by Terri Lane
June and Joe had hired a little hall and done it up beautifully, with catering and music and lovely seating arrangement, décor that looked really elegant. Kathy smiled, thrilling at the sight. It all looked so lovely and it reminded her of the wedding. It was lovely and she was so glad to see them happy and surrounded by those who cared about them.
She left them to have fun with each other and their guests and purposefully tried to avoid meeting Alex, if he even bothered to show up. She was in no mood to deal with him today, or ever again. She was not about to go crawling back to him after how he had acted. She wasn’t going to apologize when she had done nothing wrong.
The first portion of the celebration was passed by aimlessly wondering around, wondering if she was going to bump into Alex or not, and nibbling on the platters. She had some wine, sipping on it as she wandered around.
It didn’t take her long to find her name card and she sunk down at her place, waiting for the celebration speeches to commence. She was tired of waiting around, and wanted this to be over with as quickly as possible. As much as she adored her mother, she was starting to get tired of this whole trip.
The sooner she could get home, the better. It didn’t take long for the speeches to start and Kathy was quietly grateful that she wasn’t making one. She had enough on her mind right now. When Alex sunk into the chair next to her, Kathy thought she was going to scream.
She glanced at the name tag, her stomach dropping. She hadn’t checked who was sitting next to her and it seems her mom had seated them together. He didn’t make eye contact and neither did she.
They sat through speeches and cheering and music, Kathy staring everywhere but Alex. Still, she couldn’t deny that he cleaned up nicely. It was no wonder she hadn’t recognized him. He was in neat pants and a button down shirt. Sure, the collar was open and the sleeves were rolled up, but it was something.
Butterflies stirred in her stomach at the sight of him and she tried to quieten her racing thoughts. He was a bastard. He was trouble. She wasn’t going to start this up again. When the music ended and the food was being served, Kathy no longer had an excuse to directly ignore him.
Still, she would be civil and nothing more. She had been burnt by this man before and she was in no mood to have it happen again. But when she glanced at him, there was no anger in his eyes. He didn’t look like she expect him to. There was none of the anger, or malice that seemed to govern him when he wasn’t on his bike. Instead, he looked sad.
There was no other way of putting it. He looked deeply sad, like his whole world was ending, even though his eyes were dry. The walls that Kathy had hastily pulled up tumbled down and she rested a hand on his arm.
Alex glanced at her, his expression hardening, “Yeah?”
Kathy paid it no mind, “You okay?” Her voice was soft and quiet, sincere. Alex sensed this and glanced away, shrugging.
“You really don’t like their marriage, do you?” There was no accusation or anger in her voice now, just her own brand of quiet sadness.
He shrugged again, not looking at her, staring out onto the dance floor instead.
“I’m sorry you don’t think we’re good enough.” Kathy sighed, making to stand up. She didn’t want to do this anymore. It was clear he wasn’t interested in even talking to her.
So when he spoke, it was a surprise, “Your mom seems nice enough.”
Kathy sat down slowly again, just making a point to listen. He continued, “She makes him happy and all.” His eyes darkened, “Moved on pretty quick, didn’t he?”
Realization struck and Kathy looked at him softly, “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged again, “Not your fault. Not June’s either. Shit happens.”
Kathy nodded again, “I’m sorry about your mom.” The dots had connected now, and she had a vague recollection of Joe saying his wife had passed away. She wished she had paid more attention when it had mattered.
He smiled a little bit, “Yeah. She would have wanted this.” He snorted, “Would have wanted the bastard to move on.” He sighed and leaned back into his chair.
“Thank you for telling me.” Kathy smiled a little, her heart feeling lighter, if a bit hesitant. He didn’t hate her and she found herself overwhelmingly glad for that, relieved that he didn’t feel animosity towards her.
He shrugged, “It’s fine.” He paused and glanced at her, “Sorry.” She almost didn’t catch it, but the word made her own heart feel even lighter. Yeah, he had acted like a jerk, but he had his reasons.
“It’s fine.” She answered with a smile.
He returned her smile and suddenly Kathy’s heart was fluttering again, and the longing for him that she had managed to suppress for so long started to build back up inside her. She was hopeful that maybe, just maybe, things would work out between them.
She looked towards the dance floor where her mother and Joe were dancing and a smile lit up her eyes. When she glanced back, Alex was still looking at her and when their eyes met the flash of electricity passed between them again, just like it had the first time they met.
A slow smirk grew on Alex’s face and he stood up. She watched him move with a growing longing inside her. The way he moved, the way he looked at her, the way he had touched her. She felt like she was alight with desires and emotions that she had never experienced, at least, not fully.
She grabbed his hand, tugging him to the side. He followed, clearly confused. She wanted a quiet corner. The need to kiss him, to feel him, was overwhelming, and she didn’t think her mother would appreciate her doing it right at the table. Alex smirked as he caught on, and he led her into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind himself. He turned to face Kathy and her heart caught in her throat.
He smirked, grabbed her tight and kissed her right there and then.
