Page 48 of Her Hometown Man
“I think I got it all,” he said, sliding his lathered hands down her back. “And as much as I really, really want to have fun shower sex with you, this is an old house and we’ll be lucky if the hot water holds out long enough to rinse us both off.”
Her disappointment only lasted until he wrapped her in a soft, oversize towel. He wasverythorough in drying her off—running his hands over the skin he’d dried to make sure he hadn’t missed a spot. Blowing softly across her nipples, and stroking the sensitive flesh between her thighs with his hand instead of the towel.
He was so thorough, she was practically whimpering by the time he tossed the towel on the floor and backed her up to the bed. Gwen buried her fingers in the damp hair at the back of his neck and kissed him, taking him with her as she fell back on the mattress.
Case lifted her against his body, not breaking off the kiss as he shifted them into the bed. His teeth caught her bottom lip as he brushed his thumb across her taut nipple, and she couldn’t help smiling against his mouth. She loved the sensation of his work-hardened hands against her soft flesh.
When he finally moved between her thighs and slowly pushed into her body—his gaze locked with hers—it was as if a sigh passed through her. Not just of pleasure, but of howrightit all felt. Luckily, he closed his eyes as he thrust fully into her and then dropped his head to nip at her jawline and her neck, so he didn’t see the sudden sheen of threatening tears she had to blink away.
Then the shadows of giving this—of givinghim—up were chased away by delicious sensations as he rocked his hips, harder and faster with each thrust.
She scraped her fingernails down his back, running her hands over the curve of his ass, and then moaned when he caught her nipple in his mouth and sucked hard. When he reached between them to stroke her clit, she arched her back as her hands gripped his upper arms.
The orgasm built until she had to bite down on her lip to keep from calling out his name, and she’d barely caught her breath before he groaned, his body jerking against hers as he found his release. He collapsed on top of her, and she wrapped her legs around his hips to hold him close as his breath came in hot gusts against her neck.
After a moment, he had to dispose of the condom, but then he pulled her against his body. He kissed her hair and her jaw and her mouth before settling with his arm across her. It wasn’t until she tried to shift and had to lift her head to free her hair that she realized what had been freshly washed hair was probably now a tangled, rapidly drying mess.
She sighed, partly in contentment and partly from the knowledge she couldn’t stay like this. “I don’t want to get up.”
“Then don’t,” he murmured against her shoulder.
“If my hair dries like this, I might have to shave my head in the morning.” As it was, she’d have her work cut out for her.
She smiled when he just made a sleepy sound of amusement and pulled her closer. As much as she wanted to close her eyes and drift off to sleep, she didn’t. She hadn’t been kidding about her hair, but maybe she could wait a few more minutes.
It was still light enough so she could look around his bedroom, and she smiled when she saw the sweaters draped on the back of the chair. They’d probably been there awhile, seeing as how it was the end of July.
The end of July.
The familiar pang of panic struck and she squeezed her eyes closed. In a few days, it would be August and not only would she still be here in Stonefield, but they didn’t even have a date for the brewery to open yet.
Now wasn’t the time to stress about her book and needing to have at least an idea of when she could go back to the comfortable writing haven she’d made for herself in Vermont. Not when she was sated and comfortable, with the weight of Case’s arm across her body. She couldn’t help it, though.
Only now when she thought about going home, it got tangled up with having to leave Case. Inevitable as it was, she knew it was still going to hurt.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” she asked without thinking.
“I’m not sure what’s considered a personal question when you’re naked in bed together,” he said, running his hand over her hip. “I also think that question becomes kind of unnecessary once people have showered together.”
She smiled and gave a little shrug. “Good point. But it’s one of those questions that’s hard to phrase the right way, you know?”
“You should just ask it and then I’ll know.”
“Do you still live in this house because youwantto, or because it was your parents’ house?” She didn’t bother to add the part about how it had passed to him when he lost both of his parents—his mother from cancer and his father from a stroke not even two years later—because it was somewhat implied in the question.
“Are you asking if I live here because I didn’t have to buy it, or because I can’t let go of something that belonged to my mom and dad on an emotional level?”
She fought the need to squirm, but when he looked at her, she could see that he wasn’t offended by the question. He was simply trying to clarify what she was asking. “Let me try it this way—if you did sell this house, what kind of house would you buy foryourself?”
He thought about it, but only for a few seconds. “This one.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “I guess that answers that.”
“It’s a great house in a great neighborhood. Plenty of yard for my dog. Rooms for the kids I’ll have, hopefully someday soon. A garage for my truck if I ever clean all the other crap out of it. I live across from the hottest woman in town. Why would I want to live anywhere else?”
Rooms for the kids I’ll have, hopefully someday soon.
It took everything she had to keep her smile from slipping. This was a man with a plan, and that plan included spending the rest of his life in Stonefield—in this very house, actually. She’d guessed that, of course. But hearing the confirmation he’d never even considered leaving this town come from his very own mouth was a bit of a blow.
