Life Goes On (Epic Love Stories Book 3) Read online

  Life Goes On

  Epic Romance Series Book 3

  Kelly Moore

  Edited by

  Kerry Genova

  Cover Designer

  Dark Water Covers

  Copyright © 2018 by Kelly Moore

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Life Goes On

  Contents

  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 Eigteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek at Say You Won’t Let Go

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Free Books by Kelly Moore

  About the Author

  Also by Kelly Moore

  Chapter One

  “Oh my gosh, Silas, that was so exciting. I’ve never had so much fun whitewater rafting in my life, and that last rapid, I thought we were both going in the water.” I rub the inside of his arm as we walk back to the car.

  Silas McDill is such the gentleman as always and opens my side of the car first. The red, sleek door of my new Ferrari 488 GTB opens wide, and I slide into the leather seats like they were made of butter.

  “Thanks, baby.” I can’t help but pat him on the ass before I get in the car. I love having my hands on him. I watch him jog around to the driver’s side, and I drool over his lean, muscular legs as they flex.

  He has the same handsome smile on his face as he did when we met for the first time, which was a lifetime ago when I took a semester abroad to study world geography in New Zealand. I was nineteen years old and signed up for a hiking tour while I was there, and Silas was the adventure guide. He was from Scotland and assigned to New Zealand with his company for the summer.

  His mom is American and his father Scottish from some royal descent. He doesn’t have much of an accent unless he’s laying on the charm, and boy does it get my motor going when he does.

  I loved to write and took notes on everything he taught me about New Zealand. I literally hung on his every word. He was always smiling and had a mischievous look in his dark navy-blue eyes. I knew he loved his job because when he spoke, his words lit up his entire face, and enthusiasm bled from every pore of his body.

  I was a naive young girl, and I had no idea he liked me at first. Silas made the first move, and the rest is history. We fell in love, then had to work out the logistics of how to be together, and here we are after seventeen years of marriage, still crazy about each other.

  “We’re going to have to get Charlie and Noah to come with us next time,” he says, starting the engine that purrs like a beautiful melody.

  Charlotte and Noah have been our best friends since we moved to St. Petersburg shortly after we got married. Noah and Silas are thick as thieves. Charlotte and I often tease that they must be brothers from different mothers. Silas’s mother would die if she ever heard us say that. She’s taking her husband’s distant royalty to heart, and she’s so prim and proper.

  “Something’s up with them, and I’m not sure what.”

  “Noah seems fine to me.” He drapes his arm over his seat and puts the car in reverse.

  “I don’t know. Something’s off. Charlotte says they haven’t had sex in a month.”

  “That’s way more than I need to know about my best friend’s sex life.” He laughs, places the car in drive, and spins the tires. “This car really is awesome.”

  “You aren’t still mad that I didn’t let Murphy come with us, are you? He would leave lick marks on my windows and not to mention the fur.”

  “No, but he would’ve loved the adventure.”

  Sometimes I think he loves Murphy more than me. He’s a border collie Silas rescued two years ago. He’s Silas’s shadow, and he takes him everywhere. I love Murphy, too, but I don’t need him following us everywhere, like into the bedroom when we’re making love.

  Mmmm…thinking about making love to Silas makes me horny. I slide my hand to his thigh and walk my fingers up his leg to his crotch.

  “What are you doing?” He glances over at me and chuckles.

  His beautiful blue eyes turn me on all by themselves. I lift my hand and run my fingers through his hair where the back of it meets his sandy brown-colored man bun. “We need to christen my car.” I wink at him and place my hand back on his leg and continue to trail my fingers upward.

  “God, you’re beautiful.” He swerves a quick left and pulls into the parking lot of a raft rental business that is closing up for the day.

  He parks in the furthest corner of the parking lot that’s already been vacated. He gets out and runs to my side of the car and opens the door.

  “Get out.” He takes my hand. I do as he says, and he sits in my seat, but not before he slides his navy-blue board shorts below his hips. His hard cock bounces out. “Come here.” He holds his hand out for me. I pull up my coverup, take off my swim shorts, and throw them on the floorboard. I’m wet just thinking about him screwing me in my car. This is always the way it’s been between us, and I hope it never changes.

  I try to climb in facing him. “No, put your back to my front,” he says and helps me get in the area that’s too small for two people and shuts the door.

  I bump my head a few times before I situate myself. I’m balancing over him with my legs, and he reaches around me and presses my thighs further out with the palms of his hands. “Lean forward, baby,” he says, placing one hand in the middle of my back and pushing me toward the windshield.

