Sweet Solace (The Seattle Sound Series Book 1) (26 page)

There was a knock on the door. Soft. Just a knuckle. Asher was in my room. My knees turned to jelly.

* * *

H
e looked taller
. No, he’d lost weight. I wanted to go to him, soothe him. I hadn’t realized how much I needed to know I could calm him, too. The pain in my chest expanded, licking into my throat.

Asher’s eyes slid from my mouth to meet my steady gaze.

“I was stuck in the divorce hearings. Your evidence both helped and also slowed the process. I had to finish the sound track, too, because we had the studio time all booked. Media’s been a bitch.”

My skin chilled, but I kept my eyes steady on his, hoping he wouldn’t call my bluff.

“Social media is an amazing tool,” he said. His fingers tapped his thigh. “Especially for my new hobby of cyber stalking.”

I swallowed. This was it. We were over. At least he had the decency to tell me in person, unlike Luke who’d simply switched his relationship status on Facebook.

“Mmm.”

“But you weren’t on social media. And you haven’t posted anything on your blog or updated your website. It’s like you’ve been hibernating. You thought I was leaving you.”

Thought? He had. For three weeks. Of course we were over.

“Dahlia, if I hadn’t talked to Abbi—because you weren’t even answering your e-mails—and found out why you thought I’d dumped you, I’d be really fucking angry.”

“I turned off my Internet access after Briar left.”

“Because of the media coverage?” he asked.

“In part. I didn’t like seeing you so tired and alone.
And I couldn’t help myself—I kept going to the news sites to see what was happening.”

He slid his hand up the back of my neck, cupping it in his long-fingered palm. My heart rate escalated, but not with panic. With need. I could see the image of me naked, that night, in his eyes. How I wanted this man.

I closed my eyes, trying to regain some semblance of calm.

“The pulse in your neck is going crazy. You’re not having another panic attack, are you?”

Concern laced through his voice. He’d offered me the perfect out. I could lie and push off this conversation, but that wasn’t fair to either of us. The one thing Asher and I had always had was honesty.

“N-no,” I stuttered. I met his eyes. “Tell me the rest.”

“Jessica caved. Finally. The evidence was too much. She told us Olivia wouldn’t stop crying. She covered her mouth with a pillow until Olivia stopped. But by then, she’d quit breathing altogether.”

He tipped my chin up, his thumb caressing the curve of my jaw. I gripped his arms, needing to offer something back, even if it was just my touch. “I’m so sorry.”

“So am I. Olivia deserved better than she got. So does Mason. These past weeks have been hard on him. He’s seeing a counselor.” He ran his free hand through his hair, fear clouding his hazel eyes. “I thought I deserved more, too.”

I stepped closer, our bodies nearly touching, drawn to him as I always was. “You do.”

This might be the last time he ever looked at me. I stood up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his, showing him I cared about his pain. His other hand came to the far side of my waist, pulling me tight to his lean body. I’d missed this, him. My hands tangled into his too-long hair, pulling him closer as the kiss deepened.

Finally, I pushed back, my chest heaving.

“The record company contacted my agent this morning. The single we released last week—the one we did at the show with Simon—it’s getting loads of airtime. Richard thinks it’ll go platinum.”

I grabbed his hand before I thought better of it. “You all deserve the recognition and success.”

He linked our fingers together, pressing his palm tight to mine just as he had when we walked on the beach that first night in Seattle. Memories built in his eyes and longing welled up my throat, about to flood my face. I tugged my hand from his and turned away.

“I want you to be happy.” I didn’t like how small my voice was. I forced my gaze to his. “You’ve spent so long trapped in a situation you didn’t create.”

“Oh, I created it. Jessica was right when she called me selfish. I never loved her the way a woman deserves to be loved. She knew that, and she resented me for it. But once I found out she was pregnant with my kids, I planned to stick by her. It all came back to not wanting to be like my father. I just fucked up lots of lives in a different way.”

I cupped his cheek. “You didn’t fail your son or daughter, Asher. Your wife failed you when she didn’t ask for help when she needed it. She failed you when she went too far and hurt your child.”

He pressed his lips into my palm, and my breath caught, my chest heaving as I tried to inhale, but couldn’t.

“Like Doug hurt you?”

“That’s different.”

“Yeah. But he hurt you. Bad.”

I couldn’t hold his gaze. My throat tightened. “He was something I needed. Once.”

Asher dipped his head. We stood like that, our breath mingling.

“Abbi and I text throughout the day. She told me you finished the last book in the series. That’s fucking amazing, Dahlia. I’m really proud of you.”

“They’re all about you,” I said. “I couldn’t stop wanting you, and it just kind of all came out.”

“I’ll be your muse anytime. Just as you’ve always been mine.”

Much as I hated to, I disengaged from his embrace. My heart pounded. We stared at each other. I wet my lips and said, “You need time to grieve, to recover from your divorce.”

He snorted. “That would be true if I’d done nothing but grieve since Olivia died. Sort of. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy.” He stepped closer. Held me like I needed. “But I
need
you. I wanted to be here sooner, but I had to stick around to finalize the settlement. Then Mason wanted to go to the camp Jeremiah’s in for the next few weeks.”

“Wow.” Confusion and anger swirled through me. Ella hadn’t said anything. Neither had Abbi.

That wasn’t exactly true. They’d brought up Asher, and I’d changed the subject or walked out of the room.

“But you didn’t answer your phone,” I said.

“I was recording or I was in court. It was off.”

“But you didn’t call back.”

