The Last Kiss (5 page)

The ability to swallow down the lump that took up residence in his throat grew harder when she looked over at him. She flashed him that sinfully sweet smile he adored before heading down to join her friends. Now he was the butt of many jokes as his crew cracked up laughing at his expense. He prided himself with the fact he was a man as confident in his composure as he was with guns. However, seeing her walk in hadn’t just crumbled his concrete resolve but destroyed it altogether. When she broke their connected gaze, he fumbled to realign himself with reality.

“Aidan, man go talk to her. You’ve been staring at her for―ev―er! Just go do it,” Jake chuffed out. Marcus, Jake, and Caleb had watched him fight the urge to speak to the one woman he couldn’t bring himself to say anything more than ‘Hi’ to for years. The internal turmoil that churned inside him played like a familiar song he replayed over and over again each time he saw her or even thought about her. She intoxicated his thoughts and coursed through his veins like a contagious dose of wanting.

They busted his balls each time someone caught him gazing at her; took turns teasing the hell out of him and coaxing Aidan to go and talk
to her. He remained rigid in his decision to wait until Raeve walked up to him to talk. “No, it goes against my morals, besides, if she’s really interested, then she’ll come to me.” Stubbornly he set his boundaries. The night progressed and more glances were stolen from both sides. The clock twisted its usual time, growing late; his crew realized it was time to intervene.

“Hey who’s up for another game of darts?” Jake looked directly at Aidan when he spoke.

“Yeah. Sure.” Aidan smirked as they collected their gear and walked over to the back end. There she stood, he noticed her jeans fit like a second skin as he sized her up. The pink pout of her lips begged for him to touch them with his. But the gentleman inside him refused to act on it. Amazing thing about beer, it gives you a new sense of confidence when you want to speak to the girl of your dreams. Swallowing down what was left of his brew, he made a quick trip to the bar for another bottle of courage. His mind panicked the closer he stepped to her. What would he say to her? ‘Hey Raeve, I've been in love with you for too long, and I think we should do something about that. Oh, and by the way, I want to roll you beneath me for hours as I lick and kiss every inch of your delicious skin!’―Yeah, that would go over real smooth. He chided himself.

Mustering up what little real courage he had left, he sidled up next to her, hoping she didn’t walk off.
“Hey, Raeve.” He drank in the sight of her as she idly reached for her bottle of water. She seemed almost nervous as a rush of heat flooded her cheeks. Her warm welcoming smile coaxed him closer.

“Hi.” she smiled. “How's it going?”

              “Not bad. You? Haven’t seen you lately?” He felt his palms sweat the longer her eyes lingered on him, sending another wave of need pulsing through his veins. Her absence hadn't gone unnoticed. Somehow he felt numb when she wasn't around, like nothing really mattered. Everything seemed like a dull void, until she walked through that door.

“Fine.
I mean, I've been great. Busy you know.” He didn't miss the way she fingered the soft sinews of her throat as she took another swallow of water. Licking his lips, he tamped down the fierce need to taste her with his greedy mouth. His eyes locked onto hers, finding it strangely easy to talk to her now.

Nonchalant conversation took them over the grainy details of her time spent in Florida, the reason she came back, the latest scandal by Red’s
standards, and how each of them longed to leave the state permanently. He was just a couple days away from doing just that, and the knowledge stung him bitterly for the first time. Still the conversation didn’t seem to slow as the night danced on.

Hours passed, and time began to fade. His eyes followed hers as she looked down at her watch. Furrowing her brow, he knew Raeve was about to say her goodbyes to him, leaving a new knot to wrench his stomach tighter. Her warm nature led her to do the one thing he had hoped
for, slowly she leaned in to embrace him. The moment he felt her soft body against his, a voracious heat surged through him, filling him with a desperate desire to kiss her. She felt so right in his arms as her cheek pressed against his. Raeve was a perfect fit he didn’t want to let go of… ever. Many moments passed before she reluctantly withdrew. After a few more seconds, her eyes stared straight into his, locking him onto the hypnotic draw of her inner temptress. The smile he adored, danced across her features just for him as he reveled in the delicious blush of her cheeks.

The desire to brush her skin with his fingertips overwhelmed him, and he found it too hard to resist one small caress. Now isn’t the
time for that, he thought to himself. Reluctantly, he let her go, gazing at her sinuous stride as slowly she made her way down the length of the room. No, it wasn’t time for what he wanted, but, it soon would be. Stepping back, Aidan stood stoically alongside his crew. Watching her. Waiting for her. Wanting her.

