ROMANCE: Tumble Into Love: A Diamond Creek Alaska Novel, Contemporary Romance (Diamond Creek, Alaska Novels Book 5)

by Croix, J. H.

  “Risa…” he whispered.

  She dragged her eyes open, instantly lost in his intense gaze. She bit her lip to keep from crying out as he caressed over and around her clit. She clenched around his fingers, the tremors building inside until she burst, the force of her climax rolling through her so rapidly her breath went out in a rush. His lips came against hers just as she cried out, muffling the sound. He eased his strokes as the vibrations slowed within her. He pulled his hand away, lifting his head.

  Dazed with passion, she met his eyes, still brimming with desire, the aftermath of her climax thrumming through her. Holding his gaze, she tore at his jeans, swiftly freeing his cock, wrapping her hand around his hot velvet skin. He groaned at her touch.

  “Risa, you don’t have to…”

  She put her finger to his lips.

  “I want to.”

  She shifted her hips closer, so she was half off the desk, and guided him into her slick channel. In a swift surge, he sheathed himself to the hilt, settling against her with such force it took her breath away. His eyes closed and he took a deep breath. He opened his eyes, his forehead falling against hers. He began a rhythm of slow, deep strokes. She met him stroke for stroke, the reverberations from her lingering orgasm building into another one, the depth and intensity of it washing over her in a crashing wave. As soon her channel began to clench and pulse around him, he surged deeply one final time, spilling himself inside of her. They came silently, their breath mingling in quiet, broken gasps.

  They stayed like that for long moments, Darren’s head bowed against hers, his lips inches from hers. The distant sound of the entry chime finally filtered through Risa’s awareness. When she lifted her head, his followed, though he remained inside of her.

  “Well…” she said softly.

  Darren’s mouth kicked up at the corner. “Right.”

  She giggled. “So how am I supposed to go back to work?”

  She gestured at her torn blouse. He tilted his head, a slow smile spreading across his face, completely unapologetic.

  “You can wear my jacket,” he offered helpfully.

  She swatted at his chest. “It’s a good thing Ethan and Jack will be thrilled to learn I got some action from you today.”

  He arched a brow. “I can see they probably wouldn’t care one way or another, but they have an opinion on us?”

  She nodded vigorously, finally shifting her hips slightly. He slowly stepped back, pulling out of her and glancing around. She snagged the box of tissues on her desk and handed it to him with a smile. He wiped himself off and then her. As she wiggled off her desk, she glanced up at him.

  “Yes, they have an opinion about us. They’ve been on my case to talk to you for a few weeks now.”

  He zipped his pants and grabbed his t-shirt off the floor. His voice was muffled as the fabric fell over his head. “You mean, we could have taken care of this weeks ago?”

  When his face reappeared, she held his gaze and took a deep breath. “Yeah. I had to work up the nerve. Ethan says I have ‘issues’ with intimacy. Don’t push me on that just yet, saying what I already said was a big deal for me.”

  He smiled wryly, warmth and understanding in his eyes. “I’m thinking I should thank them.” He paused, his gaze sobering. “So you know, Hallie might say I have ‘issues’ with intimacy too.”

  Risa giggled. “I won’t hold it against you.” She looked down at her torn blouse and tugged her bra together. “Now seriously, I can’t go out like this. I’m going to have to call it a day and borrow your jacket on my way out.”

  He swept it up from the floor and walked over, dropping in on her shoulders. Slipping her arms in it, she tugged it around her, savoring the scent of him on it. There was a knock on the door again. This time, Darren stepped to the door and opened it. Ethan stood on the other side, his eyes warm with a knowing smile.

  He looked over them both, taking in Darren’s jacket wrapped around Risa and her rumpled appearance. “We’re sending you home for the day.” He glanced at Darren. “I’d say thank you, but that might seem strange,” he offered with a grin.

  Darren shrugged and gestured to Risa. She stepped to his side and walked out, his arm securely around her shoulders.

