Table Of ContentYou Can’t Go Home Again
By Aubrianna Hunter
Edited, Produced, and Published by Writer’s Edge Publishing 2013
All rights reserved.
© 2013 by Aubrianna Hunter.
Prologue
His lips were soft but firm at the same time. She felt his warm tongue slip
between her parted lips, reaching in to graze her own. She had dreamed of this a
thousand times, but the reality was a thousand times better. He pulled her closer,
his hand skimming down her waist, settling on her hip. She felt his body, hard
and muscled, pressing against her. Desire pulsed through every pore.
She had no idea how they’d ended up here, knew she would question it later, but
for now it just felt right. Somehow, everyone else had left and they were alone,
on a blanket by the pond, warmed by the crackling fire. She let herself be drawn
into the kiss, let herself melt.
*
He’d only had two beers, yet he felt completely out of control. Lust raged
through his body, demanding to be sated. He felt his shaft pressing against his
shorts, harder than he could ever remember being. How had he never kissed her
before? How had he missed this? He’d been a fool to wait this long. He ran his
hand down her side, gripping her hip to pull her closer. He couldn’t get her close
enough. His tongue plunged into her waiting mouth, desperate to taste her…
everywhere.
He felt her nipples through the thin fabric of her bikini top, hard and tight,
pushing against his chest. He had to touch them. He brought his hand up, grazed
his thumb over the peak before pushing one half of her top aside. He forced
himself to move slowly, trailing kisses down her neck, across her collarbone
before finally settling into her breast.
He dropped soft kisses all around the peak of her breast, feeling her writhe
beneath him, whimpering.
“Please!” she begged.
At her plea, he finally closed his lips around her nipple, suckling deeply, grazing
it with his tongue before gently nipping. He heard her sigh, felt her hips lifting
up, pressing against him.
He was losing his mind, desperate to have her. He had been with his share of
He was losing his mind, desperate to have her. He had been with his share of
women, but nothing had ever come close to this. Losing the battle for control, he
rolled her onto her back, yanking her top off, freeing both her breasts to his
waiting gaze. When he saw the tips, a deep pink, tight and pointing, he groaned
and pressed his hips against the blanket, his body eager for release. He yanked
her shorts down, throwing them off to the side. She lay before him in only her
black string bikini bottoms, her eyes closed, head thrown back. Mine, echoed in
the back of his mind.
His shaft pulsed again, throbbing, pressing against his shorts until he thought it
would rip the fabric. He moved on top of her, resting on his elbows so he
wouldn’t hurt her. As his erection pressed against her sex, she rolled her hips,
whimpering. He thought he would spill his seed right then. He gritted his teeth,
moving down to suckle her luscious breasts again. He had always thought her
too skinny, but she had curves in all the right places, and he was desperate to
taste every inch of them.
When his lips closed over her nipple a second time, his thumb grazing the other
one, she moaned, writhing and twisting. She pressed her sex against his ribs, her
body already craving release. She was so responsive! He was never going to last.
“God, sweetheart, you’re making me crazy!” He trailed kisses down her torso,
untying the sides of her bottoms in the process. “You’re so wet…so tight. I need
to be inside you!”
His hand grazed down, brushing past her secret mound. He kept his touch light,
teasing, wanting to bring her to the same edge of reason he’d already reached.
Just as he was about to pull his hand away, he felt her muscles clench, signaling
her release. He thrust his finger in as deep as he could, pulling out and thrusting
again a little faster. He felt her sheath tighten, heard a scream rip from her throat.
The sensation of her milking his finger was almost more than he could handle.
He held on, grinding his hips against the blanket.
As he felt her muscles relax, he couldn’t wait any longer. He shoved his shorts
down, freeing his erection. Her eyes went wide as she looked down at his shaft.
“I promise I’ll be gentle—I’ll make it good for you.”
*
She saw the pleading expression on his face. Was it possible that he wanted her
She saw the pleading expression on his face. Was it possible that he wanted her
as much she wanted him? She nodded her head to show her consent. Then she
grabbed his shoulders, pulling him up her body, pressing her lips to his.
He was huge, capable of tearing her in two, but she trusted him not to hurt her.
And more, she needed him inside her. She was aching, empty. Her orgasm had
barely scratched the surface of her desire. As his lips met hers, she felt his cock
press against her, sliding between her folds. When his length slid over her nub,
her body heated once more, pulsing back to life almost painfully. The fine
smattering of crisp hair on his chest brushed her nipples, only increasing the
ache. She lifted her hips, grinding against him, silently begging him to take her.
*
Her slick heat against his erection pushed him even closer to the edge. She was
so soft, so warm….so perfect. He fisted his hands in the blanket, praying for
control as he pressed the head of his shaft against her waiting sheath. She lifted
her hips again, taking just the tip inside her, and a groan slipped from his lips.
He pushed forward, forcing her to take more of him, slowly, giving her time to
adjust to his size. He felt her muscles tightening again, beginning to contract
around him.
