Random Meeting Read online

  He moved back and smiled at her, and she smiled as well. They were like a couple of naughty kids, doing something they shouldn’t. His strong hands held her face as if she were delicate porcelain as he ran his right thumb slowly along her bottom lip, then he leaned forward. His lips brushed against hers, caressing them from one end to the other. Alarm bells were ringing and saying this was much more than a kiss, but she decided to ignore them just for one moment, then she would ask him to go.

  That was a lie, and she knew it.

  His lips parted, and Beth tasted the sweetness of his coffee as she explored his mouth. She had forgotten how sensual a kiss could be as his lips pressed firmly against hers, and his tongue swirled and discovered every corner of her mouth. His arms encircled her waist, pulling her close as his body pressed into her. It was too long since she had felt a man against her, a man hard for her, wanting her. Her arms hung at her side. She didn’t trust herself to touch him. She didn’t trust herself to do anything. He pulled away, and she found herself leaning forward, her breathing rapid as her mouth and body ached and yearned for more.

  “I’d like to stay, Beth. You don’t know me, but I won’t hurt you, I promise. I just want to be with you.”

  She could tell him to leave, but he made her hot in places that had been cold for so long. Her need was frightening in its intensity. He stood still. She needed to be wanted by him tonight, even if he walked out the door in the morning. In fact, she wanted him to walk out the door in the morning. No one would know. Didn’t she deserve to have a night of passion with a stranger, to make up for all the pain?

  “Yes.” Was that her voice? It sounded breathy. He smiled at her and then bent his head so his lips touched her neck. His tongue swirled on her skin, causing her to melt inside. Her body was hot, and yet she shivered. The yearning she sensed deep inside was almost painful, but it was a good pain. She was still alive.

  He stopped and stood back. “You’re sure about this? I can still go. I don’t want to make you do anything you don’t want to.”

  Beth took a deep breath and nodded before she changed her mind, or her heart stopped from anticipation. He kissed her. She couldn’t remember a kiss before lasting so long … could lips be explored that much? He ran his tongue from one end of her lips to the other, and nipped at her lips as she nipped at his. And then he moved away.

  His hands rested on her hips and moved up under her t-shirt, causing goose bumps to rise where he touched her bare skin. His hands were rough, and it felt so personal as he gently rubbed them up and down her waist. Before she could think twice about her decision, he pulled her t-shirt over her head and threw it aside, and then his hands went back to her waist.

  He stood there gazing at her. What was she supposed to do? He stared at her with such longing, such passion. She had forgotten what it felt like. It felt as if she was a woman again, even if only for one night. Her body throbbed with an ache between her legs, an ache long forgotten.

  He ran the back of his hand down her neck and across the slope of her breast, and Beth leaned toward him again. He was mesmerizing her with a slow dance of seduction. His fingers moved along the line of lace at the top of her bra, and he rubbed her nipple with his thumb. It firmed and showed through the flimsy material. Her breasts ached as they pressed against the lace, straining to get closer to him.

  Beth took a deep breath and reached out to undo the top button of his shirt. He watched her movements with eyes full of passion as his breathing deepened. Her hands fumbled and shook as she undid the rest of the buttons and pushed the shirt from his shoulders. Such strong shoulders. She touched his muscled chest with her lips. Greg grabbed her upper arms and moved her away.

  She stared into the face of the stranger. A stranger she had invited back to her room––for the first time since she had met him, she shook with fear, not passion. She was a fool to have done this. She looked away and stared at the floor, too afraid to glance up at his face.

  “Beth, please don’t turn away from me. I’m sorry.” She lifted her gaze. He didn’t appear angry. His eyes were almost watering as if he were pleading for understanding. An understanding she didn’t comprehend. “I want to be here, and I want you to want me here. I know you don’t know me, but … let me stay and adore you.”

  He kissed her forehead, and Beth believed him. She was probably an idiot but had a feeling they both wanted to forget the past and live in the moment, just for tonight. He obviously didn’t want to be touched but was willing to touch her. She didn’t need to know his pain. She would accept his adoration instead.

