3 BOOK BUNDLE "Her Last Love Affair", "Her Last Love Affair: Breathing Without You" AND "Her Last Love Affair: The Final Journey" (29 page)

Allie’s legs were turning to jelly, and she was becoming
reliant on Reece holding her up. With each powerful thrust, she screeched a
breathless, “Yes!” And with that encouragement, his speed gradually increased.
His pubic bone was striking her clitoris each time their hips collided and it
only took minutes for her orgasm to hit with violent force.

“Reece,” she screamed, her body arching against his, as she
rode the sensation for as long as she could.

Another three slightly weaker thrusts and Reece was spilling
himself within her. “I love you,” he panted into her ear. “Ugh, God,” he
grunted, the strength of his own climax making him sway unsteadily. Still, he
held her firmly, not letting her fall.

“Ahh,” she sighed contentedly, rolling her hips against his.
“Hmm,” she hummed pulling his face close to hers. “I love you, Reece.”

His chest moving rapidly, he gazed into her post-orgasmic
eyes. “Unlimited, huh?” he asked.

“Yep,” she giggled, bumping her hips against his, as she
realized he was still hard.

“Because it’s been a long time,” he explained, tilting his
head.

“We’ve got to make up for lost time?” she suggested.

“That’s what I was thinking,”
he responded, reaching down with both hands and grasping her legs. He easily
swept her up into his arms. “And, err, no time like the present,” he grinned,
as he carried her to the bedroom.

~The End~

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The Final Journey

R
eece stood in the middle of Allie’s living room.
He turned in a circle, his eyes moving thoughtfully over the objects within it.
His gaze landed on the closed laptop that rested on her coffee table and he
found himself sinking into the couch. It felt wrong even as he was doing it,
but he couldn’t help himself. He tugged the computer onto his legs and opened
it. Shutting out the voice that told him he was invading her privacy, he turned
the laptop on and found that she didn’t have any password protection.

Not knowing what he was looking for, Reece began to browse
through a few of the documents, most of them were research or drafts for
stories she’d written over the past year. He then clicked on her photographs
and was not particularly surprised to see that this folder also seemed to be
dedicated to her work. There was only one shot that appeared to be her own; a
picture of Allie and Rosalind sitting side by side at a restaurant. Both were
grinning as they tapped their large wine glasses together. Recee couldn’t be
sure, but it looked like they’d been celebrating something.

Unbidden, a smile swept across his face as he looked into
Allie’s happy eyes. He made a mental note to find out what had happened to put
that beautiful grin on her features. Suddenly, it seemed very important to know
those seemingly insignificant things.

With a sigh, he eased the computer off his lap and replaced
it on the coffee table. However, he left the computer open and the large screen
continued to show the image that had caused him to smile for the first time in
days. He could have sat staring at it all day, but eventually the screen went
dark. He remained seated, though. Not having the will or the energy to move. He
couldn’t remember how long it had been since he slept, and although his brain
stubbornly refused to switch off and allow him to rest, his body was screaming
‘enough!’

Closing his eyes, he tipped his head back and exhaled
slowly. He stayed that way for minutes, or maybe it was hours, he didn’t have
any concept of the amount of time that passed. However, he was pulled abruptly
from his quiet solitude but a rattle at the door. His eyes flashing open and
his head swinging to the left, he stared at the door handle as it turned.

Gradually the panel of wood was pushed open and a tall,
blonde haired woman he now knew well stepped inside. She seemed as shocked to
see him as he was to see her. And for several moments, neither of them said
anything.

“Umm,” Rosalind eventually mumbled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t
realize you were here.”

“It’s okay,” he responded. “I probably shouldn’t be here
anyway,” he added with a sigh. “I just wanted to be, I suppose.”

“Yeah,” she breathed, pulling the door closed behind her and
wandering to the couch. Without another word, she sat down next to him. She was
not quite close enough for their bodies to be in contact, but she didn’t feel
the need to scoot right to the other end of the couch either. They’d shared
something, which meant even though they’d only known each other a very short
time, they felt bonded somehow. “How have you been?” she asked quietly.

“Not great,” he responded. “I haven’t really known what to
do with myself. In some ways, it still doesn’t feel real.”

“I know what you mean,” she agreed, her eyes focused on the
middle distance in front of her as she nodded. “The last few months...” she
slowly began. “It all seems like it was just some horrible dream.”

Running both hands through his hair, Reece’s fingers angrily
clasped at the back of his head. “I wish I could go back,” he breathed. “There
are so many things I would have done differently.”

