Love Without Borders

by Sammi Bennett

  Her flight home was during the daytime, so Val busied herself with reading and watching a movie on the seatback screen. She wanted to get back on US time as quickly as possible, even though her body was getting tired. The hours passed easily, and, before she knew it, the flight landed at Dulles. With no bags checked from Rwanda, Val breezed through customs and headed to her car. Once she got in the familiar driver’s seat, she had a thought.

  She turned on her phone for the first time since she left Rwanda. She had lots of emails and several text messages, mostly from Bri and the girls. She skipped by those, knowing exactly who she wanted to text first.

  Jared, I’m back! I’ve been thinking about you. Want to get a quick dinner?

  His text came back quickly.

  Yes. I would love to get dinner. When?

  I’m just now leaving the airport. Let me head home and get changed, and we can get something easy. Want to meet at my place in an hour?

  Sounds like a plan. See you then.

  Val smiled. It was nice to have someone to come home to. Someone who always seemed to be available for her. Someone who was excited to see her. She started the car and drove home, flipping radio stations the whole way.

  When she got to her apartment, she noticed Jared’s familiar car was already parked in the parking lot. He must have left as soon as I texted to make it here this fast, she thought. As she walked toward the building, she saw him sitting on the bench by the pathway. He stood up as soon as he saw her, and his face lit up with a smile. He was dressed in a typical Jared outfit, jeans with a button down. He always looked presentable, even when he was casual. She walked into his arms, and he enveloped her in his trademark hug. He leaned down and placed a kiss on top of her head.

  “I’m glad to see you,” he said. “How was the trip?”

  “It was amazing,” Val responded. “So worth going and seeing all the projects. Rwanda is a fantastic country: warm people, beautiful scenery, delicious food. I can tell you all about it over dinner.” She turned to head into the building.

  Jared held her arm. “Val, did you have a chance to think about us? All this time you were gone, all I could think of was you. Where you were, what you were doing. I wanted to be there with you, having adventures with you.”

  Val stood still. She thought about what Jane had described in dating Charles. She flashed back to what Charles had said about not figuring everything out. She remembered closing the door on the chapter with Adam. She knew relationships were about taking chances. Was she ready to take this chance?

  She looked up at Jared. His warm eyes were full of emotion. His feelings were practically written across his face. “Yes,” she said.

  “Yes, you thought about us or yes, you want to give me another chance?”

  “Yes, I think we should give it another shot.”

  He closed the distance between them and lifted her in an embrace as she dropped her backpack. He set her down on the sidewalk and kissed her. He kissed her as if with all the feelings he had been holding back, all the impatience that was building as he waited for her.

  Val returned the emotion. She reached up around his neck and kissed him as if he held all the answers. Their tongues danced in a familiar way as she remembered what it was like to be with him. Jared was home. This kiss felt right, felt like where she needed to be.

  Jared picked up her backpack and held her hand as they walked into her building. He couldn’t hide his smile.

  Once she opened her door, he followed her in and shut the door behind them. He carefully put her backpack on the ground and looked at her. She turned and looked back at him. His look was one that heated her blood. She could see that he wanted her, all of her, and he wasn’t going to let her go again. She stood still as he came to her, ran his fingers through her hair and claimed her mouth again. She moaned against him.

  Jared was tall and strong. He was at least a head taller than she was. His warm brown hair was kept short but not fussed over. He was an athlete for many years and still worked out. He wasn’t ripped like those gym rats, but he had more than enough strength to pick her up and carry her to the bed. He sat her down on the edge of her mattress and knelt in front of her. He paused to gaze up at her.

  “Val, I love you. I have loved you since we met and I will always love you. I am so glad you want to give us another shot, but I don’t want to rush this if you want to take it slow,” he said with restraint.

  “Jared, I want this. I want you. You are my soft place to land, my partner in crime, and most of all, the one I want in my bed,” she said breathily. She kissed him lightly on the lips. “Don’t stop.”

  Chapter 27

  As if that was all he needed to hear, he set about taking off her shirt and gently removing her shoes. He laid her back on the bed and worked on getting her pants off. Val used her hands to unbutton his shirt, working it down his shoulders until he let it fall off. She reached for the button on his jeans. Once she had that undone, she took a moment to stroke his erection. Val remembered making love with him as ordinary and comforting. That wasn’t what she wanted now, and she was going to push Jared to see if he could give her what she wanted.

  She loved his body, hard and strong in all the right places, and he knew how to move. He sucked in a breath as she touched him. He finished pulling off her pants and shucked his off as well. As soon as they were both naked, he stroked her body. He took extra care to kiss her freckles and caress her curves. He kissed her stomach, and then he stroked her thighs until she parted them. He used his mouth on her nipples until she cried out in pleasure. He flicked his tongue against the pink buds until they were hard and at attention.

  His fingers deftly stroked her heated core until she was more than wet. He used his fingers to plunge inside of her and to stroke her clit. Between the two, she was dripping in anticipation of him. She ran her hands down his back as he worked. The more he got her aroused, the harder she grabbed on to him. He knelt in between her legs, pausing for a moment as if in appreciation. She looked at him with her desire plain on her face.

  He leaned over her and kissed her as he slowly slid into her hot sheath. Slowly, so slowly. She whimpered. It felt so good; she wanted more. She grabbed onto his arms as he pushed himself fully inside her. He began to move slowly, in and out. Small movements at first, then as he began to move more, sliding in and out longer.

  Val began to shake her head. She wanted more. His calm strokes were good, but she wanted harder, faster. She cried out to Jared. “More. I want it harder.”