  Scooping her up as if her nine and a half stone frame weighed nothing, he placed her on the bed and then lay down beside her. They weren’t touching. They just stared at each other. He devoured her with his eyes. She didn’t need emotion and love tonight. His raw physical need was enough for now. She didn’t have love to offer. Her great love was gone.

  Beth glanced at the tattoo on his left arm. It was a circle of barbed wire around his arm with a word on it: Pain. Maybe tonight they could both forget about the pain in their lives.

  Greg sat on the edge of the bed and removed his boots and then stood up and took his jeans off. Her breath caught as he stood there before her naked, his body hard, beautiful and aroused. As he lay back down next to her, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. The heat between her legs indicated her body wanted him, and her mind needed this.

  He leaned forward as his hand reached around and undid her bra. She moved to cover her breasts, but he stopped her and took her hands in his. “You’re beautiful, Beth. Don’t hide, not from me. Since the moment I saw you in the restaurant, I wanted to touch you.”

  Beth tried to control her breathing. She closed her eyes and lay back. Nothing happened. She opened her eyes again and smiled. He had been waiting for her again. He moved closer and lay on top of her, and she reveled in the touch of his warm naked skin pressing against hers. His lips touched her neck, and she gasped. She should stop this, but she was long past that. His kisses trailed down the slope of her breast. Wherever he touched, her skin tingled. He sucked and then gently bit her left nipple, the heat of his mouth shocking on her cool skin. She thrust her pelvis upwards against him as he bit harder and she moved her hands gently up and down his back, causing his skin to come up in goose bumps.

  “Stop.” The word almost came out as a growl as he stared down at her. Their bodies had been moving together with heat, and now she felt cold and afraid again. This was a mistake: he was angry, and a stranger who had her pinned to the bed.

  “Just let me touch you, Beth. I just want to please you so much.”

  “But you don’t want me to touch you?” She couldn’t hide the shakiness in her voice.

  “No.” He went to say something, but stopped. Taking a deep breath, he spoke again. “Some bad shit happened to me a while back. It’s not you, and I won’t do anything you don’t want me to. Please let me stay?”

  She might be a fool, but something inside of her said that he needed this as much as she did. She nodded.

  Greg rolled off and lay beside her. He kissed her slowly, with lips soft at first and then firm. Sometimes he would stop and place small kisses on every part of her face. Then he sat up beside her and undid her jeans, flicking the button and then lowering the zip as he grinned. Beth took a deep breath and lifted her hips and didn’t resist as he pulled them off along with her underwear. She reached up to the light switch above the bed, but his hand covered hers.

  “Turn it down, but don’t turn it off. You’re exquisite, and I want to look at you … all of you.”

  Beth melted with those words.

  ****

  Greg had expected her to reject him. She would, if she knew the truth. He considered it might be different after all this time with this lovely woman, but he had frozen when she touched him. Nobody touched him anymore, or probably ever would. He needed to be in control.

  Taking her hands in his, he held them on the pillow beside her head. Turnin
g them over, he kissed each palm and wrist. He moved back to her neck and pecked and kissed from her chin to her shoulder, and then went back to where he couldn’t resist: her breasts. They were beautiful, and her nipples were so hard; it was an injustice no man had touched them for three years. He wanted, no, he needed, to go lower. He hesitated but then let go of her hands as he kissed his way down her tummy to her triangle of auburn curls. For once in his life, he hoped things would go his way, and she wouldn’t try to touch him again.

  The smell of her as he rubbed his face in her curls was making him want to come. He had forgotten that musky smell a woman has when her sex is all heated up and ready. Moving up her body, he kissed her navel. She giggled, causing him to groan. Moving across to her inner thigh, he pecked at the skin. It was no good … he couldn’t wait any longer.

  Twelve years he had dreamt of this moment, and now this beautiful woman was before him. Her bud, her folds, her depths. God, he wanted to be there. As he touched her clit, she moaned. His tongue flicked against her, each flick causing a spasm. It wasn’t enough. His lips sucked on her as his fingers delved. So many years inside he had dreamt of this, and now this intoxicating woman was giving him a gift he didn’t deserve. At least he could do one thing right. He rolled off of her and grabbed the condom packet from the bedside locker.

