to drink?” I mumbled under my breath.

  I grabbed a bottled-water and shut the door. There were a few things left over from Lark and Azurdee’s wedding, but no real food. I made a note to hit the grocery store later today when my stomach growled.

  My phone beeped, alerting me to a voice mail. I swiped my phone to open it and stared at the message. I hit Play and listened to Liberty beg me to call her back. Hitting delete, I headed upstairs to change.

  After taking a shower, I changed into a pair of Wrangler Jeans, my favorite boots, a Dallas Cowboys T-shirt, and Dallas baseball cap. Reaching for my truck keys, I headed out the door. The salty air hit me and I couldn’t help but take a deep breath. Shutting the door, I hit Liberty’s number. I hadn’t wanted to deal with Liberty during this trip, but it looked like I needed to. If I didn’t, she’d be calling me every day.

  “Tristan, darling. I’ve been worried,” Liberty whispered from the other end of the phone.

  “Why?” I asked as I pulled out of the garage and headed into town.

  Letting out a nervous giggle, Liberty said, “I don’t know. I didn’t hear from you last night or this morning and I just got worried. I love hearing your voice.”

  Sitting at a red light, I closed my eyes briefly then snapped them back open. Every time they closed I saw Dodge . . . fucking Ryn.

  “Liberty, I didn’t want to have to do this over the phone, but since I’m not planning on coming back for two more weeks—”

  “Two weeks?” Liberty shrieked.

  Pulling the phone away from my ear, I shook my head. “Yeah, Liberty. I had the entire month off, but was planning to come back early. I changed my mind and decided to stay down here for a few weeks. I needed some time to myself. To think.”

  I heard a door open and then shut. I imagined Liberty was getting up from her desk and either going to the breakroom or outside. She worked for the State of Texas as some personal secretary to some hotshot in the capital. “Honey, what are you thinking about? Us? Have you thought any more about what I said?”

  Aw shit. Here we go.

  “Liberty, I think I made it pretty clear when I packed up all my shit from your place and left. I’m not wanting to get married. I have no desire to get married. Marriage and me . . . we don’t mix.”

  “Tristan, it’s time to grow up. We’ve been together for over a year now off and on. I’m tired of this scene. You either make a promise to me right now, or we are over.”

  My mouth dropped open. Is she for real? We aren’t even together right now!

  Pulling into Clayton’s, I put the truck in park and sat there listening to Liberty give me an ultimatum.

  “So what’s it going to be, Tristan? I want an answer right now.”

  Dragging in a deep breath, I quickly pushed it out. “Liberty, I’m sorry. I care about you, but I don’t love you. I don’t see the two of us having a future together. I’m sorry.”

  Silence.

  “Liberty?”

  Silence.

  “Hello?”

  Clearing her throat, Liberty asked, “Is there someone else?”

  Was there someone else? Hell, I didn’t know. If there was, she was currently being fucked by another guy who she considered her fuck buddy. Although, by the way I’d seen him looking at her and holding her close to him, he considered himself more than just a fuck buddy.

  “I’m going to take your silence as a yes.”

  Pushing my hand through my hair, I let out a frustrated breath. “Right now, no, there is no one, Liberty.”

  She sucked in a breath of air. “So what . . . you’re breaking up with me for no reason?”

  Jesus H. Christ. Has she always been this fucking dense?

  “Liberty! I don’t love you. I don’t see a future with us. I thought maybe . . . at one point I might have seen what we had going further, but I just don’t see that now. I’m sorry. I just can’t keep living a lie.”

  “A lie? So you mean to tell me the last year has all been a lie?”

  More like a means to escape.

  “No. I care about you . . . I just don’t . . .” Closing my eyes, I whispered, “Fuck, Liberty; don’t make me say it again.”

  Hearing her sniffle, my heart dropped. Shit. Shit. Shit.

  Liberty whispered, “Is it because I’m not into the things you like to do . . . in the bedroom?”

