Page 80 of The Pretenders of Copper County
“You like that, huh?”
I reached down and threaded my fingers through his hair to keep his head there. His laughter rumbled as he teased and tormented me with his tongue.
I’d never even known this kind of feeling was possible. Never known I could feel so close to another human. As he continued to pay every attention to prepping me, his hands roamed over my stomach, my thighs, my chest, and he even took one of my hands in his and held it tightly.
My heart thundered. Errant thoughts of a future withReed tried to sneak their way into my head and heart, but I forced them out. There was no room for reality in this fantasy.
“Please,” I begged. “Want to feel you. Please.”
Reed finished what he was doing, wiped his mouth on the T-shirt he’d discarded earlier, and moved up to kiss me under my ear. It was his favorite spot, the one he’d discovered early on made me whimper like a begging puppy.
He murmured soft instructions as he moved me into the position he wanted. When he was finally ready to push inside me, he paused until I met his eyes.
“You will tell me to stop if you need me to stop.”
“Yes,” I breathed, even though my brain was saying,Like heck.
“Take a breath. That’s it.” He continued to encourage me to relax, his deep voice slithering into my ears and turning my entire body to goo.
By the time his big cock began to stretch me out, I felt the sting of tears in my eyes, not from discomfort but from just how overwhelming it was to be this close to him.
Reed treated me like something precious, and at that moment, I suddenly realized just how much he’d opened himself up to me. He’d told me more about himself, shared bits and pieces of his life with me, and allowed me to see behind his big, thick walls.
“Reed,” I breathed into his chest as he moved above me.
“You feel so good,” he said on a groan. “Baby, fuck.”
I tilted my head back to watch him as he thrust in and out of me. His face was flushed and his eyes glassy, his lips red and full from all the attention they’d paid to me earlier.
“Reed,” I said again.
“I have you.”
Reed’s cock struck something indescribable insideof me, and I let out a feral noise. His eyes sharpened and darkened—intent on my pleasure, intent onme—as his cock struck me again and again in the same spot.
When my release finally came, I felt like I was flying. Like the butterfly I’d once wanted to be.
But at the same time, some part of me felt solidly anchored, too. Truly understood and really, truly safe… for the first time I could remember.
After making love with Reed,my emotions were a total whirlwind, and I spent the rest of the day on autopilot.
That afternoon, Reed had cautiously tried to bring up the topic of my uncle and suggest things I could do with my future—he even mentioned Little Pippin Hollow more than once, which was kind of funny since I knew how he felt about the place. He was trying to be supportive and helpful, which was so, so nice, and I appreciated it.
But for the first time in… well, ever… I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want to discuss Danny or how confused and heartsick I felt after seeing the document Reed had shown me. Didn’t want to consider whether Danny was actually guilty of the crimes he’d admitted to. Didn’t want to plan for a time when I’d say goodbye to Copper County. And definitely didn’t want to think about saying goodbye to Reed.
I wanted to linger in my afterglow and live in the fantasy a little longer.
So I lost myself in my work and allowed my mind to drift. I painted cabin interiors and sanded trim boards until my back hurt and my arms shook with fatigue. I barely spoke to Zach when he came by to help, and when Dolores sought me out to discuss custom charcuterie boards overcupcakes, I put her off, even though that would have been an irresistible temptation any other day.
There were some problems even charcuterie couldn’t fix.
That night, I practically attacked Reed the minute he finished clearing up from dinner and led him back to the bedroom. I didn’t want to discuss the party at the Observatory House he’d told me about, though I’d been fascinated by the house across the lake since the first time I’d seen it. I didn’t even want to watchJohn Ruffian.
All I wanted was for me and Reed to crawl into a bubble together and shut the world out. I wanted his hands on me. His mouth. His hard cock. I wanted to memorize the exact placement of every tiny scar and freckle on his body and to learn exactly where to kiss him to make him groan, and curse, and melt.
Unlike the other times we’d been together this week, this time, there was no laughter or teasing banter between us. Reed kissed every inch of my body with slow deliberation, the intense heat in his green eyes not cooling for a second. And every kiss, every touch, had spoken volumes about how much he’d come to mean to me.
Before exhaustion claimed me, I reminded myself firmly that this wasn’t the end. Reed and I had a month left together—which was weeks andweekslonger than I’d ever thought I’d have with him. That would have to be enough. I’d make it enough.