  She knew Jared loved when she talked dirty to him, and he didn’t disappoint. He began to thrust harder. Val’s little cries grew into moans. She was moving in rhythm with him, pushing back against his cock. “Give it to me,” she shouted. “Harder.”

  Jared gave a little smile. He pounded into her, going faster and harder until each thrust scooted them up the bed. As they moved, she got closer to the headboard until her head was touching it. She reached up and pounded the headboard with her hand.

  “Oh, god Jared, just like that. Fuck me hard.” He gave her what she wanted. She saw him getting closer to the edge with her. She was pounding right back into him, their skin slapping together. Then she came. She screamed as a wave of delight washed over her and she orgasmed. Her sheath tightened on his cock, and he cried out. He emptied himself into her, and she moaned as she came down from her climax.

  Jared lay gently on top of her, not putting his weight on her fully. She smiled up at him.

  “That was different,” he said. “You used to be much tamer in bed.”

  “Well, I thought about what you said about expressing what I wanted,” she said. “Today, I wanted to be fucked hard, so I decided to see if you really meant it.” She grinned.

  “You better watch it with those words. More of that kind of talk and we’ll never get out of here for dinner.” He nipped her earlobe and kissed her neck.

  “No, you better watch out,” she said as she rolled them both over until she was sitti
ng on top of him. She moved her pelvis in little circles. “I’m already planning my next request. Are you going to be ready to do that one, too?” She grinned a naughty little smile.

  “You have no idea,” he said. “I will get ready. Bring it on.”

  She leaned down so her breasts brushed his chest. “How come we weren’t like this before?” she asked. “We were much more vanilla.”

  “I wanted to do what you wanted. Baby, I am more than game. I don’t think you realize how adventurous I can be in the bedroom. Tell me where you want to go and I guarantee I’ll say ‘yes.’”

  Her eyes lit up. “I may take that on as a personal challenge. But enough talking, you’ve got more work to do. Make me scream again.” She sat up and started moving her hips again.

  Jared smiled. “My pleasure.”

  After a second satisfying romp, Val heard her stomach growl. She realized they had forgotten to get dinner in the middle of their lovemaking. Smiling to herself and looking over at Jared, she felt at home. Home was more than just a place; it was a feeling. She had that feeling with him.

  It took a roundabout way for her to get there, but she got there in the end. She had wanted excitement and daring in her life and sacrificed her relationship with Jared looking for it. It took her a couple of years and a birthday celebration to bring her to her senses and make her realize that no one could make her life exciting but her. She didn’t need to rely on someone else to be daring; she was that wild child all on her own.

  Her fling with Adam taught her that it wasn’t just a wild time that she was looking for. Yet, she didn’t want the plain life she had fallen into either. She wanted both—excitement and calm, adventure and routine. She finally saw that balance. Jared treasured her just as she was and was willing to be her partner in crime for her adventures. She could have it all, and she was happy to realize that, finally, she was just where she wanted to be.

  Epilogue

  Bending down to tighten the laces on her sneaker, Val glanced up at Jared with a glint in her eyes. They were both dressed in athletic clothing and surrounded by dozens of other similarly dressed participants.

  “Race you to the end,” Val dared Jared.

  He smiled at her. “You’re on. Don’t think I’m going to take it easy on you,” he teased.

  “I would hope not!” Val found her playlist on her phone and put in her earbuds. She slipped the phone into the holster on her arm. The starting gun went off with a CRACK! and the crowd slowly started inching toward the race course.

  Val gave Jared a good luck wink before focusing on the road ahead of her. She and Jared had taken up 5K races lately. While neither one was fast enough to win anything, the competition and friendly atmosphere were great fun.

  She had finally learned that she needed to be the catalyst for adventure in her life. She couldn’t expect someone else to make her life exciting. She needed to go out and make it happen, and she was already incorporating those choices into her life every day.

  Val snuck a peek at Jared, who was keeping pace with her. She was grateful to be with this sweet, caring man. She loved that Jared put her first. She felt that she was the most important thing in his life, and she felt the same about him. She enjoyed their experiences together, and Jared proved he was a good sport about all the curve balls she threw at him.

  They had already planned a trip to Iceland to swim in the lagoons and take in the breathtaking scenery. They also started to teach themselves how to make handmade pasta, so they could recreate their favorite restaurant dishes at home. And, to top it all off, Val learned how to say exactly what she wanted, in and out of the bedroom, and Jared was more than happy to oblige.

  When Val reached the finish line, she knew she hadn’t placed first or even bested her own personal record. But thinking about the excellent roll in the hay that would be waiting for her and Jared when they got home, she knew they both won.

  Acknowledgments

  First, thank you to the reader for taking this journey with me. As a first-time novelist, you took a chance on my book and I’m grateful.

  Second, thank you to my family and friends who supported me through this process. From the idea to the writing to the editing and publishing, your faith in my abilities has meant the world to me.

  Third, big thanks to my editor, Cece. Your guidance and encouragement has transformed this story.

  And last, thanks to Anne Lamott. Her concept of “shitty first drafts” allowed me to imagine myself as a writer. Without that first step, none of this would be possible.

  About the Author

  Sammi Bennett is the pen name of Debbie Stadtler. Debbie is a magazine editor by day and romance novelist by night. Married for almost 20 years to her high school sweetheart, Debbie’s happily-ever-after includes three boys and a home in the Washington, DC, suburbs. When not writing, she can be found reading all manner of books, drinking too much coffee, baking fattening desserts, or planning her next far-flung vacation. Debbie has visited 50 countries and can’t wait to add more to her tally.

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  For more, visit www.sammibennett.com