Honey Babe (A Lovely Dearest Series Book 3) Read online

  When I finished, I threw it all on and stepped back to check myself out in the mirror. I admired the dangerous style of my new outfit, but my blaringly white legs caused me to laugh. The tank top was a little baggie, but still good. I resembled a punk rocker teen more than a grown-up, but I didn’t care. I looked edgy.

  I decided to leave early from my house to pick up some new lipstick and makeup, wanting a change. Grabbing my stuff, I went out of my room past the empty bedrooms and into the front area where Mrs. James read a book in her chair.

  She glanced over at me, her eyes widening as she noticed my outfit. “What in the world are you wearing?”

  I blushed, pausing a step as I shifted from foot to foot. “I wanted a change, and you know how it is, just girl’s night. It's not like I’m going in to pick up guys. Just hanging out.” I didn’t know why I felt the need to explain myself. Maybe so she wouldn’t worry about me bringing strange men back to her house.

  She nodded. “So you're trying something new?” She questioned, unsure of my state of dress.

  “It seems so. We’ll just call it my rebellious stage since I don't know how my teenage years went.”

  She gave a chuckle and waved a hand at me. “Aw, child. Don't worry, we all have those days. Go out, and have fun. Remember to call me when you're on your way home.”

  “About that..." I hedged. “I think I'm going to crash at Maria’s house tonight. We’re planning on doing something tomorrow morning.”

  “Okay then, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Just check in every once in awhile. Let us know you’re still okay.”

  “Sure!” I put my feet into motion toward the door.

  The Jameses were very nice, very protective, and I couldn’t blame them. I didn't want to end up in the same situation they found me in.

  On the drive to the store, I thought I felt the tingles again. But as quickly as it came, it disappeared so I ignored it and went and swung by the drug store for my new lip gloss before continuing on to pick up Maria.

  I pulled up to her house, honking the horn, and she flounced out of the house wearing a hot pink shirt, skinny blue jeans, and tennis shoes that were easily interchangeable for our night of bowling. That's what we did for girl’s night. It was a stress reliever and pretty much the only thing to do around there, and we were good at it. Since I didn't drink, we didn't go to bars, although we did hang out at Pete’s Bar every now and then. I only went there because he carried my special drink and was the only one willing to serve it to me.

  Maria opened up the door and slipped into the passenger seat of my car, giving me a wide smile.

  She shut the door and put on her seatbelt. “Hey, you ready for tonight?”

  “Yep.” I navigated the car toward the bowling alley we frequented.

  She glanced over what I wore, from my cut up top down to the shorts, which had risen up since I sat down to reveal more of my blaringly white legs. “Woman, what did you do to your wardrobe?”

  I frowned, now unsure if I should have gone out like this. “Think it's a little much?”

  “Hot,” she said. “You finally do something worthwhile, and you’re wasting it to go to a bowling alley.” She tisked, shaking her head. “We should have gone to the club tonight.”

  I snorted. “When have I ever gone to the club with you?”

  Maria rolled her eyes. “Like, never. You need to get out more. To have fun.”

  “I know, I know,” I said in a patronizing voice, taking on her sex oozing tone. “Look young, stay young. Flaunt it while you have it. Don't let a good thing pass you by. Or, or,” I spoke louder before she could jump in. “If a guy's package is bigger than an eight-ounce steak, honey, you never pass it up.”

  My friend gave me a look as she flipped open my visor to use the mirror, swiping on some mascara. “Girl, do you want me to give you more? Because I can give you more rules. We could do this.”

  I chuckled. “No more rules.”

  “Good, because here's the deal. If we go bowling and it royally sucks, then we're going out dancing. You got it? We’re just going to leave and go to a club. Because you look hot.”

  I glanced at her as she put her mascara away before shifting my attention back to the road. “You don’t even have dancing shoes. You're wearing tennis shoes for bowling.”

  “I do, too.” She grabbed her bag off the car floor and lifted it up. “Right in here. Don’t leave home without them. I'm always prepared.”

