Needing Forever Volume 1 Read online

  Copyright © Terri Anne Browning/Anna Henson 2019

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Terri Anne Browning, except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976.

  Needing Forever Volume 1

  Written by Terri Anne Browning

  All Rights Reserved ©Terri Anne Browning 2018

  Cover Design by M. L. Pahl of IndieVention Design

  Edited by Lisa Hollett of Silently Correcting Your Grammar

  Formatting by M.L. Pahl of IndieVention Designs

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  Needing Forever Volume 1 is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book can be reproduced in any form by electronic or mechanical means, including storage or retrieval systems, without the express permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Table of Content

  Kenzie

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Epilogue

  Linc

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Epilogue

  Mieke

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Epilogue

  Kenzie

  Prologue

  Kenzie

  The feel of his hands as he molded me to his hard body set my blood on fire, and I couldn’t help but gasp in pleasure as his teeth nipped my bottom lip between his own. My fingers tightened in his hair, desperate to keep him close in case he decided to abandon my mouth.

  “Fuck,” he groaned. “Sunshine, you taste so damn good.”

  I couldn’t return the compliment. Not because he didn’t taste good—hell no. He tasted like sour apple Jolly Ranchers with just a hint of the Fireball he’d been shooting with his bandmates earlier. He always tasted of sour apple. I’d spent the entire summer watching him suck on those damn little pieces of sugar, jealous of the sweet candy because I’d wanted him to be sucking on me.

  No, I couldn’t return his words because I couldn’t think right then. His kiss and touch held me so entranced, I couldn’t have spoken coherently even if both our lives depended on it.

  I kissed him to keep him quiet. If he couldn’t talk, he couldn’t think either. And as long as he wasn’t thinking, he wouldn’t remember all the reasons he’d avoided doing just this with me.

  All. Damn. Summer.

  His hands squeezed my ass hard, and he lifted me off the ground so he didn’t have to bend so much to continue kissing me. My legs developed a mind of their own, because I didn’t consciously remember wrapping them around his lean waist. The hardness I’d felt grinding against my stomach just moments before pressed into that sweet spot between my thighs, making my core clench in pleasure, and he swallowed my whimper of pure need.

  My back hit the tour bus as he pushed me into it so he could press his lower body against me harder. One of his rough hands moved to my breasts, playing with them through the thin material of my OtherWorld T-shirt, the only thing between his hot flesh and my aching nipples. I never went without a bra, but after my shower earlier, I hadn’t planned on going anywhere but the living room back on Axton’s bus.

  Then Bishop texted me, asking if I wanted to come over and watch a movie with him and the rest of the Alchemy and Trance guys. He’d walked over to get me because there was no way my adoptive family was going to let me off the bus with all the other crap that had been going on lately. Some psycho shot Gabriella and had nearly taken Mia. Dallas hadn’t left the hospital in days, but she’d finally come back to the bus for some sleep the night before.

  As soon as I opened the door to Bishop’s knock, there had been tension radiating off him. His eyes had raked over me with a hunger that produced goose bumps in its wake. I’d barely had enough sense to lock the door behind me as I stepped out into the night with him. We’d hardly cleared the back of the bus before he was kissing me.

  All summer, we’d been dancing around the attraction that was pulling us together. We’d gotten close, exchanging numbers and texting for hours at a time. Twice, he’d almost kissed me. But each time, he’d pulled back at the last second, leaving me wondering if maybe he was just playing with me. Maybe I was a game to him.

  But those thoughts were a hundred miles away when he pinched my nipple between his fingers and tugged.

  “Have you been wanting this as desperately as I have?” he demanded, his voice thick with passion.

  “Yes,” I panted, my back arching to thrust my breasts at him, silently begging for him to show the left the same attention he was giving the right.

  “I shouldn’t be doing this,” he muttered, giving me what I wanted. His touch was rough, but that was exactly what I needed. I was tiny, but I wasn’t breakable.

  “Yes, you should,” I breathed.

  He lifted my shirt and lowered his head to suck my right nipple into his mouth. The tugging sensation shot straight to my core, and I felt moisture gush forward. I was only wearing thin running shorts and cotton panties. All that wetness wouldn’t go unnoticed by him even though he was wearing jeans. Seconds later, he must have realized it because he growled something that I couldn’t understand but sounded savage and bit my nipple between his teeth.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he groaned. “So wet for me and I’ve barely gotten started. We have to get out of here.”

  The words coming out of him didn’t register. I was too far gone. He thrust his hips involuntarily, rubbing his hardness over my throbbing sweet spot, and I was suddenly flying as high as the stars. My nails bit into his back, trying to hold on to gravity, but that didn’t stop me from floating away…

  When I came back to earth, Bishop was breathing raggedly, his cock so hard against me, it was like he was pinning me to the side of the bus with a steel rod. “Fuck, Sunshine. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful as when you come apart for me.”

