STORY EXCERPT

A hand lightly touched her shoulder, and Pine turned her head. “Can I buy you a drink?” asked the man who had come in moments before.

“You can buy me a club soda with lime in it.”

He grinned, looking at her drink. “Is that what you always drink?”

“Mostly.”

“Odd. I was under the impression that most women came here to get drunk and get laid.”

“Odd,” she retorted. “Most of the women I have spoken to are looking for love.”

“They are looking in the wrong place. May I?” he asked, gesturing to the stool next to her.

Pine shrugged, smiling at the playfulness in his large, green, expressive eyes. There was something extremely unusual about him, a wisdom or maybe a knowledge that wasn’t usually found in men perusing pick-up bars. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

“I’ve been to a few of your seminars. I found them refreshing.”

“Now you have me at a disadvantage. You know who I am.” She examined him closer, tilting her head in memory. “Max Avery. You were at my last seminar. We spoke briefly before I had to go on stage. I was actually hoping to see you again, but…”

“Yes, I was. I have been trying to get in touch with you ever since. I have called your number, and it keeps telling me that you are temporarily unavailable. The message keeps referring me to one of two other noted homeopaths in the area. Do you ever check your messages?”

Pine shook her head wearily. “Rarely. I try to stay away from things that are depressing. Listening to someone cry on the phone about how they need to see me is depressing.”

“Why did you drop out of sight?”

“I have my reasons. How did you know I was here?”

He chuckled guiltily. “I umm, should lie and say I didn’t. I’m a rotten liar. I got tired of doing things the right way and gave up. I tapped into your phone line so I could monitor your calls. I know you have been taking cabs and have my phone set up to notify me when you called for one. It was simple to get the destination, and here I am.”

She laughed. “Are you a stalking hacker or just looking for love in the wrong place?”

Max rolled his eyes guiltily. “I’m neither. I’d say hacker elite.”

“If you have the technical knowledge to tap my phone and know that I always take a cab, don’t you know why?”

He avoided her interrogating gaze, wrinkling his nose and running his tongue between his bottom teeth and his lip. Then Max nodded slowly. “I was trying to be discreet.”

“I was trying to get an endorphin rush from some guy who would get dressed and get the hell out without prying into my life.” She spun the chair and walked away from him. If she had met him ten years ago, before Martin, Max would have been exactly what she adored. He had boyish good looks and an extremely well-accented body. In the current situation, she was not interested in having someone in her life that had boyfriend potential. There would be no more serious relationships in her potentially short future. Pine hurried out the door of the bar, flipping open her phone. In the morning she would see to getting a number that couldn’t be so easily traced.

“Pine!” Max bellowed as he strode after her. “Stop!” he commanded, grabbing her by the shoulder.

“Get your hands off of me!”

“You are going to die, Pine.”

“I’m well aware of that. There isn’t much you can do about it, is there?” she asked sarcastically as she spun on him. “What kind of fucked-up individual are you? You hack into my personal life, follow me to a bar, and expect that I will be overjoyed. Am I supposed to be impressed, honored, what?”

The bouncer hurried around the corner staring at them. “Is everything okay, Pine?”

The sadness radiating in Max’s eyes touched her, and she sighed. “I’m fine, Henry. Thank you.”

“Anytime, Pine. Yell if you need me.”

“I will.”

Henry gave Max a warning look and headed back inside.

“Personal friend?” asked Max.

“Yes. He was a friend of my ex-husband. It’s part of the reason I come here.”

He chuckled. “I think it more likely because you are the most beautiful woman in the bar. You look twenty years younger than any of them.”

Pine shrugged, knowing that it was the truth. Her long, sandy-brown hair and unnaturally dark-blue eyes accented a face that had remained almost untouched by time. Even at fifty-one, she didn’t have any deep wrinkles or gray hairs. Her skin was radiant and unmarred by dark patches or age blotches. She had never been beauty-queen beautiful, but attractive in an understated way. Her lifestyle hadn’t stopped the cancer, but it had helped her appearance hold its own against her age and her disease. “Thank you. I guess if you went to all this trouble, I should hear you out. What do you want?”

“I want to spend some time with you. Have sex with you if you want.” He grinned. “I am really good in bed if you are honestly looking for an endorphin rush. I want to talk to you and pick your brain. I’m not asking for a commitment. No strings. It would be nice if you wouldn’t throw me out, but I’ll leave if you want. Just give me a chance, please?”

“How old are you?”

He seemed to consider the question and then shrugged. “Twenty-seven.”

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. “You have to be kidding me. You’re half my age.”

“Not quite.”

“I don’t get it.”

Max sighed heavily as if an explanation was going to be physically painful. “Get what? My fiancée dragged me to one your seminars last year. I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since. Do you believe in eternal connections?”

