Love You Forever (Serendipitous Love Book 5) Read online

  I eased myself down onto his chest, swallowing hard as I buried my face in his neck and willed my heart to stop racing. It was… different having him inside of me. He was heavy, and thick, and… it didn’t exactly hurt, but it did, and…

  What the hell am I doing?

  “Are you okay?” Harlan moved his hands up, wrapping them around my back to embrace me. “What’s goin’ on?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing,” I said, lifting my face toward his. “I’m just… nervous.”

  “Don’t be.” He cupped my chin, dipping his head to kiss me. A second later, he’d flipped me onto my back, and he eased out of me before he kissed me again. He plunged his tongue into my mouth, stroking deep as he lowered himself on top of me. I closed my eyes, enjoying the pleasant weight of his body pressed close to mine as our lips touched again. His hands were warm, soothing against my skin as he ran them over my legs and up my thighs, cupping and squeezing my butt before me moved them higher.

  He peeled me out of the nightgown and tossed it somewhere, and the bed shifted as he removed his boxers. When he touched me again, it was with his hand between my legs, coaxing them apart. I gasped as he pushed his fingers into me, plunging and stroking as his thumb rubbed slow circles against my clit.

  “You sound so sexy,” he murmured, then lowered his head, kissing his way over my chest in the dark until his mouth found my nipple. I whimpered as he tugged it between his teeth, gentle bites and soothing sucks as his hand worked between my legs.

  “How you feelin’?” Harlan asked, just before he kissed me again.

  “Amazing,” I moaned, as a frantic, fluttery feeling began in the pit of my belly, growing stronger and hotter as he kept stroking me. I latched onto that feeling, closing my eyes as tension flooded my body, making me ache and tingle, and tremble and shiver as it built higher, and higher. I grabbed Harlan’s wrist, gripping him but not pulling him away. I bit down on my lip, trying not to scream as tightness pooled in my stomach until I couldn’t hold onto it any longer, and it burst as I came with a loud cry.

  My chest was still heaving when Harlan pressed his mouth to mine in a gentle kiss. “I wish I could see you better,” he mumbled against my lips. “But that was beautiful, darlin’.”

  My breath caught in my throat, and I bit my bottom lip to suppress a smile he couldn’t even see. Harlan pulled his fingers away, but kept his thumb pressed against me as he positioned himself between my legs, then slowly pushed into me. I braced myself for pain again, but it never came, only sweet friction as he groaned against my ear. “How is it even possible for you to be this goddamned wet?” he growled, hooking my leg around his waist.

  I blushed over his words as he began to move, in slow, carefully measured strokes that made me clench around him. I moved my arms over his chest, draping them over his shoulders as I relaxed into his movements, and any residual anxiety melted away. Harlan put his face in my neck, nuzzling me with the soft scratchiness of his facial hair, making me laugh, and laughing with me as he stroked.

  He kissed my neck, my collar, my chin, my mouth, my breasts, everything he could reach as he slowly quickened to a pace that made it hard to catch my breath. His hands were everywhere, touching, caressing, squeezing, and teasing me between my legs as he moved. He anchored his arm around my waist, keeping me close, and that tightness from before began to wrap over me again. I closed my eyes as he brought his mouth to my ear, whispering filthy things about how good I felt, making me blush as he pushed me closer to the edge of another orgasm.

  His mouth went to my neck, sucking and biting as his thumb circled my clit. He felt so good, making me whimper and gasp each time he stroked into me, filling me up, until I dug my nails into his shoulders as I came. A few moments later, he slammed into me with one last growl, holding me tight against his body as he collapsed onto the bed.

  He rolled us over so that he was under me, but didn’t let me go. He cupped my face again, kissing me like he couldn’t stop, then finally released me.

  I closed my eyes and snuggled against his side, smiling about the heat that still throbbed between my legs. Harlan’s hand moved over my butt, then gripped and squeezed, and a shiver ran over my whole body, settling into a tingle in my fingers and toes.

