The Last Kiss (12 page)

All she could do was nod. Words were lost.
“Okay, miss, please stay here while we go speak to your husband,” the officer ground out, acid leaking out with each word.

“Thank you,” she murmured, before sinking down to the sidewalk. Her heart thrummed against her chest as she
awaited what would happen next. The night grew longer and colder, but she was finally on her way to being free. It was the last time he would put his hands on her, and that was a promise to herself she refused to break.

~Chapter Fifteen~

So much had happened in a year's time. So much had been learned and discovered, Aidan thought as he sank back into the leather couch, watching Raeve with a curious eye. He had seen her blossom from a shy, fear-filled girl to a strong, thriving woman. She won her freedom, and had the scars to prove it.

In just a few short days, she reminded him with each passing second why he adored her. The days had passed in a blink of an eye, ending each day in the blissful rapture of entangled moments. It was moments like this that made his impending departure that much harder to think of when the idea of staying with Raeve and living the life he had dreamt of felt more enticing than shooting bad guys in a sweltering desert. Saying goodbye to Raeve, the one woman who had given her heart solely to him, was going to play Hell on his emotions. She was so easy to love, and she
didn’t ask for anything in return. He could barely remember anything they had done, and time was waning as he looked at the clock.

Even as he saw the residual nightmares break her from sleep, when she woke up screaming and fighting, he wanted to protect her even from herself. Still, he respected her for all she had done to free herself from the past. She had come back only to find him and ask for his forgiveness, but he hadn’t expected her to want the one thing from him, which he always desired. From the moment she had first contacted him up until now, Aidan hadn’t expected his love for her to grow beyond what a single word could suggest. It was so much more than a word could explain, more than a feeling could designate. She had awakened a part of him that had suffered from a black void.

He honestly thought he was her beacon of light in the dark night that plagued her, but in truth, it was she who was the guiding light bringing him back from the brink. Leaning against the doorjamb, he watched her with intent eyes, focusing on her lithe body as she leaned over the railing. The hot desert breeze captured small tendrils of hair sending them dancing around her head. The silvery rays of moonlight changed her sun-kissed skin to a smooth ivory as it sluiced down her arms and back.

His breath caught when her profile turned toward him, exposing the sinews of her neck and curve of her spine. She was breathtaking as she closed her eyes, and let the summer winds caress her with its loving touch. The hunger he felt grew, but no amount of food or drink would quench this desire. He needed her, needed to touch her, and needed to brush his fingertips down the sinuous arch of her back and over the supple curves of her hips. Licking his lips, his body sizzled at the sight of her, burning with the heat of an inferno she ignited in him.

Even in those moments when the past haunted her, when she pulled into herself to hide the pain, he never felt more alive than when she let him see her so vulnerable. She needed him, and she knew it. As she stared out into the endless sky, Aidan sensed where her mind was, and it was a dark place that she frequented too often. He had hoped she would move on, but the impact of the past was just too great. And here he was, about to leave her for two years, and possibly never return. He shuddered to think of the aftermath should fate decide to permanently end things. It wasn't that he feared for himself, but rather the pain it would cause her.

None of that mattered. Not now. Not this night, she had fought hard to get him back in her life, and all he had to offer her was this one last night. He wouldn't let her suffer the pain of the past, when the future held the dreams of tomorrow.

Slowly he stepped closer. She didn't stir as he quietly stalked her from across the balcony. His heart raced and his lips ached to kiss away her pain. The aching in his jeans agreed kissing her was the only way to smooth things over and start the process of saying his goodbye. If this was to be his last night with the woman of his dreams, then he wasn't going down without a fight, he was going to take her to unimaginable heights and beyond.

“Raeve.”
Her name slid past his lips. He hadn’t meant to speak it, but he couldn't help himself. Yet she didn't respond. Maybe she hadn't heard him. His fingers curled into tight balls at his sides, as they ached to caress her soft skin and trace down every line and curve of her naked body.

***

Raeve felt the air change around her as Aidan closed the space between them. His body covered hers as she leaned over the railing. His chest gently pressed against her back as he slid his arms around her small waist.

