Like I Would Forget... - Tara Leigh

Jen waved at her crazy crew of friends and closed the door. All of them were so generous to pull together a party of nearly epic proportions. She toed off her boots, groaning as the blood worked its way back into the arch of her foot. She’d worn the blasted boots for way too long.

They’d been a gift from him of course. Who else would she wear four inch heels for? She squished her toes into the pile carpeting in her living room, dropping into the oversized leather couch he’d insisted on buying. She smoothed her hand over the supple leather, smiling at the memory of the last time he’d been sitting there, beside her.

The tour had come to an end. He’d snuck in to see her before meeting his daughter for their special summer vacation. Ava, the light of his life. The reason why a sparkle had remained in those all too bleak eyes. The reason why he was coming back around and finding that man underneath the sadness.

The man who’d pushed her into a love so fast and so strong, she wasn’t sure what to do with herself some days. She embraced her independence. She loved her space…except when the nights got really long. Except when his eyes and his touch got stuck in her brain.

Except when it was her goddamn birthday and he hadn’t been able to come out to see her.
She slapped the seat he usually warmed and leaned back on the couch. She’d had an amazing time with her friends. Really she had. No one could say she wasn’t loved. She was freakin’ blessed.

She wanted Richie, dammit.

It was small and it was stupid to have such a little thing stick. She knew it wasn’t his fault that he had to work around Ava and her school schedule, the recording studio he’d booked to finally get those songs out of his beautiful head, or the stupid timing of her birthday.
Why oh why did it have to be on a Thursday? It wasn’t like she wasn’t going to see him. She was.

On Friday.

But it wasn’t Friday now. It was Wednesday. And her birthday was tomorrow. And her friends had made a special effort to take her out, get everyone together—a feat in itself, thank you very much—and give her a rockin’ evening.

The night before her birthday. What the hell was she going to do with herself for the entire day? She’d taken the blasted day off. He’d promised her a day together, just them. And she understood…she did. She knew that life didn’t always cooperate with plans. In fact, it usually fucked with them royally. But dammit…Hell, she could hear the whine in the voice in her head for God’s sake.

“Take a glass…hell, Jen, take a bottle of wine to bed with yourself and quit your cryin’.” She sniffed at the suspicious tickle in her nose. “Suck it up and put on your big girl panties.” She stood, heading for the kitchen. Dammit, she didn’t want anything to do with panties tonight. She wanted them around her ankles. She wanted them completely off and across the room and she wanted it to be Richie tossing said panties over his shoulder.

Rolling her eyes she opened the fridge. A quarter of a bottle of wine wasn’t going to do the trick. She glanced over to her meager wine rack and snorted. Past meager and heading on into empty. “Great,” she muttered.

“Maybe…” she trailed off and wandered back into her dining room. She had a bottle of cheap white in her china cabinet that her neighbor had given her for a housewarming. It would do the job. She went right for the cherry door and stopped.

She was seeing things.

She frowned and turned. In the center of her Gran’s dining room table sat a very pretty, very shiny purple box. White ribbon and silver coiling tails sprang all over the table. Next to the box was a twenty ounce bottle of Pepsi Max and a Red Bull with a post it note on it.

She snorted. How’d he know she was going to ask what the fuck was going on? She popped the top to the Red Bull and winced. Gads it was such an awful drink. She twisted her wrist to see her watch. Why in God’s name did he want her to drink a Red Bull this late?

She carefully lifted the lid. He was right, it was far too pretty to rip the shiny paper. One thing you could say about the both of them…the gypsy was deep in their souls. She traced her fingertip over the glossy paper and peeked inside.

A pretty silver keychain sat inside the very center of the box. Her name was engraved in a swirling script with a car key attached. The unmistakable L on the key itself left her breathless. He wouldn’t…

She heard the familiar buzz and tones of her cell and rushed to her purse. She flipped open her phone. One text message. Pressing a few buttons the screen showed it was from Richie.