  He was back on top, ready and willing, but stopped. She smiled as she looked up at him. Her lips parted as he kissed hers. She accepted his tongue into her mouth as he moved into her body.

  “I want to see,” he whispered.

  He moved so he could kneel between her legs, watching as he moved in and out of her body. He couldn’t hold back the groan escaping his throat. It was as if her body was melting around him. No one could be that hot. He lay down on her, and her legs encircled him as he thrust harder. He wanted this to go on forever and he kept moving with her, bodies together in unison as he held her hands in his on the pillow.

  “Yes,” she yelled out, and closed her eyes and bowed her back as he pushed into her. He was with her, breathing as fast as she was, their bodies pulsing together.

  “Beth.” He flicked her hair back from across her eyes and kissed her. For a long time, he kissed, he kissed her so he would remember every corner of her mouth. Each way her tongue fought with his to show passion. Eventually, with reluctance he moved away. He had forgotten the expression some women have afterwards, sort of glowing and disheveled. He moved off of her and smiled.

  “I don’t smoke, but I would love a whiskey. You want one?” He asked as he stood up.

  “Yes. I’d like that.”

  Greg headed for the bathroom. He deliberated for a moment about wasting himself in Beth’s wonderful body and staying here, not bothering to go to see Trudy tomorrow.

  It wasn’t an option.

  ****

  Beth pulled the sheets up to her chin and giggled. After what they’d just done, modesty seemed a bit pointless. Thank goodness he had used a condom. She couldn’t blame him for thinking he might get lucky––she hadn’t given a thought to contraception. It was as if she had lost her common sense with his first kiss.

  Tonight, she wasn’t Beth––mother, businesswoman, and widow. Tonight, she was just herself, a woman in need of a man’s touch. He stood there glorious and naked, offering her a glass of whiskey. This was so not her usual self, which was confirmed as she spluttered with the first mouthful.

  “I don’t usually drink whiskey. I suppose it shows.”

  Greg got in bed beside her.

  “Here’s to you doing things you don’t usually do. I take it you haven’t made a habit of picking up guys in pizzerias, either.”

  She shook her head.

  “You’re my first, and I suspect my last. Wouldn’t want to push my luck. I don’t know. It just seemed as though we were in a similar headspace. Does that sound silly?”

  They chinked glasses, and he winked at her.

  “I like where your headspace went.”

  His arm went around her shoulder and pulled her close, the warmth of his naked body behind her, reassuring, even if he was a stranger. A stranger she had just had sex with.

  “Okay, Beth. I have to ask, what made you change your mind tonight? I mean after three years … I’m not fooling myself. I’m no Tom Cruise.”

  “I never liked him. I’m umm, more of a Viggo Mortensen sort of girl.” Beth took another sip and considered what she would say next. “I’ve been coming to Gawler once every couple of months since Jeff died to see a medium.”

  “You’re kidding me, right … you believe that shit?” Greg laughed. “Look, I’m sorry, if it’s your thing.”

  Beth stiffened. “That’s okay. Most of my friends think I’m ridiculous doing this, or at least the ones who tell me.” Beth was used to this response, but it still made her defensive.

  “So, what does she do? Crystal balls and stuff?”

  “Christine, that’s her name, she closes her eyes and Jeff talks to me through her.” Beth peered at Greg. Would he think her mad? He smiled, appearing open to whatever she might say, or maybe he wanted more sex. It didn’t matter. She needed to talk.

  “Today, he told me to let him go and move on. I intended on drowning my sorrows tonight, in a bottle of wine, pepperoni pizza, and oblivion.” Why was she telling him this?

  “I’ve been called a lot of things before, but I’ve never been called oblivion,” Greg laughed. “You know if that’s what it takes to keep you going, you do what you need to.”