  I gave up. “All right, fine. If bowling sucks, like you said, we’ll go dancing at a club.”

  She squealed. “We should just skip bowling and go dancing. I mean, come on, it's not like any of the others will care. We should do that. We should totally do that.” She nodded as if deciding for the two of us.

  I shook my head. “No, I like bowling.”

  Maria pouted. “But we go bowling all the time. How about this, you get one game. One game, and if we’re bored after that, we leave to go to a club. Deal?”

  “Fine,” I sighed. “Deal.”

  “Good.”

  “Unless there’s a hottie there—”

  “Which will never happen,” she interrupted me.

  “Well, with how my luck’s been…” I shrugged. “They just seem to show up.”

  Maria put out a hand as her eyebrows shot upward. “Whoa, whoa, wait. There’s been another one, and you didn’t tell me?”

  I spared her a shameful glance. “Maybe?”

  “Ooo, woman, you’re in deep. Tell me what happened.”

  “He came into the library. He actually wanted a book I was reading that I had stashed away.”

  “No way, girl. Is he like an old guy? Or a geek? A geek that’s maybe tall and rich?”

  “No, he’s an army man. Anyway, he wanted to have lunch, and I’d just had my break. He offered to bring me food. So, I let him. Especially since he let me pick. I chose my favorite place.”

  That had her leaning towards me and whispering, “No way, he went to Pete's?”

  “Yep.” I nodded, popping the P. “He went to Pete's.”

  Maria sat back in her seat and pouted. “How come you're getting all the good ones? Why can’t I find me a man like that?”

  I laughed and spared her a glance. “Maybe if you worked out at the gym with me?”

  Her lips twisted, and she waved her hand. “Oh, shush.”

  I turned back to the road and continued, “Or maybe read a book?”

  “Shoot, none of that.” She folded her arms beneath her breasts. “Don't even go there.”

  “Then maybe you would find a guy like I have,” I finished with a grin.

  “You're doing just fine with what you're doing. And I’ll keep on doing what I’m doing.”

  I raised a brow at her. “What is it that you're doing?”

  “Waiting. Some guy is going to swoop me up, and he’s going to be it for me.” She batted her thick eyelashes at me. “Until then, I’m going to have some fun.”

  I laughed. “Like the bowling alley.”

  “Mm-hm, and clubbing.”

  ***

  We were halfway through our first game when the tingling sensation returned once again, and my eyes shot to the bowling alley door just as a man who had to be seven feet tall walked inside. He had brown hair, and when his gaze shot to mine, he had the prettiest blue eyes I had ever seen. His lips curled up into a smile, and he gave me a nod as if he knew exactly who I was. What we both felt.

  Jannie pushed my shoulder as she whispered, “Look at him.”

  “Did you see that?” another one uttered.

  My friends turned to me. “He winked at you, Amber.”

  I turned to face them, blushing. “Yeah.”

  I could feel the connection like a tether line between the two of us. My body heated as I tried not to stare at him. Watch him.

  We went back to our game, and as it went on, my mouth became dry. I excused myself, walked over to the concession counter, and grabbed a bottle of water. Even then, I sens
ed him watching me.

  Before I could pay for my drink, he came up behind me, laying a bill on the counter. “I can get that.”

  I turned my body and found his close to mine. As he reached for my water bottle, I glanced up into his deep blue eyes.

  “Hey, babe,” he whispered. “You here with your girls?”

  I swallowed past the dryness in my throat. “Yeah.”

  He maneuvered us to the side and lifted his hand to brush a stray strand of hair away, tucking it behind my ear. Then, his fingertips dropped, tracing across my cheek until they got to the tip of my chin. Sparks of electricity went through me like lightning. His fingertips left my chin and met my bare shoulder, again trailing downward as he studied the blue and purple sparks leaving a trail of crackles in their wake. He captured my fingertips.

  I leaned in and smelled him. It was that spicy scent of fresh ground curry with a tinge of peppers that had my mouth watering. He was flaming hot with all sorts of temptation.

