Abel
Abel
(
5th Street #4)
Elizabeth Reyes
Abel
(5th Street #4)
Kindle Edition
Copyright © 2013 Elizabeth Reyes
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to
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For information on the cover art visit Stephanie Mooney’s website at: http://stephaniemooney.blogspot.com.
Editing by Theresa Wegand
I dedicate Abel to my loyal readers who've
been waiting "forever" for this one. LOL. I'd like to thank you for your patience. You are the ones who make me so addicted to writing! Thank you for always showing your love and for reaching out! You guys truly make my "job" such a pleasure! I do hope this was worth the wait! Enjoy! <3
Prologue
“I’m game if you’re game.” Nellie stared at him anxiously.
A man
’s burning urges often ignore all logic. Abel Ayala knew this was all this was. A day of sipping on cocktails and lying around the deck of a cruise ship watching scantily-clad bikini-wearing women giving him go-ahead smiles had done it to him. Now he stood here, staring into the eyes of Nellie Gamboa, a divorcee eight years older than he was. From what he’d heard, she was still carrying a load of emotional baggage and probably still held a torch for her ex as well. She was someone he would not and
should not
be thinking of in terms of releasing some sexual tension. Damn it!
The fact that she
’d turned her life around after what had been hailed by Roni, his friend’s wife and Nellie’s best friend, as one of the most grueling experiences any woman could go through, didn’t help. She’d gone and shaped up and did a complete makeover from the mousy woman he once remembered her being. If he hadn’t known it, he never would have even guessed that this sexy-as-hell woman would be hitting thirty soon. The sexual tension between them was a living breathing thing and had been going on for months now. Only up until now, he thought he might be imagining her requited feelings of lust.
His twenty-two-year-old ass had no business with a woman her age—no business getting involved with Roni
’s best friend—especially knowing full well he’d never take a relationship with her seriously. But this changed things. Nellie was telling him that she was all for a no-strings-attached relationship. She was as interested in anything serious as he was. Coming off what she called the divorce from hell, she said she wanted to live it up now. He was glad now for the liquid courage Nellie’s wine had provided. If not for it, the offer may’ve never been voiced. She gone so far as to say that she was all for a fun-and-run experience and that she’d had her eye on him for some time.
It was still a risk, his brain reasoned. Things could sour. This could even cause a rift between him and his good friend
’s wife if any hurt feelings came from this. But the already throbbing parts of his body said otherwise.
She tilted her head in that sexy way she did so often with curved lips that practically called out for his. To hell with logic!
Just pulling her delicate frame against his immediately released some of the pent-up tension that had been building every time he’d been around her lately.
Swallowing hard, he stared at those lips—lips he
’d wondered far too many times what they must taste like. “Hell yeah, I’m game,” he said as he took her mouth in his. Feeling a desire like none he’d ever felt before, he kissed her deeply, sucking her tongue and her lips. Damn, he wanted to eat her up.
He
’d been fighting it—over thinking it—for months. This was just his ever-so-curious body’s reaction to finally giving into a longing that had peaked tonight as they’d enjoyed a few friendly dances. That’s all it was. But he needed more than just a kiss now. God, he wanted
so
much more, and since she was game . . . He pulled away from her just long enough to catch his breath and take a look around the almost-empty deck.
“
I’d invite you back to my room, but Hector and Charlee might—”
She tugged his hand and was already on the move.
“Let’s go back to mine.”
The second the elevator doors closed, Abel pushed her against the wall, pulling her by the waist to him, and his mouth and tongue sucked at every inch of hers. She panted softly, running her fingers through hi
s hair as he moved down to her neck and sucked softly then a little rougher.
As the moving elevator came to a stop, Abel tore himself away. No sooner had the doors opened
than they were out in a rush to her room. They turned the corner down the long corridor of rooms.
“
How far down?” Abel asked.
“
All the way to the end,” she replied, taking even longer strides.
