Insatiable (23 page)

“Quinn,
someone paid off my mortgage
. All of it. Differential interest and everything. I said there had to be some kind of mistake. You know, like when someone checks their balance and discovers a million dollars they didn’t have before? They said there was no mistake. And they wouldn’t tell me who paid it or why, only that it was, in fact, paid. Isn’t that
amazing
? Who could have done that? And why?”

It was happy crying, I saw then. Joyful tears. Without that massive mortgage payment she could cut back her hours and spend more time with Alex and Charlie.

“I don’t know,” I said, “But it is so amazing. I am so happy for you.” I pulled her into another hug.

I told her that I was going on vacation and that I’d be gone for a while. Alex and Charlie heard us and came to the door, too.

“Are you going with your boyfriend?” Charlie asked.

“Yes, I am,” I said, smiling. Then I looked back to Mary. “You’re still going to let me babysit for you, right? I insist.”

She smiled at me, then wished me a happy vacation.

Vaughn popped the trunk for me when I came down and I loaded my suitcase into it. I got into the passenger seat and we started towards Logan Airport. He reached over and gave my knee a light squeeze.

“Did you pay off Mary’s mortgage?” I asked.

He kept his eyes on the road, stopping us at a red light. “She’s the one with the two cute kids in your building, isn’t she?”

“Yes. Did you?”

The light turned green and we started off again. He shrugged. “I may have looked into her situation.”

“You’re wonderful,” I said.

“No. You are.”

***

V
AUGHN

The island was beautiful, and being there reminded me of why I’d bought it. Quinn and I stayed in the beach house, spending every morning and evening watching the sun rise and fall.

It was nice and private, which I liked. We could be as loud as we liked. It was so freeing, too. We both felt like new people. I knew I was, and it was because of her.

I had half a mind to ask her if she just wanted to stay here in this tropical paradise with me forever. And I got a giddy feeling in the pit of my stomach when I thought she might say yes.

I had a great bed in that house, too, and we took advantage of it at every opportunity.

I slid my lips down Quinn’s throat, leaving a trail of kisses between her heaving breasts. She tasted so good.

Beads of perspiration dotted her lovely body like dew on a leaf in the morning. Just thinking about how I’d made her work up that sweat left me tingling, wishing I could recharge even faster.

She grabbed my face and pulled it back up so we could kiss. When we parted, she looked into my eyes and said, “I love you, Vaughn.”

I put my hand on her chest, feeling the heavy beat of her heart. “I love you, too.”

THE END

T
he Pretend Girlfriend

Confident. Brilliant. Rich. Devastatingly handsome. Aiden Manning seemed to have it all. As naive as I was, when he seemed interested in me, I fell head over heels immediately.

But Aiden Manning's life held a dark side, one that he needed to hide at any cost. That's where I would come in. My trusting nature had caused me to owe money to the wrong people, and Aiden was right there and ready to help, if only I'd help him out as well. Just one signature on a piece of paper, and suddenly I was bound to him. The ground rules I had laid out at the beginning quickly melted away, and I found myself being drawn deeper and deeper into Aiden's life.

However, someone couldn't handle that. An even more powerful figure in Aiden's life would stop at nothing to break the two of us apart. It soon became clear that I might have to sacrfice everything I had to keep the two of us together.

The real question was:
How long could I pretend?

***

"W
inning is hardly the term I would choose. More like fought to a draw. Or maybe a fighting retreat... Why won't you go home, Gwen?"

Something hitched in Gwen's throat. She forced herself to breathe, evenly and deeply. "I told you. I wanted to make sure you were all right..." She reached out to touch his shoulder, but Aiden grabbed her wrist. He squeezed, almost to the point of pain, before relaxing his grip.

"That's not why. Don't lie to me," he said. He still hadn't let go of her wrist. She didn't try to pull it free.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied.

She gasped as he pulled her hand close to his mouth. His hot breath washed over her fingers. Gooseflesh crawled up and down her body. Her lips parted. Why was his apartment so hot all of a sudden?

"You do know. And I know. Gwen, I've had to try so hard to hold back. You have no idea how hard it's been."

Gwen barely breathed the word, "What?" All she could concentrate on was how close her fingers were to Aiden's lips.

"But I can't do it anymore. I don't have the strength... Why did you have to insist on staying with me tonight?" he said. His thumb started gently massaging the sensitive skin on the bottom of her wrist. Her heart started thumping in her chest.

Am I asleep?
Gwen thought.
I must be asleep.

"Don't have the strength for what?" she asked.

"To keep myself from doing this..."

Aiden kissed the tip of her forefinger. Then the next, and the next. His lips slid up the back of her hand, leaving a hot trail behind. When he stopped, he placed her hand against his cheek. His stubble tickled at her palm. His eyes seemed to sparkle in the warm lamplight, and his lips glistened invitingly.

She couldn't help leaning in and kissing him. Her whole body committed to the action, and she felt drawn to him. Some part of her wondered if he would break away, as he had so many times before.

But this time he didn't.

No, this time he pulled her up onto his lap, and she straddled him. The temperature in the room, and inside of her, both already at an all-time high, ratcheted up another ten degrees or so.

His lips relished her mouth, then slid down her chin, and from there, her neck. His stubble prickled her smooth skin, adding another element to the sensation.

"You always smell so nice..." Aiden said, "I need to know how you taste..." His fingers pulled the straps of her sundress and bra down, leaving her shoulders bare so that he could kiss those too.

Heat blossomed in Gwen's stomach and moved down. She couldn't get enough of his kisses. While his mouth busied itself exploring her shoulders, his hands dropped down to the small of her back. Even through the thin material of the dress, she could feel the heat from him soaking into her skin.

And then his hands dropped lower, cupping her bottom, squeezing her with need and appreciation.