She leaned over and kissed him, long and deep. Then she kneeled in front of him, positioning herself between his legs. She looked up at him for a moment, watching him watch her. She smiled, slowly running her hands up Aaron’s muscular legs before setting her eyes on his hardness, standing erect in front of her.
“God, how I’ve missed this gorgeous cock,” she said, stroking it with her hands.
She leaned over and took him into her mouth. Aaron let out a groan of pleasure. She pulled away for a moment before taking him in once more, a little farther this time, as Aaron buried his hands in her hair. And then again, feasting on him and enjoying herself, wanting to pleasure him and make him feel as amazing as he’d made her feel. He stroked her hair, tugging on it slightly when she took him all the way to the back of her throat, his breathing getting stronger and Teagan growing more and more aroused herself. Just when she thought he might be close, he stopped her.
She looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”
Aaron just shook his head, his eyes wild with desire as he cupped her face. “Not yet.” He gently motioned her upward. “Stand up.”
Teagan stood. Aaron gazed at her naked body, his hands gliding up her thighs and hips, and up to her breasts. She closed her eyes as he grazed them, her nipples hardening under his touch. He pushed her back a step, kneeling in front of her. Then he leaned over and put his face right between her legs. Teagan gasped as she felt his tongue exploring her, caressing and stroking her as he gripped her behind. She closed her eyes again, holding on to Aaron’s shoulders and giving in to it all. Her pleasure rose quickly, and it wasn’t long before it overcame her. She cried out as Aaron kept going, his hands grasping her, holding her in place as he kept her from keeling over.
When it all subsided, Aaron stood up and tossed her over his shoulder as she squealed in surprise. She loved it when he manhandled her. He lowered her onto the bed and disappeared into the bathroom, returning with a little foil package that he set aside before pressing himself onto her.
How amazing he felt, his hard muscles on her, his skin warm, his eyes filled with passion. He kissed her again, and Teagan wrapped herself around him as his lips migrated to her neck, his breath hot and his erection hard against her. She writhed under him, grabbing him and pulling at him, wanting all of him. Soon, Aaron put on the condom and gave her what she longed for.
He started out slowly, like he often did, as if trying to maintain control. He thrust into her again, a little harder this time, and then again, every muscle in his body taut with sexual heat. Teagan moved her hips to meet him, wrapping her legs around him as he began to thrust harder and harder, what was left of her rational mind thinking that no one knew how to make her feel like Aaron did. No one.
“Yes,” she breathed.
Finally, Teagan felt herself starting to lose it, crying out until she saw nothing but bursts of starlight. Aaron pushed harder until he let out a grunt and finally let himself go.
Afterward, Teagan lay snuggled up against Aaron as he played with her hair.
“You know what?” he said.
“What?”
“I miss the pink.”
She looked up at him. “Really?”
“I mean… it’s pretty now. And I love the length. But the pink was hot.”
She giggled. “Good to know.”
Chapter Thirty
Teagan heard her phone ping. When she checked it, she realized she had a Facebook invite. But when she saw who it was from, she sighed. It was from Delia. Teagan immediately recalled sitting on that sunny patio with Hannah two years ago, desperately trying to figure out a way to avoid attending Delia’s birthday party, to avoid seeing Shawn and the woman he’d cheated with. Teagan checked the guest list. Sure enough, Shawn was attending the party. With her.
Teagan groaned. She had no desire to see either of them. But she wanted to go and catch up with some old friends, especially considering that she was moving in a couple of weeks and wouldn’t see them much after that.
And maybe it was time. Time to face Shawn.
The evening of the party, Teagan arrived at Delia’s house alone. Hannah had RSVPed no, given her general hatred of parties and crowds. She’d offered to “show her face” for the sake of supporting Teagan, but Teagan said no. She needed to do this on her own. Besides, she was dressed in her cutest shorts and top, along with her favorite sandals. And she felt especially good with her newly pinked hair, which she wore down.
After getting some wine, she hugged Delia and visited with other familiar faces she hadn’t seen in a long time. Finally, during a lull, she went to check out the food table.
“What’s up, Pinky?” someone said to her.
The smug tone clued her in immediately. She turned and found herself face-to-face with Shawn, his beard gone but his expression still overconfident. Her heart pounded in her chest.
She offered a polite smile. “Well, hello there.”
“Fancy meeting you here,” he quipped. “How’s life?”
