Waterfall Effect

by K. K. Allen

  I hug Claire first. “You look amazing,” I say, a smile growing wide on my face and my heart filling up my chest.

  Her eyes glisten with the same emotion as she laughs. “Yeah, well, thanks to Danny I manage to get some sleep in between the feedings and medication.” Her eyes glisten as she stares at Lila. “But she’s just the most amazing little thing.”

  I grip Danny’s arms instead of crushing the baby between us in a hug. “Good job, Deputy Danny,” I whisper, emotion still gripping my words as they escape.

  Tanner took a leave of absence to spend time with his mom somewhere far away. They never told anyone where they went. But when they came back, they immediately packed their things and left again.

  Poor Meg had no clue what to think of the horror that swept through the town and carried Tanner away. But Antonio Garcia, the new artist Jaxon hired to cover his Canvas and Wine classes, has already swooped in and stolen her heart. Just like that, in a matter of months.

  Danny smiles down at me. “Thanks, Little A. How are you doing? Healing okay?”

  I nod. “Yes, and I don’t want to talk about any of that right now. I want to hold that baby.”

  Danny laughs. “Deal. But go wash your hands first. You smell like wet dog.”

  Rolling my eyes, I do as he says, coming right back and approaching him with my arms out and ready. “All clean. Hand her over.”

  Danny places her in my hands, making sure her tiny head is rested comfortably in the crook of my arm. I bob her gently, the way I saw Danny doing it, slowly, careful not to jostle her too much. Her gray eyes are sparkling up at me, stealing my heart like no other being in this world could.

  “Hi, baby girl. I’m your auntie Aurora. And you have the sweetest pink cheeks I’ve ever seen,” I coo ridiculously. “Yes, you do.”

  Laughter fills the room—Claire’s, Danny’s, and Jaxon’s, who I didn’t realize had come back upstairs. I look up, and he’s standing there wearing the most beautiful smile as he watches me. Our eyes latch, and in that moment, my heart fills with so much love.

  And so much light.

  Jaxon takes Lacey outside for a walk before bed as I shower and slip on one of his old shirts. I’m already lying on my stomach, half-asleep by the time Jaxon climbs into bed beside me, but the feel of his chilled body against my warm one brings me to eager alertness. He’s moved my hair to expose my neck, and he kisses it softly before lifting the bottom hem of my shirt up and over my head.

  He sighs before dropping kisses down my spine, alternating a peck for a brush of his lips, a hand feathering down the side of my ribcage, then slipping to my belly button and moving down to where the friction burns. Brushing lightly against my center, he nudges me with his legs to turn me over. I turn willingly and stare up at him, smiling at his seriousness as he scans me with his eyes.

  With one look, I feel him between my thighs when he’s not even touching me there. I feel him under my skin. I shake from the inside out as my nipples come alive and the ache between my thighs takes over my mind, reminding me what I’ve been missing for too damn long. Three months too long.

  My palms run the length of his front from his waist up to his chest, slowing down over the faint bruising that remains, then widening to his shoulders. “Are you sure this is okay?” My eyes flick up to meet his again.

  Jaxon sits up, a wicked smile on his face. My hands begin to fall from his shoulders, but he catches them in his, bringing them back to his chest and pressing them there. “We’ve been patient long enough, don’t you think?”

  He guides my palms down with his until they reach his naked length that sits hard in his lap. Wrapping my hand around his girth, he squeezes before beginning to move my palm around him. I can feel his firm vein as I bring pressure to his tip with each stroke.

  I look up to catch his eyes falling closed, then his deep swallow at the pleasure. “We can take it slow,” he says with a deep rasp.

  Once I’ve found my rhythm, he releases his hold on me. I keep a firm grip on him as I stroke, remembering the way he taught me when we were younger. He responds to the pressure with a groan, and I smile with pride at how I can make him feel. My eyes find his again and they’re burning with desire. I adjust myself to sit on my knees and lean over his thick muscle. My mouth moves around him, my tongue stroking the underside of his skin as my lips wrap firmly around the tip of his shaft. He gasps in surprise, and places his palm on the back of my head, pressing me down until I can feel him in the back of my throat.

