Unexpected Lovers Box Set by J.B. Heller

I knewshe was going to call our time to an end soon, but not this soon. Not yet.

“That was . . .” She pants, catching her breath. “What was that, Sam?” Her eyes scan my face, searching.

Licking my lips, I sit back on my haunches then reach for her hands still clenched in the blanket above her head. She tangles her fingers with mine and smiles at me, but I still feel the question in her eyes.

“That’s what I think of your Starfish Method.”

Her expression goes blank, and she blinks at me. “Excuse me?” she breathes.

I cock my head to the side. “I said, that’s what I think of your Starfish Method, Hannah.”

She turns white before my very eyes. The fresh pink blush that stained her cheeks a moment ago is long gone. She opens her mouth to say something, but I silence her with a kiss. I don’t want to hear her words right now.

Stark relief fills my veins when she kisses me back. I honestly didn’t know how she would respond. When I pull away, unshed tears glisten in her eyes. I smooth a palm over her cheek, resting my thumb on her plump bottom lip.

“If you think starfishing is going to turn me off, or send me away, you are so very, very wrong, baby. If you just want to lie there and enjoy what I give you, I can work with that. If you want to ride me like our lives depend on it, I’m good with that, too. But I am not good with you trying to get rid of me.”

She swallows hard then squeezes her eyes shut. “Can you give me a bit of space for a second please?” she whispers.

I’m off her in an instant, rolling to her side.

She scrubs her face with her hands then takes a deep breath and sits. She reaches for the silk robe on the end of the bed before slipping it over her shoulders and wrapping it around her waist. Then, she turns back to face me.

“We need to end this. I’m sorry, but we have to.”

“Why? We’re so good together. Why would you want to throw that away?” I ask, so damn confused.

“Because you terrify me. You already have a piece of my heart after such a short time. If I don’t walk away now, you’ll have it all, and when you’re done with me . . . I won’t have anything left.”

I don’t know what I was expecting her to say, but that was not it. I close the distance between us and take her hands in mine. “Then stay with me, Han.” Releasing one of her hands, I wipe away the tear clinging to her cheek. “I won’t ever be done with you, baby,” I vow.

But she shakes her head, even as she leans into my palm cupping her jaw. “I can’t. And you will. I’ve been here before, Sam, and I don’t have another heartbreak in me. You’ve obviously talked to Amy if you know about The Starfish Method. This is just what I need to do.”

A sad smile tugs at the corner of her mouth, and I desperately want to kiss her sadness away. Then, she chuckles lightly, as if any of this is funny. “You’ve ruined it for me, if that makes you feel any better.”

I frown. “Ruined what?”

“I’ll never be able to pull a starfish again without thinking of you.” She blinks rapidly as more tears gather on her lashes. “I actually think you’ve ruined me for all other men.”

Satisfaction surges through me. “Good. That’s good. I don’t want another man to touch you ever again. You’re mine, Hannah. What do I need to do to show you I’m not going anywhere?”

She shrugs and sniffles. “Nothing. I don’t think there’s anything you can do to change my mind.”

“Fuck that,” I spit. Getting to my feet, I snatch my clothes and tug them on.

I pause at the door, turning to look at her one more time. “I’ll figure it out. So get ready for me, baby, because when I want something, nothing can stop me. I will do whatever it takes.”

* * *

The next weekpasses painfully slowly as I spend every waking minute trying to come up with a way to show Hannah that she can’t push me away like this. That as long as she still has feelings for me, I will fight for her.

“I’ve brought in reinforcements!” Tom announces, barging into my apartment.

Amy pokes her head out from behind Tom’s back and waves. “Hi, Sam.”

“Would you two go away? I’m trying to think,” I grumble, not in the mood for the lovey-dovey shit they’ve been throwing in my face all week.

Tom rolls his eyes and makes himself comfortable on one of the bar stools at my kitchen counter. “We gave you time to work this out on your own, and honestly, man, I thought you would have cracked it by now. But the stress is obviously causing your brain to misfire, so we came to spell it out for you.”

I shake my head. “What are you talking about?”

“Her sharks,” Amy pipes up. “You need to go swimming with her sharks.”

My heart stops dead in my chest. Anything but that. “Are you insane? How am I going to show her I love her if I’m dead?”

Amy’s eyes bug out. “You love her?”

Shit, I think I do. No, I know I do. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be considering this asinine plan of theirs.

