Read Online Life After Joe by Harper Fox - Free Book Online

thrusting and his grip, I wrenched to a second, incandescent orgasm, heaving like a speared fish in his embrace. He groaned against my ear as if something inside him was breaking, and I felt, beginning to slide down off the peak, the moment when his rhythm broke and the thrashing strokes began that would get him past his problem: ah yes, there, there ; the flash and sudden heat as he burst into me, gasping my name.
    When I woke, I thought he was Joe, and the stab of pain that usually came with such a mistake dissolved in the surprise of being warmly held. Not big on aftermath intimacies, Joe. I’d thought I didn’t mind. I hadn’t been with anyone else—I’d thought that was how it was. I told Aaron softly to take off his clothes, watched while he did, then gathered him back into bed with me. His naked warmth stretched out against me, and I slowly let his movements, our gentle roll and caress, become his resurrection. I countered his grunt of incredulity with a whispered assurance that if I could hit a double, he certainly could, and I took hold of his lifting cock. Ducked my head beneath the blanket so I could see, in the wintry light off the river, how he looked when he hit peak and, grabbing wildly at my shoulders, started to cascade…

Chapter Six
    It was two in the afternoon before either of us stirred again. This time my waking thoughts were free of Joe, even of Rosie—of anyone but Aaron, draped over my stomach, sound asleep where he’d dropped after our last round. His weight was solid, made breathing a sweet struggle to me, and I inhaled luxuriantly, running a hand down his spine. He moaned, stretching, and I waited in smiling apprehension—not to say disbelief—for him to feel that, despite our last exchanges, I could have gone again…“God, Matthew,” he muttered, pushing up and looking at me, jade eyes still half lost in sleep. “I’m flattered, but…”
    A snort of laughter shook me. “I know. Don’t know what’s wrong with me. Or…or so beautifully bloody right with you.”
    His expression changed. I tensed a bit. It wasn’t something you said to a one-off lay, was it? But then he smiled, and I realised the one thing we hadn’t done in all that grappling and fucking was kiss, and he leaned in towards me and rectified that, so tenderly and thoroughly I didn’t know what to do with myself. My eyes closed on hot tears. My hands clasped helplessly on empty air, and I brought them down unsteadily to cup the back of his skull. I opened my mouth, shuddered as his tongue slipped inside, but somehow even that was less erotic than benediction, and a moment later he lifted up and said, “You’ll starve if I don’t give you some breakfast.”
    I thought about it. I found I was seeing the inside of my empty flat, and for the first time without lonely pain. I said, “Do…do you have the whole day?”
    “Er…yes.” He sounded surprised to be asked. “Ten or so, actually, if you’re…not otherwise engaged.”
    I grinned and let it slide. He was kidding or overly optimistic. Rosie was never gonna wear that. “Well, I’ve got six cupboards full of groceries at home. A proper table and everything, and I’m not a bad cook if you fancy making it lunch.”
    He loaned me some clean clothes—after a second shower, the shirt and jeans I’d shed the night before smelled rough—and made me sit down with toast and tea while he got ready. On the sofa, curled up with one of the Mailers, I wondered why he hadn’t let us share the shower. Well, maybe some things were too intimate even after a night like that. A pity, I thought, feeling a shift and a heat inside my borrowed jeans, smiling at the ridiculous effect even thoughts of him could have on me. It would have been fun…
    Of course, if I wanted to know more about where he drew the lines and why, all I had to do was go and pick up his mobile, which was within arm’s reach on the table beside me. It had beeped and buzzed a couple of times since I