Free UnderFire by Denise A. Agnew Page B

they were a lifeline. He watched her wildness spread, her head
back as with one last movement she came down on him and groaned harshly. She
quivered, her pussy clenching and throbbing around him in fast pulsations. He
couldn’t last, and a moan of mind-blowing ecstasy left his throat as he burst
into climax and the last notes of the music faded.
    * * * * *
    Kathleen was reasonably certain she’d lost her mind. She
looked around the holiday chaos in Danelle and Patrick’s big living room at
their house in the woods outside of town. Her friends joked and seemed to be
having a great time. Kathleen, however, could only worry about how things would
turn out this weekend for all of them. It was driving her batty.
    Kathleen and Jake had arrived early with the food they’d
promised to bring. Lena and Rick had arrived separately and Melanie and Matt
had come in one car. It seemed in one way or another they were all still tied
together. She wondered how much longer the dream would last. Kathleen kicked
herself all over the place because she hated that deep pessimism she seemed to
have been born with—or that she’d learned from her father’s relentless cruelty.
    All she could think about was how sexy Jake had looked as
she’d ridden him to a breath-stealing orgasm. When she’d danced to the raunchy
song and taken total control of their lovemaking, she’d wondered why she’d felt
safe enough with him to let it all hang out. It hadn’t mattered. Deep primal
craving had stirred her until she’d discarded caution. She’d never participated
in sex that raw before and it scared her in a way she didn’t understand at
first. She knew she wanted him with a potent desire that wouldn’t disappear.
    Across the room Jake laughed at something Rick said, and she
ached. Ached like she had some sort of lovesickness, damn it. A new song came
over the digital television’s music station. The melody had a soft but sexy
beat and spoke of love lost and found. Kathleen wanted to smack herself for
noticing and connecting everything to her growing feelings for Jake Frasier.
    Cold weather outside mocked her. She wanted to be locked
away with Jake for the next several weeks doing nothing but having mind-numbing
sex and sleeping. As she watched the men joking around, her gaze wouldn’t leave
Jake. While Matt, Rick and Patrick were undeniably good-looking men, feelings
swamped over her whenever she heard that low, slightly raspy voice that
belonged only to Jake. She found it hard to concentrate and recognized she’d
become so infatuated with him she couldn’t see straight. She tried to tell
herself not to think beyond Saturday. He’d be gone on Sunday and then she’d
return to Los Angeles and make decisions on what to do with the rest of her
life. An empty ache started low in her stomach at the thought of Jake not being
somewhere in the picture.
    “Come on, ladies.” Danelle headed toward her master bedroom.
“We have some girly stuff to do.”
    The guys grunted like only men could, the sounds primitive
and predictable. Kathleen and the others followed Danelle like the good friends
they were. She wanted them to try on the dresses one last time to make sure no
last-minute adjustments would be needed. Thankfully she was also a damn good
seamstress in her own right if anything required fixing. They all slipped into
their dresses. The gentle blush-pink color of their long gowns complemented the
understated elegance of Danelle’s full-length cream-colored off-shoulder dress
and its short train. Nothing featured too much frippery or finery, just clean
lines and grace. The ensemble of dresses fit everything in Danelle’s wedding
perfectly.
    Danelle smiled, tears in her eyes as she looked into the
mirror above the dresser. “Everyone looks so pretty.” She laughed. “I’d say
group hug but we’d get wrinkled.”
    “Hell with that, group hug anyway,” Kathleen said as tears
welled in her eyes too.
    The girls huddled together and giggled.