Page 68 of Love, Lies, and Whiskey

“No. My brothers say I’m like an extended-stay motel.”

“That’s awful.”

He laughed. “Yeah, but it’s accurate. I’m not a dick about it. I tell women up front that I won’t catch feelings for them, and I treat them well.”

She was curious about his dating life and pried with a tease. “Wining and dining all the single ladies around town?”

“Not all of them, but dinner and drinks are expected when you’re dating. I don’t bring women to the ranch to hang out or back to my place, and I don’t take them to the Roadhouse with the guys. I keep that part of my personal life separate from my family and club life.”

“That’s surprising. Your family and the club were always such a big part of who you were.”

“They still are. That’s why I protect them. There have been women who thought they could get under my skin, and they got clingy. I don’t need any of them showing up at the ranch or the Roadhouse and making a scene.”

“Oops,” she said, remembering the scene she’d made, and they both laughed.

He squeezed her leg. “Darlin’, you’re the exception to my every rule.”

They finished eating and talked more about their lives. Seeley told her about the ways the ranch had grown and how they’d expanded the back of the veterinary clinic to include better surgical and recovery rooms. He shared stories about his family, the silly things he and his siblings had done, and the ways they’d supported each other over the years. She’d always wished she’d had a sibling to lean on, and hearing those stories made her wish Lucas had one, too.

She told more stories about Lucas, and they talked about her veterinary practice in California and the ranch where she and Lucas had lived. They reminisced about her grandmother and the time they’d spent with her when they were teenagers and talked about a hundred other things, sharing smiles, laughter, sorrows, and lots of delicious kisses.

They were lost in one of those kisses now, sitting in the moonlight, filling each other up with the years, and the love, they’d missed. It felt as easy and right as it had on their very first date. He’d re-created this beautiful night just for her, and she wanted to re-create one of her favorite parts just for him. “I need a second,” she whispered as she drew back. She pulled off her boots and socks, earning a curiously sexy grin.

“What’re you doing, darlin’?”

“Re-creating another memory I’m quite fond of.” She pushed to her feet and started unbuttoning her dress.

He flashed a wolfish grin.

She’d never seen anyone undress so fast. As the last of her clothes hit the ground, he scooped her into his arms, running into the water with her as they laughed. She shrieked when the cold water hit her skin. She wrapped herself around him as he walked them in deeper. “I don’t remember it being this cold!”

“I’ll warm you up.”

His mouth came coaxingly down over hers, their slick bodies sliding against each other, friction and desire setting her body aflame. His hardness pressed temptingly against her, and he lifted her up, aligning their bodies, and lowered her onto his thick cock, filling her so completely, sparks radiated outward from her core to her fingertips and toes.

They devoured each other, surrendering to their passion, thrusting to a frantic beat, like they’d never get another chance. He fisted one hand in her hair, sending an erotic sting of pain and pleasure coursing through her, and her thoughts spun away. She moaned, and he drove into her harder, deeper, so perfectly, every pump of his hips took her closer to the edge. “Seeley,” she panted out, wanting to say so much more, but every thrust stole her breath.

“I know,” he gritted out. “We’re fucking perfect together. Always have been.”

Her fingernails dug into his shoulders, and a low, sexy growl rumbled up his throat. Their hungry sounds sailed into the darkness, water splashing with their efforts.

He grabbed her ass with both hands, holding it so tight she was sure he’d leave marks, and she hoped he would. She wanted to see his handprints on her skin tomorrow, to know this was real and not a dream. God, she’d missed this, them, their raw, visceral connection. It seemed unfathomable that she’d gone so many years without him, when every second he was inside her, she felt like she needed him to breathe.

“Look at me,” he gritted out, a primal hunger gleaming in his eyes. “Tell me you’re mine. We’ll figure the rest out. Just tell me you’re mine.”

Oh, her heart! “I’m yours, Seeley. I’ve always been yours.”

He tugged her mouth back to his, kissing her so passionately, driving into her so exquisitely, she soared into ecstasy. Her cries and his curses flew from their lips like thunder, their climaxes going on and on. She clung to him as they thrust and ground, kissing and moaning, wishing she could stay in his arms forever.

As they came down from the high, trying to catch their breath, she was floating on a cloud of pleasure. Reveling in his strong arms around her, in their bodies connected as one, she touched her forehead to his, and he murmured, “Jule. My Jule.”

The rawness in his voice brought her eyes to his, and her breath caught at the slew of emotions brimming in them.

“It’s always been you, darlin’. You’re the only person who could ever tear me to shreds or heal me in a single breath. The world was cold and gray without you. You are my light, my fucking heart, and you completely, utterly own me.”

She teared up and opened her mouth to speak, but love whirled inside her like a sandstorm, stealing her voice. But she didn’t need it, because as her heart bubbled over, he kissed her again, slow and deep, drawing all that love to the surface, and she showed him better than words ever could.

AFTER TWO MORE mind-numbing orgasms and dozens of glorious kisses, Seeley used the blanket to dry her off, the same way he had all those years ago. Only this time they weren’t silly kids. There were years of heartache between them and a world of questions ahead of them, which made his caring touch feel even more intimate and meaningful.