Aloha, page 35
They both disappear down towards the front of the now deserted bus, leaving me alone with the man that I really should probably be doing a better job at avoiding.
Chapter 3
Norah
Leaning on the porcelain sink, I stare at my reflection in the restroom mirror. My eyes are slightly glassy from the alcohol I've been drinking, and my cheeks are flushed a light shade of pink.
But, I look...happy? It feels like a lifetime since I felt anything except sadness.
How the hell did I get here?
Thinking of the man waiting for me at the table just outside those doors, my stomach clenches in excitement. I’d been stunned when Reed had asked me to have a drink with him after I’d finally peeled myself away from him on the bus. I had tried to get out of it, I really did, but he’d put one warm hand on the small of my back and ushered me to the small beach hut bar.
One drink had turned into three. That had turned into us ordering food and yet more drinks, but now the plates are long gone and we’re on our second or maybe third bottle of wine now and somehow we’re still here.
The conversation has flowed between us effortlessly for hours and it’s been so good to just forget the rest of the crap going on in my life and speak to someone new. Someone that doesn’t have any idea of what I ran away from.
I’m just Norah, girl on vacation, not Norah the poor jilted bride.
I’ve never felt a connection to a stranger like I've felt with him tonight. There’s an ease between us that is new for me, a level of comfort that I didn’t know I could feel. It’s the strangest feeling, but it’s exciting nevertheless. Especially when you add it to the insane attraction I have to him. I don’t recall ever being so in lust at first sight before.
Pushing down my nervous excitement, I decide to do something I’ve never really done before. I decide to take a risk. I’m here for one more night and I deserve to enjoy it. That’s exactly what I plan on doing.
When I make it back to the table, I find the place is now deserted and Reed is standing there waiting for me. The butterflies in my belly take a dive when I see he’s ready to leave. Looks like the night is over. I’m hit by a wave of disappointment. I’m not ready to say goodbye, not ready for tonight to be over.
He watches as I approach, a small smile flirting with the edge of his full lips. Lips I’ve found myself watching a whole lot tonight.
“You wanna get out of here?” He asks. The softness of his tone belies the heat that flares in his eyes as he stares down at me, waiting for my answer. I shock myself, and judging by the way his eyes flare, he is too when I reply.
“Let’s go back to your room.”
* * *
Stepping out into the warm night air, I realize I have no idea if he’s even staying at the same resort as me, I assume he is seeing as we were both picked up from here earlier. What the hell did we even talk about all night?
I’m about to ask him to come to my room instead when he grabs my hand and swings me around so I’m facing him. “I need to do this now. I can’t wait one second more.” He announces right before he kisses me.
It’s nothing like any first kiss I’ve ever experienced. His full, warm lips devour mine. Raising up on my tip-toes, I give myself over to the riot of sensations he elicits from me. My hands grip the front of his t-shirt so I can pull him even closer. His hands frame my face, moving me exactly where he wants me, tilting my head to the side so he can slide his delicious tongue further into my waiting mouth.
He dominates me and I cannot get enough of it. He groans from somewhere deep in his throat, the sound sending a rush of desire straight to my belly.
“You’re sure about this?” he asks without taking his lips off mine. My response is nothing more than a guttural moan. It must be the only confirmation he needs because the next thing I know we’re on the move, my hand clasped tight in his as he all but drags me away.
Chapter 4
Reed
The door to my room slams after I kick it shut. I’m too busy trying to get Norah out of her clothes to care if I wake up the whole damn resort. Now that I’ve touched her silken skin, taste her sweet mouth, I'm not planning on stopping any time soon. We leave a trail of destruction from the front door all the way through to the bedroom and we’ve barely come up for air.
Letting my fingers run down the expanse of her exposed back, I feel the shiver that runs through her. Reaching down, I lift her from behind her thighs. Wrapping her legs around my waist, I carry her the last few steps to my bed before gently laying her back. Fuck. She’s the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Her long, wild hair is splayed across the crisp white pillows. Her lips are red, swollen and there’s a faint blush on her cheeks. I’ll never forget this sight as long as I live.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.” I allow myself to say the words out loud.
“And you're still wearing too many clothes.” She says coyly, moving so she can start to strip at a slow, agonizing pace. She slips her shirt over her head exposing smooth tanned skin, she reaches back to take of her bra but I can’t stand the torture of watching her for another fucking second.
Moving in, I drop my lips to her shoulder, taking one strap down, I kiss a path over her collarbone and do the same with the other strap before taking the whole thing off. My dick practically weeps at the sight of her full, lush tits. Tit’s that I have visions of fucking later.
Next to go are her skin-tight jeans.
Choosing to save time, I take her panties at the same time. My breath actually fucking stops at the vision before me. She’s perfection. Tanned, smooth perfection from head to toe.
From the moment she stepped onto that bus tonight, I’d been taken with how fucking pretty she is. Her long reddish hair caught my eye, but it was her curves that kept them on her. I’ve never been the type of guy to have a type, I love women of all shapes and sizes, but after seeing Norah and her dips and curves laid out for me like this, I think that may have changed for me.
