There was absolutely no doubt.
“Don’t you dare stop now,” I panted when he rocked into me once again, teasing my entrance with his cock.
8
Dawson
Evie’s dark hair was in a tangle against the white pillows, her lips plump and puffy from our kisses, and her skin glistening as she looked at me. No matter how desperately I wanted her, I meant what I said. If she called it off now, I would stop.
Thank fuck she didn’t change her mind, though, because I wanted this more than I’d ever wanted anything. I didn’t know what this was between us, but it was something I’d never felt before.
I loved women, I loved sex, and I loved having fun.
Yet this? This thing with Evie was beyond my control and well beyond the horizons of my experience. The only thing keeping me leashed to reality was the pleasure I gave her.
The kind of discipline I needed with her was different. Usually, I enjoyed the chase, but I never lost control of the moment. With every breath she took, with every soft sound that came from the back of her throat, and with every move she made, I was in danger of losing all control.
I honestly wasn’t sure I wouldn’t come the second I sank inside her. Her juices were slick against me, the core of her calling to me. I could feel the damp peaks of her nipples pressing against my chest, the rapid rise and fall of her chest from her breath, and her heart beating against mine. I dipped my head, catching her lips in a messy, wet kiss.
Lifting my head to gulp in some air, I clenched her hands in mine, lacing our fingers together. I adjusted the angle of my hips, notching the head of my cock at the sweet heat of her core.
On a breath, I sank into her slowly, sheathing myself inside her rippling, slick channel. As I expected, release threatened the moment I was deep inside her. I held still, gritting my teeth because I didn’t want this to end. Not just yet.
Evie sighed, arching her hips into me. I drew back again and then again, sinking inside, each stroke into her a decadent pleasure. She made these little soft whimpers, and the sound nearly drove me crazy. I released one of her hands, needing her to find her release before my own overtook me.
Reaching between us, I teased through her curls and pressed on her clit. As her eyes fell closed, she cried out, her channel clamping down around my cock. Only then did I let go. With one more stroke, my climax raced through me. Everything went taut, the release slamming through me so hard I couldn’t hold myself up.
Her arms came around me when I fell against her. I rolled us over, holding her tight as my cock stayed buried inside her. I wasn’t letting go. Not now. Maybe not ever.
This would usually be the time when I would somehow tease and tactfully disengage. Yet I didn’t with her. I couldn’t move, and I didn’t want to move. I felt the soft gust of her breath on my shoulder, acutely aware of her warm, damp skin on mine.
I held her close as my heartbeat slowed, and I sifted my fingers through her hair. When she started to stir, I said, “Stay.”
Sometime during the night, I woke. Evie was curled up beside me, her sweet bottom pressing into my arousal.
I had a rule. I didn’t sleep with women, but I hadn’t even hesitated to break it last night. It would be easy to chalk it up to sex, but all I cared about at this moment was Evie, soft and warm in my arms. I slept better last night than I’d slept in years even though it had only been a few hours. Opening my eyes, I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It read 2:30 a.m.
I told myself to ignore the ache of my cock, but then Evie had to go and shift her hips slightly. Being so fucking turned on, I could’ve come right then.
I breathed through it, trying to talk my body down, yet I couldn’t. All my effort was to no avail. She sighed. I felt when she came awake, a subtle hum of energy coursing through her body.
“Dawson?” Her voice was soft in the dark, husky with sleep.
I slid my hand up her side from where it was resting on the curve of her hip. “Yes?” I murmured into her hair.
“Oh.” A raspy laugh followed.
Evie snuggled closer again, and my good intentions were hard to cling to. Especially when she reached her hand between us, shifting just enough to slide her palm over the length of my cock. I gave in.
It was a slow, sleepy encounter—so sensual and so hot, it left me slayed. She was hot and slick when I nudged into her from behind. We fucked in the darkness with nothing more than the subtle motion of our hips rocking together. It was only when she began to ripple around me that my own release followed, pouring into her. Abruptly, I realized what I’d forgotten.
The moment was almost ruined. I tensed. “Fuck, I’m sorry, Evie. I forgot a condom,” I said, feeling like an idiot and trying to gather myself from the emotional disarray inside.
My palm was resting on her belly, and she slid her hand over it, lacing her fingers through mine. “I just remembered too. If you’re worried, I’m on the pill. I suppose I should freak out, but for some reason, I trust you’re clean. I know I am. It’s been almost two years since I’ve even been with anyone.”
If I hadn’t already been jolted wide-awake by my recognition of what had just happened, that little nugget of information had my eyes flying wide open in the darkness. With a mental shake, I focused on what she said. “I promise I’m clean. I don’t even remember the last time I had sex without a condom.”
I relaxed against her when I felt her nod although my mind was spinning. I didn’t know what to make of the fact that I was so far gone over her I’d forgotten a condom. There was that and her stunning admission that it had been two years since she’d been with anyone.
She squeezed my hand. “Okay,” she said, her voice still sleepy.
