Change of Heart 2 Read online

  Change of Heart

  Part 2

  Scarlett Edwards

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  About Scarlett Edwards

  Chapter One

  I have never been in love.

  Sure, I once thought I was, three years ago with my first boyfriend. But that was not love. Lust, infatuation? Maybe. But not love.

  Things are changing now. Life feels different. I never realized what I was missing before. My decision to stay with Rich three days ago opened my eyes to everything I didn’t have growing up. Every morning since, I’ve woken up with an infectious energy. An undefined zest. Something so fickle I expect it to flee at any moment.

  Except, it doesn’t. It’s precarious and ethereal and a little bit frightening, that feeling, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It pushes me toward happiness. I wake up feeling alive. Alive, and wanted, and needed.

  Not needed in the grand sense of the word, like some famous politician or the scientist just about to cure cancer. I feel needed in a much purer, much more innocent way. I’m needed by just one person. It’s more than I’ve ever had.

  I was not all right before I met Rich. I was scraping by, convincing myself that I was strong. I was determined to rely on no one but myself and to hold everybody else at bay.

  Well, Rich broke through those walls.

  I’ve never been in love, before now. Now, I’m hopelessly, romantically, head-over-heels in love. I’ve learned that logic is meaningless in your heart’s domain. Feelings are the only things that make sense. If you had told me, just three weeks ago, that I would fall in love with my would-be kidnapper, I’d have laughed in your face and chalked it up to Stockholm Syndrome. But, now I know otherwise. There is no way to rationalize the way I feel. I’ve already given up trying.

  The way Rich looks at me lets me know he cares. The careful way he studies my face, the slow, steady way his eyes drift to my lips. I’ve never felt so needed before. I’ve never felt that blooming warmth in my chest, those special tingles through my limbs.

  Nobody in my life has ever given a shit. I don’t dwell on that, because there’s too much sappy sadness there. I never wanted to be one of those girls who feel sorry for themselves and expect the world to do so, too. When I was by myself, I had to be strong. To bury my emotions deep so they could never bubble to the surface. That’s what I thought being strong was.

  It’s not. Strength is finding the courage to let another person in. Strength is opening your heart to him and exposing yourself in all your vulnerabilities—no matter how terrifying that may be.

  In the end, that’s all that matters.

  “I love you,” I whisper.

  “Hmm?” Rich stirs from his resting spot beneath a tree. We’re together in a beautiful garden, lying on the green grass. The sun is bright, and I can smell lilacs and roses in the air. The sky is cloudless. Happy birds are chirping delightful melodies from the branches above.

  Rich looks at me through half-lidded, sleepy eyes. A slow smile forms on his lips. “I love you too, Penny,” he whispers back, his fingers running through the strands of my hair. “I love you more than anything else in the world. You’re my heart, my life. I would give up anything for you. I would do anything for you. I love you now and always, and far into forever. I will love you until the moon stops spinning and the sun stops rising, and longer still. Our love will transcend ages, histories, centuries, millennia. When this planet turns into a lonely block of ice drifting through space, I will love you still. Nothing can change my feelings for you. They will last forever.”

  “Oh, you’re just sickly sweet this morning, aren’t you?” I tease, rolling over to my side and ducking my head in for a chaste kiss. “You’d give up anything for me? How about food?”

  “I would starve for you.” Rich smiles, kissing me again.

  “How about water?”

  “I would die of thirst before I stop loving you.”

  I smile and close my eyes, breathing in deeply through my nose. Rich’s delectable scent fills my lungs. I’ve never felt this happy, this content.

  “Air?” I muse. “Would you stop breathing for me?”

  “If that is what you want,” Rich replies.

  “Hmm, I don’t think I would like that very much,” I tell him, snapping my eyes open to meet his beautiful, misty-green stare. “And I know Min wouldn’t be happy with me if that happens.”

