Occasionally Yours: A Second Chance Romance (Astor Family Series Book 4) Read online

  Occasionally Yours

  Hayley Faiman

  Contents

  Also by Hayley Faiman

  Stay Connected

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Occasionally Yours

  Copyright © 2021 by Hayley Faiman

  All rights reserved.

  Cover Designer: Pink Ink Designs. Cassy Roop. http://www.pinkinkdesigns.com

  Editor: My Brother’s Editor. Ellie McLove. http://www.mybrotherseditor.net

  Proofreading: My Brothers Editor. Rosa Sharon. http://www.mybrotherseditor.net

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

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

  Visit my website at: http://hayleyfaiman.com

  Created with Vellum

  Also by Hayley Faiman

  Men of Baseball Series—

  Pitching for Amalie

  Catching Maggie

  Forced Play for Libby

  Sweet Spot for Victoria

  Russian Bratva Series —

  Owned by the Badman

  Seducing the Badman

  Dancing for the Badman

  Living for the Badman

  Tempting the Badman

  Protected by the Badman

  Forever my Badman

  Betrothed to the Badman

  Chosen by the Badman

  Bought by the Badman

  Collared by the Badman

  Notorious Devils MC —

  Rough & Rowdy

  Rough & Raw

  Rough & Rugged

  Rough & Ruthless

  Rough & Ready

  Rough & Rich

  Rough & Real

  Cash Bar Series —

  Laced with Fear

  Chased with Strength

  Flamed with Courage

  Blended with Pain

  Twisted with Chaos

  Mixed with trouble

  SAVAGE BEAST MC —

  UnScrew Me

  UnBreak Me

  UnChain Me

  UnLeash Me

  UnTouch Me

  UnHinge Me

  UnWreck Me

  UnCage Me

  Unfit Hero Series —

  CONVICT

  HERO

  FRAUD

  KILLER

  COWBOY

  Zanetti Famiglia Series —

  Becoming the Boss

  Becoming his Mistress

  Becoming his Possession

  Becoming the Street Boss

  Becoming the Hitman

  Becoming his Wife

  Becoming her Salvation

  Prophecy Sisters Series —

  Bride of the Traitor

  Bride of the Sea

  Bride of the Frontier

  Bride of the Emperor

  Astor Family Series —

  Hypocritically Yours

  Egotistically Yours

  Matrimonially Yours

  Occasionally Yours

  Esquire Black Duet Series –

  DISCOVERY

  APPEAL

  Forbidden Love Series —

  Personal Foul

  Kinetic Energy

  Standalone Titles

  Royally Relinquished: A Modern Day Fairy Tale

  Stay Connected

  Website: http://hayleyfaiman.com

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  I believe in true love, and I believe in happy endings.

  Christie Brinkley

  Prologue

  FIVE YEARS AGO

  LAWRENCE

  Rory watches me for a long moment. She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip, then worries it for what feels like an hour. She doesn’t say anything right away, then her lips turn up into a huge smile.

  “Yes,” she breathes.

  “Yeah?” I ask.

  “I love you, Lawry, so yes.”

  Lifting my arms, I wrap them around her and pull her tightly against me. Tilting my head to the side, I touch my lips to hers. She lets out a small gasp, just like she does every time I kiss her. I use the opportunity to slip my tongue inside of her mouth.

  I taste her, knowing that in a few minutes, I’ll be tasting more than just her mouth. Sliding one of my hands up her back, I tangle my fingers in her hair at the nape of her neck and grip the strands tightly. Holding on to her as if she could disappear in my grasp.

  She whimpers and I swallow the sound. Shit, I love the noises she makes when I kiss and touch her. I don’t think that I’ll ever get tired of it, which is why I’m marrying her as soon as humanly possible.

  Reaching for the hem of her top, I peel it off slowly, then toss it to the floor. She’s not wearing a bra. Another thing I fucking love about her. Kissing down her neck, I suck on her collarbone, shifting over to the hollow of her throat.

  Moving down the center of her chest, I look up at her through my lashes, and groan. Her back is arched, her head is tilted back, and she’s trembling.

  Soon to be my wife, the future Rory Astor.