  His lips brushed my ear. “You know what this is, right?”

  I nodded.

  He leaned back to stare down at me. “I need the words, babe.”

  I sank into him as his arm curled around my waist. “I understand.”

  He brought me in closer. “I’ll never hurt you.”

  Again, I nodded, remembering what Aaron said before. I felt it all over my body, and a whimper escaped. What was going on with me?

  His head dipped, and his lips met my ear once more. “You finish your game, you find me.” His hand caressed down my back and stopped at the rise of my ass. “I'll take care of you.”

  He kissed my earlobe, eased away, then grabbed his change before turning around and going back to his place at the bar.

  I exhaled as a tremor ran through my body. I didn't know his name. He didn't know mine. But I definitely knew I was going home with him tonight.

  Guy number three.

  Weston

  Last test, I lay on the floor as a hand came through the bars of the cage next to mine, and my one and only true friend gave me hope.

  “We’re going to get through this,” she stated with fierceness as she tried to chase away my worries.

  He was crazy. A raving lunatic.

  “Don’t listen to the voices of doubt,” she pleaded.

  * * *

  Amber

  I woke up with my nightmare completely gone, reminisces of pieces that couldn’t be put together. There was an ache inside of me, and I didn’t know why. Then, I became acutely aware of the sizzle I felt when I was near one of the guys. But this time, I wasn’t just near one of them, I was in bed with one of them.

  Slowly, I became aware of an arm around my waist and a hard body against my back. I tensed. The second thing I noticed was the lack of clothing, and my body thoroughly pleased. My mind skidded to the memories of last night, and I relaxed with a soft groan. I slept with someone. Not just anybody. But Weston. The man I met at the bowling alley last night. The man that made my insides squeeze. And the third man to give me those tingles.

  My body was alive with the knowledge he lay next to me.

  Strong fingers, spread across my stomach in possessiveness, tightened as Weston adjusted himself from behind me. He swept the hair away from my neck and kissed my shoulder. “Babe, you awake?”

  His husky voice vibrated against my bones. A sweet sensation. One that the tasted of honey and chocolate combined could never match up to. Just hearing his voice, my body grew aware of every sensation he brought me to the brink of last night. A blush stole up my cheeks, and I was glad he couldn’t see.

  “Yeah,” I finally answered him.

  His hand crept to cup my breast. He pinched my nipple, rolling it around, and I couldn’t help the groan that escaped. His mouth met my neck once again, his hips pressed against my back, and the growing bulge told me he was in for a round two.

  “Are you up for some more of what we had last night?” he asked against my skin, taking little love bites along the way.

  I moaned as he got more intense in his attentions, taking my sounds of pleasure as his answer. He rolled me over, capturing my mouth as his strong hands curved down my sides, grabbed my hips, and navigated them to where he wanted me. He played with me and brought out intense feelings I could never get from one of my toys at home. He sucked, bit, and most likely left marks all along my body, bringing me to the edge.

  He slowly eased inside, testing my readiness before he slid home in one fell swoop. Giving me a groan of his own, he took my hands and lifted them over my head, his blue eyes boring into mine. “Grab the bottom of the headboard and hold on. Don't let go.”

  I nodded and did as he commanded, my fingers tight around the bottom edges of the headboard. His hands trailed down my arms to the the sides of my rib cage. His thumbs brushed over my pebbled nipples. Light touches at first, then they grew into tweaks and pleasure.

  He bent down and kissed me on the lips, his hands leaving my chest, fingertips trailing down the outside of my thigh to push my legs up as he took on a steady rhythm that brought us both over the edge.

  I cried out as his mouth trailed kisses down the column of my neck to my shoulder. “That's it, babe,” his low tone urged. “Milk me. Give me all you got. So sweet. So addicting.”

  He growled his satisfaction, pausing above me as he came in hot spurts.

  After a moment, he pushed himself up and swept away a strand of hair from my face, and bright blue eyes stared into mine. “You okay?”