  “You have the sexiest goddamn mouth, Aurora,” he rasps. “You have no clue what you do to me, do you?”

  I’m humming with pleasure as he rocks into me over and over, his hips quickening until a curse flies from his mouth.

  He can’t take it anymore. Pulling out, he pushes my back onto the bed and leans over my body, my hand moving between us to stroke him again. He kisses me hard, then soft, as if remembering we’re supposed to be taking things slow and he’s fighting against his natural urges for more. With gentle hands, he removes my grip and presses my palms into the bed above my head while our tongues tangle together.

  Three months of missing the way his body fits in mine… I sigh, and my thighs tremble at the memory of him inside me, stretching me, filling me, and bringing me to life.

  His lips move from mine, and he’s staring down at me now. A heavy breath. A weighted stare. His tongue darts out and wets his lower lip as he reaches for my knees and pulls them apart. He moans at the sight. I can’t see myself, but I can sure as hell feel it. I’m so wet for him.

  His eyes pinch shut as he collects his breath, and then they’re back on me. He slides his thumb against my core, once, twice, until he’s moving down my body, his mouth hovering over me and swiping my clit with his tongue.

  I moan and lift my hips, hitting his mouth in a desperate plea for more. He chuckles and grabs my waist, holding me still while he swipes me again with his tongue before covering me with his mouth and sucking. Shit. There’s a swirl of chaos inside my chest, sparks light within the depths of my belly, and I’m held prisoner by Jaxon’s hands as he tortures me to a rising climax.

  Just as he takes me to the edge of the cliff and threatens to toss me off, he tears himself from my aching core and climbs back up my body, his mouth crushing mine just as a finger sinks into me. I scream into his mouth as the sensation returns. My legs spread wider.

  He adds another finger, and then he’s curling them over and over until I erupt. Heat spreads, hot and wet, moving like a stream of lava through every vein, every limb, every organ. I’m a bundle of nerves, unraveling as they shoot off, zinging through the air and eventually sizzling out. But the after effects leave me in a haze with an intense desire to return the favor.

  Jaxon rolls me over so I’m on top of him now, my legs straddling his belly as my mouth finds his. Kissing Jaxon gives me back every breath he just took. His hands cup my cheeks, fingers hooking behind my head as he moans against my mouth. “Put me inside you. I need to feel you. Every inch. Go slowly.”

  My breath catches as I nod and obey, wrapping my hand around his hard muscle and guiding him to my entrance. I gasp at the feel of his wide tip nudging my opening. As I sink around him, my body adjusts to accommodate his thickness while squeezing around him.

  My belly flips at the thought of how new this feels all over again. But one thing remains the same: the connection that flows around us, between us, through us. Different rivers blending into the same stream. Bending and coursing over rock and whatever debris may fall on a timeless journey through every storm, every cave, and every waterfall. We’re unstoppable, unbreakable, yet ever-changing.

  He was the wild rush of the creek barreling by, a force powerful enough to alter even the sturdiest of landscapes, and he halted me with his eyes. Icy gray orbs with a stormy finish. And I wanted to fall. To let his rapids carry me and take me over the edge.

  I wanted to live in his waterfall.

  So I
did.

  Aurora slips out from between the sheets and glides across the hardwood floor of our hotel room, wearing the soft smile I’ve become addicted to. Pink stains her cheeks, her dark brown hair is still wet from her shower, and her naked body glistens with evidence of our lovemaking. I tuck a pillow in the crook of my arm and turn to my side, watching as she slips on a short peach dress with flowy sleeves, a perfect contrast to the golden bronze of her tanned skin.

  Perhaps lovemaking is too gentle a term for what we’ve been doing the entire day. Our five-day stay in Brazil has been the highlight of our month-long South American journey. We’ve spent the days hiking all the angles of Iguazu Falls, including a day trip to the Argentinian side of the natural phenomenon, and painting until the stars took over the sky. But today was different. Today, our hunger for the sights was replaced by our hunger for each other. It’s the last day of our long-awaited vacation, and we’ve spent the entire day in bed. Tomorrow, we begin the trip home, and as much as we both love the adventure, we’re missing Balsam Grove.