Alex’s hands tangled in her hair as they kissed. It was passionate, it was hard, it was everything that it had been the first time, and so, so much more. He held her against him and she could feel his tense muscles as if he wasn’t wearing a shirt at all. He pressed her against the wall and Kathy let him. She groaned and squirmed beneath him, her hands finding the buttons on his shirt.
She slowly managed to undo a few opening up and revealing his chest, broad and strong, revealing the toned muscles and the way warmth made its way from his skin to hers. She pulled him in closer as their tongues met. Kathy grabbed him, holding him tighter and harder, pulling him closer.
Alex groaned, moving so that he could brush the hem of her dress. She shifted in return, moving so that he could grasp the hem and tug it up. She thrilled at the brush of air against her thighs, the way he did it without a second thought.
Flames of desire were already dancing up her skin, warming her to her core and flashing between her legs, a deep heat that burned her from within. She needed this so deeply. She needed him so much more than she had realized. His touch set her on fire. It was electric, it was all consuming, and it was perfect.
And this was glorious. It sent shivers down her spine. Making love in the bathroom, at her mother’s anniversary party, with none other than her step brother, pressed against the wall as they grabbed each other. She shivered. So wrong.
But she could see the thrill. And more than that, she didn’t want to wait, not for Alex. Alex was all she wanted right now, and she was sick of being sedate, sick of playing nice and being good and never living. Alex was the wake-up call she needed and she was never going back.
He pushed against her and Kathy started grinding against him in response, feeling his arousal through his jeans. He moaned, his hands teasing the lace of her panties, pulling them firmly down her legs. She moaned as the air hit her skin, the burning heat only getting more intense.
She shimmied out of her panties and let them fall to the floor. His fingers found their mark easily, brushing against her thighs, making their way up to the space between. When he pushed them within her, it took everything in Kathy not to make a sound. She bit her lip and leaned against t
he wall. She moaned and rocked her hips in needful little motions. She gasped and grabbed him so hard that she thought she might bruise her skin. She twisted his undone shirt in her hands, tightly, to keep herself feeling steady and upright.
He sucked her skin, kissed her neck and made her moan with passion and desire. His fingers pushed further inside her, rocking to a rhythm that made her writhe against him, feel the waves of pleasure building up within her and threatening to blow her mind. Perfection, lust and oh so good. He felt oh so good.
When he withdrew his fingers, Kathy wasted no time grabbing the front of his pants and undoing the buckles and zips, tugging them down enough to grab his member and begin to stroke it. He groaned this time, bracing himself against the wall.
It only took a few moments of her pressing in, kissing passionately and stroking him, before he grabbed her and lifted her, pushing her against the wall. He held all her weight in his arms as if she weighed nothing at all, shifting so that his length pushed against her entrance, so that she gasped when he slowly slipped inside her.
Then he thrusted deeply and Kathy couldn’t think straight. She grabbed him as he thrusted deeply within her, low groans and gasps escaping them both as they rocked in a passionate rhythm. Her hands were twisted so tightly in his shirt, in his hair, and he was holding her so perfectly. She shifted her hips so that the delicious rubbing brushed against her sensitivity and she gasped.
Waves of pleasure lingered at the corners of her mind, threatening to overwhelm her. It was blissful, it was sexy, and it was everything that Kathy had never imagined herself doing, never imagined herself being. And it was incredible.
When her climax crashed over her, it was overwhelming. It was breathtaking and gorgeous and it made her shudder and gasp and try not to make too much noise as she held on tight, feeling every second of bliss. Alex climaxed soon after, groaning as he thrusted deeply within her, shuddering and leaning deeply against the wall, Kathy still in his arms as they rode out the waves of pleasure together, unable to do much more than hold on tight and take in deep, shaky breaths.
Kathy’s head was spinning and, when he slowly lowered her to her feet, Alex looked just as breathless as she felt. She pulled down her dress and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to smooth it out. Alex did up his shirt, and pants and grinned.
The next thing Kathy knew, she was back in his arms and he was kissing her, tenderly this time, soft and lingering. It made her shiver.
“Let’s go back to the party.” He smiled and as he made to exit the room, he offered her his hand.
With a smile, Kathy took it.
THE END
Bonus Full Length Stories
We have included 20 special bonus stories from various romance genres for your pleasure. Happy reading!
= Bonus Book 1 of 20 =
Charming Single Dad
Julia stared out of the window of her small, but luxurious townhouse. It overlooked the neighborhood park—prime real-estate, and Julia was lucky enough to have it all to herself. Lucky. Her heart throbbed in her chest and she stared down again at the letter in her hands. Maybe, just maybe, if she wasn’t living here all alone, then she would have someone else who could help with the living costs—living costs which seemed further and further out of her reach.
Only a few months ago, she had been living what had seemed to be the perfect life. Julia had a job at the local college, teaching as a professor there. She had studied and worked long and hard to get her PHD, and it was finally paying off. She taught education and she absolutely loved it. It was rewarding, enjoyable, and engaging and she loved the campus.
