Leaving at Noon (23 page)

Zoey took the kiss from a Slow-burn to a
Scorcher in a heartbeat
,
and Theo slid inside her, only
releasing his grasp on his cock when he was half buried in her
tight channel.

Sweet fuck, that felt good. Good enough he
thrust up, filling her completely. He was buried balls-deep inside
his wife, and there wasn’t a single place in the entire world—in
the entire universe—he’d rather be.

For long seconds he remained still, content
to kiss Zoey as she clenched her inner muscles, holding him in
place.

Her walls wrapped around him like a glove,
the wet heat an opulent luxury against his sensitized skin. Their
combined come slid over his erection. It made him a little crazy
inside. He had to quell the urge to pound his chest and howl at the
moon and mark this woman as his.

It also made him want to continue kissing
her until the sun rose and then set again. If he could, he’d remain
buried in her depths for the rest of his life.

But Zoey was moving, rocking gently above
him, sliding over his length, enveloping him and sliding back up
again.

She was in no rush, riding him as though she
had all the time in the world. Even her kiss remained unhurried.
Yeah, it scorched the inside of his mouth and scattered his
thoughts to the wind, but at no point did it reach the fiery
intensity of an Ultimate.

There was no need for that level of
intensity. This, here, the slow glide of her hips above his, the
sleek heat of her loins, was perhaps the most erotic dance of
Theo’s life. His cock was hard as granite, and his heart as soft as
cotton wool.

He cupped Zoey’s ass, loving the feel of her
round buttocks as they flexed when she slid off him and relaxed as
she enveloped him in her heat again. The hard nubs of her nipples
scraped against his chest, his own nipples tight and sensitive
beneath the seductive assault.

The sky lightened as Zoey and Theo made
love, enough that when he broke the kiss and opened his eyes he
could clearly see the love shining in hers. It filled his chest,
and he smiled as she gave herself over to the beauty of the moment,
losing herself once more to the passion of their joining.

As ever, her pleasure sparked his, and Theo
could no more hold back his release than he could hold back the
words of love that poured from him as he came.

They dressed slowly, aware that the rest of
the world would be waking soon. But Theo couldn’t quite bring
himself to leave the beach. Instead they sat side by side on the
sand, their backs against the rock, and watched dawn break slowly
over the ocean.

As the sun painted the sky in a patchwork of
pinks and oranges, Theo slipped his hand between his wife’s legs.
Under cover of her dress and the rock, he once again indulged in
his favorite guilty pleasure, fingering Zoey until he had no choice
but to swallow her cries of surrender with a long, hot kiss.

Ava set the letter down with a soft sigh.
Her eyes shone with unshed tears. “So all this time he really did
love you?”

Zoey nodded. “He wanted me with him, but my
mother made it impossible.” The letter was one of dozens Zoey and
Theo had brought back from Canberra. The paper and envelopes were
yellowed with age, but the ink hadn’t faded at all, and the
beautifully written messages her father had addressed to his young
daughter were still as legible as they must have been twenty-five
years ago.

Zoey had brought some of them along to
Dinner Club, keen to share them with her friends. Each and every
one of them knew about her unhappy childhood, and she knew they’d
all cheer her on in her endeavor to patch things up with her
father.

“
Well, it’s a good thing
Theo told you what really happened,” Ava said, blinking away the
sheen in her eyes.

“
Was it hard seeing him?
Knocking on his door?” Liv asked as she folded a letter and slid it
back into the envelope.

“
Terrifying. Ask Theo, I
was shaking so much, I couldn’t even knock. He had to do it for
me.”

Theo placed an arm around her shoulders and
hugged her. “Zo was awesome.” Pride rang out in his voice. “She
might have been scared, but she went in there determined to change
her life and his. And she did.” He pressed a kiss to her head. “It
was inspiring to watch.”

“
Did you speak to your
brother and sister?” Greg asked.

Zoey shook her head. “Not this time. Neither
lives in Canberra anymore, so they weren’t around. But my dad’s
going to come through to Sydney next month, and I’ll get to see the
whole family then.” Her belly rolled with both excitement and
anxiety.

“
I hope you like them,
Zo,” Jared said. “Friends are good, but everyone needs a sibling in
their lives.”

“
Hear, hear,” Greg agreed
wholeheartedly.

“
How about a toast?” Theo
picked up the half-empty bottle of red and topped up first her
glass and then his. “To family.”

“
To family,” everyone
repeated, raising their glasses.

Zoey took a sip and almost sighed in
pleasure. Never had wine tasted this smooth or this delicious.

Levi caught her eye across the table,
flicked his gaze to the wine and then winked at Zoey. She smiled
happily.

“
There’s my girl, back
again,” he said with a grin. “I’ve missed you.”

Oddly, Theo tensed beside her, but before he
could say anything, Chelsea smacked Levi on the back of his head.
“I thought I was your girl.”

“
Ah, Chels.” Levi caught
her hand and pulled her onto his lap, smiling an utterly charming
smile at her. “Bozo may be my girl, but you? You’re my woman.” And
as he planted a hot kiss on her mouth, Chelsea melted into his
arms, seemingly oblivious to the other diners filling her
restaurant.

“
Brace yourselves.” Spence
rolled his eyes. “This can go on for a while.”

Levi shot him the finger without breaking
the kiss. At the same time, Chelsea reached out and twined her hand
with Spencer’s.

“
You’re
my
girl,”
Theo growled in Zoey’s ear. “My girl, my woman, my wife.
Mine
.”