“As in what? Reincarnation, love at first sight because of past lives?”

“Yes. Eternal connections between people, in this case you and me.” His voice cracked slightly, and Max cleared his throat. “I knew it the minute I saw you. I know it as a truth more real than anything in my life.”

ADULT EXCERPT

“No.” He stepped closer to her, removing her light jacket and laying it on the chair. Pine had an overwhelming urge to grab him by the hair and kiss him. She restrained herself, wondering what he would do next. Max did exactly what she had been thinking. His fingers twined in her hair, and he put his lips to hers. The kiss began softly, gently, and then his tongue slid into her mouth. She met the embrace with vehemence, her mouth crushed against his as he lifted her into his arms. Pine was stunned by the passion flaring in her own body. Her cunt was throbbing with need, the sensation demanding but not unwelcome. She had been very lonely since the doctor had announced her death sentence. The reaction she was having to Max was far beyond anything she had ever felt. Her need to be with him was stronger, and she longed for the feel of his naked body against hers. Max laid her down on a bed in a dimly lit room and then stood. He had Pine’s complete attention as he slowly tugged his shirt up over his head. The light from the kitchen left the front of his body in shadows, accenting him as if he was a spectacular ethereal presence. He held out his hand, and she took it, sitting up. Max dragged her blouse off and then put his palm to her chest, playfully pushing her back onto the mattress. He unzipped her jeans and slid them off with her underwear in a single perfect motion. Pine pushed herself onto her elbows, her head tilted in expectation.

Max flexed his hips, swinging them seductively, and then stood motionless before her. Pine took it as an invitation and sat up, unzipping his pants and tugging them off. He had nothing underneath, and he stood in all his glory before her. His cock was partially erect, and Pine was impressed. “Nice,” she whispered seductively as her eyes roamed over his body. He was absolutely gorgeous, his chest and abdomen muscled. He had a light coating of hair over his upper body, but not enough to be irritating to her sensitive skin. It appeared silky, and she ran her fingers over it. “Wow, you hair is really soft.”

“So I have been told. I’ll explain that later.”

The comment seemed odd, but Pine didn’t care as she put her hands to his hips and pulled him toward herself. He lifted her by her sides, sliding her up onto the bed as he crawled over her. Max dropped lightly onto her, his mouth finding hers again. Pine slid her fingers into his hair, the feel of it almost overly soft against her palms. Max pulled back slightly, looking directly into her eyes. “I want you so badly. I have since the first time I saw you.”

A smile touched her lips as she let her fingers trail down the muscular lines of his chest. “I want you, also. Make love to me, Max.”

“I plan to.” He slipped downward, his mouth to her breast as he kissed the skin in a circular pattern, slowly moving into the center. When he sucked her nipple into his mouth, Pine moaned softly. A rolling shimmer of sensation seemed to flow from his mouth down into the innermost parts of her cunt. The muscles flexed and released, the tingle of orgasm growing steadily as he licked and nipped his way downward. He stopped at the swell of her mound, looking up at her with enticing eyes. “Do you want my tongue or my dick?”

“If you are going to give me an option, I’ll take both.”

“Happy to oblige.” Max pushed her lower lips open, flawlessly hitting her clit as he began to lap at her with the precise amount of pressure.

His touch was glorious. His fingers slowly sinking into her overly wet flesh. Her cunt instantly snatched at his hand as he stroked the inner walls, his tongue playing music on her clit. She didn’t want to climax this way, and she was far too close to doing so. “Stop. You are killing me.”

“I presume that is a good thing by the sound of your moans and whimpers.”

Pine giggled. “Yes, it’s good. Get up here and fuck me, please.”

Max slithered up her body, urging her thighs up his sides as his now-hardened dick teased her opening with short, probing thrusts. Pine slapped his shoulders, the urge to have him inside so strong she was going to scream. The warmth of his cock filled her slowly and firmly, invading the throbbing muscles. Pine’s hips collided with his as her entire lower body rose from the bed. The reaction was unexpected and dramatic, her muscles clamping around him. With a single hard thrust of his dick, Pine gasped for air, screeching as the climax hit. She was thrashing against him, the feeling so wondrous that her mind seemed to drift in the swell of her pulsing pussy. Max gritted his teeth, a gurgle of sound flowing from his throat as he kissed her face.

He inhaled quickly, and then chuckled softly as he rolled to his back and pulled her onto his body.

Pine leaned her head into his. “Oh shit. What did you do to me? That was fantastic.”

“I agree. I knew it would be. Maybe it will last a little longer the next time.”

“I guess we were both a little overheated.”

“Something like that. Ready for round two?”

She felt the swell of his cock as he rubbed it against her thigh. “Didn’t you come?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop.”