One More Time (16 page)

“I’m fine,” I rasped. His eyes shot to my mouth and darkened with need.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered, then he captured my mouth with his and all I could think about was him stripping me bare and taking me right there in the kitchen. I don’t think I’d ever wanted anything more.

The distinct sound of someone clearing their throat made us both pull back.

“Sorry to interrupt the show but I need coffee,” Sally said, passing by us.

Dillon let out a frustrated sigh and dropped his forehead to mine. “Make it up to you later?” he asked. Closing my eyes, I nodded my head. When I opened them back up, he gave me a smile that I felt all the way to my soul.
I’m in love with him
. The revelation both excited and frightened me. The last time I thought I could love someone, I had been terribly, terribly wrong. Wanna go house hunting today?” he asked.

I pulled back to see if he was serious. “What about work?”

“I’m off today and tonight.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Really?”

He smiled back at me. “Swear it. How ‘bout we shower, feed baby girl, and go, just the three of us. We’ll make a day of it. Sound good?”

“Yes!” I squealed and bolted past him for the bathroom. I was going to spend the day with my two favorite people and hopefully find a place to live. If I had anything to say about it, it would be a very big place,
where uninterrupted kitchen sex would be a regular occurrence.

The third place we looked at was townhouse on Sullivan Street. It was absolutely perfect. Upstairs consisted of two bedrooms, each of which had bathrooms attached. They were separated by a bonus room that was big enough to serve as Dillon’s office and also double as a guest room if necessary. Downstairs had a huge master bedroom and bath with a walk in closet. The kitchen had just been redone with hardwood floors, honey cabinets and granite countertops. It had everything a person could dream of. The living room had a huge fireplace and opened into the kitchen. Both rooms took up most of the front of the house. The dining room was off to the side and the washer and dryer were in a tiny room off of the kitchen. My favorite thing about the place was the screened in porch that spanned across the back of the house. It was amazing. I could tell by the way Dillon’s eyes lit up, he felt the same as I did.
This is it.

I was on cloud nine. That is, until we sat down with the realtor and started discussing numbers. Then reality set in. The asking price was too steep which meant the down payment would be too steep. I had a house in South Carolina and no job. Dillon and I weren’t married. In fact, we hadn’t even discussed the status of our relationship.
What are we?
What does he want us to be? Not even a week ago, I had his ex-girlfriend in my face telling me they were still together. Who’s to say he doesn’t get sick of us in a week, like my dad did, and just leave?
A myriad of disturbing thoughts flashed through my head and suddenly, all I could think about was getting the hell out of there.

“You okay, babe?” Dillon asked.

I realized I was gripping the side of the table and breathing heavily. Scooting back my chair, I stood. “Excuse me,” I said and bolted for the closest exit.

“Can you watch her?” I heard Dillon ask the realtor. By the time he got to me, I was in a full bore panic. Grabbing both of my shoulders, he jerked me into his chest and said, “Talk to me.”

“It’s too much money, Dillon. I don’t have a job. I have a kid and a house which I already can’t afford in South Carolina.” My eyes burned like they always did right before I cried. Pulling back, I looked into his beautiful face. “What are we doing here? You’re not my husband or…or even my boyfriend for that matter,” I stammered. “You’re the father of my child, but other than that, what are we?”

“Ibby,” he said, but I wouldn’t let him finish.

“What if you buy this place and it doesn’t work out between us? What then?” I threw my hands in the air in exasperation. “Can you even afford this place?” His eyes narrowed and I realized I had just insulted him. Bursting into tears, I buried my head in his chest. “I didn’t mean it like that,” I cried. He held me tight and soothingly rubbed his hands up and down my back.