  I place my hands between his legs on the edge of the seat and lean over. His hand slides between my legs to make sure I’m wet enough before he enters me. I hear his hand thrust up and down his cock, and he moans. I remove my hands from the seat and place them on the roof of the car. My thighs are starting to burn from this position. His hands find my hips, and he guides himself into me as I lower down onto him.

  “You feel so damn good, baby.”

  I find the “oh-shit handle” by the door and grab on, lifting my ass up and move back down on him.

  His body shudders underneath me, and he pants, already trying to hold back. “You keep doing that, and I’m not going to last more than a minute.”

  Pushing my top aside, his talented fingers find my nipples inside my swimsuit. He pulls and pinches my hardening nipples the way I like. “Yes,” I hiss.

  He slides one hand between my legs and starts rubbing circles, driving me insane.

  “Are you with me?” His raspy, rough voice sounds strained.

  “Yes, take me with you.” We both come at the same time, and our heated, mingled breaths fog up the window.

  I relax my body onto his and hear knuckles rapping on the window. Silas lowers it, but only a few inches.

  “You guys okay in there?” A man with a southern accent is peeking through the gap.

  “We’re good.” Silas’s voice cracks. I start laughing, and he joins me.

  The man must have realized what we were doing in here because he chuckled and shook his head
as he walked away.

  “Christening done,” Silas says and grips my hips, pushing me forward and smacks the side of my ass.

  “Thanks, baby.” I turn my head to kiss his cheek and crack the door open, making sure the coast is clear.

  The car moves smoothly around the North Carolina mountain curves. I’ve spent many a summer in a cabin with my family at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Silas and I have made it a tradition to come here every Memorial weekend, but we usually bring Charlie and Noah and their two kids. We were both really disappointed when they said they weren’t coming with us this year but offered to keep Murphy so we could take my new car and test it out on the open road.

  “What do you want to do for dinner tonight, babe?” Silas revs the engine up as we go downhill.

  “I’m happy to order in and hang out on that beautiful balcony of ours.” We bought the A-frame home several years ago with Charlie and Noah, but we don’t spend near enough time here enjoying it.

  “How about I stop in town and pick up some wine?”

  “Sounds good. I’ll order Italian food and have Uber deliver it, so we don’t have to go out again.”

  “Are you thinking wine, food, and sex on the balcony?” He looks over at me and raises his eyebrows.

  “You read my mind.” I love that he always makes me laugh.

  I call our favorite restaurant while Silas runs into the local wine store. I look up and see him almost stumble out the door. “Yeah, delivery please, you have my address.” I hurry and end the conversation.

  “You okay?”

  Silas hands me the bottle of wine when he gets in the car and rests his head on the steering wheel. “I got a little light-headed, that’s all.”

  “You only had a couple bites of your food at lunch today. Maybe you need something to eat.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.” He blinks his eyes a few times and then sits straight and starts the car.

  As soon as we get in the house, I turn on the hot shower and rinse off the day. Silas jumps in with me, and we lather each other up, touching each other as much as we can.

  We finish up in time to hear the delivery person at the door. “I’ll grab the food, you get the wineglasses, and I’ll meet you on the deck.”

  Silas pours the wine as I sit, with the bag of food. “Oh god, that smells so good.”

  “I ordered a double helping of your favorite.” I pull the aluminum tray from the bag.

  “Lasagna. Mmmmm.” He inhales with his nose next to the container.

  He scarfs down his dinner like a starving man and rests back and holds his belly. “We should do this more often.”

  “Eat lasagna?”

  “No. Come here. I love this place.”

  Silas gave up being an adventure guide and opened an outdoor center years ago. He sets up tours throughout the world through the outdoor center and twice a year we go along, so we’ve been able to travel extensively. I’m an author, and I write an Exploring America series, which has also allowed us to travel, yet this is still our favorite place to visit. “We should.”

  I clean up, and Silas pours the rest of the wine. I turn around, and he’s stripped down to his boxers. He’s acting like he has a microphone in his hand, and he’s prowling in my direction. He starts with a low, throaty growl, singing “Heaven” by Kane Brown. Nothing turns me on more than him serenading to me. He moves his hips, and I burst out laughing, but he keeps singing the words and hums a line or two when he can’t remember the words to the song.

  I walk backward, and he stalks after me, still singing in his sexy voice. When he catches me, he whirls me around and never misses a beat to the song. God, I love this man. He takes my breath away in every way, and I can’t imagine my life without him.

  We spend the evening dancing on the deck and singing songs to each another. I think he even made up his own words to one of the songs. We’re utterly drunk on each other when he leads me to the bedroom. He strips off his boxers on the way, and they land on the lamp shade. I can’t get my clothes off fast enough to feel his skin on mine.

  I throw back the blanket and get in, holding them up for him to join me. He frowns and hesitates for a moment. When he gets in, he’s pressing his fingers to his temples.

