Moments In Time: The Complete Novella Collection (24 page)

“Very funny.” Carlene giggled. “I just got
in from a prenatal Pilates class. So, tell me, how did it go? Name
the price of your happiness.”

“I was too late.” Melisa sank onto the couch
as the words pummeled her like fists wearing brass knuckles.

“What do you mean you were too late?”

“The other buyer got the place. Papers were
signed this afternoon.”

Carlene was quiet for a long time, and
Melisa could hear someone whispering in the background. Probably
Nick, asking what had happened. “I’m so, so sorry. Is there
anything else I can do?”

“I really don’t know... not at this
point.”

“You do know it doesn’t have to be the end,
right? You can open up a new place.”

“It won’t be the same. Mel’s Delights was my
dream since I was a kid. I came up with the name when I was
ten.”

“I know. I’m sorry. If there’s anything I
can do, let me know, okay?”

“Thanks. Thanks for offering to help. It
means a lot.” It seemed her old life was gone forever, and she
could not even take back the pieces that had fallen by the wayside.
She had to take a different path altogether.

After she ended the call, Melisa lay there
with her eyes closed, meditating, trying not to think of anything.
Meditation had helped her through some tough times. Much as she
wanted to break her promise never to drink again, she wouldn’t. A
knock at the door startled her and her lashes flew open.

When she opened the door, her mouth dropped
open and warmth flooded her cheeks. Heat was standing before her.
The dream she’d had of them making love in the tub was still fresh
in her mind.

“Are you okay?” he asked, frowning.

For a moment she watched him—the curves of
his full lips, the five o’clock shadow that made him ruggedly
handsome, the hair that peeked out near the hollow of his neck
where the button of his shirt was undone. Before she could come to
her senses, a forceful thought broke the walls she had erected in
her heart—the walls that wouldn’t allow Heat to enter again.
Suddenly they were crumbling, and she was feeling hotter. Yes, it
was a warm day, but the kind of warmth she felt had nothing to do
with that. It was between her legs.

“Heat,” she said, her voice trembling
slightly. “Hmm... come in.”

He entered, and she closed the door and
leaned against it as he walked further into the house, his muscular
butt moving inside his pants with every step. Suddenly she felt wet
and desperate for him. Mel’s Delights was a fog in her mind, and
the pain she’d felt earlier faded the longer she watched the man
she had dreamed about every night when she was a teenager. The man
she had never forgotten, however hard she tried. She had loved
Scott, but she had never managed to get Heat completely out of her
mind.

Heat whistled, turning to face her. “What a
place.”

“Nice, isn’t it?” Melisa said, almost in a
whisper. The effect he had on her now was so much stronger than any
drop of alcohol. Her hands itched to rip his clothes off, to touch
his body, to allow him to take her right there. Allow him to erase
the memories of the day. But then her heart deflated like a
balloon. What if he didn’t want her anymore? After all, the last
time he’d tried to get close, she’d left him hanging.

“Something is not right with you,” he said,
walking toward her, eyes squinted. “Are you sure you’re all
right?”

She moved toward him, close enough to feel
his breath on her face. “No,” she whispered. “I’m not all right.
Can you make me feel better?”

To her surprise, Heat’s face lit up and he
moved even closer, until his chest brushed her breasts, making her
nipples harden under her blouse. “What do you have in mind?”

She fixed her gaze on him. “You know exactly
what I have in mind.” She reached for his hands, stroked the rough
skin caused by the hard labor of saving lives. “I need a good
fuck.”

Heat threw back his head and chuckled. “Wow,
I can’t believe you said that.” He let go of her hands and placed a
finger under her chin, tipped it upwards. “Are you sure about
this?”

“I am at this moment. If you keep talking,
that might change.”

“In that case...” He lifted her chin even
higher and lowered his lips to her mouth. He planted a kiss on her
lips and then he wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her to
him, so close that his erection throbbed against her leg.

Oh, how she wanted him. Digging her fingers
into his silky hair, she deepened the kiss, brushing her tongue
against his and sucking on his upper lip as he sucked her bottom
one.

Then he glided both his hands down her butt
to the hem of her skirt. With his mouth ravishing hers, he lifted
her off the floor and she wrapped her legs around him.

