by Kira Ward
He made his way quickly down her body, his lips creating a burning path as he tasted every inch of her chest, her belly, as he kissed and nibbled at the bones protruding along her hips, the softness of her inner thighs, that incredibly sensitive skin behind her knees. The feel of her panties scraping along her legs as he quickly jerked them from her body was like the bites on her shoulders—painful, but deliciously so. She would have teeth marks on her shoulders the next day, but the excruciating pleasure that ran up and down her spine, settling deep in her belly, was well worth it.
And then his mouth…he truly knew what to do with his lips, his tongue when exploring a woman’s body. Every time he touched her, she thought she had experienced the heights of pleasure, the limits that desire could reach. But each time he took her just a little bit higher.
She squirmed, her fingers tangled in his hair, pulling him closer only to push him back, to direct him to those places that screamed for his attention. When his tongue finally touched that one, overly sensitive spot, she screamed so loud that for a moment she was afraid she had woken the people in the room next door. And then he slowed his touch, bringing her back down until he could take her up on that roller coaster again.
“Please,” she whispered. “Please…I need you.”
He didn’t stop immediately. He made her beg a moment or two more. But then he retraced that hot trail he created on the way down, sliding almost effortlessly into her body as his lips reached hers again. She didn’t understand how he could breathe, how he could catch his breath when the presence of him inside of her seized her lungs and left her swinging over the edge of sanity.
He thrust hard, quick, breaking the connection of their lips, their tongues, as he buried his mouth against her hair and breathed deep against her scalp. She raised her hips to meet each of his thrusts, her mind so overwhelmed that she could no longer tell the difference between pain and pleasure. It all felt the same now. His fingers pressing into her ass, pulling her tighter against him, his hand compressing her skull as he tried to keep her screams trapped against the curve of his shoulder…his rough movements that spoke of a tremendous need she had felt the possibility of, but never really understood.
He needed her. And that knowledge transcended everything.
Her lower belly exploded, creating fireworks as her vision darkened in the dim light of the silent hotel room. She cried out one last time as she thrust her hips hard up against his. She was riding a wave and she never wanted it to end.
But when it did, she became aware of a swelling, of his deep groan that was an expression of both pain and pleasure. And she felt the heat of his seed flood inside her willing body.
“I never understood,” he whispered moments later, when his breathing began to slow and his need was satiated for the moment, “how he could so completely give up.” He pulled back and pushed her sweaty, unruly hair out of her face, his palm growing kind and gentle. “He had two children, two remnants of what he shared with mom. I thought we would’ve been enough, that he would’ve fought his grief for our sake.”
He kissed the tip of her nose lightly. “I thought I understood love. I thought I believed that it was possible to survive the loss of the woman you had loved all of your life.” His eyes shone with unshed tears. “And then I held you in my arms for the first time, that night by the fence, and I suddenly realized I had unfairly judged my father. I misunderstood what it meant to lose your soul mate.”
Tears came to Rachel’s eyes as she listened to his final words, as she heard the crack of emotion in his normally confident voice.
“I know now that he was broken just as I would be if I lost you.”
Chapter 9
It was hours before Josh finally settled into a restless sleep. Rachel watched over him, too exhausted to sleep more than a light doze. That’s why she was the one who heard the soft knock at their door and why she climbed out of bed and pulled on the complimentary robe that hung on the bathroom door before answering.
And it was she who stood face to face with Sam in the middle of a West Texas hotel corridor.
“Rachel!” she said, surprise making her pretty dark eyes rounder than they normally were.
Rachel glanced behind her, almost expecting Josh to jump naked from the bed at the sound of his sister’s voice. But he was a heavy sleeper; he didn’t even flinch. “I’m sorry, Sam,” she said, not sure if she was talking about the death of her father or her best friend’s betrayal.
Sam’s eyes flicked from Rachel’s face to the sleeping form of her brother in the room behind her. She stepped back slightly, her eyes dropping to the diamond pattern on the corridor’s carpeted floor.
“Were you with him?” she finally asked. “When it happened?”
“We were both with your father when he died.”
She nodded. “Good,” she said softly.
“Sam—“
“I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for Josh. I’m glad he didn’t have to face it alone.”
“He wasn’t alone.”
Sam looked up. Tears flowed in a slow river down both her cheeks. Rachel held out her hand and Sam immediately took it. Then she smiled.
“He’s loved you for so long,” she said through her tears. “I’m glad you finally figured it out.”
“You knew?”
“I’ve always known.” Sam threw her arms around Rachel’s shoulders, giving her a quick hug. “And I couldn’t be happier.”
The funeral was two days later, a quiet affair that only a few loyal friends from their small town community attended. Rachel’s parents were there along with the postmaster and the local librarian—a high school friend of Jack’s. It was a solemn affair that ended with drinks and laughter at a local bar.
“You look happy,” Rachel’s mother said to her in a moment of solitude.
“As strange as it seems to say at a funeral, I am.”
Her mother squeezed her hand and nodded. “Good.”
“Here’s to a life well lived,” the librarian said, raising his glass of bourbon high in the air.
“To Jack and his eternal soul,” the postmaster said, raising his beer bottle.
“Here’s to true love and the grace of God for allowing them to find it,” Josh said, raising his own glass—a tumbler filled with water.
“Salud,” Franco said.
“Salud.”
The same toast went around the cabin as Rachel, Josh, Franco, and Sam flew back to New York together. But it went a little differently this time.
“When are you two going to take that short walk down the aisle?” Sam demanded as she paused in drinking to the toast.
Rachel blushed. “We haven’t talked about it.”
“We should, though,” Josh said, leaning close to her so that he could press his lips to her temple. “It’s not a bad idea.”
“I know this perfect villa in Tuscany where you could do it,” Sam offered. “I hear the owner is pretty generous with his very expensive toys.”
They didn’t spend Christmas in Texas that year.
But Tuscany was just as beautiful in December as it was in September…
The End
Kira Ward is an steamy romance author. To receive her unreleased books and updates free, join her mailing list here:
http://naughtybookshelf.com/kira-ward-booklist/
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