Spring Romance: NINE Happily Ever Afters

by Tessa Bailey

  I was beginning to wonder, however, if it was Lucas who made everything so amazing. It seemed he could touch me anywhere, and I melted like butter in his hands. My pulse was skittering wildly, and my breath was coming in sharp pants.

  “You are so fucking beautiful,” he muttered, his low, dark, and rough tone making my pussy clench.

  When I dragged my eyes open, I found his hungry gaze on me. My heart gave a hard kick, and I felt funny inside again as if I were falling from a great height.

  When he cupped my bare breast in his palm, I arched into his touch with a whimper. “That’s it,” he murmured, his lips landing on my skin like a hot brand.

  His tongue teased in the sensitive spot just above my collarbone and trailed down between my breasts. I gripped the sheets and comforter with one hand and tangled my fingers in his hair with the other. Raspy sounds came from the back of my throat, my entire body tightening as sensation streaked through me.

  His fingers teased the soft curves under my breasts. Finally, finally, his mouth closed over my nipple, sucking lightly as I gasped in relief. He practically tortured me with his lips and tongue. After he had one drawn so tight it hurt, he switched his mouth to the other. The brush of his beard against the sensitive skin—a hint of a tickle—only intensified the other sensations pinging through me. I held onto his shaggy curls, my hips rocking into his arousal. I was desperate for release.

  I might’ve been a virgin, but I was no virgin to orgasms. Yet with a mere two teasing encounters with Lucas seared into my memory, and now this one where everything was pushing past boundaries I’d never crossed, I was abruptly learning I had no idea just how fierce the edge of need could burn. He had yet to even touch me right where I wanted him to touch me so desperately, and I was toeing the edge of release already. Every nerve in my body was on fire.

  “Lucas, please …” I gasped, ready to beg.

  He stilled, drawing away, his teeth grazing over a nipple as he lifted his head. My hand fell from his hair as he traced his thumb in lazy circles through the moisture left behind. “Yes?”

  It took an effort to open my eyes. While my heartbeat galloped, and I was at the edge of my willpower, shredded with pleasure, he looked calm in contrast. The only giveaway was the subtle rock of his hips into the cradle of mine, the hot length of his arousal pressing hard against me. That, and the heat banked in his gaze.

  “Hurry,” I gasped when he rocked into me again.

  His features were almost severe in the shadowy room with nothing other than a lamp on in the corner. He shook his head slowly, his thumb circling my nipple again. “Oh no, darlin’. We’re not rushing.”

  I let out a huff, and his eyes took on a gleam. “Impatient, aren’t you?”

  I rolled my eyes and slid a palm up under his shirt because I needed to feel his skin. A flash of satisfaction rolled through me when his breath hissed through his teeth. I thought he might stop me, but he didn’t. His skin was warm and smooth. I slid my palm up over the ridges of his abdomen. I’d heard of such a thing as six-packs, but I’d never felt one.

  My fingers encountered a light dusting of hair as I made my way up over the planes of his chest. His shirt bunched along my wrist, and I sighed when I exposed his chest. With a muttered curse, he reached behind his head, yanking his T-shirt up and over in one quick motion where it fell to the floor beside mine.

  My mouth went dry. Just as I had suspected, he was a work of art, his bronzed skin tight over nothing but muscle. The dusting of black hair only illuminating his raw masculinity.

  Lucas’s body was beautiful, to put it bluntly. But not in the sense of someone who spent much time thinking about it. He worked a demanding job and lived a demanding life. His body was a reflection of both.

  I leaned forward, stringing kisses over his muscled abdomen, before he murmured, “Fuck, Valentina, slow down.”

  “I …”

  His mouth cut off my words when he leaned over me, partially covering my body. The entire surface of my skin tingled as streaks of fire shimmered under the surface. He shifted his weight slightly, so he was still resting between my thighs but not all of his weight was bearing down over me. I found I wanted the heaviness and his strength to surround me.

  The dusting of his hair on his chest tickled my breasts and had me arching up to feel more. He simply kept kissing me. Once again, I lost myself in the madness with his mouth working over mine.