“I need you to listen to me, okay?” I nodded my head. “I have more than enough money for this place. In fact, if it makes you feel better, I was planning on purchasing a house before I met you. As for what we are? Well, I didn’t quite plan on defining our relationship in the backyard of a house I might purchase, but what the hell? You are mine. Amelia is mine. I admit I was hesitant at first, but I’m not now. I want you both with me. I haven’t thought out all of the logistics, but for now just know the two of you, and that big-ass dog, belong to me.” My shoulders slumped in relief and he pulled me in tighter. “I’m crazy about you, Ibbs. Can’t you see that?” I could see that. I really could. “As for you not working, would it make you feel better if I promised to train you tomorrow night? You and Sally can alternate shifts. That way one of you can always watch Amelia. I need you both on Saturday nights but we can find a regular sitter for Amelia and make that your night to gig? Does that sound good?”

I pulled back and wiped my eyes. “Promise you’re not just saying what you think I want to hear?”

“Swear it,” he said. He opened his arms and I stepped into them. Wrapping them tightly around me, Dillon kissed the side of my head. “Now, how about I go and buy us a house?” he asked.

I looked up into his eyes and gave a watery smile.

When we got back inside, Amelia was awake and unhappy. I took her out of her bucket and showed her around the place, while Dillon talked numbers and signed papers. Given the owner had already relocated for his job, we would be able to take possession once inspections cleared and we were ready to close. That could be in as little as ten days.

After saying goodbye to the realtor, Dillon took us to lunch to celebrate. While there, he got a call from Kurt. I could tell by his facial expression, the call was not a good one. As soon as he hung up he sighed.

“Joss’s pregnancy is turning out to be a bad thing for me.”

Kurt apparently didn’t want to leave Joss so sick, so had asked Dillon to cover his shift. Not wanting to end our time together, I came up with the perfect solution. Before I announced my plan, though, I had to make sure Sally could watch Amelia. Luckily, she was game, as was Dillon. I was going to join him at Dragonfly that night and he was going to train me.

Dragonfly wasn’t at all as I remembered it. It was so much better. As Zac Brown’s
Keep Me In Mind
serenaded us, I took in the atmosphere. The dark wood bar and matching stools were gorgeous. There was a separate elevated area with pool tables and dart boards. There was also a section with booths and tables and a small stage area. I could just picture my cute rug on the floor under my coffee table and decorative lamp. Dillon and I were greeted by two beautiful women. One had wild curly blonde hair and huge boobs, the other had beautiful dark skin and incredible eyes. They both wore black shorts and black T-shirts with the name of the bar and a beautiful dragonfly on the front. I made a mental note to hit the boss man up for one of those T-shirts later.

“What are you doing back here?” blonde boobs asked.

“Joss is sick and Kurt didn’t want to leave her alone,” Dillon told them. Reaching over, he slid his hand into mine and pulled me closer. “I want you both to meet someone special. This is Isabella. Ibbs, this is Polly and Lena. They have both been working here with me since Dragonfly opened its doors,” Dillon explained.

Both girls were super sweet and very helpful. A couple of times, Dillon had to check on things in the back. Both times the girls stepped up and helped me behind the bar. Polly was a little nosy, but I didn’t mind. I knew they were curious about who I was and what I was doing with Dillon. As far as the bar went, it was the same old same old. Serving drinks wasn’t the difficult part, it was familiarizing myself with where everything was that slowed me down.

By eleven thirty, the place was empty. Dillon let Polly and Lena leave before us. While he was finishing up some paper work in the back, I wiped down the bar. Thank goodness I had thought to bring my breast pump tonight. I was exhausted, but at least I wasn’t leaking milk everywhere. I could even enjoy a beer, which I fully intended to do as soon as I wiped down the tables. Natalie Merchant’s voice echoed through the bar and I couldn’t help but sing along. “These… are… days… to remember.” I felt a warm, tall, body press against my back and inwardly smiled as I sang the next line. We stayed that way through the rest of the song and into
She Talks to Angels
by The Black Crowes.

“Have I ever told you how sexy you are when you sing?” Dillon asked. The growl in his voice as he whispered in my ear called to something deep inside me. His hand touched the back of my leg, directly below the hem of my skirt, and seductively inched up my leg.

