He caught my wrist, bringing it to his lips instead. “I told you, sweetheart, I don’t have enough fucking hours to do everything I want. Tonight was about you and that was just a taster of what is to come. You touch me and I might just explode like one of those fireworks at the funfair.” He kissed me gently, cupping my face.“When we have sex, sweetheart, I’m going to fuck you so hard you’ll think you’re still straddling that horse.”
I burst out laughing, not one bit disappointed that he’d gone from tender to coarse in a split second. “Promise?” I teased, rolling my hips against his evident arousal.
He groaned, his hands tightening on my waist. “You’re playing with fire, Cassidy.”
“Maybe I like getting burned,” I whispered, pressing another kiss to the corner of his mouth.
“I know you’re an independent woman, Cassidy,” he said, kissing away the remnants of my laughter, “but when we get a night together I’ll be in charge. You okay with that?”
Tracing his eyebrow with my fingertip, I nodded. “I am a strong, independent woman, Gunner, but if that night you demand I get down on my knees and suck your dick, then it’d be my pleasure.” I leaned closer to whisper in his ear. “I’ve thought about that too, you know. How you’d taste, the sounds you’d make as I took you into my mouth.”
Gunner’s laugh rumbled from his chest, though I felt his cock twitch against my hip. “Why the hell did I act like a dick for the last three years?”
I shrugged, dropping a kiss to his sharp jaw. “I wasn’t exactly innocent was I?”
His eyes grazed over my face, going softer than I’d ever seen them before. Deep chocolate pools of honesty.
“That was then and this is now, sweetheart. We realized in the end.”
The tenderness in his voice, the restraint that he’d shown, made me understand so much. This wasn’t just physical, this was Gunner showing me that my pleasure mattered, that we weren’t rushing into something that deserved time.
“I think I quite like you, Gunner Miller.”
His fingers trailed lazy patterns on my bare shoulder, and I realized how far we’d come from that disastrous first date. The man who held me now, who had put my needs before his own, was someone worth taking time to know properly.
“Want to stay the night?” he murmured into my hair.
I could sense he was already half-asleep. No wonder how early he started work every day.
“What about Lily and Nash and the children?” I asked, half-heartedly. “What do we say to them?”
He sighed contentedly. “We say that my girlfriend stayed the night.” He pulled me closer. “Unless you want to go home, and I’ll follow you back to town.”
I pressed a kiss to his chest, right over his heart. “I’m not going anywhere,” I told him and tapped his shoulder. “You should get undressed, babe. Get undressed and under the covers.”
Another sigh was followed by a nod. He unwrapped himself from me and quickly undressed, leaving his clothes where they fell before getting under the covers with me.
“Okay, sweetheart.” I was immediately enfolded in his strong arms again. “Let’s get some sleep.”
And within minutes we were fast asleep, wrapped around each other while I dreamed about life on a ranch with a man who took my breath away, caused a fluttering in my stomach and made my pulse race, all while letting me be me.
Chapter 28
10,000 Hours – Dan + Shay &. Justin Bieber
Gunner
Gunner
After the night before, waking up with a honker was totally expected. Waking up alonewasn’t. I thought that maybe I could give Cassidy another taster of the mind blowing orgasms that I offered. She, however, was nowhere to be seen. I waited a couple of minutes wondering if maybe she was in the bathroom, but when she didn’t return I knew she’d left my bed. Who knew how long she’d been gone because her side of the bed was cold.
Turning on my side, I picked up my phone where it was charging on the nightstand. It was a little after seven-thirty. Saturday was the day me and my brother’s took off, but we were still usually up and about by seven.
I quickly dressed in last night’s clothes, which I noted had been folded neatly on the armchair by my window and left my room. When I checked the kid’s rooms all I found were empty beds and a chaos of toys and books, the remnants of two happy, well-loved tiny humans. The bathroom was empty, only a couple of damp towels hanging over the side of Lily’s beloved free standing claw foot bath that Nash had installed for her. Still no sign of Cassidy, my blood went cold. Had she thought that last night was a mistake? Would she really have taken the time to fold my clothes if she’d been desperate to get out of there?
Running down the stairs, I felt a nervous sickness in my stomach, the like I’d only felt once before. It was the day Mom died and Sheriff Donnelly, Sheriff Jackson’s predecessor, knocked on the door and said he needed to speak to Dad. It was only when I reached the bottom step that my heartbeat righted itself. I could hear Cassidy talking to Lily in hushed tones followed by Lily’s laughter.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, standing in the doorway and drinking in the sight.