Feeling crazed with anticipation, Abel
’s eyes searched for the ice/vending machine room like the one on his floor. The moment he saw it, he pulled her in it.
He answered her confused expression with a kiss as he closed the door and pushed her against it.
“I need to refuel.”
All right, he needed to get laid more often. This was ridiculous. Obviously he
’d been spending too much time training and not enough socializing, because he’d never felt this kind of urgency. Duly noted—he’d move a few things around in his schedule. She lifted her leg, bringing it around him.
“
Careful,” he warned, biting her lower lip, “or I may just finish you up right here.”
“
Do it,” was her only response, and he froze.
Pulling back to look in her eyes, he could see she was serious.
“Right here?” He asked, his hand already traveling down under her dress.
She nodded as his fingers felt the dampness between her legs and how hot she already was, pushing his heart into overdrive. He squeezed his eyes shut as he leaned his forehead against hers.
“Sweetheart, don’t play with me.”
“
I’m not,” she assured him breathlessly.
Abel opened his eyes, looking down at her big brown eyes. Up until that moment, he
’d never noticed the golden specks that were sprinkled throughout. The desire he saw in them now was as urgent as his own; although, he didn’t miss the slightest bit of apprehension. He couldn’t blame her. Anyone could walk in on them. He was certain he’d be able to hold the door closed against the force of any one person or maybe two if they pushed against it—at least until he was sure she was decent. But he didn’t want her doing anything she wasn’t completely certain about.
“
Are you sure about this?” He slipped his finger under her panties, her moisture inviting him in all the way.
She gasped, closing her eyes at his touch
, and nodded. “The kiss on the deck . . .” she said, her eyes remaining closed. Abel stared at her lips as she continued to speak a little more breathlessly with every caress of his finger to her silky wet skin. “The elevator . . . This . . . It’s exciting. I’ve never done something so . . .”
Nellie stopped to swallow, licking her lips, and Abel kissed her before she could finish. She didn
’t have to. Suddenly the need to make this happen for her, make this experience with him be one she’d never forget, took over. It was just an ego thing. That’s all it was. What guy didn’t like knowing he was a woman’s first
anything?
Abel reached for his wallet, but his lips never left hers. She kissed him back just as urgently, her hands grasping the front of his shirt. She gasped harder at the sound of his zipper opening. So he stopped and looked at her wide eyes.
“I’m sure,” she said before he could ask again, pulling him to her, and he groaned against her mouth.
Working fast, he got the condom on and reached under her sundress, pulling her panties down. When they hit the floor, he lifted her easily off the ground.
“Wrap your legs around me.”
She did and he adjusted her, groaning loudly as he entered her. Kissing her harder now as he fucked her against the door, he tried in vain to stifle his moaning, but it felt so damn good to be inside her.
He’d been under the assumption that a woman who had been married, especially for several years, wouldn’t be this tight. She was tighter than some of the younger women he’d been with, and it felt just too damn good to finally be doing what he could only fantasize about up until now—
so
good it was almost alarming.
With her arms tightly wound around his neck, she began to pant with every thrust, and he went even harder, her panting growing more frantic as he felt her begin to pulsate around him each time he slid into her. Just as her entire body began to tremble with pleasure, he felt her arms tighten around his neck as she pulled her mouth away from him to breathe and cry out. Abel couldn
’t hold it any longer either. Groaning again, he came in an explosive climax. Sinking deep inside her, he pushed his body against hers, burying his face in her sweet neck. Nellie clung onto him for dear life, gasping for air.
“
We’re, Nellie started to say before stopping to catch her breath, “still going back to my room, right?”
Abel smiled, squeezing her naked behind and looked up into her somewhat embarrassed eyes.
“You bet this hot little ass we are. That was just an appetizer. I hope you have all night, because what I have in mind is gonna take that long.”
Her eyes sparkled now with excitement
, and she nodded. Hot damn! She was going to be more fun than he’d expected.
