Part 14 (1/2)

”That's it. Come for me. I'm right here with you, baby,” Hunter whispered in her ear.

And he was. He rode out her o.r.g.a.s.m until her cries became moans, then her moans turned to soft, breathy sighs. But he never stopped moving, never put s.p.a.ce between their sweat-slicked skin, and before she could process the command from her brain, her body moved of its own volition.

Emerson knotted one leg around Hunter's waist, pus.h.i.+ng with both arms to roll him beneath her. Surprise claimed his expression, but she pressed two fingers over his mouth in rea.s.surance.

”And I'm right here, too. Please, Hunter. I know you're holding back.” She tipped her hips to let him fill her to the hilt, his groan proving her words. ”I want you to let go. Let me make you feel good. Let me in.”

The intensity returned to his stare, and Emerson's breath caught in her throat. He reached out, palms shaping her waist, fingers gripping her tight. Finding a rhythm with his hands, Hunter rocked her back and forth, his c.o.c.k hitting some sweet, hidden spot deep inside of her, and she reached down to grab his wrists, urging him faster.

”Hunter.” Emerson widened her knees, rolling the cradle of her hips tight against his body. Oh G.o.d, she'd never seen him so intense. ”Take me, please. Just like that.”

”So pretty. So perfect,” he grated, continuing to thrust. The pressure between her legs toed the line between ecstasy and ache. She turned her nails into his wrists, bucking into him as he guided her forward again and again, and his muscles grew taut. His back arched off the bed, leaving no daylight between them, and with a few more movements, he shuddered beneath her, coming with a shout.

Dazed, Emerson slid over Hunter's body, belly to belly, chest to chest. Tucking her cheek to his shoulder, she waited out the slam of her heartbeat and the rise and fall of his ragged breath. After a period of time she couldn't gauge, he gently lifted her to separate their bodies, taking a brief minute to slip to the adjacent bathroom. When he returned, she braced herself for reality to crash in, to remind her that this had been casual, a one-time thing, that her happiness with Hunter had to stay in the past and she'd run out of time to escape her damaged body.

But it never happened, so instead, she curled up in Hunter's arms.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

Hunter lay back against his bedsheets, his body completely relaxed while his brain spun at sixteen thousand miles a minute. Less than two hours had pa.s.sed since he and Emerson had crawled under the covers and settled against each other in the same spot he'd slept last night, last week-s.h.i.+t, for the last decade since the cottage had been built. Today, however, the composure he'd relied on for those ten years had been hairpinned into a full one-eighty, because he'd recklessly shared said bedsheets with a woman who-if you'd asked him three short weeks ago-he'd have sworn he'd never lay eyes on again.

And not only had Emerson blown his f.u.c.king mind both in bed and out, but the only thing Hunter could think of was how badly he wanted to part her legs and sink into her slick heat again and again.

He s.h.i.+fted slightly, not wanting to disturb Emerson from the nap she'd drifted into about ninety minutes ago. In truth, he hadn't been entirely sure what to expect when he'd returned to the bedroom after they'd had s.e.x. But she'd slipped back into his arms so easily, her warm, soft body fitting right against his, that he'd just pulled her in close under the covers. She'd fallen asleep not soon after, her body going loose and her breathing changing along with the patterns of sunlight over the floorboards. While Hunter had closed his eyes for a few minutes along with her, he'd spent most of the last hour wide awake and tangled in thought.

Yes, Emerson had changed since the last time she'd been in his bed, and yes again, even though she'd opened up to him about her parents, she still carried a tough brand of caution and a weariness in her eyes that plucked at his warning flags. But she was also the same, with her limitless laugh and that flawless combination of sweetness and sa.s.s that never failed to trip every last one of his switches. Hunter's what if was right here in front of him, asleep in his arms, for Chrissake, and it was getting harder and harder to deny that he wanted to keep her there.

Slowly, she stirred against him, and he pushed back his thoughts in favor of dropping a kiss to the crown of her head. ”Hey. I was starting to wonder if you were going to sleep through the whole evening,” he joked, and she pulled back in surprise.

”I fell asleep?” she murmured in a husky voice, her cheeks pinking with the realization that followed her words. ”I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, but sometimes I . . . I guess I was just tired.”

He shrugged, his bare shoulders sliding against the pillow beneath them. ”I don't mind. I dozed off for a little while there, too.”

”Wait.” Emerson blinked, propping herself up to her elbows to swing her still-sleepy gaze around the room. ”What time is it?”

d.a.m.n good question, actually. Hunter turned to grab a look at the clock on his bedside table. ”Mmmm, nearly six,” he said, the words chased quickly by a mental slap upside the head. ”s.h.i.+t.”

”What's the matter?”

His pulse pushed faster, and he tugged a rough hand through his hair. Dammit, how could he have lost track of that much time?

Gorgeous redhead, best s.e.x of your life . . . ring any bells, dumba.s.s?

