Page 86 of Heart & Hope

He thunders into me. Each harsh thrust comes with his thumb circling my clit.

Again, I explode around him.

This time, he groans. His body starts to shake, and his hand slips from my center. “We need to move, baby.”

I don’t argue, and he’s off the bed and waiting with his arms outstretched for me when I walk on my knees to the edge. Scooping me onto his hips, he pads to the wall. My back meets the wood, and he adjusts his hold on me and thrusts inside. Oh, wow . . .

Holy shit.

“I like this.” I grip his shoulders, nails biting into his skin. All I want to do is arch into him, but I don’t want to hit the floor, so I tilt my hips, taking him deeper.

He smiles under hooded eyes and slams a hand onto the wall above my head, thrusting harder. Reed tenses, and his body starts to shake again. God, I want him to unravel. Just like he said. What I wouldn’t give to have him do that while I’m wrapped around him.

“Reed.” I take his face in my hands. “Look at you.”

I kiss his mouth, his jaw, and trail nips down his neck. When he groans, I meet his gaze.

“You are my whole heart, Ruby Jane Robbins.”

The words hit hard.

I’ve never been anyone’s first priority, let alone someone’s everything. The words tangle around my heart with a squeeze. And... like that, I can’t breathe. I want Reed to take it all. All I have.

A growl rumbles from his lips as his movements turn erratic.

He’s close.

So am I, again.

I close my eyes and let my head fall to one side. Warm lips tease my nipple, and I explode around Reed. Letting go of his shoulders, I open my eyes with a whimper. Hands through his hair, I tighten my grip as my heart and soul shatter for him.

“Beautiful, god,” he rasps, slamming into me hard. He spills into me in hot waves. Giving me everything he has.

Trembling all over, I fold around him as he buries his head in my shoulder and peels me from the wall. He’s moving, but I don’t know where to. Wrung out and thoroughly satiated, I breathe him in, my forehead on his temple, our air mingling as he lowers us. When I open my eyes, we are on the bed, his back to the headboard like before.

I kiss his mouth, but it’s not hungry—not anymore. It’s more than that; it’s adoration and contentment, swaddled into a feeling I can’t really explain.

His arms are still tight around my waist as he hugs me close. “I don’t want to let you go, Ruby.”

The words are soft, too quiet, almost like a well-kept secret I’m not supposed to hear. I pull back a little and search his face. His green eyes are creased with emotion. He traces his fingers over my cheekbones and down to my jaw. Each breath as heavy as the last, he’s still as worked up as he was moments ago.

“Please don’t,” I whisper.

Something painful flashes across his face, and he schools it back before he folds me into his embrace. Exhausted, I nuzzle into his neck, happy to stay put for a while and be held. Be wanted.

The slow pull of sleep creeps up on me, and my lids droop. When a small sigh slips from my lips, he moves. A heartbeat later, I’m lying on the bed on my side. His warmth has all but disappeared, and I glimpse over my shoulder. “Reed?”

“It’s okay, beautiful. Not lettin’ go, I promise.”

He slides in behind me and pulls my weary body against his, arms folding me into him, his chin on my head. The thump of his heartbeat taps against my back. Like a comfort. I lace my fingers through his and let sleep drag me down.

Time, if you don’t mind, you can stand still now.

Chapter Twenty-One

REED

Magnet trots along the newly cut dirt track at a steady pace as I rise and fall in the saddle. The sun is hanging halfway up the blue sky, cooler air rolling in. I push the gelding into a lope, wanting to be home already. Rubes went into town to grab some groceries and run errands while I mark out the last of the trail for guests.

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