One Last Chance (Complete Series Box Set)

by Lauren Wood

“Yeah. I do. I always had a thing for her when we were younger.”

  I smiled at him and it gave me an idea. “Yeah, I remember. She’s still single you know.”

  “Huh, I didn’t know that.”

  Maybe this would all work out after all.

  Gemma

  The party was bigger than I’d expected, but that seemed to be a theme when it came to Frank. Everything was bigger and more unexpected than one could imagine. I wanted to chill out and enjoy the party, biggest one in a while in Hartford, but I was on edge. After his little episode the other night, I was still a little miffed, at myself, more than him.

  I’d seen Frank a couple of times since the party kicked off and he had nothing but nice things to say and a smile. He played it all very well, but I knew there was more to it than that. He was the one that had messed with my head. Was he doing that now?

  He brought his sister with him as his plus one. I knew Sandra well from back in the day. She was into the criminal side of the family more than most. She wasn’t the typical female and I didn’t like her being here. We got along, but that was just because I was dating her brother and I wanted to keep the peace. That didn’t mean that the peace was going to last very long.

  I avoided her and her brother as I made my way through the house. I didn’t see either one of them, so I walked a little slower, hoping that I wouldn’t bump into them. I just wanted the night to be over and for my slow life to keep on ticking. It was better this way, with Justin. I didn’t have to worry about what was going on with who. I knew I was safe with him and that even if I wasn’t head over heels fin love with him like I had been with Frank, a different love sounded better. The love I had with Frank, if it was even real, was volatile at best. I liked to think that everything was going to work out the way it was supposed to, but I really wasn’t sure.

  Finding no relief downstairs from all the familiar faces that brought back a lot of memories, I went upstairs to the sanctuary that was my room. At least up there I wouldn’t have to worry about running into someone that I wanted to see. I hadn’t seen Justin in a while and I was hoping that maybe I would catch up to him.

  I made it to the bedroom and saw that it was already opened a crack. I pushed the door open and it took a minute for my mind to really process what it was that I was seeing. Justin and Sandra were on my bed, kissing. Their clothes were still on, but I didn’t know how long that was going to stay fact. They were so into each other that they didn’t even know that I was right there watching it all happen.

  I was in shock. There were many scenarios running through my head, but none of them ended well at all. I wanted to shout at him, both of them really, but I knew they had a past. Just like me and Frank did. It appeared that we were claiming old flames and I went back downstairs with revenge in mind. Or, I finally had an excuse to do what I wanted to do the whole time, without all of the guilt and repercussions that came with it.

  There was only one man that I was looking for and it didn’t take long to find Frank. He was chatting up one of the club girls and I pulled him away from her. She made a sound of indignation and I didn’t want to hear it. I was ready to hit her for touching him and I was in the mood to hit someone because I didn’t get all of the energy from finding out, out.

  “What’s up Gemma?”

  “Come on Frank. We have a lot to talk about.”

  He looked at me as if I had lost my mind and maybe I had. There was a part of me that was telling me to stop. This wasn’t healthy. I’d just found out some bad news and the last thing that I wanted to do was make it worse by sleeping with an ex. He’d hurt me in the past, may in the future and I had to deal with Justin with a clear head. Talking to Frank was the very last thing that I should be doing. I knew that.

  “What are we talking about? A couple of days ago you didn’t want to be around me.”

  “Circumstances change, and I need that one nightstand after all. You want to help me, or do I need to find someone else?”

  “Ouch, I didn’t think I was that replaceable.”

  “Everyone is. I learned that a long time ago. So, should you. You in or not?”

  “Is that really a question?”

  “Not really, come on.”

  I started to pull him out of the house and he asked me where we were going.”

  “To that shitty motel to see if we get bed bugs I guess. I can’t do it here. This place is ruined.”

  I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew I needed distance from me and what was going on in my bedroom. Sandra had come at a convenient time.

  “Why did you bring your sister?”

  He looked at me and then asked what that had to do with anything.

  “Nothing. Never mind. Let’s just get out of here.”

  I got on the back of his bike and waited for him to get in front of me. There was something in the way that his body felt against me. It was so damn familiar. Maybe too familiar because it pulled at my heart strings and had me feeling some kind of way. I didn’t want to feel any way. I just wanted to feel nothing, and I got that soon enough when we were going faster enough that the loud engine just drowned out everything. I missed this, and I pulled myself up a little tighter on Frank and laid my head on his back-shoulder blade. I missed this far more than I should have.

  We got close to the motel, but he just kept on going. I wasn’t sure where he was going, and I didn’t even ask. I didn’t really care.

  Riding for another thirty minutes, I knew the spot and I smiled to myself. Frank was supposed to be this bad ass and he was in his own right, but there was also this other side to him that I got to see, and I can’t say that I didn’t like it. I really did. He was sweet and thoughtful. He was taking me to the first place that we made out. It was the old drive-in that looked like it wasn’t up and running anymore. I didn’t know how this was going to work, just that it was because I was with Frank. All of the old feelings were rushing back.

  “Here huh?”

  “Yeah, don’t you remember this place?”

  “Yeah, the first time was with your truck, before you bought the bike.”