Look in the alley.
Like I wasn’t going to do the
bday thing…plz. Ginseng
works for J—it’ll keep u up 2.
- R

Damn. She grinned as the Red Bull started juicing her. She tipped the box bottom, the heavy weight of the keychain landed in her hand. As if in a trance she went out her front door and around the side of her house.

A sleek black coup sat in the run down alleyway. “Holy crap!” Jen looked over her shoulder. No freakin’ way was that the car. She looked down at her hand depressed the unlock button and watched the lights fire to life with the distinctive beep of a high end car alarm. The snick of locks disengaging made her flinch.

Rounding the car, she opened door. That elusive scent that could never be duplicated wafted out. She took a deep breath. New car. There wasn’t quite anything like it in the world.

She gingerly climbed into the sports car and winced when her name was on the registration in the passenger seat. She knew he had a car problem, but to buy her one for her birthday?

It was insane.

She slid the key into the ignition and let the engine purr to life. Lights blinked a soft blue as a screen tumbled out and flashed on. The singularly most detailed, jacked stereo system filled the entire dash. What the hell was he thinking spending that kind of money on a car for God’s sake?

She’d assumed it would be a rental. But this was beyond rental status, moving on into custom’s custom.

“Hi, beautiful.”

Jen let out a quick gasp.

“Relax, it’s just me.” She looked at the small screen in awe as his face filled the screen. “Like your new toy? I know, it’s too much.” He grinned wide, his dimple winking in humor and that slice of naughtiness that he could never quite mask. He shrugged. “What do I have money for if I can’t spoil the ones I love?”

He sat back in the studio chair. Obviously he’d figured out how to make DVD’s on his pro-tools in the studio. She grinned. My how that could come in handy. He swung back and forth in the comfy leather chair. “I have a plan.” His eyes sparkled as he rubbed his hands together. “Don’t be scared, you’ll like it, I promise.”

She laughed.

“You might be wondering what the power aids were for.” He leaned into the camera again. Well,” his eyebrow quirked and the dimple resurfaced. “As soon as my ugly mug fades to black a GPS unit will come to life. Push the button for…ah, what the hell was it?” He frowned, scrunching his face up. “You know me and electronics, darlin’. Oh yeah…favorite places. That’s it.” He laughed in that sneaky way of his. “I think you’ll figure out why.”

“What the hell are you up to?” she asked the empty car. Right, like his DVD self was going to answer her.

“I know you’ll be wracking your brains to figure out what I’m up to.”

She snorted. “Sneaky, bastard.”

“Just go with it…you have to drive to your present.” His big hand came toward the camera as he pulled it closer, kissing the lens. She couldn’t stop the belly laugh. “I love you. See you in two hours, give or take a traffic ticket.” He waggled his finger at the camera. “Take the ticket, no flashing your charms to get out of the speeding ticket.” He laughed at his own joke and waved. “Ciao, bella.”

She shook her head as the screen blipped to a map. She pressed the on screen buttons until she got to the menu, then tapped the one for favorites and was rewarded with a two listings. “Ha!” One was her address. The other was an address in Chatham. “Why in the blue hell are you sending me to the Cape?”

She contemplated leaving right then, but the bar had left a coating of grime that had no place for a romantic rendezvous. She flew back into the house and headed to her bedroom, taking the stairs two at a time.

She knew it was foolish to grin like a lunatic, but…She boogied her way across the hallway into her room. She pushed to the back of her closet for the sleeveless little number that—Ah, there it was. She shook it out, taking it to her dresser. She spritzed a few shots of her perfume to freshen it and pressed it against herself in the mirror.

The plunging neckline was in a plum, raw silk. She whipped off a few scarves in the same purple with turquoise and gold threading. She finger combed the mess of curls and laid the dress on the bed.

