She lifts her head so she can look into my eyes. “What do you mean?”
I lick my lips as I tuck hair behind her ear. “Sometimes we have to do things that are…unconventional to make things right in the world. And that’s what you did, baby. And fuck the laws that say you have to be punished for what you did.”
She huffs out a laugh, a tear slipping down her cheek. “What did I do to deserve you?”
Wanting to lighten the mood, I tease, “Kill your husband, apparently.”
Her jaw drops before she smacks my chest and pops up onto her knees. With an incredulous laugh, she scolds, “Chris, I can’t believe you just said that.”
Running a hand up the outside of her thigh, I shrug. “Kind of true.”
Shaking her hand, she tries to push my hand away when I lift my T-shirt high enough to realize she isn’t wearing any underwear. My eyebrows jump as I hum my appreciation. I mumble, “How the hell did I not know you weren’t wearing anything under here?”
“I guess you should learn how to be more observant.”
My eyes flick up to hers to find her smirking down at me. Before she can give me another smart remark, I grip herhips and lift her before dropping her gently onto her back. A giggling gasp leaves her as she bounces on the mattress.
With the movement, her shirt has shifted higher, so it’s around her waist, completely exposing her to me. I move between her legs, gently spreading her thighs apart. I groan as her glorious pussy comes into view.
“You’re so beautiful, Lily.”
Her mouth opens to argue with me, before I silence her with my fingers on her slit, wetness already gathering. Her quick intake of breath follows my fingers toying with her entrance. I slip one inside, and her fists grip the sheet below her.
“I don’t give a shit what happened before I met you, baby. You know why?”
She shakes her head, her eyes hooded as a second finger joins the first.
“Because you’re here with me now. And I made a fuck-ton of money reading people, and you know what I thought about you when I first saw you?”
“What did you think?”
My fingers covered in her arousal move to her clit. I circle it with the perfect amount of pressure and tell her, “Besides being more attracted to you than I have been to any other woman I’ve ever met, I knew that no matter what you did, you did it because youhadto. Not because you wanted to.”
She moans and says, “I didn’t want to do it. All I wanted to do waslive.”
I remove my fingers, needing to be inside her. I kiss her through her whimper of protest before lining myself up. As I deepen the kiss, Lily raises her hips. I take the silent invitation and slam inside her. Our combined moans fill the cabin.
Pumping my hips, I murmur against her lips, “I’m so fucking glad you did, baby. I needed you to live even before I met you.”
I kiss away the tears that are falling freely from her gorgeous eyes as I bring us both to a shared climax that feels so much more powerful than simple physical release. It’s like a piece of our souls slipping into place within the other, forever binding us together.
Hopefully, the world outside this cabin plays along.
27
Chris
“Idon’t want to go back.” Lily pouts from my passenger seat.
Reaching over, I squeeze her knee. “I know, baby. I wish we could stay in the mountains, too.”
I’d give anything to make that our reality. I would spend the next few months there with her if it meant we could run away from our problems and they’d resolve themselves while we were gone.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Especially not after her admission. It’s even more important to monitor this situation as carefully as possible. There’s something else I need to address with her. We’re about an hour from Nashville, so might as well talk about it now.
“I know we talked about this a little before we left. But I want to stress to you how important it is that, until this is all figured out, I really don’t want you out of my sight unlessyou’re at work. And when you’re at work, I’d prefer if you don’t leave. Not for coffee. Not for lunch. Nothing. If you need something, you call me. I don’t care if it’s for a small cup of coffee.”
“Chris, I’m not going to call you for coffee. You also have a job to do.” She sounds slightly exasperated.
