Eventually, I feel her limbs relax, and with one final kiss to her clit, I slowly pull my fingers out, catching her as she sags against me. I manage to stand up, lift her into my arms, and place her on my bed before stripping off my shirt and pants, leaving my boxer briefs on, and climb in beside her. I love how long it takes her to come down from an orgasm. To me, that just speaks to the intensity of what Paige feels every time, and that’s fucking hot. She lets go fully, allowing herself to be immersed in sensation, and watching her slowly drift back to reality is beautiful.
She is beautiful.
Chapter fourteen
Paige
The cliche of feeling like you’re floating on air has always eluded me. Until now. For several days, I have felt light, happy, and free. If I stop to think about the cause of my ebullient mood, I start to question it. Therefore, I am choosing to simply enjoy, and deal with any repercussions later.
Today is a day I have been looking forward to for some time. I’ve shut down the shop for the day, and I will be out in the grassy area of the town square for the festival-style fundraiser and adopt-a-thon Mila and Jackson have organized to raise funds to open an animal shelter in town. Utilizing his connections as the town vet, Jackson has brought in staff from several shelters in other parts of the island who are bringing adoptable animals to showcase. There are games and vendors who paid to display their items for sale, and there is a concert later tonight.
Mila and Jackson roped all of us in to help with the final stages of organizing and setting up the event, which is how I find myself carrying crates containing bunnies to the space designated for the Victoria Regional Animal Shelter. The volunteer thanks me as I set it down, and I dust off my hands, then turn to go to my next task, only to be frozen in place from the sight in front of me.
Wyatt is carrying an adorable tan coloured puppy that is nestled in comfortably in his arms. He’s unaware of me, but I watch his every move. The sight of this man carrying a puppy — the man who is coming to mean more to me than I expected — causes my heart to flutter in my chest in an alarming way. My hand lifts up to rub my chest, as if to ease the strange sensation, but then he dips his head down to kiss the puppy’s nose and a sound escapes me.
“Damn girl, that man is all kinds of fantasies come to life. He’s like a walking, talking advertisement for the perfect guy.” Serena drops her arm over my shoulders, startling me from my ogling.
“Hush, he’ll hear you,” I admonish, looking quickly to Wyatt, who has stopped at a shelter’s set up to deposit the puppy.
“I’m just saying. You need to lock that down. You’re happy, Paige. Happier than I’ve ever seen you. It’s subtle, but it’s there and it’s because of him.”
Serena walks away, leaving me to obsess about her observation. I never thought of myself as unhappy, but she’s right. Lately, I have felt remarkably cheerful.
I walk over to Wyatt, who is now bent over the fenced-in area where the puppy he dropped off is up on its hind legs, licking his hand.
“That puppy certainly likes you,” I comment, coming to stand beside him. He twists to face me with a grin, and my hand reaches up to push a stray curl of hair back from his forehead.
“She’s freaking adorable isn’t she? So chill, too.” He looks back down at the puppy who is now sitting down, but still watching him, her head tilted to the side. “You should get her.”
“What? Me?” His comment surprises me, but then I reach my hand down, and the puppy instantly starts licking my palm. “I can’t…”
Wyatt straightens and turns to me, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “Sure you could. Hi, by the way.”
“Hi.” I keep my eyes focused on the puppy. She truly is a sweet-looking little dog, and part of me can envision her curled up on a bed beside me at the store. A warm hand comes under my chin and tilts my head up. Wyatt’s blue eyes are warm, and open, as he leans in and kisses me on the lips softly.
“Okay you two, break it up. There’s work to do.” Mila’s loud voice interrupts us. Wyatt backs away, but takes my hand in his as we turn to face her.
“Wyatt. I know you’re new here, but you’re part of the crew, so let’s get to it. Ethan and Reid are setting up the VIP section for Nash’s concert, can you go and help out?
Wyatt looks from Mila to me, shock evident on his face. “Nash, as in, Nash Parker?”
Mila nods proudly. “Yeah, his drummer is friends with my brother. Nash and his girlfriend fell in love here during the Summer Solstice Festival last year, so they were happy to come back and help with the fundraiser.”
Wyatt kisses me once more, briefly, then heads over to where Ethan is carrying a metal fence panel. My eyes follow him, greedily drinking in the way his jeans hug his backside, the narrow taper of his back to his trim waist. I know the muscles that lay beneath the fabric of his shirt, and that memory has my tongue darting out to lick my lips.
“You’ve got it bad, girlfriend.”
I glance over at Mila, a frown furrowing my brow. “Got what?”
“Him. You. You guys. Seriously, if the sparks get any hotter between you two, we’ll need a fire extinguisher.”
I feel my cheeks heat up at her words. “I apologize if we made you uncomfortable. I am unaccustomed to having a relationship that involves public displays of affection, so I must admit I’m not certain where the line of propriety is.”
“Oh honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you,” Mila takes my hand in hers and I can’t help but notice how much I prefer the feel of Wyatt’s rough, strong, large hands to hers. “I’m just so happy to see you like this. You seem so relaxed and happy.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that? First Serena, and now you. Was I truly that unpleasant to be around before Wyatt?” I can’t keep the hurt out of my voice. My reaction is unexpected. I’m not prone to strong emotions, but when it comes to how others perceive me, my sensitivity is deep-rooted.
“No, no, no. Oh my God, Paige, no. We love you, just the way you are and always have. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that at all.” Mila’s voice is full of remorse, and she has taken hold of both my hands, forcing me to stand facing her. “Let me see if I can explain it better.” She takes her lower lip between her teeth, her eyes searching me as I stand there stiffly. I love Mila as a good friend, but her scrutiny feels extremely uncomfortable right now.