She took the fastest shower of her life, making sure everything was smooth and perfect that needed to be smooth and perfect. Scrunching her hair with a touch of gel and a whole lotta volumizing mousse, she let it air dry.

Taking the time to lotion up, she layered in her scent until she was confident every inch of her was touchably soft. Taking a few minutes to play up her hazel eyes, she smudged the makeup until she looked perfectly wanton.

She dug into her drawer until she found the dark purple bra and panties she’d bought just for Friday and slipped into them. Snapping off a criss-crossing wrap around dress from her hanger she smoothed it over the lace. It hugged her nicely. She turned to the side snorting a little at the generous curve of her breasts. “Damn his eyes are gonna fall out.”

She dumped a few more things in her bag and tied the scarves to the handles. Hitting the stairs at a dead run, she groaned her way back into her boots and shot out the door.
She climbed back in the car, settling the seat to the way she liked it and flipped the visor down. A CD fell into her lap. Another post it note simply said, ‘play me’ so she shoved it into the cd changer.

“He even set me up with car tunes?” She tapped a few buttons until the GPS came back up and punched the, ‘go to destination’ key and shot out of the alley with the Beatles screaming out:
You say it's your birthday It's my birthday too, yeah They say it's you birthday We're gonna have a good time I'm glad it's your birthday Happy birthday to you

She laughed and followed the directions to the highway. She’d driven to the Cape a zillion times, but let herself be lulled by the GPS’s phone sex voice. Figured he would pick the one with the British Accent to tell her what to do.

Richie’s selections went from The Beatles to ZZ Top with a dash of pop, blues and as she hit the access road for the ocean-side houses an instrumental piece she’d never heard filled the car.

It was Richie. There was no doubt about it. The melody and the structure screamed his name, but it was different from his usual work. Ava’s Eyes had always held a special place in her heart, but this one? She pulled into the drive and let the haunting layers of the song crawl inside of her. Sighing she turned off the car and grabbed her bag. What that man could do to her.

“Working title is, ‘Jen’.”

“Holy shit!” She whirled, dropping her bag. “Don’t do that!”

Richie melted out of the night. The twinkle lights that lined the gate left him in a soft glow. He leaned down and picked up her bag, dropping a kiss on her mouth. “Happy Birthday, babe.”

“It’s not my birthday ye—“

He hauled her in, his lips focused and just as destroying as she remembered. He took, again and again…his tongue didn’t wait for permission, just swept in to taste and to tease. When she pulled back for breath, he simply laughed. “It’s midnight. Officially your birthday, darlin’.”

She smiled. “Well, I am all about that.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “That car is way too—“

His kiss halted her words, and when she couldn’t form a complete thought, let alone words, he hooked an arm around her neck and aimed her toward the stairs.

“So whenever I say something you don’t like, I get kissed stupid?”

“About right.”

“I’m good with that. Richie..the car is too—“ She laughed against his mouth as they came to the stairs. She stepped up one until they were even in height. “You are a wonderful man.”

“You may talk freely now.”

She shook her head and fussed with the open line of his silky dark shirt. “I can’t believe you did all this for me.” She looked around the dark property. The smell of the ocean was overwhelming and relaxing. She could hear the water lapping at the sides of the rocks as the tide started its way in. Twinkle lights lined the banister that led to the squat, mini-lighthouse looking building at the top of the bluff. “It’s gorgeous.”

“I wanted something special for your birthday. We don’t get nearly enough time together.”

“My house or yours would’ve been just as amazing.”

“Ah, but no one can find us here.”

Her eyebrow rose. “You are very correct there, sir.”

He brushed his jaw against her cheek. “I’m a smart guy, no matter what people say.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely.”

He grabbed her hand and started up the stairs, two at a time. “C’mon, wait until you see the inside.”

