Blindsided (Indigo Love Spectrum) Read online

  Norris blinked. “You what?”

  “She came by just as I was leaving for Reese’s party. She’s every bit the way you described.”

  He groaned. “I can’t believe this. I told her about you, but I never mentioned you by name.”

  “She wears her money very well. I guess she used some of it to do some digging. It’s not like we’ve been a secret these past months. She was particularly curious about your—she caught herself before calling it a threat—desire to marry me.”

  Norris grunted. “Well, she would call it a threat, but it’s only my greatest wish. I do want to marry you, Dahlia.”

  “That’s good to know, because I want you to marry me, too.”

  He smiled. “Are you asking?”

  Dahlia chuckled. “Are you?”

  Norris eased off the couch and dropped to one knee. “I am indeed.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring he’d purchased for Dahlia so many months ago.

  “I’ve had this ring for a long time, and now I want you to have it on your finger. Dahlia, will you marry me?”

  She nodded. “Yes, Norris, I will. I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too.” Norris slipped the ring on her finger and then asked his newest burning question. “When?” he asked.

  “Is two weeks soon enough?”

  “One will be better.”

  “Rev. Leonard won’t marry us without at least three marriage counseling sessions, and there’s only two per week. I married Jonah on his family’s estate with a judge. This time is for keeps, and I want the blessing of the church for us.”

  “And you’ll have it. Sweet Zion in two weeks?”

  “It’s a date,” she said, sealing the promise with a kiss.

  * * *

  Norris followed the scent of scrambled eggs and sausage into the kitchen, just in time to see Reese place a platter of the breakfast items on the table. They’d come so far. She still grumbled when he reminded her of curfew, but she respected him in his role as her father, and they loved each other. They were a family. And before the day was over, he’d have a wife.

  He walked over and kissed her cheek. “What a fine way to start off my wedding day,” he said, sitting down and digging into the food. “Thanks, sweetie.”

  Reese smiled. “You’re welcome, Daddy.” Her eyes widened as he scarfed down the scrambled eggs and sausage. “I can’t believe in a few hours you’ll be standing in Sweet Zion about to get married. You don’t even seem nervous.”

  “I’m not. I do feel bad for the slew of women who are going to be crying into their pillows tonight, but they’ll get over it—in about five or ten years.” He laughed.

  Reese rolled her eyes. “And people think I’m bad,” she said, popping the last of a sausage link in her mouth.

  Norris continued laughing. “Seriously, I’m over the moon.” He ate the last of his toast. “I’m hours away from marrying the woman of my dreams, and my beautiful daughter is here to share it with me. What more could I ask for?”

  “That your beautiful daughter won’t steal your thunder when she walks down the aisle in her-to-die for bridesmaid dress.” She smiled broadly. “You might want to ask for that.”

  Norris laughed with Reese. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  * * *

  “Would you stop fidgeting!” Ryan said, trying to tie Norris’s bow tie. “You’re worse than Justin and Angelica. And she wanted to sleep in her flower girl dress.”

  “I can’t help it.” Norris couldn’t contain his smile. “In a few minutes, Dahlia is going to be Mrs. Converse. I’m going to have a wife. I’ll be a husband.”

  “Now all you have to do is lose the leather furniture.”

  “Nothing doing, pal. I like my leather, and so does Dahlia.” He smiled brighter. “She likes everything about me.”

  “Oh, whatever.” Ryan finished with the tie. “All done.” He grabbed Norris’s shoulders. “How do you feel?”

  “Loved.” Norris groaned. “Damn, I sound like a greeting card,” he said, checking his reflection in the mirror.

  “The right woman does that. You start humming love songs and smiling all the time.”

  Norris nodded. “Yeah. Yeah.”

  “I’m sorry your parents aren’t here to share in this.”

  “It’s their loss. They’ve missed most of my life. This is nothing new. I haven’t seen my father in almost five years, and he’s not returned any of my calls. Lane and Jules haven’t heard from him either. I guess separating from Mom freed him from parenthood, too. Not that either of them were there before. I met Reese less than six months ago, and I can’t imagine not being in her life. I don’t care how old she gets.”

  “You’re a real parent. Do you miss your folks?”

  “It’s hard to miss something you never truly had. I have what I need now. What I’ve been searching for. A family. The people I love and who love me are here. That’s what matters.”

  Ryan slapped Norris’s arm. “You ready to get married?”

  “Am I ever.” Norris smiled. “Best man, let’s do this.”

  * * *

  Norris lay in the bed, his arms folded behind his head and cool satin sheets against his bare skin, in anticipation of Dahlia’s warm body taking the place of the slinky bedding. His gaze stayed on the bathroom door she’d disappeared behind five minutes earlier. With the lighting set to a romantic glow and instrumental songs of love piping in from the surround-sound stereo speakers, the only thing missing was his new wife.

