3 BOOK BUNDLE "Her Last Love Affair", "Her Last Love Affair: Breathing Without You" AND "Her Last Love Affair: The Final Journey" (8 page)

“I want to savor this,” he said, his hands reaching out to
her waist. “You’re so beautiful,” he mumbled, his eyes moving leisurely over
her semi-pale torso. His gaze moved up and he lingered over her breasts, the
rigid pink tips and the areola puckered with gooseflesh. Ducking his head to
that sexy, sensitive flesh, he placed his mouth over one of those warm pebbles.

Allie’s hand automatically drifted to the back of his head,
encouraging him. Her fingers tangled in his thick, black hair, as she released
a contended moan. “Reece,” she whimpered.

Too soon, however, he was moving. His mouth trailed kisses
down her body, around the curve of her breast and over her stomach, as he fell
to his knees. When he came to the waistband of her jeans, his hands swept from
her hips to the brass button just beneath her naval. Gradually, he unclasped it
and began to tug the blue jeans over her hips. Reece was met by the powerful
musky aroma of her arousal. Glancing up at her, he found Allie looking back at
him. Her hands were both resting on his head, fingers drawing lazy patterns
over his scalp. Her eyes were pleading with him, but he couldn’t be sure
whether they were desperate for him to continue slowly kissing every inch of
her or to simply hurry up and enter her.

“Reece,” she said, almost too softly to be heard.

Gripping her hips more firmly, Reece’s strong arms propelled
her to the right, until her legs were brushing against the foot of the bed.
Then, with a strong shove, he tossed her onto the mattress.

“Ahh,” she squealed, giggling.

Quickly, he pulled her jeans and her panties down to her
ankles. When his upper body came back up her legs, he gently held her knees and
parted them. Her sex opened like a flower, gleaming with her juices. His eyes
quickly flicked up her body, to find Allie gripping her bottom lip with her
teeth and the bed sheets with a ferocious grasp of her manicured nails.

Gradually, he lowered his mouth to the sweetness that was
calling to him. Gently, he stroked his tongue between her swollen outer lips
and felt her instantly jerk beneath him.

Allie tightened her grip on her lip, until she tasted blood.
She whimpered helpless, her hips flailing restlessly, as Reece continued to
slowly explore her sex. She tried to keep her upper body up, resting on her
elbows, as she became mesmerized by the movement of his head between her legs.
However, as Reece moved to her clitoris and began focusing his attentions
there, Allie felt her strength abandon her and she flopped back onto the bed
like a rag doll. When she felt two, strong fingers enter her, she began mewling
and writhing beneath him, her eyes fluttering closed.

Reece knew she was close and lapped ferociously and firmly
at the tiny bud, as he unhurriedly thrust back and forth with the index and
middle fingers of his right hand. She smelt and tasted sweet and clean, with
just a hint of saltiness. That nectar was flowing so fast and hard that it was
dripping over her buttocks and pooling on the sheet beneath her. Pushing his
face more firmly into her, he moaned, prompting vibrations to rock through her.

Allie opened her mouth and exhaled a breath, trying to cry
out. Instead, nothing erupted forth. She mutely screamed his name, as her
thighs unconsciously clamped his head firmly, holding him in place.

Chapter Eight

Could This Be Real

A
llie slowly removed herself from the arms of
Morpheus to find her warm pillow moving. It was a small, almost imperceptible
undulation, accompanied by a soft, rhythmic thud against her ear. She recalled
falling asleep to a faster, harder version of that rhythm. Gradually she opened
her eyes and found her hair draped over a tanned chest. As she tried to move,
she realized one of her arms was beneath her, while the other was clinging to
the warm torso, half-beneath her. Her right leg was tossed over another, more
muscular, hairy leg and her inner thigh had something large, warm and flaccid
nestled against it.

“Mmm,” she hummed delightedly, tightening her hold on the
comfortable pillow.

“Hey,” a deep voice, groggy with sleep, muttered above her.

Tilting her head, Allie looked up at Reece and smiled. A few
unruly strands of his thick hair had fallen onto his forehead, this coupled
with the joyful grin on his face, gave him an almost naïve, boyish quality.
Allie wasn’t fooled, however. The events of the night before left no doubt.
Reece was far from naïve, and if Allie had thought he knew his way around a
woman’s body at the age of eighteen, it was nothing to what he seemed to have learned
in the interim.

“Hey,” she responded warmly. Turning, so she was lying more
completely on top of him, she shuffled up his body. “Wow,” she grinned, kissing
his lips briefly.

“Yeah,” he acknowledged, sleepily. “Wow, is right.”

“I would ask where you learned some of those moves,” she
whispered thoughtfully. “But I don’t think I want to know.”