  I felt myself dozing off, but that damned light from my phone kept pulling me awake. Beside me, Harlan had already drifted into sleep, but I eased away to grab my phone. I turned the screen on, then clapped my hand to my mouth to stifle a laugh.

  “I never got a response, Syd… you okay? – Quinn.”

  “Don’t text Quinn back. I told her Harlan must have your kitty purring, and to leave you alone. De-stress. Have fun. – Astrid.”

  Eight

  I woke up with my head spinning.

  I groaned, then reluctantly peeled my eyes open and grabbed my phone, turning off the blaring alarm. Once that was done, I laid back, staring in the direction of the ceiling as I inventoried the day’s responsibilities in my mind.

  Get to Stacks, have it open for the employees by 5:30, so it could be open to patrons by six. Finish the inventory lists for the month. Look over applications for servers, call some people in to interview. Call somebody to figure out why the back corner of the grill wasn’t working. Get with Syd so we could present the new syrups to Stacks. Order new nametags for…

  Wait.

  I groaned a little as Sydnee moved, pressing her warm, soft, bare skin against me as she tried to get closer, hooking her leg over my thigh. She mumbled something, then nestled against my chest, and everything that’d happened the day before came flooding back to me.

  And… holy shit.

  It was only four in the morning, and the sun wasn’t even up yet, so the room was still bathed in the darkness. But I didn’t really need to see. I could feel Sydnee’s breasts pressed into me, feel the heat between her thighs, and felt that she was wet again when she shifted her leg. I was painfully hard, and the memory of being inside of her, nothing between us, was coming back to me in vivid detail.

  We… had really done that.

  Holy shit.

  I carefully maneuvered my way out of bed, trying to let Syd remain asleep. I used the light from my phone to find my clothes and quickly dressed, then stepped into her bathroom to relieve myself. I had to get home, so I could clean up, and get to restaurant on time. If I wasn’t sure of anything else, it was that Stacks would want the diner up and running.

  I used her mouthwash to rinse my mouth until I could get to my toothbrush, then stepped out. The sun was finally starting to come up, and in the soft, dim light, I could see that Sydnee was still asleep.

  I made my over to the bed, then knelt over her, grinning over the fact that she now had her pillow clutched in her arms, similar to how she’d been holding me. I nudged her bare shoulder, gently, until she groaned, then turned over, slowly opening her eyes. She stared at me for a second before her eyes went wide.

  “Harlan…? Wha—?” She stopped, then peeked underneath the covers, obviously realizing she was naked, then slowly brought her gaze back to mine. “Oh… yeah. Last night.”

  I chuckled a little. “Yeah… we’ll talk about it. But right now I have to go…” Maybe it was my imagination, playing tricks in the semi-darkness, but she seemed to flinch a little, like my need to leave stung her. “The restaurant,” I quickly explained, finding her hand. “I have—”

  “I know,” she said, squeezing my fingers. “Go. We’ll talk.”

  I nodded, then pressed a kiss to her forehead. That didn’t feel like enough, so I tipped up her chin, and gave her a quick kiss on her closed lips before I headed out.

  By the time I made it to the hospital to check on Stacks, late that morning, I was exhausted. Up late drinking, sex, and then up early, constantly running, didn’t exactly work out to a good amount of energy. But I was in good spirits – kind of. A surprise text from Sydnee – who’d apparently unblocked my number after last night – had let me know that Stacks was in good condition. A few days in t
he hospital and he’d be ready to go home – which multiplied the likelihood of me ending up with a bullet to the ass.

  Obviously, I wanted Stacks alive and well. But I’d be lying through my teeth if I claimed to be unconcerned about how he’d feel about me and Sydnee being a “thing”. Cause to my mind, we were definitely about to be a thing.

  I paced the tiny space of the elevator as I waited for it to stop at the coronary care unit on the third floor. My last conversation with Stacks, after I’d kissed his daughter, had landed him here. I’d done a lot more than just kiss her now, so… maybe I should turn my ass around.

  But the elevator doors sprang open. I was here now, and I’d have to talk to him at some point anyway. I didn’t have to bring up Sydnee at all.

  After a short trip down the hall, I knocked on the door to Stacks’ room and then stepped in when Mrs. Natalie answered.