“Oh, Christ, are you going to come again?” His breathing was erratic, coming in
short gasps, his fists white-knuckled against the blanket.
She nodded, eyes closed, biting her lip to keep from screaming.
“Aaah, hell… I have to…” His hips thrust forward, shoving into her right as her
orgasm broke over her. He growled, fisting his hands into her long, thick hair.
He thrust harder, praying he wasn’t hurting her. He knew she had expected pain,
had seen the momentary fear in her eyes. He tried to go slow, give her time to
adjust. When he felt her body tighten, heard her gasp, he tensed. Had he hurt
her?
When her legs wrapped around his waist, urging him on, her hips lifting again to
meet his, relief mingled with desire. He sped his pace, losing the battle for
control.
This is so right! Harder, need to fuck her harder! Need more! He had never felt
this way, never been this way. As her hips rushed to meet him, her nails dug into
his shoulders. He threw back his head, crying out his release just as he felt her
his shoulders. He threw back his head, crying out his release just as he felt her
teeth sink into his chest, her nails raking down his back.
When they could move again, he rolled off her, wrapping the blanket around
them and pulling her in next to him. As he dozed off to sleep, he thought he
heard her murmur, “I love you.” He must have been dreaming.
She lay there, knowing she should be embarrassed by her response to him, yet
unable to feel anything other than satisfied. She had dreamed, so many times, of
being with him this way. Reality far surpassed even her most vivid fantasies. She
knew she was leaving tomorrow, knew he was leaving in three days for boot
camp. Somehow, they would work things out. It wasn’t like she’d never see him
again. They had been friends for years.
She woke up some time later, with a picture flashing through her mind. He was
sitting on the blanket they were wrapped in, head in his hands and a grim
expression on his face. She could hear his thoughts… What have I done? Oh, my
God! This was the worst mistake I’ve ever made.
She jumped up, slid on her shorts and yanked on her T-shirt. She saw her bikini
top and shoved it in her pocket. She couldn’t readily find the bottoms and after
just a few seconds, decided she didn’t care. She slipped on her sandals and
started running. It was only two miles home; she could make it in less than half
an hour. She glanced down at her watch, pulled out her cell phone and called the
airport. She could be in L.A. before noon.
Chapter 1
Danielle Foster walked into her apartment at two thirty in the morning. This had
been one of those unbelievably long days, although not a bad one. They had
finished filming the final scene of her current project. She was the assistant
producer of a midlevel budget film. Basically she was a gofer, but she was
making a name for herself. And she had tomorrow off!
She kicked off her shoes, dropped her purse in the corner and headed around the
kitchen bar to the fridge. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten, but
she was just too tired to care. She grabbed a bottle of water and shut the door,
promising herself she would make pancakes and eggs for breakfast.
She needed sleep…. Days and days of sleep. She had one. Day after tomorrow
they were back in the studio looking at film. It was time to start editing. She
padded into her bedroom, looking at her one sad little plant and making a mental
note to water it tomorrow. She headed through the bedroom to her dresser,
grabbing some pj’s and undies and turning back to the hall…and the bathtub.
Her little one-bedroom in Studio City was nothing special, but it was close to
work and had a weird L.A. charm all its own. It was small, but she didn’t need
much, and it was affordable. Besides, she was hardly ever home.
As she sunk down into her 1940s claw-foot tub, she felt the tension start to leave
her muscles. This had been her one indulgence in this apartment. She had talked
her landlord into letting her replace the old tub with this one. There was a claw
foot in her house back in Austin, Texas, and she had found that one little touch
made L.A. feel like home. She leaned back, sliding down further into the
bubbles. A deep sigh escaped her lips. She would have to be careful not to fall
asleep in here.
As long as her weeks sometimes were, Dani loved her job. She had come to L.A.
after college hoping to get some menial job cleaning up in a studio somewhere.
She had been hired as an intern on some crappy B horror movie that no one has
ever heard of. But at least she was in the “industry.” She had worked hard for the
last five years to get to her current position. And she knew she would work hard
for the next ten years to be able to produce her own movie. But she loved every
minute of it.
She had been told, many times by many people, that she was on the wrong side
of the camera. With her face and figure, she could “go places.” Even if she had
believed that, she’d never wanted to be in front of the camera. Even in high
school and college she’d been backstage.
She climbed out of the tub, barely having the energy to towel off, and padded
down the hall back to her bedroom. She threw her towel over the chair in the
corner and flopped onto her bed naked, with wet, uncombed hair, completely
exhausted. There were some advantages to living alone. She yanked her blanket
over her, closed her eyes and was asleep within seconds.
*
For some reason her alarm was going off. She hadn’t set it last night, had she?
She couldn’t imagine why she would have. This was her one day to sleep. As
she rolled over, wiping the drool from her mouth, it finally occurred to her that it
wasn’t her alarm, but her telephone. Bleary eyed, she glanced at the clock as she
reached her hand toward the nightstand, grabbing blindly to stop the damn
ringing. 6:23. Who in the hell was calling her at 6:23 in the morning?