“Gosh, I’ve wanted this for so long,” he
said against her lips as he moved her to the entrance hall couch.
He lowered her down onto it so her back was against his arm and
hovered over her. He removed her blouse and bra, his rough palms
grazing her soft skin, turning up the fire in her body. She had
always loved strong, masculine hands. And she was too horny to care
that he would see the burn scar she tried so hard to hide and
really only paid attention to it when massaging it with lotion
every night.

He lowered his head and licked each hard
nipple. “For too long,” he whispered.

“Don’t talk, just fuck,” Melisa panted,
unbuttoning his shirt. She heard a button pop but didn’t care. She
didn’t want to talk; talking brought up too many painful memories.
Right now she wanted to forget. Heat had come at the right
time.

Accepting the invitation, Heat pushed away
her hands, unbuttoned the rest of his shirt, and threw it off,
then, breathing heavily, unbuckled his belt and yanked down the
zipper of his pants.

Melisa couldn’t wait to have him inside her;
she slipped her hands into his jeans and wrapped her hands around
his shaft, shifting so her entrance was at the same level. With the
other hand, she moved the crotch of her panties aside and was about
to help push him inside of her when alarm bells went off and she
let go of him. Memories from the past flooded her mind. No matter
how horny she was, she refused to make the same mistake twice. She
only wished the answer to the question she was about to ask him
would be a yes. “Do you have a...”

“I do.” Heat lifted himself onto his knees
and produced a condom from his pocket, which he unwrapped.

Melisa didn’t want to think about why he had
a condom in his pocket. Did he carry them around like a set of keys
or had he planned on using it with someone else? She didn’t really
give a damn, not right now. Maybe she’d ask later.

“Want to help?” Heat asked, his blazing gaze
not leaving her face.

Melisa bit her lip and nodded. She reached
out and glided her hand down his hard shaft, and he placed his
hands on top of hers, guiding them.

“So, you want a good fuck, huh?”

Melisa nodded again and placed her arms
around his neck, pulling his mouth back to hers. His lips were hot
and velvety.

Heat dragged his pants lower and positioned
himself between her legs. He hiked up her skirt again and with a
finger, moved her panties away from her crotch, as she had done
before. Then he moved a hand to his cock and glided it into her,
slowly at first, and then more urgently.

Melisa dug her fingers into the base of his
neck and groaned against his lips.

Heat nipped her bottom lip and drove himself
even deeper into her, into a place that had been off limits to
anyone for years.

Melisa moaned with pleasure when Heat moved
above her, the hairs below his navel brushing her stomach, sending
tingles all over her body.

With one hand fondling her breast, he slid
in and out, massaging her interior.

Waves of pleasure ebbed and flowed through
Melisa, and with each push she pressed hard against him, welcoming
his erection deep inside her.

“Shit, you’re so damn sexy.” Heat dug his
fingers into Melisa’s thick hair and thrust into her again.

She was drowning in ecstasy, almost couldn’t
breathe.

Still inside her, he pulled her to a sitting
position, leaned back against the other arm of the couch, and
positioned her on his lap. With his arms wrapped tightly around
her, he pushed into her again, his butt lifting off the couch. Then
he did it again and again, burying his face in her neck. He lifted
her and lowered her onto his smooth, hard shaft over and over until
sparks of pleasure raced through Melisa and met in an explosion
deep inside her. She threw back her head and arched her back as the
orgasm rocked her.

Turned on by the pleasure he had given her,
he slid in and out of her faster and faster now, cupping her butt
tightly with his hand. Then he let out a guttural groan and his
whole body contracted and stiffened as he held on tight to her. He
grinded into her one more time and then, with a sigh, laid his head
on her shoulder.

Melisa kissed Heat’s fire tattoo on one side
of his bulging chest and laid her head there, listening to his
heart beating as he smoothed her hair. She used to want this so
desperately, dreamed of falling asleep in his arms. She’d found him
hot from the start, but as much as she’d wanted him to make love to
her, she’d also wanted to be the girl that fell asleep next to him.
Now the moment had come, but it was many years too late. Melisa
felt a familiar tug in the pit of her stomach and lifted her head.
She gazed into his eyes. “That was a mistake.” She sat up, her head
still whirling from the rollercoaster ride, and put on her blouse
without the bra, and her panties. “You need to get out of
here.”