  I’m surprised by how much I miss it. Aurora and I have spent months making a home together, caring for the properties, managing the café and canvas shop, playing house with Lacey, and filling our world with everything we always wanted—together.

  My eyes flick to Aurora, who smooths the front of the chiffon material before walking toward me and sitting at the edge of the bed with her back to me.

  “Can you get that button at the top?”

  It’s just a single pink pearl that I fasten at the top, leaving the rest of her back bare. My hand drifts down, my fingers gliding over her satin skin. She’s so soft…and I’m so hard. Again.

  I clear my throat to give myself a distraction. “Is that the dress you bought in town yesterday?”

  She sneaks a look at me over her shoulder, catching my gaze glued to her sexy back. With a teasing smile, she stands. My hand falls away from her skin, and I narrow my eyes at her cruelty.

  “It is.” She twirls slowly. “You like?”

  I resist the urge to pull her back into bed, giving her a nod instead. “I love it.”

  Her eyebrow lifts. “Aren’t you going to get ready? I thought we were going to watch the sunset before dinner.”

  I pout and nod. “We are. I just need a minute. I can meet you at the spot if you don’t want to wait for me.”

  She hesitates, assessing me further, and then drops her shoulders in defeat. “Okay, fine. But don’t take too long.”

  “Thirty minutes tops,” I promise. And then I lunge for her hand before she can dart away. Knowing Aurora, she was planning to walk out that door without another word, leaving me with an incentive to take the world’s fastest shower. Who am I kidding? I will anyway.

  She gasps as she’s pulled toward me and falls onto my chest. I lock my arms around her waist as she struggles to get off, kicking her heels in the air and pushing against my front with a laugh.

  “You’re like a gorilla,” she shrieks.

  I chuckle.

  She giggles again, and then I flip her onto her back and dive for her neck, tickling her with my beard as she squirms below me.

  “Jax, stop.” Her voice is breathless through her laughter. “You’re going to wrinkle my new dress.” She tries again, but my mouth won’t leave her skin. We both know she doesn’t give a damn about a dainty dress.

  “You smell like me.” I smile into her neck.

  She laughs and bucks her hips again. “I smell like sex, but there’s no way I’m taking another shower. We both know what happened last time I did that.”

  I groan in frustration and release her, allowing her to sprint from my hold. She moves quickly to the closet, sliding on her sandals before turning back to me with her finger in front of her face. “Thirty minutes.”

  Then she blows me a kiss and walks out the door, letting it shut behind her.

  God, I love that woman.

  God, I love that man.

  I leave him with a smile plastered on my face, a fluttering in my chest, and a soul filled to the brim with contentment. I’ve never felt so light, yet so full at the same time. Full of life and love. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, and I’ve wanted it with him.

  Heat scales my cheeks as I remember the way I left him in the room. Hot, hard, and frustrated. But we made a pact on this trip. A pact that we’ll watch the sunset every night in a different spot. No matter where we are, no matter what we’re doing. It’s been the easiest promise to keep.

  There’s no better excuse to stand still with Jaxon’s strong arms around me as light shifts to darkness. So many promises live inside those silent moments—promises that never need to be spoken—of a forever filled with an unconditional love that will span time and leap solar systems.

  I take my time walking around the hotel property, burning every inch of its plush, green landscape and elegant décor into my memory. I’m going to miss this—waking up to paradise every day in the home of one of the seven natural wonders of the world. But the more time we spend away from Balsam Grove, the more I miss it. And the more I want to get back home to continue the life we’ve started together.

  Still, things will be different when we get home. There’ll be no more heavy work hours for either of us. With Jaxon’s new property manager tending to the rentals and the small staff at Creek Canvas bringing in more people than ever with nightly Canvas and Wine classes, we’ll have more time to spend on other things. Like finally setting up the art gallery in the empty suite we bought beside Creek Café. We figured if we don’t make any money selling art, it will still serve a purpose as an art studio.

