by Sophia Lynn
"Abir..."
"Have you finished your play yet?"
Her body knew what he said before her mind did. While she was still trying to pick the importance of the words out from the way her body sang to be so very close to him, she was already turning in outrage. Those words, those familiar words, still sent a rush of adrenaline through her, and she twisted around to push him away.
Of course, when she had been in grad school, she was never wearing severely cut black dresses that hemmed her up at the knee, and she was also not wearing three-inch heels that looked great but at the same time offered very little in the way of traction or grip.
"Abir!" she cried out, and then his name segued perfectly into a shriek as she lost her balance and hit the low edge of the fountain. She flailed, trying desperately to right herself, but then she was plummeting towards the surface of the water, towards all the junk that idiots threw in, towards all the spare change that was likely grown moldy and smelly.
Oh, but this is going to be unpleasant, she thought very calmly, and she braced herself for the harsh chill of the water.
The shock she expected never came, however, because two hands grabbed hers, dragging her to a slightly bone-jarring halt, but even with her feet skidding on the pavement, she was saved.
She looked up into Abir's eyes, as night-dark and beautiful as she remembered, and Lia couldn't stop herself from smiling, even suspended as she was above sure watery doom.
"Well?" she asked. "Do you want to finish the job, and send me through the lobby dripping disgusting fountain water?"
"Just wanted to get you steady enough so that I could lift you clear," he assured her.
Lia started to tell him that that wasn't necessary, that she could steady herself if she was only given a moment, but then she was lifted up off of her feet and carried back a few steps. With only a slight and startled squeak she would deny if anyone asked her about it later, Lia landed upright on her feet.
Instead of letting her go, however, Abir only stared down at her, and she wondered if there was something strange and open in his eyes that had never been there before, now he was only now seeing her as she was and as she had become.
"Abir?" she asked gently, but he looked no less enthralled.
"Look at you," he said. "I've never seen anyone so beautiful."
She started to say something tart and honestly probably a little cruel about that, but then it was too late and he was leaning in, one hand coming up to tenderly cup the back of her head and his mouth descending to capture her mouth.
They had kissed a lot just a few long years ago. She had kissed men before him, and she had even managed to kiss a few men after him. If she had wondered what kissing him might be like since they had broken up, she likely would have grudgingly admitted that it would be good. After all, it had been good before.
Now it turned out, she was wrong. It wasn't good at all.
It was amazing.
It was as if his kiss unlocked something she had never known about herself, or perhaps, more appropriately, it had brought out something that she had put away years ago, something she hadn't really trusted.
Lia liked to think of herself as a practical woman, but when it came to Abir, all bets went out the window. In his arms, she felt as if she had become some being of fire, something that only cared to burn and to roar and want.
Her arms went around his neck, and she threw herself into the kiss as if she had never been afraid or hurt. All that mattered was Abir's mouth slanting over hers, how good he tasted, how hungrily he parted her lips so his tongue could enter. It felt familiar, it felt good, it felt so damn perfect, and all she could do was cling to him and hope that it never, ever ended.
Finally, however, she had to come up for air, and even then, Lia could only draw back far enough to look at him. She couldn't quite bring herself to pull away, not when her body still cried out for his, not when she could feel the warmth and strength coiled in him right under his clothes.
"I..."
"Should I say I'm sorry?" he asked, slightly breathless, and before she could stop herself, she shook her head.
"Never that, never you," and then she remembered, and now she found the strength to push him away, her eyes narrowing. "But should you be saying sorry to your wife?" she asked accusingly. "She might be owed an apology after all this."
The shame of doing something like this with someone's husband, no matter what the circumstances, stung her fiercely, but she could deal with that later. Right now, she needed to deal with Abir, or this was only going to happen again.
Instead of looking guilty or dismissive, however, Abir only gave her a quizzical expression.
"Lia, I'm not married," he said.
"But you left because—"
"It fell through," he said firmly, and when she searched his face, she could see no lie there. Likely plenty of her girlfriends would say that she was a fool for not checking first, but she couldn't help the way her heart leaped.
"Really?"
"Yes, really. I'm a free man." He tilted an eyebrow at her. "Are you a free woman?"
"That's a complicated question," she temporized. "I don't have a lover or anyone about to become my lover."
To her surprise, he took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips. It was less a kiss than a gentle grazing of his lips over her knuckles, and the gesture sent a flash of sensuality through her.
Lia thought that he might say something about that, how good it was, or perhaps something silly like that. Instead, when he raised his eyes to hers, it sent a rush of heat through her body. She had almost forgotten that she could feel like this, this surge of pleasure, this amazing, almost dizzying wonder.
“I want to leave this place with you,” he said. “I want you to show me exactly how free you are.”