  “I’m hurt,” Rich proclaims playfully, placing a hand over his heart. “The love of your life has just passed away to prove his devotion to you, and all you can think of is his sister?”

  “Oh, that’s definitely not all I’m thinking about,” I tell him with a naughty grin. I drape one leg over his waist, then push myself up so I’m straddling his body.

  Rich chuckles. His hands go to my thighs, pushing my blue sundress up so my legs are bare. I put my hands on his chest and lean down to kiss him again. My hair falls forward as I do, creating a dark curtain that shields our faces from the world.

  Our kiss is hungry and sweet at the same time. Rich’s hands glide over my legs, then come to rest on the small of my back. I feel my body responding to him right away. He pulls me close and holds me tight. I’m lost in the moment, in the kiss, in the bliss of being with him—

  A crash of thunder jerks me upright. My breath catches in fright. Thunder? But it’s such a beautiful day! For a moment, I feel lost, confused.

  “Hey.”

  It’s Rich’s voice, full of concern. “Hey, are you all right?”

  I focus on his voice, surprised that it’s not coming from below me. It’s coming from behind me. I turn my head to look…

  “You must have dozed off,” Rich continues, running his hand up and down my back. “It’s all right. Nothing’s wrong. It was just a little thunder.”

  I look around in a kind of daze, and recognize the inside of Rich’s apartment. Suddenly, everything makes sense. I’d dozed off, and dreamt about Rich. A heavy rain is pounding against the windows, accentuated every few minutes by a jolt of lightning and clap of thunder.

  “I’m fine,” I reassure him, resting my head on his lap again. That’s the position in which I’d fallen asleep. “I just had a very vivid dream.”

  “You looked happy in your sleep,” Rich smiles. “What was the dream about?”

  I give him a secretive smile of my own. “Things,” I respond mysteriously.

  Rich’s mouth quirks a little in a sideways grin. “Good things? Or bad things?”

  “Well, you were in it,” I tell him.

  “Good things, then,” Rich decides, and laughs. The sound is a little forced to my ears, and doesn’t last very long.

  One thing I dreamt about was right: It has been three days since I told Rich I loved him. He’d said it back, of course, but only that one time. Each time I’ve said it since, all I’ve gotten in return is a, “Me, too.” I try not to think too much about the implications. I know Rich has a lot on his mind. He hasn’t shared his plan with me or Min yet, and that concerns me.

  What worries me more, however, is that I’ve noticed Rich becoming more distant as the days ha
ve passed.

  “Hey,” I say softly. “You’re not in this alone anymore. You know that, right? You have me and Min here with you. You don’t have to tackle everything by yourself.”

  Rich looks down at me and smiles. The smile doesn’t touch his eyes. “I know, baby. You two mean the world to me.” He starts stroking my hair, just like in the dream. “Don’t you forget that.”

  “Then let us help you,” I implore. “Tell us what you’re planning. If you don’t want to tell Min, tell me. I can help. I’m not useless!”

  “I never, ever, once said that you are,” Rich tells me. He doesn’t follow that statement up with anything else. I sigh.

  We’ve had this conversation before. It never leads anywhere except him telling me he’ll share his plan with me “when it’s ready.”

  Rich has been taking mysterious drives into the city on Amanda’s bike. He never tells me or Min where he’s going. He does it at random times, when he thinks neither of us will notice his absence. We always do, of course, but that doesn’t make him any more forthcoming about where he has been when he returns.

  I decide to push the issue this time. I sit up and face him. I look him right in the eyes. “Do you trust me?”

  Rich frowns. “Of course.”

  “Do you love me?” I ask.

  There is no hesitation in his answer. “Yes.”

  “So let me help! I hate feeling like I’m some burden you need to take care of, Rich. I know what it’s like to feel like you have to do everything by yourself. I’ve felt that way my whole life! But with you, I don’t anymore. And I don’t want you to suffer through it like I did. You have me, Rich. Don’t waste it!”

