He brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Because I love you.”
The words sounded like their silence—pure and simple. But they were anything but.
They hit like a lightning strike, illuminating all the places inside her that were once dark.
A soft sound burst past her lips because she’d felt it too, building and growing and taking root.
“I love you too,” she whispered.
The truth swelled between them and bound them closer. Just as she surged onto her toes, he leaned down and captured her mouth again. The kiss was slower and deeper, unhurried now that they had the rest of their lives ahead of them.
When the kiss ended, they leaned against the fence again, their arms around each other. The wood was warm against her body, and Church—Grant—the man sheloved, was solid against her side.
“This is nothing like what I had before.”
He turned his head, gaze flicking over her face. “How so?”
“Matt and I…we could talk, but not like this.” She tilted her face up to his. “You and I can talk about everything.”
He brushed his lips over hers, a soft stroke that left her shivering for more. “Good. Because I don’t want anything between us. Not Matt, not the past. Nothing.”
Her mind shot straight to the moment when she urged him to take her without any barriers, and going by how his pupils dilated, she guessed he was thinking of that too.
Their lips collided again in a lingering kiss that was a promise of what was to come.
By the time they pulled apart, the sun was dipping low over the mountains and the breeze brought a hint of woodsmoke on the current.
“Want to join the bonfire tonight if it doesn’t rain before then?” he asked her.
She wanted to fall into her lover’s arms. But knowing they had all the time in the world made her agree.
They twined their fingers on the walk back. When they reached the fire, sparks were drifting up into the sky. Peoplegathered around the flames, talking and joking. Some of them snuggled under blankets.
As soon as she and Church appeared together, Rhae stared at their joined hands and smiled. Layne handed her a cup of hot cocoa, and she thanked her, remembering the sunrise coffee she’d shared with Church that day.
Willow pulled her into a discussion about holding sunrise yoga inside the lodge after the weather turned, and pretty soon Zee was part of the group as much as Church was while talking to the guys.
Every time she glanced up, he was watching her.
By the time the fire turned to glowing coals, Zee’s pulse had started to climb with anticipation. As if Church knew it too, he took her hand and drew her to her feet.
She leaned into his side and let him lead her back to their loft to finish what they’d started back at their spot.
Chapter Thirteen
Church closed his fingers around Zee’s, and it felt like he’d grabbed an electric fence considering all the sensations tearing through his body.
As they rushed into the shadows where the light of the bonfire didn’t reach, darkness swallowed them. Zee drifted so close that their arms bumped.
Such an innocent touch, yet it conjured memories of her moving against him in the throes of passion, her soft curves cradling his hips as he sank inside her.
His cock lengthened with pulsing need, and he didn’t make it another step before he stopped and pinned her against the wall of the lodge.
She let out a gasp of surprise, and the restraint he’d been battling for since those sweet words—I love you—vanished.
Her body knew what to do. She planted a hand on the back of his head and towed him down. Their lips crushed together as wild passion flowed between them unchecked.
There was nothing gentle about it, and she didn’t seem to want anything different. She kissed him back with equal need, her teeth sinking lightly into his bottom lip when he attempted to break the kiss.
