Riverstone Ridge

by Mandy Magro

  She folded her arms, cocked her head a little to the side. ‘And just how do you know that?’

  ‘Because of this.’ He reached out, and taking her hands in his, laced his fingers with hers. The warmth between them turned to fiery heat in a split second. ‘We’re two very single, consenting adults, who care about each other, probably far more than you want to admit right now. I’m doing nothing wrong by being open about how I feel, and you’d be doing nothing wrong owning up to how you feel.’

  She hesitated and turned away from him. ‘I just don’t think we should be doing this, Logan. Not when I’m going back to Brisbane.’ Her voice broke, and she blinked faster.

  Logan felt his heart squeeze tight. He didn’t want to upset her, but he didn’t want this moment to get away from him either – he’d just climbed over her wall, and he wasn’t about to waste this chance to try and get through to her. ‘So you haven’t changed your mind at all about staying, not even a little bit, since arriving here?’

  She sighed now, closing her eyes momentarily. ‘Maybe a tiny bit …’ Her whispered words trailed over his skin as if she were feathering her fingers upon it.

  He rubbed his thumb over hers, the gesture bringing her teary gaze back to him. ‘Well, even a tiny bit is a step in the right direction, don’t you think?’ It took every bit of resolve he could muster not to pick her up, carry her into the house, and make long sweet love to her so he could try and take away her anguish and heartache, so she could feel cherished and loved and protected.

  It took her a few long moments to answer. ‘I’m not sure what to think …’

  ‘Well, how ’bout I do the thinking for you, for us.’ Pulling away slightly, Logan looked into her sparkling eyes, smiling. ‘You make me happy, Neens. And I don’t want you to go back to Brisbane. Simple as that.’

  She sucked in a sharp, shaky breath. ‘You make me happy, too, Logan. But it’s not so simple for me.’

  ‘Why don’t you throw caution to the wind, and let me try and put everything into blinding perspective, so it becomes a simple, easy decision to stay?’ His gaze steady on hers, he cupped her face.

  He saw what was left of her wall crumbling, and she clearly didn’t need any more of an invitation. Up on her tiptoes, her mouth claimed his. With a groan he gave in to the knee-buckling kiss as his hands hungrily claimed her hips, possessively anchoring her to him. He didn’t want an inch between them. Not now, not ever. They devoured one another a little longer until all of her pressed into him was almost too much for him to bear. Desperate to strip every inch of clothing from her, to kiss her from head to toe, he tore his mouth away and dragged her towards the door. Then he picked her up, kicked the flyscreen open with his foot, and carried her down the hallway, resisting the urge to press her up against the wall along the way. He wanted to make love to her, in his bed, for hours. Unlike their last encounter, two teenagers fumbling and hurrying, he wanted to take his time and bestow upon her every pleasure imaginable. He wanted her to feel just how deeply he was in love with her.

  She entwined her arms around his neck, and he kissed her along the way. Stumbling into the bedroom, he half fell onto his king-sized bed with her still in his arms. Quickly taking control, and taking him by surprise, she rolled him over. Her legs tight around his hips, she straddled him and pulled her t-shirt over her head. She unclipped her bra and tossed it to the floor, revealing pert breasts worthy of his full attention, and then leant in to kiss him once again, her mouth hot and sensuous and demanding. His hands came to grip the curve of her butt poking out the bottom of her cute denim shorts. The sensation of that soft bit of skin against his fingertips drove him even wilder.

  Craving to dominate her for a little while, he carefully flipped her onto her back, knelt over her, slipped his shirt off, and tugged her denim shorts down, bringing her lacy underwear with them. And in a moment of absolute bliss, he slowed and gazed down at her, so gloriously, beautifully naked. She smiled, softly, teasingly, as she brought her hands to his chest.

  ‘I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything before,’ he breathed.

  ‘Well, take me then.’ She pressed her hips into him.

  Wrenching off his jeans and jocks, he tumbled onto her again, the feeling of her hard nipples against his chest sending him to quivering heights. As he cupped the back of her neck, her lips parted, and she gasped in a breath as a groan of satisfaction rumbled from deep within him.

