“Breathe, baby,” I murmured, stroking her hair. “You’re doing so well.”
After a moment, she nodded, hips shifting experimentally. I slid deeper—careful, controlled—until I was seated fully,surrounded by velvet heat so tight it stole my breath. She clung to me, nails digging into my shoulders, and I gave her time, kissing her slow and deep until I felt her relax, until her hips rolled against me seeking more.
Only then did I start to move. Short, shallow thrusts at first, letting her adjust, letting the pain fade into pleasure. She was so tight around me, it bordered on agony, every inch of her gripping me like she was made for this—for me. Her head fell back against the shelf with a soft thud, exposing the long, delicate line of her throat. Her eyes fluttered shut, dark lashes trembling against flushed cheeks, and those little puffs of air escaped her parted lips with every careful stroke—soft, breathless sounds she was fighting to keep inside.
I watched her face like it was the only thing in the world. The way her brow furrowed at first, then slowly smoothed as the sting gave way to something else. The way her lips trembled each time I pulled back, like she was already chasing the fullness of me.
I kept one hand under her ass, holding her steady, the other braced beside her head, fingers tangled in her hair. I angled my hips, searching, until I dragged across that spot deep inside her and her mouth fell open on a silent cry—eyes flying wide for a split second before squeezing shut again.
“There it is,” I growled low against her throat, tasting the salt of her skin. I thrust deeper, faster, still careful but losing the battle with control. “Quiet, sweetheart. Don’t let them hear how perfect you feel wrapped around my cock.”
She bit down on my shoulder through the flannel to stifle a moan, teeth sharp enough to mark, and her legs tightened around my waist like a vise, heels digging into my lower back, pulling me impossibly deeper.
Every roll of her hips was tentative at first, then bolder, meeting me thrust for thrust. Her inner walls fluttered aroundme in tiny spasms, like she was already climbing again, and the feel of it—hot, slick, velvet—made my vision tunnel.
The storage room smelled like her—arousal and cherry lip balm and warm skin—and I was drowning in it, breathing her in with every ragged inhale. Her hands clutched at my back, nails scraping through my shirt, and I could feel the tremor in her thighs, the way her body was winding tighter and tighter.
I slipped a hand between us, thumb finding her swollen clit—slick, throbbing, begging. I rubbed in tight, steady circles, matching the rhythm of my hips. She jerked against me, a sharp, silent gasp caught against my neck. Her whole body went rigid then—back arching, toes curling against my ass, every muscle locking down as the second climax hit her like a freight train.
I felt it before I saw it. Those rhythmic pulses deep inside her, stronger than the first, squeezing me in long, rolling waves that dragged a helpless groan from my chest.
Her face—god, her face—was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Eyes squeezed shut, mouth open in a soundless scream, tears gathering at the corners of her lashes from the intensity.
A fierce, dark flush spread from her chest to her cheeks, and her breath came in tiny, frantic shudders against my skin. She clung to me like I was the only thing keeping her from flying apart, nails biting into my shoulders, body shaking with the force of it.
It was too much. The sight of her coming, the feel of her milking me with every pulsing contraction, the way she trusted me completely in this moment—I lost it. Pleasure roared through me, white-hot and endless, starting at the base of my spine and exploding outward. I buried my face in her neck, groaning her name into her skin as I spilled deep inside her, hips jerking helplessly, thrust after thrust, until there was nothing left.
I was spent, shaking, holding her like she was the only solid thing left in the world.
We stayed like that—locked together, breathing hard, hearts hammering in tandem—while the muffled sounds of the roadhouse carried on just beyond the door, oblivious. I could feel her pulse fluttering wildly against my lips where I pressed them to her throat, could feel the fine tremor still running through her limbs.
Slowly, so slowly, I lifted my head. Her eyes opened, hazy and soft, a small, wondering smile curving her swollen lips. A single tear had escaped, tracking down her temple into her hair, and I brushed it away with my thumb.
I pressed a soft kiss to her temple, still buried deep inside her, not ready to let go. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
“You okay?” I whispered.
She nodded against my shoulder, a small, wondrous laugh escaping her.
“More than okay,” she breathed. “That was…wow.”
I smiled into her hair, chest tight with something bigger than lust.
Yeah. Wow didn’t even begin to cover it.
5
TEDDIE
We cleaned up as best we could, straightening clothes and smoothing hair, trading soft kisses that made me want to drag him right back into that corner. But the restaurant was still full of people, and Elsa would come looking eventually.
The frantic energy from earlier had faded, even if the crowd hadn’t. The stranded travelers had settled into a kind of resigned patience—families camped out in booths with tablets and coloring books, truckers playing cards at the bar, everyone glancing up at the weather report on the TV whenever the forecast came on. The sun was out now, bright and blinding on all that snow, and the roads would start clearing soon.
Knox found a relatively private booth in the back corner—not the firefighters’ usual table, but close enough that we could see the door. I slid into the booth across from him, legs still wobbly, a pleasant ache between my thighs. I couldn’t stop smiling.
Every time I looked at him, I remembered the way he’d touched me, the way he’d whispered in my ear, the way he’d made me feel like the most precious thing in the world.
Knox pulled out his phone.
