Page 149 of The Cost of Forgetting You

“No.” I bite my lip. Nerves wring my stomach. He hasn’t said he wants this, not really. But I have to trust my instincts when they tell me it’s worth it to take this leap. “You were right, you know. About this place. It’s where I belong. Where I’ve always belonged. I’m not my mother, much to her chagrin. I like it here. Love it, in fact.” I drop my hand to rest against his chest. His heartbeat pounds against my palm, as fast as my own. I let that give me the strength I need to add, “This is not an obligation to you, by the way. Just because I’m staying doesn’t mean?—”

“Fuck an obligation.” One hand moves from my hair to my waist, the other tossing his baseball cap before finding my other hip and hauling me into his lap in one smooth motion. We’re face-to-face, eye to eye. I can feel his desire swell beneath me, pressed against my core. I roll my hips instinctively, and he hisses in response. When his eyes meet mine once more, they’re glazed in sweet sadness. The kind that is a prologue to relief. “You are all I’ve ever wanted, Temptress. You’re every dream I’ve had, every damn hope for my future. Even when I thought you were lost to me, I prayed for you. Swore my soul to whoever would take it if you’d just come back home so I could say I was sorry. Tell you what I’d always known was true but was too scared to say when we were kids. I love you, Delilah. I’m so damn gone for you, it’s insane. You will never be an obligation to me. You’re my whole world.”

He doesn’t wait for a response. His fingertips dig into my hips as he surges into me, covering my mouth with his. I can taste the sugar of his words on his tongue, the truthfulness in his every breath. We ebb and we flow, as practiced at this dance as the river that flows behind us. We carve notches into each other meant only for us, so that no other will ever fit like this. Like us.

Truett and I were made for each other. Written in the stars long before we came to be. We’re the best of our parents, and also entirely ourselves. Their unfinished love story and our very own that’s just getting started, all rolled into one.

His hands climb the lattice of my spine. If the sun was heating my skin before, his touch is burning me alive. He finds the ties of my straps on my shoulders and tugs them free. His lips replace them, tracing the path from my sloped shoulder to my collarbone to the hollow at the base of my throat. His tongue laps at that hollow, stealing my breath. My thighs tremble against his hips. Pleasure dips low in my stomach. I want him. I’ve never wanted anything more.

Truett’s fingers slip beneath the cups of the dress’s corset top and tug it down, freeing my breasts. He captures them in his wide grasp, and I tip my head back, sucking in a breath. I feel his lips press into the swell of my cleavage. His hands dip lower, scooping me into his waiting mouth. His tongue flicks over my nipple, drawing it to its peak; then he closes his lips around me and sucks.

I’m grateful we’re tucked away in the woods, because my moan could alert the entire farm.

“Yes, Tru. Fuck.”

“Is that a compliment or a command? ’Cause I’ll take either.”

“Can’t it be both?” I sigh. When I glance down, I swear the man smiles against my breast. He tugs at me with his teeth, then releases me to move to the other nipple and repeat the same ministrations.

I’m desperate for more of this. More of him. I find the hem of his shirt and tug, forcing us apart for a moment only to come back together stronger, with no barriers between his chest and my peaked nipples.

He cradles my back as he flips us and lays me down in the soft sand. My hair splays out beneath me, and I giggle. “I’ll never get this sand out of all my nooks and crevices.”

“I’ll lick it off you. Or better yet”—he stands and kicks his boots into the grass—“I’ll take you for a swim and get you all cleaned up.”

As he undoes his belt and fly, I slip the Keds from my feet, stained as they’ve become. “I’ve really got to get some other shoes.”

He hooks his thumbs in his waistband and winks. “Whatever you want, consider it yours.”

I pull the hem of my dress higher, higher, higher. His gaze tracks the movement, heady with desire. When I reach the peak of my thighs, I pause with only the lacy edge of my panties on display. “Does that apply to anything, or just shoes?”

I watch the column of his throat work. He shudders, and it ripples through every muscle in his abdomen, making me wish he’d rip the pants off already so I could watch that shiver travel south.

“Anything, Temptress. I’m all yours.”

Then he gives me everything.

His cock is so hard for me, and I ache for it, feeling suddenly so empty without him inside me. He fists it and squeezes at the base, a groan ripping from his throat. When he kneels before me, I reach out to swipe the bead of cum from his tip and lick it from my finger with a hum of satisfaction.

He blanches, his jaw impossibly taut. “Now is a very bad time to mention I do not have a condom.”

A wicked smile tugs at my lips. I slip a hand beneath the lace of my underwear, sampling my wetness, and swirl it over my throbbing clit. “Good thing I’ve got an IUD and a clear bill of health.”

His gaze darkens. “Are you sure, Delilah? I’ll run back to the house right now and grab one. Or, better yet, take you with me so we can do it there.”

I arch my back just as a cool breeze kisses my breasts and sigh. “No, I like it here. You look good wearing nothing but sunshine.”

“Wanna take that dress off so I can say the same?”

I giggle, thumbing the fabric where it’s gathered at my waist. My hips roll into my other hand, the one still stroking my clit in slow circles, which only pushes the dress higher. “I mean, it’s kinda like sunshine, don’t you think?”

“Almost,” he says with a wink. “But I’d have to see both to be sure.”

“Fair.” I reluctantly remove my hand from my panties and grab the hem of the dress, yanking it over my head. I’m just about to toss it aside when Truett plucks it from my grasp and lays it out behind me, giving me a soft place to recline onto, a barrier from the sand. I sprawl on the dress, bathed in the light, as he tugs my panties down my legs and discards them with the pile of his clothes.

“I’m good, too, by the way.” His brows lift. “All clear, if you’re sure.”

I reach for his waist and pull him toward me, lifting my hips to open myself for him. “I’m sure, Tru. I want all of you. Please.”

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