I push everything aside and concentrate on right now as I rock into her relentlessly. My ability to go slow is gone.
Emmy’s eyes find mine, and so much passion burns there that I lose my breath. Her lush mouth parts, and she lets out a soft gasp.
“Please,” she pleads, pulling me closer. Her breathing is erratic as she hikes her legs up higher.
“Tell me what you need, Sunshine,” I murmur, threading my fingers through hers.
“You. I just need you.”
“You’ve got me, Em. You’ve got me.”
She’ll never even realize how much. I’ll never be anyone else’s but hers. Not after tonight.
I bury my face in the crook of her neck and groan as she shifts restlessly beneath me. Her whimpers give way to soft, needy cries. I let go of her hands, and she grabs my shoulders, digging her nails into my back. She’s seconds away from coming apart, and it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.
“You’re so close,” I murmur, brushing a lock of damp hair away from her face. “C’mon, sweetheart. Let me take you there.”
A heartbeat later, Emmy moans and arches herself up against my body. There’s a rush of wet heat as she tightens and pulses around my cock. She cries out my name and comes again, and I lose every bit of my control.
“Emmy. Oh, fuck. Em.” Pulling her legs up tight around me, I slam into her once, then again before letting go. Spots swim in front of my eyes, and I come so hard I groan with the force of my release.
After a few moments, I regain some of my composure and lift my head to glance down at Emmy. She reaches up and caresses my face, and I cover her hand with mine.
She kisses me, and it’s the sweetest, gentlest kiss we’ve ever shared.
Another wave of despair rolls over me as I bury my head in the crook of her neck. Emotionally, I’m stripped bare.
When my parents died in the plane crash, it was a total shock. I hadn’t had a chance to prepare. I know that my time with Emmy is coming to a close, and I thought that knowledge would make the inevitable a lot easier to handle.
But I was wrong; it doesn’t hurt any less. It’s worse, because I know it’s coming.
I kiss her again before slipping from her body. Even that simple loss of contact is almost too much to handle right now.
“Will?”
“Yeah?”
“You were right all along.”
I glance down at her. “About what?”
“You were right that this would be amazing,” she says softly.
I close my eyes and press my lips against the top of her head. “I never had a single doubt.”
“I could do that all night with you. I mean, I really want to.” She peers up at me through lowered lashes. “You know, I’ve never—” Emmy covers her face with her hands. “Gah. This is embarrassing.”
I gently tug on a lock of her hair. “C’mon, sweetheart. You can’t be shy after what we just did.”
“I’ve never come like that before. Not while having sex, anyway. Maybe while I was alone, but never with a guy.” Her cheeks turn pink. “I didn’t feel like I had to put on a show with you. I could just be myself.”
Now that surprises me. “Really? Not even with Aidan?”
She shakes her head. “It wasn’t very good with him. I always felt like I was doing something wrong. Or that I wasn’t enough for him.”
That vulnerable look is back, and I pull her close. I won’t let her feel bad because of that asshole. She’s amazing, and he’s a complete tool.
“For the record, Sunshine, you did everything right. Everything, okay?”
She snuggles against me. “Thanks for saying that.”
“It’s the truth.”
My phone buzzes with a text, and I roll over onto my back. “Fuck. I should have just turned it off. I don’t want any interruptions tonight.”
She laughs. “Well, turn it off now.”
“A little too late for that.”
I pick up the phone, and my blood runs cold. “No. Fuck, no.”
“Will?” Emmy sits up, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”
I toss the phone down and leap to my feet. “It’s Sully. He and the rest of the crew are here, Emmy. They’re fifteen minutes away. More like ten with the way Sully drives.”
Her mouth falls open. “What? They’re not supposed to be here until the day after tomorrow.”
“Fuck!” I kick at the blankets. Of all the shitty goddamn motherfucking luck. Karma is rearing her ugly, bitch head because I took advantage of my best friend’s sister.
