Blocked Read online

  * * * *

  Blocked

  Copyright © 2015 by Lisa N. Paul

  All rights reserved.

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products, bands, and/or restaurants referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Dedication

  To those of you who have started over.

  Be it in love, career, family, or self—you’re an incredible mentor and a thriving survivor.

  To those of you still wondering if you can do it…

  You CAN. Believing in yourself is the only way to ever really become unBlocked.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Glimpse of What's to Come...

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Chapter Fifteen

  (No, Really You Haven’t Missed Anything… Here’s A Glimpse of What’s to Come)

  HER GREEN EYES shimmered, revealing mutual desire as she lifted the glass of merlot to her full lips, parting them to take another small sip. Christ, those lips, so soft and sweet…Decker could practically taste them as he tried to convince himself to look away from what shouldn’t have been such an ethereal sight. But it seemed as though everything April Maddox did was sexy as hell and erotic as sin. He couldn’t fool himself into thinking otherwise; therefore, why bother missing any part of her beautiful show? With his gaze focused squarely on the delectable vision next to him, he inhaled—there was no ignoring the erection pulsing behind the zipper in his slacks. Everything the woman said or did affected him, and he’d venture to guess she was not clueless to her role in his torture. No, he could see the hunger in her eyes, the mutual ache of sexual desire. She was wanton. As the glass touched her mouth and the deep burgundy liquid ran up the tapered bowl of the wineglass, caressing her glossy painted lips, Decker’s mind automatically fixated on apples. When he claimed her lips after dinner, would they still taste like the apple gloss he’d enjoyed earlier that evening? Or would the sweet grapes of the wine touch his tongue and flavor their kiss? Not that it mattered, as long as he got to own her mouth for a few minutes, got to taste the essence of the woman who was quickly changing the very foundation on which he’d built his life. She could taste like wood filler, and he’d relish it. A man could easily become addicted to those lips, as well as those mind-bending kisses—lord knows he had, and it’d only been two real dates. Well, this was their third…

  “Decker?” Just the sound of his name in her honey-smooth voice had his heart beating faster and his length hardening to an aching throb. “Deck, is everything okay?” April lowered her glass to the table, shifting her lithe body smoothly in the U-shaped booth.

  As they turned toward each other, his knee gently brushed her leg, and he watched her questioning gaze descend slowly from his eyes to where his hands gripped his upper thighs, his thumbs all but digging into the cotton of his perfectly pressed pants. April’s perusal paused briefly, the minute she noticed what was practically impossible for him to hide. The audible catch of her breath as it held for a beat, and the slight flush that kissed her cheeks a fraction of a second before she licked her lips, and brought her steamy green gaze back to his face, nearly set him ablaze. Yeah, everything would be just fine once he finally got her alone and beneath him. His body vibrated with need for the incredible woman beside him. It had been so long… so long since he’d felt this way. Had he ever truly felt like this before?

  “You look…stiff, Deck.” Her shy smile was now charged with a vixen-like confidence he’d never seen on her before.

  That look made him want to sweep the dishes from their table—to hell with the mess or the prying eyes of the other diners—spread her out before him like a main course, and finally see if her whole body tasted as sweet as her damn lips. When she placed her small hand over his and began tracing tiny circles with her index finger over his sensitized flesh, Decker was pulled from a lustful haze and into the moment. April Maddox knew exactly what she was saying, knew just how her gentle touches were affecting him.

  “I’ve heard massage can help with that sort of problem.” Her gaze flitted to his lap then back to his eyes before a smirk curled the ends of her upturned mouth. The innuendo played openly on her beautiful face.

  Lifting both of their hands from his thigh, he twisted his wrist to bring her palm to his lips. Decker breathed in her warm, fruity smell then placed a kiss on the soft skin. “You’re a funny lady, you know that?”

  He could barely contain the laughter in his voice, and truth was he didn’t want to. He liked April as a person; her humor, intellect, and warmth set her apart from so many of the other women he’d dated. When his libido wasn’t sucking the blood from his brain and depositing it directly into his balls, he could tell the feeling was mutual.

  “Yes, I’m freaking hilarious.” Her brow arched. “In fact, I may be one of the funniest people I know,” she confirmed, a smile stretching across her face as the deep dimples in both cheeks winked, practically begging him to touch them, taunting him to kiss them.

  Extending his arm, he cupped her face, stroking the divot in her right cheek. Silk... her skin felt silken beneath his touch, and as the backs of his fingers traveled down her neck, reveling in the supple skin, electricity jolted through his body.