  Moving my lips over to her nipple, I suck it in deep, sinking my teeth into her skin gently as she starts to pant. I slide my mouth over to the other side and do the same, lifting my hand and pinching the nipple I just abandoned.

  Releasing her breast, I look up at her and grin. She lifts her hands, sliding her fingers through my hair, gripping it, and holding on at the back of my head. Her blue eyes find mine and she doesn’t move. She holds my gaze before her lips purse together and she lets out a s
haky breath.

  “Promise me you’ll never hurt me.”

  Her words should be a red flag. I don’t know much about her. This entire moment, this entire idea, is lust driven. I know that it is, but I can’t stop myself. I can’t stop any of it. I need her too damn bad.

  “Never, Rory. Not fucking ever,” I say, promising something that I can’t truly come through with.

  I’ve learned in school that you shouldn’t make promises like the one I just have. You can’t magically fix someone. You can’t swear that you won’t hurt them, because you have no control over their feelings or emotions.

  Plus, the reality is, I will hurt her during our marriage, in some way, shape, or form, I will no doubt hurt her. But this isn’t a class, this is my real life, and I don’t ever want to hurt her. She’s been through enough.

  She shimmies out of her shorts and panties as I stand and remove my T-shirt and jeans. I kicked my shoes and socks off a while ago. Licking my lips, I look down at her naked body and wonder how in the fuck she wants me. Why would she want anything to do with me? She’s absolutely stunning in every way and I’m just a scholastic nerd.

  “Lawry,” she calls out.

  My body jerks and I lift my gaze from her tits to connect with her eyes. Smiling, I close the short distance between us, then I practically jump on top of her. She squeals as she falls backward and lifts her head, touching her lips to mine.

  Her legs spread and she lifts them, wrapping them around my lower back. Shifting backward, I feel her pussy against the head of my cock, and with my eyes on hers, I sink inside of her body.

  Once I’m completely buried, I stay that way, unmoving, as I look into her eyes. We don’t say anything, the moment is too important to speak. Plus, what else is there to say other than, I love you, and we’ve each already voiced that.

  Watching her, I can’t look away.

  This is monumental.

  This is life defining.

  This is probably the riskiest thing I’ve ever done.

  Her arms tighten around me and she lifts her hips, silently urging me to move. She’s tight and warm. Wet and perfect. I don’t want to move, because I know if I do, I’ll blow my load too fucking fast.

  “Please, Lawry,” she whispers. “It hurts.”

  “Shit,” I hiss.

  I don’t want to hurt her. Shifting backward, I pull almost completely out of her, then sink back inside. Keeping my eyes on her, I move to a rhythm that is slow and steady, knowing if I go too fast, I’ll come in an instant.

  She licks her lips as she looks up at me, her lids lowered. She lets out a breath, her hips lifting to meet mine with each downstroke. It’s fucking amazing. The moment feels bigger than any other time we’ve been in bed together. It feels gigantic and I know that this is something that is going to change our lives.

  It does. In an instant almost.

  RORY

  I am now Mrs. Lawrence Astor.

  I didn’t think that I could be this happy. I didn’t think that it was possible. Looking down at my hand, I spin the plain platinum band around my finger, staring at it as we drive away from the courthouse.

  It’s been a week since he asked me to marry him, and now we’re officially married. When I left home, I brought my birth certificate with me and I’m glad for it. That way, I was able to become his wife.

  Lawrence has saved me and he doesn’t even know it yet. In fact, there’s a lot that he doesn’t know about me. So much so that I hope my past doesn’t come back to ruin my life—ruin our lives.

  “I can’t wait to take you home for Christmas so that you can meet my family. My dad is going to love you. My brother will hit on you. My sister acts like a bitch, but she’s really sweet, so I think eventually she’ll love you, too.”

  My mouth goes completely dry at the mention of his family. My heart starts to race and I wonder if I could have a heart attack in this moment, right here in the passenger seat of the car. He continues speaking even though I haven’t said a single word. I’m completely silent in my sheer panic.

  “Aside from my mom, my family is great. I can’t wait for everyone to meet you. We can do Thanksgiving at your family’s if you want?”