“Violet and Peyton convinced their boss to let them go early.” I run a hand down over my face. “They wanted to surprise us. Oh, Christ.”
“This can’t be happening,” she murmurs. “It can’t.”
I skim on my jeans and toss her clothes to her. “But it is. Go inside the cottage. I’ll clean up everything out here. It’ll be faster if I do it myself.”
“But Will—”
“We’re running out of time,” I say grimly. “C’mon Sunshine. We have to move.”
Emmy clutches her shirt to her breasts, her eyes full of tears. “No. I don’t want this to be over, Will. Not yet. Please.”
Oh, fuck. I can’t handle this. I just can’t. Emmy looks completely destroyed.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur, reaching out to cup her face. “I’m so sorry, Em.”
Her lower lip trembles as she stares at me. “Please. Can’t we just—”
“You have to go,” I say gently. “Go on, Em. I’ll see you inside. I need to make this stuff disappear. Like nothing ever happened.”
“Like nothing ever happened,” she repeats, looking down at the scattered blankets and pillows. She glances back up at me, and I have to turn away. She’s breaking my goddamned heart.
Emmy gets dressed silently and turns to go, but not before I see the tears rolling down her face. The wall of guilt I’ve been fighting crushes me as I watch her walk slowly into the house.
The moment I kissed her in the rain, I knew that this wasn’t going to end well. But my selfish desire for her outweighed everything else.
Now, we’re out of time. I thought we’d have a chance to work through this together and bring it to an end that we could both handle. I was counting on it.
But this? This is like walking away from an explosion. One that I’ve set off myself.
And Emmy and I are both collateral damage.
Chapter Seventeen
EMMY
I slowly climb the stairs to my room and somehow manage to change into my pajama pants and a tank top. Thank God for waterproof mascara, because my tears haven’t stopped since Will got Sully’s text.
When I was seventeen, I was in a car accident. My car got hit by some jackass who blew through a red light. The impact of the crash spun my car around in the intersection. Though I hadn’t been physically hurt, I was shaken to the core and a complete emotional wreck. That car had come out of nowhere.
I feel the same way now. Completely blindsided and totally freaked out.
Peeking out of the bedroom window, I see that Will has completely deconstructed the tent and packed it away. I’m not sure what he did with all of the pillows and blankets.
I turn away. The sight of the empty backyard makes me too sad. Will’s right; it looks like absolutely nothing ever happened.
But it did happen. I’ve never had a more incredible night with a man. And it doesn’t matter what rules we’d laid down or what we’d talked about before. What had happened out there meant something.
We’d connected, and everything had been perfect. Not just physically, but in my heart.
I might have developed a crush on Will a few months ago, but these past few days, I’ve really fallen for him. Crazy, head-over-heels kind of fallen. So how am I supposed to pretend that nothing ever happened? We didn’t have enough time to deal with it coming to an end. It’s just… over.
The tears start back up, so I go to the bathroom and splash my face with col
d water. I have to keep things together. I made a promise to Will that I could do this, and I don’t go back on my promises.
Headlights sweep through my room before disappearing around the front of the house.
They’re here.
I pat my face dry and tie my just-had-sex hair back into a ponytail. I can’t muster up the energy to even care what I look like right now. I just hope I’m able to hide my feelings from our friends.
I hear the front door swing open and voices laughing and talking.
“Emmy!” My brother’s voice echoes off the walls. “Where you at, Baby Sis?”
I glance back in the mirror and practice a smile, but it looks more like a grimace. I try again, and this time, it passes the test. I’ll show Will that I can do this. I’ll do anything for him.
Taking a deep breath, I go downstairs, keeping the smile plastered on my face. Everyone’s dragging their suitcases into the cottage and chattering excitedly.
My brother sees me and grins. “There she is. There’s my girl!”
He grabs me in a big bear hug. I smack a kiss on his cheek and return the hug. “What’s up, brother?”
Sully’s hair has gotten really long in the front. His bright green eyes, so much like my own, are full of warmth when I release him. Physically, he looks so much like my dad; it rattles me a bit. But unlike my father, he’s happy to see me.