  “April Maddox, you definitely are amusing, but you’re so much more. You’re smart, sweet, and... well…” his gaze traveled from her face to the scooped neckline where the swells of her breasts subtly formed the perfect amount of cleavage. “Let’s face it, you’re fucking gorgeous.”

  Watching her chest rise and fall with her shallow breaths as his words resonated sparked a fire in his gut. As her cheeks flushed, his blood heated. Her scent flooded his nostrils as he breathed in slowly while recomposing himself in the leather booth. The instant her pink tongue slid over her plump bottom lip, Decker knew all attempts at being suave were lost. He was lost. Take her home, he told himself. Charlie will never
find out, he promised his troubled conscience then took the leap he’d wanted to take for months.

  Slipping his thumb under her chin and tilting it back, Decker stared into her hooded eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about your mouth, the way it tastes, the things you say—I want you, April. I need you in a way that makes no sense.” Desire clawed its way up his chest, demanding its release. “But right now, I don’t give a shit about making sense…”

  “Decker.” April sighed, her voice low and husky as her chartreuse eyes practically glowed with anticipation. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

  Her moaned agreement had his heart pounding double time as he did his best to keep his cool exterior from melting onto the leather booth. She pulled her plush bottom lip between her teeth, and for a brief second, the world faded away. He heard nothing, saw nothing but those lips.

  As if she sensed his momentary loss of time and space, April gently stroked his jaw until his eyes once again made contact with hers. “And I’ve wanted you since the first second I saw you at the gym.” Her lips curved. “Any man who can bench-press that much weight and not make those silly grunting noises is someone I pay attention to.” Her dimples sunk deeper. “It didn’t hurt that you were easy on the eyes and compassionate to boot. When that older woman tripped and fell getting off the treadmill, you helped her up and got her ice for her ankle. You were so kind and gentle with her. Kind of like a superhero that day, Decker Brand.”

  “Are you saying I’m not a superhero every day, Ms. Maddox?” Dimples, again… it was like playing Skee-Ball and scoring in the coveted top ring. No matter how many times you win, you always feel like a champ. Seeing April’s dimples and knowing they were aimed at him…yeah, totally fucking winning.

  With one hand placing whisper soft touches on his throbbing cock, April lifted the cloth napkin from her lap and laid it gently on the table. “Do you wanna get out of here? I can show you how super I think you are.” Her wide eyes showed she was just as surprised by her brazen actions as he was.

  After three dates, hours spent at the gym, and countless dirty chats and texts, maybe April Maddox was dying to get her hands all over him like he was her. Maybe she, too, wanted to feel the length of him pressing into her as they came together for the first time. Fuck, I want her.

  Decker lifted his hand and signaled for the check.

  * * *

  WITH THE CHECK paid at lightning speed, Decker placed his large hand on the small of April’s back and led her to the restaurant door. The heat from his palm sent tingles up her spine and moisture between her thighs.

  Oh my God. Is this really happening? Holy shit, this is finally happening! Like one of her preteen students instead of a grown woman, her thoughts flipped-flopped from excited to nervous, from giddy to curious. Had she made the right moves? Brazen had never been her way, but the years she’d spent tucked away inside herself hadn’t brought her happiness either. So at the advice of her friends and siblings, she decided to leap outside of her comfort zone and reach for what she wanted. And she wanted Decker Brand. Due to circumstances beyond their control, their timing seemed to veer on the opposite end of opportune.

  There was no questioning the desire they shared—Christ, she felt as though she could drown in its depth—but her past had taught her a bitch of a lesson, and it wasn’t one she’d ever care to repeat. Therefore, she’d taken the tortoise’s route instead of the hare’s. Slow and steady kept her safe, but left her horny as all hell. However that would be remedied shortly, because she intended to hop her ass to the finish line no matter what, and she couldn’t wait to collect her reward.

  Walking through the small parking lot with his arm draped protectively around her waist sent small jolts of anticipation zipping through her already hyper-aware body. Everything about the man to her left was imprinted into her memory—the way his tall, hard frame gave balance to her knees that just barely kept her upright, his scent, a spicy blend of cedar, pine, and Decker, hung ever so lightly in the spring air, just enough to make her mouth water and her heart race. The man was a sensory feast, and she suffered from insatiable hunger.

  They stopped in front of her car. They’d agreed to meet at the restaurant because she still felt more comfortable having her own transportation.

  “I’ll drive slowly so you can follow me back to my place.” April’s skin bloomed with goose bumps as Decker’s thumb glided up and down her arm as he spoke. “But just in case, please enter my address into your GPS.” Decker shifted closer, his mouth mere inches from her ear. “I don’t wanna lose you tonight, April.” Yep, those seven words had her blood pulsing through her veins while eagerness clenched at her core as she tapped in his address.

