Love Like Ours (Sugar Lake Book 3) Read online

  He moved with her, cupping her breasts and kissing her shoulder. “You are everything, Talia. Everything good, everything sweet, everything I want.”

  His breath sailed over her skin, but it was his words that sent her heart into overdrive. “I need to see you,” she pleaded.

  In the next breath she was cradled beneath him, cocooned by his body, loved by his touch, and cherished by those devastating blue eyes as he whispered the words that fed her soul over and over again between frantic kisses.

  “You’re everything I want, Tallie. Everything . . .”

  Then his words silenced, and their bodies took over, transporting her to a world billowing with passion. Her skin was on fire, and she felt full to near bursting as her climax engulfed her like a magnificent beast, crashing over her in thunderous waves, dragging her to the depths of pleasure as Derek swallowed her cries, surrendering to his own powerful release, and ground out her name like a prayer.

  Much later, after they came down from the clouds, Talia lay wrapped in Derek’s arms, her cheek on his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair, pressing kisses to her forehead between sweet whispers of adoration, each one filling an empty space inside her. She drifted off to sleep feeling safe and whole for the first time in her life.

  The scent of Talia wound through Derek’s dreams, drawing him closer to wakefulness, but he fought against it. He didn’t want to leave the blissful place their bodies had taken him. He wanted to memorize every little thing about her. The feel of her hair brushing over his chest, the nervous and insanely sexy look in her eyes as she lowered her luscious mouth around his cock, and the overwhelming feeling of unity when he lay buried deep inside her. But the most trusting thing, the thing that told him she was his, happened afterward. When he’d gone to wash up, she’d been too sated and tired to move. She’d let him bathe her with a warm, damp cloth. It was a first for him, and he somehow knew it was a first for her, too. His urges to protect her, to care for her, to love her and be close in every way possible were stronger and more natural than anything he’d ever experienced. They hadn’t had sex. They’d surpassed lovemaking. He’d only been half-right when he’d said Talia was his everything. They were everything.

  Talia sighed in her sleep, snuggling against him. He blinked away the fog of sleep and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She lay on her stomach, the covers bunched around her hips. Her dark hair streamed across the pillow like silk. He gently pushed a lock away from her cheek and brushed several kisses there.

  “Mm.” She tipped her cheek up for another kiss.

  “Morning, beautiful.”

  He moved over her, kissing her shoulders, the gentle curve of her spine, all the way down to her perfect ass. He ran his hands over her hips, lavishing each cheek with kisses, then trailed his tongue down the backs of her thighs. Her hips rose, and he slid his hand between her legs, finding her slick heat, which pulled a moan from his lungs. She turned beneath him, gazing up with sleepy eyes and smiling. He kissed her softly before moving lower and running his tongue in circles around her nipple, then blowing cool air over the wetness the way he’d learned she loved.

  She inhaled a jagged breath. “How much time do we have?”

  “Never enough,” he said, and glanced at the clock. Six thirty. His heart sank. They had maybe an hour before his father woke up, which meant they really had about half an hour just to be safe. Rushing through their first morning together wasn’t what he’d imagined, but then again, he’d take whatever they could get.

  She touched his lips with her fingers and said, “Stop thinking, start kissing.”

  And he did. Thoroughly. They made love in bed, fooled around in the shower, and as they dressed for the day, he watched her step into a pair of pretty lace panties and itched to touch her again. He raked a hand through his hair, aroused again as she put on her bra and turned, giving him an eyeful of her in a matching lace bra—then stole it away when she pulled on a sweater.

  He folded his arms around her as the sweater tumbled into place. “Come home with me after dinner with your parents tonight.”

  “You sure? What if your dad sees us and has a hard time?”

  “Then we’ll reconsider. I hate sneaking you in and out like this. Thank you for putting up with it.”

  A tease rose in her eyes as she said, “It was pretty hard to put up with the best sex of my life, and waking up in your arms? Well, that’s annoying.”

  He pressed his lips to hers. “You know what I mean. I feel ridiculous sneaking around.” Thinking of how quickly his father forgot things, and how his reactions to identical stimulants were not always the same, he said, “I’d like to think we’ll figure something out, but I’m not in a position to make any promises.”

