I didn’t care that the night air was cool against my bare skin where my shirt had ridden up or that we were blowing past a line I swore I’d never cross. All I cared about was him—his hands, his mouth, the sound of his low groan when I tugged at his hair. My body arched into his, instinct taking over where my brain had stopped working.
Every line between us blurred—between want and need, fear and hope, temporary and forever. The night wrapped around us, cool and quiet, but I was burning. Every touch, every kiss, every whispered word pulled me deeper under until there was no pretending I didn’t want him. No pretending this wasn’t happening.
His hands roamed, tugging at the hem of my shirt until it was gone. The night air brushed over me, but his heat pulled me back in.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, like it was the simplest truth in the world.
I kissed him again before my heart could choke me. His mouth trailed down my neck, across my collarbone, lower, until I gasped and fisted my hands in his hair.
The blanket ended up under me as he laid me back on the deck, his body covering mine. His weight, his warmth, his steady breath—it was everything I hadn’t known I was craving.
“Tell me to stop if this is too much,” he whispered, lips brushing my ear.
“I don’t want you to stop.” My voice shook, but there wasn’t a trace of doubt.
Clothes disappeared between kisses and frantic touches, tossed aside and forgotten. When he finally pulled a condom out and rolled it down his cock, I was ready for him. He pushed into me, gentle at first. I cried out and clung to him. He held still, his forehead pressed to mine, his breath ragged.
“You okay?” His voice was tight, strained.
“Yes,” I whispered, wrapping my legs around him. “Please.”
He moved then, slow at first, steady and sure, like he was memorizing me. I held on, gasping his name, every nerve alive, every wall I’d built crumbling.
The rhythm built, rougher, faster, until I was lost in him—his weight, his heat, the sound of his groan against my neck. My body tightened, shattered, and I broke apart in his arms. He followed, his body tensing above me before he collapsed against me with a harsh, broken sound.
For a long moment, neither of us moved. Just the night air, the whisper of wind through the trees, and the thundering of our hearts.
He kissed me softly then, a sweet contrast to everything that had come before. “Not a mistake,” he murmured. I let the word settle inside me, as soft and warm as the blanket under my back.
“No,” I breathed back. My chest ached, not from fear, but from how much I wanted this to last.
Wrapped up with him under the stars, for the first time in my life, forever didn’t feel so impossible. Which made leaving feel impossible too. Tomorrow, I’d remember the reasons I ran. Tonight, I let myself stay.
CHAPTER 9
CULLEN
My alarm went off after I’d just fallen asleep. Rose curled into my side, her curves molding against me. Home was quiet in a way the fire line never was—the kind of calm that made a man want more of it. I didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to break the peace I felt waking up with my arm curled around her and the scent of her shampoo filling my nose.
We’d been up half the night, mapping each other's bodies, diving headfirst into the heat between us. Then she’d fallen asleep, and I’d stayed up to prep the brisket and get it on the smoker. Once I had it going, I crawled back into bed with her to catch a little sleep before I had to head out.
The connection was fresh, but already went deeper than anything I’d ever known before. For the first time, I had a purpose bigger than myself… to take care of my daughter and to commit to the woman who’d opened my heart.
“You need to go,” Rose mumbled, her eyes still closed. “Can’t let someone else steal that first place ribbon away.”
A soft laugh rumbled through my chest. “I’d rather stay here with you.”
“That sounds promising.” One eyelid cracked open. “Don’t you need to check in by eight though?”
I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. “I’ve got ten minutes before I have to leave. I only need two for a shower.” Two minutes to scrub off the night, not the want that had taken up residence inside me.
“Are you trying to break me?” She rolled onto her back and brushed her palm against my cheek.
“No, sweetness. I’m trying to make sure you’ll miss me while I’m gone.”
She let out a soft snort of a laugh that turned into a moan as I slid my hand between her legs. I’d learned last night exactly how she liked to be touched, and I was hellbent on making her come before I had to leave her.
Her hips arched into me as I kissed my way down her belly. My hands pressed down on her thighs, keeping her pinned to the bed. She spread her legs for me, just as eager for my tongue as I was to taste her.
