This Time Around Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Epilogue

  Other Books by Aimee Nicole Walker

  Acknowledgments

  About Aimee Nicole Walker

  This Time Around (Road to Blissville, #4)

  Copyright © 2018 Aimee Nicole Walker

  [email protected]

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to the actual person, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover photograph © Christopher John

  Cover art © Jay Aheer of Simply Defined Art

  Editing provided by Miranda Vescio of V8 Editing and Proofreading

  Proofreading provided by Judy Zweifel of Judy’s Proofreading

  Interior Design and Formatting provided by Stacey Ryan Blake of Champagne Book Design

  All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original publisher only.

  This book contains sexually explicit material and is only intended for adult readers.

  Copyright and Trademark Acknowledgments

  The author acknowledges the copyrights and trademarked status and trademark owners of the trademarks and copyrights mentioned in this work of fiction.

  To John,

  You are the personification of the phrase “still waters run deep.” Always quiet, always observing, always thinking, and so very humble. I am so very proud to be your mother.

  Coming home isn’t always easy, especially after being gone for twelve years. Times change, and so do people and their attitudes. Sometimes that’s good, and sometimes it’s not. Growing up in a small town has its highs and lows, but that can be said for all communities. I’d been blessed to live in both small towns and big cities and saw the advantages and disadvantages of both. Neither one was right or wrong; just different. A person had to decide what works for them and not worry about what everyone else thinks.

  I left Blissville with big dreams and an even bigger ego. As the first kid from my high school to receive a full ride scholarship to play college baseball, or any sport for that matter, I was certain it would lead to incredible opportunities. In my high school, I was the big fish in the little pond. I was destined for greatness, just ask anyone in town.

  When I arrived at my college in Louisville, Kentucky, I became a little fish in a giant pond. The other fish were faster and stronger than I was. I had to make big sacrifices if I wanted playing time on the field, and it came with a price I hadn’t been prepared to pay. I had to give up the one thing that was true in my life: Milo Miracle.

  I’d heard from my sister, Faith, who’s also Milo’s best friend, that he and his twin sister, Maegan, had opened a coffee shop in our hometown called The Brew. She’d told me it had fast become one of Blissville’s favorite places to hang out, which I saw firsthand after I worked up the courage to stop in when I drove into town mid-morning on a Monday. I figured that Faith would’ve warned Milo that I was moving back home, but his wide-eyed expression when he saw me said otherwise.

  I’d even go so far to say that Milo was furious. His eyes slowly roamed over my body where I stood in the rear of the coffee shop. When Milo’s eyes met mine again, the only emotion I saw was cool indifference. He didn’t stomp off angrily like he would have when we dated in high school, but I could feel his desire to do so from across the room. I was glad that some things hadn’t changed, even if I had to look harder to realize that he hid his passionate nature behind an aloof mask.

  Milo’s spirit was one of his most attractive qualities, and I would hate to think that time or circumstances had doused his bright flame. Milo buried his emotions and focused on taking care of his customers. I noticed that became harder for him to do the closer I got to the front of the line.

  “Long time no see,” I said lamely when I stood in front of him.

  I saw Milo’s jaw clench, but he remained calm. “What would you like today?”

  “To talk to you after your shift is over,” I said softly. The young, self-confident version of myself that Milo knew would’ve asked for his phone number or said I wanted to take him to dinner. I lost that swagger years ago when I struck out swinging at the three-two curveball life threw at me. I wanted to see how far I could push Milo. I wanted him to unleash everything he felt so we could get it out in the open and deal with it, but I wouldn’t win his forgiveness by embarrassing him in front of his customers.

  Milo’s only reaction was to blink as he waited for my order.

  “Welcome home, Andy,” Maegan said, greeting me with a friendly smile. “For good, I hope.”

  “That’s the plan.” Did Milo soften slightly when he heard my intentions, or was that wishful thinking on my part? Did it even matter? Twelve years was a long time apart, and what did I know about the man he’d become? I certainly wasn’t the same person he used to know. I sure as hell wanted to relearn everything about him though because twelve years did nothing to diminish the way my heart and body reacted to the sight of him.

  “Your coffee selection?” Milo asked, irritation creeping into his voice. He nodded to the line behind me, letting me know I was holding things up.

  “Uh, yeah. I’ll take the chai latte.”

  Milo raised one perfectly groomed brow. I liked that I surprised him with my drink choice. “Size?”

  “Big,” I replied, unable to stop myself. “Very big.” So maybe I hadn’t lost all my swagger, or maybe it was the guy looking at me that made me feel bolder.

  Milo’s face turned as red as a beet. It seemed he remembered things about me too. “We have a size queen in our midst,” he whispered sassily. “Coming right up.”

  “Don’t spit in it,” I jokingly said after he turned his back to me.

  Milo pivoted slowly, regarding me through narrowed, midnight-blue eyes. “A person would have to feel really strongly about another to evoke such a reaction. I assure you, that isn’t the case here. One ‘very big’ chai latte coming right up.” Yeah, he used adorable air quotes and rolled his eyes.