  I gasp loudly and the car swerves to the side of the road. Then it comes to a screeching halt. Lawrence calls out for me. He says my name more than once, but I can’t move. I can’t even breathe. There is ringing in my ears and it’s so loud, it drowns out everything.

  Then all of a sudden, it stops.

  Slowly, I open my eyes and look around. It takes me a moment, but I shift my gaze over to him. He looks scared, totally freaked out, and I press my lips together, rolling them a few times.

  “You’re going to need to tell me what that was about,” he demands.

  Shaking my head, I lift my hand and reach across the car, wrapping my fingers around the side of his neck as my eyes fill with tears. I’m only able to hold the tears back for a moment, two at best, then they start falling down my cheeks like a leaky faucet.

  Completely unstoppable.

  “Talk to me, Rory,” Lawrence pleads. “Tell me what’s going on.”

  We’re parked on the shoulder of the interstate and it’s really not safe. Cars are buzzing by at ninety miles an hour. I’m scared we’ll be hit even though I can hear the ding ding ding of the hazard lights.

  “It’s nothing,” I whisper as I lift my hands and attempt to wipe the tears away.

  There’s a moment of silence that passes between us and I think that maybe, just maybe, he’ll leave it alone, but he doesn’t. He’s switched his school lessons on and he’s going to analyze me. I don’t want that, not now, not ever. He can’t know that part of my life. He’s too good to know all that bad.

  “Rory,” he grinds out.

  Licking my lips, I give him a shaky smile. “I just… I don’t want to talk about my family. You’re my family now.”

  He narrows his gaze at me but thankfully doesn’t demand anything further. “How about we go to a nice dinner? It is our wedding night,” he says, giving me a grin and successfully changing the subject. “And when I start working, I’ll buy you a real ring. Cover you in diamonds,” he offers.

  “I don’t need diamonds, just you,” I say with a smile.

  Lawrence shakes his head once, then touches the hazard light button and eases back into traffic. He doesn’t go back to his apartment, instead, he takes me to dinner. It’s not anything extremely fancy, he says. I don’t know what he considers fancy, but this is pretty nice to me. Honestly, anything with electricity and running water is fancy to me.

  We eat steak, potatoes, veggies, bread, and then for dessert, we share a slice of chocolate cake. It’s absolutely perfect in every way and I couldn’t imagine it being anything else. There is nothing I could want for in this moment, in this marriage.

  Just me and Lawry.

  Thankfully, Lawrence doesn’t ask me any more questions about my family, but I have a feeling he’s going to demand to know soon enough. He’s my husband and he’s going to want to know.

  He deserves to know, right?

  Isn’t that what a marriage is about? Knowing one another, knowing every little detail about the person? Their past, present, and future.

  One day I’ll have to tell him, there won’t be a choice, but right now, I just can’t bring myself to do it. We leave the restaurant together, hand in hand, but I can’t stop thinking about my family. I can’t shake off thoughts of my past, about the place I’m running from.

  “I have one last surprise for you,” Lawrence announces as he climbs into the driver’s seat of the car.

  He starts the engine and I watch him for a moment, he’s so excited. Instantly, my stress and worry disappear, just like they always do when he’s around.

  “A surprise?” I ask, sitting up straighter.

  I turn to look at him. The moon and dashboard lights highlight his profile. He’s driving, but he isn’t heading back to the small apartment we share. Something that we o
nly started sharing a few weeks ago because I was desperate.

  Because I lied to him.

  I keep lying to him.

  One day he’ll know the truth, but that day isn’t today. Today I’m going to enjoy this moment, live in it, love in it, relish in it.

  Chapter One

  RORY

  I stare at the apartment building. I know that it’s his. He hasn’t moved in three years. He’s only moved once and that was from Austin to Dallas.

  Once he moved back to his hometown, to Dallas, he’s stayed in the same building. He would tell me if he were going to move. He’d figure out a way to get a message to me. He’d text the phone that he gave me years ago, the phone that I only turn on when I leave home and come here.

  He wouldn’t be able to find me otherwise. I don’t exist except for my birth certificate, social security card, marriage license, and certificate. Which may seem like a lot. But I’ve never been to school, I’ve never had a job, and I’ve never filed taxes. I am simply a name on a piece of paper and nothing more.