  Chapter 25

  Darren sat up abruptly, jolted awake. His skin was damp and his breathing ragged. Risa lay beside him, curled up under the covers. Moonlight splashed across the bed through the windows. He waited for his breathing to slow down and his heart to stop racing. He didn’t realize she was awake until he felt her hand reach up and curl around his shoulder, stroking down his arm in a warm, soothing caress.

  “It’s snowing,” she said, her voice soft and filled with wonder in the darkness.

  He looked over at her to see she was looking up into the skylight over the bed. The snowflakes were lit up in the bright moonlight, falling like glittering fairy dust. He shifted and lay back down, resting beside her and watching the snow fall, dreamlike in the quiet night. She curled against his side, her legs tangling with his, her head on his shoulder. A time that was usually filled with dread and rumination for him wasn’t that at all. His heartbeat slowed to normal, her hand traced circles on his chest.

  He fell back asleep and woke hours later, sunlight splashing across the bed. The shower was running and Risa wasn’t in bed. He rolled out of bed and walked into the shower, sliding his hands around her soft curves and nuzzling her neck.

  “Mmm, good morning,” she said.

  “Mmm…” was all he could manage.

  She turned in his arms and met his eyes, hers crinkling with a smile. “Breakfast?”

  The haze of sleep not quite out of his head, he must have looked confused.

  “Do you want me to make breakfast?” she asked slowly.

  “Oh sure.”

  She grinned and pecked him on the cheek before shimmying around him to step out of the shower. He quickly soaped himself and rinsed. By the time he was dressed, the entire house smelled like bacon. He entered the kitchen to find Hallie sitting at the counter chatting with Risa. Risa handed him a fresh cup of coffee and gestured for him to sit at the counter.

  Hallie eyed him over the rim of her mug, her eyes smiling.

  “Morning Hallie. Didn’t know you were here this morning,” he commented.

  “I’m guessing you didn’t notice I was home last night when you got here,” she said with a sly grin as she took a sip of coffee and set her mug down.

  He definitely hadn’t noticed, wrapped in the fog of Risa as he’d been. He shrugged and returned her grin.

  Risa served them breakfast and then left for work in a swirl. “I have a ton of stuff to get caught up on since I left early yesterday,” she said as she tugged her jacket on.

  They’d stopped by her apartment yesterday afternoon, so she could pick up some clothes. Though Darren enjoyed watching her wear his jacket, he knew it didn’t fit her style or sensibility.

  She glanced at him, her brown eyes bright and warm. “Are we having dinner together?”

  “Yes,” he replied swiftly with absolutely no hesitation.

  Her return smile was brighter than the sun—at least to him. “I’ll text you later about when and where,” she said, giving him a quick kiss.

  When she swung the door open, brisk air blew in, scented with snow. A thin layer of snow coated everything in sight. Where the sun struck, it sparkled as it melted almost instantly. Darren stepped into his boots and followed her out, grabbing the snowbrush out of his car. He quickly brushed the snow off her windshield. When he finished, he looked up to find her staring at him.

  “What?”

  She shook her head sharply and stepped to his side, flinging her arms around him. His came around her reflexively. She hugged him tightly and leaned back to look at him. “Just that you’re too good, much too good of a man,” she said with a soft smile.

  He was puzzled but happily accepted her kiss, this one much more than the peck she’d given him at
the door. By the time she pulled away, his pulse was pounding, lust was streaking through him, and he needed a cold shower.

  ***

  Risa followed the boardwalk around the back of the gallery and assorted storefronts. She shivered when a bracing gust of salty wind came from the bay. Tugging her jacket more tightly around her, she leaned on the railing and looked out over the water. It was early evening with the sky navy, almost dark, but not quite. The long summer days were gone. Time quickened during autumn in Alaska, racing toward winter. The mountains across the bay were bathed in alpenglow, lingering light from the fallen sun bouncing off the water and snow on the peaks to create a soft lavender mist along the horizon.