His eyes were still focused on her petite body as she stalled momentarily, and they didn’t stray from her form as she slowly made her way to the door.

“Aidan, man, go talk to her. She’s leaving.”

Voices faded as the blood pumped through his body, drowning out all other sounds. “I know, but so am I in a couple of days.”

Briefly stalling before she hit the door, Raeve took one final look back. A flood of heat rushed over him as his brilliant blue eyes caught hers in that divinely cosmic moment. Shock summoned his body to react as she flashed one more smile back at him. Was she looking back to see him or someone else? Was this the sign he was looking for? Feelings of excitement, nervousness, and confidence were followed abruptly by sadness and fear that he may never see her again. Aidan jumped at what could be his last chance to confide the truth of his feelings. He wasn’t willing to let his fear hold him back any longer. Sure, he had had bad luck with women before, but Raeve wasn’t like any other woman he’d met. There was no real reason why he was compelled to speak with her. Why he had to taste her lips, or hold her close just once more. Compelled didn’t even cover it. He felt a pull to her like a magnet needing to its other half to feel whole again.

With purpose and determination, Aidan quickly walked to the entrance, and almost broke the heavy wooden door down as he charged into the cool night air. “Raeve,” he called out. He found the sound strange when he actually spoke her name. How easily it rolled off his tongue, how delicious and utterly freeing it was to say it. More than that, it surprised him she heard it.

Slowly she turned to face him. Her expression was unreadable, but excitement poured through him as he soaked in the sight of her. He was unsure if he was making the biggest mistake of his life, or ensuring the best chance for the future he had wanted since the first moment he’d laid eyes on her.

“Oh hey, Aidan, what’s up?” The lithe rasp of her voice as she spoke his name was pure heaven. He wondered if she knew what she was doing to him―turning a solidly stoic man into a puppet.

The words he wanted to say fumbled around in his mind like circus clowns, playing hell on his logic. Where do I begin? I guess the truth. Open and honest was his personal code, and the truth seemed like his best bet. Carefully searching her beautiful and captivating eyes, Aidan spoke feverishly of his feelings for her, hoping the rushed sentiment fell together correctly.

The smile that splayed across her face gave him confirmation he had made the right choice. The bottle was now open and poured ready for her to drink in. Relief washed over him. For so long he had waited for just this moment to tell her how he felt. . His mind reeled as he chanted, ‘You have nothing left to lose except her, but you can’t lose what you don’t have. Go for it!’

Staring deeply into the hypnotic eyes that had captured his heart, Aidan closed the distance between them. His broad shoulders and sleek body towered over her as he carefully pulled Raeve closer to him. The need to feel her body pressed securely against his overwhelmed every rational thought as he slipped an arm around her tiny waist. His soft lips found what they had been waiting on for what felt like a lifetime. Propping her chin up with his finger, he fell into a trance. His urge to consume her only compelled him to sink deeper into their first kiss. How the taste of her tantalized him, her supple lips smoothing softly against his, made his body anxious to make the moment last. He held on to her, reveling in this one moment as she curled her arms around his neck, securing him in place. It was perfect.

Raeve didn’t pull away, setting off an internal victory dance as he finally let his true feelings for her come out. He’d fallen under her spell, and hoped to hell he’d stay there. Blissful moments passed before the final soft peck of her lips traipsed over his. Brushing his fingers over the resplendent sheen of her flushed cheeks Aidan bid Raeve a good night, silently standing guard as she climbed into her 1973 Mustang. ‘God, she looks so damn sexy behind the wheel of one of America’s finest muscle
cars.’, was his last thought as he watched her drive away.

His lips twitched into a smile briefly as he imagined her hair streaking behind her, while she drove with the windows rolled down, singing to her favorite song. It didn't take long for the cold numb feeling to return after she started the car. “Damn, should've kept her here longer,” he groused.

His stoic expression was short lived as she drove off, giving a final wave before exiting the parking lot. His pride rose with the swell of his chest, as an ear-to-ear grin plastered itself across his face. His heart leaped as he approached the guys, where a ceremonial round of ‘Congrats man’ awaited him. One by one, they climbed back into his car; his thoughts consumed by that single kiss as he drove them home. Doubt was trying to slide in as he wondered if it had really happened or if it had been a dream. If it was just a dream, then he refused to wake up from it. Happiness had taken up residence, and it was long overdue, and very much welcomed. His smile refused to leave that night, and he had a feeling that it would remain there every night thereafter.