  I could see that Milo wasn’t going to make my homecoming an easy one, but I wasn’t deterred. Instead, I wanted to find ways to rile him up until he lost that cool veneer.

  The minute he walked into The Brew, I felt a crackle in the air that meant someone special had just entered my life. I glanced up from taking my customer’s order in search of the man sent to cure all that ailed me and locked on to familiar light-blue eyes that I had adored for as long as I could remember.

  Just great. Andy Fucking Mason is back in town. I shouldn’t have cared, but I did. It wasn’t like he had never returned home after graduating high school, he just seemed to do it in stealth mode to avoid running into me. It seemed that his days of hiding were over.

  Ha! Apparently, special was synonymous with a swift kick in the balls, because the man who reentered my life wasn’t there to cure me; he was there to torture me with his sexy presence and remind me of every moment that I had missed him. Fucking asshole. He had some nerve to smile like he was happy
to see me. Note to self: kill Faith Mason for not warning a bitch that her sexier-than-sin brother was back in town to wreak havoc and turn my world upside down.

  I got angrier and angrier with every erratic beat of my heart, but I wouldn’t run away from the very public confrontation Andy wanted to have with me. I worked hard to keep my face a mask of pleasantness as my brain spun with so many things I wanted to say, and my body betrayed me with a dick that got happier and harder the closer Andy got to the front of the line. Luckily, the apron I wore hid the way my body reacted to him. I wanted to slug him, demand answers, and ride his cock all at the same time. I’d never hit another person in my life, so that part was out of the question. The other two? Well, they were still viable options.

  Then Andy stood in front of me, and all my emotions fled, except anger. How dare he smile and look at me like I was a pastry he could devour with a cup of coffee? Twelve damn years and not a single phone call, text, or email. I could tell he wanted a happy reunion, but I wasn’t going to give it to him.

  The confrontation that followed was filled with my pissy attitude and Andy’s attempt at humor with his laid-back charm. I wasn’t interested in a reconciliation until he apologized for being an asshole for twelve years.

  I wanted to call Faith and demand an explanation as to why she didn’t give me a warning, but I knew the answer. Faith had decided she was Switzerland, neutral and peace-loving, when it came to Andy and me. She loved us both and refused to choose sides or give either of us up. I was grateful for that because I couldn’t imagine a world without Faith in it, and I’d never ask her to turn her back on her big brother, no matter how dickhead-ish he was. So, I just let the urge to call her pass and found ways to keep my mind occupied while I internally dealt with the new development.

  I held on to that anger long after he left, and it kept me moving for the rest of the day. I stayed after hours to deep clean the shop after everyone else left, hoping to work off some of my frustrations. Maegan and a few others offered to stay and help, but I declined. I just wanted to be alone with my thoughts and rage. By the time I finished, it was pitch black outside, and all the other businesses on the block were closed. I’d finally reached the exhausted, numb state I had craved by the time I stepped into the alley behind the shop where I’d parked my car that morning. The cool spring air kissed my heated skin and revitalized my spirit.

  “Milo.” His voice came out of the darkness and scared me so bad I nearly pissed down my leg.

  I gasped and spun around, heart in my throat and anger raging through my blood. “Damn you, Andy!”

  He chuckled like it was funny that he frightened me, or maybe it was nervous laughter. Either way, it only made me angrier, and I launched myself at him.

  Instead of hitting him with my fists, I used my lips as weapons. Andy was startled at first, but then his mouth softened, and his tongue dueled for dominance with mine. I couldn’t seem to stop my hands from roaming all over his broad back, scratching Andy’s skin through his thin T-shirt with my nails and yanking his hair while flames of lust lit me up from the inside out. Andy’s hands weren’t exactly idle either. They mostly mirrored my actions until he firmly gripped my ass with both hands and kneaded the flesh he’d loved so much.

  If ever there was a time to call a halt to the madness, it was then. I knew that we were seconds away from fucking in a dark alley, and just couldn’t bring myself to care. Where had the anger and mistrust gone? It fled as soon as I felt Andy’s lips against mine and his arms around me. It was like no time had lapsed at all, and we picked up right where we had left off. It was wrong, and I’d kick myself for it later, but I just couldn’t seem to stop myself. Andy’s head wasn’t any clearer than mine. Lust was the only thing driving our actions.

  The last glimmer of doubt faded when Andy slid his hand beneath the waistband of my jeans to tease the crack of my ass with a long, skilled finger. This man had the hands of a musician, and he played me like a piano, making me rip my mouth from his so I could sing out for more. And he delivered.

  Andy spun me around to face the brick wall of the building. The rough brick scratched the palms of my hands when Andy placed them up by my head.

  “Keep your hands there,” he demanded hotly as he unfastened my jeans and yanked them down with my underwear to my knees. A thrilling shiver worked its way down my spine because this dominant side of him was new.

  “Are you going to frisk me?” I asked. “Steal my wallet?”

  “I see that mouth of yours hasn’t changed a bit, Milo. Maybe you need something to keep it busy.”

