Unveiling Forever_A Novella Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek of Unveiling Hope

  About the Author

  Other Books

  Unveiling Forever

  Copyright © 2017 Jeannine Allison

  Cover Design © Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations for a book review.

  This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek of Unveiling Hope

  About the Author

  Other Books

  For Gabe and Alara.

  Thank you for giving life to this series.

  And you’ll always love me won’t you?

  Yes.

  And the rain won’t make any difference?

  No.

  —Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

  August

  MY EYES WERE FIXED on the rise and fall of her chest. The blinds were swaying, courtesy of the air conditioner above the window, and the sun streaming in fell over Alara in beautiful gold ribbons with each ripple. An occasional reflection would hit me when a ray graced her chest, hitting the olive branch necklace I got her for our first Christmas.

  We were in our house—yes, our house—lounging in bed on a Sunday morning. It was perfect. The kind of happiness I’d always dreamed of. The kind of happiness I wished my mom were here to see, to experience with me.

  Well, not right this second. That would be weird and disgusting considering Alara and I were both naked and I had a hard-on from watching my girlfriend sleep.

  Alara shifted around for a few seconds before her eyes fluttered open. She turned her head my way and gave me a sleepy grin, just like she had every morning for the past week since we’d moved in together.

  “You’re making me feel bad because I don’t wake up early and stare at you while you sleep,” she murmured. I laughed as I palmed her waist and pulled her against me.

  “Don’t feel bad. I’m rather unattractive when I’m asleep, I’m sure of it.”

  “And my bedhead is the epitome of an aphrodisiac?”

  I laughed louder, loving the fact that I no longer had to worry about waking anyone else up in another part of the house.

  “You’re an aphrodisiac,” I said. Alara started chuckling.

  “Oh boy. Is this the honeymoon phase of moving in together?”

  “Yes.” I dipped my head and nuzzled the side of her neck before placing a kiss just below her ear. “Now let me be cheesy and stupid and spoil you.”

  “Oh, if you must,” she said, throwing her arms around my neck and turning us so I settled over her.

  Lifting my head, I gazed down at her, a grin pulling at my lips. “Morning.”

  “Good morning,” she said just as softly. Our lips met and I slowly rolled my hips. Her breath hitched and I groaned as my dick slid over her slick clit. We stayed like that for a few torturous minutes before I reached into the nightstand and grabbed a condom.

  Alara was breathing hard as I moved back onto my knees and started stroking myself, the condom waiting on the bed beside me. Her dusty pink nipples were hard and I saw goosebumps break out down her arms. I watched, enraptured, as her fingers danced over her thigh until they reached her clit.

  She shuddered and her mouth dropped open as she began slowly rubbing. My strokes quickened and her circles got tighter. We’d never done this before, but fuck… it was hot. Why the hell hadn’t we?

  “Are you imagining me leaning down and slowly sliding inside you, burying myself deep before pulling out and thrusting back in?”

  Alara whimpered and shook her head. “N-no. I’m picturing myself on my hands and knees, your fingers buried in my hair as you slam into me from behind.” She moaned and worked her finger faster. “Fucking me so hard the bed shakes.”

  “Shit…” I rasped out, my hand pumping tight and fast. “I… We should…”

  She nodded quickly and I scurried back, tearing the wrapper and rolling the condom on. I fumbled with it, my hands shaking with my need for release. When I finally had it secure I looked up to see Alara’s perfect ass. Her head was tilted down toward the bed and her hands were fisting the sheets so tight her knuckles were white.

  Moving behind her, I grabbed her hips and positioned myself. I was thrilled to feel her body trembling just as badly as mine. “Look at me.” My voice was low and husky, almost threatening.

  Her head turned and the second her heated eyes met mine I rammed into her.

  “Ahhh…” Alara’s mouth dropped open and her eyes fluttered shut. She kept her cheek against the sheets as I pulled out and quickly thrusted back in. Over and over I did this before I remembered her hair. Leaning forward, I gently weaved my fingers through it before pulling her head back.

  I couldn’t see her face anymore—which was one of my favorite parts of having sex with Alara—but the sounds coming out of her mouth more than made up for it.

  “G-Gabe… God, yes… H-harder…” She was moaning and crying out with so much pleasure, I knew this wasn’t going to last long. Desire pooled low in my stomach as I moved even faster. The bed started shaking and both of us were fucking gone after that.

  “Alara! Shit, fuck, you feel so good,” I groaned.

  “Yes, yes, yes… don’t stop,” she whimpered at the same time, reaching back to grab my thigh.

  I fucked her harder than I ever had, and she gave it just as good, shoving her ass back until we were both shouting out our release.