“Abbi said you were writing. I didn’t want to interrupt. Then you quit calling and I was worried. I knew I had to come here, tell you these things in person.”

Asher slid his lips over mine, a gentle caress that eased the painful ache. I opened my lips so I could kiss him the way I needed to. Our tongues met, and desire exploded. I gripped his hair just like I’d always wanted, while he slanted his mouth over mine, again and again. His palm rubbed over my breast.

I’d thought for years I was better off not feeling. I’d been so wrong. Every second with Asher was worth whatever pain came after.

A knock sounded on the door, and we broke apart.

“They do have impeccable timing,” I said, struggling to catch my breath.

We glanced over his shoulder at Abbi. Her eyes danced with excitement. Mason peeked under her arm, and I was pleased to see he didn’t seem angry or resentful.

“They do,” Asher said.

“See, Mom. Asher loves you.”

Mason slid under her arm. “Yeah, heaps. He told us so. Right, Abs?” Mason grinned up at her, his eyes greener than usual. He seemed happy. Moving away from his mom and his security would cause ongoing problems. The healing from the divorce was a process with better and worse days. But we could get him through this. I wanted to help.

Asher turned to face the kids. “We’re trying to work out our living arrangement.”

“I liked that room I stayed in before, and there are horses. And we don’t have a house anymore. Dad gave it to my mom. But that’s okay because I get to stay with Dad. Most of the time, anyway. And maybe you and Abbi.”

I disentangled myself from Asher and went over to kneel in front of Mason. “You’re always welcome here.” I brushed his brown hair off his brow. I bet Asher looked similar at his age. “I’d like to have you stay with me, with us, as much as you can.”

The concern slid from his face and Mason beamed. “I brought a suitcase.”

“I’ll help you bring it in,” I said.

“Already did.” Abbi grinned. “I’m taking Mason to the diner in Asher’s car. It’s a freaking convertible. I hope we see Luke,” she said. “He’s going to be so jealous. C’mon, Mason.”

“Can I get one of those buffalo burgers?” Mason asked as he skipped down the hall after her.

“Be careful,” I called. I turned back to look at Asher, amusement building. “You bought a convertible?”

“I want to see your hair dancing around your head. Or better”—his voice dipped low—“you naked on the hood.”

My eyes stayed on Asher’s as I gripped his biceps. I pressed my lips to his and thrilled when he cupped the back of my head.

“I love you, Dahlia Moore Dorsey. I’m going to love you forever.”

“Oh.”

“That’s it? Aren’t you supposed to be good with words?”

I took a deep breath. “From the moment I met you, I wanted to know you. But I think I fell in love with you when you sang me ‘Moonshine Eyes.’”

“You do have a thing for being sung to.”

“By you. You speak to me. Because I love you.”

He grinned, one so full of life and happiness I had to grin back. He dipped his head and pressed a tiny kiss to the corner of my mouth. Heat slid through my chest, sliding down into my belly.

He loved me. He was here. I couldn’t control my hunger for him anymore than I could stop breathing.

I caught my heel behind his knee and shoved him. He cursed as he fell back onto my big bed. I followed him down, landing on his pelvis and then his chest.

His eyes gleamed bright. I tangled my fingers through his silky hair again and leaned down so that my lips were barely an inch from his.

His neck strained trying to reach my mouth, but I leaned back so I could nibble my way to his ear and that spot I’d found. He rolled over.

“I’m taking you here, right now,” I muttered.

He slid his hands down my arms until our fingers were entwined. “I like the way you think.”

“You’ll like the way I act more,” I said.

“Keep it coming. I got plenty of ever-after to work on.”

D
ear Readers
,

Thank you so much for your support! This wouldn’t be anywhere near as much fun without you.

If you enjoyed this novel, I’d be grateful if you’d write a short review and post it on Amazon or your favorite book site (iBooks, Kobo, Goodreads, etc.). By taking a few seconds to leave a review, you not only help out your favorite authors, you help new readers find them as well—a total win-win!

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o hear
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S
o many people to
thank for this book! This one was fun (and steamy!) to write. LERA ladies and gentlemen, you’re welcome. And thanks for being so supportive, for making me love writing again and for sharing your knowledge so freely. You are the best.

As always, thank you, Chris. Your unwavering support and love shine through in all you do. I’m me because you’re you. To my family, thank you for your love and the patience to let me write.

To Nancy, thank you for your eagle-eyed editing services. I hope you’re proud of where we ended up.

To Nicole, thank you for the advice on Seattle and the fantastic copy edits that make the story shine.

To Clarissa, once again the cover is gorgeous. I love working with you.

To my AuthorLab writing pals: You keep me on task and keep me motivated. I love seeing what you write. And I love how diverse our group is.

And to my readers and reviewers. Thank you for your time. It’s precious and I’m so, so glad you spent some of it with me.

W
ith a degree
in international marketing and a varied career path as a content manager for a web firm during the tech boom, marketing director for a high-profile sports agency and a two-year stint with a renowned literary agency, Alexa Padgett has returned to her first love: writing fiction. She is a card-carrying member of RWA, or would be if Romance Writers of America had cards. She’s also a member of Land of Enchantment Romance Authors (LERA), and Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal (FF&P) chapters.

Alexa spent a good part of her youth traveling. From Budapest to Belize, Calgary to Coober Pedy, Alexa soaked in the myriad smells, sounds, and feels of these gorgeous places, wishing she could live in them all—at least for a while. And she does in her books.

Alexa loves to read, especially her friends’ stories. She also spends a great deal of time in her tiny kitchen, channeling her inner Barefoot Contessa.

Write her at 
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