  Rich looks at me seriously. “I know I have you with me, Penny. I’ve never forgotten that. I don’t know what I did to earn it, but I will never let it slip away. And you’re not a burden. You’re brave, and smart, and so beautiful. Never call yourself a burden.”

  “That’s how you make me feel,” I pout, somewhat melodramatically, to drive the point home.

  A little life finally returns to Rich’s eyes. “Really?” he asks.

  “Yes,” I tell him.

  He smiles. “Well, we’re going to have to fix that, aren’t we?” He takes my hands and brings them to his lips. He grazes a kiss over my knuckles. “How about now?”

  “Still,” I tell him.

  “Hmm.” Rich looks thoughtful for a second. He cups my chin and kisses my forehead. “And now?”

  I giggle. “Still.”

  Rich purses his lips and taps them with one finger. He studies my face closely, then leans in and turns his head to place a quick kiss on my mouth. “Now? Do you feel any different?”

  “Maybe…” I smile. I mimic his expression and purse my lips in thought. “Actually, on second thought… nope, I don’t feel any different.”

  “It seems I’m not doing a very good job convincing you otherwise,” Rich grumbles.

  “Maybe you can try one more time,” I suggest.

  Rich smiles at me. “I think that might be a very good idea.”

  Both his hands take hold of my face and he holds me still. He leans forward and kisses me again. The kiss is soft and gentle at first, but quickly transforms into something more. His tongue strokes over my upper lip, and then dives inside to meet mine. I kiss him back hard, feeling the thrill rush through my body.

  My hands lock around his neck, knotting in his hair to pull him closer. There is nothing sweet about this kiss anymore. It’s all raw, unadulterated hunger—both on my part and on his.

  Rich’s hands drop to my neck and then go to the sides of my body. He cups my breasts and starts to knead them. I moan into his mouth. He grunts in response and pushes me backwards. I fall onto the couch with him on top. This might not be exactly the way I’d hoped the conversation would go in my mind, but I’m not complaining. Feeling Rich’s hard, strong body above me does all kinds of crazy things to my insides. My hands run over his shoulders, down his back, and come to rest over his tight glutes. I press him into me, and feel his very evident erection against my leg. Blood is pooling in my core, too.

  Rich breaks away from our kiss. As I look at him positioned above me, I can see the lust and desire in his eyes. I’m sure it’s mirrored in my own.

  “And now?” he asks, his voice raspy. “Do you feel like a burden, now?”

  “Hmm…” I consider it for a moment. “No, I don’t think so. You know, I had something like this happen in that dream.”

  A fire erupts in Rich’s eyes. “Did you? That’s fucking hot.”

  “I know. But it’s so, so much hotter in real life.”

  ***

  I giggle as Rich scoops me up off the couch. My legs wrap around his waist, my arms around his shoulders. His hands are on my ass, holding me up while he kisses me as he carries me to the bedroom.

  We get to his room without running into Min, which I’m grateful for.

  “Remember this?” Rich asks. Then, he spins me round and round, causing my legs to fly free. I laugh and nod when we collapse onto the bed, thinking back to the first time we had sex in his apartment. That was the night a new chapter of my life began.

  Rich pins me beneath him. He smiles as he studies my face. One of his thumbs comes up to brush aside a loose strand of my hair. “You’re so damn beautiful,” he says. “How did I ever get so lucky?”

  “You’re not so bad yourself,” I purr at him, pulling his head down so he can kiss me again. He starts rubbing his body over mine. The friction of his jeans between my legs has me instantly ready for more.

  I grab the hem of his shirt and pull it up his back, over his head. Rich sits up to help me take it off, then throws it to the corner.

  Wow. I’ve seen his body before, but today it just looks magnificent. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough. His skin is light, almost the color of cream, but there is nothing soft about it. I stare shamelessly as my fingers crawl up his torso. I bite my lip and satiate in the feminine pleasure of feeling the ridges of his muscles beneath my fingers.