  He threaded a hand in my hair, roughly cupping my nape as he angled my head to better feast on my mouth. With my skirt bunched around my hips, I savored the rough feel of the denim on the insides of my thighs as I curled my legs around his waist and rocked into him. I wanted him. So, so much.

  Sensation was pinging through me, sparks flying, my heart thudding, and blood rushing through my ears. I was frantic with need. I slid a hand down his back to cup his ass when he rocked into me yet again, his hard cock pressing against my clit and sending sweet, piercing streaks of pleasure through me.

  Lucas was moving, his lips blazing a trail down my neck, between the valley of my breasts, and dallying briefly at my nipples. His lips dropped kisses over my belly as he pushed my knees apart. He murmured something against my skin, and I cried out in protest when he rose up. He ignored me, lifting my hips, and yanking my skirt and panties off all at once.

  He paused to look at me, the mattress dipping slightly under his weight. I could feel the heat of his gaze, my skin tightening everywhere, my belly and core clenching. I barely even noticed this was the first time I had ever been entirely naked in front of a man.

  Somehow, what might’ve made me feel vulnerable didn’t. Not with Lucas. Although I had no illusions. I didn’t think he was going to sweep me off to some kind of silly love and happily ever after. He was a good man. There was something about him—the way he looked at me, the way I felt with him—that spun into what I knew about him as a man. I felt utterly safe with him.

  And needy, oh so needy. I rested on my elbows. “Come here,” I demanded, shifting my legs.

  His low laughter sent need radiating from my core. “So impatient.”

  I opened my mouth to tell him to take his jeans off. Because I was downright impatient to see what lay behind there. My words caught in a gasp when his hands glided up my thighs, slowly pressing my knees apart.

  On the burgeoning list of sensations I had never considered, the feel of his calloused palms on my skin was oh, so hot. As I was trying to absorb that with heat chasing in the wake of his touch, my belly tightening, and my sex clenching, he dipped his head and pressed his lips to the soft skin at the bend in my knee.

  Another brand-new erotic zone discovered. I murmured something, falling back onto the pillows as his lips trailed up my thigh and he settled his shoulders between my knees. His beard tickled my skin, the feeling spinning into all the others.

  In my planning, prior to tonight, which had comprised years of curiosity, I certainly knew about this possibility. I was a little uncertain as to the results. Fact number one: I had never experienced oral sex—giving or receiving. Fact number two: while I didn’t know what to expect, I had heard the results varied.

  But then, from my understanding, all results were largely variable when it came to sex. As far as I could gather, women usually got the short end of the stick.

  So far, Lucas was obliterating any lingering doubts. His fingers teased over my slick folds where I was so wet. I felt rather than saw him draw back. When I looked down, he was lifting his head languidly, his eyes dark. There was something erotic about the sight of him with his face right there in front of the most private part of me.

  His fingers shifted again, sliding inside me. My head fell back as I cried out, arching into it. I had so many questions, and all of them fled from my consciousness. His tongue licked me just as another finger joined the first. I basically lost my mind, cast into the sea of pleasure.

  I gasped and whimpered with my hips rocking into his touch. He was thorough, exploring with his fingers and
tongue. I was right there, so close to the edge of release. I had never teetered on the precipice like this for so long. I was fisting the sheets, pleading with him, when he finally swirled his tongue, driving his fingers deeply into my channel before sucking my clit lightly into his mouth.

  Pleasure detonated inside me, flattening me and rolling through me in hard, crashing waves. Lucas stayed with me, my channel clenching and throbbing around his fingers. I was just starting to catch my breath when I felt him slowly rise.

  Opening my eyes, I met his gaze. He looked almost as if he were in pain, his features taut. One hand rested on my thigh, his fingers damp with my arousal.

  My pussy clenched again, and I reached for him. Despite my sated state and feeling like liquid, I wanted more. I flicked the buttons to his fly undone in a second.

