Blissfully in Love (Blissful, #2)

  Blissfully in Love

  By

  Red Phoenix

  SMASHWORDS EDITION

  * * *

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Red Phoenix on Smashwords

  Blissfully in Love

  Copyright 2012 by Red Phoenix

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. Your support and respect for the property of this author is greatly appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental.

  Adult Reading Material

  The Aftermath

  Ryan’s Gift

  It Should Be Illegal

  New Ventures

  Expression of Love

  About the Author Red Phoenix

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  Blissfully in Love

  ***

  The Aftermath

  Jenny held her breath as the cabin door opened. She grabbed onto Dan’s sweaty hand and held on for dear life. This was it - they were about ruin their partners’ lives. The intense love she felt for him after spending five days snowbound together was undeniable. It was worth this awful moment.

  Ryan entered first, concern clearly written on his face. “Jen, I’ve been so worried! Are you okay?” He rushed over to her, ignoring the fact she was holding Dan’s hand. Ryan grabbed her into his arms and she felt Dan let go.

  Jenny’s best friend Kelly was right behind Ryan, running over to Dan. “I haven’t been able to stop worrying about you two. I had terrible dreams about you dying up here.” She threw her arms around Dan and sobbed. Jenny noticed the two looked like the perfect pair with their matching blond hair and sun-kissed skin.

  Dan looked over at Jenny, his dark brown eyes communicating something she couldn’t discern. Did he still want to tell them? Was Dan tempted to change his mind after seeing Kelly again?

  Jenny suddenly had second thoughts about exposing the truth of their affair. She watched Dan hesitantly put an arm around her best friend and say, “We’re okay, Kelly.”

  Kelly buried her face in his chest. “I’m so relieved!” Jenny could hear Kelly sniffling and it consumed her with guilt. How could she have done this to her BFF? There was no way Kelly could ever forgive her for this.

  Ryan finally released Jenny from his constricting but loving embrace. “We’ve been trying to reach you guys since Friday. It’s been hell waiting out the storm.” He brushed Jenny’s midnight hair away from her face. “All I could think of was you freezing up here in the cabin, but I should have known better with that Cherokee blood running in your veins. You’re a survivor through and through.” Ryan kissed her on the lips, but Jenny didn’t return the kiss. He cocked his head, his emerald eyes filled with worry. “What’s wrong, Jen?” She looked back over at Dan. Should she say something?

  Dan cleared his throat. “Kelly and Ryan, there is something you should know.”

  Kelly stared at him and then glared at Jenny. The look of hatred on her face burned into Jenny’s soul. She looked down at her feet to avoid it.

  “How… could… you?” Kelly howled.

  Ryan was still clueless, his concern overshadowing his normally sharp deductive skills. “How could she what?”

  Dan spoke up, “Ryan, we’re in love. It wasn’t planned, it just happened.”

  Ryan shook his head. “What the…”

  “You fucking bitch!” screeched Kelly, lunging at her. Dan stood in the way to prevent Kelly from making contact.

  Jenny cringed and backed away from her now ex best friend. She understood this was the price she had to pay for loving Dan, but she found it hurt too much. “Kelly, I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry!”

  “Don’t give me that shit. You are my best friend, Jenny. No. You were my best friend!” Kelly turned back on Dan and started hitting him viciously on the chest. “You mother fucker! How could you do this to me?” Dan stood there and took her blows without defending himself. It appeared he was taking her punishment gratefully, as if he wanted Kelly to hit him.

  Ryan did not react the same way. He looked at Jenny with tears in his eyes. “Jen, it was a stupid fling. This was all a mistake. I don’t believe it for a second that you love him. Let me take you home and we can work this out.” Jenny expected him to fly off the handle; instead, he was trying to fix it. It was one of Ryan’s most endearing qualities.

  “Oh Rye,” she whimpered. She looked at the love reflected in his eyes and felt a wave of regret. He took her hand and led her out of the cabin towards his car. Jenny resisted at first, but part of her wanted to run away from the painful scene.

  “Don’t,” Dan called out. She looked back, drawn to him like a magnet. His blond hair covered his eyes, but he didn’t sweep it back as he waited for her decision. “Don’t leave me, Jenny.” Her heart contracted. Although her love for him was new, it was intense - unlike anything she’d felt before. Jenny stopped in her tracks, ready to fight for him until she looked into the eyes of her best friend. The hate radiating from Kelly was palpable.

  “Get out of here, bitch!” Kelly snarled. Jenny could see the intense pain her actions had caused etched in Kelly’s face and it shattered her resolve to stay.

  Ryan pulled on her arm. She looked one last time at Dan, tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t hurt Kelly and Ryan more than she already had. Jenny reluctantly followed Ryan out of the cabin and out of Dan’s life.

  This love was doomed from the start… Jenny stared out the window of the car as they drove away from the little cabin. Smoke drifted up out of the chimney, beckoning her to come back - to revel in the warmth she had enjoyed alone in the cabin with Dan.

  Ryan pulled Jenny out of her daze with a pointed question. “I have to know. Did you really fuck Dan?”

  As bad as it was, she was determined not to make it worse by lying. “We did everything but traditional fucking.”

