We keep up the back-and-forward for all of two minutes before I can’t take any more. I grab her hips and fuck her like an animal. Grunting. Rutting. Heat lashes down my spine as I get closer and closer. She urges me on with sexy little noises, then her pussy contracts around me and she cries out. It feels too good and I hurtle into oblivion. This time, my heart follows my body over the edge and I give her everything I have. No holding back. No regrets.
Hopefully she’ll be waiting for me at the bottom.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Devon
When I arrive home after a long training session, I find Harley lying on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. She’s lost in thought and doesn’t glance up as I approach. I come to a stop above her.
“Harls, you okay?”
She flinches, then smiles sheepishly. “Sorry, you surprised me. I didn’t hear you come in.”
“I wasn’t exactly quiet.” I never am. “Quiet” isn’t a strength of mine. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“I’ve been thinking.”
“About what?” I perch on the edge of the sofa, looking down at her.
“About my mom.” She purses her lips. “I haven’t seen her for ages, and meeting your parents got me thinking about her. She visited in Thailand a while ago, but I haven’t gone home since getting back into the country, and I probably should.”
“Huh.” She rarely mentions her mom, and neither does Seth. I don’t even know the woman’s name. “Is she local?”
“No.” Something flashes in her eyes that looks a lot like vulnerability. “She’s in a little town called Cedar Bend in Oregon.”
“Cedar Bend,” I muse. “It sounds like something from a Hallmark film.”
She snorts. “Hardly. It’s one of those places with a very clear line between the haves and the have-nots, and when I was young, we fell firmly on the wrong side of that line. An irredeemable flaw as far as many of the locals are concerned.”
“Surely your mom isn’t on the wrong side of that line anymore,” I say, fishing for more information. I want to know where she came from and what made her who she is. “What with Seth being a big name and having his own gym.”
“Nah, Seth may have bought her a nice house in a good part of town, but that doesn’t make the locals treat her any better. Her son made his money with his fists.” Her face twists with scorn. “Not a respectable career, in their holier-than-thou opinions.”
“Fuck them. Anyone who judges people based on money and circumstances isn’t worth her time.”
Her smile is full of gratitude and it hits me with the power of a foot to the gut. “You’re right. Fuck ’em. Who cares what they think anyway?”
“Exactly.” I nod, encouraging her. “But you should definitely visit, and you should bring me with you.”
She smiles, almost shyly. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“I want to see where the woman I love grew up.” I don’t hold back on reminding her of how I feel. Even if she doesn’t love me yet, she cares deeply. “I want to see the house where you grew up, visit your school, have tea with your mom, or whatever the fuck people do in Cedar Bend, Oregon. Because I want to know you.”
She shifts restlessly. “You do. More than most people.” She sits up, swings her legs around until her thighs align with mine, and grabs her phone from her pocket. “I was actually thinking of visiting next weekend. Just a flying trip. What do you say?”
“Hell, yeah.” I pump my fist. “Will Seth want to come?” I haven’t seen my old coach since he found out about me and Harley, although he’s sent me a couple of texts with suggestions about combinations to use against Karson Hayes, which I’m taking as a positive sign.
“Uh, no.” She sighs. “He never visits Mom. He always gets her to travel down here. He hates Cedar Bend. I always feel bad for Mom though. It must be hard for her.”
I squeeze her thigh. “He’ll go there eventually. Maybe he just doesn’t like losing the time it takes to travel. He’s a busy guy.”
“No.” She shakes her head, her voice strained. “Trust me, it’s not that. There are some deep issues I don’t want to get into.”
“Okay.” I’m intrigued, but I won’t pry. “Either way, I’m glad I get to come.”
Her lips curve up. “Me, too.”
Is it crazy how excited I am?