There were a dozen reasons not to do it. There were a dozen and three reasons specifically not to do it, but then there was also the warmth of his hand in hers, the dark fire in his eyes, and the longing that refused to let her ignore it, that had awakened and was now demanding its due. No one in the world had ever made her feel like Abir did, and now that he was back, now that he was touching her…
“Yes,” she said, and then she was in his arms again, his mouth slanting hot and demanding over hers, her fingers clinging almost frantically to his clothing because she couldn't bear to let him get away. This kiss was, if anything, even more longing than the first, and there was no telling where it might have gone if the door to the elevator hadn't chimed again.
They pulled apart just in time to see a tipsy couple lurch out of the elevator, and Lia hurriedly tugged her skirt down as they passed.
“You needn't bother,” Abir said with amusement. “I don't think they know we're here.”
It looked like the couple in question had some similar ideas for the privacy of the fountain, and Lia suddenly smiled as she took Abir by the hand and tugged him back into the elevator, getting in just as the door closed.
“Let's leave them to it,” she said mischievously. “Do you still drive yourself?”
“I can get away with it in the United States,” he said. “Would you like a lift?”
“To start,” she said decisively. “I would like a lift to start off with. After that, well, we can decide what else we both want, don't you think?”
From the way he looked at her, she thought that he had a very good idea of what he might ask for, and then he pulled her into his arms again.
They managed to break apart just in time on the garage level to let some party-goers past, and then Abir led her to a sleek black car that made her laugh.
“That looks familiar,” she said as he opened the door for her. “The more things change, hm?”
“It's a classic,” he said, unruffled. “I'm not far, my assistant booked me at—”
“No,” she said instantly. “No. Sorry. I need to be at my place.”
“You do?” he asked, and she tensed.
“Yes, I do. I have some th
ings that I need to take care of in the morning. I can't do that if I'm in a fancy hotel in Manhattan.”
For a moment, she thought he might argue, and then they would have a real problem, but he only shrugged lightly.
“And here I thought New York editors would always be on the cutting edge of communication technology,” he said. “Where to, my lady?”
“End of the street and turn left. I'll pull up the GPS for you.”
As she programmed the directions into her phone, Lia spared a quick thought for how quickly she could fall for this man, and how easy he could pull her world out of balance.
Remember that. You're not the only who will suffer anymore if you crash and burn on his shores.
Chapter 3
Lia
The small house in Queens was nothing to be ashamed of, but Lia wondered what it looked like to Abir as they pulled up. It was dark enough that he wouldn't see the clutter or the slight mess she had left earlier that day, rushing to Manhattan to get ready for Alina's debut, and she was grateful for that.
“In all the time I thought of you, I wasn't sure I would see you in a place like this,” Abir said as she led him up the walk. “I like it, though. It seems warm.”
“It seems like a nice place to pay reasonable rent without living in a shoebox,” she said, unlocking the door to let him in. “And you thought about me?”
She meant it to come out teasing. If it was a joke on anyone, it was a joke on her, but Abir's answer was startlingly sober.
“I thought of you all the time,” he said softly. “I thought about you constantly. There were some days where I thought of little else.”
Lia wanted to tease him, calling him a liar, but something stilled her tongue. The words might have been beyond belief, but they didn't sound like a lie. That was something that should have bothered her, but she had decided on the ride over that she was not going to let anything bother her tonight.
“You are very sweet,” she said. “Come here.”
She led him through the darkened living room, grateful for the fact that he wouldn't see what a mess it was. It was a little worse than she had remembered, and it would lead to all sorts of questions, ones that she didn't have any intention of answering.
At least her room was relatively tidy, and once she had shut the door, she flipped on the small lamp by the bed, turning around only to find herself caught up in Abir's powerful arms again.
“Thank you for bringing me to your home,” he said softly. “Thank you for letting me in.”
There was something heavy about his words, but then he was kissing her again, and just like it had before, it swept her away. There was nothing in the world that was more important to her now than reveling in the miracle of his mouth on hers, in the warmth of his hands sweeping down her body. The dim light gave everything a romantic glow, and Lia found herself untethered from the world that she knew as the real one. Perhaps she was in some dream she had had, one where she would wake up teary-eyed and out of sorts. Perhaps it really was grad school again, and she was on the path to the greatest heartbreak she had ever known. She had no idea. It didn't matter.
“Abir,” she murmured, and she kissed him as fiercely as he kissed her, clinging to him. She took advantage of the height her heels gave her to kiss his face, relishing the light stubble on his jaw before moving over to kiss his neck.
“Ah, but you feel so good, beautiful,” he murmured. “You cannot imagine how much I have thought of you.”
She went back to kissing his mouth, shaking her head even though she knew that he wouldn't necessarily notice. She didn't want to talk about their time apart and what they had been doing during it. The only thing that mattered was that they were together right now.
Lia wasn't sure which one of them tumbled the pair of them into bed, but suddenly they were kissing in her sheets. The smell of her sheets, washed at the Do Your Duds laundromat down the street, was familiar and at the same time, Abir's cologne was familiar too. They didn't go together, and for a moment, they were almost shocking in their difference, two worlds colliding.
