Her Hometown Hero

by Melody Anne

  “Yes,” she moaned, grinding against him as his fingers pinched her nipples through the lacy fabric of her bra.

  He now licked the swells of her breasts, nipped her skin, then proceeded to unclasp the offending garment, leaving her naked from the waist up. He didn’t slow his movements; his mouth rounded the curve of her breasts and his lips clamped down around her peaked nipple, making her cry out.

  As he suckled her, he dealt with her slacks and panties, leaving her naked in his arms and feeling vulnerable but too turned on to care.

  She reached for him, wanting his flesh bared to her, needing to touch him the way he was touching her. Finding the top button of his jeans, she tugged, freeing it, and then gave a hard yank so the rest of the buttons came lose. Her hands slipped inside the back of his waistband and pushed downward. Grabbing the solid flesh of his behind, she squeezed, and gloried in his hot skin, his flexing muscles.

  “Yes, Sage, touch me,” he ordered her as his mouth continued devouring her aching peaks.

  “With pleasure,” she sighed, grasping for the buttons of his shirt, pushing it from his shoulders.

  Sage pulled back from him, then ran her tongue along the salty flesh of his neck while her hands roamed over his back. Moving to his muscled chest, she mimicked what he’d done just before, tasting him, devouring him, loving him.

  Her teeth scraped over his nipples, sending a shiver through him, before she dropped to her knees and let her tongue swirl around the hard planes of his stomach.

  “Sage,” he groaned when she lifted a hand, grasped his manhood, and stroked the searing flesh.

  She now ran her tongue over the tip of his erection, surprised by his taste, turned on by his growl. Sucking him into her mouth, she reacted to the cries he made, moving along his flesh now faster, then more slowly.

  “Enough,” he cried, pulling free from her, making her whimper at the loss before he dropped to his knees and grabbed her into his arms, quickly rolling her onto her back and pausing as he looked into her eyes.

  “Spence?” she questioned when he was still for several excruciating moments.

  “Shh. I’m mesmerized by you. I just want to look at you—always look at you,” he whispered before bending and kissing her so tenderly she felt emotion clog her throat.

  Their eyes connected and their mouths barely brushing, he slid his arousal inside her, slowly, inch by beautiful inch, until she was full—until she was quivering around him.

  What had started as pure hunger was morphing into pure love. He never stopped looking into her eyes, never stopped gently nipping at her lips, his tongue soothing the tender flesh while his body slowly moved within her.

  Minutes or hours could have passed—she didn’t know, didn’t care. Heat built, slow and steady, strong, so strong, until her eyes widened and she gasped, her body gripping him in a shattering moment of pleasure that he drew out with his smooth and stirring thrusts.

  As she began floating back to earth, he cried out, his erection pumping against the swollen flesh of her core and releasing inside her. After he collapsed on top of her, she gazed up as he nuzzled her neck. When she looked now at their tree—their first tree together—she decided it was absolutely perfect.

  “I’m getting it!” Excitement bounced off her in waves as Sage slowly made her way down the slope at the Red Lodge Mountain. They’d been at the large ski resort for the past six hours, and after a couple of hours of instruction, and much patience on Spence’s side, she was finally coming down the mountain on her own.

  “You’re learning much faster than most,” Spence said with a blinding smile.

  “That’s because I have an incredible teacher,” she said with a wink.

  When they came to a stop at the bottom of the hill, Spence slid his skis between her legs and pulled her to him, giving her a chaste kiss before leaning back.

  The more she was with this man, the more she wanted to be with him. Work was all consuming, but every single minute of free time was now a new adventure with Spence, whether it was a romantic dinner at his place, a quick jet ride to somewhere she’d never been before, Christmas tree shopping, or just finding a dark corner where they could make out. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was being with him.

  “Are you ready for a break, Sage? Maybe a snack and a drink?”

  “More than ready. Though it’s cold outside, this thick coat is making me sweat, and my thighs have received more of a workout than they’re used to.”

  “I thought I’d been giving you plenty of exercise,” he said as he let her go and gave her a salacious smile.

  “Mmm, your workouts are the best ones, Spence.”

  “Always nice to hear,” he said.

  After removing his skis, he helped her off with hers and stacked them in a holding area. They walked inside the large lodge, where a fire was burning bright and hot and small tables placed about allowed guests to relax for a while before getting back on the slopes.

  Sitting there with Spence, Sage found herself looking at him and wondering whether she had the courage to tell him what was on her mind. She loved him. She wanted him to know that. But was it too soon? Would she frighten him away?

  What if the two of them were rushing into this way too fast? It had all seemed like a fairy-tale romance, almost from the beginning. What if it all wasn’t real when the magic settled down and regular life intruded?

  “What has you looking so intense?” Spence asked, reaching for her hand.

  “I love the way you hold my hand,” she said, and he looked a bit startled.

  “Are there different ways to hold hands?” he said.

  “Well, not that I have a heck of a lot of experience in the hand-holding department, but I have been watching couples lately, and before you can tell me that’s strange, I know it is, but most people just clasp their fingers together. I love how you hold my hand so softly, and how you rub your thumb along my knuckles.” When he chuckled, she felt her cheeks flush. Had that been a stupid thing to say?