  He agreed with a smile. “Yeah, I kind of miss that truck. I miss the truck bed anyway.”

  I giggled a little and recalled very well his truck and bed. We’d had some good times in it and I was a little surprised that he didn’t still have it. He liked to keep things like that because he was sentimental as hell, proof since we were standing in the midst of memory lane. I wanted to ask him why he brought me here, but I didn’t have to. The man was romantic to a fault. He hadn’t even asked why I’d changed my mind, though I doubted that he cared all that much.

  “Second thoughts?”

  “No, nothing like that. It’s just been a while since I’ve been here and being here with you…brings back a lot of memories.”

  “It’s about time we make some more here, huh?”

  I had to agree that it sounded like a good idea. I don’t know what was wrong with me at the moment, but every time I turned around, I was thinking of him. If I went through with this, everything was going to change and that feeling I had would be back and bold. It had dimmed some as of late. But then I remembered why this was all happening, and I knew that I was going to go through with it. I wanted to and all excuses aside, that was just the end of it.

  “Yeah. So, where?”

  He chuckled like it was a silly question. We’d once had sex on his bike, so the where didn’t really matter. It never had. Years can pass, but some things just stayed the same.

  “Anywhere you want baby. I have a bedroll on the bike. I was thinking down by the old screen. I don’t know why, but it just sounds really damn hot.”

  It did.

  He laid out the bedroll and then extended his hand to me. I wanted to take it, but I was still unsure what was going to happen next. I knew the logistics, but the aftermath was still something I wasn’t all that sure about. What was going to happen after we did this?

  I laid down next to him and
he turned to his side and pulled me into his embrace. There was nothing more to think about now. There never was when his hands were on me. His lips touched mine softly at first and now I was lost for good.

  His breath had a taste of mint and tobacco on it. It was the mint that brought back the memories. He’d always had mints in his mouth as long as I’d known him. Back then his excuse was he wanted his breath fresh when we kissed. I don’t know if that was the real reason, but it made me giggle when I thought about yet.

  “What?”

  “You and your mints.”

  He chuckled because he knew what I was talking about. That was the thing about me and Frank. We’d always had this unspoken thing between us. I knew what he was thinking half the time and all it took was a look. That was a bond that I hadn’t expected to still be there.

  “Well is my breath fresh?”

  I agreed that it was. It always was and there was a part of me that didn’t like the flashbacks. It was dangerous territory and I went back to the here and now. I didn’t want to think anymore. I just wanted to feel, and I wiggled against him, reminding him of what we were doing to begin with. His lips moved back to mine and his tongue slipped in my mouth, making moves that were going to be just like his hips not too long from now. The action made me wet and I lifted my hips up to grind against him. I needed his touch and pressure at my core. It was all that I could think about and everything in me was spiraling out of control.

  “Why are you in such a rush Gemma? It’s not going to rain. I haven’t seen you in a long time and if I’m only a one-night stand to you, I want to get the whole night out of it.”

  I pushed his hand away and covered my face. I can’t believe I’d said that to him. I didn’t mean it, but it was more the attention that I was getting, that was making it hard not to be shy. His hand was running up my body while he watched me, and it made me tingle inside. He pulled my hands down. “Don’t you want me looking at you?”

  I didn’t know what to say, but an answer didn’t really matter. He was going to look whether I wanted him to or not. Frank had this look in his eyes that I knew well enough. There was no going back.

  Frank

  “I don’t think you’ll ever know how good you look to me Gemma.”

  She really wouldn’t either. I started to take her clothes off slowly, pulling her hand away when she kept trying to cover herself up. It was a shame to cover any inch of her and I wanted her bare underneath me. Her brown hair was wild around her and her eyes finally closed because she couldn’t bare me to see her like this anymore. Maybe the look I had did the same thing to her.

  I just took in the view, soaking it up like it was the last bit of sunshine that I was going to see for a year. Her damn skin was like porcelain with a little blush and she had the most amazing curves. Her tits were still big and perky, her legs long and lean. Gemma had always been more woman than most men could handle. I’d had my moments where I didn’t think that I would be enough.

  But of all the things that caught my attention and made me fill with this undiluted need for her was the innocent look that she got on her face. When she was underneath me as she was now, there was nothing more that I wanted than to be with her. Gemma was trying to hide her body, but she couldn’t hide the look in her eyes. It was the sexiest part of it all.

  She tried, and I told her to look at me. I needed that face to face to see what was going on. I knew that Gemma was with me for a reason that had nothing to do with me, I wasn’t stupid, but I just didn’t give a damn at the moment. I would be whatever it was that she needed me to be and right now, as she writhed underneath me from just my gaze, I knew that she needed me inside of her, almost as badly as I needed to push deep in her.

  I was the one trying to slow things down but revealing the body I’d dreamed about for years was my undoing. My mouth moved off of her lips and kissed and nipped its way down to the inevitable destination. It was where I belonged. It was where I wanted to be, and her legs opened for me, her hips lifting up off of the ground to meet me.