  ‘I’ve been craving to touch you like this,’ he said, his voice raspy.

  She captured his gaze with hers, and he felt himself tumble even further into her soul. ‘Ditto.’ She breathed hard as she grabbed his hands and brought them to her breasts. ‘And I want you to caress all of me, while I caress all of you.’

  He sat up and unhurriedly traced his fingers down her sides, over her silky smooth stomach, up and over her breasts, her collarbone, up the side of her neck, and over her cheeks, loving how she trembled beneath his featherlike touch. Then, he found her breasts once more and firmed his touch, gripping her nipples between his fingers. She arched into him, silently begging him to squeeze harder. He did as she demanded. Her thighs tightened around his hips, she pressed him in harder, her breath catching in her throat when he briefly brought his mouth to each of her nipples.

  Remaining close to her, so his breath cascaded over her goosebump-covered skin, a slow, satisfied smile spread across his face as his hands and mouth continued on a journey downwards. He loved how he could do this to her, have her so eagerly submissive, so desperate for him to be at one with her. And he would be. Soon. He wanted to wait just a little longer, to tease her, to pleasure her. He knew her, knew what made her tick, and knew where she liked to be touched – he’d never forgotten the places that sent her to shuddering heights.

  ‘Logan, please, I want you now,’ she breathed into his ear. She wriggled, trying to free her hands from where they were wedged beneath his knees. He gently stopped her, stilled her. ‘I’ve been dreaming of doing this to you, so I want just a little longer to explore you, to worship you.’

  She smiled coyly and pushed her hands back from where she’d freed them, wordlessly allowing him his desire.

  He lingered in the moment. ‘You’re so beautiful, Neens.’

  Her gaze softened. ‘No man has ever looked at me the way you do.’

  He traced the sides of her face and leant in to whisper in her ear. ‘That’s because I’m head over boots in love with you.’

  She turned into his ear. ‘I’m in love with you too, Logan,’ she whispered, her breath trailing hot over his neck, before taking his earlobe into her mouth and nibbling. She hadn’t forgotten it sent him into overdrive.

  Stars exploding inside him with the admission of her love, he kissed a path down her body, positioning himself between her thighs. Slowly, he brought his mouth to her, using his tongue to taste every inch of her sweetness. Lacing her fingers into his hair, Nina gripped the back of his head. Every gasp, every sigh, every whimper, urged him on, turned him on, made him want to pleasure her like she’d never been pleasured before. She writhed beneath his mouth, her hands coming to grip the sheets as she pushed into him. He could feel her reach the pinnacle, and slowed it down – teasing the ending until she was almost breathless. Then, no longer able to stop himself, he brought her to the brink, and she cried out in fulfilment. A surge of satisfaction filled him as he eased up and next to her. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her until she floated back down to earth, to him.

  She brought her gaze to his, her lashes fluttering. ‘That. Was. Amazing.’

  ‘You’re amazing.’ He rested up on his elbow and ran his fingers down her stomach, pausing to circle her sparkling diamanté belly ring.

  With a sexy smile, she gently pushed him back, and climbed on top of him. ‘It’s my turn to drive you wild now.’

  He returned her wicked grin as his pulse spiked. ‘I’m all yours.’

  Pulling her wild hair from her face, she tied it back. Then, with feathe
rlike fingers, she trailed them over his chest and down his abdomen, leaving goosebumps in her wake. Teasing him, she touched everywhere but where he ached the most for her. Leaning into him, she brought her lips to his neck, kissing and biting, teetering him on the edge of pleasure and pain. Then, she trailed downwards, stopping every few heartbeats to intensify the euphoric sensations until he was on fire, burning out of control, and he loved it. Loved her. For the first time in what felt like forever, he felt wild and free, and at the same time, unconditionally loved.

  She slid down further, her lips and tongue finding him hard and ready for her. Provocatively, unhurriedly, she licked up either side, and then circled her tongue around his very tip. Reaching heights he’d never climbed to before, he lost his breath and groaned as he gripped the headboard. Her hands joined her skilful mouth, slowly at first, but in perfect rhythm, building crescendo, until he was completely at her mercy. When he was dangerously close to freefalling, she stopped, and eased her way back up to his lips, her sweetness pressing into his longing for her. She kissed him and he wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling as if he had everything he needed, everything he’d ever wanted, right here, with her.