  “What’s wrong? You’re scaring me.”

  “Too much wine, I think. My head is throbbing.” He lays his head on my shoulder.

  “Go to sleep. You can make it up to me in the morning.” I kiss the top of his head. “Thank you for today. I had so much fun with you.”

  “Me too,” he says and drifts off to sleep in my arms.

  Chapter Two

  Six months later…

  * * *

  “Is she coming out?” Noah’s hushed voice seeps through the crack in my bedroom door.

  “Give her a little more time.” Charlie shoos him out and walks over to the foot of the bed.

  “I can’t.” I curl up next to Murphy who’s lying on Silas’s pillow.

  “Sweetie, the guests who want to pay their respects to Silas are outside waiting on the back deck.”

  “Tell them to go home.” I pull the covers over my head and want to hide from the world and not let Silas’s death be real. It can’t be, because that would mean at thirty-eight, my life is over.

  The bed dips when Charlie curls in beside me. “His friends and family loved him, and they need this…you need this.”

  “What I need is my husband to be in this bed next to me.” The floodgates haven’t stopped since he died four days ago. “I can’t believe he’s really gone.”

  She gets up, and I hear my closet door open. “I’m not going to let you lay here and give up. Silas wouldn’t want that, and you know it. Now, which one of these dresses do you want to wear?” She holds up a strappy blue dress and a floral one.

  “The black one.”

  “That wasn’t an option, sweetie. Silas wanted to celebrate his life with a party on the deck overlooking the beach, and black does not say party.”

  “It’s the color of my soul.” I sniff and rub Murphy’s head.

  “Pick…dress one”—she holds it up—“or, dress two?” She pushes it toward me like she’s already chosen it for me.

  I throw back my covers and snatch the blue one from her hand. “Fine, but I’m picking the shoes.” I yank open my dresser drawer with all my lacy bras and matching panties and slip out of my pajamas that I’ve had on for at least two days.

  Charlie steps back into my closet. “Which shoes?” I hear her flipping lids to boxes.

  “The black box on the top right-hand corner.” Silas always made fun of me because I store all my shoes in color-coded boxes.

  “Really?” She comes out with them. “Black doesn’t match your dress.”

  I grab the shoes from her and throw them on the bed. Murphy lifts his head and looks at it but doesn’t get up. I think he misses him as much as I do.

  “You picked the dress, I get the shoes,” I snap.

  “Suit yourself.” She walks over to the bed, plops down, and picks up something by my black heels. “What’s this?”

  I pull the dress over my head and look at her. “Looks like a thumb drive to me. Where did you get it?” I walk in front of her and turn around.

  “It fell out of one of your shoes when you threw them,” she says as she zips up my dress.

  “I don’t know how it got in there.” I take it out of her hand and stare at it like it’s going to tell me where it came from and all the secrets it holds. Murphy jumps up and stands on the edge of the bed. His tail that hasn’t moved for days is now waggling like crazy.

  Charlie hands me my shoes. “You can figure it out later. I hear the band playing, so that means Noah has started the party without us.” She gets up and heads for the door for me to follow her.

  I slide my feet in my shoes but keep a grip on the thumb drive. I tag along with Murphy right behind her. She starts to walk down the stairs, but I make a U-turn and head for my office.

  �
�Where are you going?” she yells after me.

  I hold the thumb drive in the air. “I want to see what’s on this.” Her shoes click back up the stairs to follow me and Murphy.

  I rush behind my desk before she can stop me, and I put the thumb drive in my computer and open one of the attached videos.

  Silas’s face lights up my screen. “Ah-ha! I knew you’d pick your black dress shoes!” I gasp at his voice. He’s sitting behind his desk at his office in the outdoor center. “Go back to your closet and get the silver ones.” He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. “Go on. I’ll wait.” Murphy barks and sits at my feet.

  “Is he serious?” I touch his face on the screen.

  Charlie is staring at the screen too, with her mouth gaping. “He sounds serious.”

  “Charlie…she’s not going to get up. Go get her silver dress shoes. They’ll be easy to find because they’re in a silver box.” He laughs.

  “He’s talking to me,” she whispers and nearly runs out of the room.

  “You look beautiful, doll.” He leans forward, and he looks like he’s checking me out. “I wish I was there to see your sexy body, but…that would’ve required me to not die.”

  My warm tears are streaming freely. “Why did you leave me?” I ask him like he’s going to answer me.

  “I didn’t choose to leave you. I wanted to grow old with you, sitting on our back porch, watching the waves roll in while admiring the sunset with you.”

  Charlie runs back in the room holding my silver shoes in the air.

  “He knows my thoughts.” I cry harder, looking over at Charlie.