“Pretty good. What about you?”
He shrugged. “It’s good.” He glanced away for the briefest of moments, and Teagan followed his glance, spotting her standing aside with her eyes on Teagan. “How’s the jarhead?” he went on.
Teagan smiled, for real this time. It had been well over a year since Shawn had encountered Aaron at her door, so for him to ask that question meant he knew they were still together. Which meant he’d asked someone about it. “Jarheads are Marines, not Army, but I appreciate your inquiry about his wellbeing. He’s great.”
“If he’s so great, why isn’t he here?”
She shrugged. “He’s in Arizona. And busy, serving our country.”
That wiped the smirk off Shawn’s face. Teagan stood there, waiting for a snide reply, suddenly wondering what the hell she ever saw in him.
Shawn paused for a moment, his face taking on a more serious expression. “Hey, about what happened between us—”
“Let’s not do this,” she said, shaking her head.
“Fine. It’s just, I wasn’t happy—”
“Shawn. No confessionals, okay? We were a terrible match, and you probably saw it before I did. We never belonged together.”
Shawn stared at her. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”
“There’s no maybe.” Teagan patted Shawn’s arm. “Good luck to you.”
And she walked away.
Teagan drove west through the Sonoran Desert, the warm sun dipping lower and lower in the orangey sky, casting a glow over the landscape. Only another hour and a half and she would be there. She would get to see the man she loved, to live with him, to stay until she had to return to Denver for comic con in June.
Her truck was stuffed full of necessities—clothing, hiking gear, books, toiletries, telescope, and her computer, of course. Her Denver home would still house her furniture and dishes for the time being, until she and Aaron could begin the process of consolidation. Ben would check on her place from time to time.
She’d had a great sendoff from Diana and Hannah up in the mountains, where they met for lunch. Teagan got a little teary-eyed, knowing her friends would always be her friends, but no longer would she be within a few hours driving distance from them. She didn’t realize until then how much she would miss them.
She drove fast, faster than Aaron would approve of, but she was impatient to get there. When the exit for Benson approached, the sun had set and the sky was lit up with streaks of pink and orange. It was the perfect welcome to her new home.
Her phone rang, and she knew who it was.
“Author Moving Services,” she said. “How can I help you?”
Aaron laughed. “Hey. Looks like you’re close.”
“Yup. Three miles to the turnoff.”
Aaron had asked her permission to use the location app on their phones so they could track one another. He was concerned about her being on the road by herself. He’d wanted to fly to Denver so he could help her load her car and drive down with
her, but Teagan said no. She wanted to experience the trip alone, to take in the desert and ponder this new chapter in her life.
When she finally arrived, the orange and pink streaks had faded as stars began to sprinkle the desert sky. Aaron was waiting for her in his driveway. She ran over and threw herself at him. He caught her and gave her a tight hug.
“I’m here!”
“You’re here.” He paused, glancing at her hair and nodding in approval. “You pinked it. Nice.”
“I missed it, too.”
He eyed his front door. “I think someone wants to see you. He’s been acting weird all day.”
She followed Aaron inside, spotting Patton waiting near the door. “Patton! How’s my boy?”
Patton ran to her, his tail wagging like crazy. She bent down and hugged him to her as his wet nose dotted her face.
“See?” Aaron said to Patton. “She’s finally here. You can calm down now.”
Teagan laughed. She and Aaron went outside and brought in her essentials.
“Let’s leave the rest,” she said. “I’ll have plenty of time to unpack tomorrow.”
“Just let me get a few things so you don’t have to do it all yourself,” he insisted. “You can grab a beer and relax.”
She let out a mock sigh. “Fine.”
“I moved my desk into the spare bedroom for you. That can be your office.”
Teagan smiled and went to check out the other bedroom, the one that only had boxes in it before. The desk was situated against the window, overlooking the desert, and all the boxes were cleared away. She turned to Aaron, who stood in the doorway. “You’re so thoughtful. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Oh, by the way, I looked into flights to Iceland this fall. I think we can get a good deal in November.”
She couldn’t help jumping up and down at that. “I’m so excited! We finally get to see the Northern Lights!”
“I need to check with my C.O. and you need to check your convention schedule, but late November or early December should work.” He glanced at the front door. “I’ll go grab some of your stuff. Relax, alright? You’re home now.”
Teagan smiled. Aaron was right.
She was home now.