Climbing into bed as the early morning hours threatened to break up the night, his last thoughts were of her―his Raeve, pressed against him and fitting perfectly. His fingers traced the curve of his lips, tasting the natural sweetness her kiss had left on his lips
The heat of it lingered long after she had left. She was the one. She fit him perfectly from hug to kiss. Just as he had hoped, she would. Raeve was his, and he had felt it from the first moment he had laid eyes on her. Raeve belonged with him…always.

***

Biting back a laugh as his memory faded, he remembered one last comment Jake had made to him.

“Dude, you dirty bastard! How the hell did she go for you and not all this?” Knocking him on the shoulder, Jake had winked and congratulated him.

“Yeah, Jake wanted you bad, babe,” he called out, as he watched Raeve come back down the hallway. “He thought it was pretty funny you chose me and not him.”

The soft curve of her smile and blush of her cheeks as she thought about it made his heart jump.

“Honestly, babe, I don’t remember him very well. Apparently I wasn’t into him, or I probably would’ve recalled him when you brought him up before.”

Barking out a laugh, a strange relief at her admission washed over Aidan. “How could you not remember him? He used to drool all over you?”

“Sorry, I don’t. Guess I was just so taken with you to notice anyone else,” she said as she slid back into bed. Her hands quickly danced across his skin as he cupped her shapely ass to pull her closer.

“I’m glad you didn’t go for him.” Quirking his lip, he gave her a quick wink before rolling her beneath him and sinking into the curve of her throat, pecking kisses and playful nibbles along the soft sinews until his wanting growls reached her ear.

~Chapter Six~

Her body melted into the delicious feel of his weight as Aidan settled in between her thighs. His lips lavished her skin, sending a round of shivers down her body as her essence flooded with need. Each graze of his fingertips was pure electricity. Arching into the feel of him, her fingers sank into his muscled shoulders, hanging on for dear life. She was helpless against her desire for him as the heat of his kiss on her flesh captured her breath. “Aidan, you’re not playing fair,” she murmured.

His hand greedily tugged her nighty down to expose the mounds of her breasts, peaked and waiting for him. The growl lingering on his lips as his tongue traipsed around the hard little bead was met with an immediate approval. Sucking in a ragged breath, Raeve knew it was pointless to fight the feelings; it hurt to physically deny her desire for him. Her body grew taut as he suckled at her breast while cupping her
other mound; grazing the matching hard bead, and circling over it with the warm flat of his palm. Mounting pleasure rippled through her body the harder he pulled her in between his lips. The desire was an aching deep within her wet core. The pulsing between her thighs only grew worse with each passing second. While most women would cry and complain they had a headache, Raeve, devoured each moment with an insatiable appetite until her throbbing core found relief. “Don’t stop,” she pleaded. The thick layer of need coated her words, dropping her raspy voice down into an audible growl.

The need to feel
him, grew more desperate the longer he stayed nestled between her heated thighs. Lifting her wet, waiting core to meet his rigid cock, Aidan had her mewing like kitten in heat each time the tip slid across her sensitive little nub. “Please,” she moaned. Her heart pounded against her chest as he wrapped his arm around her back, crushing her to his stony chest. Her body lit with a renewed fire that needed one thing to ease her suffering as the pain assailed her like a wrecking ball.

Clawing her hands down his back, Raeve couldn’t stand the play any longer. “I need to fuck you!” she growled. Rolling him off her, her nightgown didn’t stand a chance against the searing lust and pain that raged a fire deep inside, burning her uncontrollably Sucking in a heavy breath, Raeve tore at the satiny black nighty, ripping the thin fabric from her flushed body as she slid her hand down to release the hard length Aidan had hidden under the sheets. She licked her lips, her tongue needing to taste that single crystal teardrop of his seed. It was a familiar poison she loved the taste of, and she craved it each night.

Her tongue circled the tip of his hard-on, licking the hot liquid bead before wrapping her lips around the girth of him. Cupping his shaft in her tight grip, she lavished the length of him with her tongue, delighting in each of his little moans and hitching breaths. Her eyes burned with desire as she watched him bite down on his lip. Catching his wrist as he reached up to grab her hair, she pinned his hand to the mattress and tsked him for trying to control her.

