nineteen
Jamie
Agentlewindsweptthrough the abundance of trees as the crackle of the bonfire masked the sound of crickets and campers’ conversations. There was something special about being here in this place. I could see why Autumn loved it. And yet there was still so much about her that I still didn’t quite understand. Being self-assured and hilarious were qualities she’d always had, but now there was something freer about how she carried herself, something I hadn’t seen before. The small-town comforts, the wilderness, and the bonfire smoke were all a part of her. It was like she’d always belonged here.
Fingers interlaced behind my head, I lay back and listened to the sweet sound of laughter as it floated through the white linen curtains over the bed. After a full day in town, I welcomed some alone time, content with the book in my hand, and the night’s ambiance warming my cabin. After reading the same page over and over, I realized my persistence was futile due tothe gorgeous blonde who kept popping up unbidden in my mind. I decided on a shower instead.
The water cascaded over me as I gave myself exactly until the end of this shower to stop obsessing about her. Turning off the nozzle, I felt clean but far from relaxed. I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the woman who’d turned my world upside down, not once but twice. Those hazel eyes and those distractingly bow-shaped lips I was too tempted to kiss.
Snuggling into the fluffy terry cloth robe, I headed back to my cabin. I made it to my room and fell back into the bed as if I were about to make an angel in fresh-packed snow. I wanted to get dressed, needed to, but I could also just lie here like this for the rest of the night and be content.
A fierce knock came at my door, and I scrambled up. Was Ren back already? When I pulled on the knob, my heart froze a beat as I tried to make sense of what was before me. Autumn. Those eyes set me ablaze. Wait, were those herfuck meeyes? Said eyes trailed unapologetically down my body. What the hell was happening? I was dreaming. Yes, that must be it. I swallowed hard under her perusal. Curse this comfy robe. It wasn’t going to conceal the response I was having to that look for much longer.
Autumn gently nudged the door wider. My brain worked to catch up quickly. I wasn’t about to question what brought her here.
“Are you going to invite me in?” Autumn asked enticingly.
I stepped back, and she strode inside. I was still trying to figure out what was happening. This wasn’t how I thought my night would go.
Closing the door behind her, Autumn mirrored my movements as we looked at each other. It felt like we’d last forever in this standoff after several drawn-out seconds, but then she took me by surprise and reached for me, placing one hand into mine, its familiarity and warmth sending a shockwavethrough me. Already off-kilter, I was even less prepared when her other hand, full of confidence, found the back of my neck. An almost embarrassing sigh left my lips at that touch alone.
“What are you—”
She moved her hand from my neck, sliding it toward my mouth. A gentle finger pressed my lips together, stopping the question. Her hands found both sides of my robe, and my chest tightened at the movement, all questions leaving my mind.
Autumn’s fierce gaze shone brighter than any bonfire ever could, and those flames drawing me in hadn’t let up since she’d arrived. Filled with smoldering intensity, wrapped up in lust and promise. Her gaze dropped to her hands, which clasped my robe tightly. Steady and sure, she flicked her eyes back up to my face for confirmation, before her confident hands pulled my robe the rest of the way open.
Her eyes lingered on mine, then drifted down, down, down. Her gaze burned and caressed and demanded. I took a breath, realizing I hadn’t breathed since her fingers touched my skin. Autumn tracked my movements and licked her lips as if she liked what she saw.
Another man would have been self-conscious about his ex-girlfriend taking his naked form in, but things had improved since high school. And the tongue between her teeth told me just that. I may have put in seventy-hour work weeks, but when I wasn’t killing myself in the office, I was working myself to the bone in the gym. Apart from hanging out with Ren, it was my only pastime, and today, that didn’t sound as pathetic as it was.
I pressed my body up against hers and glanced down at her lips, then back to her eyes. Not wasting any time, Autumn pressed her mouth to mine. Our reintroduction wasn’t tentative. She kissed me as though we’d never stopped. Answering kisses became ferocious as she moaned into my mouth, her tonguedancing with mine. Lips finding their places, breaths finding their rhythm, it was all familiar yet sparkling new.
Moving fast and frantic, Autumn was ready for more. I used my lips to draw out apologies and promises along her neck and ears, before rising to her pace. I met her eyes again before my fingers found the top button of her jeans. I didn’t need to know why I’d suddenly gotten so lucky. All I needed to know was that she was here, and she wanted me. I wasn’t going to do anything to mess it up. I undid the button and moved my hands up her sides to cup her face, to kiss her, to taste her again. She went pliant and soft, warm in my arms.