  “Stop worrying. I’m not a kid who doesn’t understand responsibilities. Besides, this is another page for our journey book.”

  “Our book?”

  “Sneaking around deserves a page, and I’ve been thinking, I’m probably not the only one stepping outside my comfort zone. Have you ever snuck a woman into your room before?”

  “A woman? No. When I was sixteen, I snuck a girl in. We didn’t have sex. We just kissed and I think I felt her up. The next morning I was arrogant as hell, and my father looked over the rim of his coffee cup and said, ‘Next time you sneak a girl in, I’m dragging your ass to her house to tell her father why you thought it was a good idea.’”

  Talia laughed. “Did you do it again?”

  “Are you crazy? Nothing’s scarier than a teenage girl’s father.” He twirled her hair around his finger and said, “But I’d gladly explain this to your father. Nothing scares me where you’re concerned, Talia. Except the thought of not being with you.”

  He lowered his lips to hers, and the alarm on his father’s door sounded. They both froze. Derek cursed under his breath.

  “Sorry, babe. This might get uncomfortable.”

  “More uncomfortable than confronting a teenage girl’s father?” She slipped her feet into her heels and pulled her bag over her shoulder. “I think we can handle this. You go out and distract him, and I’ll slip out the front door.”

  “I should be shot for putting you in this position,” he said as he put on his boots.

  “Does that mean you don’t want me to come tonight?”

  “Baby, I want you to come many times tonight.” As he expected, her cheeks flushed, making his heart squeeze. “I feel guilty, but not guilty enough to want a night without you.” He took her in one last, fierce kiss and said, “Operation Distraction, here I come.”

  He found his father standing at the living room window in his blue pajamas. “Good morning, Pop. How’d you sleep?”

  The familiar pause hung between them as Derek’s father scanned his face, and Derek held his breath, wondering if he’d be Archie or Derek or if he’d frighten his father altogether. His father turned back to the window, gazing outside for what seemed like forever.

  “Are you hungry?” Derek finally asked.

  His father studied his face again, and Derek imagined drawing this image in a journal, showing himself suspended between darkness and light.

  His father’s eyes shifted over his shoulder and brightened. “Who is that?”

  Derek turned, and Talia winced, mouthing, Sorry.

  He mouthed, It’s okay, then said, “Pop, this is my friend Talia.”

  She wiggled her fingers with an apology she didn’t need to make showing in her eyes. “Good morning.”

  “Well, hello.” His father walked past him and said, “Talia is a pretty name. Would you like to have breakfast with us?”

  She glanced at Derek with a question in her eyes. He was so damn happy to have averted an unpleasant scene, he said, “Yes, she’d love to join us. I’ll make tuxedo mochas.”

  “Wonderful.” His father walked into the kitchen and said, “I’ll cook.”

  Derek dropped a kiss on Talia’s cheek and said, “Thank you, baby. We’ll make it quick so you’re not late.” H
e hurried to his father’s side. Knives and Alzheimer’s were not a good combination. “We’ll do it together, Pop. But how about if we get you dressed first?”

  Talia set her bag in the foyer and joined them in the kitchen.

  “I am dressed,” his father said. He glanced at Talia. “And she looks beautiful and hungry. She needs applewood bacon and eggs on flatbread. Get the spinach, would you, Derek?”

  It was funny how, as a kid, the way his father said his name incited different feelings. First name only was usually good. First and middle came with a scolding. But now, any time his father used his name was a gift in which he reveled.

  “That sounds delicious. Can I help?” Talia asked.

  “Spinach, coming up,” Derek said as he grabbed the greens from the refrigerator.

  “You can help shave chocolate for my boy’s froufrou drink,” his father said. “Then sit your pretty little behind down and let the men make the feast.”

  “Now that sounds like a plan.” She smiled wide, her brows lifting in Derek’s direction, obviously as pleased with the morning’s welcome as he was.