  We slowly kept moving as we gradually came down. I twitched inside her and her inner walls choked me. We both moaned, our bodies unwilling to let up until we felt every last drop of pleasure.

  When we finally stopped she collapsed and mumbled into the sheets, “Holy shit, that was amazing.”

  Falling down next to her, I took off the condom, tied it off, and tossed it in the wastebasket nearby. We’d been keeping it close lately.

  “Surely there’s a better word for it,” I panted out, throwing my arm over my eyes. I heard her shift and when I looked over she was still on her stomach but now her head was turned my way.

  “Probably, but you fucked the smart out of me.”

  I grinned, running my hand down her back. “What are your plans today?”

  “I have to head into the lab for a bit and I’m having lunch with my sister. What about you?”

  “It’s my day off.”

  Since I was a bartender and Alara had a job in one of her old professor’s labs, we often had weird work schedules that didn’t adhere to the Monday through Friday, eight to five, work week. We at least tried to have Sundays off together, but we couldn’t a
lways control when we were needed.

  “I’ll probably start building some of the bookshelves in the office,” I added.

  “Oh, that’d be great. I put the pictures I wanted up in there right outside the door.”

  “I saw.” With a smile, I kissed her nose. “I’ll take care of those, too. And let me know when you’re on your way home so I can start dinner.”

  “Will do.” She captured my lips with hers.

  I sighed. If I could, I’d live in this moment forever.

  The front door slammed shut just as I moved toward the sink to wash my hands.

  “Hey,” Alara said as she walked over to me. My hands were still under the faucet so she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, but before she could pull too far away one of my hands curled around the back of her neck.

  She yelped as the water dripped down her shirt. Anything she might have said was cut off as I brought my lips to hers, my tongue sneaking inside and wrapping around hers. Moaning into my mouth, she dropped her hands to my waist, her fingers slipping under the hem of my shirt and dipping into my sweats, pulling me closer.

  My free hand fumbled with the faucet and then I finally got my second soppy hand on her. This one dropping to her thigh and lifting her leg. We both groaned as I twisted us until her back hit the counter and my hips thrusted into hers. She broke the kiss, gasping for breath as her head tipped back.

  “We seem to have a thing for counters,” she murmured as my lips moved across her jaw.

  I shook my head. “I have a thing for you.” My hand found its way up her inner thigh, my fingers moments from slipping beneath her underwear, when the timer on the oven went off.

  “Shit.” My head fell to her shoulder. “That’s the garlic bread. The spaghetti is already done.”

  “I’m gonna go change.”

  Breathing heavy, I let her slide out and leave. I listened to her pad down the hallway, my hands gripping the counter as I tried to control myself.

  When she returned from our bedroom, dressed in a black tank top—sans bra—and dark green sleep shorts, I was sitting at the table, phone in hand and everything set up.

  “It smells amazing. Thanks for cooking,” Alara said as she sat down.

  “‘Course.” I grabbed her plate and loaded it up. “How was lunch with Jackie?”

  “It was good. Megan’s birthday is coming up and she invited us to her party.”

  “Hmmm…” I pretended to think about it, but Alara didn’t even bother calling my bluff. She knew how much I loved her niece.

  We spent the rest of dinner talking about anything and everything, usually while laughing, and when we were finished eating we both cleaned up. Unsurprisingly, we ended up in a similar position to the one we’d been in before dinner.

  I was standing between Alara’s legs as she sat on the counter. Her top was bunched around her waist, her bare breasts inches from my mouth. My lips were moving down the column of her throat and she slowly rolled her hips into mine.

  The image of her on her hands and knees suddenly flooded my mind. Just thinking about this morning had my cock twitching.

  “I can’t wait,” I whispered into her skin.

  “Then don’t,” she moaned as I pulled one of her taut nipples into my mouth. “I think most couples christen the house when they move in together, yeah?”

  Grinning, I pulled back and looked up at her. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” Her soft smile quickly morphed into a wicked one. “Let’s start with the kitchen.”

  She wasn’t even finished before I was backing away. “We need condoms.” My stare lingered on her as she squirmed, her cheeks flushed and her bare chest heaving. “Lots and lots of condoms.”

  As I quickly made my way down the hall, her loud laughter trailed behind me. And it was the greatest damn thing I’d ever heard.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said again as the hospital doors automatically opened for us, letting us out into the hot August night.

  “Gabe, it’s fine. I’m fine.”

  I glared at Alara. “You’re not fine. You’re in a cast.”

  “It’s a splint, and I only need to wear it for the next twenty-four hours.” A grunt was my only response as we continued toward the car.

  The christening of our house ended with our brilliant idea to try shower sex. I couldn’t even say what happened, but one second I was standing, thrusting into Alara as I pinned her against the wall. And the next, my foot slipped, forcing her to brace herself against the wall. I was laughing until I realized she was oddly silent. When I’d looked up her face was twisted in pain and she was cradling her already-swollen wrist to her naked breasts.

