Page 1 of Let Me Love You
Chapter One
Ren Haynes unlatched the white vinyl gate to his neighbor’s back yard and strolled through the opening. The latch clicked closed behind him. The grass, a brownish-green and thirsty for the start of the summer rains, crunched under his step. Adrenaline coursed through him, making him edgy like he’d been before a rival-team battle on the football field. His fingertips tingled and his quadriceps twitched with the need to run. Being near Stacey Williams again did this to him. He wanted to see her,neededto—almost as essential as breathing.
An hour ago, she’d been watering the front landscape. A Bird of Paradise bush bloomed with white buds, surrounded by lavender Muhly Grass and Plumbago bushes popping with periwinkle flowers. Wearing cut-off jean shorts and a red and white striped tank top, the strings of her crimson bikini played peek-a-boo at the neck of her shirt while she’d sprayed the foliage with the hose. He assumed she planned to lounge by the pool. Fine by him. The day scorched, an unseasonably hot Saturday at the end of May. And nothing better than Stacey in a bikini. Her Marilyn Monroe centerfold pin-up body had feminine curves in all the right places.
He walked around the corner of the gray stucco ranch-style house and stopped.
Holy!
She lay on a tan and white weaved chaise lounge a few feet from the kidney-shaped in-ground pool. Sun-kissed golden skin enhanced the sensuous curves of her body. Chestnut-hair bunched in a knot on the top of her head exposed the long column of her smooth neck that beaded with perspiration from the humid Florida air. Long, dark lashes shadowed against high cheek bones, made her appear asleep.
Gentle movements rippled through her chest with each breath, drawing his attention to her tits. Her breasts filled the cups of the bikini perfectly, leaving something to the imagination. And his imagination ran wild. Blood rushed lower in her presence, settling in his groin. God, he wanted her.
During college, he’d enjoyed the ladies. But many women his age were warped by insecurities. He never understood the anxieties that plagued women. They came in all shapes and sizes—each unique and intriguing.
Stacey seemed far less insecure, perhaps because she had seven or eight years on those college girls. Comfortable in her skin, in who she was. She lay in a bikini, displaying the curve of her belly and hips. Most of the women he’d been with would cover themselves in a towel or t-shirt if their bellies were anything other than perfectly flat, embarrassed by their womanly figure.
Not Stacey.
Ren’s mother once said women didn’t come into their own until they hit thirty. Clearly, Stacey proved that to be true at thirty-one. Her confidence made her more attractive and appealing.
“Jesus Christ,” she yelped, bringing him out of a lust-filled haze.
Ren shook his head, trying desperately to erase the mental images of her naked, and him between her thighs. He feared his expression would give him away, but she was too consumed with grabbing the purple towel draped over the wooden Adirondack chair next to her to recognize the hunger flashing in his eyes.
“You scared the shit out of me, Ren!”
“Sorry.” He walked over. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Got home from Gainesville late last night and wanted to swing by and say, hey. See how you’re doing. If you needed any help with the yard or around the house this summer.”
Shut up!He sounded like a bumbling idiot. Part of the effect she had on him—that and a constant boner. He stood at the end of the chaise lounge, his form casting a shadow over her.
Even though she looked fantastic, her divorce from Randy had taken its toll. Hints of darkness hovered below her eyes. Her face appeared leaner than when he’d seen her a few months back. The sparkle in her blue eyes was slightly dimmer.
He hated seeing her hurt. Hated that her heart had been broken. But his self-seeking side was elated she was free. Free of the asshole who cheated on her and left her for another woman.
Free to be his if he had anything to say.
One day, Randy would regret how he’d treated her, but Ren planned to fill his spot before then.
The girls he’d been with were nothing more than a lay. That sounded harsh. But he’d never disrespected them. His father taught him to respect women. He had been upfront about not wanting anything serious, anything more than a physical encounter.
Stacey made him want to drop to his knees and worship the ground she walked on. She stirred things he’d never felt with another woman—a blinding lust, yes—but also a desire to protect and cherish. Warmed his otherwise distant heart.
“It’s okay.” She sat up in the chair. Tucking the towel around her waist, she covered her lower body as if she sat in her panties. He chuckled internally, thankful as well, because her breasts looked spectacular in her bikini top. “I wasn’t expecting to see anyone standing in the yard when I opened my eyes. Why didn’t you say something?”
“I was going to, but then I thought you might be sleeping. You looked peaceful and I didn’t want to disturb you.” Striding the few short steps to the Adirondack chair, he sat beside her.
“So, instead you decided to stand and stare, waiting to scare the life out of me?”
“I’m sorry.” He ran his fingers through his hair before looking at her again. He felt like a pre-teen with his first woody and not entirely sure what to do. With other women, his confidence never waned.
“I hadn’t planned on scaring you.” He shrugged, then twisted his lips into a small smile.
“It’s okay. My heart rate has returned to normal…I think.” She smirked and placed a hand over her heart.
Ren looked around. Pink flowered ground-cover concealed the dirt around two jasmine bushes and bamboo bunched in the back corners of the yard. A tall Majestic palm rounded out the new additions.
He’d worked as her right-hand last summer and recognized the changes.