While her stride wasn’t as long as Richie’s, she did manage to keep up. They got to the top and the entire inside was glowing with candlelight. It was definitely a Cape Cod house with the traditional lines and colonial feel, but the furniture was well loved and comfortable looking.
He’d thought of everything from the sparkling—she grinned—cider to the candles in every holder and surface until the house smelled of vanilla spice. A silver domed tray lay on a table next to the fireplace. The terrace doors were open, the balmy September evening teasing that summer still had a little bit more breath in her.

She walked to the doors, her breath hitching at the waves that lapped there just below the rocks. The nearly cloudless sky, shot with a freckle dusting of stars, framed the bay and shone with a proud moon that rippled along the lazy tide.

She sighed as his hand slid along her hip and around her waist, his spine tinglingly long fingers rested just below the full curve of her breast as the rest of him bumped along her back. “How do you always know what I need?” She closed her eyes as his lips feathered across her temple. She drew her own hand over his, lacing their fingers. “You missed your calling with the mind reader thing.”

“The sea heals me, only right that it do the same for you. I’m sorry I couldn’t be here with you and your friends tonight.”

His voice was like the satin night, sparkling and dark with a touch of heat. She shivered. He did this to her, for her and because of her. “It doesn’t matter, this is more than I could have ever hoped for.”

“Hell, I haven’t even begun. Hungry?”

She shook her head, turning in his arms. “Well,” her eyebrow arched, “not for food anyway. Touch me, Richie,” she whispered.

“Thank God,” he moaned into her mouth. One hand gripped her lower back, pulling her forward until there was no barriers, no air between them. The other, burrowed into her curls until he found the curve of her neck, arching her up until she was on the very edge of her tip toes.

The kiss was one of those that books compared to a ‘destroyer of worlds.’ The kind of kiss that poured through your blood until it slowed everything down to one moment in time, followed by one taste and one doubtless connection. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingertips digging into his broad shoulders and held on. What else could you do when your man showed you, in the simplest of terms, just what you meant to him?

His fingers slid into the stretchy cotton of her dress, the pads of his fingertips tracing down her spine until he found the snap of her bra. A deft flick and she was unbound, yet he still traveled lower, dragging the dress down with him. A quick intake of breath, followed by her name left her drowning as it pooled at her hips.

His dark eyes heated at the deep purple cups that held on by a prayer to the very edges of her breasts. She licked her lips as he stopped, his gaze sweeping her as effectively as a touch. With one finger at each of the satin straps he drew them down her arms, revealing her to his eyes. He didn’t say a word, the thick night air on her back and the searing power of his gaze told her volumes.

He wanted her.

The bra fell to the floor, she swiped it aside with her boot, her legs opening to steady herself. When he looked at her like that, she felt dizzy with it. It never ceased to surprise her, the overwhelming wave of love and lust that tumbled inside of her. He brought his fingertip over the slim chain at her neck. The cross that matched his, bold with rubies and heavy with purpose.

Not for the religion alone. For the faith he had in her…in them. For the moments shared and to be shared in the future. Symbolism was so close to the man and to the heart that could have been closed off. Instead, as with all the things that mattered, he loved openly and freely with everything inside of him.

He trailed the whisper-soft touch down the slope of her chest until he found the heavy curve of her breast, winding around the soft, dark pink tip and cupped her with both hands. His thumbs brushed over her nipples, watching her reaction to him.

It had been so long…so much time had passed since he’d touched her last. Even this simple touch had her body screaming for more, arching into his touch, her teeth scraping over her bottom lip, halfway to begging. He pulled away and she whimpered. His lips—those full, teasing lips—stretched into a grin as potent at his touch.

He flipped open the buttons to his shirt, shrugging it off as he stepped into her space. He brushed her hair over her shoulders, his eyes changing from heat to sweet as he toyed with the curls for a moment. His hands curved around her shoulders, tugging her in and she hissed as their bodies made contact for the first time.

His heat—always so warm, even in the dead of winter—seared her, completed her…eased her. His hands cupped her jaw, his thumbs brushing over her cheekbones with as much care as he’d done to her breasts.