  “Are you sure you want to take this back to your place, Deck? I mean, I’ve never been there before and… what if Charlie finds out?” She saw a quick flash of something pass over his face. If it was guilt or the thrill of getting caught, April had no idea. But as quickly as the look had come, it was gone.

  Decker opened her car door and waited until she was tucked and buckled safely into her seat before speaking. His brow arched as his chocolate eyes glittered. “It’s late, April. Charlie’s been sleeping for a while.” His lips curled up in the half grin that April had named his gotcha smirk as his voice dropped to a gravelly pitch. “As much as I look forward to hearing how you sound when you’re screaming my name as you come”—he winked—“tonight, we’re gonna have to go on touch instead.”

  “Ahh, so kind of like mime sex,” April teased, squeezing her thighs together. Everything the man said sparked her libido, and she was one flare away from detonation.

  Her heart sped up, pounding wildly into her ribs as Decker’s brown eyes blackened at her comment. Their relationship flourished due to their easy banter and similar sense of humor, but as he licked his lips and leaned into her car, the only thing that occupied her mind was getting his mouth closer to her own. She didn’t have long to wait. Decker tipped her chin up and crushed his lips to hers. His tongue breached the seam of her lips and demanded entrance into her mouth. Her breathless whimper seemed to rev up the fire between them as their bodies fused as one. He nipped her bottom lip before ending their scorching kiss, his forehead pressed gently to hers as she breathed in his warm sweet breath.

  “Fuck, April. Let’s get out of here before I strip you down and take you in the backseat of your car like a horny teenager.”

  Lust struck and aroused, April grazed her fingers over Decker’s stubbled jaw. She loved the way his brown eyes were practically black with desire—desire for her, and no one else.

  Prologue

  Four Years Ago

  April

  “I’M SORRY, SNUGGLE-BUNNY, I am.” The words left Ben Spears’s mouth, but repent wasn’t at all the emotion April sensed oozing from her husband as he shrugged with blatant indifference. “I just can’t do this…” He gestured his hands back and forth from his body to hers. “This whole thing between you and me anymore. I need to be happy.” Condescension dripped from his tone. “And you should want that for me.” Ben tossed the rolled pairs of socks from his drawer into his suitcase in a basketball-like fashion. His eyes lit up with accomplishment each time a pair made it into the open case. Packing had always been a little game to him. And there, in that moment, even after he’d dropped a proverbial grenade on his wife, blowing their life apart, he still took time to score points with each pair of socks.

  “Wait, let me get this straight.” April rubbed her trembling hands over her rounded belly. An action which had previously brought surges of excitement about their future now provided her with unwavering purpose. At thirty-six weeks pregnant, their unborn baby was the only reason she hadn’t gone all Lorena Bobbit on her lying, cheating, son-of-a-bitch husband who, sadly enough, had also been the love of her life since her sophomore year in high school. Her one and only love and she his, or so she’d thought until fifteen minutes prior, when she came home from work early with a headache and found him pa
cking his things.

  “Four points.” Ben pumped his fist as two more pairs of socks landed in the suitcase.

  “Ben.” While trying to control the quiver in her voice, April was unsuccessful in reining in the volume. “I don’t understand. You’re telling me you’ve been having an affair?”

  “Yes.” Another two points celebrated as Ben kept his back turned from April.

  “And this woman…” April could barely grit out the word seeing as her mind had already conjured the female into a monster, nothing more than two tits, a hole (maybe two holes), and a heartbeat. “You…cheated on me with her back when we were in college?” April rubbed at the moving form in her belly. Judging by the placement, it was probably their baby’s elbow. Yep, their child wasn’t even born yet and already knew that its daddy was an asshole. Great, just great.

  “Yes, April.” Ben faced her and nodded. “Yes to everything. I’m in love with her, and I think I always have been. When she came to work at my firm eight months ago, I realized that those feelings never went away.” Not waiting for a response, Ben turned his back and walked into the closet to gather his suits.

  Shock filled April like water flooding a sinking boat. After all, she was sinking. Her life was being torn apart right before her eyes, and she was completely out of control. Grasping for answers like a life preserver, she threw out questions, hoping the answers would help in some way. She’d settle for anything that would clue her in on what the hell was going on.

  “Eight months?” April shrieked. “So around the time we got pregnant, you started fucking another woman? And it never occurred to you to tell me?”

  Ben’s silence spoke volumes. April tugged at her hair clip, releasing the silky strands from the prison they’d been trapped in all day. Her head had gone from an ache to a migraine, and her stomach was beginning to churn. Their baby continued to shift in her belly, a reminder that it wasn’t just her Ben was leaving but them.