  “How you doing, baby?” she asked, chuckling as I wrapped her in a hug.

  I kissed her forehead, then let her go. “I’m good. You holding up okay?”

  She let out a heavy sigh, then glanced toward Stacks, who was sitting up in bed, watching our exchange. “I’d be better if this old man hadn’t tried to scare me to death, but I’m good.”

  “Who you calling old, old woman?” Stacks grunted, but behind the frown on his face I knew he was hiding a smile.

  Mrs. Natalie shook her head, then nudged me in the side. “Boy, a hit dog will always holler, won’t he?”

  “Be good to me, Natti,” Stacks said, then let out a few obviously fake coughs. “I’m sick.”

  “Oh whatever.” Mrs. Natalie waved him off, smiling as she turned in my direction. “Sydnee went to go find some coffee,” she said, like she just knew I was wondering. “I’m going to go find her and let you fellas visit.”

  She squeezed my arm, and then she was gone, leaving me alone in the room with Stacks. Since I met him, he’d always seemed damn near invincible to me. I’d watched him stand up for his staff against irate customers, protect his restaurant from troublemakers, break up fights, and throw a few blows of his own if it came to that, over the years. My father swore that Stacks had saved his life, fighting off Viet Cong enemies in the dead of night to drag him to safety. I’m not sure I ever really believed that story, but damn if Stacks didn’t look like he could do it. A big, solid guy, larger than life, but right now… he looked a little different.

  Laid up in bed, with all those monitors strapped to him, intravenous liquids trailing into his arm, nasal cannula feeding him oxygen… he didn’t look invincible at all. Seeing him like this made a fucked up feeling blossom in my chest, but I pushed it aside, and smiled.

  “What are you doing man?” I asked, pushing my hands into my pockets as I approached the bed. “You gonna let a little something like a heart attack keep you in bed? Thought you was tougher than that, Stacks.”

  He grinned. “Well, you know how it is. Can’t give away all my secrets, have to let the people think I’m human sometimes.”

  I shook my head, then extended my hand to him, shaking his before I sat down in the chair near the bed. “Got the grill fixed,” I said, clasping my hands in front of me, and resting my elbows on my legs as I leaned forward. “Heating coil went out again, same spot as last time. Might be time to consider a new one.”

  Stacks nodded. “What about replacing that server?”

  “Three interviews schedule for the end of the week.”

  “New name badges, with the logo engraved?”

  “Ordered. Should be here next Thursday or sooner.”

  “You trying to make a move on my daughter?”

  “I… what?”

  Stacks lifted an eyebrow, and my eyes went to the machines monitoring his vitals.

  “Oh, I’m just fine,” he said, the austerity in his voice bringing my gaze back to him. “Now answer the question. I know you didn’t think I forgot, did you?”

  I shook my head. “No sir, I just—”

  “Just what?” He frowned. “Hoped I’d ignore that you’ve been cozying up to my baby girl?”

  “No, I just… don’t you think this is a conversation for another time?”

  He shrugged. “I can’t think of a better time. I don’t have anything better to do than listen to you tell me exactly what type of relationship you have with Sydnee.” His eyebrow hiked up higher when I remained silent, too stunned to say anything. “Well, I’m listening son. Come on out with it. I’ve got all the time in the world.”

  I swallowed hard. What the fuck was I supposed to say? “Well… I… I care for Sydnee.”

  “How much?”

  “I—”

  “How much, son, it’s a simple question.”

  “A lot, sir. I care about her a lot.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me. “How long have you had feelings for my little girl?”

  I shrugged. “I… a while, I guess.”

  “And how long is that? A month? A year? Since the first time you stepped in Stacks? Since the first time you saw her? What?”

  “Years,” I said, scrubbing my face with my hands. “Years. Since… a little after she came home from school.”

  Where the fuck is the air conditioning in here? Is it set on hell?

  “So when I would hear all that late night giggling over the phone, that was you or that hippie girl, huh?”

  I fought the urge to grin. “Yes sir. I… guess so.”