  Air escape me as I chuckled. “Yeah, I think I'm just exhausted.”

  His chest rumbled, and I felt it through my whole body as he held me close and twisted us until I lay on top of him. “Then, I’m doing something right.”

  It was Sunday and I knew I needed to get back home. I couldn’t spend my whole day in bed even though that's where I wanted to be. The Jameses would be looking for me, so would Maria. At least she had his digits and address.

  I needed to get going, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to get home. Maria took my car.

  Satisfied for the moment, I laid across his chest.

  Then, I got up, making my way to the bathroom and picking up my clothes along the way.

  “You leaving, babe?” His gruff voice sent shivers down my spine.

  “Changing,” I called back. Setting my purse on the counter, I dug out my phone to check in and text Maria to come and pick me up.

  In all his naked glory, Weston came to the bathroom door and leaned against it. “So you’re getting ready to leave,” he surmised as his heated gaze drifted over my frame until his eyes came back up to mine. “Any chance we could go another round?”

  I sent him a sly grin, went to the door, and started to shut it. “No.”

  ***

  Once dressed, and with Maria downstairs waiting, I stood outside his door.

  He kissed me. “I’ll call you later.”

  I jerked back, thinking about all the others who’d said the same. “Sorry, bud. No phone number. The other two I gave it out to haven’t even bothered to use it.”

  Then, I turned to walk off. My phone dinged, and I pulled it out.

  I had a text.

  Unknown number: You good for dinner tomorrow? -Weston

  I turned back. Black sweatpants hung low on his hips, and he sported a scary grin as he waved his phone in the air. "Sorry, I already helped myself to it.”

  I laughed, warmed by the fact he took an inch and went a mile. Turning away, I started out of the building.

  “Babe, what's your answer?”

  I lifted my phone and text back.

  Amber: Maybe.

  Tingles

  I hopped in the car with Maria and left after promising Weston I would text him when I got home. I left his house slightly amused but also confused. When I asked him what was going on between us, he was vague, just like Aaron, and I wondered briefly if they all knew each other. Even though my body was worn out, the need to have them was still there.

&
nbsp; Maria smirked at me. “Did you get laid?”

  I blushed, glancing her way as I leaned my seat back, then turned my head away from her to hide the redness in my cheeks. “That's kind of a personal question.”

  “It isn’t personal if I'm the one picking you up after your party for two.” She had me there.

  “Well,” I told her honestly. “Whatever you think happened, happened.”

  “That’s my girl. You got yourself some. You're on fire!”

  I scoffed, “On fire? Then why do I feel guilty? I gave my number to two other guys, and the third one I got in bed with.” I twisted to look at her. “Admit it Maria, I'm a mess.”

  She took her eyes off the road give me a quick scan. “Looks to me like you’re completely satisfied, but…not. Are you still glum about not getting texts from those other guys?”

  “Seth or Aaron,” I confirmed. “Is that crazy? While I'm getting out of the bed from one, I’m wanting the other two? It's crazy talk, Maria. Utterly crazy. Now, I have to go home, clean up, and figure out what—”

  Maria interrupted, “Wait a minute. You don’t do anything. A hot guy that leaves you with a smile on your face, girl, you keep him. You hold to that hot bod and let him do wicked things to you, then you put a ring on it. The way he was with you last night, girl, he was into you. Anybody could see that. He came in, his eyes shot straight to you, and from there, he didn’t stray to any others.”

  She went on and on about how I shouldn't take this for granted and count it as a blessing. He was a strong guy that could keep me safe. Hot and caring. I let her do all the talking on the way to her house.

  Once there, we both got out and met in front of the car to hug.

  Her arms tightened around me. “You should keep him.”

  I smiled against her shoulder. “What about a skinny, rich guy?”

  “Chica, when you have that kind of man, one who's like that with you, I say give him a chance.”

  Smirking, I leaned back. “I did.”

  “Mm-hm.” She nodded, looking me over. “And by the looks of you, he gave back.”