  A raven flew by and landed on the railing nearby, offering her a cursory glance before commencing to stare out over the water. The tide was rolling out, the waves lapping softly on the shore, the briny scent from tide pools carrying on the breeze. Risa took a deep breath, the chilly autumn ocean air energizing and soothing at once. She thought about yesterday with Darren and couldn’t have stopped the smile that spread across her face if she’d tried. For the first time in as long as she could recall, she wasn’t second-guessing herself. Oh, it helped for Darren to respond as he did and blow her away again, but it felt so good, so right to simply speak what she felt aloud instead of keeping it bottled up inside for fear of what might happen.

  The early hours of this morning had been an unexpected gift. When he’d woken after another nightmare, she’d expected him to head for the shower as he always had. Instead, he’d watched the snow flutter onto the skylight with her and fallen back asleep quickly. She’d been awake longer than he, listening to his breath tumble into the lull of sleep.

  Glancing at her watch, she took a last look out over the water. A seal rose up by the shore, its large round eyes staring at her curiously. With a wave to the seal, she turned and walked to her car. She was meeting Darren for dinner at The Boathouse Café. If it were summer, she’d have walked, but the autumn breeze had too much bite to it. She drove the short distance from the gallery to The Boathouse, which was on one of the bluffs near Otter Cove Harbor.

  Entering the restaurant, she took a look around. The café was an updated diner with the grill area visible behind a counter with seating. The walls were lined with the original booths with updated tabletops of mahogany and crisp white place mats. Brightly colored curtains offered a splash of color and cheer. As her eyes traveled around, she saw Darren already seated in a booth in the corner and made her way over there.

  Startling her, he stood and leaned in for a kiss when she reached the booth. As was always the case with him, passion simmered on high idle. What she’d assumed would be a quick kiss was more than that, his tongue sweeping quickly inside her mouth, his teeth catching at her bottom lip and tugging swiftly before he pulled back. Desire flushed her skin. Flustered, she slid into the booth, pulling her jacket off and setting it beside her. Looking up, she met his eyes, his warm chocolate gaze honed in on her.

  “Hey,” he said with a grin.

  “Hey yourself. How was your day?”

  He shrugged, twirling his beer bottle in his hand. “Nothing unusual. This time of year tends to feel slow because we’re coming off the tourist season. We spend summer responding to wild parties and dealing with a population that quadruples. Today, I caught up on reports and responded to a call about a moose in the high school parking lot.”

  “And what happened to the moose?”

  “We herded him out of the parking lot and into the woods nearby. No harm done. How was your day?”

  Risa filled him in on the gallery happenings. She soaked in how nice it felt to have someone to talk to about her day. Aside from the fact that his mere presence stole her breath and set her pulse galloping, Darren was warm and kind, legitimately interested in her daily life. As she waited while someone stopped by the table to chat with him, a fairly common occurrence, she experienced a flash of fear. She was in so deep with him, she didn’t know what to do with herself. Right when her mind ran off the rails, Darren turned back to her and smiled. Their waitress came by with their drinks and took the rest of their order. The mundane moment brought her back to the present.

  When the waitress left, Darren cleared his throat, his eyes sobering. “So, uh, I thought maybe I should talk to you about something.”

  Risa looked at him carefully. His eyes were slightly guarded. Rather than allowing herself to manufacture anything, she nodded. “Okay.”

  He took a deep breath and a swallow of beer before speaking again. “I’m sure you’ve noticed I have nightmares sometimes.” At her nod, he continued. “Well, those nightmares are the reason why I didn’t date for a long time. Honestly, I didn’t plan to ever change that, but then…well you came along.” He flushed at this.

  She reached over and tugged his free hand into hers, considering whether to tell him Hallie had already told her what happened. He looked determined though, so she elected to let him say what he needed.

  He closed his eyes, quiet for a moment. When he opened them again, his gaze was steady. “To make a long story short, I was first on the scene at a car accident in Seattle. It was plain chance I happened to be on the highway so close to where it happened. But I couldn’t wait for more help when I got there because one of the cars was smoking so much, I thought it would go up in flames. A little boy was in the back. He was in his car seat, awake and crying. I moved as fast as I could, but it wasn’t fast enough. I remember reaching through the window to get him out. Someone called my name and that’s the last thing I remember. The car exploded. He didn’t survive, and neither did his parents. Though they tell me his parents died from the impact from the accident.” He closed his eyes and took a slow breath.