“Someone had better be dying,” Dani said by way of greeting. “If not, I can
make it happen.” When she heard the voice on the other end squealing with joy,
she debated hanging up. Unfortunately, even squealing, she recognized Jenn’s
voice.
Jenny, her lifelong best friend, would never call this early unless it was
important. But, just to be certain, Dani felt she should state the time, make sure
she realized there was a two-hour time difference between them. “You do
remember that it’s two hours earlier here than it is in Texas, right, Jenn?”
“Yes, grump butt, I remember. But, I just had…”
“And you do remember that I am not what you would call a morning person,
right?”
“That would be an understatement, Dani. But, I just wanted to tell…”
“So, I’m assuming it’s something vitally important for you to call me before six
thirty and squeal in my ear before I’ve even had coffee, right?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, if you would just shut your yap a
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, if you would just shut your yap a
minute!” Jenn laughed. “Brian finally proposed!!!”
Brian was Jenn’s boyfriend of over three years. He was also one of a group of
four who had been friends since high school. Dani never knew what had finally
brought Jenn and Brian together, but personal experience had taught her not to
question love and chemistry. Knowing that two of her best friends were going to
spend the rest of their lives together really was worth being woken up.
“Dani, did you hear me? I’m getting married!”
Jenn was squealing again, so Dani had to say something, if only to save her
eardrum. “Jenn, I’m so happy for you! I know you’ve been waiting for this.
Brian is a lucky guy, sweetie, really. You guys are great together.”
Dani meant every word she said, even though there was a tiny ache starting in
her chest. She was truly happy for her friend. She remembered her thoughts from
last night. She loved her life, loved her career. She wouldn’t change anything
about it. But sometimes…
“I know, I’m so happy, Dani. You have no idea! And, I’ll be even happier once
you agree to be my maid of honor.”
Dani bolted upright in bed, swiping furiously at her hair, trying to get the knotted
mess out of her eyes. She couldn’t have heard that correctly. “What? Say that
again.” Please don’t be what I thought I heard.
“Wow, you really aren’t good without coffee, are you? I said, would you be my
maid of honor?”
Dani felt her heart plummet, crashing into her stomach. She should have seen
this coming, but she hadn’t. Jenn and Brian had been together almost four years.
At asome point they were obviously getting married. And she should have
expected to be in Jenn’s wedding, if not as the maid of honor, at least as a
bridesmaid. They were only best friends! Dani swiped her hand through her hair
again, trying not to audibly sigh. There was no way out of this.
“Dani, I can hear you thinking. Come on, I know this will be hard for you, but
please… There is no one else I want as my maid of honor.”
One more yank on her hair and Dani heard herself say, “Of course, Jenn. It’s not
One more yank on her hair and Dani heard herself say, “Of course, Jenn. It’s not
hard for me. I’m just not awake yet.” She forced enthusiasm into her voice. “Of
course I’ll be in your wedding. Did you honestly think you could get married
without me there?”
She heard Jenn squeal again, followed by the unmistakable sound of hands
clapping together in glee. As much as she was dreading this, she couldn’t help
but smile.
After a second, Jenn’s voice came back on the phone. “Okay, the wedding’s in
three months! July twelfth. I already have your dress designed, I’ll send you the
picture later today. Oh, and just send me your measurements and I can have it
made for you here, with all the others. Unless you’ve gained massive amounts of
weight since I saw you two months ago, the dress will look perfect on you, and
since you never gain weight, it will be great. So, I know that summer is a busy
time for you, but since the wedding is so close to Fourth of July, I was thinking
maybe you could come out for ten days or so? Please say yes! It would be so
much fun to have you here for all the last-minute stuff, and for a kick-ass
bachelorette party!”
Dani laughed. “So, it seems like you have a lot already planned. When did he
ask you?”
“Last night, officially, but we’d been talking about it for a while, so I had
already picked out the dresses and stuff. Mine too, actually. We picked the date
last night. But we had kind of discussed that too. We’re getting married in my
parents’ backyard, so we could do it whenever we wanted to. I know it will be
hot as Hades, but we’ll put up tents and everything else, so it should be okay.
Can you come? Please say you can come for the whole ten days, not just the
wedding.”
Dani cringed. Ten days at home. Ten days with a group of people she hadn’t
seen in almost five years. Jenn knew she didn’t want to go to Texas, although
she didn’t really know why. No one did. At least, not the whole why.
Jenn heard the sigh that Dani tried to hide. “Dani, look, I know you don’t want
to come here. I know that being home is hard for you. You don’t even deal with
your family’s house. You have the rental company handle it instead. And I have
never complained that the only time I get to see you is when I come to Los
Angeles. But I need you to do this. This is really important to me. The happiest
event of my life. And I want to share it with you. I’m playing the friend card,
