After The Fall: A collection of Matt and Abby short stories Read online

  After The Fall

  claudia Connor

  After The Fall is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2020 by Claudia Connor

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Also by claudia Connor

  Worth The Fall

  Worth The Risk

  Worth It All

  Worth The Wait

  Waiting For You

  Waiting On The Rain

  Love At Last

  Where I Belong

  Praise for claudia Connor

  “Love, love, love! Read Claudia Connor for a consistently raw and emotional love story.”—New York Times bestselling author Carly Phillips

  “This debut mixes passion and compassion in a contemporary story that has emotional depth. Readers will find the story heartwarming but with enough heat to remind them of what falling in love feels like.”—Library Journal, Worth The Fall

  “Connor’s writing is strong enough to maintain the emotional intensity of the main couple’s relationship through it all, providing a reading experience that will no doubt satisfy fans and leave many eager for more tales of the passionate McKinney Brothers.”—RT Book Reviews

  "Claudia Connor writes the kind of romance I love the most. Warm, realistic, steamy and heartfelt." -Kristan Higgins, New York Times Bestselling Author

  "SQUEEE!!! This was one of the most heart-warming and ROMANTIC books I've read in a long time!" -Aestas Book Blog

  "I just finished "Worth the Wait" and seriously, Claudia Connor has done it again. She broke my heart and then loving put it back together-- chapter by chapter. " -The Bookchick

  “Worth the Fall is one of the most touching, heartfelt stories I have read in years. It is nothing short of magic.”—New York Times bestselling author Sharon Sala

  “Definitely one of the best books of the summer . . . a must read!”—Underneath the Covers

  “I can’t get enough of Claudia Connor’s heartwarming stories. Sexy, emotional, complex, dreamy—her characters satisfy on every level.”—New York Times bestselling author Virna DePaul

  This one’s for you, the readers. Without you, I’d just be a girl typing letters!

  Xoxo

  Dear Readers,

  I am still blown away by the love for the characters you met in WORTH THE FALL. That was my first book, and from the first glimpse of Matt and Abby, from that first day dream, it took me seven years to write their story. They are just as real to me as any breathing human I’ve met and I still think of them often, imagining how they are and what they’re doing.

  If you’ve ever wondered about them, wished you could be a fly on the wall in the McKinney house, here’s your chance! In AFTER THE FALL, I’ve written down some snippets, glimpses into their life after they found their happily ever after. I truly hope you enjoy it!

  Xoxo

  Claudia

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  About the Author

  Excerpt from Waiting On The Rain

  Also by claudia Connor

  1

  The Honeymoon

  THE BAND PLAYED a slow tune, the wedding singer’s voice hung on the words, slow, and deep, and mellow. Matt McKinney tightened his arms around his bride, dipped his head lower and drew in her scent.

  They’d danced like this at the beach, when he’d only known her a handful of days. He’d loved her then, no doubt. But what he felt now went beyond words.

  “The doctor gave me the all clear,” Abby whispered in his ear. “Did I tell you that?”

  Matt groaned right there on the dance floor, in front of family and friends and a circus of children. Then he nuzzled his nose into her hair and pressed a kiss just behind her ear. “That was cruel.” When he pulled back, Abby was smiling up at him wickedly.

  “You in this tux is cruel,” she said and ran her hand slowly up the front of his shirt and over his shoulder. “I hope you don’t have to return this because there’s a good chance there will be some lost buttons from this shirt.”

  Her hand slid back down to his chest, lingered over his heart, then both hands slid up and around his the back of his neck. “I’m a lucky woman.”

  “And I was just thinking I was a lucky man.”

  With her head tipped back, her face raised to his, she smiled. The glow of happiness ran all the way to her bright green eyes. “That’s handy.”

  “It is.” And what the hell, he thought. It was their wedding. And hadn’t he just kissed her in a church in front of God and everyone? Keeping it PG for the guests, Matt pressed his lips to hers.

  Knowing he couldn’t keep it light for long he pulled back and tucked Abby’s head against his chest. He felt her smile against him, thought he heard her light laugh.

  He liked weddings well enough, especially appreciated what this one had accomplished, but he was ready to leave. Needed to leave with his wife. My wife. What beautiful words, the two of them together . . . my wife. Nothing sounded better than that.

  It had taken a while to get here, but none of that mattered now. They had the rest of their lives. And right now, he was especially focused on the next few hours.

  He needed to get her behind closed doors. He’d come damn close to tossing her over his shoulder more than once in the past three hours. He’d had to dig deep not to at least pull her outside for a minute alone. But with the kids and the baby and the knowledge that they were about to have five full days alone, he’d held himself together.

  Though he wasn’t above whispering in her ear a few of the things he was going to do to her. Abby lifted her face and he watched the color rise in her cheeks, her eyes flare with desire. Then the song ended and the band moved into a fast paced dance tune.