  Ryan turned his head towards her with a raised eyebrow. “You kept your pussy away from him?”

  She blushed. How much was too much information? “He took me anally, Rye.”

  Jenny didn’t miss the shudder when he replied, “Dan did you that way? Ugh, I guess when you’re desperate...”

  She ignored the feeling of rejection his shudder wrought. Ryan was grossed-out by massaging her feet, so the idea of taking her anally was way beyond his comfort level. It would have been easy to let him think it ended there, but he deserved to know the whole truth.

  “Ryan, I was going to make love to him today.”

  “But you didn’t,” he said, slamming his hands down on the steering wheel, “because I came and rescued you in time.”

  “Ryan…”

  “No, this was just a set of unfortunate circumstances. You do not love Dan. We are more important than five days spent in a cabin.”

  She leaned against the window. In typical Ryan fashion, he’d already found a logical way to handle the situation. It was simply a mistake; it was not going to change their relationship. She sighed. Until Jenny knew what was happening between Kelly and Dan, this was the easiest route to take. If those two stayed together, there was no point in breaking up with Ryan. Even though he didn’t compare to Dan, he was a good guy. Better than I deserve.

  When Ryan arrived at the apartment, he took her by the hand and led her inside. “I am grateful to have you back home. I have missed you, Jenny Boo.” His use of her college nickname softened her heart. He’d given it to her at a Halloween party shortly after they met. Ryan grazed his hand against her cheek lovingly. It was easy to slip back into the way things were. Maybe he was right; a string of chance circumstances ignited an unusual situation. In the real world, the love affair w
ould never have happened.

  The two spent a quiet evening together. Ryan cooked a simple meal and kept the discussion light. When it came time for bed, he started undressing and said huskily, “I want to be close to you tonight.” Jenny felt she owed it to Ryan and began stripping off her clothes. It would ease the guilt of being unfaithful.

  Ryan pulled her to him, kissing her firmly on the lips. “My Jenny,” he growled as he kissed her neck and cradled her breasts in both hands. He worshipped her breasts. Jenny threw her head back and let him suckle them. It was one thing that Ryan really dug and she appreciated his attention.

  Sadly, the way he handled foreplay reminded her of a business transaction. It was quick and to the point, never lasting long enough. Soon Ryan was pushing her against the bed with his body weight. She fell back onto it giving into his need - wanting to feel connected to him again, needing to feel that this was the right thing for her.

  Ryan thrust his hard shaft into her without any undue ceremony. He grabbed her hips and began stroking her with his lengthy cock. “I love you, Jenny. Nothing else matters.” Ryan was staking his claim after the affair. She instinctually understood that this was his way of preserving his manhood. She opened herself to him and allowed Ryan deep inside her.

  He fucked her for literally an hour. She was tempted to play with her clit to help herself come, but doing something new would only highlight the fact she had been with another man. She resisted the urge, letting Ryan have his way with her. She could tell he was proud of himself for lasting so long but in reality, her insides were sore by the time he finally grunted out his climax. “This is for you!” he cried, as his dick rammed into her forcefully to finish off the session.

  She echoed his cry in a pretend orgasm. “Oh Rye, yes, yes, yes!” She knew he wouldn’t be satisfied unless he pleased her and after an hour, all she wanted was rest. Afterwards, she curled up in a ball on the side of the bed with tears in her eyes. This was what she had signed up for - a good man and minimal pleasure. Until Dan, she didn’t realize it could be any other way.

  The next morning she tried to contact Dan from her office. He didn’t answer his cell or his work phone. She called throughout the day, but it appeared he had cut off all contact from her. After a week of trying to reach him, she finally gave up. Either Kelly had instructed him not to have anything to do with her or Dan hadn’t forgiven her for leaving him behind.

  The unresolved feelings she had for the man haunted her constantly. She tried to continue forward with Ryan, but everything felt different. She still loved Rye, but Jenny realized that she had never been in love with him.

  She was completely and utterly in love with Dan. Just thinking about him gave her butterflies. She longed to hear his deep voice, to feel his warm caresses, to smell his musky scent. Everything about him was desirable and perfect. To be away from that, to be forced to live life without his presence was like a partial death sentence. She knew she would never be whole again.

  After another quiet dinner, Ryan looked at her sympathetically. “What’s wrong, Boo?”

  She had been thinking of Dan and glanced at him, her cheeks burning with guilt. “Nothing.”

  “Don’t tell me ‘nothing’. I can see it in your eyes. You’re clearly suffering.”

  “It’s not important.”

  “It’s important if it is causing you pain.”

  Jenny sighed heavily. “You don’t want to hear my thoughts, trust me.”

  He put his fork down. “Are you thinking of Dan?”

  Tears came to her eyes when she whispered, “Yes.”

  “I talked to him today,” Ryan announced as he got up from the table and cleared away the dishes. Jenny tried to hide her interest, but he saw right through her. “Yes, Dan seems to be as miserable as you are.”

  “Oh,” she murmured, both happy and upset to hear that he was suffering, too.

  “Kelly dumped him that day at the cabin. He’s been staying with a coworker while he tries to find a place, but you know how that is. Cheap apartments are impossible to come by in this city, especially on short notice.”

