Just One Wish (The Kingston Family 4.50)

“Convincing your brother to get a dog,” Sasha said.

“So he’ll stop coming by all the time?” Xander grinned as he spoke.

“No, so he can impress Tara,” Cassidy said, making Axel feel like the asshole under the microscope.

And when Xander burst out laughing, Axel glared at them all. But at least he had a plan forming, not just for his next date with Tara but beyond.

* * * *

Tara had a jam-packed day of appointments that ended with an emergency for a patient that had gotten into chocolate, which was toxic to dogs. The poor pup needed to be given medicine that would cause him to vomit, hooked up to an IV, pumped full of fluids, and treated with activated charcoal to prevent the chocolate from entering his bloodstream. Lucky, the dog, needed to stay overnight, and Tara and Harry had a technician who would check in on the inpatients during the night.

Though she hadn’t finished up late, she was exhausted and didn’t remember she had a date with Axel until almost six. Not that she’d forgotten about him completely. He’d been on her mind since he’d rescued her this past Saturday night. An evening she didn’t want to repeat. She was too old to wake up hung over. But not too old to find herself underneath Axel.

As she took her cosmetic case into the bathroom and touched up her makeup, her thoughts drifted to Axel and the way he’d felt deep inside her. She recalled him pushing into her, his erection pulsing, her body responding, and desire rippled through her and her panties grew damp. She shifted her legs but couldn’t alleviate the need those memories inspired.

And when she allowed them to wash over her, the emotions flowed, as well. Axel had pulled up the feelings she’d locked down after he’d left for Los Angeles and her father died. From the way he held her and looked into her eyes, everything he did told her she was special to him. How could she not feel again?

She placed the mascara wand down on the counter and looked in the mirror, seeing the girl who’d fallen in love with Axel and not the woman who’d sworn never to let in anyone who could hurt her again. And that was dangerous to her heart.

Especially since she’d seen the evidence of his transitory nature. Who lived for so long without a sofa? A television? Pictures on the walls? Though she hadn’t mentioned it, she’d taken a look around his room, and there was just one photo on his dresser. Him with his grandmother and sister. No other personal items with sentimental value to be found.

Back when they were in high school, his grandmother had kept his music awards and any accolades hanging in his room. After she’d died, he hadn’t taken them down. His way of keeping her memory alive. But it seemed like, over the years, personal items no longer meant anything to him. Furniture didn’t mean anything to him, almost as if he had one foot out the door already.

It didn’t make sense. Nothing about the house he rented or the life he lived jibed with the man who was trying to convince her to give them another chance.

Maybe that was why she was going out with him again. Not to mention, she couldn’t deny the pull he had over her, how much she enjoyed his company, and the sexual chemistry she’d never felt for anyone else. But she couldn’t let him hurt her again.

Pushing the confusing thoughts out of her head, she picked up the wand and put two coats of mascara on her lashes, swiped some blush on her cheeks, and added her favorite shimmery gloss to her lips.

She’d caught a ride with her mom this morning so Axel could pick her up for their date from work. A last glance in the mirror and she was ready.

She walked into the outer office to find her mom putting on a light sweater as she prepared to leave. “Finished for the day?” Tara asked.

Her mom turned to face her. “Glenn and I have dinner plans,” she said. “You look pretty. I take it you have plans of your own?”

“Thank you and yes, I do.”

“With Axel?” her mother asked, the hope in her voice evident.

Tara nodded. “But don’t go getting your hopes up, okay?” The last thing she needed was her mother being disappointed when things didn’t work out after Axel went back on tour.

“Amy told me he drove you home after the party.” Her mother’s way of digging for information.

She couldn’t help but smile. “He did, and I appreciated him rescuing me from myself.”

Her mother eyed her, doing her obvious best to figure out what Tara was thinking. “I’m just glad you’re going out,” she said at last.

Tara let out a long breath, glad they weren’t going to be having a deep talk about feelings and Tara’s dating life. Or worse, discussing her sex life.