She was fortunate enough to work on a number of different projects with the undergrads, as well as doing her own research. Julia’s record was perfect, not a black mark to her name and she prided herself on this, striving to achieve excellence in everything that she did.
It was long work, tiring work, but deeply satisfying work. Also, it afforded her comfort. She was by no means wealthy and she doubted that she would ever be wealthy in her profession, but she was comfortable. A nice townhouse, a well-working car and extra money to play around with for food and clothes and other luxuries that she, strictly speaking, didn’t need. It was a good life and one that Julia enjoyed immensely. She was content where she was and was hoping to continue along these lines, gaining success in academia, seniority status among the lecturers and a solid pension.
It was a simple life, but one that she enjoyed, and one that she did not want to give up. She had had a slew of bad relationships in the past and she told herself that she did not want that from life. She told herself that she was happy on her own and that there was nothing missing from her world.
And on long, lonely nights, she could almost, but not quite, make herself believe it. But these nights were fleeting and Julia preferred to concentrate on her work, like she always had. It brought her comfort and joy and she was happy to lose herself to it.
It wasn’t until a few months ago that her world had come crashing down spectacularly. She shivered at the thought, feeling sick. It had come out of the blue, blindsiding Julia completely. She had been accused of falsifying results on one of her research projects and the college was taking it very, very seriously.
It rocked her world to the core and suddenly, the future that she had dreamed of no longer seemed so certain. She was suspended, with pay, during the investigation. Julia was innocent, and she didn’t know where these terrible rumors had come from, but she soon learned that someone was out to get her.
The results of the investigation left her under suspicion. Julia appealed, this time without pay, and she was still waiting for the results. Feeling sick to her stomach, Julia waited day in and day out for some news—for her name to finally be cleared.
She was not allowed to work or teach during this period, and she was certainly not allowed to do anything with her research, so she stayed in a terrible sort of limbo, terrified about what this would mean for her career.
A black mark like this would make it almost impossible to be hired again. It would make it even harder to get published, and her career in academia would be finished, would be destroyed with little hope of it ever being restored. It made Julia shaky, as she sat in her little townhouse and read the letter over and over.
So dismissive, so formal. It made her stomach churn as she tried to think who she might have offended. Another member of staff that she had unintentionally snubbed? A student who she had failed on a test? A senior member of staff or admin who had some grief with her?
Julia couldn’t think of anyone. She kept her head down, she was polite, respectful, and friendly, and her students didn’t have any power over the review committee, so she doubted that it would be them.
The anxiety had been swirling around her in a terrible, unending cycle that refused to give her rest, give her peace. There was so much that she needed to do, but it was hard to take the first step. Just appealing the decision had been difficult, almost impossible to finish, the anxiety making her sick.
But now, now there were so many other things that she needed to consider, like confronting the horrifying realization that her career might be over and she would have to start all over again. All those years, wasted. All the time and effort down the drain, along with her good name.
Julia had it all, and now she felt like she was losing absolutely everything, even her very name, the reputation that she had. Her family was too far away to help and she didn’t want to call them and admit defeat. Her friends were few and far between—her dedication to her work had always been her focus.
She had no partner, or even close male friends, and the people she did know at the college had turned their backs on her after the initial review. Julia felt very alone, and for the first time, she was struck by the fact that she was so lucky that she didn’t have kids.
She had felt the longing for a family, just like most people eventually did, but the thought of not being able to take care of her children made he
r awash with relief at her decision. She had made the right choice, even though she ached, even though she didn’t know it at the time.
However, children or not, she still needed to feed herself and pay her rent. She needed somewhere to live, she needed a stable position, even if it was just in the mean-time, and she needed something that wasn’t right in the middle of academia. This meant that she needed a position different from all the positions that she had held in the past.
She needed something that would utilize her skills, but not a job at a research institution or at a school of any kind, be it tertiary or not. This was a problem. She couldn’t think of many jobs that she had done in the past. Even in her youth, babysitting was about the most that she had ever done.
Julia was being careful with her money, of course, but a resume that consisted entirely of babysitting and research at a college left a lot of gaps that needed filling. Still, she wasn’t about to give up. That just wasn’t Julia’s style. Even though she felt like giving up, she was determined to make it, determined to hold her own and not let these terrible rumors ruin her.
So, she had begun applying to positions around town. She had applied to every hospitality job that crossed her path and had jumped on the administrative positions too, hoping to find something that paid a little more than waiting tables. She was hopeful that she would find something to help her stay afloat, even if it was just a small job that had her scraping together every penny.
But when she had received no interviews and her savings were steadily beginning to dry up, Julia had made a crazy bid by applying for a position as a live-in nanny. Babysitting experience was preferable, and they wanted someone who was able to tutor too. Legal clearances were a must.
Well, Julia met all those requirements, so she had gone for it, more on a whim than anything else, but it was still worth a shot. She had very little to lose at this point. Besides, the pay was really good and she would not have to worry about electricity and water bills while she was working there.