  They were immediately assaulted by short people hanging on their waists and legs. Gracie was already jumping for him so he lifted her up and into his arms. His parents must have been just barely holding them back for the past three minutes. Abby held hands with Annie and Jack, Jack swinging his mother’s hand wildly.

  Charlie was there too, and Matt stopped to scoop him up. Only baby Mary was missing, as she slept in a stroller next to his grandmother.

  “Watch this!” Jack shouted then boogied down to the floor until he sat on his bottom only to rocket back up again.

  Annie’s dancing was more subdued but Gracie wasn’t about to be outdone. She let go of her hold on Matt and as he set her down noticed her feet.

  “Where are your shoes, Bug?”

  “They hurted me!”

  She lifted one socked foot toward his face.

  “And I need to dance!” She twirled round and round, one hand in the air above her head like she was roping cattle.

  For the next twenty minutes the five of them danced, jumped, and twisted through YMCA, the Hokey Pokey, and the chicken dance. Cousins of all ages joined them and by the time they finished it looked like he and Abby were running a multi aged gym class

  An hour later, in a flurry of red
rose petals and well wishes, glittering sparklers and a few tears from the kids—more from being overly tired than the prospect of five days with doting grandparents— Matt ushered his bride into the back of the waiting limo. The best day of his life, next to the day he’d met her and the day his daughter, Mary, was born.

  And it wasn’t over yet.

  As soon as the door closed and the black stretch limo pulled away from the curb, he took Abby’s face in his hands. His wife. His heart. “You’re glowing.”

  She covered his hands with her own. “I’m happy,” she said, smiling. “And I had champagne.”

  “You’re so beautiful.” He kissed her, angling her head to go deeper, tasting the champagne and everything uniquely Abby. “And you’re about to be happier.”

  “Really?” With a devilish grin, she shifted, straddled his lap. “Are you sure that’s possible?”

  “Oh, I’m absolutely sure.” He slid his hand around her back, bringing her into his chest. “And you can have more champagne.” He started at her neck, scraping his teeth down the length of her throat.

  Abby sighed, dropped her head back. He paved a line of hot, open mouthed kisses across her chest. He drew in her scent and her taste as his mouth moved over her shoulder, her upper back. “God, I love you.”

  Shifting he lowered her onto the leather seat and came over her, taking her mouth. He took great care, and it wasn’t easy, but he managed to find the hem and get a hand under the silk. “This is a tempting fabric. What’s going on under here?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know,” she said, as her fingers got busy with the buttons of his tuxedo shirt.

  “Oh, I would. And I’m about to.” He sat back and gathered the bunched silk, sliding it up until he found bare skin. First her ankles, then her calves.

  “I need those shoes off.”

  “That’s not the first thing you need off.”

  “Ha,” she said, sitting up, then she took him by surprise, planting her palms on his chest and shoving him back. Her fingers went back to the buttons of his shirt with mischief in her eyes. “Maybe we could make some sort of deal.”

  “Mmm.” There was nothing he wouldn’t agree to, he thought. Then watched as Abby reached up, tugged something from her hair that let it one side fall in a dark curtain around her face. And he lost his breath. Not the first time that had happened today. And he knew it wouldn’t be the last.

  He slipped his fingers into her hair as she opened the third button of his shirt. She leaned in, pressed her lips to his throat and inhaled. “God, I’ve been needing to do that for so long. Hours.”

  “You want to know what I’ve been wanting to do for hours?”

  “I can think of a few things.” She lifted her face and her smile grew. “It was perfect, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes.” It had all been perfect—from the vows to the promises made and any wrinkles from the past two weeks smoothed out and forgotten. He lifted her left hand to his lips and kissed her ring finger. “You’re my wife. I’d call that a successful wedding.” She ran her other hand through his hair, her nails scraping lightly along his neck and he stifled a moan.

  “Your mom is going to have a time getting the kids to sleep.”

  He brushed his lips over the soft skin of her cheek, just below her ear. “If she does, she’ll love every minute, but I bet they’re out before they get home.”

  “Yeah. Probably right.” Her lips found his as his hands found their way under the edge of white and up bare thighs.

  “Mr. McKinney, are you trying to take advantage of me in the back of the limo?”

  “Yes, Mrs. McKinney. I am. And I plan to do more than try.” His fingers edged higher. “My only mission, now and into the foreseeable future, is to take advantage of you as much as humanly possible.”

  When he laid her down on the seat, her arms looped around his neck and she pulled him closer. “I approve your mission.”

  “You’re killing me.” Matt struggled to breathe as Abby stepped out of their hotel suite bathroom in a short, white, lacy… something. They’d only gone so far in the limo and he wasn’t sure he could take much more. He’d rather not have blue balls on the flight tomorrow.

