In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes (The Queen’s Cove Series Book 3)
In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes: Chapter 18

“TELL ME ABOUT YOUR REAL DATE.” Sadie asked in between bites of Thai food as we sat on the floor in the sitting room, watching the sunset. We had moved the furniture out of here to make room for the renovations.

I sighed. This again. “I don’t know. It wasn’t good.”

“Elaborate, please.”

“It was awkward. I didn’t know what to talk about with her. I could tell she wasn’t having fun.”

She tapped her lip, thinking. “Some people aren’t a good fit.”

Maybe there wasn’t a person out there for me. I blew a long breath out before I squashed those thoughts.

Spending time with Sadie was giving me hope, and I didn’t like that.

“What’s wrong, Sasquatch?” Sadie took another bite of food and studied me.

“It’s hard. This dating thing.”

She laughed. “Yeah, it’s hard. People search for decades for the perfect partner and you’re trying to replace one in six months.”

When she said it like that, it sounded impossible.

“Everyone struggles, except Aiden,” she said before taking another bite. “He was at the bar last night. Jeeze, his smile is like—” She made a shocked face. “—high watt.”

That fucking guy. His eyes were all over every inch of her skin that day on the boat. I could see him itching to touch the thin straps of her dress.

So was I, but that was different.

Jesus, she was hot in that dress.

He was there last night at the bar and I wasn’t there to run interference. My jaw tensed.

“I thought you said you weren’t dating,” I bit out, harsher than I meant.

She raised an eyebrow and gave me a slow blink. “I’m not.”

“So why are you talking about him?”

She wiggled her eyebrows at me in a teasing way. “Jealous,” she said in a singsong voice.

“I’m not jealous.” My chest and shoulders strained tight.

She frowned. “What’s wrong with him?”

I gritted my teeth. “Nothing. He’s a nice guy.” Aiden was always in a good mood, always honest and careful on job sites, and I bet he would never have problems on dates.

I didn’t like the idea of him and Sadie together. Even if she wasn’t dating. Even if she didn’t like me.

“Not as nice as your new toy.” I shot her a glance and a laugh scraped out of her throat.

“Gross. You are gross,” she told me. “Okay, are you ready for your practice date? She’s here.”

My eyebrows shot up in alarm. “What? No.”

After how badly I had done on my date with Liya, I had no interest in a repeat.

She moved to standing. “Close your eyes.”

“Sadie,” I started, but she had already disappeared into the hall. I could hear rustling.

“Are you closing your eyes?” she called.

I sighed and closed them. “Yes.”

Her footsteps echoed around the empty room along with a strange rustling noise, like a balloon brushing against something.

“Say hello to your date.”

I opened my eyes and glared at the blow-up doll sitting across from me. My gaze flicked to Sadie, doubled over in silent laughter, eyes sparkling.

“Isn’t she pretty?” Sadie asked.

The blow-up doll’s mouth gaped open and I cringed. “Where did you get this?”

“Facebook Marketplace.”

I stared at her. “It’s used?”

She blanched. “No, it’s not used. The guy said he bought it as a joke, just like I was.” She slid a wary glance at the doll.

“Did it have a box?”

Her eyes narrowed. “No?” Her expression turned horrified. “Oh god. It’s used. Ew!”

My mouth strained as I tried not to laugh. “And you want me to make conversation with this thing?”

She lifted the doll up and tossed her in the hall. “From what I’ve seen, you don’t need the practice.” Her eyes were warm and she shrugged. “You’re doing fine.”

With her, I was. Talking with Sadie was easy. Annoyance pinched me in the gut. Why her?

Her phone buzzed and she glanced at the screen before unlocking it. Her face lit up and she tilted the screen so I could see.

It was a candid photo of her, chatting with Wyatt and Hannah under the streetlight on Main Street, posted on the Queen’s Cove Instagram account, and she was fucking gorgeous.

I took the phone from her to study it.

She wore a red dress that showed off her incredible tits. Her hair was loose and wavy around her shoulders. She was mid-laugh, her eyes bright and sparkling.

“You look nice,” I murmured, memorizing the photo.

“That was Tuesday, before you bailed on me.”

I turned to her. “You looked like this to go out on a date with me?”

A wash of pink grew on her face and she shrugged, taking her phone back. Our fingers brushed and the sensation of her soft skin against mine stole my attention.

She had gotten dressed up, put effort in and wore heels, and I acted like a fucking asshole because I was afraid of how much I wanted to go on a date with her.

Warmth pulsed in my chest at the idea that she dressed up to go out with me.

If we had gone out and she had worn that dress, I definitely would have kissed her.

My gaze dropped to her plush mouth. Her teeth pinned her bottom lip as she watched me.

Blood pounded in my ears as my gaze alternated between her eyes and her mouth. Her gaze fell to my mouth, and my cock stirred.