  “I don’t even realize I’m doing it. I just love touching you, love the little shudders that pass through your body when I hit a place that feels good to you. I can’t seem to ever get close enough to you,” he said as he flipped her hand over and began tracing the lines on her palm, sending those shudders he’d just been speaking about right through her.

  “I feel the same way, Spence,” she said, thinking now was a good time to admit her love.

  Before she was able to say another word, the two of them were interrupted. “Spence? Spence Whitman, is that you?”

  Sage turned to see a brunette wearing a perfect white outfit and a red-lipsticked smile rush over to their table. No alarms bells were ringing, but when she turned back to Spence and saw a big smile light his face, she felt the tiniest stirring of jealousy. Knowing she was being ridiculous, she repressed it and waited for Spence to introduce her to his friend.

  “Becky! I haven’t seen you in ages. What are you doing up here?”

  He dropped Sage’s hand and stood up just in time for the woman to fling herself into his arms. When the hug lasted just a bit too long to make Sage ever be able to like this woman, she squirmed in her seat.

  “I’m here with my parents. They were going on about being homesick, so we flew in a couple of days ago. Had I known you were down in Sterling, I would have called you,” Becky said.

  “How long are you here?”

  “We’re leaving tonight, darn it. But there’s certainly time for a few drinks before I go,” she said, with her hand clinging firmly to his arm.

  Sage was now fuming. Spence seemed to have forgotten that she was even there, and he wasn’t in much of a hurry to introduce her to this woman, who wouldn’t even look in Sage’s direction. When the woman maneuvered Spence to push Sage out even further, Sage thought seriously about simply standing up and walking out.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” Spence said as he turned back toward Sage. “Becky, this is my . . . friend, Sage Banks. Sage, this
is Becky Marshal. We went to college together and then discovered she grew up only about fifty miles from me. We’ve been close friends ever since.”

  Sage didn’t know what to think about his “friend” comment, so with as much dignity as she could muster, she stood up and held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Becky.”

  Becky took her time but finally gave Sage her hand for all of one second before saying a quick hello and then directing her attention right back at Spence.

  “So, drinks?” she said, and it was clear the invitation was for Spence only. “My parents are over at the restaurant. You must join us.”

  “I would love to, but Sage works tonight, so after we warm up, we’re leaving,” he said. There was clear disappointment in his tone.

  “Are you working?” she asked.

  “Not tonight, but I need to take Sage in.”

  “Our driver can take her,” Becky said quickly. “I insist that you join us. I want to hear all about what you’ve been up to lately—it’s been months since we spoke last. I’m sure Sage wouldn’t mind.” She turned and gave a look that suggested that Sage would be an awful person if she protested.

  Though steam was practically coming out of Sage’s ears at this point, she pasted on the brightest smile she could manage before responding. “Of course you should join your friend, Spence. I should head back now so I can shower before going to work.”

  “I don’t know,” Spence said, but Sage could clearly see he would like to visit with his old friend.

  “As long as I have a ride home, I’m all good,” Sage told him.

  “Great! Then it’s all settled,” Becky said, and slid her arm through Spence’s. “I’ll let Daddy know. He’s going to be so excited.”

  Sage walked beside the two of them as Becky chatted away, making Spence laugh at some of her stories. Sage was clearly the odd man out and was more than relieved when they stepped outside and Becky took them to her car.

  “I’ll stop by tonight,” Spence told her before bending down and giving her a quick kiss on the mouth.

  “It was great to meet you, Page,” Becky said, and Sage had no doubt the woman had gotten her name wrong on purpose. She didn’t bother correcting her.

  “You too, Becky.”

  Sage stepped into the car and soon was traveling away from the ski resort. Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. What had begun as a flawless day had not ended the same way.

  She really didn’t even know what had just happened. Had Spence been ashamed of her? Did she not stack up to his more worldly friends? Was Becky an ex-girlfriend?

  When she got to work and began her shift, the hospital too quiet, Sage had plenty of time to think about their day. She was grateful she hadn’t told him how she’d been feeling, because right now she was thoroughly confused.

  When the night went on and Spence didn’t stop by as promised, her mood turned even more sour. Was their euphoric time together already coming to an end? By the time her shift ended and she managed to drag herself home and into bed, she had no answers. She’d just have to wait and see what Spence would do next.

  “Move in with me.”

  Spence was standing outside her open front door, letting the cold in with her wearing nothing but a nightshirt. Mouth open, Sage stared at him and tried to clear her head. The night before he’d taken off with another woman, hadn’t stopped in to see her, though he’d said he would, and then he just shows up at her door and those are the first words out of his mouth?

  “What?” Maybe she’d just heard him wrong. She had to have heard him wrong.

  “I said move in with me.”

  Sage wanted to throw something at him. She hadn’t slept well even after a long day’s skiing and a longer night shift at the hospital, was less than pleased with him right now, and he was asking her to live with him. They hadn’t even spoken of the future. They hadn’t even said anything about love. Yes, she’d spent a lot of nights at his place over the past couple of weeks, but she also knew she could come back home at any time. She couldn’t just move in with him. Her grandmother would be disappointed in her. She’d be disappointed in herself.