  Stacks shook his head, and for a moment, the only thing punctuating the silence between us was the rhythmic beeps of his monitors.

  “What if,” he said, turning to me with a stony expression, “I told you I didn’t want you with my daughter? What then?”

  I frowned. “Well… I’d wonder why. Wonder what I’d done to give you the impression I wouldn’t do right by Sydnee, and hope I could change your mind. But, will all due respect, sir, Sydnee is a grown woman, and her desire to be with me or not ranks much higher than yours.”

  He drew his head back. “So you care so much for my daughter that you’d be willing to go against me, after I’ve treated you as my own for damn near ten years? From the beginning, I’ve expected you to treat Sydnee as your sister, but I see you’ve completely disregarded that. I’m not sorry to tell you, that you don’t have my blessing.”

  I blinked, hard. I wasn’t expecting that. But, still… “Respectfully, sir, Syd and I are adults. We don’t need your blessing. I would hope that my wanting to pursue Sydnee wouldn’t cause a rift, for me or for her. I would hope that it would be seen as me trying to gain a closer place in your family. But even if it’s not… yes. I care about her that much.”

  I stood up, intending to leave, but then behind me, Stacks spoke. “Hmph. Well at least I can see I didn’t raise either of you to be punks,” he said, shaking his head. “I would’ve sent your ass packing.”

  I tipped my head to the side in confusion as he kept grumbling, then straightened up when realization hit me. “Wait a minute,” I said, turning around. “Is this your way of saying…”

  “I’m not saying shit, boy.” He gave me a firm nod. “You made yourself clear, and I can respect that. But I’ll tell you now… let me see her shed a tear over you, you’ll wish you’d left her alone.”

  A smile spread over my face. “I wouldn’t expect any different.”

  I didn’t get the chance to say anything else before a nurse came in. While she was tending to him, I stepped out, and found Sydnee and Mrs. Natalie in the waiting room talking, with tiny coffee cups clutched in their hands.

  “Did he fall asleep?” Mrs. Natalie asked as I approached.

  I shook my head. “Nurse came in to administer meds and stuff, so I stepped out so they could talk.”

  “Meds already?!” she glanced at the pink leather watch on her wrist, and shook her head. “I guess it is time. Let me get down here and make sure this man isn’t giving the nurse a hard time about taking these pills. I had to give the last one a gift certificate to the restaurant after he made him cry.”


  I chuckled as Mrs. Natalie rushed away, then took the now empty seat beside Sydnee, who’d turned to look at her hands, avoiding my eyes.

  “Hi,” I said, nudging her shoulder with mine.

  She looked up then, with a shy smile. “Hi.”

  Sydnee had been up as late as me, drank as much, and been up as early – I doubted she’d opted to sleep in instead of going to the hospital – but somehow, she looked completely fresh. Her eyes were bright, face glowing, and her hair…

  “Your curls are back,” I said, reaching up to touch one of the soft coils she’d contained behind a headband. “I like it.”

  She blushed. “Yeah, you ruined my plans for straight hair for the summer. I had to wash it this morning, after… last night.”

  Syd looked away again after that, and I shook my head. She was acting really shy this morning, to have – as I remembered – been the one who initiated sex. But hell… I guess we didn’t have to talk about it right this moment.

  “So… Stacks gets to go home in a few days. That’s good, right?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, it is. No apparent complications, but he has a crapload of meds he has to take for a while. Dietary changes, has to get more active, all of that.” She looked up, and smiled. “He’s got a lot more years of stubbornness left in him, I guess.”

  I grinned back. “So have you talked? You’ve seen him since he’s been awake, right?”

  She pushed out a little sigh, then sat back in her chair, looking up toward the ceiling. “Yes. I’ve seen him, and we’ve kissed, hugged, all of that. Talked about everything except what we argued about. And I don’t see a reason to push it, at least not right now. Not while he’s here. I’m gonna just follow his lead, and for now, we seem to be taking the ‘pretend it never happened’ route. So…”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I get that.” I met her gaze, then reached out to touch her hair again. “So … are we doing that too? Pretending last night never happened?”