Virgin Afternoon by Vonna Harper.pdf

An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Virgin Afternoon

ISBN # 1-4199-0710-7

Edited by Sue-Ellen Gower.

Cover art by Syneca.

Electronic book Publication: July 2006

This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written

permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-

3502.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales

is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

Warning:

The following material contains graphic sexual content meant for mature readers. This story has been

rated E–rotic by a minimum of three independent reviewers.

Ellora’s Cave Publishing offers three levels of Romantica™ reading entertainment: S (S-ensuous), E (E-

rotic), and X (X-treme).

S- ensuous love scenes are explicit and leave nothing to the imagination.

E- rotic love scenes are explicit, leave nothing to the imagination, and are high in volume per the overall

word count. In addition, some E-rated titles might contain fantasy material that some readers find

objectionable, such as bondage, submission, same sex encounters, forced seductions, and so forth. E-rated

titles are the most graphic titles we carry; it is common, for instance, for an author to use words such as

“fucking”, “cock”, “pussy”, and such within their work of literature.

X- treme titles differ from E-rated titles only in plot premise and storyline execution. Unlike E-rated titles,

stories designated with the letter X tend to contain controversial subject matter not for the faint of heart.

V IRGIN A FTERNOON

Vonna Harper

Chapter One

How strange it was to see a man in her garage, but if any man had a right to be

there, it was Bryan Aster.

“Are you sure, Lara?” he asked with his head under the pickup’s raised hood. “It’s

in great shape. And with that low mileage, you could get several thousand more than I

can pay you.”

“I don’t need it, and Spence wanted you to have it.”

Bryan’s big, rough fingers continued to grip the top of the hood, but she doubted if

he was still looking at the truck’s inner workings. Being this close to her husband’s best

friend was disconcerting in ways she didn’t want to hold up to the light. Part of her

wanted him to leave, but she’d spent so much time alone since Spence’s death—and

even before. It was time to rejoin the land of the living and who better with than a man

she’d known at least ten years?

“So you’re going to move, are you?” He slammed the hood, rattling her nerves even

more than they already were.

“I have to. I didn’t tell Spence this, but it’s in foreclosure. With the medical bills and

his not being able to work and my having to take so much time off— What’s that look

about?”

Bryan shrugged, the gesture taking her back to when they’d all been in college and

he had held down the catcher’s position on the school’s baseball team during that

incredible year when the team had won the state championship. “I wish you’d told

me.”

“Why?” She tried a mischievous smile, something she hadn’t felt like doing in too

long. “You been robbing banks and are now giving away your ill-gotten gains? Even if

you were rich, I wouldn’t want anything. I don’t want to live here anymore.”

Virgin Afternoon

Lifted eyebrows served as Bryan’s response. How healthy he looked, tanned with a

full head of dark hair, the faintest shadow of lines around his eyes and at the corners of

his mouth. Funny, she’d never noticed that small dark mole on his right cheek, but

maybe she’d never studied him like this before. Hadn’t felt his energy before. “Do you

think I should stay?” she asked.

“I want you to do what you want to, Lara. You’re the only one who knows what’s

right.”

Lara. Damn, why did the sound of her name coming from his lips make her nerves

jump? “I’m still relearning what I want. Look, it’s hot in here, and there’s beer in the

fridge.”

“There is? I didn’t think Spence was doing any drinking near the end.”

“He wasn’t. This is left over from one of the last times you came to see him. He

asked me to pick up some.”

Again, Bryan let silence do its work. He led the way back into the house, his

movements as familiar as if he lived here. He didn’t of course because he and Carol had

a condo some two miles away, but he’d been here countless times and probably knew

the place’s creaks and groans as well as she did. Taking two beers out of the

refrigerator, he popped the lid on one and handed it to her.

“I don’t—” she started, unable to take her eyes off his hand.

“Today you do. Come on, you always said you’d stoop to a beer if the day was hot

enough. It’s hot.”

Yes, she acknowledged as they wandered into the air-conditioned living room and

plunked themselves into adjacent recliners, summer had indeed arrived while she was

too busy with the business of dying to pay attention. After briefly holding the can

against her cheek, she took a sip. Wonderful!

His form filled the chair, shoulders scrunched a little to accommodate the

inadequate space. Although he hadn’t crouched behind home plate for years, he still

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