C
hapter 1
T
o Nellie’s surprise, since the cruise had been over a week ago, Abel had come by her place twice already. She hadn’t been sure if their fun-and-run agreement on the ship meant he’d be running just as soon as they docked and came back to the real world. Apparently, their agreement extended even into their life off the ship. Still the stipulations stood—no strings attached—no promises, no demands, and no hurt feelings.
With a young stud like Abel
—someone Nellie never dreamed would show an interest in her—she most certainly could deal with that, even if her best friend Roni didn’t seem to think it was a good idea. She was on the phone with her again as Roni continued to voice her concern about the whole thing.
“
You’re gonna get hurt,” she insisted. “You’re not this type of person, Nellie. I know you. You don’t do the fuck-buddy thing.”
“
Need I remind you that I’m no longer the same person I once was?”
Her
ex-husband and sister had taken care of that. The old Nellie no longer existed. She’d since discovered taking risks, such as the one she and Abel had taken on the cruise, could be fun—more than fun—absolutely thrilling. She wanted to explore and enjoy this side of herself a little further. She agreed with Roni that, before the hell she’d gone through with her ex, she never would’ve dreamed of doing what she was now doing with Abel, but she was enjoying it. And since they’d set boundaries, they each understood this was just for fun. What they did when they weren’t together and with whom wasn’t the other’s business. She had no expectations of anything more than a physical relationship.
Besides
, it was what she needed right then: to be free to explore this and all the other sides of herself that had been dormant for years while her bastard cheating husband so often neglected her needs. She’d ride Abel literally and figuratively for all he was worth, and when it was over, there’d be no looking back. No regrets. What she didn’t want to regret was passing up the opportunity to experience something this tantalizing because of the fear of getting hurt. Nothing could hurt Nellie more than what her ex and her very own sister had done to her.
“
You’re not gonna stop dating other guys, right?” Roni asked anxiously.
Roni was worried because she knew Abel would be free to fly in and out of
Nellie’s bed and into others’ beds—and he was known for doing plenty of flying around—while Nellie sat around, waiting exclusively for him.
While the offers weren
’t exactly pouring in, she’d had a few. Nellie assured Roni she wouldn’t be turning any down because of Abel. She did leave out the part that, while his visits continued, she wouldn’t be sleeping with anyone else until she was ready to cut Abel loose. That is if he didn’t cut her loose first. Sleeping around with more than one guy at once was something she wouldn’t be exploring. It had nothing to do with being faithful either. She owed Abel as much as he owed her—nothing. It was a morality issue for her. While she wanted to enjoy her newfound freedom, she wanted to feel sexy and reawakened, not dirty. Still, she was sure this would only worry Roni further by confirming that, in fact, she wasn’t the fuck-buddy type. So she kept this bit to herself.
Lifting a finger to her assistant
, Emily, who peeked in her doorway, she spoke quickly into her cell phone. “Can I call you back?”
“
Okay, but you better because I really think you need to think this through a little more. I don’t know what makes me more anxious: that even though you won’t admit it I think you’re still very vulnerable to getting hurt, or the fact that you’re doing this with one of Noah’s closest friends. I don’t wanna hate one of my husband’s good friends, Nellie, not to mention business partner, but I
will
if he hurts you.” She stopped to sigh dramatically. “Even though you’ve been extensively warned that this may very well happen, I’d still hate him.”
Nellie smiled.
“You won’t have to hate anyone. Cross my no-longer-breakable heart, and, yes, I will call you back when I’m on the road, which should be fairly soon.” She hung up and looked at her assistant. “Did it come through?”
Emily nodded
, smiling big. “They want everything that’s left.”
“
Yes!” Nellie clapped her hands together as she stood. “I’ll get on this right away. We have signed docs, right?”
“
All of them.”
“
Fantastic.” Nellie did a little dancing walk as she reached Emily and hugged her. “I couldn’t have done this without you. Thank you so much!”