  The powerful rush of water intensifies upon my approach, and my lungs fill with air as I rest my hands on the balcony overlooking the falls at the edge of the hotel property. I’m not sure Jaxon could have picked a more beautiful location for our final stay. We planned most of our month-long journey together, but he wanted the final stop to be a surprise. And it was. Imagine my shock when we arrived at the same spot my finger landed on when I flipped to a random page in Art World Magazine months ago.

  With over two hundred seventy-five falls combined, the tallest at two hundred sixty-nine feet, the falls span nearly two miles across three countries: Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. We’ve ventured around most of it, hiking through the park in Argentina, going on a jungle tour in Brazil, and taking a boat ride to get closer to the falls. And almost every day, we set aside time to paint the beauty around us.

  A monarch butterfly lands on the rail beside my hand. I smile at the fearless winged creature that reminds me so much of myself. It wasn’t long ago I was secluded in darkness of my own making. But it was me who set myself free, who found the light and made a home there. I was just fortunate to have Jaxon standing there waiting. Always waiting.

  I hear his footsteps before his hands slip around my waist, the fresh scent of his aftershave and deodorant the most delicious complement to my serene thoughts. His front presses against my back and his nose dips to my neck, his scruff tickling my sensitive skin. Chills spread over me, and my smile stretches from ear to ear.

  “Good evening, Mr. Mills. I take it your shower was satisfactory,” I tease.

  He growls from deep in his throat as his lips press into my skin. “Not as satisfactory as it would have been if you were with me, Miss June.” He pulls back slightly, his focus moving up toward the horizontal landing at the top of the falls. “Did I miss anything?”

  I shake my head, my heart beating like mad in my chest. He still does this to me, makes me breathless. I love him. I just can’t believe he’s actually mine.

  “No,” I say as his lips graze mine. “It’s just about to start.”

  So we face front, wrapped in each other as we watch the orange blaze of the sun reflect hues of purple and pinks against the nearby clouds until it dips behind the falls. I let out a deep breath, a bundle of emotions swarming my chest as I bid farewell to the sun, marking our final night i
n the most magical place on the planet.

  I take a step back from the balcony. I hadn’t even realized Jaxon stepped away until now. My head turns left, then right in search for him. Then I turn around, my eyes locking with his. They’re the first thing I see, those perfect storms, hovering near enough to know something is brewing beneath them. I feel it in my chest.

  There’s something he’s been keeping from me.

  And then he kneels.

  My heart stops.

  Or maybe it starts.

  I’m not sure I could tell the difference. He hasn’t taken his eyes off me. He hasn’t spoken a single syllable, yet the tears are already streaming down my face, so fast they could rival the waterfall behind me. My hand flies to my chest, as if it could stop my heart from crashing through it.

  Jaxon smiles. “Aurora June,” he says with a calm, sexy confidence.

  My entire body is quivering. I’m sure he can see it, and it only makes his smile grow.

  “You came into my life like the fastest river, unsure of where you would end up. And then you leapt—from that rock at Hollow Falls when you were fifteen years old. You leapt and you crashed into my world. Even then, I saw you. I didn’t realize what it meant—I wouldn’t allow myself to figure it out—but I could feel it.”

  My tears are unstoppable, but I’ve given up clearing them from my face. I wasn’t expecting this. Not at all. I knew it would happen one day, and I hoped it would be soon, but after a few weeks of our month-long getaway passed, I figured it just wasn’t our time.

  “Aurora.” He reaches into his blazer pocket, and I shake harder when I see the ring box in his hand.

  This is really happening.

  “You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved—the only one I want to sit through a million sunsets with. I’ve loved you for as long as it matters, and the easiest promise I’ll ever make is to continue loving you. Waterfall Eyes, will you spend forever with me?” He blows out a breath, and it’s then that I realize, deep down, he’s nervous too.