  Risa held his hands firmly in hers, stroking her thumb across the back of one of his palms. Darren opened his eyes. They held pain, regret and weariness. Her heart clenched, but she held silent. She’d wanted him to be open with her, and he was. She wasn’t going to interrupt.

  His voice was gruff when he spoke again. “It took me awhile to pull myself together after that. I was in the hospital for a few days because my lungs were scorched from the heat and smoke from the explosion.” He gestured to the faded scar that traveled into his hairline. “I got this when I leaned through the window. Aside from that…well, things weren’t good for me for a while. I saw a therapist and he helped. But I didn’t know what to do. I knew intellectually it wasn’t my fault, but it was still awful. When I was better enough to work again, I decided to come home. Trying to work in Seattle brought up too many memories, and I missed Alaska anyway. Aside from the nightmares, I’ve been mostly okay. Those are much better than they were. I suppose it’ll always weigh on me. But...”

  He paused and met her eyes, the raw vulnerability there causing her heart to ache. “I thought I should talk to you about it so you didn’t think I was hiding something. Since we’re being honest, the truth is I want you more than anyone I’ve ever wanted. It made me so crazy, I thought I could somehow get you out of my mind by taking a few days with the fire crew. All that did was make me miss you so much it hurt. So, the thing is I haven’t been serious with anyone for years. I hate saying it, but I was afraid you’d think something was wrong with me.” He cleared his throat, holding her gaze, the intimacy taking her breath away. “But I couldn’t bear not to be with you, and it seems like you don’t mind my nightmares. They’ve gotten better lately too. I’m kind of rambling now, but I guess I wanted to make sure you knew how much you meant to me. I can’t imagine life without you.”

  She looked across the table at him and swiped at a tear that tumbled past her lashes. “Oh my. I didn’t…didn’t expect that.”

  He shifted his shoulders and flushed. “I needed to be clear where things stood for me. If I had any sense, I’d have said something sooner instead of getting in my own way.”

  She took a deep breath, trying to slow her heart down. She needed to make sure he under
stood how much it meant to her that he’d confided in her. “You didn’t have to tell me everything you just did, but it means a lot. I want to be there for you. I get why you might be worried someone would think something was wrong with you, but I never thought that. I tried to be honest yesterday, but I probably didn’t clarify that I can’t imagine being with anyone but you. So…” She paused for another gulp of air, tears rolling freely down her cheeks. “…it’s a relief to know you feel the same way.”

  Darren’s smile was so warm her whole body glowed from within. “Good to know. I take it the tears are a good thing?” His eyes held a glimmer of concern.

  She nodded rapidly, snatching the cloth dinner napkin up and wiping her eyes. Their waitress arrived with an appetizer and hesitated when she saw Risa’s face.

  Risa smiled through her teary eyes. “It’s okay. Happy tears.”

  The waitress smiled and set their appetizer of salmon dip and bread on the table with plates quickly. Dinner passed in a happy blur.

  Hours later when she collapsed beside Darren, her skin damp with passion, she tucked her head on his shoulder and sighed. A single lamp cast a golden glow on his chest. She ran her hand across the muscled planes, coasting over the beat of his heart. As her breathing returned to normal, she rolled to her side. “I like your bedroom better.”

  “How come?”

  “Because I love the skylight. I can see the moon, the stars and the snow.”

  His chest rumbled with his low laugh. “I have an idea.”

  “What’s that?”

  He turned his head to look at her. Though she’d just had an earth-shattering orgasm, the heat from his brown gaze set her pulse racing again. “I was thinking maybe Hallie could take over your lease here, and you could stay with me.”

  A smile bloomed in her heart and spread across her face. “That’s brilliant. How soon are you suggesting this happens?”

  He smiled softly in the dim light. “As soon as possible?”