She stood there, her eyes glaring at me as I approached her. The corners of her mouth curved upwards.
“Well, I’ll be damned. It’s nice to finally meet you, Alex Parker.” She held out her hand.
I tilted my head and narrowed my eye at her as I lightly shook her hand. “She’s here. Isn’t she?”
“Yes, and she’s been waiting for you. I’m Mary. I own this place. Come with me. I’ll take you to her cottage.”
I followed her down a short path. “She told you about me?” I asked.
“Oh yes. She even showed me your picture. That’s how I knew who you were. Emerson and I became friends quite quickly.”
“I’m not surprised.” I smiled.
“I just saw her this morning. She was helping in my kitchen. Teaching me a few things she learned in Tuscany.”
“She’s a wonderful cook.”
“She sure is. She made a pot of lobster stew the other night that practically knocked my socks off.”
When we approached a small white cottage, Mary knocked on the door.
“Emerson, it’s Mary. Open up, sweetie.”
No answer. She knocked again.
“She mustn’t be here.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a ring of keys. Inserting it into the lock, she opened the door and we stepped inside.
“You can wait for her here if you want. Set your bags down and relax until she gets back.”
“Thank you, Mary. I have a place I’m going to check out first. Maybe she’s there.”
“The lighthouse?” She gave me a smile.
“You know the story?” I asked.
“I sure do. It’s about a ten-minute walk from here. Go up the path and follow it until you reach the rocks. The lighthouse is on the other side. She spends a lot of time there. She’s probably there now.”
“I hope so. Thank you again for your help. I appreciate it.”
“No problem. Good luck, Alex. It was nice to finally meet you.”
I gave her a nod and followed the path like she said. When I reached the rocks, I could see Emerson sitting in front of the lighthouse. My heart started racing. I’d found her.
Chapter 34
Emerson
As I was sitting on the rocks, looking out into the ocean, a light wind swept across my face. I would never grow tired of the beauty of this place. Holding my phone in my hand, I pulled up the video I took of us. My heart ached as I watched it for the hundredth time. God, did I miss him and his man scent. I set my phone down and placed my face in my hands.
“It’s time to come home, Emerson.”
I lifted my head and froze for a moment as my heart started to rapidly beat and my stomach started to flutter. I slowly turned around and smiled when I saw Alex standing up on the rocks. Tears started to fill my eyes as I stood up.
“Stay there. I’ll come to you.” He smiled as he made his way down the rocks.
When he reached me, I threw my arms around him and buried my face into the side of his neck.
“You knew where to find me.”
“Of course I did. Give me those damn lips.” He commanded.
I lifted my head and our lips met, engaging in a passionate kiss that I never wanted to end.
“How’s Parker? You have Parker, right? I mean, you didn’t give him away or kick his little puppy ass to the street, did you?”
Alex chuckled. “Parker is fine. We bonded. Now why are we talking about the dog? We haven’t seen each other in weeks and you want to talk about the dog?”
I laughed as I planted many kisses all over his face.
“I missed you so much, Alex.”
“I missed you too, baby.”
“Did you just call me ‘baby’?” I smiled.
“I did and I’m going to keep calling you that whether you like it or not.”
He placed his hands on each side of my face. “I love you, Emerson James. I’m madly in love with you and you’re never leaving me again. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “I totally understand and I’m not even mad that you took that commanding tone with me.” I smiled.
He smiled as he placed his forehead on mine. “I love you so much and I’m never letting you go. I want you back home with me. It’s our home, Emerson. Mine and yours. California doesn’t have to be that place of tragic memories for you anymore.”
“I know and I want to come home. I missed you so much.”
His smile widened as his lips touched mine. “That’s what I wanted to hear.” He pulled me into a tight embrace.
We sat down on the rocks in front of the lighthouse, our arms wrapped tightly around each other, staring out into the ocean.
“It truly is beautiful here,” he spoke.
“It sure is.” I kissed his cheek.
“I met Mary. She seems like a really nice lady.”
“She is. She’s amazing. How did you know where I was staying?”
“I remember you saying that your parents stayed in a cottage while they were here.”
“So you were really listening to me.”
He looked over at me and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “I always listen to every word you say, Emerson, and I promise you that I will never stop. These past weeks have been fucking torture for me. I wasn’t able to concentrate on anything. Parker and I had a long conversation about you and he can’t wait until you come home. But I’m afraid he’s taken over your side of the bed.”
I laughed. “Have you been sleeping in my bed?”
“Some nights I did because I felt closer to you. But that’s not your bed anymore. You will be in our bed upstairs.”
I raised my eyebrow at him. “I’ve never been in your bed. What if I don’t like it?”
“Trust me.” He smiled. “You’re going to love it. I’m sorry I never brought you up there.”
“Nah. It’s okay. We were comfortable in my room. Speaking of which, I think we need to head back to the cottage. We have some serious sex to make up.”
“You read my mind, Emerson. I can’t wait to explore that perfect body of yours again.”
Our lips locked one last time before getting up and heading back to the cottage.
****
A trail of clothes lined the floor from the door to the bed. To be touched by Alex again was a dream. I’d missed his hands caressing my body and I’d missed his tongue exploring every inch of my bare skin.
“God, you feel so good, baby,” he moaned as he moved in and out of me.
Our bodies were covered in sweat from the amazing foreplay we had. The type of foreplay where Alex gave me two over-the-top orgasms. His thrusting became faster as his lips wrapped around my nipple and my legs tightened around his waist. His mouth met mine as he nipped my bottom lip. Throwing my head back, several loud moans escaped me.
“That’s it, baby. Come for me. Show me how much you love me inside of you.”
“Alex,” I spoke loudly as my body shook from another amazing orgasm.
“Fuck, Em,” he moaned as he pushed deeper and spilled his come inside me.
After holding each other for few moments, he rolled off of me and we both lay on our sides, facing each other as he ran his finger along my jaw.
“I love you,” he spoke in a soft tone.
“I love you, too, Alex. I wanted to tell you so badly but I was scared.”
“Scared of what, baby?”
“Scared of loving you because if something happened to you, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
He leaned over and kissed me. “Nothing’s going to happen to me. I’m always going to be with you.”
“Have you been taking your medication?”
He frowned. “Of course.”
“Have you been watching your salt intake?”
“Yes. I have, Miss Bossy Pants.” He smiled. “And I can’t believe you threw away the salt shakers.”
“I couldn’t take the chance.”
“I could have just gone to the store and bought more.”
“You wouldn’t have. You won’t go the store unless I drag you there.”
“True.” He kissed me again. “How about we get dressed, grab something to eat, and you can show me around Bass Harbor.”
“Sounds good, but first, I need just one more orgasm.”
He smirked. “You’re awful greedy, Miss James.” His hand brushed over my bare breast.
“It’s your fault, Mr. Parker. If you didn’t make me feel so good all the time, my body wouldn’t be craving you so much.”