“No… it’s my turn,” she whispered with a sultry rasp that surprised even her. When he started to protest, she sucked down the length of him again with heavy pulls, caressing him with her tongue as she stroked him. The harder she pulled at him, the louder his moans became. She played him like a violin as she alternated between quickening and slowing her pace. She could feel his sac tighten in the palm of her hand as she gently squeezed for his pleasure.

Arching into her mouth, he grew harder still. Raeve felt his climax building, but she continued, unrelenting until he was panting he was about to come. Breaking before he had a chance to shoot his seed down her throat, she gently blew cool breath on him, making his cock pulsate and twitch. “Not a chance in Hell, baby,” she teased. Climbing over his hips, splitting her thighs wide to sink down on him, Raeve held his rigid length and slowly eased her body down.

Her swollen folds welcomed his intrusion with a wet kiss, as Aidan’s hands slipped around her hips sinking into her
fleshy curves. Carefully she slipped down on him, inch by delicious inch until he filled her completely. She relished the feel of him in her throbbing core. Needing him deeper inside her to fight the burn, pumping her until all that welled up like a raging inferno spilled out in a symphony of moans. Sucking in a deep breath she moved in an undulating rhythm as her core stretched to fit him, and she found the supple flesh of his chest to latch onto with her fingers as she eased up and down the hard length of him. Her eyes lit with a new fire as she stared deep into his, her wants and needs reflected in his eyes as she rocked against his body, writhing with a new urgency.

Her head spun as she rode the waves of desire, and the harder she ground against him, the closer to climax she came. Dropping her head back on her shoulders, she reveled in the feel of Aidan writhing beneath her. Her breasts bounced with each rock of her hips, and his hands sank deeper into her skin as he set the pace, guiding her body.

Leaning back to take him deeper, her hands settled on his shins as she closed her eyes to feel every movement they made. Like a perfectly choreographed dance, she slid up to touch heaven, and he pulled her body back down on him.

***

Her face twisted while her body begged for more, gripping his thick muscled shoulders as she rode him. Slipping his hand free, Aidan gently circled her clit, shooting another wave of ecstasy through her. Her body clenched around his hard-on, as she bucked at the added sensation. Throwing herself forward, pinning his fingers in place, her hungry eyes ate him alive as she rocked him harder, faster. Clawing at his shoulders in a frenzied need to release, she sank down on him harder with each thrust of her hips. There was no controlling it. She bit down on his throat to keep the screams at bay, until the last possible second when her voice littered the air with her cries of ecstasy. The sumptuous feel of her body as it clenched and released with each new peak made her want to ride him harder. Her self-control shattered, Raeve rocked her hips against his desperate to feel another high.

His hot spray shot deep into her body set off another round of moans, adding more sensitivity to the delicious sensations her body reveled in. Her breath caught and her lungs burned as she bounded for one more peak. His body still rigid and ready for round two, was all she needed to know before she peaked to the rising climax. “Aidan!” she screamed as he pulled her body down to his. Crashing his mouth over hers, he muffled the rest of her cries as she held his body iron tight to hers. Aidan pumped his hard-on into her like a piston bringing her to the peak once again. The strain in his eyes screamed that he was on the verge of exploding, as he bit down hard on his lip to keep from coming before he brought her to one final climax. God, she loved this man and what he did to her.

Raeve needed to feel that high, as it brought her body the much needed relief from its hormonal curse. “More,” she cried, as Aidan rolled her over, bringing her leg up and over his shoulder, driving in harder, deeper. She was thankful he knew about her little problem, and loved helping her find the relief she needed. Her hands clawed at him, dragging her nails from the sinful mound of his tight ass to the thick muscles of his shoulders. Pulling his body down on hers, Raeve arched into the delicious feel of his thrusts. She couldn’t last long when he resumed his strumming of her clit, and she didn't want to fight it anymore. Her voice littered the air once again with screams as his touch sent her over the edge.

“That's right, baby, let it go,” he urged, pumping wildly as her body pitched from the final high of their climax.

“I…needed…that.” Smiling through her panting breaths, Raeve sank into the mattress, languid and sated. “I…love…you,” she murmured while staring into the depths of his twin ocean blue eyes.

Aidan rolled on top of her, staring down at her like he knew there would never be another who could take her place in his heart. The warmth in his eyes melted every fear away. “I love you, too,” he whispered.
Fighting to breathe as beads of sweat trickled down his chin; his smile entranced her. The moment couldn’t have been more perfect as Raeve wrapped her arms around his neck, blissfully sated and loving every second of it.