  His heart thundered as he rolled her to her side and kissed her like he damn well meant it, and then, not breaking their kiss, he positioned her so she was beneath him, and settled in between her thighs. He pulled back and seized her eyes with his, silently telling her everything she needed to know. She threaded her arms around his shoulders and trailed her fingernails down his back as their mouths collided and their kisses became hungry once again, ravenously so. His body demanded more, demanded all of her. Now. Entwining his fingers in hers, he pressed her hands into the bed as deliberately, slowly, inch by inch, he glided inside her, until they were complete, and they were one. And then he stopped, savouring the sensation of her tightening around him. When he could take no more, he began to move, slowly, as did she, in perfect unison, their breathing heavy. Her legs wrapping around him, she possessed him, owned him. He clenched his jaw as he gripped the tethers of his self-control. He wanted to prolong this sensation, to draw it out, to make every second count – intensely aware this might be the only time he got to make love to her, to show her just how much he was in love with her.

  As she breathed out his name, her eyelids closed and her shudders let him know she was close, so close, as was he. Each stroke was like lighting a match, the flames burning brighter and brighter, bigger and more consuming, making him burn for her in a way he never had before. This was way more than making love, way more than he could ever put into words – they were two souls, coming home, at last. When they were almost there, his nerve ends sparked and his pulse raced faster, harder. Nina’s gasps for breath drove him wilder, until he couldn’t hold on any longer, and as she cried out his name, he followed her over the euphoric edge, and they freefell together as the entire world around him dissolved, leaving just him, and Nina.

  His beautiful Nina …

  CHAPTER

  19

  Nina woke snuggled into Logan, his strapping arm wrapped around her and her cheek pressed against his big yummy chest. Not wanting the blissful moment to end – or the guilt she’d pushed into a deep dark corner to resurface – she lay very still, taking comfort from his slow rhythmic heartbeat. If only things could be as simple as Logan wanted it to be. But how could it, with everything he didn’t know? If there was a way she could bring herself to tell him, a reason to do so, she would, but why broach the subject when she wasn’t completely sure of the facts herself? It would only cause turmoil in his life, and after losing his wife and child, Logan had already been through enough.

  Inching up on her elbow, she positioned herself to gaze at him, the dawn sunlight streaming through the parted curtains igniting his chiselled features. He was a picture of absolute masculinity, with tattoos and muscles in all the right places, and something moved deep within her soul, as if reaching for him. God, how she loved him. Blinking back tears, she ran her eyes over his face and down to his dark-stubbled jaw. The flecks of grey in his dark brown hair accentuated his handsomeness; she liked that they were both older and wiser – it made everything so much more intense.

  Although the night in his swag had most certainly been memorable, in many ways the love-making this time round had been deeply powerful, out of this world. More intimate, more enthralling, more spine-tingling – it had been filled with so much more than she’d ever imagined. And now, contrary to Logan wanting to make everything so blindingly obvious to her, she was more confused than she’d ever been. How was she supposed to go back to Brisbane after feeling this with him? But how was she meant to stay here and be with him when she’d kept such a huge secret from him all these years?

  ‘Morning, beautiful,’ he said, his eyes still shut and his voice husky with sleep, the deepness of it reverberating through her as his arm tightened and he gently drew her to him.

  Trying to pull herself together, she eased down and snuggled into him. ‘Hey, you,’ she breathed back, her fingers now trailing the muscles of his stomach. She had to fight not to run them beneath the sheet, where she knew pure ecstasy lay. ‘I feel like I’m floating on cloud nine.’

  ‘Me too,’ he said, with a low, sexy chuckle. He blinked his eyes open and turned to her. ‘Hot dang, waking up in my bed really suits you.’

  His statement lit another spark inside of her, and she felt renewed heat rise from her toes all the way to her cheeks. ‘Wait until I get up and you see how crazy my bed hair is, then you might backtrack on that compliment.’ This could quite easily become her favourite place to wake up, especially wrapped up in Logan’s arms, but she wasn’t about to tell him so. It wouldn’t be fair of her to give him any more hope than she already had.