Reece, dropped his head back on the pillow and chuckled.
“It’s not like that,” he insisted. “I mean, I’m not some jerk who-”

Allie silenced him with another kiss, allowing this one to
linger a little longer. “It’s all right,” she said, when she finally pulled
away. “You don’t have to explain anything to me.”

With a nod of understanding, Reece fixed Allie with a
serious expression. “Last night was incredible,” he said.

“For me, too,” she told him, smiling.

“So, umm,” he hesitated. “Can we see each other again?” he
asked, placing his hand at the back of his head and tilting his chin, so he
could watch her reaction.

Allie’s smile faltered. She was so very tempted to say,
‘yes’. She wanted to see Reece again, wanted to spend more nights, like the
last one, with him. She knew, in the seconds after she’d woken, that being with
him had been so very different from the others. Each time with the others, she’d
experienced a thrill, a temporary satisfaction that burned with as bright a
desire almost as soon as the moment passed. With Reece, however, some much
deeper need in her had been quenched. She couldn’t give that need a name, but
she knew it existed.

“Allie,” Reece nudged, nervously waiting for her reply.

“I…” she mumbled, shaking her head, as confused thoughts
warred. One part of her brain screaming at her to see more of him while she
still had the chance, while the other part reminded her not only of the
problems associated with seeing him frequently, but also that she hadn’t yet
fulfilled her goal. There were still three men she’d contacted and had arranged
dates to see, and there were a further four that she remembered and wanted to
track down. “It’s complicated, Reece,” she eventually huffed, rolling off him
and grasping the sheet around her naked torso.

“It’s not,” Reece countered, sitting upright. “It doesn’t
have to be complicated at all. I want to spend more time with you.”

“But my life is so hectic right now,” she told him,
shuffling out of the bed and taking the large sheet with her. Twisting, she
wrapped herself as though she were wearing a toga. “I told you last night, I
can’t think about a relationship right now.”

“I’m not asking you to,” Reece insisted, still sitting on
the bed and making no effort to conceal his nakedness. “Allie, please,” he
said, lifting his palms. “I didn’t want to make you panic, I just wanted to see
you again.”

“You said, it could never just be sex with you and me,” Allie
replied, wandering agitatedly to the foot of the bed.

“It can’t,” he reiterated firmly. “Are you telling me that
last night was nothing but sex to you?” he countered, a dark cloud passing over
his brow.

“No,” Allie responded. “Of course it wasn’t, but…”

“Hey,” he soothed, shuffling off the bed and moving towards
her. “You said we didn’t have to label it, right?”

Silently, Allie nodded her head.

“So, let’s not label it,” he urged, moving close enough to
touch her, but keeping his hands to himself. “It’s not a relationship, but it’s
more than sex. We don’t need to know any more than that.”

Allie considered that proposal. It didn’t solve all her
problems, but with him standing there completely naked, it was incredibly
tempting. “Can we think about it?” she asked quietly.

“Okay,” he replied, with a nod. “On one condition,” he
added.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“That we go back to bed right now,” he smiled, cocking his
head at the mattress.

Allie couldn’t prevent the smile that spread across her
face. “I don’t know,” she murmured, with mock suspicion.

“If I haven’t left yet, it’s still the same date, right?” he
asked jovially, both arms reaching out to her and tugging her towards him.

“That’s your logic, is it?” she giggled.

“Yep,” he confirmed proudly. Keeping a firm hold on the
sheet, he spun her before pushing her back onto the bed. The sheet stayed with
him, unraveling from Allie, until, when she landed on the mattress, she was
naked once more.

She laughed loudly as she fell, screeching when she realized
he was ripping the sheet from her. However, her laughter soon tapered off, when
she noticed Reece wasn’t laughing with her. “What’s wrong?” she asked, looking
up at him.

Reece was gazing back at her, a look of horror on his
features.

“What is it?” Allie quickly blurted when she was met with
silence.

Reece’s jaw slackened in dismay, as he lifted his hand and
pointed at her torso.

Allie followed the line of his finger and found herself
looking at a large blue bruise beneath her left breast. She didn’t notice Reece
moving, but he stepped towards her and placed his palm on her right knee.
Allie’s eyes flashed to his face in alarm. She opened her mouth to speak, but
was forestalled when Reece gently parted her legs. There, on her inner thigh,
was another bruise, this one much larger than the first.

“I hurt you,” Reece whispered, barely able to say the words
for the bile rising up from his stomach.

“No,” Allie quickly stated, covering his hand with her own.

“Look at you,” he mumbled, flinching and sweeping his hand
out from beneath hers. “They weren’t there last night, Allie,” he said,
standing straight and raking his fingers through his hair. “I did that to you.”