  “This isn’t me. I don’t do spontaneous things.” Beth finished the whiskey in one gulp. “I guess I wanted to be touched by someone. Jeff was my only partner. I don’t know what you must think of me, a woman sleeping with a person they’ve only just met. I know I shouldn’t be worrying about what you think, but considering what just happened… I’m rambling, aren’t I?” Beth bit her bottom lip.

  “Your secret’s safe with me, and you haven’t slept with me, yet.”

  She watched as he finished his whiskey and turned out the light. Turning on her side, he snuggled in behind her. She had forgotten how nice it was just to cuddle up to someone naked: The warmth of skin on skin. His right arm draped across her body, cupping her breast. She could hardly believe what she had done, but it was wonderful to drift off to sleep in the arms of someone you had been intimate with.

  ****

  Greg came awake with a start. Things didn’t sound right. This wasn’t his cell, which had consisted of his bed, the sink, the lavatory, his desk and a TV, and more importantly the locked door caging him in like an animal. He needed to slow his breathing and unclench his fists. Though not in restraints, his heart still pounded as he came to. He was on the outside, and in a motel, and he wasn’t alone. Someone was with him. It was Beth, the woman he had met. The woman he had convinced to let him stay.

  The room was dark, but he could make out her shape in the light coming in from the streetlamps. He held her close as his tremors eased and his pulse slowed. He ran his fingers through her hair: it was wavy and silky as he twisted a curl around his finger. Moving her hair aside, he brushed his lips down the smooth skin of the nape of her neck. She shivered, and even her goose bumps turned him on. Beth turned her head and smiled at him. She was an illusion come to life. With the tip of his tongue, he made a path down her spine, causing her back to arch and a moan to leave her lips. The sound was like music to a deaf man’s ears.

  He moved back up to her neck, nibbling on her shoulder, and she responded by pushing backwards. Her ass fit perfectly against him and was turning him on so much he thought he would explode. Greg moved his hand around her body and caressed her right breast. It was so soft, and yet her nipples were so hard. This woman sent him insane with her body. He slid his hand down over her abdomen and between her slightly parted legs. She was already hot and wet. His finger moved in and out of her as she started to move against his hand. He cupped her body and moved so he could use his fingers to guide himself into her. She gasped as he pushed the
length of his dick in. Her hand caressed his thigh. He tensed.

  “Touch yourself, Beth. I want to hear you come again,” he whispered.

  The feel of her was so tight, so hot. She panted and groaned, which spurred him on as she pushed back into him. With each thrust, he was going over the edge. Twelve years without being in a woman’s body and then he had this wonderful woman giving herself to him twice in one night. As she pushed back into him, he placed his one hand on her shoulder and thrust deeper. He ran his other hand down her back and over her taut buttocks and between her legs so he could feel himself move in and out of her. She was perfect. He couldn’t hold on any longer and groaned his release as she shuddered around him.

  “Ah, Jeff!” she yelled, as she came.

  She started to sob and then pulled away. He reached out to touch her, but she jumped from the bed and rushed to the bathroom. Even with the door closed he could hear her crying. He got up and poured another whiskey. There was no point going in there. He didn’t have a clue what to say. He sat on the bed and glanced at the other unopened foil packet on the bedside locker. Damn.

  He always protected himself, and he knew from what Beth said she wasn’t the kind to sleep around, even if she was with him. He hoped she was on the pill or something. He would leave his number, and if anything happened he could help with some money to get rid of it. No kid deserved him as a parent. A random sex partner was about the extent of his coming up to someone’s expectations.

  Beth left the bathroom but didn’t even glance his way. She lay there on the other side of the bed, cuddling her knees to her chest, and sobbed.

  What the fuck was he meant to do? They were two adults having fun. That was bullshit, and he knew it. He knew she was a widow with issues, but it hadn’t stopped him. She had even been willing to let him stay when he wouldn’t let her touch him. She had been everything he had dreamed about inside. He twisted her around toward him and hugged her. She went to move away, but he pulled her back. He was stronger. She stiffened, but then relaxed into him and cried. God, how she cried.