  Derek set the ingredients on the counter, put a hand on his father’s shoulder, and said, “I think it’s going to be a really good day.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, after Talia walked Molly and Derek put the finishing touches on his gift for her mother, he met Talia at her house with a bag of groceries. When they were cooking breakfast that morning, Talia had mentioned that her mother’s favorite dish was vegetable kugel, and he’d promised to teach her how to make it. Now she sautéed leeks while he shredded vegetables.

  “You make everything seem easy,” she said.

  “That’s funny.” He set down the zucchini he was shredding and moved behind her. “You make everything hard.” He kissed her just above the neckline of her soft pink sweater. She stopped stirring as his hands came around her waist, and he said, “Uh-uh. Caramelized leeks need stirring, Tallie girl.”

  She sighed needily and angled her head to the side, allowing him to lavish her with openmouthed kisses.

  “Is this how you teach all your girlfriends to cook?” she teased.

  “I only have one girlfriend, and I actually prefer to teach her naked, but I’m afraid hot oil and bare skin don’t mix well.”

  She leaned into him and said, “That’s what cooking time is for, remember?”

  He growled in her ear and nipped at her lobe, earning the sexiest little gasp. “I’m glad you remembered.” When he’d promised to teach her to make the dish, he’d also promised to make the cooking time well worth her while and had proceeded to tell her about all the things he planned to do while the kugel was cooking.

  After fulfilling all his dirty promises, they drove to Talia’s childhood home, which Willow and Zane had purchased from her parents when her parents had moved to a smaller home around the corner. Derek gazed up at the sprawling white Victorian, waiting for his nerves to kick in, but all that came was the urge to claim Talia in front of her family. To let them know how special she was to him and that they didn’t have to worry about him hurting her. But first . . .

  He climbed from the car, feeling Talia’s eyes on him as he came around to help her out. She went rigid in his arms, a bundle of nerves and unsurety, both of which he aimed to obliterate as he brushed his lips over hers. She grabbed the front of his jacket, kissing him carefully at first. He took the kiss deeper, running his hands up her back and into her hair, and he felt her tension draining from her limbs. He continued kissing her, slow and sweet, until she melted against him with a dreamy sigh. Only then did he put a whisper of space between them and gaze into her eyes.

  “That has to hold me over for a very long time,” he said.

  “Then maybe we should do it again, just in case dinner runs late.”

  She didn’t have to ask twice.

  After several heat-thrumming kisses, he grabbed her mother’s gift bag from the back of the car, and carried it, along with their covered dish, and draped his other arm around Talia.

  “You didn’t have to get my mother a gift. What is it?”

  “You’ll see,” he said as they climbed the porch steps. “I bet you have a lot of good memories here.”

  “A lot of loud memories.” She placed her hands on his chest, making it clear she wasn’t ready to go inside yet. “Whatever you do, don’t accept any lotions, oils, or any other little gifts from my mother. She swears she puts love potions in them. My family is probably going to be super annoying.”

  He chuckled. “Families are supposed to be annoying. It’s their job to embarrass you, and I’ll bet they put me through the wringer to see if I measure up for their very precious sister and daughter. I think I can handle them.”

  “I haven’t brought a guy home for years, so they might just stare at you slack-jawed.”

  “Babe, do you really think they can scare me off?”

  “They can scare me off,” she said flatly.

  “Then I’ll have to hold on tight.” He hauled her in for another kiss, balancing the dish against his hip. If her siblings were going to try to make her feel funny, he’d make sure she knew he was right there with her every step of the way and give her something much better to focus on. He heard the front door open and continued kissing her a second longer than he probably should have, but she felt too damn good to let go. And he knew she thought she didn’t measure up to her sisters, and he wanted whoever answered that door to know, even sight unseen, that she blew them away—and nothing would come between them.

  Three formidable men stood shoulder to shoulder, arms crossed, glowering at him with what he assumed were supposed to be threatening expressions, but the only one who pulled it off was the one on the left, the broadest of the three. He had military-short hair, granitelike features, and a glare that could cut steel. Derek recognized the dude in the middle as her brother, Ben, from the pictures he’d seen at her place. Ben was slimmer, though still muscular, had a softer face, and warm though serious brown eyes, while the third guy looked like he was going to bust into hysterics at any moment. He recognized him, too. It would be hard not to recognize Zane Walker, who’d spent years as an A-list actor.

