Rating NC-17 for sex

Series: Snapshots of the Past

Story: The London Years

Chapter 19

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Previously: During a heart-to-heart, Jed told Abbey he turned down his job offer and wants to move back to New England so she can complete med school

Summary: Jed and Abbey reconnect

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Their lips finally unlocked when he gently placed her on the bed. Jed took a moment to catch his breath, then crawled next to her. He rolled his body on top of hers. But Abbey squirmed beneath him and that caused him to sit up, alarmed.

"Something wrong?"

"Yeah. Let me fix it."

She pushed his shoulders back until his head hit on the pillow. Then, she slid her body on top of him. Her lips reconnected with his and her fingers began unbuttoning his shirt. His hands, lost in the auburn strands of her hair when her head trailed south, curled around every silky lock as her mouth tenderly kissed the area she was revealing button by button.

She massaged his chest, her mouth open so her tongue could just barely graze his skin. Jed gasped the second he felt her feminine hold between his thighs. Between her forefinger and thumb, she was manipulating his penis now.

He was already hard and Abbey knew it wouldn't take much to send him over the edge, so her mouth continued its journey on an exploration over his sensitive flesh as she unzipped his pants. Warm kisses at his waist drew another sigh. A longer one. A more erotic one. And when she slipped off his boxers, he grabbed a hold of her skirt to pull it down effortlessly.

She went lower on the mattress, her face now parallel with Jed's penis. He felt the warm air over the tip and he closed his eyes, burying his head into the pillow. She could feel him tense up as she ran her tongue around his base, then gently sucked the tip.

"Oh God, Abbey."

"You want more?"

She didn't need a verbal response. His sudden gasp was enough to convince her. Green eyes met impassioned blue and she opened her mouth to take him in. He fought back every urge to let go. After all, he wanted this moment to last forever. He squirmed until he was up slightly and with each move, Abbey tightened her lips around him, her eyes smoldering in his direction the entire time.

Realizing he was holding back, she released her hold and withdrew, tugging on his legs until his head was back on the pillow. She slipped off her panties, straddled his hips, and guided him into her entrance, her hands on his chest for leverage as she moved inside him. The fingers of his right hand gripped her tight around her hips and the others found their way to the sensuous little nub at her center. And when he found just the right spot, she threw her head back as he thrusted himself up and propelled them both towards a mind-numbing orgasm.

Afterwards, she relaxed her body on top of his. He ran the tips of his fingers over her spine as she lay breathless in his arms. A few quick kisses to the front of her neck rejuvenated him and he grabbed her hips to thrust inside her once more as he rolled them over. She sighed with renewed desire.

"Looks like it won't take much to get you going again." The truth was, he had never really come down from their last round, so he was more than willing to give it another go.

"No, it really won't," she laughed.

He withdrew from inside her, causing her to moan in disappointment until he pressed his lips into her mouth, quieting her immediately. He nibbled on her earlobe and simultaneously exhaled his warm breath into her ear. It was an action that always provoked a response and tonight was no different.

He pulled her hair up over the pillow, revealing the soft shoulders he was now rubbing with his hands. He continued to smooth his fingers over her skin, stopping briefly to tease her creamy white breasts. His mouth followed a path down her stomach as she whimpered, her feet kicking out under his legs.

He rubbed her again, this time between her legs. That same sensitive area that had sent her over the edge only moments earlier was, once again, causing her to moan in pleasurable waves of content. His mouth worked its way down to her hips and she spread her legs in anticipation. He slipped a finger inside, probing the area first. She arched her back, silently begging for more. He added another finger as his mouth devoured the area right above.

Sensing her urgency, as well as his own, he pulled his fingers out and entered her swiftly, a strong hold on her hips keeping her still. The sudden sensation immediately brought Abbey barreling towards her climax and a few passionate rocks back and forth sealed the explosion for both of them.

Ragged and exhausted, Jed collapsed next to her with his arms still wrapped around her petite frame.

"Happy Anniversary," Abbey whispered.

He pulled himself slightly up to kiss her lips. "Happy Anniversary."

Abbey snuggled closer to him, twisting his arm around hers and resting her head on his shoulder. "Jed?"

"Yeah?"

"What changed your mind? What made you tell Professor Lynn no?"

"I told you, I never really..."

"I know. You never really planned to take the job..." she finished. "...but at some point, the thought must have crossed your mind. Otherwise, why wouldn't you have just told me that and ended the distance between us months ago?"

"Honestly?" He waited for the nod he knew was coming. "I wanted to wait to see if I would get the offer. And I thought about that moment many, many times. I played so many different scenarios in my head and in a few of them, I accepted it. But when it finally happened, it came down to a choice between the job and your happiness. There was really no contest."

"So that was the magic moment? The offer?"

"I guess it was. I should have told you right away instead of standing in the corner and seething over Ron. You know, being out with Tom all night and listening to him go on and on about how much Lila hurt him and how much he wanted to get even...all that did was convince me what a jackass I've been. It made me want to come home to you and make things right."

"And just by accident the Harvard application showed up?"

"I guess fate was on our side," he chuckled.

As Abbey's body lay under his arm, she lifted her head to look him in the face. "You knew about Tom and Lila, didn't you? You knew they weren't as perfect as I made them out to be?"

"I didn't exactly know anything. Lila never talked about it."

"I kept comparing us to them, wanting us to have their kind of marriage. No wonder you'd get so angry."

"More like frustrated...that you wanted so much more and I didn't know how to give it to you. I didn't know how to be Tom."

"I never wanted you to be Tom." A look of disbelief on his face prompted her to amend her statement. "Don't look at me like I'm lying. Okay, maybe I'm overstating it, but I never wanted you to be anyone except the man I fell in love with. It's just that I wanted US to be like Tom and Lila. I wanted what I thought they had."

"And now?"

"Now I feel like the luckiest woman in the world." She wrapped a leg over him so she could snuggle closer. "You never did tell me how it went with Tom."

"As well as can be expected considering he was raging mad and looking for someone to take it out on."

"He didn't hit you, did he?" she asked.

"No, no. But he has a lot of anger issues to deal with."

"They both do." Abbey nodded in agreement. "So Lila kept you in the dark about it this whole time?"

"Yeah. I suspected there was something more there. It was just a vibe I got from them when they were together. Sometimes something Lila would say at school just gave me the impression she wasn't as happy as she pretended to be."

"She told me today that they both get physical with one another when they fight."

Jed wasn't surprised. "Yeah."

"How is that not an abusive relationship?"

"Who says it's not?"

"Lila." He sighed as she continued to stare at the ceiling above. "I just don't understand how I was so fooled, how I never noticed anything strange about them. How could I think they were so perfect when they were anything but?"

"Because you've never been in a relationship like that. You grew up with loving parents who gave you an ideal childhood and, as far as I know, you've never dated anyone who hit you or degraded you. That kind of abuse is a private thing, Abbey. Not everyone recognizes it, especially when the ones dealing with it go to such lengths to hide it."

Abbey could hear his own experience with an abusive father echoing in his words. She turned his head to face her, then kissed him on the cheek.

"What was that for?"

"Just because," she replied.

Jed tightened his grip around her as he softly stroked her hair. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Jed closed his eyes and took in the beautiful scent of her hair as she cuddled up closer as if afraid to let go. Her body curled around his and her head tucked under his chin, Abbey relaxed her muscles and started to drift towards sleep with the assurance that he would still be wrapped around her when she eventually woke up.

TBC