“Sweetheart, I would never hurt you like he did.” His deep voice was as soft as a feather sweeping across her skin. “I love you too much to ever see you hurt. I know I'm not perfect, but I'd rather cut off my hand than ever raise it to you in anger.”

It wasn't a question in her mind. He had been the only one, even in the dark recesses of her mind that hadn't hurt her. Not with hands, nor with words. Her hands covered his as she sank back into his warmth.

“I know. I've always known that.”
It was there in his touch, something she had never felt before, the soft caressing love, that promised her the world and that he would fight with everything he had inside him to give it to her.

“I really wish I had made the right choices back then. I still feel the weight of regret for hurting you like I did. I was callous with you, and I don't deserve an ounce of your forgiveness. I just hope someday I won't feel this way.”

   “You shouldn't carry that burden with you. It's over, and we're here today because of you.”

Raeve felt a small ounce of relief as he smirked at her. Looking deeply into his eyes, she saw all the love her body could hold, had been filled by him.

His lips pecked a soft kiss against her. “You know you ruined me for other women, right?”

Cocking her head back, her small smile danced up to his. “Good, but for research
purposes, how did I ruin you for other women?” She laughed softly. “I know you've had a few girlfriends since me.”

  
“Yes, I have,” he said flatly. “I used to lie awake most nights, thinking about you. Wondering where you were and whatnot. I actually found you on the internet nearly a year ago.”

“Really?
Why didn't you email me, try to contact me?”

 
                 “Because your page said you were married. When I clicked on it and saw who you were married to, well honestly I just about hit the roof. Of all the people you could’ve married, you chose him.” There was no hiding the disdain in his voice. Raeve felt the rush of heat rolling off him as he spoke each word with an edge of acidic fury.

“I only chose him because he was the complete opposite of you. I couldn't handle any reminders of what I gave up with you.” Her heart started to flutter as his fingers tightened around her waist. She could sense his apprehension, even as he subtly pulled away just an inch. “My life with him was never complete. I felt the heavy curtain of
guilt each and every day. I lived a lie because I gave you up. I made wrong decisions and ruined three people in the process. I'm a walking disaster!”

Aidan spun her around, locking her between his arms as he presse
d her back against the railing. “Listen to me, you screwed up. I'll give you that. And yes you did ruin me for others, but that's passed. And honestly, I don't give a fuck if you ruined him. Raeve, after everything that bastard did to you, don't you feel one shred of guilt for him.” He softly cupped her face in his warm hands, coming a breath away from her lips. “Stop beating yourself up.”

Raeve felt the longing in his kiss as he caressed her lips.

“Let me in, Sweetheart.” he whispered into her mouth. She didn't resist him as he sliced his way in, instead she melted into him. Her fingers climbed up his chest, tangling together behind his neck. Words didn't matter, not when he had her here, like this. Her body pressed against his as small mews flowed from her lips.

“I love you,” she breathed against his
lips.

                   “I know, sweetheart.” Aidan sank into the depths of her mouth, and she was immediately grateful that he wasn't about to waste another minute thinking about the past. He slipped his hands around to the small of her back, sending an instant flash of goosebumps abrading across her skin. A small gasp burst from her mouth as his hands cupped her ass fiercely, lifting her higher against him. There was no denying it. There was a fever in their veins, intoxicating her with the liquid fire of her addiction. Even as a single crystal tear trickled down her cheek, she didn't bother to wipe it away; instead she allowed the salty droplet to linger on her lips. His kiss grew more urgent as he carried her to the door.

“Damn, slider's shut.” he growled, fumbling for the door handle.
Staring down at her, Aidan’s impish grin turned downright devilish as he backed her up against the door. His stony chest pressed against her until all that was left between them were a few scraps of clothing.

The fire in his eyes glowed more brightly than before as she stared into them
with the insatiable hunger that assailed her every second that they weren't tangled together in a delicious mess. Her mouth crashed over his. There was no tenderness, only raw heat as she sliced her tongue through his impish grinning lips. Raking her fingers over his shoulders, she hung on with every pulsating muscle in her body, ripping hastily at the buttons down the front of his shirt.