  “Mrs. Converse, do I need to come in there and get you?”

  Dahlia stepped out of the bathroom wearing a super sheer white gown that left very little to the imagination. “Somebody’s impatient.”

  Norris sat up, transfixed. The nearly six months he’d waited for her to come to him like this had been well worth it. He’d seen her with nothing on before, but the teasing transparency sheathing her luscious form added a level of mystery to the body he’d come to know so well and increased his already intense desire to get to know it all over again, a fact made evident by the tenting of the sheet covering him.

  Dahlia smiled. “I see you like your present,” she said. He swallowed audibly. “I really do. But I think I’d like it even better on the floor.”

  “As you wish, husband.”

  The shining diamonds comprising Dahlia’s engagement and wedding rings sparkled like stars in the dim light as she pulled the tiny straps off her shoulders and allowed the gown to fall in a heap at her feet. Norris’s gaze raked over every beautiful inch of her, intensifying his need. He pulled the sheets back, welcoming her into the bed. His body trembled when she slid in beside him.

  The hot, hard tips of her full breasts brushed against his chest. A deep groan rumbled in his throat.

  They lay face to face on their sides. Norris pressed his hand to her cheek. A brand new platinum band shone on his finger. “This has been the happiest day of my life.” He nipped her lips. “I want to make you as happy as you make me.”

  “You already have.”

  Norris nestled closer to her. His raging hardness pressed against her abdomen. Dahlia’s soft moans filled his ears. “I think I can whip up a little more happiness before the night is over,” he murmured, touching his mouth to hers.

  Their lips moved together, slowly caressing and then parting, allowing their tongues to join in. Norris turned on his back, bringing Dahlia against him. The moist heat between her parted thighs lay flush against him, pulsating against his mid-thigh. His erection throbbed against her belly. He moaned into her mouth, gripping her firm bottom, holding her swiveling hips against him.

  Dahlia’s lips left his, trailing a searing path from his chin to his neck, to his sensitive and taut nipples. Norris closed his eyes, groaning his pleasure, every nerve ending in his body craving her magic touch. Her tongue flicked one nipple and then the other while her hands splayed in the darks hairs covering his chest. Her soft lips made their way back up his body, nuzzling his nec
k and then connecting with his.

  Sliding his hand into Dahlia’s hair, Norris held her closer, kissing her with a gentle hunger, a longing ema nating from a place deep inside himself, a desperate need to be one with her. He ended the kiss and turned Dahlia on her back.

  He kissed the puckered chocolaty tips of her breasts, laving the stony peaks, drawing one and then the other into his mouth. “I want to love every inch of you, Dahlia.” He kissed his way down her body. His lips trailed down one long, silky leg. He suckled each of her French-tipped toes into his mouth. He repeated the action with the other leg as he made his way back up, concluding his journey at the meeting of thighs. As he lapped at her sweetness, her blissful cries echoed about the vast bedroom of the penthouse suite of the luxurious New York hotel. Her fingers threaded in his hair as she held him there. He slipped a finger between her slick folds, increasing her pleasured sighs.

  Dahlia spoke his name, a clear and obvious request in her low, breathy tone. Norris ended his sensual kiss. The beauty of her body under the glow of the soft lighting, with the silent pleading in her dark eyes and the invitation of her open arms and parted thighs, became too much to resist. Rising up on one arm, Norris guided his twitching erection into her velvety heat. Dahlia cried out as he filled her completely. Norris closed his eyes, reveling in the pleasure of being one with Dahlia, his beautiful wife.

  Dahlia’s legs curled around his waist, her slick, heated walls squeezing and holding him in a sensual embrace, giving him pleasure like he’d never known. Her hands explored the planes of his back and traveled to his bottom, urging his thrusts. Answering her call, Norris drove deeper inside her, delivering slow, measured strokes. Filling her, loving her, making her his forever.

  Their mouths came crashing together, kissing hard and desperately until the need for air demanded a respite. Dahlia buried her face in his neck, licking and kissing him, throwing his body into an erotic tailspin. No woman had ever touched him like Dahlia. She went beyond his physical body and reached his very soul.

  Directing Norris to his back, Dahlia mounted him, her pelvis grinding against his. She leaned forward, teasing his taut nipples with hers. Norris cupped her backside, pressing her hard against him, filling her deeper.

  Dahlia pulled upright, trailing her finger against his chest, sending shivers throughout his body. Folding her hands around his neck, she bounced atop him, a saucy grin on her beautiful face. Norris groaned. She was driving him wild.

  Norris reached for her breasts, squeezing the fleshy mounds as she moved against him. He pushed them together and leaned forward, rolling each nipple in his mouth. Dahlia moaned her pleasure, but it was all his pleasure, her delicious pebble tips better than any hard candy. Norris gently nipped at her dark mounds. Feasting on her, enjoying her.