I wanted to kiss her, and I think she wanted to kiss me, too.

As I looked into her eyes, energy crackled around us, and I pictured her using a vibrator again. I’d think about that image later in the shower with my hand wrapped around myself.

I could see her pulse going in her neck.

“Holden,” she breathed.

My hand came to her jaw, tracing the line until my thumb brushed over her bottom lip. Her shaky breath tickled as she exhaled, watching me with heavy eyes.

I wasn’t supposed to kiss her, but I couldn’t remember why.

“You shouldn’t be looking at me like that.” Her voice was soft.

Fuck it.

I tilted my head and ran my lips up the side of her neck, barely touching her. She shuddered under my touch. My cock ached, straining against my zipper. Fuck, she smelled good. Light, warm, and sweet.

“Holy,” she whispered, and I pressed a line of kisses down her neck to her shoulder.

“Close your eyes and you won’t see me looking at you like this.”

My hand was in her hair, tilting her head back.

Jesus, she was so fucking pretty. An angel.

“I mean—” She broke off with a gasp as I sucked the spot between her neck and shoulder. “Hard to think when you’re doing that.”

“So don’t think,” I murmured before tilting her head back.

I paused an inch from her mouth and searched her eyes for any sign of hesitation. She closed the distance and pressed her soft lips to mine.

We sunk into a quiet heaven. Her mouth was soft, plush, pliant, and intoxicating. My mind slowed and my blood thickened as she sighed into me. I locked one arm around her and pulled her into my lap. With my mouth, I coaxed hers open and tasted her.

I groaned. She tasted like the fucking antidote to everything bad in the world.

Warm and sweet like sunshine. Soft like silk. Hot like sin.

Her tongue glided over mine and I pulled her closer to me. Her breasts pressed into my chest and a groan scraped out of my throat. I needed to get deeper. I gripped her hair and tilted her open more. She let out a needy moan and it raced straight to my erection.

She was straddling me and her hands were in my hair, threading and combing and tugging, sending sparks down my spine. Her mouth worked mine and arousal wrapped tight around my spine as I grew harder.

She sucked on my tongue with the right amount of pressure and I melted into the floor, laying back and pulling her with me.

“Fuck, honey,” I groaned.

She bit my lower lip. “Don’t call me that.”

I grinned and took her mouth again. “Yeah? You don’t like that?”

“Uh-uh.” She sucked my tongue again and pulled my hair a little harder. Her hips rocked against my length and we both exhaled groans of pleasure. My balls ached and my brain slowed all the way down.

My hands came to her hips to pull her harder against me as she rocked. She gasped and her head fell into the crook of my neck. The intimacy of it ramped up my arousal tenfold.

“Sadie,” I gritted out, working my hips against her center. “Fuck, you’re so gorgeous. You feel so good, on top of me like this.” I squeezed her ass and guided her into a rhythm against my length.

Her breaths shook against my neck. “Oh my god. Just like that. Holy hell.” Her voice was high and desperate, and I kept rocking at the same rhythm. Her thighs began to shake.

“Yeah? Like that, honey?”

She moaned and nodded into my neck. Holy fuck. She was going to come, I could tell from the desperate, needy way she moved against me, gripping my hair like she was holding on for dear life. My heart beat in my chest like a drum.

This was fucking incredible.

She froze and inhaled sharply. “Stop.”

My hands and hips stilled. “What’s wrong?”

She rolled off me, stood up, and I missed the press of her body against mine. “Nothing.” She blinked at the floor, eyes wide. Her face was flushed and her hair was a mess from me raking my hands through it. “We shouldn’t be doing this.” She spared me a glance. “I’m not doing the dating thing right now.”

I nodded and sat up, catching my breath. “Right. Sorry.”

She shook her head. “It’s fine. You probably haven’t been laid in a while.”

My mouth fell open in frustration. “You were about to come from grinding on me and I’m the one who hasn’t been laid in a while?”

Anger flared in her eyes. “No, I wasn’t.”

I snorted. “Yes, you were. Your thighs were shaking.” Her mouth opened and closed in shock and I moved to standing. I was out of breath. “It’s fine. So you have a sensitive trigger button.”

She blinked about six times. “It’s late. You should go.” Her face flushed harder. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the front door.

“Don’t take the garbage out until tomorrow morning,” I said, picking up the painting of me crying I had left downstairs before stepping onto the porch. “Or the raccoons will get into it.”

She shot me a haughty look. “Don’t tell me what to do.”

I snorted. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

The door closed behind me and I walked to my truck. I was still hard from her writhing on me, and I could still hear her breathy moans in my ear, feel her gripping my hair as she spiraled outwards with arousal.

This was a problem. It would complicate things and get in the way of me replaceing a long term partner, but as I drove home, grinning wide, I didn’t give a shit about any of that.

I wanted to do it again, and she did too, whether she wanted to admit it or not.