As soon as I can shake myself out of the lust filled daze she’s left me in, I get rid of the rest of my own clothes and join her on the bed.
I want so badly to shove her legs open and bury my face in her pretty little pussy, but I know I just won’t last if I do. I need to be inside her.
Now.
She opens her legs to give me room and I take the invitation eagerly. There are fireworks between us as soon as we're fully skin on skin. Her hands are all over me, touching every part of me she can reach. I go straight for her mouth, already missing her taste even though I had my tongue in her mouth mere seconds ago. My aching cock begs for me to slide home, but I’m not ready for this to be over, and I already know it’s not going to last long enough.
No amount of time is going to sate my hunger for the siren I’ve got in my bed.
“Reed.” She moans as I let my tongue slide down her neck, finally getting to kiss that spot that’s been calling to me all night long. I can’t resist letting my teeth drag over the harsh thump of her pulse. Judging by the way her hips fly up to grind against mine, she likes it almost as much as I do. The wet heat of her against my bare skin has me cursing out loud.
“I need you.” She begs softly, head thrown back, eyes closed.
“You have me, beautiful.” I murmur against her skin, feeling the goose bumps that spring up across her in the wake of my breath.
“I need more.” She breathes out harshly, raking her nails down my back. Who am I to deny her what she wants? I keep moving down her neck, making my way to her tits, the ones that have been teasing me all night long. At the same time, I let my fingers make their way between her thighs. My cock practically weeps with joy when I feel how wet she is. My fingers slide through her folds, up and over her clit in slow swipes. My lips close around her tight nipple, pulling and sucking gently to match the rhythm I've set between her legs. Her hips start grinding again, reaching for more contact.
“I can’t wait to feel you come.” I say when I let go of her tit. Her eyes are on me, her mouth open as she pants. My fingers continue their assault on her pussy, speeding up then stopping to pay more attention to her clit on each sweep.
“Please.” She begs hoarsely.
“Tell me what you need, baby.”
“You, Reed. You inside me. Now.” My name on her desperate lips does something to me, makes something happen inside my chest fucking spasms. Sliding my fingers downwards once again, this time I press forward with first one finger, then two.
She’s so damn hot, so wet. I almost blow my load and have to think of work, stats, the shit I have to deal with at home, anything to stop from embarrassing myself.
“Fuck.” I groan, slamming my mouth down on hers again. One of her hands comes up to grab my shoulder, the other goes south, wrapping around my length. Even lying in bed, I feel my knees go weak at the feel of her gripping me. Pulling her hand away, I shift so I'm positioned ready to push inside.
“Look at me.” I say, the need burning inside me makes my voice a gruff bark. Her eyes flutter open, the darkest blue orbs burning up at me. “I want to see your eyes when I make you mine.”
I don’t know if her gasp is because of my words or the feeling of my cock driving deep inside of her.
All I know is that right here and now, I’ve found something I had no idea I was even looking for.
Something I have no intention of letting go of.
Ever.
Chapter 5
Norah
“I want to see your eyes when I make you mine.” My entire body clenches at the memory of his words. Rolling over in bed, I bury my head in the mountain of pillows and let out a frustrated scream.
It's been two months since I woke up in Reed’s bed.
Two months since I freaked out about how much he’d made me feel.
Two months since I’d crawled out of his bed in the weak early morning light, gathered my clothes and snuck out of his room.
I’d known I was making a mistake before I'd left. Standing next to the bed, looking down at his gorgeous face relaxed in sleep, I’d known that I’d regret leaving. I don’t even know why I did it. The whole time I’d been doing the walk of shame back to my own room, I’d fought with myself over going back.
But, how could I? It's not like I could just knock on the door and ask him to let me back in. Instead of doing what my heart was telling me, I’d listened to my head, grabbed my bags and once again I’d run to the airport to escape.
I’d made my choice and now I’m stuck dealing with the consequences.
Consequences I’m going to be dealing with for a long time to come.
A lifetime.
The nightly dreams aren’t helping. Every time I close my eyes, I'm assaulted with memories of the things he’d done to me. The way he’d dominated my body and wrung an unfathomable amount of pleasure from me has been on a near constant loop in my head all this time.
The sound of my phone ringing from somewhere in my apartment breaks me out of my little self-pity party. Throwing off the blankets, I go in search of my phone. I can’t stop that little seed of hope that blooms. Hope that it’s Reed on the phone. That’s never going to happen because we were too busy ripping each other's clothes off to get silly things like each other's contact numbers. Or last names for that matter.
By the time I find my phone it’s gone silent. Seeing Mavericks name on the screen, I’m glad I missed the call. I love my eldest brother dearly, but he just won’t leave me alone since I’ve gotten home. I see him multiple times a week for work, it’s his foundation that I run after all, and ever since I got back from Hawaii, he’s been on my ass all the time trying to arrange family dinners for us all. He thinks I’m not getting over the wedding fiasco, none of my brothers do, but they don’t know that the reason I’m not ok is that I can’t stop thinking about Reed.