Sammore than blew my starfish out of the water; he blew it out of the stratosphere. And I still pushed him away. No other guy would turn it around on me like he did. He made the starfish something hot and amazing. Who knew that was even possible? I didn’t, and I’ve been doing it for years.

What is wrong with me? Oh, I know. Assholes—they’re what’s wrong with me. I was so sure I had it all figured out. The starfish weeded out all the assholes. It sent them packing with very little effort on my part. But Sam? I don’t think he’s one at all. And not just because he turned my escape plan on its head.

Not even spending time with my girls has helped my morose mood these past few days. I’m back on the dive platform, watching Tina do her sharky thing, and the joy it usually sparks is just not there today.

“Mind if I join you?”

Sam’s deep voice has my head whipping around so fast it spins. I must be more than dizzy, ’cause it looks like Sam is wearing a wetsuit. I blink a couple of times to clear my vision, but nope—he’s still in a wetsuit. “What are you doing here?” I ask.

His face pales as he gets closer to the edge of the tank where I’m sitting and peeks over into the water. “It’s hot out. Thought I’d, ah, go for a . . . umm.” He swallows hard and clears his throat. “A dip. I thought I’d go for a dip,” he says.

I snort. Always with the jokes, this guy. “Get serious.” I laugh. “What are you really doing here?”

He licks his lips, steps out onto the diving platform with me, takes another deep breath, and then sits beside me, legs in the water. “I’m not joking.” His voice cracks with the words.

Now that he’s next to me, the sheen of sweat covering his brow and gathering on his top lip is unmissable. He’s sweating up a storm and super white, too. “Sam, are you feeling okay?”

“Just dandy,” he says and sways to the side.

I reach out and grab him, holding him upright and steady. “I think you need to see a doctor. Something is definitely wrong with you.”

He shrugs me off. “I’m fine. I’m doing this, and you can’t stop me!”

“Umm, okay. What is it you’re trying to do? Kill yourself?”

His eyes widen. “See?” he yells over his shoulder. “I told you they’d eat me!”

What in the hell is going on?I get to my feet and turn around to find Tom’s and Amy’s heads sticking out from behind an air vent. “Would someone care to explain?”

Tom opens his mouth to speak, but a splash has me spinning around to find Sam has disappeared. “Sam!” I scream, running to the edge of the platform. He’s sinking. Oh God, can’t he swim? I dive in after him. It takes four powerful strokes to reach him, and I wrap my arms around his torso and kick as hard as I can.

We resurface seconds later, and Tom helps me haul an unconscious Sam onto the platform.

“What happened?” Tom demands. “Did you push him in? The guy is just trying to show you he loves you, and you try feeding him to your sharks! What is wrong with you?” he yells as I clear Sam’s airway and roll him on his side.

Sam coughs and hacks up water. When I’m sure he’s done, I turn him back over and slap him as hard as I can.

He bolts upright. “What was that for?” he yells.

“For scaring the crap out of me, you asshole!” I yell back.

“Guys, guys, settle down.” Amy’s calm voice enters the fray.

“Oh, fuck off, Amy. What the hell are you even doing here?” I spit. She and I haven’t spoken since she admitted to spilling the beans about The Starfish Method to Sam and Tom.

She huffs and crosses her arms. “This is the thanks I get for helping get the best thing that ever happened to you back? You’re so ungrateful, Han.”

Still crouched at Sam’s side, I throw my hands in the air. “Would someone please tell me what is happening?”

Sam grabs my flailing hands and knots our fingers together. His wet hair drips in his eyes, and he smiles at me with so much tenderness my heart aches. “I love you, Hannah. I thought coming here and facing my completely reasonable fears, by swimming with your babies, would show you that. But maybe I should have just told you.”

Tears pool in my eyes, and I sniffle, desperately trying to hold them at bay. “You were going to swim with my girls? For me?”

He nods then shrugs. “I guess I technically did swim with them. Even though I was unconscious, it still counts, and I’m never doing it again.”

Joyous laughter spills from my lips, and I launch myself at him, knocking us both back into the tank. I wrap my arms around him and kiss him hard. He doesn’t kiss me back until I whisper, “They’re scared of the splashing, and they’re on the other side of the tank by now. I promise.”

Then, it’s on. Sam’s mouth crashes into mine, and we kiss like it’s our first and our last.

“I love you, too,” I murmur against his lips then lead him over to the submerged ladder and let the big scaredy-cat exit the tank first.