  She’d been confident it was a sprain—which the doctor confirmed—but I didn’t want to take any chances. I didn’t think the ER staff believed us when we said she was alone in the shower and slipped. Between her blushing elbows, my wet hair, and the red marks on her neck, the truth was pretty obvious.

  We were silent on the way back home. My eyes occasionally drifted over to her hand and each time they did, my stomach sank even further.

  By the time we got home it was just past four in the morning. We both toed off our shoes by the door. Alara immediately walked down the hall while I went into the kitchen and grabbed her a water bottle. When I got to our bedroom she had just finished shrugging a new baggy T-shirt on, hiding her black underwear and her thighs. She turned around as she freed her hair from the neckline.

  “Hey.” Padding over, she gave me a soft smile. When she was close enough she laid her uninjured hand on my chest, over my heart. “Stop it. Seriously. You’re making me feel worse.”

  I sighed before picking up her hand and kissing her palm. “You’re right. I still wish it were me.”

  “Noted,” Alara said as she rolled her eyes, taking the water from me. She climbed into bed while I shucked off my jeans and shirt. I joined her in only my boxers.

  She was lying on her back, eyes shut and a small smile on her lips. “Gabe?”

  “Yeah?” I stretched out my hand and ran it down her stomach, slipping my hand underneath her shirt to draw light patterns around her belly button.

  Her grin widened and her eyes fluttered open. “I’m really happy.”

  My fingers paused, her admission loosening some unknown source of tension inside me. Ever since I found out about her depression, while I tried to stay strong for her, I was constantly worried I would fail her. That I wouldn’t see some sign that she was struggling or I wasn’t doing everything I could.

  I lifted my gaze to hers, and her expression told me she knew exactly what I was thinking.

  “I am,” she insisted. “And you’d be the first to know if I wasn’t.”

  “Because you’d tell me, right?”

  “It’d be hard, but yes, I would.” She brought her hand to my forearm and trailed her fingers up and down. “That’s not what I meant though. You’d know because you know me better than anyone.”

  I froze, my jaw clenching as I tried to keep the tears that had welled up from spilling over.

  She couldn’t possibly understand how much those words meant to me. Or maybe she did, because she knew me just as well.

  “C’mon.” Alara smiled softly and shifted around, giving me her back while she kept my arm around her stomach. “Let’s get some sleep.”

  My lips grazed the side of her neck as I easily fell into place curled around her. Holding her, protecting her, loving her.

  I want to marry this girl.

  It wasn’t the first time I’d had that thought. But it was the first time I followed it up by wondering…

  What the hell am I waiting for?

  August

  TO THEIR CREDIT NAOMI and Sherry waited until I assured them I was okay and that it was only a sprain before they busted out laughing.

  It had been almost a week since Gabe and I had to make that embarrassing visit to the ER. The splint came off the next day, and my wrist wasn’t really bothering me at all anymore
.

  I couldn’t even pretend to be mad at my friends for laughing. Life had been crazy lately and this was the first time the three of us had been able to hang out in a month. Between law school for Naomi, med school for Sherry, and lab work for myself, even getting together once a month was a challenge.

  “Like neither of you have ever been in a compromising position.” I rolled my eyes and slumped against my chair, my face heating.

  “Would it make you feel better if I told you one of my own?” Naomi asked.

  “No,” Sherry immediately answered.

  “One time,” Naomi began, undeterred. “Damien and I were cooking dinner. He had been cutting up some jalapeños and hadn’t washed his hands as thoroughly as he should have. He—”

  Sherry leaned over and lightly slapped her hand over Naomi’s mouth. “Really. We believe you when you say you’ve been in compromising positions.”

  The three of us laughed just as the waiter dropped off more bread for the table.

  “Have you and Damien set a wedding date yet?” I asked, changing the subject. Damien had asked Naomi to marry him about six months ago.

  “No. He’s worried if we do that Ellie will feel like she has to move out right away. And I’m not in any rush to either. Turns out that the second year of law school is even harder than the first.”

  “Go figure.” Sherry grinned. I imagined she felt the same way as a second year med student.

  Naomi narrowed her eyes. “How are you and Hunter?”

  “We’re great. He just landed a freelance gig that should keep him occupied for a few months. Even though we have the money, between what my parents left me and what he saved all those years, he hates not having something to do.”

  It was nice to hear Sherry talk about her past with more ease. When Naomi and I first met her our freshman year of college, she didn’t speak about it at all. But when we learned the tragedy that the past held, we couldn’t exactly blame her. We were all relieved when she got Hunter, her childhood sweetheart, back.