  He grunted sadly when she pushed him back to the bed, but had little time for disappointment when she arched her back, taking him deeper into her pulsating core. A guttural moan ripped from Norris throat. Stars flashed before his eyes.

  Closing his arms around her waist, Norris brought her onto the bed, filling her with his need. His thrusts grew harder and faster, Dahlia’s cries louder and deeper. He pinned her legs against him, driving deeper into her throbbing heat. Norris expanded in her depths, drawing closer to his release. Dahlia clutched his bottom, holding fast to him as he continued to push inside her. They moved together, faster and faster, until their bodies seized and then exploded in mutual ecstasy.

  Norris’s body trembled against Dahlia’s as his seed erupted deep in her womb, filling it with the promise of family from the home her love provided. When his movement ceased and their rapturous moans silenced, Norris turned to his side, staring lovingly at his spent wife. Grandma Flora wouldn’t have liked the way Dahlia took the name of the Lord in vain when she reached her peak, but it certainly made him feel good.

  “How was it for you?” He smiled, brushing beads of sweat from her forehead.

  With a coy smile, Dahlia tapped her hand to her mouth, yawning.

  “Hey!” Norris said, tickling her sides when she broke into uncontrollable laughter. “You better recognize me, Mrs. Converse. That was my very best work.”

  “Okay, okay,” she said, still laughing. “I have to find ways to keep that ego in check.” Norris stopped his tickling. “Seriously, I’ve never felt more loved in my life. It was beyond incredible.” She kissed his chest. “You always said we could be this way together, and you were right.”

  “Of course.” Norris smiled brightly and covered her body with his. “Norris is always right.”

  Epilogue

  Norris tried not to cry as Reese placed the last of her things in the back of Ben’s SUV. He couldn’t believe how fast the last year had come and gone, and now his daughter was leaving for college.

  “Please try to smile, Daddy.”

  Norris attempted to get his lips to curl, but failed. “I can’t do it, Reese. I don’t feel very happy right now.”

  “I’m going to college, not prison. Columbia’s not so far.”

  “Maybe not the state capital, but this university is hundreds of miles from Denburg. Hundreds. In New York City.”

  “Just over an hour and a half by plane. That’s not bad.”

  Norris whimpered.

  “Daddy.” Reese pulled him into her arms and kissed his cheek. “You’re not losing me, you’re just letting me grow. I’ll be home for holidays, and you can come up and visit.” She pulled back and held up her hand in warning. “But not all the time. Not that I’m too worried about that, considering Dahlia is gonna make you a daddy again in about what, two minutes?”

  “Three weeks,” Norris said, ecstatic about welcoming his son but heartsick to be losing his daughter.

  “I’ll be home for that, too.”

  A very pregnant Dahlia waddled out of their brand new house. A house with a sprawling green lawn and white picket fence. Their home. Their home in which she should have been relaxing in air-conditioned comfort.

  Norris frowned. “Dahlia.” He caressed her belly. “You should be inside resting. It’s too hot out here.”

  “I’m fine, Norris. I thought you could use some moral support.”

  Reese nodded. “I think you’re right,” she said. Gail blew the horn. “Reese, we’d better get going.”

  Dahlia embraced Reese. “I’m going to miss you, sweetie.”

  “I’m going to miss you, too, Dahlia.” Reese glanced over at Norris. “Take care of him.”

  Dahlia nodded and smiled. “You know I will.”

  “Well, Daddy, this is it,” Reese said.

  Norris shook his head sadly. “Yep, looks like.” He gave Reese another hug. “If you need anything or just want to talk, you call home.”

  “I will. Aunt Julia is working on her designs in New York now, and Jack’s at NYU, so I won’t be alone. I’ll be fine.”

  Norris grunted. “Call if he gets out of line, too.”

  “Daddy,” she whined.

  “I’m serious.”

  “I know.” She kissed his cheek. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Reese.”

  Norris and Dahlia waved until the SUV piggybacking Reese’s car disappeared out of sight.

  Dahlia squeezed his hand. “You going to be okay, Norris?”

  “Yeah.” He stooped down and kissed Dahlia’s belly.

  “Just grateful I won’t have to do this again for eighteen years.”

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Raised in Denmark, SC, where she still resides, Tammy Williams received her associate’s degree from Denmark Technical College and her bachelor’s degree from Voorhees College.

  Tammy became serious about writing in 2002 when she joined Romance Writers of America and soon thereafter the local RWA chapter, Lowcountry Romance Writers of America. Blindsided is the sequel to her debut novel, Choices.

  When she’s not writing, Tammy enjoys reading, watching television and movies, and spending time with her family.

  Vi
sit Tammy’s website at www.tammywilliams online.com, send her an email at [email protected], or write to her at P.O. Box 84, Denmark, SC 29042. She always enjoys hearing from her readers.