  “Well,” Abby said. “If you don’t have much time left, you better get over here quick.”

  And he did. Just five steps and then he was touching her. “So beautiful.” He ran his palms over her shoulders slowly then took her face in his hands. “Abby—when I saw you in the church…That first look…” He shook his head, still not quite able to believe it. “It’s a moment I’ll never forget.”

  “Me, too. The look in your eyes, that was my moment.” She ran a finger down the buttons of his white tuxedo shirt. “I’ll never forget it.”

  “Time to make another moment.” He caught her in his arms, wondering how the hell he’d ever gotten so lucky and sending up a quick prayer to God that he never had to know a day on this earth without her.

  He scooped her up, carried her to the enormous bed that dominated the room. He laid her on the white sheets, already turned back. When he slipped a finger under one silky strap and let it fall off her shoulder she sighed.

  When he covered her mouth with his, her lips parted, warm and smooth. The sexy sounds slipping between them and into his mouth made him even hungrier. Wild and hot and sweet. They kissed like it was the first and the last and with the wild joy that it was neither. That they had each other, an entire night, an entire lifetime.

  The cool silk of her lingerie slipped and slid under his hands as he removed it, then there was only skin. Her breath was already coming fast. So was his. He tilted his head, deepened the kiss.

  She shuddered when he fastened his lips to her throat, ran his palm up her thigh, over her hip, holding there. “I love you,” she whispered, framing his face, bringing his mouth back to hers.

  He took a lazy journey over her chest, just skimming the swell of her breast. He moved lower, closing his lips over one nipple, gently, slowly. He hear her quiet moan of pleasure merge with his own.

  She arched against him, offering more, her small body pressed to his. Need arrowed into him. Half mad for her, he moved lower, stilled her protests when she felt his lips on her stomach, her thighs.

  Then he gave more, took more, drawing in her scent, letting her taste pulse through him. When he slipped two fingers inside, she moved against his hand. He focused on her—every sound, the tightening of her fingers in his hair, and felt the moment she flew over the edge. He held her there, watched her eyes lose focus just before she went limp.

  Half mad for her, Matt stripped beside the bed and was back just as her eyes fluttered open. He braced himself on his forearms, framing her face in his hands, gazing down into her bright green eyes, into the face he loved. He couldn’t speak for the lump rising into his throat.

  God, it still knocked the breath out of him every time he looked at her, felt the magnitude of his love for this woman. He’d thought he’d found what others had, but that wasn’t right. It couldn’t be possible that anyone felt this much.

  With that soft smile he knew and loved, she reached up and touched his cheek. She knew his mind and his heart, and with a look, she said a thousand things without speaking a word.

  He kissed her again, touched her until she was moving restlessly beneath him. He held her hands on either side of her face, linked their fingers. He brushed his lips over her jaw, felt her quiver beneath him. He wanted her limp and sated and stunned from pleasure.

  Her hands flexed under his and her lips yielded. Then it was all taste and touch and sound. The two of them moving, joining as he slid into her deep, then deeper. Slow then fast until they were both nearly blind with pleasure. “I love you,” he murmured as his body raced toward the edge. “I love you, Abby.”

  She choked out a cry, his name, shuddered beneath him. Then he let himself go, buried his face in the dark strands of her hair and let all the love rush over and through them both.

  Hours later, while it wa
s still dark out, they boarded their early morning flight to the Caribbean for a four-day honeymoon. She wore a white sundress—keeping with the wedding theme—and a blue sweater over it to guard against the chill of this January Norfolk morning. Matt looked exceptionally hot in jeans and an untucked dress shirt and even after this morning, then again in the shower, she craved him again already.

  Settled into their first class seats, Matt brushed his thumb over the back of her hand the held in his. “What are you grinning about?”

  “Nothing. Everything.” She leaned her head into his shoulder, the fingers of her other hand reaching across her body to curve around his upper arm. “I can’t stop smiling. And I was thinking, I can’t remember ever being so excited to be awake before the sun.” The first twinges of light cast a pinkish gray tint on the clouds as the plane climbed.

  “Mmm.” He rested his head back, eyes closed, a smile on his freshly shaven face. “I can’t remember ever being so happy to get zero sleep.”

  “You didn’t sleep at all?”

  “Maybe a few minutes here and there. I know you slept a little,” he said, giving her a dark, hooded glance. “Since I had the pleasure of waking you up.”

  She heaved a happy sigh, nestled her head against him and closed her eyes. “I remember. It was nice.” A lot more than nice and her body buzzed at the memory of wedding night orgasms.

  “Very nice.”

  Even with excitement racing through her, she dosed on the short hop from Norfolk to Atlanta. They grabbed a bagel and coffee and were feeling decidedly more awake on the second flight.