Unstitched (22 page)

‘Hi,’ he said, lips pulling deeper into a smile. Perfect white teeth, a teasing couple of dimples. Wow, when he smiled his whole face changed.

Incredible.

‘Um. Hi.’

He held out his hand. ‘I’m Brendt.’

I grabbed his hand and shook. ‘I’m Anthea.’

He took the seat beside me. ‘I can’t lie. I already knew that. Kind of. I think we’ve mutual friends. I’ve seen you around at a few parties.’

I nodded, bemused by how this stranger was affecting me — the lightness in my head, the tightening of my belly, the darts of tingly pleasure that pulsed lower. This never happened.

‘Would you like to dance, Anthea?’

I looked over his sexy face, into his kind blue eyes and again I nodded, not quite able yet to form coherent sentences.

He grinned wide and my stomach squeezed — in a good way. He stood and helped me from my chair, his big hands gripping mine, warm and protective. I was dizzy, light. So damn…high. He led me onto the dance floor. Of course the tempo had to be tediously slow and couples in each other’s arms filled the floor. I faced Brendt and he pressed his hand to my waist. I almost closed my eyes at the sensation of his intimate touch.

Almost.

I rested my hand on his shoulder, entwined my fingers with his other hand, and looked up into his eyes.

Holy shit, there was energy popping and crackling sparks of light. Well maybe not quite that extreme, but, wow, something was buzzing between us.

He swayed me and I stepped from one foot to the other, but I didn’t know how to dance this way. It felt awkward. I pulled my hand out of his clasp and slung my arms around his neck, feeling the light brush of stubble from his chin against my forearms and the warmth of his skin on the back of his neck. He pressed closer to me, his scent enveloping me — sweet, salty man, bubbles and subtle hints of cologne. My chest met his, my belly against his hard stomach. Oh my, I was falling. Spiralling out of control. This sexy stranger had me wound as tight as a…
stitch
.

My eyes met his again, curiosity in my stare. He smiled down at me.

‘Who are you?’ I breathed, not really meaning to, but the words spilled from my lips.

His face neared mine, his cheek against mine, his mouth and breath at my ear. ‘I’m yours, if you want me.’

My eyes fluttered closed, his closeness destroyed me, repaired me at the same time. I nodded slowly, dragged my flesh against his. I could hear his breathing, heavier. Feather light, I brushed my lips against his ear lobe. ‘I think I’ve been waiting for you.’ None of this made sense. Too raw. Too sudden. I didn’t know him, but I’m sure I did. Somehow.

Brendt looked at me again, his face only centimetres from mine. ‘I want
you
, Anthea.’

My eyes closed and I breathed in his words, his closeness. We’d been here before. A kiss that should happen, had to happen.

His hands held my face. ‘Let’s go somewhere else. Just you and me.’

I nodded, understanding his urgency. A hazy memory, or intuition, said we needed to leave before…what? The thought fluttered away, a nebulous unknown, when his lips pressed against mine, and I sighed into his mouth as he found my tongue, soft and curious, warm and attentive. Oh my, this man was the sweetest melody, consuming me with his song, reaching that deeper place inside.

Brendt tore his lips away, breaths heavy, and took my hand. He led me across the dance floor and out of the hall, away from the music.

‘Where to?’ he asked, a grin on his luscious lips.

‘There’s a coffee shop just up the road. It’s open late. We can grab a drink and see where the night leads us.’

He nodded, dimples carved into his cheeks as he smiled. ‘Let’s start there then.’

I stopped near the entrance and looked up into his eyes. ‘Actually, how about I make that coffee for you back at my apartment. My housemates won’t be home for hours.’

‘Hmmm. Even better,’ he said and his lips found mine again, urgent.

I pulled away and grinned, biting on my bottom lip, blush creeping over my cheeks.

He laughed. ‘What?’

I shook my head, not quite brave enough despite my body beating with desire to be with this man in every way a woman can be with a man.

‘You’re blushing,’ he said. ‘What were you thinking?’

I lowered my eyes, peered back up at him under fanned lashes. ‘I was thinking we might just skip the coffee all together.’

He took my hips; pleasure pulsed, and pushed me back against the closest wall. He kissed me deep, a masculine growl sounding in his chest. Oh, God what that noise did to me. Brendt broke away and I was bereft until he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed my cheek, as though he’d performed that act a thousand times before. As though this exact moment had happened a thousand times before — the start of something that was real, and the end of something that should never have been.

‘So, which way to your apartment?’ he asked, grinning.

He was truly sexy, but there was something else about Brendt, beyond his superficial good looks. He was reaching me on a deeper level — right where it counted. And that’s when I realised that my life long yearning, that constant pain, was no longer present. I felt whole, stitched. And I wasn’t surprised. Strangely, not at all. As though, on some level, I expected this to happen.

I grinned back and said, ‘I’ll lead the way.’

He smiled and I smiled as we stepped out into the warm night air together.

‘So where do you work, Brendt?’

‘Radio 219UE. I do the breakfast show with my mate Leith.’

‘Oh, yeah. I’ve heard that. You’re funny.’

He grinned. ‘I try to be. And what about you?’

‘I’ve just started in P.R.’

‘You like it?’

‘I do. I’ve got a great boss and I’m learning heaps each day.’

He stopped in the middle of the street and looked at me with his gorgeous blue eyes. ‘Is this conversation giving you a massive case of Déjà vu?’

I nodded, eyes wide. ‘Totally. It’s…weird.’

‘Weird but good, right?’

‘So good.’

Brendt smiled and we started walking again, his protective arm around my shoulders. His tall, muscled body, his warmth pressed against me made my legs weak. I was buzzing, almost bursting to get this man home and into my bed. He stoked deep primal urges in my body. Urges that had been suppressed every day of my life until now. My heart was wide open, my mind; the strangling shackles gone. I felt…free.

Again, Brendt stopped. He pushed me back against the shop front, the lights from inside spilling onto us, and kissed me deeply, with tongue and heat and breath. Hands caressed and squeezed. Breathless, he peered deep into my eyes, his face so close to mine. ‘I’m so glad I bumped into you again tonight.’

I held the back of his neck and his tight waist. ‘Me too. It feels like perfect timing.’ Then I pulled him closer and sank against his lips. Lips I was always meant to kiss.

Thanks for reading
Unstitched
. I hope you enjoyed it.

If you’d like to know more about me, my books, or to connect with me online, you can visit my webpage
www.authoraire.com
, follow me on twitter
https://twitter.com/authoraire
, or like my
Facebook page
.

You can also follow me through my publisher’s page here
www.escapepublishing.com.au

Reviews can help readers find books, and I am grateful for all honest reviews. Thank you for taking the time to let others know what you’ve read, and what you thought.

If you liked this book, my other books are:
The Paler Shade of Autumn, Beautiful Illusion
and
Beyond Coincidence
.

This book was published by Escape Publishing. If you’d like to sample some more great books from my fellow Escape Artists, please turn the page.

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