Abel

Chapter 1

To Nellie's surprise, since the cruise had been over a week ago, Abel had come by her place twice already. She hadn't been sure if their fun-and-run agreement on the ship meant he'd be running just as soon as they docked and came back to the real world. Apparently, their agreement extended even into their life off the ship. Still the stipulations stood—no strings attached—no promises, no demands, and no hurt feelings.

With a young stud like Abel—someone Nellie never dreamed would show an interest in her—she most certainly could deal with that, even if her best friend Roni didn't seem to think it was a good idea. She was on the phone with her again as Roni continued to voice her concern about the whole thing.

"You're gonna get hurt," she insisted. "You're not this type of person, Nellie. I know you. You don't do the fuck-buddy thing."

"Need I remind you that I'm no longer the same person I once was?"

Her ex-husband and sister had taken care of that. The old Nellie no longer existed. She'd since discovered taking risks, such as the one she and Abel had taken on the cruise, could be fun—more than fun—absolutely thrilling. She wanted to explore and enjoy this side of herself a little further. She agreed with Roni that, before the hell she'd gone through with her ex, she never would've dreamed of doing what she was now doing with Abel, but she was enjoying it. And since they'd set boundaries, they each understood this was just for fun. What they did when they weren't together and with whom wasn't the other's business. She had no expectations of anything more than a physical relationship.

Besides, it was what she needed right then: to be free to explore this and all the other sides of herself that had been dormant for years while her bastard cheating husband so often neglected her needs. She'd ride Abel literally and figuratively for all he was worth, and when it was over, there'd be no looking back. No regrets. What she didn't want to regret was passing up the opportunity to experience something this tantalizing because of the fear of getting hurt. Nothing could hurt Nellie more than what her ex and her very own sister had done to her.

"You're not gonna stop dating other guys, right?" Roni asked anxiously.

Roni was worried because she knew Abel would be free to fly in and out of Nellie's bed and into others' beds—and he was known for doing plenty of flying around—while Nellie sat around, waiting exclusively for him.

While the offers weren't exactly pouring in, she'd had a few. Nellie assured Roni she wouldn't be turning any down because of Abel. She did leave out the part that, while his visits continued, she wouldn't be sleeping with anyone else until she was ready to cut Abel loose. That is if he didn't cut her loose first. Sleeping around with more than one guy at once was something she wouldn't be exploring. It had nothing to do with being faithful either. She owed Abel as much as he owed her—nothing. It was a morality issue for her. While she wanted to enjoy her newfound freedom, she wanted to feel sexy and reawakened, not dirty. Still, she was sure this would only worry Roni further by confirming that, in fact, she wasn't the fuck-buddy type. So she kept this bit to herself.

Lifting a finger to her assistant, Emily, who peeked in her doorway, she spoke quickly into her cell phone. "Can I call you back?"

"Okay, but you better because I really think you need to think this through a little more. I don't know what makes me more anxious: that even though you won't admit it I think you're still very vulnerable to getting hurt, or the fact that you're doing this with one of Noah's closest friends. I don't wanna hate one of my husband's good friends, Nellie, not to mention business partner, but I will if he hurts you." She stopped to sigh dramatically. "Even though you've been extensively warned that this may very well happen, I'd still hate him."