He wanted slow.

He wanted easy.

He wanted to drive her to the brink with that slow and easy touch.

The man was the sweet version of a sadist. He knew how to draw it out, how to make her nuts with the wanting. She was pretty sure he got off on it. Good thing she did too.

He drew her mouth up to his, tasting her with that clever tongue that would taunt and please.

She moaned into the kiss, her hands at her sides, now restless with the need to touch, to drive him to the madness she could feel creeping in on the corners of her world.

She brushed the worn denim at his thighs, smiling into the kiss when she felt the quick jerk of surprise as his muscles clenched. Instead of stopping her, he continued his destruction via a kiss. Her knuckles brushed across his silky belly, the button of his jeans right there waiting for her.

Two could play the game of seduction as she followed the slim line of soft hair at his navel up to the steel hidden there in his powerful mid section, then down to the snap. He scraped his teeth down her lower lip as she slowly followed each tooth of zipper. The heat of him there, just millimeters away from her…she turned her hand easing inside just as he twisted her against the doorjamb.

“Tsk-tsk, love.” He grinned, letting the tip of his tongue trace along her lower lip. “Tonight is for you.”

“Well the Birthday girl wants to unwrap that particular gift,” she tugged open the jeans as they started their slide down his non-existent hips.

He grabbed her hands with one long fingered hand and drew them up over her head. “Now, now…it’s not time for that yet.” His eyes flared as her full breasts lifted. She could feel the night on them now, the moist sea filled air turned the tips to points of fire.

He took a step down into the pretty gardens that butted up against the house. It was just enough of a change in height to bring his mouth to her chin and from there…it was really so easy to dip down for a taste. She arched away from the door as he sucked her nipple into his hot mouth. He pinned her wrists to the doorway as he went from one to the other, his knee settling between her thighs, rubbing slowly in time to the pulls of his mouth.

She wore no hose under the dress, so the friction of his denim on the silk of her oversensitive thighs had her half crazy. She clasped her knees around his thigh and held him there against her.

Her head drifted back against the battered wood, the scratch of sea worn paint added a different flavor to them now. “I want to taste every inch of you twice before I sink inside you.”

“Oh God,” she whispered.

He stepped down again, drawing her with him. “Let me love you under the stars tonight.”
She nodded and followed him to the circular lounger outfitted in crisp cotton adorned with a trio of flickering lanterns on the glass top table beside it. It was decadent…the feel of the air on her breasts, half dressed as she followed him. The skirt of her dress flirted with her knees, swishing in the light breeze.

He stopped her at the edge of the blissfully large outdoor bed, He hooked his fingers into the waistline of the dress, slowly drawing it over her hips and thighs. Working her free of the boots until it was just her and the matching panties.

His fingers were reverent and the dangerous glint of uncontrolled lust was banked now. The sweetness was swirling in his deep brown gaze. She wasn’t sure which part she wanted more.

He urged her back, dropping his own jeans so they were skin to skin now.

She could feel the heavy weight of his erection at her hip, the heat of him burning until she opened for him. He left her panties alone, instead he followed his promise and the directive stated. He loved each and every inch of her from neck to the arch of her foot.

On the return trip, he added a chaser of smooth, sure kneading. His fingers molded her flesh until she opened her thighs for him. He grinned up at her, his mouth hovering over the drenched edges of her panties as he blew hot breath out and drew a deep one back in. “God, you’re so hot and wet for me, even through the material I can see,” he brushed a knuckle over the hood of her and she jerked.

He laughed, flicked the tip of his tongue over the material and resumed his touch. Her panties still on, dammit. She undulated under him restlessly. “You proved your point. I got it, I felt the touches twice—“

“Not yet,” he said and curled his tongue along the top edges of the purple satin, tucking the tip under the stretchy fabric. She arched up against him, groaning when he simply slid his hands under her. “Thank you,” he said and kneaded the curve of her ass.