  God, yes! I loved sucking cock, so that wasn’t much of a threat. I heard Andy tear open a packet then felt a cool, lubed finger pressing against my pucker.

  “Gah,” I said when he eased one, probing digit past the tight ring of muscles. I hadn’t exactly lived a chaste life since he left town, but it had been a while since I’d had sex. I wasn’t about to let Andy know just how eager I was for him to fuck my face. “Busy how?” I prompted. “I use my mouth for many important things. Maybe a… Fuck yes!” I shouted when Andy pegged my prostate.

  “I was thinking my cock,” Andy growled in my ear. “That mouth of yours always felt so good, but this ass though…” Andy nipped the shell of my ear, making me yelp. “It’s even tighter than I remember.”

  “Stop talking and fuck me already,” I groaned when a second finger joined the first. “I’m no delicate flower, Andy.”

  He chuckled again. “No one would ever accuse you of that. A filthy fuck in the alley is hotter than hell, but causing you pain by ramming my big dick in your tight ass isn’t what either of us wants. I need you relaxed and wet.”

  “I’m going to come,” I warned, sounding desperate. I wanted to come around his cock, not his fingers. “Fuck me now, Andy.”

  He pulled his fingers from my ass then I heard the beautiful sounds of him ripping open the condom wrapper with his teeth. Now we were getting somewhere.

  My hole felt empty, needy, and deprived. It wanted to be stretched, filled, and mastered. I felt the tip of his cock right where I wanted it, but Andy made no move to push inside me. “Hurry,” I urged.

  “Just let me add a bit more lube and—” Andy’s words became a strangled gasp when I pushed my ass hard against him, impaling myself on his cock.

  “Yessss,” I hissed between my teeth.

  “Fuuuuuuck,” Andy said followed by, “Damn you, Milo.” He angrily snapped his hips forward, burying his dick deep inside me. “Stay still a fucking minute,” Andy demanded, gripping my hips to prevent me from grinding on his cock.

  “I like it dirty and rough, Andy.”

  “It’s not you I’m worried about, Milo. I don’t want to come already. Kiss me.”

  “No.” Kissing was too intimate, and I wanted to hang on to my anger and sanity.

  “Come on, Milo,” Andy goaded. “Afraid you won’t be able to resist me if you do?”

  “So damn sure of yourself,” I groused. I was never one to back away from a challenge.

  Leaving one hand pressed against the wall, I reached behind me to grip Andy’s hair with the other then turned my head and kissed him with twelve years’ worth of frustration. After he gathered himself, Andy pulled back until only the tip of his cock remained inside me. The slow drag over my nerve-laden hole was so delicious that it made me shiver with need. I held my breath while waiting for Andy to fill me once more then gasped into his mouth when he punched his hips forward, slamming his pelvis against my ass and driving me up on my tiptoes. Yes!

  Andy’s soft, languid kisses were a contrast to his hard, furious thrusts. He captured my cries as pleasure built inside me. I couldn’t take it any longer; I needed to come. I untangled my fingers from his hair and started to reach for my cock, intending to jerk myself off while Andy continued to hammer my prostate.

  Andy shoved my hand aside and gripped my cock with his big, calloused hand. The friction was out of this fucking world, and I spurted all over the brick
wall after only a few tugs. Andy grunted and filled the condom deep inside me, never pulling his lips away from mine until I collapsed against the brick in exhaustion. If his dick wasn’t still in my ass, I probably would’ve dropped to my knees. It helped that Andy leaned the bulk of his weight against me too.

  The emotional and physical turmoil of what I had done caught up to me. I was on the verge of tears, and there was no fucking way I’d let Andy see me vulnerable like that. I swallowed hard to clear all emotion from my voice and icily said, “Kindly remove your dick from my ass.”

  “Milo,” Andy groaned, sensing that the brief truce our hard fucking created was over. I felt his reluctance to pull out, but he did it anyway.

  When he turned to discard the condom in the dumpster, I made a beeline for my car. I heard Andy’s frustrated sigh when he saw that I was bailing on him, but he didn’t call after me. Maybe he wisely knew I needed some space to accept his presence in my life again, or maybe he simply wanted to regroup for the next battle.

  I kept myself together for the few blocks to my house and didn’t release the torrent of tears I’d felt building all day until I was safely behind closed doors. My rescue kitty, Alli Cat, scowled at me when she entered the kitchen and found me sitting against the door, sobbing my broken heart out. It was hours past her dinnertime, but she put aside her hunger to comfort her pathetic human.

  I held her against my chest, and her loud purrs rumbled through me, bringing me comfort. Once I got my crap together, I fed my best girl and took myself upstairs to my bedroom. I wanted to curl up on my bed and sleep away my misery, but there was no way I was climbing between the sheets smelling like Andy Mason.

  I took a long, hot shower, eagerly washing away all traces of my shameful behavior. Then fresh tears started up again because I couldn’t believe how stupid I was for falling into his arms so easily. Falling? Ha! I launched myself into his arms. Damn it, Milo. The man disappeared without a trace and you jump his cock without even demanding an explanation? At least make the man work for it!