from you.” He pointed to the door six feet away from her.
“You do?” She stared at him.
“Yeah… Talk about a small world.”
“How come we’ve never met?” She opened the door and he stepped inside her apartment.
“Different work schedules, I guess. I stay up until three AM and don’t leave for work until noon.” He still couldn’t believe the odds though.
“You can put the cooler by the fridge.” She pointed toward the kitchen.
He set it down by the stainless-steel appliance and looked around her apartment. She had a cozy leather couch and a big flat screen TV along with a gas fireplace. There was a large desk covered with papers in one corner of a small second-half room just off the living room. Prints of famous paintings hung on the walls. No landscapes. Just people. It made him think that she really did love people and want to connect with them. She was so open, so warm. It fit. He noticed her watching him.
“I like the art.” He nodded around at her framed prints.
“Thank you.” Her gaze swept over him. “Let me take your coat.”
He slid it off his shoulders and she hung it by the door on a decorative silver hook nailed into the wall. When she turned back to him, she was rubbing her hands together nervously. He didn’t want her to be afraid of him. He crossed the short distance and took her hands in his.
“Hey, we don’t need to do anything. I have no expectations.”
Her lips curved in a small smile as she freed her hands from his and laid them on his chest.
“But I do.” She whispered an instant before she stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him.
Passion radiated from within him, sudden and hungry, as he cupped her face. He held her as he kissed her back. Her hands moved up his chest to his shoulders and rested there casually, yet his flesh tingled at the contact. His senses spun as he breathed in her sweet floral scent. He moved one hand to the hollow of her spine and his fingers lifted the hem of her sweater so he could settle his palm against her bare skin. He tipped her chin back and trailed kisses down her throat, glad she wasn’t wearing a turtleneck. A pulse beat steady in her throat and he nibbled her skin just beneath her ear. She groaned and clutched at him.
“Please, Matthew.” She begged. “Bedroom. Now.”
“You sure?” he asked.
“Yes.” She pulled at the front of his shirt, ripping it open and sending buttons scattering on the tile floor. He pulled free of the ruined shirt.
“Sorry!” She gasped.
“Not to worry. I have a dozen more,” he promised as she took his hand and led him down the short hall to her bedroom where she tugged him back into her arms for another kiss. This time she was more urgent in exploring and he savored it as he lifted her sweater off her body. After a moment, they were tumbling back onto her bed. Jeans, boots and socks were removed in a frenzy as they laughed between kisses.
Matthew leaned over her, tugging the cream silk bra cups down to expose her full breasts. She was gorgeous and he buried his face in the valley between the two peaks. Aubree moaned and arched her back as he took one nipple into his mouth and sucked hard. He slid his hands behind her, unclasped her bra, and dropped it to the floor. He licked the hardened bud before moving to the other breast. As he explored her soft ivory flesh with fingertips caressing down her legs and up her inner thighs, he got lost in the heaven of her sighs and shivery responses. Without another thought, he wound his arms around her waist and lifted her, carrying her over to bed. They lay side by side, breathing slightly heavier as they shared a deep, openmouthed kiss.
“You’re bloody beautiful, Aubree.” Not only on the outside, but within. He wished she could truly know how much he meant it.
When he kissed her and closed his eyes, he swore he could see her soul shining bright and calling out to him. It felt like home. It felt like the last time he’d driven between the gates of his grandfather’s ranch with the horses running through the pasture and the wind whipping their manes while his grandmother was baking fresh bread in the kitchen.
Being with Aubree… It filled that mystery emptiness he’d felt since he left Australia.
“I