  Derek met their glares with a friendly expression. “How’s it going?”

  Zane straightened his spine, lifting his chin in greeting. Ben and the tough guy on the end mimicked his chin lift but didn’t crack a smile.

  “Good Lord,” Talia said under her breath.

  Ben nudged Zane with a tight expression, causing Zane to double over in laughter. Guess he’s not such a great actor after all.

  “Dude!” Ben shook his head as laughter fell from his lips.

  Zane splayed his hands. “What?”

  Derek stifled a laugh.

  “You three are ridiculous.” Talia waved at them. “Derek, meet Bodhi Booker, Bridgette’s fiancé, who, believe it or not, is smiling at you right now.” The edges of Bodhi’s lips twitched. Talia had explained that Bodhi was a guarded guy who had seen such treacherous things when he was fighting overseas, he didn’t open up easily. “My brother, Ben, and Zane Walker, Willow’s husband.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Ben said warmly. “Hurt my sister, and you’ll have him to deal with.” He pointed at Bodhi, who stood up straighter, puffing out his chest.

  Derek was glad Talia had men looking out for her.

  “Forget Bodhi.” Zane chuckled. “Hurt Talia and you’ll have Piper to deal with.” He shook Derek’s hand.

  Bodhi almost cracked a smile as he outpowered Derek’s friendly grip.

  “Nice to meet you,” Derek said as a woman who was petite as a bird with fierce eyes and straight blond hair came down the hall behind them, followed by a much curvier, friendly-looking blonde, her gaze set on Zane. He recognized Piper and Willow because they fit Talia’s descriptions to a tee.

  “Here we go,” Talia said as Piper bullied her way around the men and set her hands on her hips, staring at Derek with
a shocked, and appreciative, expression.

  Willow put her hand on Zane’s shoulder. “What kind of trouble are you boys causing?” She glanced at Derek and blinked several times. “Wow.”

  “Hey.” Zane swept her into his arms, making her laugh.

  “I just meant, wow, they’re here,” Willow said, though no one was buying it. Even Talia rolled her eyes.

  “My ass, you did.” Piper stepped onto the porch, shamelessly looking Derek up and down. “Where have you been Talia’s whole life? And where can I get one of you?”

  “Apparently in the college parking lot,” Ben mumbled.

  Derek chuckled.

  “Okay, that’s it.” Talia took Derek’s hand, pulling him toward the door as she said, “Derek, this is Piper. She has no filter.”

  “I have a filter,” Piper argued. “I just choose to go unfiltered.” Her eyes swept over Derek again. “You look familiar.”

  “Because he looks like that guy you liked from Lost that you lusted over for so long,” Willow said. “Hi, Derek. I’m Willow. Moderately filtered.”

  “I’ve heard a lot about you all. It’s nice to meet you. And, Willow, thank you for making baklava the other night. It was delicious.” He held up the covered dish and said, “Wait until you see what Talia made.”

  “Good thing Mom cooked,” Ben said as they headed toward the kitchen.

  Derek glared over his shoulder. He knew Ben meant it as a joke, but he felt protective of Talia, and he wasn’t going to let tonight turn into a circus at her expense. “Watch yourself,” he warned. “You’ll be eating those words when you taste this.”

  Talia squeezed his hand. The surprised and appreciative look in her eyes made the disapproving look in Ben’s worthwhile. He kissed her as they entered the kitchen, where there was a flurry of activity going on. He recognized the rest of Talia’s family from the pictures in her house. Her mother’s blond curls billowed around her smiling face as she set a tray of meat in her husband’s hands.

  “You’re here!” Her mother hustled across the kitchen toward them, her long colorful skirt swishing around her legs. She hugged Talia. Then she opened her arms to Derek and said, “Hi. I’m Roxie, and I’m so glad you made it.” She embraced him, and as they drew apart, she touched his hair. “I brought you a bottle of my special body oil. I’ll have to remember to bring you some of my lavender conditioner next time for that gorgeous head of hair.”