Page 16 of Ignite

She slipped off the stool, but his hand on her forearm stopped her. “Did I upset you? Whatever I did, please accept my apology.”

His tone was like velvet, and she wanted to hear more. “No, no, nothing like that. I’m just… I got divorced recently, and I thought I was ready for”—she gestured between them—“for this, but it’s too much too soon.”

If he had gotten mad at her, yelled or cursed at her, that would have been easy. She would have flipped him off and left. Instead, he gave a sigh that sounded defeated and nodded. “I understand. I lost my wife a year ago, and I’m still not over it yet. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

He sounded so genuine, sympathy hit her heart. “I’m so sorry for your loss. It must be hard.”

He gave her a sad smile that made him even more handsome. “It is sometimes. I’m on the road so much for work, and it gets lonely. I thought this app would help me to meet people and start healing, but….” He shrugged with his unfinished sentence.

Lynn swallowed her previous intentions. “Well, since you’re here, why don’t we have a drink? Just talk for a little while.”

He smiled, showing incredibly white teeth. “Would you mind if we move to a booth? It’s a little more private that way.”

One drink turned into several. She told him about her husband—ex-husband now—cheating on her with a younger woman in his law firm. Gilbert asked about her work at the school. She mentioned her cats taking over her apartment, but she wouldn’t give them up no matter what. “I have four, and they’ve been with me through the whole ordeal.”

He talked about his job in hotel marketing, extensive travel, and how he wished he could be at home with his children. “My parents take care of them now. I want to be there for them, as they’re still grieving for their mother, but it’s impossible with my job, and I can’t do anything about it. I’ve looked for something else, but I can’t find one that pays like this one.”

Lynn couldn’t help but stare at his full lips as he spoke. He was such a nice man and sounded like a good father and was a good husband. Loving, faithful, kind, sexy as hell.

“I’m sorry this didn’t work out. You really are a beautiful woman, and I’m very glad to have met you. May I walk you to your car?”

“I took the metro tonight, but we can go walk around the square outside for a bit before I leave.”

“That would be lovely.”

The Southern California night was clear and warm. Gilbert took her hand as they left the restaurant and walked outside the tall building. The sounds of the city surrounded them as they strolled. Lynn marveled at Gilbert’s easy manner. He didn’t let go of her hand, keeping it in a firm grip as they walked. Each time she glanced at him, he returned her gaze with a gentle smile. It had been such a long time since a man paid this kind of attention to her. What would it be like to be with him? As inbewith him? That was why she was here, right?

As they circled back to the hotel, he lifted their joined fingers and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand. “I realize you have to go, but is there any possibility that you’d like to come up for a little while? Perhaps look at the stars from my balcony?”

Lynn hesitated. Going up to the man’s room to see stars wasn’t the only invitation she heard. “Are you sure?”

His eyes darkened, and Lynn’s breath caught with the burn she saw in them. “Absolutely.”

He started kissing her in the elevator. Gentle at first, then with increased hunger. By the time they got into his room, she was breathless. He started pulling her clothes off as they stumbled through the suite and had her stripped to her panties by the time he got them to the bedroom. Lynn gasped as he pushed her flat to the mattress with her legs draped over the edge and yanked the last barrier down her thighs. “I’ve never done this before. A one-night stand that is.”

He grinned as he knelt between her legs. “Then let’s make it memorable.” His mouth descended.

Lynn cried out as he drove her to orgasm without mercy. Even after she came the first time, he kept eating her until she climaxed again. Only after she came a third time did he relent. He stood up and shed his own clothes, revealing a tight masculine body. Sleek muscles, lines across his flat stomach, broad chest, and even a nipple ring.

Magnificentwas her only thought as he rolled on a condom. She glanced at her stomach and made to put her hands over the loose skin.

Gilbert stopped her by drawing them away. He pushed his hips between her generous thighs and placed her arms above her head as he came down on her body. “No, beautiful. Don’t hide this from me.”

“I’m a little self-conscious about my age, and—oh!”

He’d found his mark and slid inside her wet pussy in one firm stroke. “Does that feel like I care about our age difference?”

“No,” she gasped as he moved in and out of her. She didn’t think she could climax again, but it was definitely going to happen. He drove her to it with long, steady, precise strokes that showed no mercy as they brought her to another orgasm. His words washed over her as he moved. “Come with me, baby.Mere priya. My beautiful Lynn. Show me. Come. Come now.”

She bowed up as she came screaming his name. He slammed into her harder and harder until he joined her, voicing his own release, and then collapsed on top of her. Lynn took his weight and ran her palms over his slick back. Her body hummed with a satisfaction she hadn’t felt in a long time. It was unexpected and really,reallynice.

“I haven’t made love to a woman since my wife died,” he confessed. “Thank you, my love. You have no idea how much this means to me.” He kissed her sweetly and nuzzled her cheek. “Would it be too much to ask if we can take a bath together?”

She smiled and nodded at him. He smiled back and winked at her as he left the bed to go prepare in the bathroom. He didn’t bother to get dressed or cover himself, and she watched his smooth buttocks flex as he walked away. It took everything in her not to squeal like one of the teenage girls she counseled. Never had sex been so fulfilling. So thorough. She felt like she was floating above the clouds. Gilbert was everything she’d ever wanted in a man.

The snarky part of her wished her ex’s fuck toy good luck in getting the same thing. After twenty-five years of being with Gerald, she knew his standard-operational-procedure sex was completed in five to ten minutes, and once he was done, he was done. That was also after taking a little blue pill. Lynn smirked at the idea of her ex seeing her now, naked and being fucked deliciously by a man fifteen years or so her junior.

The water was just hot enough for a long soak. He helped her step into the tub and then pulled her to rest against him, her back to his front.

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