Page 16 of Beneath the Midnight Sky
My nails dug into his shoulders as I held on. “Rowan! I’m so close,” I whimpered between thrusts.
“That’s right, little angel. Give it to me. I want to feel your cunt milk my cock,” he growled against my ear. His words sent me back over the edge into the abyss. My eyes squeezed shut as I arched my back, and I could feel myself pulsing around his cock. “Fuck, Aspen.” His pace started to slow as he reached the edge himself.
We both lay still, pressed against each other as we caught our breath. I ran my nails slowly down his back before he sat up enough to press his lips back to mine in what felt like an intimate kiss. He rolled off after another heartbeat, walked toward the bathroom to toss out the condom, and came back with a warm washcloth.
I tried to take it from him, but he pushed my hand away. “Let me do this for you,” he said quietly. I nodded, unsure of what else to say. Sam had never taken care of me after sex. I knew logically, it was a washcloth. It wasn’t that serious, but the look of concentration as he ran the rag over my inner thighs and my core, cleaning up the mess we’d made together.
It felt very intimate—more intimate than anything I’d ever experienced with another human.
He threw the rag in my clothes hamper, went to the kitchen, and brought me back a glass of water. Afterwards, curled up next to me in bed, he pulled my back to his front, and then the comforter over top of us, and I couldn’t help but smile.
Before sleep overtook me, I turned around enough to see his face. I ran my fingers from his eyebrow, down the side of his face, and over his lips. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“Anything for you, little angel,” he murmured with his eyes closed.
I rolled back over, realizing that it felt anything but casual to me. Casual sex partners didn’t cuddle and clean each other up. They didn’t bask in the afterglow of mind-blowing sex. But he didn’t say anything else. Maybe he was just as deep in thought asI was, or maybe he was just too tired to drive home. I didn’t press the matter.
For the first time in maybe my entire life, I went to sleep feeling safe in the arms of a man I barely knew—yet I felt as if I’d known forever.
6
BLENDED INTO THE BACKGROUND
Rowan
I was sittingon the back tailgate of my oldest brother's pickup truck, drinking from a bottle of water, deep in thought about what the hell I was going to do. We’d spent most of the day getting all the animals fed and out for their daily exercise before Oliver and I had started riding around fixing up the fencing posts around the edges of the property. That had kept my mind pleasantly busy, but now I was sitting still, and my mind was taking full advantage of it.
Did I sneak out after Aspen and I had an earth-shattering night together? Absolutely. Did I feel guilty as hell? Absolutely. Was this very new for me? Abso-fucking-lutely.
Looking out over the rolling green fields and the snowcapped Rocky Mountains that our ranch rolled into, I couldn’t help but feel at peace despite the turmoil my brain was going through. Yes, working the ranch with my brother was a great deal of work most days, but this place had been in our family for six generations, and I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
I glanced over at my brother as my mind pulled back to the one woman I could see doing this with me—forever. I internally cursed myself, forcing a deep breath out through my nose. I didn’t know why she affected me the way she did. I had fully expected to go out with her last night, and decide she wasn’t right for me. Maybe go home with her if she was interested and then be over it. Onto the next task. Especially when she made it clear she was looking for something casual. It all felttooperfect with her. Everything flowed a little too easily.
Did that happen, though? Did I feel sick or annoyed by anything she did last night? No. Not at all. If anything, last night had just intensified my need to get to know her better. To hold onto her as long as I could—as long as she’d let me.
“Do you ever think of dating again?” I asked my brother. He looked over at me, one eyebrow up, clearly baffled as to why this was my sudden line of questioning.
He looked down at his boots for a moment—lost in thought or maybe just gathering them. “No. Since I lost Emily, I don’t know. I just don’t feel that pull toward sharing my life with anyone. Would it be nice for Hudson to have a mother figure in his life again? Of course. But it just hurts too much most days. He’s got Mom and Payton, and I’ve got him, the ranch, and our family.” He shrugged one shoulder and ran his fingers through his hair before placing his hat back on his head.
Oliver lost his wife when Hudson was three years old to breast cancer. Hudson was nine now, and he hadn’t ever tried to date anyone since losing her that I was aware of—not even the casual hook up to blow off some steam. I couldn’t fathom being with anyone long-term like that, just from watching Mom suffer after our dad passed away. Watching Oliver do it all over again was another nail in the figurative coffin for me. I couldn’t imagine how Oliver felt, losing the woman he loved and the mother of his child as quickly as he did.
“Why do you ask? Payton isn’t trying to set me up again, is she?” he groaned, dismay clear on his face at the idea of our sister and her never-ending need to play matchmaker with the four of us. She’d thankfully given up on me a long time ago.
I laughed. “Nah, man. Nothing like that. I was just thinking about it. The dating world, I guess. Love. Whatever,” I said with a shrug.
I shouldn’t say the dating world, really. Just one girl.Aspen. I had to bribe Damien to tell me her name after that first night at The Raven. Thankfully, she lived in the apartment building he owned, so it was easy enough to figure out her name and address. A bit on the stalker side of things, but easy.
She probably thought I was insane with the flowers, but I couldn’t help it. Something about her drew me in, and I was utterly bewitched. Maybe it was those baby blue eyes or her cute button nose. I didn’t know, but I did know that when she invited me back out with Ivy and Todd, I couldn’t stand the thought of saying no to her—of potentially letting her down.
Last night had been nothing short of phenomenal in my opinion. The conversation, the dancing, and most definitely the rest of the night spent wrapped up with her in her bed.
I shook my head, trying to bring my thoughts back to the conversation and not how she looked with my cock down her throat or her leg up on my shoulder. Taking another drink of my water, I looked over at Oliver. He was, of course, still staring at me, probably expecting some sort of explanation, as if I had one to offer him, yet at the same time, maybe he could help me sort out my thoughts. He was the only person in my life who was in a committed relationship during this lifetime.
“Look, I met this girl at the bar the other night when I was out with Theo and Wyatt. I got some asshole guy off of her, and she bought me a beer. I kinda…sent her flowers and then we went out last night.” I rubbed the back of my neck and shrugged,deciding to leave out the part about sex and me being insanely obsessed already. Trying to come off as nonchalant wasn’t exactly my thing. Really, I would just sound like a basket case who was stalking this chick if he hadallthe details.
And yes, maybe I followed her and Ivy back to Ivy’s place that first night. Maybe I delivered her flowers myself instead of paying the delivery fee because I was desperate to see exactly where she lived with my own eyes. But not in a stalking way—more in a “just had to make sure you made it home safe” kind of way. In a “just wanted to know for future reference where your apartment was” sort of way.
I sighed, looking over again. He was still just staring at me. “Are you going to say something?” I asked, my voice rife with impatience.