“But—”

“Please, go. I wanted to have sex with you,
you wanted the same. We both got what we wanted and now it’s over.”
A lump rose up inside Melisa’s throat as she stood and smoothed
down her skirt.

Heat’s brows furrowed as he pulled up his
underwear and jeans, then reached for his shirt. “What the fuck is
going on? Is this about Scott?” He zipped up his fly. “Hell, Mel,
he’s gone. It’s painful, but you have to move on.”

Melisa’s stomach clenched when he called her
Mel. After the one-night stand, she never allowed anyone to call
her Mel again. Mel had been the love-struck, naïve girl who’d
allowed a horny guy to use her and then throw her out of his life
like garbage. Melisa was different. She had been dealt a hard blow
in life. Many blows, in fact, but she was still standing. She
placed her hands on her hips and squared her shoulders. “You’re
right, maybe I do need to move on. But not with you.”

Heat buttoned his shirt—at least, the
buttons which were still intact—and then threw his arms in the air.
“I can’t believe you’re still hung up on the past.” His jaw
tightened. “That was years ago. What’s the big deal?”

“What’s the big deal?” she said through
clenched teeth. The bubble in her throat popped, releasing hot,
liquid fury, which was fueled by the bad news she’d received today.
Without thinking, she picked up from the coffee table the cookbook
she’d been reading last night and threw it at him, hitting him in
the chest where his fire tattoo was. “You fucked me and threw me
out when your ex knocked on your door. Can you even comprehend the
humiliation of being stuffed through a window like a whore? It
changed things and left scars. So don’t you dare tell me it wasn’t
a big deal.”

Melisa was so overwhelmed with anger she
didn’t notice Heat approaching her. He now stood mere inches from
her, eyes gentle. “Mel,” he said softly. “As a teenager I did a lot
of crazy things. Things I’ll never forgive myself for. I broke many
people’s hearts, but the one I wish I could mend the most is yours.
I chased after lots of girls, not knowing the best thing for me was
right under my nose. You.” He moved even closer.

She hated being close to him; it made her
feel weak. “What the hell are you talking about? You never cared
for me then. You were too busy making your way through the
cheerleaders. Where is all this coming from?”

“You mean a lot to me. More than a lot. It
almost killed me to see you get married to my best friend.”

Melisa shook her head and sat down on the
couch. The information she was getting pressed on her shoulders
like heavy stones. She wanted to say something to Heat, but the
words wouldn’t even form in her head.

“That night, what we shared, it was the best
I’d ever had. Still is. But you went away for a whole year, so I
didn’t get the chance to tell you how I felt. And then Scott came
along and took you away.”

“Shut up. Don’t ever mention his name again.
He was a better man than you could ever be.” Melisa snapped,
finding her voice. “Please leave.”

“Mel, let’s talk about this. Let me help you
understand.”

“Please.” She wanted him to disappear so she
could allow the tears pressing behind her eyelids to flow freely.
She wouldn’t cry in front of him. She had let her guard down enough
already.

He kissed her on the tip of the nose. “I’m
not the same boy you knew back then. I’ve changed. I’ll go now to
give you some time, but please call me.”

Melisa turned her back until she heard the
door shut.

As soon as he’d left, Melisa regretted
throwing him out. She had done to him exactly the thing she’d
accused him of. She knew how humiliating it was.

Not that she wanted to sleep with him again.
She wouldn’t, no matter how much she throbbed between her legs when
she thought of him. He intoxicated her. But letting him into her
heart would drag her back to a time she wanted to forget. Why the
hell did she sleep with him? She’d opened a door she wasn’t sure
she could close again, brought back emotions she had long buried.
How could she even be friends with him now?

Melisa spent a few days at home buried under
the covers or stuffing her face with chocolate chip ice cream.
Better than alcohol, and she was lucky to be able to eat whatever
she liked and still keep her figure. After days of mulling things
over, guilt lashed at her. She shouldn’t have treated Heat the way
she did. He was obviously upset; he had her phone number, but he
hadn’t called or sent a text to see how she was doing.