  Yes. No. Maybe.

  “That plays some part in it, Liberty.”

  I heard her take in a deep breath. Another door opened and closed. “Tristan, I’ll admit all of your sexual toys scared me. But I’d be willing to try some of them, if that would make you happy. I’ll let you tie me up . . . hell, you can even fuck me in the ass if you want. I know you want that; you’ve told me so when you were drunk.”

  My dick jumped and I cursed my betraying body. Liberty was right; I liked to play in the bedroom. A lot. Liberty was as vanilla as they came. Me on top, her on the bottom, and if she was feeling frisky she would ride me, but that was a once a month treat for her . . . and me.

  Ryn, on the other hand, liked to be a bit daring. I had never brought her to my condo in downtown Austin. She’d only been to my house in Round Rock. My condo had my playroom; I had shown it to Liberty once. I thought she was going to pass the fuck out when I asked if I could tie her up and fuck her.

  “Liberty, sweetheart, I’m not going to ask you to change for me. You are who you are, and I am who I am. We gave it a try and it just didn’t work.”

  Liberty sniffled once more before clearing her throat. “Fine. I hope you’re happy with the tramps you pick up to fuck in your little playroom. You’re going to see how good you had it with me. I love you, Tristan. I’d have done anything for you.”

  I needed to be direct with her. I owed her at least that. “Liberty, I have to be honest with you. I um . . . I have feelings for someone else. It’s someone I dated before, but I pushed her away because I was confused about my feelings for her, and I just can’t keep pretending everything is okay with us. I can’t do that to you or me.”

  I waited for her to say something.

  “Fuck you, Tristan. Asshole.”

  Then the line went dead. Pulling the phone away from my ear, I looked at it. “That didn’t go as I planned.”

  Walking into Clayton’s, I looked a
round. The smell of bacon filled the air and caused me to lick my lips and moan internally. I was starving. A young girl, maybe three years younger than me, looked my body up and down as she smiled. “Hey there. Breakfast?”

  Nodding my head, she motioned for me to follow her to a table. She handed me a menu and asked, “You alone?”

  Now I really looked at her. Yep, she was at least three years younger, maybe more. Her eyes danced with the possibilities. Two years ago, I would be asking her what time she got off and taking her back to my place, if we made it that far. Winking, I gave her the smile I knew melted their panties. “Yes, ma’am, I am indeed alone this morning.”

  Tilting her head she said, “That’s a shame, guy like you shouldn’t be left alone.”

  “Hey there.”

  I looked up and the waitress turned her head. I smiled bigger when I saw the girl from this morning standing at my table.

  Chuckling, I said, “Hey, paint girl.”

  Throwing her head back she laughed. It was a nice laugh. She glanced over to the waitress. “Hey, Lisa.”

  Frowning, the waitress said, “Hey, Sierra.”

  “Um . . . would you like to join me, Sierra?” I asked as I peeked over to the very pissed off waitress named Lisa.

  Pulling out the chair opposite me, Sierra sat down. She looked at me and smiled, “I’d love too, Tom.”

  Lisa cleared her throat and asked, “Coffee?”

  Letting out a chuckle, I nodded my head and looked at the waitress. “No cream or sugar, just black.”

  Raising an eyebrow, Sierra smiled. “Ahh . . . a man after my own heart. It’s rare to find someone who likes their coffee straight up. I’ll take the same, Lisa.”

  I leaned back in my chair. “Sierra? Like as in the mountains? That’s a beautiful name. Did your parents conceive you in the mountains or something?” Raising my eyebrow, I smiled as I said, “I believe the name also means dark.”

  Sierra smiled bigger. I liked her smile. It was real. Nothing fake about it at all. Her eyes sparkled as she searched my face, landing her baby blues back to my green eyes.

  “You’re seriously going to judge me when you were caught peeping at your ex getting screwed by what I’m guessing was the new guy?”