  Rich’s chest heaves in deep breaths above me. “You keep touching me like that,” he grates, “and I won’t be able to keep my hands off you all night.” His voice is threaded with lust.

  “Good,” I tell him, reckless. He starts to dip his head down again, but I hold him up with two palms firm on his chest. “Just let me have a look, first.”

  “Penny, you’re killing me here.”

  I give him a sensual smile but don’t let him move. I want his desire to build up. Maybe then he’ll understand the way I feel nearly every minute I’m around him.

  I let my hands drift up over his chest, to his shoulders, to his traps. I trace the shape of his arms, squeezing his biceps a bit with girlish delight.

  That gets a grin out of him.

  I lace my fingers between his, and bring our hands together above my stomach. My eyes dart to the bulge under his jeans. I bite back a smile as I place his hands over his erection and start to guide them up and down with my own.

  Rich’s eyes widen. Then he smirks. We’ve never played like this before.

  “Does that feel good?” I ask, gliding his hands up and down.

  Rich shudders. “Baby, you know it does.” His hands suddenly flip over, and he grips my palms tight, stopping me in place. “But it’s not fair that you get all the fun.”

  I barely have time to yelp as he forces my hands to the mattress, on either side of me, and pins them there. I try to break free, but he’s unwavering in his grip. He leans down to kiss me once more, pressing his body against mine and trapping me in place.

  I like being handled like this. Feeling particularly naughty, I nip at his lip with my teeth.

  “Oh, now you’ve asked for it,” he warns. He keeps my hands locked at my sides and starts to trail hard, sharp kisses down my neck.

  I squirm beneath him and arch my back when his mouth finds the sensitive valley of my collarbone. Rich finally releases my hands to tug my shirt off. I’m
wearing the lacy blue bra he’d gotten me—the one I know he loves so much. Goosebumps erupt all over my skin. They have nothing to do with the cold, and everything to do with the man above me.

  Rich’s mouth picks up its journey south. He trails his tongue over my clavicle, then slowly makes his way down to my cleavage. One of his hands slips underneath the bra strap at my side and cups my breast. I arc up and fumble for the clasp. It comes free, and the bra snaps open. Rich pulls it off my shoulders and tosses it to join his shirt.

  He inhales deeply as he looks at me. I watch his eyes, loving the intensity of desire I see boiling beneath their surface. Rich doesn’t need to say a single word. He makes me feel beautiful with his gaze alone.

  His hands drift over my belly with the lightest touch. They move up, gently brushing over my hard nipples. “You’re fucking perfect, Penny.” He dips his head down to suckle one breast, then the next. “Your skin is amazing, and you smell so good. God!—” his hands tighten around my waist, “—I want you to myself forever, Penny.”

  “I don’t intend to share you, either,” I pant, my voice thick with lust. “Now hurry up and get these things off my legs.”

  Rich complies instantly. His fingers hook at the waistline and he pulls my pants off together with my panties. I wiggle my hips to help.

  He backs up to the edge of the bed and unclasps his belt. He steps out of his jeans, freeing his glorious erection. I’ve never thought of a penis as beautiful before, but his is… utterly perfect. A flush of arousal rushes through my body. I can feel it warm my chest and neck.

  I sit up and reach for him, but Rich stops me with a look. “You’ve had your fun,” he tells me. “Now it’s my turn.”

  I gasp as he grabs my hips and yanks me to the edge of the bed. He spreads my legs and kneels down. My heart is pounding in my chest. My breathing’s rapid. I can’t wait for him to—

  The moan that erupts from my throat is completely unbidden as Rich laps his tongue into me. Wild sensations shoot through my body. Pleasure barrels through my synapses with every stroke of Rich’s tongue. One of my hands forms a fist in his hair, urging him closer. The other grips the bed sheet in a desperate attempt to hold on to reality.