Page 34 of The Cold Ride

I lifted my heavy eyelids. Our gazes connected, and emotions swelled inside my chest. There was no one else who had ever made me feel the way James did. He made me feel like I could do anything as long as he was at my side. The moment our eyes connected, he withdrew and thrust, driving into me with a power that stole every thought, dwindling my existence down to the here and now with him. He looped his arms around my legs. His hands held my thighs prisoner and put me at his mercy.

Pleasure engulfed me. I writhed, rocking and meeting his thrusts. There had been no one since him. Because when the right person touched you, it made all the others pale imitations by comparison. And if I couldn’t have him, I didn’t want anyone else.

He leaned over me on the bed, planting his hands beside my shoulders, and increased his tempo to just below hanging on for dear life as he fucked my brains out. The new position shoved my legs up, and my ankles now rested against his shoulders. It changed the angle of penetration as he fucked me with single-minded determination.

“More,” I demanded with a moan as my eyes crossed at the ecstasy.

With a grunt, he pulled out and shoved my body back further on the bed, following me down until he was back between my thighs. I wriggled until I felt his crown pushing back inside me. My arms circled his torso. I gripped his back and wrapped my legs around his waist.

His face was inches from mine as we moved together. The years fell away as we moved. It was like we were back on that beach. Two people caught up in the other. And I hated all the time we’d lost.

Because deep down, I knew there would never be another man who touched me like James did. This was no fly-by-night deal for me.

I had loved him from the moment we first kissed on that beach ten years ago. And I’d never stopped. I’d set it aside for a time. It had been an issue of survival. With an infant to raise, an inn to run, and then taking care of Henry and Sue, I didn’t have time to walk around crying at what I’d lost. There’d never been any time.

But being with him again drove home just how spot-on I’d been.

James was the only man I had ever truly loved. And I wanted him to stay this time. I wanted us to be a family for real. Although I knew it would take some convincing on my part. If I had to tell him I loved him every single day for the rest of our lives, I would do it.

Because nobody touched me the way he did.

And I knew, as his mouth closed over mine and he drank down my moans, that regardless of what happened, there would be no one else for me.

We moved together like we’d been doing this together our whole lives. There was no awkwardness or missed step. We were in sync the whole time. My nails dug into his back as we rocked together.

And I didn’t know that I could live without him again. Not when I breathed, and he was there to fill me with air. Not when I gasped as he plunged so deep that I didn’t know where he ended, and I began. Not when I knew he was the only man I would ever love.

Need eclipsed all else. At the first flutters of my orgasm, I flexed around his cock, dragging a groan out of him. He rammed so deep he hit my cervix. And the pleasurable pain shoved me into bliss. My climax ripped through me with teeth. Shudders enveloped me, and my toes fucking curled. I wailed, “James.”

He grunted, hammering wildly inside me as he came. And he poured himself inside me, filling my sheath with his come. He slumped down on top of me as the errant thought hit me—we’d not used a condom again. It seemed to be par for the course for us. I was on birth control, so it didn’t matter to me. I’d rather there be no barrier between us. But I held him close. I never wanted to let him go. This was where he belonged. Here, with me. Except I had no clue how to convince him we belonged together.

But then the familiar deep rumble of the school bus filtered in through my bliss-infused haze. I jolted at what it meant.

“Shit.” I shoved at his chest.

“Something wrong?” His lips moved against my neck while his body was a dead weight atop me. And normally, I would love to stay and cuddle like this. Perhaps go for a round two. But not now.

Still shoving at his chest, I nodded. “Yes. That’s the bus. Amelia’s home. Get up and get dressed. Hurry.”

James bolted up like we were under attack. We acted like two teenagers about to be caught in the act by our parents as we rapidly dressed.

“Go. Sit at the kitchen table and pretend you’re eating lunch.”

“What are you going to do?” he asked, shoving his arms into his shirt and yanking it down over his head. His hair was messy from my fingers.

“Straighten my just-fucked hair.” He flashed a satisfied male grin my way as I shooed him out of my room. The moment I was alone, I raced into the bathroom and brushed my hair into a semblance of order. After taking a few calming breaths, I headed into the kitchen.

I had just sat down when Amelia came bursting through the door with a, “Hi, Mom. Do you know where—”

She waltzed into the kitchen, where it looked like we were both eating sandwiches. “Hi, Dad. I didn’t expect to find you in here.”

“Yeah, your mom and I are having a late lunch. We were working on the inn all day.”

“I can tell. You both look sweaty.”

I just about died on the spot. But I swallowed down any embarrassment. “Um, why don’t you go put your backpack in your room. I’ll grab you a snack.”

Amelia grinned, “Okay, Mom.” And then she skipped down the hall past us.

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