  And discovered he was commando. Oh, yes. His cock sprang free, long, hard, and thick. I leaned forward, wanting to taste him just as he tasted me.

  “Val …”

  My name ended in a ragged groan when I swirled my tongue around the tip of his cock.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Lucas

  My control was under assault, hanging by a frayed thread, and it was about to snap. Seeing Valentina with her lips swollen from our kisses and her red hair a wild tangle around her face as she swiped a drop of pre-cum off the head of my cock with her tongue, nearly undid me right then.

  I shackled myself, calling upon discipline I didn’t even know if I had, and tried to step back. “Tonight’s just for you.”

  Her wide blue eyes stared back at me. The freckles on her cheeks stood out when she was flushed. There were freckles everywhere, and I wanted to kiss every single one. I would have to save that for later.

  I promised myself, for no sane reason whatsoever, that I wasn’t going to just fuck Valentina tonight. That would come later.

  With her gaze on me, she shook her head. “That’s not fair.”

  Uncertain what to say, I leaned down and fit my mouth over hers, cupping one of her breasts lightly. I almost groaned at the feel of the round, soft weight in my hand, her nipple ruched tight as I rolled my thumb over it.

  I fisted my cock, stroking it once, twice, and then again, my release spurting between us over my hand and onto her gorgeous, freckled belly.

  A sound of protest came from the back of her throat before she pulled away. “No!” She twisted her lips, her eyes narrowing as she looked at me.

  “Next time,” I said softly.

  “Promise?”

  “I promise,” I heard myself saying, distantly wondering if I’d flat-out lost my mind.

  Well, I suppose I didn’t need to wonder, not with the evidence of my release on Valentina and the taste of her on my tongue.

  I eased away from the bed, striding into the bathroom. With a quick glance around, I found a clean washcloth on the shelves above the toilet. I meant to dampen it and bring it to clean her up, but she appeared in the mirror behind me as I was running the hot water.

  If I thought Valentina was dangerous for my sanity before, I had no idea what I might be forced to face when I saw Valentina naked with her skin flushed all over and her eyes flashing. In all honesty, I hadn’t expected her to be shy because that just wasn’t her personality. She might be quiet at times, but not shy. Shutting off the water and buttoning my jeans, I turned to face her.

  She cocked her head to the side and rested a hand on her hip. “Are you leaving?”

  “Not just yet.”

  She pressed her finger to the center of my chest, that one tiny dot of contact sending a sizzle of electricity through me. My cock twitched. Considering I’d just come all over her, that was saying something about the power of my body’s response to her.

  “Lucas,” she began before faltering, uncertainty flickering through her gaze. “Is it because I’m not experienced enough?”

  My mouth actually fell open. “Hell no, Valentina. No.” I shook my head hard as I curled the damp washcloth in my hand, feeling it cool. Turning, I flicked the faucet on again, dipping the washcloth under the warm water quickly and wringing it out. Turning back, I wiped my cum off her belly. She was quiet, biting her lip and watching me.

  As I scrambled for purchase in my mind, I knew the problem was I wanted her too damn much. I didn’t want to just fuck her. I wanted to make love to her, so she would never forget it and never want another man for the rest of her life.

  That was fucking insane.

  A part of me that was comfortable in a certain place—comfortable with distance and keeping anything that elicited my emotions at bay—wanted to play it cool and simply shrug. But I couldn’t do that to Valentina. She was too authentic for me to degrade that.

  After I tossed the washcloth in the sink, my eyes snagged on the robe hanging on the door behind her. Reaching past her, I caught it in my hands and drew it over her shoulders. She looked at me like I was crazy, and frankly, I was.

  Next thing I knew, I was pulling her into my arms and burying my head in her hair, breathing in her scent. It was as if somehow I needed her to anchor me. None of this made sense. She should be the anxious one. I wasn’t a nervous wreck about the sex, not at all. In fact, I was acutely aware Valentina was seared permanently into my heart, body, and soul. Here I was, hoping to ruin her for all of the rest, but the script had flipped. She had ruined me for all the other women.