Not more than a minute or two passed before I felt her breathing shift into sleep. For a few minutes, I thought I would have trouble falling back to sleep. The ramifications of just how thoroughly my guard had dropped with her had me internally stumbling in a rush of panic, but I let it go. I couldn’t quite help it, not buried inside her while she fell asleep. Sleep claimed me as well.
When I woke hours later, Evie was gone, and the sheets were cool on that side of the bed. I missed her instantly.
9
Evie
“More coffee?” I asked, pausing beside the table of a family.
When the woman nodded, I filled her coffee and moved to check on the next table. It was Saturday morning and busy. With guests at the lodge, there were always customers for breakfast, but on the weekends, we usually fielded a rush of locals on top of that. Dani’s weekend brunch menu was legendary in Stolen Hearts Valley and the surrounding towns.
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the waiting area was still full. I took a breath, jotted down the next order, and hurried off to the kitchen. Despite how busy I was, Dawson crowded my thoughts. I’d replayed far too many heated moments from last night in my mind.
When I woke up this morning with a start, I’d all but run out of there. I was never one who needed an alarm clock. I generally woke on my own, usually a few minutes before any alarm clock I had went off, yet I had almost overslept today. I’d been relieved at the need to rush out of his place. If Dawson had woken, I had an excuse for why I had to leave without saying goodbye.
Fortunately, my shift started at 5:30 a.m. Dawn was barely there, and I’d been able to do my imaginary walk of shame with nothing but a glimmer of the sun on the horizon.
My body quaked with a memory, suddenly recalling the feel of him over me as he filled me; the stretch so delicious, so decadent I could still feel the echoes of its pleasure.
“Watch it, Evie,” Grace said, her voice startling me.
I skidded to a stop after I pushed through the swinging door into the kitchen. Grace was balancing a massive tray carefully on her shoulder.
“Sorry! I didn’t see you.” I set down my empty tray on the table right beside the door. “Want some help?”
At her nod, I followed her back out into the restaurant, snagging
one of the tray stands and setting it out for her when she reached the table. We all did this kind of thing for each other when we had a moment.
“Who’s got the waffles?” I asked, lifting a plate piled high with waffles topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.
“Omelet with tomatoes, spinach, and cream cheese?” Grace called.
We had the table served and happy within minutes. As we walked back, Grace asked in a low voice, “What’s with you this morning?”
Glancing at her as we stepped back into the kitchen, I shrugged. “Sorry, just a little tired.” Now definitely wasn’t the time to talk, so I was relieved when one of the line cooks called up one of my orders. “Gotta get this,” I murmured.
The morning spun by in a blur of orders being called out, endless coffees filled, and empty plates stacked by the dishwasher. The morning madness finally slowed, and I finished my shift, having taken the early breakfast one. I untied my apron as I stepped into the staff kitchen. The door swung shut behind me, muffling the hum of the restaurant. I paused to lean against the wall as I tossed my apron into a laundry bin by the door.
I had managed a few breaths when I felt Dawson’s presence before I even saw him. Looking up, my heart instantly started to pound. He stood by the counter that ran alongside the wall as he filled a mug with coffee.
He turned, his gaze lasering to mine almost instantly. With my pulse galloping off, one look in his eyes caused my breath to catch in my throat. He slowly lifted the cup of coffee, taking a sip and never once looking away.
After he lowered his mug, he drawled, “Mornin’, Evie.”
I managed a shallow breath and swallowed. “Good morning,” I croaked.
I couldn’t seem to move and just stood there staring at him. My breath came light and fast while my heart beat in tune to the rapid sound of a knife chopping in the kitchen behind me.
Gesturing over my shoulder, I said, “I had the early shift.”
Why, oh why, I felt the need to point that out, I didn’t know.
“I gathered,” Dawson replied, a teasing glint entering his eyes.
I felt funny. My heart was practically running a race, my skin was tingling all over, and my belly was fluttering. This was no big deal. I needed to get some kind of a grip.
Just then, the door to the back of the kitchen pushed open, and Dani hurried through, her arms filled with a stack of dish towels and napkins. “Mornin’, Dawson,” she called over her shoulder as she blew past him.
“Let me help,” I said, pushing away from the wall and hurrying after her.
Not that I minded work, and I would’ve offered to help regardless, but I was blessedly relieved to have some sort of excuse to run away from Dawson.
“Aren’t you done with your shift?” Dani asked when I turned with her as she pushed through the door into the main kitchen.
The usual cacophony of the line cooks talking and the activity of people bustling in and out from the front hit me. “Oh yeah, I’m just finishing up, but I’ll help you with this.”
Dani didn’t argue the point with me. As soon as we reached the front, I took the stack from her and put the towels and napkins away on the shelves above the prep station. After that, I had no excuse to linger. Unfortunately, no one was sick or had called out, so I couldn’t offer to help cover the next shift either. I was torn between wishing Dawson was still in the back and hoping he was gone.
I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath until I pushed through the door to find him still there but talking with Dani.
“Hey, Evie,” Dani called. “Mind going with Dawson for a run to the supply store in Asheville?”
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I could feel the heat of Dawson’s gaze on me and refused to look at him. This was all a mess.