Kissing Autumn tasted like everything good in this world. So much better than I remembered, but she also tasted like… Sugar? Marshmallow sweet, slightly smoky, tinged with artificial berry lip balm that made a heady combination, all pieces of my new heaven. We kissed until our cheeks were flushed. Our foreheads pressed together, we shared the same air.
Taking a moment to appreciate her, I leaned back, keeping our hips interlocked. Pink kiss-strained lips parted as we caught our breath together. Her flannel hung open, and hardened peaks stood out against the thin material of her tank top. I thumbed the fabric, immediately pleased as Autumn arched into my touch. Her hands found the back of my neck again as I leaned down and kissed her.
As I held my breath against her neck a moment later, the zipper’s undoing became the only sound in the cabin. Autumn’s hands kept possession of me while I hooked my fingers into her belt loops. Leaning back to meet her eyes again, I slowly peeled her hip-hugging jean shorts down. She stepped out of them, one leg at a time. Her fingers rested on my neck and urged me back up to her mouth. I gave a slight shake and dropped to my knees before her.
Leaning back on my heels, I smiled as Autumn pressed against my door, and when she returned the same fire and raw need, I let myself continue to explore her body with my mouth. Eagerness and desire greeted me as I trailblazed a path to her belly button, slowly making my way toward her hip. Peeking out from the waistline of her underwear was the edges of a tattoo.What have we here?I grinned up to find Autumn watching me, rapt with my every move. Need to taste her again, after all this time, consumed me.
Her eyes, wide and certain, locked on mine and gave me all the encouragement I needed before my mouth came down on her with a little more power and purpose. Kissing her as if I’d never have this chance again because, in all honesty, I probably wouldn’t. I wasn’t going to waste a moment. I licked over her underwear-clad pussy. Autumn moaned, her fingers on my scalp encouraging me to graze my teeth over her. Her body writhed beneath me and put me in an awestruck state of being. I hooked my fingers in the delicate fabric and yanked them away, dropping them on the floor. Autumn shivered, her lips quirking up in an approving grin.
Gingerly, I traced my tongue along her hip to the exposed tattoo of a constellation I didn’t recognize before I kissed it and made my way to the place I’d been dying to visit since she stepped inside.
Wild and tender noises made the best melody as Autumn met me with enthusiasm, her body reacting to every graze of my lips on her. I knew right then that nothing else would do it for me again. In all the years that stretched between us, nothing else had come close to feeling this good.
Desire was all I saw in the glance up at Autumn before I sank my mouth onto her, tasting her for the first time in way too long. This gorgeous woman was all about my tongue on her as she ground herself lightly against me, chasing her pleasure. Pullingher thigh up onto my shoulder, I opened her farther, giving in to the need to consume her. I dipped my tongue inside her core, pushing in and out a couple of times, tasting what I’d thought I’d never have again. My fingers took over, stroking inside of her as I swirled my tongue and sucked on her clit, wanting to remind her of all the ways I knew her. Her body was attuned to mine, soaking wet and shaking for me.
Autumn groaned, her pleasure building fast, coiled and ready to explode. If the way her hands tightened on me wasn’t enough of an indication, the way her gasps became more guttural and raw was.
I didn’t let up, pulling her ass against me, eagerly encouraging her with my fingers. I hung on to every moan she gave me, every ragged breath, every twitch. She was close, and I was dying to hear her say my name. I imagined how she’d half groan it, half growl it. As I swirled my tongue again and curled my fingers slightly against her front wall, Autumn stiffened against me. Her ankle dug into my back as her orgasm rocketed through her. The crescendo of her pleasure washed over both of us as I devoured her.
Autumn melted farther into me, giving me the sweet nectar of her release, but I didn’t let up. Soon, she became too sensitive and tapped me on the head, causing me to reluctantly pull away. She caught her breath before her leg fell from my shoulder, and she dragged me back to my feet.
Autumn stamped a claiming sort of kiss to my lips, and my heart pounded as she walked us back toward my bed. Her eyes fixated on me as though there was nothing else in the world worth looking at, and I knew without a doubt I’d follow her anywhere.