“You can’t blame yourself,” Rosalind pointed out, her face
turning so she could look at the taut muscle in his jaw.

Unwilling to accept that, Reece shook his head vehemently.
“I should have done more to convince her to start treatment earlier,” he
stated.

“You heard the doctor,” she sighed. “There was very little
he could have done, even if she’d had radiotherapy right at the beginning.”

Reece couldn’t argue the truth of that statement; it had
been what Doctor Luitger had said, almost verbatim. Nevertheless, he believed
that was not something they could know for sure. Maybe she would have gotten
better, but now they would never know. And there was a much more oppressive
guilt weighing down on him. “I should have told her the truth,” he whispered.

Rosalind didn’t know what that meant and felt it would be
inappropriate to pry. Instead, she remained quiet, waiting for him to offer an
explanation if he wanted to give one. As seconds of silence passed, it become
increasingly obvious that he didn’t want to.

Ever since Allie had been wheeled into surgery, he’d been
mentally kicking himself for lying to her. It all seemed so stupid and trivial
now. His desire to live a ‘normal’ life and going under the radar seemed
completely immaterial in the grand scheme of things. He hated the fact he’d
been dishonest, but even more than that, he hated the fact that Allie died
knowing he’d lied to her and never been given a reason.

He wondered what her last thoughts had been. If she’d
thought of him at all, was it just to decide he was an asshole who she didn’t
really know? Reece knew that question and similar thoughts would haunt him for
the rest of his life.

“Have you spoken to the landlord?” Ros asked, finding the
silence uncomfortable.

“Briefly,” Reece mumbled, only barely interested in the
conversation.

“What’s he going to do?”

Inhaling, before slowly getting to his feet. Reece kept his
back to her as he answered. “I’m going to pay for a couple of months rent,” he
announced. “Give her parents a chance to come and go through her stuff when
they feel ready to.”

“And after that?” Ros continued to question.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, reluctantly turning to face
her. “I guess we’ll see where we are and make a decision from there.”

Curiosity arching her brow, Rosalind realized that Reece
must have some idea or at least options he’d been mulling over. “What are you
thinking?” she probed. “If you don’t mind me asking,” she quickly added.

“I’m not sure,” he replied honestly. He stuffed his
trembling hands into his pocket as his eyes did a circuit of the room. “Part of
me thinks it’s best to let it go, but another part wants to keep it. Maybe I’ll
buy the place,” he sighed.

“You’d live here?” she blurted.

“No,” he quickly responded. “No, I don’t think I could. But
I also don’t think I could stomach the thought of someone else living here, you
know?”

Ros nodded her understanding. She didn’t question him
further, although she wondered how he’d be able to afford to buy an apartment
that would then be left empty. It didn’t matter, she determined. It was none of
her business anyway.

“So, umm,” he coughed, trying to clear the uncomfortable
lump that had suddenly developed in his throat. “What brought you here?”

“Oh,” she breathed. “Same as you, I guess. I just wanted to
feel closer to her.” Glancing around the small apartment, everything was just
as Allie had left it. “It’s funny,” she sighed. “I expect her to walk back
through the door any minute. It’s almost as if she’s just popped to the office
or gone to pick up some groceries.”

Reece anxiously chewed at the inside of his mouth as his
eyes danced around Allie’s home. He knew exactly what Rosalind meant, it did
feel as though Allie would be back any minute now. However, his rational brain
painfully reminded him that simply wasn’t true.

“That probably sounds stupid,” Rosalind muttered, shaking
her head.

“No, it doesn’t,” he corrected her, realizing she’d
construed his silence as disagreement. “It’s not stupid at all,” he sighed.

“Well,” she sighed, placing her hands on her thighs and
pushing herself up from the couch. “I suppose I’d better go, I didn’t mean to
interrupt.”

“It’s okay,” he assured her, his right foot rubbing patterns
on the floor. “I just felt like I wanted to spend tonight here.”

“Yeah,” she mumbled, quietly making her way toward the door.
“I’ll...umm, see you tomorrow.” The mention of the word ‘tomorrow’ was too much
and her voice cracked. No tears actually fell from her eyes, but they filled
with emotion that she’d believed had been drained several times over.

Reece couldn’t bear to think of the following day, either.
Although he’d been saying ‘goodbye’ to Allie for the last three days, the time
had come to bid a final farewell. Her funeral had originally been planned as a
small affair, but as it turned out large numbers of people from the city wanted
to pay their respects, and it would now be much larger than he suspected Allie
would have wanted. Nevertheless, her parents seemed to gain great comfort in
the fact that their daughter was so well-respected and admired. In truth, it
gave Reece a strong sense of pride too, but it didn’t blunt the pain one bit.