Ripping the door free, Aidan’s sure steps didn't last long when Raeve took their game of lust to new levels. Her hand slid down to the bulge behind his fly, making quick work to free the rigid length of his hard-on. Sliding her legs to the floor, her hands ripped free his belt. There was no thinking, as the carnal inferno coursed through her veins. Licking her lips and staring back up at him through a fringe of dark lashes, Raeve took great delight in the growing savage look in his eyes and the fuel she was adding to fire as he watched her. The searing heat that poured off him in waves consumed her.

She wasn't about to waste what little time they had left playing innocent and coy. The vixen in her wanted to ravage him until he screamed out her name, sealing it in his memory for the long desert nights that awaited him. The heated pools of emeralds shot him a lustful stare under the fringes of her long dark lashes, followed by the sinuous twist of her lips. Hooking her fingers over his zipper, the metal teeth required little coaxing as each inch gave way to more skin yearning to be touched.

“Raeve.”
His guttural growl rumbled through his body, as she slid his jeans down his thickly muscled thighs. With a quirk of her smile and lick of her lip, she said all she needed to as she pulled the hard length of him to her wanting mouth. Raeve relished the shudders she caused as Aidan sucked in a ragged breath, and his hips bucked at the delicious feel her tongue lavished on him from sac to tip. Her soft palms stroked up and down his shaft as she continued taking him in deep with greedy suckles. There was no disguising the temptress Raeve hid inside as she coaxed each little muscle to steel hardness with every seductive lap of her ravenous tongue. His head rolled back on his shoulders as he fumbled clumsily for something to hold on to, relying on the wall for support seemed to be his only option. She wanted to smirk at the state he was in; instead she suckled harder as he moaned a heavy, “Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck”.

His hand weaved through the tangles of her dark hair as she set her pace. The tip of her tongue caressed the hard ridge from sac to tip as her hand cupped him, sliding with each stroke. Breath sawed in and out from his lungs harder the more she worked him over. Braving a glance up to him, searing heat radiated from his glowing eyes as he watched her taking sinful delight. Raeve stopped only once to smile that devilish smirk, he adored. Playful nips from her blunt teeth made his body to shudder as he arched deeper into her mouth. How she loved the control she held, toying with him using pleasure and pain as her weapons.

***

The suppleness of her lips moved over him like silk against satin, lavishing him covetously. He hadn't noticed his hips had
begun to pump under her hold, the faster she worked him, the more his impending release built up. His body tensed, each muscle straining to keep him grounded. “Raeve.” he growled again.

Desire seared him. He was so close to climax, he feared she'd milk him of every drop before he could sate her desires. Her fingers sank into the tense flesh of his solid ass, pinning him to her, intensifying the suction of her mouth with her unrelenting deep kiss. Her sensual lips shot waves of sweet agony straight up his spine as he cupped the back of her skull. He could feel the words he wanted to say rattle around his mind, but the thick layer of lust that coated his throat made any coherent thought sound like desperate moans of needing.

His mind raced and heart thundered, his control was shot to hell, and if he didn't break free quickly a well of hot seed would leave its taste on her tongue. Yet every muscle in his body recoiled at the idea of breaking away from her decadent mouth. He didn't want it to end. He wanted to feel her body riding him, grinding against him as she climbs higher in her pleasures.

He ripped himself free, while the animal inside screamed to take over. Slaking off the painful ache deep in his sac, he pulled Raeve up by her arms, desire burning every cell in his pulsating body. He could hear his deep growl emulating form his chest, echoing in his ears, but words failed to decipher his code. There were no pleasantries or tenderness in his kiss as he crushed his lips to hers. The feverish need to taste her and succumb to her body overruled any conscious logic. The sultry way she bit down into her lip as she stared back at him under a fringe of dark lashes, her shuddering breaths as they bounced the luscious mounds of her breasts, ratcheted him tighter as he took in the sight. His eyes penetrated her in a feral possessiveness. Aidan knew he couldn’t control his need to sate her as he lunged into a raw and primal need to consume her.