Meryl could feel him hard against her, and she shifted, lifting herself slightly. Reaching between them, she took him in hand, guiding him to her entrance. Their eyes locked as she began to sink down, taking him in slowly, savoring the exquisite stretch as he filled her.
“Meryl,” he breathed, his voice strained.
She didn’t rush, allowing her body to adjust to each inch until he was fully seated within her. The feeling of completeness stole her breath away. This was right. This was where she belonged.
Spencer sat up suddenly, his arms wrapping around her, changing the angle and driving him deeper. A gasp escaped her lips at the sensation.
His mouth found her breast, hot and demanding. The wet heat of his tongue circled her nipple before he drew it between his lips. At the same time, his fingers found her other breast, rolling the sensitive peak between thumb and forefinger.
The dual sensations sent lightning through her body. Her inner muscles clamped around him in response, pulling a groan from deep in his chest.
“God, Spencer,” she moaned, her head falling back as pleasure coursed through her.
She began to move, rocking her hips in a rhythm that built the tension coiling inside her. His mouth continued its sweet torture on her breasts, alternating between them, licking and sucking and driving her wild.
Meryl found her pace, circling her hips, rising and falling on him with increasing confidence. She watched his face, the wayhis eyes darkened with each movement, the way his lips parted as his breathing grew more ragged.
This was what she wanted—to be in control, to take her pleasure and give him his. To make this choice, this moment, entirely hers.
Spencer’s hands slid down to cup her bottom, his strong fingers kneading the flesh there. Suddenly, he lifted his hips off the bed, thrusting up to meet her downward motion. The new angle sent sparks of pleasure radiating outward from her core.
“Yes,” she hissed, her fingers digging into his shoulders.
Her body knew what it wanted now, and she rode him harder, chasing the building pressure. She could feel her climax approaching, that telltale tightening low in her belly.
Spencer threaded his fingers through her hair, pulling her face down to his. Their lips met in a kiss that matched the rhythm of their bodies—deep, hungry, desperate. His tongue slid against hers, mimicking the movement of their joined bodies.
The coil of pleasure wound tighter, her movements growing more frantic. Spencer’s body tensed beneath her, his rhythm faltering. She felt him swell inside her, and then he was pulsing, his release triggering her own. As he filled her with his seed, his fingers found the sensitive bundle of nerves between her thighs, pinching gently.
The sensation pushed her over the edge. Her orgasm crashed through her in waves, her inner muscles clenching around him as she cried out his name. Stars exploded behind her eyelids as pleasure consumed her, more intense than anything she’d ever felt.
She continued to rock against him, drawing out the sensations as aftershocks rippled through her body. Eventually,her movements slowed, her breathing gradually returning to normal.
With the last of her energy spent, Meryl collapsed onto Spencer’s chest. His arms came around her immediately, holding her close, his heart beating steadily beneath her ear.
“I love you,” he murmured into her hair.
“I love you too,” she whispered against his skin, meaning it with every fiber of her being.
They lay like that for long moments, their bodies still joined, neither willing to break the connection. Outside, an owl called, and the cottage creaked and settled around them. For the first time in her life, Meryl felt completely at home.
Not just in Pine Cottage, but in her own skin. In her own choice.
“Stay with me,” she whispered as he held her close.
“Always,” he promised.
As they lay wrapped in each other’s arms in the moonlit room, the house gave its familiar creak somewhere below, the sound oddly comforting now.
She had spent years teaching herself how to leave before anything could matter too much.
Tonight, for the first time, she let herself stay.
Chapter Twenty-Two – Spencer
“Come on, time to get up.”
Spencer cracked open an eye as Meryl grabbed his hand and tugged him out of bed. “What about a lie in, now that we have all the time in the world?”