Rosalind watched his eyes glaze over and knew that he was
dwelling on agonizing thoughts. “If you need me at all...” she muttered,
knowing that there was very little she could do for him.

“Actually, Ros,” he snapped his head darting up. “Before you
go, I wondered if you could tell me something.”

The change in his demeanor was dramatic. He suddenly moved
back to the couch and swept up Allie’s laptop with a renewed energy. Rosalind
moved toward him, when he beckoned her with his index finger. She watched him,
as he slapped the keyboard’s space bar and the computer lurched back to life.

“When was this?” Reece asked, pointing to the image.

Rosalind’s head cocked to one side and a silly grin, just
like the one she wore in the picture, lit up her face. “That was about six
months ago,” she sighed happily. “We went to that Italian down the street.” She
found herself waving her hand in that general direction, even though she knew
it would mean nothing to Reece.

 “She looks really happy,” Reece whispered, his eyes stuck
fast on the screen.

Rosalind chuckled. “Yeah,” she agreed. “She’d been working
on a story about an old theater that was going to be torn down for a new
development,” she explained. “Her relentless coverage and none too positive
opinion about the destruction of the city’s ‘artistic heritage’,” she grinned
as she lifted her fingers to place imaginary quote marks around the last two
words, “caused a huge ruckus and public opinion made this massive company back
down.”

Reece’s smile grew wider, as he imagined Allie going to war
over something she was passionate about.

“So,” Ros sighed, as she allowed the happy memory to linger
with her. “She was feeling pretty pleased with herself that night.”

Soon, Rosalind began to move toward the door again, but
Reece urged her to stay. At first, he wasn’t sure why he’d blurted the request.
However, he quickly realized what was behind the desire. “Can we just sit and
talk about her some more?”

“Sure,” Rosalind replied.

Hours were spent reminiscing; Rosalind sharing tales of
Allie’s exhausting love of her job, while Reece relayed stories of her youth.
He didn’t tell her anything he deemed too private or personal, but he did
reveal things he knew Allie would never have told a soul. The pair found
themselves laughing, as they dwelt on only happy memories.

It was after midnight, when Rosalind eventually drifted off
to sleep on the couch. Her head was crooked at an awkward angle, but Reece
didn’t have the heart to wake her. Instead, he gently slipped to his feet and scooped
her legs up. Without rousing her, he managed to carefully lay her flat, before
turning off the lights and treading gently to the bedroom.

He hadn’t planned on spending the night in Allie’s bed. He’d
initially decided to sleep, if he could sleep, on the couch, but that was no
longer an option. And, as he wandered into the room, he didn’t find it anywhere
near as intimidating or distressing as he’d expected to. In fact, as he
breathed in the smell of various sweet, floral scents that all combined to make
Allie’s signature smell, he found it immensely comforting.

Without taking his clothes off, he lowered himself to the
bed and reached for the pillow as he did so. Yanking the cushion to his chest,
he dropped his head to it and inhaled deeply. This held not only the scent of
Allie’s shampoo, but also his own cologne. Flopping back onto the mattress, he
closed his eyes and recalled the last time they laid there together.

Eventually, he rolled onto his side, keeping the pillow
tucked in his arms, but he lifted his face from it. For a long time, he stayed
there, motionless but unable to fall into a restful sleep. When exhaustion
became too much, and the conscious part of his brain finally shut down, he was
certain that it was Allie he held in his tight grasp. He would swear that he
could feel her soft hair against his cheek and hear her gentle breathing.

“I’m sorry,” a quiet feminine voice mumbled into his ear.

“I’m not,” he heard himself reply. “I’m not sorry for
anything.”

“Everything will be okay,” she added. “You’ll see.”

“What?” he responded sleepily.

“When you’re ready to open your heart again, you’ll find
someone who truly deserves you,” she explained, a smile evident in her voice.

“I’ll always love you,” he argued.

“I know,” she responded. “But there’s enough room in your
heart for someone else.” This time her voice seemed further away.

“Allie,” he called, urging her back.

“Trust me,” she responded calmly. “You’re going to be just
fine.”

“Allie,” he repeated, his panic rising as her voice crept
further and further away.

“You were the love of my life, Reece,” she told him in
nothing more than a whisper. And then, there was silence.