  Wrapping my hands around her thighs, I wasn’t sure how much she was going to struggle. I started to lap at most sensitive part. Gemma’s hands went to my hair, not getting much grip because it was so short and then gripping what she could of my head to push me down harder on her core.

  I chuckled at the way she pushed it to the limit. She was much like me, too much. When the two of us got together, burning as hot as an Olympian torch, it tended to cause an explosion.

  Gemma’s thighs wrapped around my neck and she clenched as she came. The muscles in her legs tightened up and she made the sweetest sounds that I could think of. I felt and tasted her orgasm and I sucked a little longer, knowing it was sensitive. Her body jerked with the feel of it and I was glad I had a good hold on her. She was trying to get away and I had more to do. Only when she was getting practically hysterical did I give her the time to breathe.

  I sat up and watched her close her legs and pull them in a little. Her hand was on her stomach and she moaned like I was still inside of her. “Did that feel good baby?”

  Of course, it had, she was still shaking from it, but I wanted to hear her say it. There was something about seeing her like that. It really boosted a man’s ego and I was practically dying to get inside of her now. It was the only thing that made sense to me.

  She pulled me down on top of her and I wasn’t paying attention and she got her way. I fell onto her and she made a sound as I did. I was too heavy for her and I pulled myself up so that I didn’t squish her.

  Gemma laughed and pulled me in for a kiss. “I need you inside of me Frank. I don’t want to wait any longer.”

  I wanted to tell her that she hadn’t waited that long at all. We were both only a few minutes into it, but I was feeling about like she was. I didn’t want to wait any longer either, no matter how long I was trying to drag it out. If I only had her for the night, I wanted to take my time, but Gemma had my body and mind in a frenzy. How was I supposed to compete with that?

  I got up long enough to pull my clothes off. I did it horribly and almost tripped getting my pants off. It wasn’t the impression that I was trying to leave, and I knew that I was going to have to do a better job of getting her back in the mood. Gemma was laughing and that didn’t feel like the right way to act.

  Getting back on my knees in between her legs, her eyes fell down my body and it stopped where I was harder than the rest of me. I was ready for her, right now and she sat up a little, her hand going out to touch me. She’d always liked to lick and touch my cock. It was one of those times and though I would have wanted nothing more than to let her play with me, I wasn’t going to be able to handle it. I was the one that wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to give like I’d wanted to. I hadn’t been with anyone in days and since it was Gemma, my dick was on high alert.

  “Don’t Gemma. You’re going to end things too quickly.”

  “You used to be able to go for hours.”

  “I haven’t done that in a long time.”

  Gemma wasn’t disappointed like I thought she would be. The last time we’d been together, sex was hard and fast, explosive even. Was I going to be able to keep up?

  She slapped me lightly on the cheek. “Stay with me Frank. We’re did you go?”

  I looked down at her and pushed her down onto the ground with the bedroll underneath her. I didn’t want her tugging and playing with me. It wasn’t what I wanted any ways. The only thing that was going to matter was how she felt wrapped around my shaft. It had been so long that I was aching to feel her inner sheath again. I needed it so badly.

  Sliding in slowly, she made that gasping sound that I’d always loved so much. Gemma was raw emotions when it came to sex and she was never one to try to hold back. Every thrust in gave me the tiniest little whimper or moan and it really drove me mad. She hadn’t changed, and her arms and legs wrapped around me rather quickly.

  I stopped for a second, kissing her and letting my manhood throb
inside of her. She wriggled underneath me, clenching me to move me along. Finally, she whined out loud and gave me this puppy dog look. It made it so much harder to tell her no.

  I pushed back in deeply and she sighed like I’d given her the missing piece. It was how I felt when I was inside of her, like she was made for me and I wasn’t whole, unless I was plundering. How could I have convinced myself of anything else?

  Watching her head move back and forth, I was reminded that it was her way of prolonging things. She didn’t want to come again, knowing that each time it was going to make her more sensitive than the last time. But I wanted her to be more than satisfied. I needed her to come back for more. My mind was still on her threat that I was a one-night stand. It had stuck with me and I couldn’t get it out of my head.

  I slowed down, but this time it was for her, not me. She was getting close to hysterical again and I sat back on my knees, pulling her body with me. I didn’t even want to pull out of her for a second. It just felt too damn good and I couldn’t stop what was going to happen next.

  Like a torrential rain, it was sudden and lasted a while. I pushed in deep and she clamped down on me in just the right way. I wasn’t able to keep my wits about me anymore and I groaned out my release.

  Gemma was nuzzling into my shoulder and I was trying to catch my breath. It was so damn strong that it took my breath away. It was more than I could handle, and I was the one that was too sensitive. I pulled out and laid down on the grass, not worried about being on the bedroll. The dew from the grass felt good against my skin and before I could really think about it all that much, I was pulling her in for a kiss.

  Knowing that I would want more and because she was ready again, Gemma slid her legs on either side of me and sunk down. I wasn’t prepared for it and I was a little louder than usual.

  “Damn Gemma. What the hell are you doing to me?”

  “Reminding you of what you left behind.”

  I didn’t like the determination in her eyes. How could she think that I had ever forgotten her, even for a minute? Gemma was not a girl that a man forgot about. It really was impossible.