“
All I did was relay the messages and some faxing.” Emily pulled back to look at her. “Which reminds me Logan left a very odd message for you while you were on the phone with Roni.” Emily’s face contorted. “
Slightly Stupid. It’s on
. He said that you’d know.”
Nellie brought her hand to her forehead. She
’d forgotten all about that. “Oh my God, he got the tickets. I didn’t think he would, and now I have to go to the concert with him.”
“
What concert?”
“
Slightly Stoopid with two o’s no u. They’re that band I like. I even have one of their songs as my ringtone. They’re playing at The House of Blues this month, but it was sold out last time I checked. He asked if I’d go with him if he could get tickets, and like an idiot thinking there was no way he could get them, I agreed.”
The corner of Emily
’s lips rose. “Logan’s pretty hot. I don’t see what the problem is.”
Nellie walked back to her desk
, lifting her chin. “Because he started dropping hints about us going out almost immediately after he was contracted. I know technically I’m not his boss, but it still feels inappropriate. Not to mention I think it’d be awkward to go out with someone you work with.”
“
Well you’re not his boss, so it wouldn’t be inappropriate, and you don’t really work with him. You said it yourself he’s contracted and you only see him once in a while.”
This was true
, but with the mixer turning into something so much bigger than she’d anticipated, she’d be working a lot closer with Logan now. And Nellie didn’t know if hot would be a word she’d use to describe Logan. Abel definitely was, but Logan fell more into the handsome-with-a-hint-of-vulnerably-sexy-thrown-in category. Thinking of Abel and the words hot and sexy all at the same time brought back memories of his last visit.
I wanna take you from behind
. Just remembering his words and the way he had followed through with what he wanted had her puddling in places she had no business puddling while she was still at work with her assistant in the same room.
“
Why are you blushing?” Emily giggled. “Oh my sweet Jesus, don’t tell me you and Logan have already . . .” Emily covered her playful smirk with both hands.
“
No! I just told you I’ve never agreed to go out with him much less just . . . you know. I’m not like that.” The hell she wasn’t, but she wasn’t about to tell sweet little Emily the torrid details of the amazing time she’d been spending in Abel’s arms—under his professionally chiseled body—on him, below him, on her back, on her knees, against a door . . . She fanned herself now.
“
You’re doing it again
and
now you’re fanning yourself?” Emily plopped down in the chair across from her. “Okay, what gives? Something has you as red and hot as chili pepper. Spill it.”
Emily was right. She
was
hot as a chili pepper. It wasn’t something, it was
someone,
and, no, she wasn’t about to talk about this here, especially not with all the sordid images and details that were flying at her now. But she’d at least relieve Emily’s curious mind about Logan. “There is nothing going on between Logan and me, other than my agreeing to go to a concert with him. I was just thinking of someone else. That’s all you’re getting. Now scoot. I have a lot of coordinating to do.”
Emily stood
, frowning. “Fine, but if Logan calls again, I’m grilling him.”
Nellie laughed.
“Grill all you want. You’ll be sorely disappointed.”
After putting a few things together and making some calls about the cocktail mixer, one of the biggest she
’d coordinated to date, she wrapped it up and left. She’d been so excited she’d forgotten to check her phone. Logan often called her office phone when she didn’t answer or respond to her texts. He was persistent that way. Sure enough, she’d missed his call and he’d texted her. She read his text.
Slightly Stoopid
, baby. You and me in a couple of weeks. No more excuses!
She refrained from groaning as she picked up her
laptop bag and purse. It wasn’t that she didn’t find him attractive. He actually was attractive and witty, but he’d only been contracted as a project accountant a few weeks ago, and he’d been determined he’d get her to agree to go out with him ever since. Something about that was a slight turnoff. Sure what woman didn’t enjoy being pursued by a good-looking man, but he was a bit
too
unrelenting. She didn’t want things to get awkward for them when they had to work together.