  Pink filled my face, and I was thankful for the dimness of the light coming from the streetlights so he didn’t witness just how embarrassed I really was.

  He lowered his head, making my heart jump that this wasn’t over yet. I thought he would be turned off that I’d come so quickly, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.

  Before his lips could graze across mine again, his phone rang.

  It wasn’t his usual tone that I’d heard plenty of times. This was an assigned song tone, James Taylor’s “How Sweet It Is.”

  Bishop went completely still in my arms, his heat seeming to turn into a block of ice in seconds. He pressed his forehead to mine for only a moment before blowing out a harsh breath and then setting me on my feet.

  My legs felt shaky as I put my weight on them, and he stepped back from me. “Go back to your bus, Sunshine.”

  Hurt and confusion hit me hard. “But—”

  “Just go, Kenzie,” he growled.

  Tears instantly filled my eyes, and I turned to go without arguing further. But as I rounded the corner of the bus, I stopped and waited for him to answer his phone. I needed to know who was on the other end of that call. Maybe then I would understand.

  “Hey,” Bishop’s deep voice greeted. “How’s my favorite girl?”

  Everything inside of me locked down, my heart suddenly feeling like it was cracking open. But I didn’t move.

  “Of course I miss you, baby. How could I not miss the only girl who owns my heart?”

  Pressing my clenched hand to my chest, I gave up the fight on my tears and let them fall.

  “I love you too, sweetheart.” His voice was starting to fade now, and I realized he was walking away. “Yeah, baby. Whatever you want. Just say the word, and it’s yours.”

  I stood there until I could no longer hear his voice before somehow finding the strength to walk back to the bus I shared with my adoptive family. My body ached, my soul seeming to sob with each beat of my heart.

  Of course he had someone waiting for him back home. Why would I think anyone would actually want me for more than a quick fuck?

  All my life, no one had ever really wanted me. After my parents’ death, I got passed from one family member to another because none of them wanted to take care of me. Foster families came and went just as quickly. Not even Miss Rhodes had really wanted me, but the state of Maryland had paid her to take care of me—not that she actually had.

  It wasn’t until I met Axton and Dallas that I began to hope I could maybe find someone who really wanted to love and be with me. They treated me like I was their own, maybe even loved me. Watching them together, seeing how perfect they were together, made me want that. Bishop made me want what my adoptive family had, with him.

  But I was living in a fool’s dream, because there was no way he would want forever with me. No one ever had, and no one ever would.

  Quietly, I let myself into the bus. I sat on the couch silently,
letting the tears pour from my eyes.

  School started back in a week. I needed to get back to Knoxville and get settled into my apartment. Focus on college and working. That was all I really needed. Focus on graduating and getting a job doing what I loved. Making my parents proud.

  Screw Bishop.

  Screw the universe.

  Screw my aching heart.

  Chapter 1

  Kenzie

  My phone vibrated in my back pocket as I ran across campus to get to my car. I was running late for work because my professor liked to hear himself talk and had droned on for thirty extra minutes about nothing before dismissing us. I’d parked on the other side of campus that morning since it was closer to my first class of the day, thinking I would have plenty of time to walk back before having to head to work. Now I knew I was going to have to move my car before I went to my psychology class or risk being late for work each time.

  Biting back a curse, I answered my phone just as I reached my car. “I know I’m late, and I’m so, so, so sorry,” I told my boss as soon as I heard her voice. “My prof is a narcissist who loves the sound of his own voice—which is crazy because he’s got this nasal kind of voice that would hurt a dog’s ears.”

  There was a pause on the other end before Vivian burst out laughing. I liked my boss, and she seemed to appreciate and like me in return.

  I’d come to her the year before, looking for something to occupy my time, just wanting to volunteer since I didn’t really need the money. Axton gave me a generous allowance on top of paying for my tuition, apartment, and vehicle needs. But I wasn’t able just to sit around doing nothing in my spare time, and joining a sorority just wasn’t me.

  A Place for Nora was one of the charities Axton’s aunt supported, and she’d suggested it to me. So I’d gone in hoping I could make a little bit of a difference. Maybe read to some of the residents of the assisted-living facility for people with Down syndrome. Anything, really. Which was what I did at first. Read, played games, visited with patients who didn’t have family that visited often.

  Not long after I first started coming by every few days, it turned into something else. The administrator asked if I could fill in for their activities coordinator who had fallen and broken her hip. It was fun, and I loved spending so much time with the residents. Soon they became my second family.

  After the coordinator healed, she decided she didn’t want to come back full time, so we shared the job, with her taking on more responsibilities during my holiday and summer breaks so I could be with Axton and Dallas.

  Vivian was still laughing when I started my car. “Okay, I needed that giggle. You don’t even know the day I’ve had.”

  “I’m sorry I’m late,” I told her, my shoulders dropping under what felt like the weight of the world. I’d been in a depressed funk since returning to Knoxville the previous weekend. Hell, who was I kidding? I’d been in this damn funk since the night with Bishop.

