Page 27 of Winter Memories

CHAPTER 11

FLETCHER

My cock is hard and throbbing behind the fly of my jeans as I lead her out of the Range and toward my truck. Tonight has been exactly what I wanted it to be so far. We needed to be seen. I wanted to make sure that everyone knows I’ve claimed my woman. Again.

I know I wasn’t the only guy who looked at Eden and wanted her back in the day. She never saw it, but I did. She was gorgeous then, but she’s fucking stunning now. The way she’s grown into herself, the confidence she has, just makes her natural beauty shine that much more.

You can call it possessive, the need I have to make sure everyone knows she’s off limits now with her back in town, but I don’t give a fuck. They need to know. I won’t be able to be with her all the time and I don’t want anyone getting any ideas.

She’s always been mine. The years apart didn’t change adamn thing about that.

As the truck is warming up, I turn toward my woman to find her smiling softly to herself. Just that little bit of joy radiating from her is enough to make my heart pound in my chest.

“This was nice,” she muses as her dark eyes find mine. “Thank you for taking me out. I’ve had a wonderful night.”

“Even though you were worried about being the town pariah?”

Her laughter fills the truck and her cheeks pink with embarrassment. And fuck if it doesn’t make me fall for her even a little bit more. How is it even possible?

She shrugs and shakes her head self-deprecatingly. “The town has always loved you and your family,” she points out. “I wasn’t sure what people knew or speculated about, and I haven’t been back to find out. I’ve spent most of my time since coming home away from town. I just wasn’t sure if people would blame me.” Her voice drops to a whisper, “I got the impression from Mom you changed after we broke up.”

“I did,” I admit. “I closed myself off in a lot of ways and became moodier and grumpier. I wouldn’t let anyone blame you for it, though. It was all me.”

She makes a humming sound as she cocks her head to the side and studies me. “You don’t seem grumpy.”

“How can I be grumpy when the love of my life has come back to me?”

Fuck, when she smiles at me, all I can see is her. I reach out and run the pad of my thumb along her bottom lip, tracing the curve of her smile.

“Eden,” I groan, my cock begging me to keep my mouth shut and just take her to my house to fuck her so hard that she can’t walk straight tomorrow, but I can’t. “I want to take you home.”

Her shoulders slump and she looks down to hide the disappointment on her face. “Of course,” there’s a fake upbeat note in her voice, “it’s been a lovely night.”

“No,” my tone is firm, “you don’t understand.” Her eyes snap up to mine and I can see the questions swirling there. “I didn’t mean taking you back to your parent’s place. I want to take you to my house at Limitless.”

She bites the corner of her mouth to try to suppress her smile, but I can see it in the way her eyes sparkle. “I’d like that,” she murmurs softly.

“You have to know,” I warn her, “if I take you home and you let me have you, there’s no going back. You’ll be mine and we’ll be doing this.”

Eden stares into my eyes for a beat and then breathes out slowly. “I want that. I want you. I’m not going to run away and give up being with you. I’ve missed you every day for 13 years, Fletcher. I can’t go another day without you and without being in your life.”

“Fuck,” I growl and tangle my fingers in her hair and tug her closer.

When my mouth slams down on hers, everything disappears around us. The taste of her on my tongue, the way she moans into my mouth, it’s fucking intoxicating. I could kiss her for the rest of my life and be a happy man.

My cock thumps in my jeans and reminds me that we want to do a lot more than just kiss our Shooting Star. We’re bothbreathing hard when we break apart. I study Eden’s face, and it’s clear she’s not second guessing herself.

As much as I want to race through our small town, I force myself to drive safely and carefully. Even though we’re both quiet all the way to Limitless, the closer we get the more the tension between us builds. The moment I get her in the house, the house I want to make ours as soon as possible, I won’t be able to keep hold of my control.

She rubs her hands over her pants when we park. My heart is beating so hard that I’m sure she can hear it. “Fletcher,” there’s a neediness in her voice which has me hopping out of the truck and coming around to her side.

When I wrench the door open, I unbuckle her and hoist her over my shoulder. She giggles as her small hands grip the sides of my jacket and she relaxes in my hold.

Fuck. I love her laughter. I love being the reasons she laughs.

I just love her. It probably is too early to say it, but I know I won’t be able to keep it inside for much longer. It would be different if we were strangers, but we’re not. We’ve known each other our whole lives, there was never anyone else for me but her.

My feet don’t stop moving until I’m inside my room, my eyes going to the closed guest room door as we move past it and letting out a silent breath of relief because she can’t see inside even though she’s not paying attention. I don’t want to ruin the surprise too early.

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