The Hope
for the Youth of ELA charity that she worked for now, in conjunction with the 5th Street Gym, was just getting off the ground, so this mixer that she’d been working on needed all the funding they could get. Now that the Ceja Vineyards had agreed to sponsor what booths were left and were incredibly generous about it, they had the green light to go all out. Nellie would be working even closer with Logan now, making sure all the monies were properly handled and well accounted for. She didn’t want anything to mess this up, and that included any awkwardness if things didn’t work out.
She hated to admit it even to herself
, and she certainly wouldn’t to Roni, but as long as Abel was in the picture, she didn’t see how anything with Logan or anyone else could work. She just wasn’t willing to give up the best sex she’d ever experienced so soon. Her ex-husband, Rick, should be hanged now that she knew how inadequate their sexual life had really been.
This only confirmed that she was so over him. After sex with Abel
, it’d be like indulging in a rich strawberry cheesecake dessert with loads of whip cream and the promise of no weight gain then giving it up for a rice cake with a dab of peanut butter. She’d never go back to that again. Abel had even taught her that asking for what she wanted wasn’t wrong. It was actually a turn-on to him, and if it was for him, it probably would be for other men as well, unless you were someone like Rick, who would most likely be annoyed because he wouldn’t be able to just roll over and snore once he was done.
There were definitely things she
’d be keeping to herself and not sharing with Roni because she wasn’t about to ruin the best thing that had happened to her in years for the sake of protecting her heart. If anything, this was an eye opener and a learning experience. Unlike what Roni was worried about, once this was over, she wouldn’t be sad or hurt. She’d be eternally grateful to Abel for helping awaken a side of her she never even knew she had in her. She even felt years younger and more energetic now.
On her way home
, she did as promised and called Roni back. Roni answered on the third ring. “What are you doing tonight?”
“
Uh, hello to you too.” Nellie laughed. “Nothing, well, working. I got the Palos Verdes cocktail mixer fully funded, more than funded since the Ceja Winery took all the booths left. I have a huge budget to work with now, so I’ll have my work cut out for me.”
“
That’s great, Nellie! I’ll let Noah know as soon as I’m off the phone.” Roni knew how hard Nellie had been working on this, but, still, Nellie felt something was off about Roni’s usual very genuine enthusiasm for Nellie and her work.
“
Why did you wanna know what I was doing tonight?”
“
Because I was hoping you’d say that you had a date with Abel.”
“
Why? I thought you didn’t like me being involved with him?”
“
Well, I do if it’s going to be an actual relationship. So when Noah mentioned that Abel had a
date
tonight, I thought either you two had decided to make things a little more serious or it’s exactly what I’m worried about. He’s going on a date while you go straight home
alone
.”
Nellie pressed her lips
together, glad that she was on the phone with Roni and that she wasn’t hearing this in person. She didn’t think she could pull off acting as if it didn’t matter as she’d been insisting to Roni all along. The thought of Abel rocking another woman’s world as he’d done to hers only a few nights ago, slammed through her violently. She knew from the very moment she decided to give into her desires—desires that had been mounting for months—that this reaction was a possibility. Since Abel hadn’t made a move prior to the cruise, even though he was obviously unable to hide his attraction to her, Nellie figured it was the age difference or that he simply wasn’t looking for anything serious.
Her decision hadn
’t been on a whim either. Abel had confirmed on that deck as she stared at his lips what she’d been thinking all along. He’d made it perfectly clear that he was very attracted to her but that he didn’t want to piss Noah off by messing with his wife’s best friend. With his career and this fight looming, he didn’t really have time for a social life at all, much less anything serious. Nellie had offered what she’d been considering for months: guilt-free sex with no strings attached. She’d made up her mind long before the cruise that if she ever had the opportunity to put it out there that way she would. So when she had it, she took it. Apparently, Abel had more time than he’d insinuated if he was making time for more than just her.