“I’m leaving in a half hour, going to pick up some stuff at the building supply place,” he began. “It sounds like Dani needs some things from the kitchen distributor. Happy for you to ride along.”
“Please, Evie,” Dani implored. “I’m going to meet with Valentina to go over some accounting stuff, and I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon.”
I couldn’t say no. I would look like a bitch, and I had no good reason to say no.
“Sure,” I replied, striving to keep my tone casual. There was no reason for me to feel nervous. There was no reason for this to be a loaded question. But now that I said yes, that meant several hours alone with Dawson.
My heart practically did cartwheels. When I finally let myself look at Dawson, I saw his lips quirk slightly at the corners. Normally, he would tease me far more bluntly right about now, and I would throw it right back at him, but I was too unsettled after last night. I could not believe what I had allowed to happen.
Twice.
10
Evie
I had never been so aware of the size of a truck cab in my life. I’d honestly never even thought about it, but the space between Dawson and me felt taut, crowded with all that had passed between us the night before.
This was not the first time I had done errands for the lodge with him, yet this time was different. More than once, I caught my gaze sliding sideways to look at him and then yanked it forward again. Today was one of those perfect days in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the view was quite beautiful. With autumn taking hold, the trees were a kaleidoscope of red, gold, orange, and purple. The mountains’ namesake blue haze shimmered above. The day was beautiful, bordering on magical.
We were about halfway into the hour and a half drive to Asheville when I did the math and realized that with the errands Dani had assigned to us, we would be together for almost eight hours. Eight hours alone with Dawson was a special form of torture.
A mingled sense of anticipation and anxiety coiled in my chest. I was rattled. The intimacy of last night echoed inside.
I pointlessly brushed my hands over my thighs, the denim smooth under my palms. He hadn’t even turned on the radio, and I felt too childish to ask.
As if clued in to my restlessness, Dawson asked, “How ya doing over there, Evie?”
“Fine. I’m fine.”
He was quiet for a beat, and I dared to glance in his direction. With the angle of the sun, his profile was cast in shadow. His cheekbones were almost pretty, sculpted with a clean line. His nose was slightly large with a tiny hitch on one side. He had full, generous lips, and just thinking about how they felt on mine last night made my skin hot and prickly.
His eyes slid sideways, snagging mine. I was so accustomed to his teasing manner that the flicker of uncertainty in his gaze startled me. He looked as if he didn’t know what to do with me like this.
I could understand the feeling. I felt as if a mini earthquake had occurred in my body, one quite specific to him. I wasn’t sure what to do with myself.
Giving in to the desire flashing hot and high between us last night had been impulsive, and part of me regretted it. I felt the heat blooming on my neck and cheeks.
He looked away, and I breathed a tiny sigh of relief. Just as I was trying to figure out what to say, he spoke. “So is this how it’s going to be?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are we going to pretend last night never happened?”
My heart tumbled, and I had to take a steadying breath. “I’m not …” Pausing, I gave my head a little shake. “I’m not trying to pretend last night didn’t happen. I just …”
God, I hated this. I was all a muddle inside and felt so foolish. Twisting my hands together, I tried again. “I didn’t expect last night, and now I don’t know what to think.”
Dawson’s eyes stayed on the road as he replied, “Well, that’s two of us then.”
The tension that was bundled inside me eased slowly. Somehow, it helped to know I wasn’t alone in this.
“What do you want?” I blurted out.
My question surprised me. I wasn’t surprised at the question itself because it had been tumbling through my mind ever since our first kiss. Ra
ther, I was surprised I wanted to know so badly that my words got ahead of my thoughts. I hadn’t given myself time to consider the ramifications.
He took an exit off the highway, slowing onto a side road that would lead us to downtown Asheville. When he came to a stop at the light, he looked over, his gaze somber.
Although I’d known Dawson for two years, I didn’t know him beyond a superficial level—mostly as a teasing playboy who was uniquely skilled at getting under my skin sometimes. Another facet I knew was that he was a good guy. He was always quick to offer to help with anything and generous with his humor. From what I knew from the guys he worked with, he was a hard worker and dedicated.
Last night had overturned all my assumptions about Dawson. While desire had always been an undercurrent between us, I had ignored it and chalked it up as mostly one-sided on my part and nothing more than typical for Dawson since he flirted with abandon.
When he came to a stop at an intersection, his gaze swung to me, intent and searching. I felt compelled to say something.
“Look, I said it when we talked before, but I’m not …”
Jesus, I couldn’t seem to finish a sentence. I stopped when he shook his head.
“Are you gonna tell me again you’re not my type?”
I meant to say yes and argue the point, but I didn’t. Instead, I shook my head wildly, my face hot. Something about him stripped the niceties away, and I couldn’t keep a polite façade in place.
He leaned forward, slipping a hand around the nape of my neck, his lips colliding with mine. His kiss was hard and fierce, his tongue sweeping in to slick against mine. He ended it just as swiftly, pulling away as he gentled, then catching my bottom lip with his teeth and letting it go with a little pop.
Vote Then Read: Volume III Page 134