Hunter cleared his throat, working up a smile. ”Nothing's wrong. My father and brothers and I normally have supper together on Sat.u.r.days after all the work is done-you know, to break down the week at the farm and spend a little time together. I just have to call over to the house to tell my Pop I can't make it, that's all.”

”No, no.” Emerson sat up and started rummaging for her clothes. ”I overstayed my welcome by falling asleep. Just give me a minute to grab my things, and-”

”You didn't overstay anything.” Okay, so interrupting her skirted the boundaries of bad manners, but come on. He wasn't about to boot her out the door, especially after they'd just spent the better part of three hours naked in his bed.

f.u.c.k, he wanted to turn those three hours into an all-nighter.

But Emerson hadn't called back the search party for her clothes. ”Really, it's fine.” G.o.d d.a.m.n she'd gotten her bra and panties on with speed that bordered on the preternatural. ”I wouldn't dream of keeping you from a family dinner.”

Although she seemed oddly embarra.s.sed at having crashed out for a catnap, her tone was still devoid of drama, as if she'd feel genuine remorse for keeping him from the meatloaf and mashed potatoes special Owen was probably slapping together right now in their old man's kitchen.

Hunter slid out of bed, quickly tugging on his boxer briefs before clasping his fingers around her wrist, mid-b.u.t.ton. ”Then don't. Come with me instead.”

”You want me to go with you? To your father's house,” she added, confirming with, ”for family dinner.”

Emerson looked as shocked as he felt that he'd uttered the words, but still, he didn't backpedal. Asking her might be impulsive, but it also felt right.

”Look, I know we agreed we'd take things easy. What was it you said?” He replayed their conversation on the park bench in his mind, snagging the words a second later. ”Head up, eyes forward, right?”

”Yeah.” She nodded, her expression telling him he'd been spot on in gauging her reason for hedging on supper and rus.h.i.+ng out the door. Reality was, Hunter got where she was coming from. He didn't want to dive into anything, either.

But he also didn't want to let her go.

Taking a step toward her, he said, ”Then let's do that. You've been to probably a hundred suppers at my Pop's place. They're about as formal as a football game, and it's not as if you're a stranger.”

Emerson lifted her chin, her aquamarine stare going wide. ”That's true,” she said, and Hunter took the opening and ran.

”I'm sure my father and Owen and Eli would be happy to see you.” h.e.l.l, maybe his brothers would actually cut their c.r.a.p for a night if Emerson were there with them.

”I'd be happy to see them, too.” Her pause lasted for only a second before she shook her head to cancel it out. ”Your family isn't expecting me, though. I can't just show up.”

Now this part, Hunter could definitely argue with ease. He supposed there were families out there who stood on that sort of formality, but his sure as h.e.l.l wasn't one of them. ”Sure you can. We always make plenty to go around. Anyway, you think it's perfectly normal to drink your breakfast. Even Owen's meatloaf is bound to be better than a meal you don't chew.”

One copper-colored brow arched up, and man, that fire in her eyes revved him all the way up. ”Do not mock my love for coffee,” she warned, sliding a hand to her hip.

”I'll make sure you get a cup after supper.” He leaned in for a bold taste of her mouth. ”Come on, what do you say, small-town girl? Care to stick around?”

She kissed him back, and Hunter felt a smile edge over her lips. ”Make it two cups of coffee and you've got yourself a deal, hotshot.”

They finished getting dressed with a handful of quick movements, and he went downstairs to give Emerson some privacy to freshen up in the bathroom. Ten minutes had her back down the steps, her mussed hair combed into pretty waves and some lip glosstype stuff turning her pretty, bow-shaped mouth the color of ripe peaches. The hot twinge in Hunter's gut arrowed due south at the thought of those lips forming his name, begging him not to stop as he kissed between her legs hard and fast and deep enough to make her come.

Yeah. They needed to go before they didn't.

He pried his thoughts away from Emerson's sheer, sinful mouth, leading the way through the front door and over the whitewashed porch boards. A wall of late-day heat and humidity hit him like a brick, and he flipped the keys to his truck in his palm.

”Normally I'd suggest we walk since it's not that far,” he said, gesturing up the packed dirt path leading toward the main house at the heart of the property. ”But it's been hotter than h.e.l.l's furnace lately. The trip might melt us both.”

Relief flickered over Emerson's face, even stronger than he'd expect for getting a pa.s.s on an easy half-mile hop skip. ”Driving sounds nice,” she said, following him to his F-250. ”You guys must do a ton of walking around here on any given day.”

He swiveled his gaze over the cornfields growing tall and green on either side of his cottage, unable to cage his smile. ”We get in our fair share of stompin' around. We have a few ATVs that we use for the longer hauls, and in a pinch, we'll cover the distance by truck if we've got to move hay or fertilizer or feed.”

Hunter spent the two-minute drive to the main house reacquainting her with Cross Creek, pointing out the grove of apple trees and the greenhouses off in the distance, then the dirt road leading to the back half of their property where they did all their cattle farming. Emerson rolled down her window, her stare rounding with surprise beneath the shade of her hand as her line of sight caught on the old hay barn on the hill.