Then Abir threaded his fingers into her hair, holding her still so he could nibble on her throat and the broad expanse of skin revealed by her low-cut dress, and nothing else mattered. She gave herself up to the sensations he was sending through her, and in just a few short minutes, she knew she needed more.
“I need this off,” she growled, tugging at her dress. It was lovely, one of her favorites, but right now, the only important part of it was that it was keeping Abir's hands from her skin, keeping them from being as close as they could get.
“Shh, shh, let me help,” he murmured.
She thought he would rip it from her body. He had certainly done similar things years ago. Instead, he simply turned her over on her belly, and she gasped at how strong he still was. She started to say something about it, but then he swept her curling hair up and off the back of her neck, baring her nape to his lips and his teeth. That had always been a sensitive area, and she squirmed for several long moments before she got her wits back.
“I thought you were getting me out of my dress,” she gasped, and he chuckled against her skin.
“I am. I'm just taking the scenic route. After all, there's plenty to see.”
He started to unzip her dress, working the delicate zipper down inch by inch. Every bit of exposed skin was duly kissed and inspected, and when he came to her bra band, he unfastened it with a skill born of long practice. It seemed to take him forever and absolutely no time at all as he inched his way down to the small of her back. Lia wished she had had the forethought to put some pretty panties on, but this was hardly how she could have expected the day to end.
When the dress was fully unzipped, Abir drew it over her head, and in a matter of seconds, she lolled on her belly nude except for her bra and her panties. She would have sat up to take her underthings off, but Abir came to rest over her, his knees between hers, his chest resting against her back. He carried his weight on his elbows, and he kissed the side of her neck again.
“Am I too heavy?” he whispered, and Lia sighed with satisfaction.
“No, never,” she said.
A sensuous spell fell over her. There was nothing dangerous here, nothing that would harm her or those who depended on her. She was utterly free here and utterly without responsibility. The only thing that mattered was how good she felt and how very good she could make Abir feel.
He kissed a long line down her spine, parting the straps of her bra, and sliding her panties off as he went. Lia marveled at how hard he was, and how good his muscular frame felt looming over her.
“I want you,” she murmured, pressing herself back up against him as he kissed his way back up her back. “Abir, I want you so very much.”
“You do?” he teased, and she whimpered longingly.
“Take your clothes off,” she said, and he laughed.
“Your wish, my lady.”
She didn't turn her head as he knelt up and started to strip. It was enough to hear his clothes hit the floor by her bed, and to feel with increasing frequency the brush of his skin against hers, how hard he was compared to her softness, how the warmth sent delicious shivers through her entire frame. Then he came down over her as he had before, his mouth pressed to the back of her neck.
“You feel good,” he murmured. “I have never forgotten how very good you feel.”
Now she could feel how his cock was pressed against her rear, hard and hot and thick, and she deliberately flexed up against him, making him hiss with pleasure.
“It's very good,” she said, her voice low and maybe just a little bit teasing. “Sure you didn't forget any of it?”
“No, not in the least,” he laughed. “For example, I remember this...”
She let out a breathless laugh as he pulled away and lifted her hips up to a kneeling position. She raised up to her elbows, but before she could do more, he passed his hand between her legs, cupping her most sensitive spots with a
tender palm. When Lia moaned and made a soft pleased sound, however, he drew back to just his fingertips, tracing a maddening pattern along her full lips.
“Quiet, sweetheart,” he said with a soft chuckle. “Be patient. I'll give you what you want.”
It occurred to Lia to think about how different her body was now from when they were last together. It had been years, she was heavier and softer and simply different from who and what she had been, but then he slid a fingertip against her clit, rocking the small nubbin of flesh just enough to send a thrill of pleasure straight through her body, there was no room for anything in her at all except for pleasure.
This was an open position and a vulnerable one. He could see so much of her, and with her face buried in the pillows in front of her, she could barely see him. If it was anyone else, she might have been worried, might not have allowed it, but this was Abir. This was just one of the many ways he made her feel good, just one of the many ways he made her sigh with pleasure and need.
His hand between her legs was magic, and she spread her knees wider to give him all the access he needed. It was so good, and soon enough, she could feel her body changing, shifting from pleasure to a hunger that almost ached. Her body needed his, and then he pressed two fingers deep inside her, making her groan with desire. It was good, it was close, but it simply wasn't enough, and she rocked back to him insistently.
“Do you think you're ready yet, beloved?” Abir asked softly, and she nodded.
“Yes, yes, definitely,” she gasped, but damn him, he only laughed.
“I'm not sure if you are. Let's see.”
The pressure was a little firmer now and quicker. The finger inside her was joined by another and then another, and when he slid out, for a moment she thought he was going to give her what she really wanted. Instead they only moved forward to work at her clit, making her shake with intense waves of desire and need. Then they returned to thrusting inside her, and Lia grabbed frantically at the sheets, her body moving without her impetus. She was writhing, pushing back, almost bucking into Abir's hand.