  ‘I like your crazy bed hair – it makes you look even wilder than you already are.’

  She winked lightheartedly. ‘Why thankya, Officer.’

  ‘My pleasure, ma’am.’ He rolled onto his side and brought all of her to him, so there wasn’t an inch between them. ‘You hungry?’

  ‘Uh-huh, but not for food,’ she answered waywardly.

  ‘Me too,’ he replied, his hands already sliding down her back and coming to grip her buttocks.

  Nina gasped, his hardness stealing her breath and making her hot and hungry to have him inside of her again. She knew she shouldn’t let it happen again, but wrapped up against him, she was rendered powerless to his magnetism. Kissing him, he melted into her – and this time round, they took each other, hard and fast, raw and needy, the ultimate end not taking either of them very long. Sated, she collapsed into him and he held her close. They stayed like that for a little while, catching their breaths and quietly enjoying one another.

  ‘Seeing as we totally skipped dinner, are you ready for me to cook you breakfast now?’

  ‘Oh yes, please.’ She looked up at him. ‘What are you going to make me?’

  ‘Hmm, let’s see …’ The corners of his mouth twitched into a gorgeous smile. ‘You have a choice of pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup, or good old-fashioned bacon and eggs, with a side of grilled mushrooms and tomato.’

  ‘Oh my god, Logan, you really are every woman’s dream.’ Her belly growled as she thought about her options. ‘Can I take the pancakes?’

  ‘Sure thang, beautiful.’ He pulled her in closer, tightened his embrace, and then released a slow, drawn-out breath. ‘But before we get up to eat, can I ask, what are we going to do now?’

  ‘Pleasure each other a little more?’ she said playfully, hoping to sidetrack him. She knew exactly what he was asking her and how much of a serious question it was, to both him and her, but she wasn’t ready to give him an answer – she needed time to get her head around this, them, and what she really should have told him about all those years ago.

  ‘I’m being serious, Nina.’ His voice was soft, but filled with so much concern it almost broke her.

  Not wanting to look him in the eye right now, she nes
tled her head beneath his chin. ‘How ’bout we just roll with it for now and not put too much pressure on one another?’

  ‘So this might just be a fling for you?’

  His words slapped her heart, hard. ‘Please, Logan, you know it’s much more than that.’ She swallowed down rising emotion. ‘I just need a little time to get my head around all of this.’

  He breathed a heavy sigh. ‘Okay, I’m not going to pressure you – you’ll make the right choice, for you, and I’ll just have to live with it if you choose to sell Riverstone Ridge and go back to Brisbane,’ he said, his voice gentle.

  Unable to speak for the emotion now lodged in her throat, Nina nodded and hugged him tighter. Damn the skeletons in her closet.

  After a few moments, Logan lightened the mood by giving her butt a few light smacks. ‘Come on then, gorgeousness, let’s get up and eat before I decide to be selfish and handcuff you to my bed for the entire day instead.’

  Nina’s body quivered with the erotic thought. She flashed him a slow, sexy smile. ‘Sounds good to me.’

  He leant into her and pressed his lips against her ear, his voice rough and low. ‘The handcuffs or the eating?’

  She gave him a playful shove and grinned. ‘Logan Steele, you’re a very wicked man …’ She grabbed a pillow and hit him with it. ‘Stop it.’

  ‘Oh come on, Neens, you know you love it when I talk dirty.’ Logan blocked another incoming blow with his forearms and then crash-tackled her, pinning her down to the bed in seconds. ‘I’m a master at pillow fights, so you really don’t want me to take you on.’

  She tried to wriggle free, but with Logan twice the size of her, it was a fruitless plight. ‘Ha-ha, okay, I surrender.’

  He gave her one last longing look before he rolled off her and they both climbed from the sheets.

  Nina took the top one with her and wrapped it around herself. Then, feeling silly trying to cover herself up in front of a man she felt so at home with, so comfortable with, she dropped it to the floor. ‘Can I have a quick shower, while you cook up a storm?’