  No one would ever come close. Ever. And we hadn’t even had sex, for fuck’s sake.

  I couldn’t let tonight go any further because I had to prove to myself I had some control. Even if it wasn’t much. This rampaging need for her was slipping out of my grasp, and I couldn’t let that happen.

  “No,” I muttered into her hair. “You’re not too inexperienced. That has nothing to do with this. Maybe I’m fucking crazy, but I don’t think it’s right for this to be a one and done thing. You know what I mean?”

  I felt her lean back and forced myself to lift my head even as I knew that looking into her eyes was risky. My heart banged against my ribs. I wanted to stay right here and bury myself in her sweet heat and sleep beside her.

  “I know what one and done means,” she said, catching her bottom lip in her teeth again and nibbling on it, promptly redirecting my blood to my groin.

  As it was, I’d be returning to where I usually stayed upstairs in the offices and have no choice but to take care of matters by myself.

  “Tomorrow night,” I said, knowing I couldn’t offer any further explanation. “I promise.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  To my immense relief, she tied the belt on her robe and stepped out of the bathroom. Turning back to face the mirror, I rinsed the washcloth again and laid it on the side of the tub.

  I took a long look in the mirror. My eyes were dark, my hair messy, and my skin slightly flushed. A man teetering at the threshold of his control stared back at me.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Lucas

  I tugged the silencers off my ears, flicking the switch to turn off the miter saw. After setting the silencers down on the table behind me, I leaned against it, snagging a cold bottle of water out of the cooler to one side and lifting my T-shirt to wipe the sweat off my brow.

  Hot or not, we had work to do. Jackson had plans for four additional guest cabins. With the adventure lodge staying busy all the time, Jackson was wisely adjusting to that by expanding the guest lodging bit by bit every year.

  Today, I was working with Wade and Dawson on a cabin. We were laying hardwood flooring, and somehow, I’d ended up on duty for cutting the wood. We needed the miter saw for the angles and corners. Jackson had pulled me aside and asked me to mostly run these projects when he wasn’t around. Dawson and Wade were plenty capable when it came to building, but they weren’t much for the more detailed work.

  Jackson liked things to look good. Among other things in my life besides my first responder work and work as an adventure guide here, I’d worked with a construction company
during the summers when I was in college. The money was good, and I didn’t mind the hard work. My father was also a builder, so I’d learned a ton from him.

  In working at Stolen Hearts Lodge, Jackson set the tone. There was no top dog jostling for space bullshit. Everybody had their strengths, and Dawson and Wade were perfectly happy to help me run the show for this kind of project.

  The rhythmic sound of the pneumatic nail gun stopped when Dawson put in the last board for this room downstairs. He straightened, setting the tool on the floor, and turned to stride across the room and lean against the table beside me.

  “Hand me a water, would you?” he asked as he dragged the hem of his T-shirt across his face.

  Snagging a cold bottle, I tossed it to him. He rolled it across his forehead, letting out a sigh. “It’s fucking hot, man,” he offered.

  “Tell me about it.”

  He chuckled just as Wade came down the stairs. “I could use some water too,” Wade said as he crossed the room toward us. When I tossed it to him, it slipped free from his grip, the condensation on the bottle making it slick. Leaning over, he chuckled as he fetched it off the floor. He sank down onto a nearby crate. “Can’t believe it, but we’re ahead of schedule. If we push, we can finish this one before Jackson gets back. What do y’all say?”

  I took a few swallows of the ice-cold water and nodded. “I’m in. I’m here all weekend, so let’s bang this thing out.”

  Dawson looked back and forth between us and rolled his eyes. “You two ever think about fun first?”

  Wade’s gaze met mine with a wink. “Lucas usually doesn’t. I can’t say I ever do.”

  Dawson rolled his head to the side, sliding his gaze to me as a sly grin stretched across his face. “Oh yeah, I think for Valentina he might consider some fun.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek, resisting the urge to tell him to fuck off. I stayed quiet while Wade grinned. “No sense in trying to keep secrets around here. Evie asked me if you two had something going on last night.”