A tiny thrill shot through Zoey at the
fierce possessiveness in his tone, and she placed her hand on his
shoulder, turned her face to his and whispered right back. “That’s
good, because you’re my guy. My guy, my man, my husband.” She
nipped his earlobe.
“Mine.”

“
Considering the
circumstances, I have another toast.” James kissed Liv’s hand then
raised his sweating glass of beer. “To true love.”

“
I’ll drink to that,” Theo
whispered. He slanted his lips over Zoey’s and sipped from her
mouth.

Eons later, a dazed and aroused Zoey lifted
her head to stare into her husband’s eyes. “I like you, Hughesy.
Very much.”

“
I know you do, babe. And
I like you too. Very much.”

And then, oblivious to the confused stares
of their friends, Theo took her mouth with his all over again, and
Zoey smiled because she didn’t just like her husband, she loved him
too.

And he loved her just as much.

*

If you enjoyed
Leaving at Noon
,
please turn the page for more information about the
Sunday Night
Dinner Club
Series.

Sunday Night Dinner Club, Book 3

Copyright © 2015 Jess Dee

It’s been eighteen months since Ava Torres last saw
her best friend, Jared Thurston. In that time she’s been married,
separated and gone all the way to hell and back as a wife. She
keeps her emotional scars buried deep beneath the surface, loath to
let the world know they exist.

Jared had no choice but to leave Sydney. The
alternative meant staying and watching the woman he secretly loved
marry another man. Now it’s time to return home and pick up the
pieces of his broken heart.

Ava is both thrilled and thrown by Jared’s
unexpected arrival home. While seeing him brings true happiness for
the first time in months, it also presents a new batch of problems.
Jared won’t let Ava hide from her pain any longer, nor will he let
her hide from him. He’s determined to show her that true love
doesn’t just exist in fairy tales. If Ava is willing to fight for
it, together they can find their very own happy ever after.

Warning: Please don’t go thinking
this is your regular fairy tale. No one under the age of 18 should
be reading the tale of this ridiculously sexy Prince
Charming.

Dinner at Eight: An Excerpt

“
Slow down, sunshine,” she
teased as they walked hand in hand. At least he wasn’t making her
dance with him. “The restaurant’s not going anywhere.”

“
I haven’t had a decent
steak since I left. I’d run there if I could.”

“
And leave me in your dust?
Thanks very much.”

“
Can I help it if you have
the shortest legs in Sydney?”

“
My stature has no bearing
on my hatred for moving any faster than a gentle
stroll.”

“
Oh, right. I forgot. Ava
Torres, laziest woman in the world.”

She snorted out loud.

Ah, if Jared only knew. Once upon a time
that had been the truth. But circumstances had changed. The Ava who
had once deemed walking to the car cruel torture could now do a
hundred push-ups without breaking a sweat.

“
Puh-lease.” She stared
down her nose at him—no easy feat when he stood a good foot taller
than she did. “Choosing not to run ten kilometers every morning,
like some people I know, come rain or shine, does not make me
lazy.”

“
Yeah, but sitting on your
couch all day eating Ben & Jerry’s does.”

“
Hey, I like my ice
cream.”

His lips tilted upward. “I might have
noticed that.”

“
Did you also notice I now
have muscles? Everywhere?” She lifted her free arm and flexed her
bicep, showing it off.

He looked at her speculatively. “It’s kind
of hard to notice anything under that shirt.”

“
Oi. What’s wrong with my
shirt?”

“
Not a thing.” His eyes
glinted with evil intent. “If you’re planning on using it as a
tent.”

“
Hah. Tease as much as you
like. You’re just not used to my new style. Long and flowing is all
the rage now.”

“
In the maternity
department?” he deadpanned.

She gasped. “Are you suggesting I look
pregnant?”

“
A little. But don’t panic.
It suits you. You look hot.”

“
Ava Torres. Pregnant and
hot. Gee, sounds great. Thanks.”

“
Hey, you chose the shirt.
Not me.”

She waved her hand over her chest. “You’re
just upset ’cause you don’t get to see the girls this way.”

“
Maybe a bit.” His grin was
pure mischief. “They always were the part of you I loved the
most.”

“
Oh, please,” Ava said,
indignant. “You never, ever noticed them, and I showed them to you
plenty.”

He shook his head fervently. “Trust me,
Torres. I noticed. Every single time I saw you.”

“
No,” Ava argued, tickled
pink she could laugh about the subject. There wasn’t another man in
the world she’d feel comfortable enough with to joke like this.
“Last year of high school you didn’t. Seriously. I shoved them in
your face just about every day in an effort to get you to notice
them—and me—and you hardly blinked.” Lord help her, she’d had such
a huge crush on her friend back then.

“
The last year of high
school? Well,
of course
I didn’t notice them then. I was in
lust.”

“
Yeah, yeah,” Ava huffed.
“With Arlene Hemings. Don’t remind me.”

“
Remind me.” Jared emitted
a blissful sigh. “That girl was the answer to every schoolboy wet
dream. She taught me things— Wait
.
Was that…?” Jared stared
at her in astonishment. “Was that jealousy I heard in your
voice?”

Ava stuck her nose in the air. “Why would I
be jealous of Arlene?” So what if she’d had blond locks that
bounced around her shoulders, long, tanned legs that went on
forever, flirty blue eyes, a sultry smile…and Jared.

“
Fuck me. It is. You’re
jealous of her.” Jared laughed out loud.

“
Shut up,
Thurston.”

“
Why in God’s name would
you be jealous of Arlene?”