Abel (5th Street #4) Read online

  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 Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  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

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  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

  Epilogue

  A Note to My Wonderful Readers

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  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 his 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.

  Chapter 1

  To 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.”