Dreaming by the Sea (an erotic paranormal short story) Read Online Free PDF

so good her entire body melted, and she leaned against the doorframe. “Didn’t know you were back in town.” So what if she was lying and he likely knew it. News like this traveled faster than a wildfire in drought-dry grass. But she needed a moment to regroup her scattered thoughts.
    “Arrived this mornin’. Mom cooked me breakfast. Thought I’d hit all the stops.” His shoulders lifted. “Funny thing is, first place I had to be was here.”
    She swallowed. His voice held a note of reticence, like he wasn’t sure he was welcome. But she could hardly invite him inside. Not when his face was plastered in pause mode on her computer screen. Waving a hand the length of her body, she cleared her throat. “I’m not dressed.”
    “I can wait.”
    “You can’t come in.”
    His head lifted, his jaw tightening. “Sorry to bother you.”
    “No.” And even though she knew giving in was a mistake, that being anywhere near him was sure to unleash all the raw, hurtful feelings she’d been carrying around since the last time she saw him, she couldn’t let him leave like this. “Just let me get dressed.”
    His eyes narrowed, and a small smile tilted up one corner of his mouth. “I’ve seen you in less.”
    Her heartbeat skittered, and her mind raced for another excuse. “My house is a mess.”
    “Always is.”
    This time, she squinted up at him, irritation beginning a slow burn, something she was grateful for because now she could face him with her backbone intact. “Five minutes.” She stepped back and shut the door, and then sagged against it, her forehead softly banging against the sturdy oak.
    She drew a deep fortifying breath, and then began to grin. He was here—the first place he’d come after seeing his mama. That had to mean something. But then she remembered the album, and her breath caught in her throat. Was he here to finish unloading old memories? To tell her face to her face that he’d found someone else?
    Backing away from the door, she let that thought linger for about two seconds. He wasn’t wearing a ring, something she’d noted when she’d been caught staring. So, the man was still fair game. Lifting her chin, she headed toward her bedroom, stopping by her desk to shut off the monitor to kill the damning picture.
    For the first time in five months, she experienced a thrill in her heart. Sure, nothing had been resolved between them. He was still stubbornly hell-bent on roaming the world, and she had a life here, filled with friends and work she enjoyed. But maybe, this time, they could find some middle ground. She’d be open this time. Really listen to his hopes and dreams. She wasn’t her mother, and Derek wasn’t like any of her loser stepdads. After that last fight, she’d come to the realization of how wrong she’d been to paint him in the same light. Dead wrong to limit her dreams based on her mama’s history.
    One thing she’d learned in all this these months alone was that a life without Derek was no life at all.