Relishing the weight of his body covering hers, Raeve wrapped her arms around him tightly, laughing to herself at the idea that this man, her sweet warrior, could be reduced to a sated languid man from her touch. To the outside world he was just that. A soldier, a true warrior for what he believed in, and yet in moments when they were locked together, entranced by the rhythms of their hearts beating in time, she couldn't imagine anything being further from the truth.

“So, what do you feel like doing, sweetheart?” his warm breath swept across her face, as she cocked a thin dark brow at him.

“Um, sleep and then a shower would be a good start.” Pecking trail of kisses from her chin to the moist wet spot between her thighs and back up to her supple breasts, Aidan devoured every inch of her sweet
flesh with a gluttonous appetite.

“Tired are you?” He cocked his brow. “Well then I suppose I'll let you get back to sleep.”

Her wistful smile, as she wrapped her arm around him, refused to let him leave. “Well I did just fuck the holy hell out of you,” she countered.

Smirking back at her, Aidan chuffed out another laugh. “I thought it was I who just fucked you, sweetheart? Or was that just my imagination?” Wrapping his arm around her slender waist, he pulled her body into his, curling her tiny body into his protective hold.

“Yeah, uh-huh…sure, babe. Now sleepys please,” she shot back. Aidan's warmth swaddled her without the blankets as she sank deeper into the dark abyss of her unconsciousness.

When she finally woke, the stinging glare of sunlight that intruded around the edges of the curtains momentarily burned her weary eyes. Her body felt the cold emptiness of a missing bedmate. Sniffing the air, the scent of eggs and biscuits cooking
wafted down the hall, attacked her senses, making her hunger grow with voracious need. Her stomach begged with a rumble as she crawled off the bed, searching for her nighty. A glance over the edge of the bed, and the sudden realization she’d have to bust out her sewing kit to repair the damage she caused from ripping it off, sent a burst of laughter to break free. Shaking free her long tangles of messy bed-head, she decided it was probably better to just toss out what was left of her favorite satin lingerie.

“Shit, I need a shower,” she murmured, relishing the feel of the ache between her thighs.

“Sweetheart are you awake?” His voice trailed down the long hallway.

She cocked a brow, still amazed after all this time that he knew her so well.
“Yeah, babe. Gonna take a shower. Be out in a few.”

“Hurry up. Breakfast is ready, unless you need a second pair of hands to help you?”

Steadying herself against the wall, Raeve smirked at his lovely suggestion. “Sure babe, could always use your hands. I'll be the one all wet and soapy under the hot spray,” she taunted.

A nice, hot shower was just what she needed to relieve the tiredness that perpetually plagued her. As the water sluiced down the curves of her body, more
bristle burns and nip marks appeared as red blotches. Laughing to herself, Raeve dwelled on the feelings he ignited in her; the love that consumed her, when he was home, in her arms. Her touch couldn't mimic the way his felt against her skin, the way he seared her from the inside out with the slightest brush of his hands on hers. The way Aidan caressed the swells of her breasts and strummed the smoldering core of her body always left her wanting for more.

It wasn't enough to have him with her for just a few, mere days. No, she needed a lifetime of him, filling her up in every way possible, until exhaustion set in and she fell into a sex induced coma. He was the wine she longed for, like a delectable addiction she needed to drink just to live. Her tongue thirsted for him, craving him with every cell in her body. He wasn't just some sick addiction; she needed him just to feel whole
again.

Aidan was the half of her that had been missing since birth. Often she found herself questioning how he knew things, but the truth was she knew those same things when it came to him. It was something she couldn't explain, even when she tried to rationalize it. Raeve blamed it on a funky intuition, but the connection she felt with him ran much deeper than that.

The heavy sigh that escaped her felt as if the weight of their impending goodbye was sitting on her chest. Images of him running for cover and ducking from the onslaught of gunfire, peppered her worried mind. Hot salty tears pricked at her eyes as she fought back the urge to slump down into a weeping pile on the floor. This is what he does, she thought tersely. Raeve hated the idea of him going back over to the living Hell of the world, his life in constant danger as threats of gunfire and grenades riddled the air daily. It was more than she could bear to think about. Slamming the dial off, Raeve slipped from the steamy comforts of the shower. She tried scrubbing her face to fight back the crystal traitors that threatened her composure, but it was no use. She bit down on her lip, refusing to let him hear her little break down. As if he didn't have enough to worry about, she couldn't handle the idea of him seeing her lose it right now.