“It’s not your fault,” Allie tried to placate him. “I
just….I bruise easily,” she awkwardly explained.

“Allie,” he shook his head, disbelievingly.

“It’s true,” she insisted. “I’m a little anemic.”

Reece stood silently, watching her carefully, as he seemed
to assess whether her body language suggested she was telling the truth. He
couldn’t make up his mind. The fact that he remembered the night well and was
certain he hadn’t been even remotely rough with her supported her explanation.
And yet, something in her eyes troubled him.

“I promise,” she added sincerely. “You did not hurt me,” she
insisted, looking him directly in the eye.

That, he was fairly certain, was the truth. “Are you sure?”
he urged.

“I swear, Reece,” she stated, shuffling towards the edge of
the bed, until her legs were hanging off the end. “Now,” she sighed, desperate
to change the subject. “What were you saying about coming back to bed?”

***

Tossing her purse into the deep
bottom drawer of her desk, Allie kicked the thing closed before angrily
throwing herself into her chair.

“Hey, you feeling any better?”

Lifting her head to the sound of Grant’s voice, Allie
scowled at him. “Huh?” she asked.

“Are you over the flu you had last week?”

“Oh,” Allie finally sighed, remembering the excuse she’d
given for taking the latter half of the previous week off work. “Yeah, thanks,”
she grumpily added.

“You’re a little late, I was wondering if you weren’t coming
in today, either,” he noted good-naturedly.

“You keeping track of me?” she snapped.

“No,” he innocently replied. “No, I was just worried about
you.”

Allie had wanted to take another day off. She’d intended to
do just that. However, after she’d been unable to convince Reece to get back
into bed with her, she felt too depressed moping around the apartment.

He’d left shortly after discovering her bruises, although
he’d assured her that he no longer believed he’d hurt her, he still felt
responsible for harming her. No matter how many times she told him she hadn’t
even known the marks were there, he refused to make love to her again.

He’d gone, leaving her with nothing more than a kiss on the
forehead and a promise that he’d call.

“I’m sorry, Grant,” she sighed, leaning both elbows on the
desk and massaging her temples with her index fingers. “Things are just…” she
stalled, before changing tact. “Anyway, I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”

“Hey, no sweat,” he replied, beaming at her like a loyal
puppy.

Allie had suspected for some time that Grant had a crush on
her. She’d brushed it off, because he was too young and she was too busy. His
willingness to excuse her bad moods and his eagerness to help with whatever
shitty job she called on him to do, were proof of something beyond professional
admiration.

As Allie allowed that thought to marinate, an idea came to
her. Perhaps all she needed to lift her spirits was a good screw. And Grant,
although not exactly the kind of guy she’d usually go for, was someone she knew
and would, undoubtedly, be only too eager to please.

“Grant,” she said picking her head up.

“Yeah,” he called back.

Allie opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came
out. She tried to picture herself with him, maybe in one of the store
cupboards, or upstairs in the morgue, amongst all the dusty old files. However,
the image just wouldn’t come. Instead, all she could see was Reece.

“Allie?” Grant probed, noting some kind of conflict behind
her eyes.

Shaking her head, Allie dismissed the thought of Grant and
tried to picture someone else. Kyle, he wasn’t bad looking. Stephen or Carl.
Still, the only face that occupied her brain was Reece’s.

“Are you okay, Allie?”

“Yeah,” she nodded numbly. “Sorry, I just…” she mumbled,
pushing her chair back and rising to her feet.

“Did you want something?” Grant asked.

“No,” she responded. “No, thanks,” she assured him, making
her way across the open plan office space. “I think I need a coffee,” she
absentmindedly tossed over her shoulder, as she plodded towards the break area.

She stood for several minutes, her fingers clamped around
the handle of the percolator, as she tried to work out what the hell had
happened over the course of twelve hours. Suddenly, her desire to make up for a
lack of sexual experiences was narrowed to a desire to simply have more sex
with Reece. This was something she hadn’t expected: that one of the men she’d
dated over the last few weeks would become a preoccupation. She thought about
all of the others fondly, she remembered her time with them as exciting and she
certainly didn’t have any regrets. But this was different, the night before
wasn’t just another good memory to add to the collection. Was he really that
good? She shook her head at the rhetorical question. He was absolutely that
good. However, there was much more to it than his performance.

There was no longer any question in her mind: she had to see
him again. Whether or not that fitted with the original plan didn’t matter.
Whether he had seen bruises on her body didn’t matter. The only thing Allie
cared about was spending another night with Reece. She could only hope that one
more night would be enough to quench her thirst for him.

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