Epilogue
“Teagan.” Someone shook her. “Teagan, wake up.”
Teagan opened her eyes, groggy and disoriented. Aaron stood over her, bundled up in his down coat. “What’s wrong?”
“The lights,” Aaron said. “It’s clear out now. You can see the Northern Lights. Come on, put your coat on!”
Teagan jumped up from bed and pulled on her down coat, throwing on her hat and gloves. She found her boots, almost falling over as she struggled to put them on quickly.
“What time is it?” she asked, zipping up her coat.
“One in the morning.”
They left the warm coziness of their hut on the remote Iceland tundra, a blast of cold air assailing them. She held Aaron’s hand and followed him to the lake, jogging to keep up with his rapid pace as their boots crunched through the snow. When they cleared the hut complex and neared the lake, a cluster of people stood at the lake’s edge, staring up at the sky.
When Teagan looked up, she couldn’t believe it. There they were, bright green strands of light painted across the blackened Icelandic sky, undulating and glowing, appearing so close that she could almost reach out and touch them. The very spectacle they’d hoped to see six nights in a row with no luck had finally arrived, in all its magical glory, on Teagan and Aaron’s last night in Iceland.
“Wow,” she whispered, clutching Aaron’s arm and scooting close to his warmth. “It’s even better than I imagined.”
He put his arm around her. “Agreed.”
They watched the lights dance, taking only a few photos so they could just gawk in awe at the display most of them would probably never see again. She turned to Aaron. “Thank you. For bringing me here.”
He looked down at her, his eyes twinkling just a little. “You happy?”
“Of course I’m happy!”
“Totally happy?”
“Totally happy.”
“Nothing could make you happier?” he said, his tone more serious.
“I can’t imagine what it would be.”
“Not even this?” He produced something from his pocket.
It was a box. A little black box.
“Oh my God,” she whispered, putting her gloved hands over her mouth.
And beneath the Northern Lights, Aaron got down on one knee and took her hand.
“Teagan, will you marry me?”
Thank You
Thank you so much for reading Afterglow. If you want to find out how Teagan, Diana, and Hannah became such good friends, you can get a FREE copy of Colorado Girls, a fun little prequel story, by joining my email list. Colorado Girls isn’t for sale anywhere and is only available for members of the Artemis world. It’s my little thank you for supporting my work.
Regarding Afterglow: I had this story rattling around in my overactive mind for a good two years, and it wasn’t until NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) that I finally decided to write it. If you aren’t familiar, NaNoWriMo challenges all writers and budding writers to sit down and write a 50,000-word novel in a month. I’d written romantic subplots in my other books (different genre and pen name), but never a true romance novel. So I sat my butt in a chair and wrote that story, and you just finished a revised and polished version of it.
I ended up enjoying it so much that I thought, okay, this needs to be a series. I wanted the series to be about strong women and the men who love them. I wanted it to be about the journey these women (and men) have to take to find love. I wanted it to be about finding your soul mate and equal in people or places you would never expect. And, just as importantly, I wanted the series books to take place in what to me is the ultimate romantic setting: the great outdoors. Whether you go outside to take your dog for a walk or you plan to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, being outside can help you keep your head on straight, and even transform your life. It definitely has for me.
One thing I’ve learned as an author is that every book has some message or theme(s). Often, that theme emerges after you’ve written a big chunk of the book, and it can surprise you. For Afterglow, one theme that struck me is the idea that divorce can sometimes be a good thing. Yes, divorce is SO painful (I’ve been there), but it can also mean a chance to find the right person. Shawn, Teagan’s ex, never “got” her. He lacked the qualities that Aaron has, the qualities she needed. Likewise, Aaron and his ex were too different. I love the idea that, in life, something good can arise from the ashes of the bad.
Anyway, thanks again! Happy reading and adventures…
Love,
Artemis
About the Author
Artemis Anders is the author of the Four Corners romance book series. She loves writing stories about smart, independent women and men who love adventure and appreciate the great outdoors. To her, there is no greater setting for love than being outside. Artemis digs the outdoors and has done pretty much every outdoor sport there is, from trail running to rock climbing to skate skiing. She’s also a closet love junkie, always imagining the perfect pairing of two people, and the journey they must take to get there. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her artist husband.
Contents
Also by Artemis Anders
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
> Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Epilogue
Thank You
About the Author
Afterglow (Four Corners Book 1) Page 20