“Richie,” she moaned and jerked up. “I need you inside me, not teasing me.”

He didn’t say a word, just worked his way up over her belly, along her hips up to the convex curve of her ribcage until it met in the center, then up to her breasts again. He cupped them together, laving the tips.

Lust and frustration banged at her brain, until she smiled down at him. “Put your cock there, between my breasts. I want to feel how hard you are. I can feel you digging into my belly…my hips.” She shuddered beneath him, rocking against him, urging him up higher. “I want to taste you.”

The light flickered into his eyes again. She could feel how closely he was holding in his lusty side. He wanted to make tonight beautiful for her. She could feel the giving and the pleasure he was getting from her reactions. But she wanted to participate.

She was done sitting here, taking all the delicious torture. She wanted to touch and taste. “I want it. I want to feel that silky hardness filling my mouth.”

He rose onto his knees, straddling her as he dropped lower until the tip of his head brushed against her breast.

“Yes,” she whispered, her fingers cupping around his as she pushed her breasts together again, tighter this time. He shuddered as he slid upward. She waited for his length, aching for a taste. Her mouth watered as he plunged up and she opened her mouth for the first brush of silk.

Too fast, he dragged his hips back and slowly up to the warmth of her. She curved her hands around his thighs, digging her fingers into the muscles, moving higher until she cupped his ass, driving him into her mouth.

He wavered, either he’d upset the uneasy balance of the lounger or he’d come and let her taste. He leaned forward, letting her take him deep into her mouth. She moaned her appreciation and watched him tip his head back enjoying her smooth warmth.

She took her time, sucking and stroking until his eyes blazed. She watched him, their eyes locked as she sucked him deeper as she cupped his balls. He groaned and pulled back, lowering himself until he could cover her.

“Not tonight,” he moaned into her mouth. “I want to come inside you tonight.” He lifted her thigh up onto his hip and brushed the head of his cock against her slit. He stayed there, rocking in a scant inch before drawing back.

She dragged her nails down his back and held him firm. “You need to come inside me now. You need to fill me up—“ she gasped as he drove into her. “God, yes!” She cried out and locked her thighs around his hips, holding him inside her.

Her body was beyond caring. She needed him now. She pulsed around him, squeezing down on his thick, hardness. His mouth fastened over hers, the slow ride of his hips as he pressed back into her was mimicked with his mouth. The tandem of push and pull, stroke and slide pushed her beyond the first brain melting orgasm.

He rode it hard, she held on as he slammed inside her. Finally, letting himself go as he chased the next step toward madness. She wrapped herself completely around him, her body jerking with each invasion. She took it, reveled in it…loved the loss of his control.

He slid a hand between them to ensure the coming tide, but she muscled him back. “Just you,” she whispered, closing around him. “Just you,” she whispered into his neck as he buried his nose into her shoulder. “Just you,” she said as her body quaked around him. The fullness was what she wanted, what her body craved as she screamed his name into the sparkling night.

His thrusts went deeper, came harder as he followed her. She could feel the release in him, soul deep. “I love you,” he whispered. His sweat slickened face pressed against hers until he could find her mouth. “Only you.”

She cupped his face and sweetened the kiss, letting the lust slip away into the night, leaving just the sweetness…just her Richie. “I love you too, Richie.”

~

They lay like that for a long time. Not quite sure what to say after such a flood of emotion and play for control. She curled into him, the once balmy air seemed to cool down as the sweat dried on her skin.

“Did I crack the top ten birthdays?” he asked against her neck. She could feel the smile in his lips even before he lifted his head.

“Baby, that list was destroyed on the first kiss in this house.” She looked up at him. “You always know what I need, always know what to do to make me feel like a million dollars.”

“Priceless,” he qualified.

Her smile grew. “All right, I’ll go with priceless.”

“Happy Birthday, Jen.”

“Hell yeah,” she said and they laughed together.



The end.