“I missed you, Baby Sis.”
“Missed you, too. Maybe you should try returning some of my messages if you miss me so much, eh?” I give him a light punch on the arm. “You look a lot bigger than you did at Christmas.”
“Damn right.” He grins and tosses his dark hair out of his eyes. “Gotta keep in shape for the ladies.”
“And here I thought it was for your job,” I mock.
My eyes slide over to my best friends, Violet Todd and Peyton Baynes. They squeal with excitement and wrap me in a huge group hug.
“I missed you guys so much!” I say, squeezing them tightly. “It’s been way too long.”
Even though I talk to them on Facebook and we text all the time, it’s not the same as being with them in person.
“You okay?” Violet asks, peering at me. Her big brown eyes are full of concern. “Your eyes look a little bloodshot.”
I tug on her blonde ponytail. “Allergies,” I say, smiling. “I guess I’m just used to the city. All this nature is throwing me off.”
“I brought a few allergy medications with me,” Peyton says, digging through her designer purse. A sleek curtain of auburn hair falls over her face as she rifles through the bag.
Peyton’s like a walking pharmacy. She’s got everything from Advil to Zantac in that bag. She claims she likes to be prepared for any medical emergency that might crop up. We just love to tease her about being a hypochondriac. Still, her stash has come in very handy when one of us gets a headache or stung by a bee.
“It’s okay Peyton, I took something earlier,” I lie.
God, it sucks that I can’t be honest with my friends, but I have to protect our secret.
Will and Sully’s teammates, Mattias Axelsson and Dylan Cabot, nod at me from their seats at the kitchen island stools. I met them both over Christmas dinner last year. They seem like decent guys.
“What’s up, Emmy?” Axel asks, grinning. Axel’s probably one of the happiest people I’ve ever met in my life. He’s always smiling. He’s got shaggy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a very cute Swedish accent.
Last year after Christmas dinner, the boys all got a little too stuffed and a whole lot drunk. My cousin Vicki came over to the house to hang out with us, and when she took off her coat, Axel stood up from the table and sang the entire Swedish national anthem to her blue and yellow dress. He got really into it, gesturing wildly and belting it out like he was on Swedish Idol. It was both awesome and completely hilarious. I still have the whole thing saved on my phone. It might make good bribery material someday.
Later that night, I caught Vicki making out with Axel on the couch. According to Sully, Vicki—like most girls–just couldn’t resist Axel’s killer smile.
Dylan lifts his hand in a wave. “Hey.”
Dylan Cabot, on the other hand, is a lot harder to read. He seems a little shy and doesn’t say very much. From what I’ve seen, he’s a very intense guy. I went to a few Toronto Smoke games when we were in town for the holiday break, and that intensity doesn’t waver on the ice. He’s incredibly serious and very focused.
Dylan runs a hand down over his reddish-brown beard, which he didn’t have last Christmas. His light gray eyes meet mine. “How was your flight from NYC?”
“Good to see you guys,” I say, plastering on my smile again. “Flight was fine. A lot safer than driving up here with Sul, I’m sure.”
My brother gives me a mock glare. “Watch it, Sis. By the way, Lilly decided to come with us.” He tosses beers to Matt and Dylan. “She went outside to look for Will. Where is he?”
I swallow. No doubt Lilly wants to start things up with him again while she’s here. “Uh, he’s in the backyard, I think.”
As if on cue, the side door opens and Will enters. His hair’s disheveled, like he ran a hand through it one too many times. His eyes meet mine briefly before he acknowledges the rest of the group.
Lilly, of course, is right at his side. I sweep my gaze over her. She’s wearing a short black cocktail dress and three-inch heels. Not exactly an outfit for going to the cottage but definitely one for turning a man’s head. I watch as Dylan, Axel, and Sully give her subtle once-overs.