  “This is not a wake-up kind of conversation,” she said, her forehead creased with a frown.

  He stepped inside her door, shut it, and then wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. “You’re never very talkative when you wake up, are you?” He was acting as if everything was perfectly all right. Maybe in his mind it was.

  “No,” was all she replied. She was busy trying to gather her thoughts, to figure out what she wanted to say. She pulled away and tugged her fingers through the tangled mess that was her hair.

  “Are you hungry, Sage?” he asked, gripping her hand as he moved toward the couch and sat, pulling her into his lap. As he continued nuzzling her neck, she wanted to forget the unpleasantness of the entire day before and just fall into the lovemaking part of their relationship. When his hand climbed up her thigh, and then a finger found her heat, she did forget—she forgot about everything but wanting him.

  It was another hour before Sage was able to speak again. If only she could forget her concerns, forget her worries. Then there would be no arguments, no decisions, no heartbreak. She suspected she was in for some real heartbreak with Spence.

  “I hope you’re feeling less . . . feisty now,” Spence said as she leaned against him, her breathing still a bit erratic.

  “Really? I thought you liked me feisty,” she said, struggling just enough on his lap to feel his arousal beginning to rise again.

  “Mmm. Scratch that. You’re right, I do like you feisty.”

  “I’m always right—I’m a woman.”

  “Are you going to answer my question? We’re together practically every minute, so it wouldn’t be difficult for you to move in. It would be just a matter of shifting a few boxes to my place.”

  Taking a deep breath, she pushed away from him. “I need to get up.”

  “Not yet, darling. I’m ready for round two.”

  Somehow she managed to pull away and then walked to the bathroom, where she stared at herself in the mirror for several moments before turning on the water and cupping it in her hands, splashing the coolness against her face.

  After becoming more herself, she climbed into the shower and hoped the pulsing spray would clear the cobwebs from her brain. When that didn’t help, she stood in front of the mirror again, taking her time combing her hair. She still didn’t know exactly what she was going to say to him when she came out, but she felt a little more prepared now that she’d had a few minutes alone.

  Walking out into the kitchen, she thanked him when he handed her a hot cup of coffee. And then she sat at the table, still unsure what to say. Why did everything have to seem so uncomfortable when, just twenty-four hours earlier, it had been perfect?

  “I love the smell of your shampoo,” he said, leaning down and kissing her before sitting down.

  “I love that you love it,” she replied with her first smile since he’d shown up at her door.

  “That’s much better. I love your smile, Sage, love how it brightens your face.” Spence leaned back and assessed her mood. “I’ve scared you, haven’t I? I’m moving too fast.”

  “A little,” she said, though it wasn’t that he was moving too fast; it was that she had no idea where they stood after the day before. “Did you have a pleasant night? I thought you were going to stop by.” She wanted to kick herself for letting that out.

  “I’m sorry, Sage. I should have called, but Becky’s father wanted some medical advice, and we ended up staying until he had to catch a plane out.”

  “So, were you and Becky a thing?” She refused to look at him while asking.

  Spence laughed, making her look up. “Not ever,” he assured her. Then his smile vanished and he stood up. “Were you worried?” He knelt down in front of her and clasped her chin.

  “No,” she lied, but the blush in her cheeks gave her away.

 
“I’m sorry, Sage. I wasn’t even thinking. I haven’t seen Becky or her family in a while. I assure you that I don’t want her, and I never have.”

  The sincerity in his voice proved he was telling the truth. “I’m sorry, Spence. I think I overreacted,” she said, feeling stupid now. Of course, the idea of moving in together was still on the table and she really didn’t know what to say about that.

  “How about we revisit my suggestion of living together later. Are you hungry?” Though he was trying to make his tone light, she could hear the tension in his voice.

  “You don’t get told no very often, do you, Spence?”

  When his shoulders relaxed and he looked at her as if deciding how to answer, then laughed, she was shocked. This wasn’t the way she was expecting this conversation to go. One minute he was upset, the next laughing. She couldn’t figure him out.

  “No. I can’t recall the last time I was told no by someone other than you. It’s not a pleasant feeling.”

  “I didn’t say no, exactly. I just—” She stopped, not knowing what she wanted to say.

  “Well, to prove that I can be a bigger man, I have something for you.” With that, he walked from the apartment, then reentered a few minutes later carrying a package.

  “You can’t keep buying me gifts, Spence. This is getting out of hand.”

  “I like getting you gifts, because in a couple of days we’ll be sharing our first Christmas together, and I want you to know that not a single day goes by without me thinking about you. Who needs twelve days of Christmas when there can be twenty-five?”

  “Still . . .” she said. With all her so-called intelligence, why didn’t she have another excuse up her sleeve?

  Giving up and giving in, she undid the ribbon and took off the lid, then had to fight silly tears. This man was making her crazy. Inside the box was a delicate bracelet. She lifted it and looked at the sparkling jewels. She’d never received jewelry before, and though she shouldn’t accept what looked like an expensive present, she couldn’t seem to keep herself from holding it tight.