  Jenny gazed intensely at Ryan, trying to read in-between the lines. Why was he telling her this? What was his hidden agenda? “I agree. Finding a place won’t be easy for him,” she responded guardedly.

  He stared at her without speaking. It appeared he was trying to build the courage to say something important. She waited patiently while he scraped the plates and then washed his hands before returning to the kitchen table. “You should know that I told Dan not to contact you.”

  Jenny felt a surge of anger, immediately followed by a wave of guilt. Of course, he had the right to do that. She’d cheated on him. Jenny would do no less if it were the other way around.

  He continued, “I must admit, I appreciate the fact Dan has honored my request.” Jenny nodded her head, unsure what he expected her to say.

  Ryan took her hand and held it in his. “I want you to be happy, Jen. I don’t like seeing you like this.” She was moved by the love expressed in his luminous green eyes. He was the opposite of Dan in his features. He had short dark brown curls, emeralds for eyes, and a lean build. There was no doubt that Ryan loved her and she still loved him - even if it wasn’t the “fireworks” kind of love she felt for Dan.

  Ryan kissed the back of her hand tenderly and said, “Don’t give up on me yet.”

  Jenny gave him a weak smile. “You have been so understanding, Rye. I don’t deserve it.”

  “I would disagree,” he answered. Why did Ryan have to be so sweet? It actually hurt her heart that he was being so kind. “I love you, Jenny. More than you know.” He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips.

  She went to bed that night thinking about Dan. Knowing that he wanted to be with her was pure torture. Still, Jenny couldn’t leave Ryan. The truth was she loved him enough to keep trying.

  Ryan’s Gift

  Ryan shocked Jenny when he called her at work the next day and told her to meet him at the Oxford hotel at 6:00 p.m. He was a self-professed workaholic. Late nights at the office were common, but leaving at a reasonable hour on a weekday was not. As if he could read her thoughts he said, “I want to change things up a little, Jen. I’m determined to see that beautiful smile on your face tonight. Let’s meet in the lobby. I have a special surprise for you.”

  Jenny couldn’t help it, she squealed in pleasure. “You know how much I love surprises!”

  “I do and I promise this is something you’ll never guess.”

  “Do I get a hint?”

  “Nope.”

  “You are a cruel man, Rye.”

  He laughed softly. “Tonight marks a new chapter in our lives.” Jenny thought she heard a nervous sigh on the other end of the line. What could Ryan have in mind that would make him so anxious? It had her extremely curious and even a little amorous.

  Jenny entered the hotel and spotted Ryan near the center statue. His face lit up when he saw her, but she noticed he was fidgeting vigorously with the change in his pocket. His nerves hit her from clear across the large foyer. The way Ryan was acting reminded her of their first date. Jenny glided over to him and smiled reassuringly. “Hi stranger.”

  “Hello, beautiful. Are you ready for the biggest surprise of your life?” She suddenly felt panicky. Was he going to propose to her? Jenny wasn’t ready for that; it was too soon after the affair. Ryan read the concern on her face and wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll like it. It’s up in our room in fact.”

  Jenny giggled in nervous relief. Okay, he was simply planning to have a sexy interlude. That she could handle. “Well, what are we waiting for?” She grabbed his hand and headed for the elevator.

  Ryan hesitated for a second. Jenny had never seen him act so edgy before, except on their first date. What could have him so spooked? Now her curiosity was royally piqued!

  When they reached the room, he took her hand and squeezed it tightly. She noticed his palms were clammy
. Jenny looked into his eyes, trying to figure him out. “Whatever it is, Rye, I’m sure I will like it. You don’t have to be so worried.”

  Ryan’s cheeks flushed before he kissed her. “I’m suddenly afraid that you will like it too much.”

  The suspense was killing her. “There is only one way to find out,” she said with a wink. Ryan slipped the card in and opened the door. Jenny walked through the doorway and froze.

  “Hi Jenny.” Dan stood in front of her with a crooked little grin.

  She couldn’t move even though her body longed to rush into Dan’s arms. Jenny looked at Ryan apprehensively. “What’s going on?”

  Nervous laughter filled the room. “I…Well, we both love you. I have been talking to Dan all week. I think I’ve figured out a way for all of us to be happy.” She stared at him with eyes as wide as saucers.

  Dan spoke up. “We both want to please you tonight.”

  She didn’t realize she stopped breathing until her lungs complained. Jenny gasped for air, afraid she would faint.

  Ryan put his arm around her. “Are you okay, Jen? I thought you would be happy.”

  Jenny looked at him and then back at Dan. This is too much!

  “I think she’s in shock, Ryan. Give her a few minutes.” Dan walked over to the desk and picked up two glasses. “I mixed some drinks for us.” He came over and handed her one. When Jenny grabbed the stem of the glass, Dan brushed his hand over hers. Her whole body tingled from the simple contact.

  Dan gave the other to Ryan and then retrieved the last one for himself. He took a sip and smiled. “A damn good martini, if I say so myself.”

  Jenny took a taste. It didn’t live up to hers. “It’ll do.”