“Look who I found,” Lilly says triumphantly, sliding her manicured fingers around Will’s arm. She gives his bicep a squeeze and brushes a strand of straight, jet-black hair away from her face. “But he’s hard to miss. Look at all of these muscles! So sexy!”
The next few days are going to be a disaster with her here. I swear, if she decides to share all the dirty little details about when she slept with Will, I might have to go stay in the treehouse. I won’t survive those stories.
I turn away from them and head straight for the fridge. I’m going to need alcohol to get through this night. I grab a bottle of beer and promise myself I won’t have more than one. I don’t need to add “puke-fest” to my woe-is-me to do list.
“Aww, don’t say that, Lil. It’ll go to his head, and he’s cocky enough as it is.” Sully says, standing to fist bump Will. “Kept the beer cold, eh, Mav?”
“Always,” Will replies, taking a seat at the island. He puts on his hat and slides it backward. “Priorities, you know.”
Sully laughs. “Thanks for keeping an eye on Emmy, too. I don’t want creepers sniffing around my sister.”
Will cracks open his beer, but before he can respond, I verbally lay into my brother.
“You know what, Sully? I don’t need saving,” I snap. God, I’m so sick of Sully’s bodyguard bullshit. “I’m a grown woman. And I’ll see who I want, date who I want, and fuck who I want. I don’t need your friends protecting me, either. Understand?”
The room grows quiet, and everyone stares at me.
Well, so far my attempt at playing it cool is an epic fail. I take a huge swallow of beer and try to ignore my burning hot cheeks. Blushing doesn’t help me look as badass as I just sounded, that’s for sure.
Will tilts his beer toward me. “I think that’s her way of saying mind your own fucking business, Sully.” He looks over at my brother. “Besides, you wouldn’t want her hanging around while you’re trying to get into some chick’s panties, would you?”
“Exactly,” I point out. I’m so grateful to him for sticking up for me. But then again, he always has. “Thank you, Mav.”
Will winks at me, and my stomach starts fluttering madly. I have to force myself to look away from his face. An hour ago, he was inside of me, whispering sweet words in my ear and driving me wild. I take another swallow of beer and work on looking unaffected.
Lilly drags a stool next to Will and plucks the beer bottle from his
hand. She takes a long swallow, and I don’t miss the cool stare he gives her.
“Plenty of beer in the fridge, Lil,” he tells her. “Why don’t you go grab yourself one?”
“I’ll just share yours,” she says, smiling up at him.
Will makes a big show of wiping off the lip of the bottle. “Well, who says I’m sharing?”
Lilly just giggles, completely oblivious to his annoyance—which is typical Lilly behavior. She thinks he’s flirting.
I’m still having a hard time believing he slept with her. That’s probably a crappy thing to say about someone who I kind of consider a friend, but it’s true. They aren’t anything alike. She’s completely overbearing and flirty, and he’s the epitome of laid-back.
Was he the same way with Lilly? Whispering to her all of those sweet things? Did he look at her like he looked at me? It makes me nauseated just thinking about it. But maybe that’s why she said he was so incredible. I mean, besides the obvious fact he’s good in bed.
Ugh, I need brain bleach.
Axel stands up and stretches. “You guys ready for some Xbox?”
This starts an in-depth discussion of the latest games from the guys, and soon they’re all weighing in on what to play.
“Where is everyone sleeping?” Violet asks. “I wasn’t sure where we should put our stuff.”
“There’s a bedroom right off of the den,” Will says, turning away from the game discussion. “The couches in there fold out, too. Pillows and sheets are in the bathroom linen closet.” He points to the door. “Just help yourselves.”
“I drove, so I’m taking the bedroom down here,” Sully announces. “The guys can have the fold-outs.”
“Okay. I’ll show the girls the upstairs bedrooms,” I tell Will.
“Great. Thanks, Em.” He holds my gaze, and I can’t help but wonder what he’s thinking. Dwelling on it isn’t going to help my mood any, though.
I turn away and lead Violet, Peyton, and Lilly upstairs. “Two of you will have to share a room.”
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