Or the souvenir I’ve brought back from our too brief vacation fling.
The phone in my hand rings once again, this time showing Finn calling. That’s only a fraction better than it being Mav seeing as he’s also a protective, overbearing brother, but I answer anyway. It's the only way to get them to leave me alone.
“Hey Finneus.”
“Why you ignoring Mav?” he says by way of a hello.
“I’m a grown adult with a job. I don’t sit around waiting all day for my darling brothers to check-in with me.” I say, getting an unamused grunt in return.
“That stuff we were supposed to drop off? It's gonna be late.” He drops the bad news on me.
“Finn! No!” I whine like a child. That stuff he’s talking about is signed jerseys and pucks for the hospital visit I’m making today. The perks of having brothers that play in the NHL is getting signed shit off them all the time. “Mav promised he would get that to me two days ago, why can’t you bring it to me?”
“Nor, it’s been crazy here today. Can you come down here and I’ll get it ready for you?” He offers, surprising me that he’s trying to be helpful for once.
“You promise it will be ready?”
“Scouts honor.” he lies, both of knowing he was nowhere near well behaved enough to have been a boy scout.
I don’t make a habit of coming to the arena very often unless it’s a game night and I’m bringing some kids and their families along. Some of the guys on the team must have taken a few too many punches to the head because they’ll hit on me unashamedly, despite the death threats they get from Mav and Finn. They both play for the team here in LA, Ward is playing in Vancouver and Riley is in Tennessee.
I assumed that it would be quiet here today as the season doesn’t start until next week, but there seems to be people everywhere, a buzz of excitement filling the corridors.
I don’t waste time looking around too much, I know my siblings well enough to know they’ll either be in the gym, or they’ll be shoveling copious amounts of food in their mouth somewhere. I’m proved right when I walk into the weight room to find not just my brothers, but what looks like half the team standing around staring up at the huge screen, sports center on.
Nobody notices me coming in, they're all too busy concentrating on the breaking news banner that is running across the bottom of the screen.
NHL champions LA Vipers sign Reed Hayes in a record breaking deal.
And then he’s there. My Reed. In full, glorious color, right in front of me on the TV screen. His gorgeous face has its customary frown in place as he’s shown battling his way through a crowd of reporters and fans.
My one night of lost inhibitions.
The one that I thought I’d never get a chance to see ever again.
The father of the baby nobody knows I’m carrying yet is going to be here, in my town, working with my family, close enough to touch.
All too soon, there will be no escaping him and the surprise I’m about to drop right in his lap.
Thank you for reading, keep an eye out for an all new hockey series, starting with Norah & Reed getting their HEA, coming soon-ish! You can check out more of my books here.
Here All Along
Emma Scott
I’m in my daughter’s Taylor Swift era. She suggested I write a friends-to-lovers story based on a Swift song. This one is very loosely inspired by “You Belong With Me.”
But it is very intensely inspired by my family’s love of Maui, Lahaina in particular. I can’t write of Maui without sharing that my first daughter Izzy’s ashes were placed in those dark blue waters in 2018. We visit the island every year as a kind of pilgrimage. Maui gives us a sanctuary of peace. We were there a week before the fires.
I can’t give back to Maui a fraction of what it has given me, but this little story is dedicated to the island and its people whom will always hold a place of deep love and endless gratitude in my heart. –Emma
Chapter 1
Luna
“I had a really nice time tonight,” I said.
Okay, so that was a lie. I spent the entire date listening to Brad talk about himself, chew with his mouth open, and be rude to the waiter. Now we were outside the restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard, a few blocks from my apartment. He had that look on his face. The look a guy wears when his experience of a date is completely different from reality, and he’s expecting it to continue well into the night.
No chance, bro.
“So anyway, thanks for dinner…” I said and took a step back.
“Whoa, hey, hold on. Where are you going so fast?” He gripped my wrist, squeezing hard enough to make the bracelets dig into my skin.
I glanced down at where he gripped me. “Are you freaking for real?”
“I’m super real.” He pulled me close. “Do you want to go back to my place? I have a Hockney.”
“A Hockney,” I said flatly. “Whose paintings routinely sell in the tens of millions.”
I wanted to add that a systems analyst at a mid-level marketing company wasn’t going to get his hands on a Hockney unless he stole it, but my parents taught me better than that. And hell, I taught art to little kids at West Hollywood Elementary; I was light-years from Hockney territory myself.
Brad shrugged with a self-satisfied laugh. “Okay, it’s a copy, but who cares? We won’t be looking at it much anyway.” He grinned and leaned in. “Because I don’t keep it in my bedroom.”
I don’t know which was more gag-worthy, that line or the whiff of the carbonara he’d had for dinner. I twisted my arm out of his grip and took another step back.
“Yeah, I’m going to call it a night.”
Brad frowned, perplexed. A little incensed. I’d offered to split the bill, but he wouldn’t hear of it. Now he wanted payback.
