Rachel and Dylan had even swung by. I was quite surprised Dylan, the son of one of the founding families, stood next to Rachel as she gushed over my books and I signed her copies of them. He stared at her like she hung the moon, and she was a bubbly woman I wanted to pull into my circle of friends. I’d have to remember to speak to Levi about inviting Dylan and Rachel to one of our nights at the pub.
A little while later, Ms. Betsy Jones and her sister Ruby walked up to my table with copies of my books. My eyes widened in sudden understanding.
“Ms. Jones, it was you who put my books in the library, wasn’t it?” I questioned, and she grinned giving me a wink.
“I have always enjoyed your writing, Ms. Smith. I look forward to everything you have in store for us.” Betsy gave me a bright smile and tears burned in my eyes.
I never considered my favorite high school teacher would become my biggest supporter when I started writing Sci-Fi Romance. Being an author was lonely at times, and the biggest supporters often came in some unexpected packages. I was learning quickly how much support I actually had and how many people I knew personally who supported me and loved me even though my career wasn’t necessarily conventional.
The event wound down and I watched as the attendees filed out of the park. A few turned to walk through our small town. Trudy and Ruby were staying open late to hopefully take advantage of a few shoppers. Sadie had also ended up leaving the event early to go manage The Blue Plate with the extra people coming in to eat dinner.
As Trey, Levi, and Preston began taking apart the stereo equipment for the stage, I caught Ryan’s eyes. He smiled at me and nodded. Tomorrow after my breakfast with the one and only Addison March, a bunch of us would meet up at the library in order to figure out the final numbers from the event.
A voice inside of me told me even if we hadn’t reached our goals, Ryan was going to do whatever it took to stick around Maple Creek. Turning back to my table, I began putting everything away and stacking the small amount of books I had left in the cart. All of the money I made from the event sales went to the library, and a few other authors did the same.
“I’ve got this from here. You and Ryan should go get some dinner,” Meghan said as she strolled over.
Ryan stood behind her but his eyes were pinned to me as I asked, “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. Go.” Meghan winked at me, and I smiled as Ryan offered his hand for me.
Taking it, we walked hand in hand through the park to his car. It felt good holding his hand, and I cursed myself for missing out on all the occasions I could have held it but didn’t.
As he drove to his place, Ryan and I discussed the event, and he was hopeful we at least got close to the funding we needed. He was particularly impressed with the panel and how several of the authors shared stories of how the library systems in their own hometowns helped them.
Arriving at his house, we both walked in and kicked off our shoes. The adrenaline from the day was wearing off as Ryan got to work in the kitchen whipping up a delicious dinner for us. It was the exact type of quick cozy meal I wanted after a long day of dealing with people. While I longed to curl up in bed and get a good hard sleep in, Ryan’s heated gaze had energy running through me.
“I remember the last time you wore that dress, vividly,” he said with a smirk.
Looking down at the little embroidered flowers, I smirked and met his gaze. “I remember it well too.”
Standing, I rose with him and our lips crashed together. It’d been a long two and a half weeks, and all I needed was Ryan against me. The way his hands traveled over my body told me he longed for me too.
Together we moved through the living room before we basically ran up the stairs. In his bedroom he pushed me back until the back of my legs hit the bed. As his lips pressed against mine and our tongues tangled, he pulled at the zipper on the back of my dress.
“I need you,” he whispered against my lips and he pressed himself against me, proving how true those words were.
“You have me,” I whispered back as my hands moved to pull his shirt up.
As soon as he was freed from his shirt, his hands moved to the thick straps of my sundress and pushed them off my shoulders. He shoved at the dress until it pooled at my bare feet. Then he picked me up by my thighs and dropped me onto the bed. He was between my legs in a flash, pulling at my underwear and dragging them down my legs. After tossing the black panties over his shoulder, he leaned over me. His hand slid beneath my back as I arched up toward him. While he unhooked my bra, my fingers plucked at the button on the dark jeans he wore.
“Fuck, I want to do so much to you, but I need to be inside of you,” he murmured as his mouth attached to my now bare nipple.
“Please,” I whimpered as I began shoving at his pants to push them past his hips.
As he propped on an elbow over me, his free hand joined mine in removing his jeans and boxers. His cock pressed to my entrance and my fingers gripped at his sides. In one swift thrust he sank into me, and I gasped out a soft moan.
“You are so beautiful like this - your pussy wrapped around me, your cheeks pink, your eyes heavy with lust. I could live in this moment forever,” he whispered before pressing a soft kiss to my lips.
He began to move in slow and steady thrusts, stealing my reply from my brain. He gripped my leg and held it in the crook of his elbow as each pump went deeper. As he took my body higher, my nails scraped down his back.
My hips rolled with each thrust, and as we both grew more frantic our breathing sped up. Soft moans grew louder as he began to push harder, and soon we were on the precipice of ecstasy.
“That’s it sweetheart, come with me,” he groaned out as my walls began to flutter.
I stared up at him as my orgasm crashed over me - turning the edges of my vision black, and taking him with me. He moaned as his cock emptied, and my walls pulsed around him. It was perfect. As he pressed his lips to mine, I wanted to live in this moment forever.
Chapter 39