I turned my head and his lips were a mere breath away from mine. Making sure not to touch, just to tempt, I said, “I don’t believe you have.”

He lightly brushed his mouth across mine. “You are the sexiest woman I have ever seen and you’re all mine.” Without warning, his tongue swept in and took control. I felt one of his hands on my neck and the other in my panties. “What have you done to me?” he asked. His finger rubbed across my slit and I gasped at how good it felt. “All I think about…every fucking second…of every fucking day… is being inside you. I don’t want to go to work because I don’t want to be away from you.” My pulse wildly raced. I was captured by his hands and captivated by his words. “What have you done to me?” he asked, again. His finger rubbing back and forth against my clit was about to cause irrevocable damage.

In a fog of lust, I blurted the first thing that came to mind. “I’ve loved you. That’s all.”

His finger froze in mid-motion and I dropped my eyes to the bar and closed them.
I just told an emotionally stunted man that I love him. What in the world am I thinking?

I expected him to pull away and run. Instead, he whispered, “Say it again.”

I lifted my eyes to see if I’d misunderstood him.

“Say it,” he urged.

“I’m in love with you,” I bravely admitted.

In one fluid motion, he yanked his hand from my panties and the other off my neck. Then using a sumo-he-man-move, he ripped my panties from my body and lifted me onto the bar. I watched him reach into his back pocket and snag a condom from his wallet. It all happened so fast. One minute I told him I loved him and the next he was deep inside me.

“Again,” he commanded, as he slowly pulled out and plunged back in.

My back arched in ecstasy and my eyes rolled in my head. The man was a sex god.

“I love you,” I breathily repeated.

Out and back in, he thrust. This time he added his thumb and forefinger to the mix. I was close to detonating.

“One more time,” he panted, as he stroked his thumb across my clit. Boom! It hit me and I was done.

“I love you!” I screamed out as I came apart around him.

He let out a long guttural moan as he came with me. Still deep inside me, he kissed the side of my head and whispered in my ear, “I love you, too.”

*     *     *

“I think I
might puke.”

“Do you normally have stage fright?” Piper asked. We were back stage, or since Dragonfly didn’t really have a backstage, we were leaning against the wall in an adjacent hallway waiting for Dillon and Gage to get my amp and microphone in place before I took the stage.

The past two days had flown by. Ever since Wednesday night, Dillon and I had been inseparable. I had never felt anything like it before. It was all consuming and I never wanted it to end. That’s why I felt sick. All of his friends had turned out to watch me sing. Half of them I hadn’t even met yet.
What if they hate me? What if I flub my lines or play the wrong chord?

“How do I look?” I asked, pushing off the wall and standing up straight. I had on a flowered baby doll dress with hot pink and black platform heels. My hair was hanging in waves down my back. It was vintage simple, yet elegant.

Piper snorted. “You’re gorgeous, as always.” When my eyes filled, she pulled me into a big hug. “Hey, they will love you. I promise.”

“I don’t want to disappoint him, Piper.”

She grabbed my face and made me look at her. “That man is nuts about you. I have never seen him act this way about anyone before. You and that precious little girl color his world. Do you hear me?” I nodded my head. “Good, now go kick ass,” she said, swatting me on the butt.

Straightening my shoulders, I pulled my guitar in tight and took the stage. The place was packed from wall to wall.
Pretend this is The Shot Glass,
I thought, as I made my way over to the stool and sat down. Just as I asked, the lights were turned off. Taking a deep breath, I plugged the amp into the bottom of my guitar. My set list tonight was all over the place. Most of the songs, people could dance to. A few, though, were meant specifically for Dillon. Closing my eyes, I rolled my shoulders and took a few deep breaths. I could make out Piper and Gage to my right. Max, Ellie, Kurt and Joss stood directly behind them. Dillon walked on stage and over to me, where he leaned down, gave me a big kiss and took the microphone. He nodded his head and I turned on the lamp. The stage lit up and the crowd went wild. Dillon looked back over his shoulder at me and winked.
This is what it’s all about.