  Gritting my teeth, I pushed the thought of him and that night from my mind—not an easy feat.

  “Don’t sweat it. I wasn’t really calling about that anyway.” Vivian’s voice sobered, getting down to the real reason for her call. “We have a new resident, and I was hoping she could shadow you today. Maybe help her get to know some of the other residents, make her more comfortable since it’s her first day. Everyone loves you, and you’re so good with putting people at ease. I know your warm heart will ease her into her new home.”

  Pleasure filled me, and I found myself smiling. “No problem. I’ll be there in twenty minutes, but I’ll come find you and you can introduce me to the newbie.”

  “Perfect. Tonight is game night, right? Or is it movie night?”

  “Both, actually,” I told her as I dropped my phone into the cupholder and reversed. The call was already connected to the car’s Bluetooth, allowing me to drive safely while I chatted. “Since I was gone all summer, everyone has been trying to talk me into extra activities this week. I gave in and arranged a board game party after the movie.”

  “You spoil them, Kenzie.” But she wasn’t scolding me. There was pride in her voice.

  “I love them,” I returned. “They have me wrapped around their fingers, and they know it.”

  “Drive safely.”

  “See you soon,” I told her before disconnecting.

  Traffic was backed up, so my promised twenty minutes turned into thirty. I was frustrated and aggravated as I pulled into the parking lot and found a spot. Knowing I needed to get inside but knowing I wouldn’t be making any new friends if I went in there in my current mood, I kept my engine on so I could have the AC blasting in my face and just closed my eyes.

  Having a broken heart was no reason to take it out on the world, I reminded myself. My parents had been the epitome of kind, and I tried to follow their example every single day. But today, everything just seemed to be making that impossible. Sucking in one deep breath after another, I gave up the fight with my emotions and just had a really good cry. It was hard as hell to be strong for the world all the damn time. Sometimes, shedding a few tears was the only way to keep from going on a rampage.

  Ten minutes later, I walked into Vivian’s office, hoping I didn’t look like I’d just cried five-gallons’ worth of tears. I’d washed my face before clocking in, but there was nothing I could do about the red, bloodshot eyes that had resulted from my mini-breakdown.

  Putting on a bright smile, I listened while she told me about the new resident. As I took the file my boss handed over, Vivian’s own smile dimmed. “Kenzie, are you okay, dear?”

  I shrugged. “Life just pushes a person’s buttons sometimes, Viv.”

  “Oh, honey, believe me, I know.” She sighed heavily, shaking her graying head sadly. “I just don’t like to think it’s pushing yours. I didn’t want to bring it up, but does this have anything to do with all that ugliness that went on with the summer tour?”

  I knew she was talking about the stalker who destroyed Shane Stevenson’s bus not once but twice, then attempted to kidnap Mia Armstrong, and shot Gabriella Moretti when she stepped in to save the little girl. But it wasn’t those horrible things that popped into my head when she mentioned the tour.

  Bishop’s face filled my mind, and I felt another stab of pain straight through my center. The only time I’d ever felt this kind of soul-deep misery was when I lost my parents when I was barely six years old.

  Swallowing hard, I nodded. “Yeah. It was pretty ugly.”

  “If you need a little time—”

  “No,” I rushed to assure her before she could even finish. “No, it’s fine. Today was just a really sucky day. Actually, it’s been a long week all around. It all kind of crashed down on me at once.”

  “I understand. Why don’t you take the morning off tomorrow?” she suggested. “Everyone needs a good sleep in for one Saturday. All activities can be rearranged for the afternoon or evening.”

  Smiling gratefully at her, I nodded. “Okay. Thanks, Vivian.”

  “You’re one of my favorite people. I don’t want to lose you, Kenzie.” She motioned toward the file in my hand. “Now, go find Paula. She’s a sweetheart from what little I’ve seen, but very shy. I’m hoping you can make her feel more at ease and welcome.”

  Placing the file back on her desk unread, I stood. “I’ll do my best,” I promised.

  Chapter 2

  Bishop

  Knoxville traffic was a total bitch, but somehow, I got to A Place for Nora without wanting to murder the entire city.

  Finding a spot close to the entrance, I walked into the lobby and gave the receptionist a tight smile when she greeted me. “I’m here to see Paula Bishop,” I told her.

  “And your name, sir?” she asked, typing something into her computer.

  “Phillip Bishop.” It was weird hearing my first name since I’d always just been Bishop to the rest of the world. My father was Phillip, and I was simply Bishop. I preferred it that way.

  “Ah, I see you’re Paula’s guardian?” I nodded. “But you weren’t here when she arrived earlier?”

  I gritted my teeth before giving her another tight smile. “No,” I confirmed. “I only just got into town and came straight here. Our mother made sure she was settled in.” Before taking off to fuck knew where. Paris. Tokyo. Maybe even Sydney this time. It was hard to tell with Becca.