Page 87 of Holding The Reins

“Well, my house is yours for the next twenty-four hours, do you think we can keep your girl clan and family from calling Cole to search for you?”

“My girl clan knows I’m here.” She grins at me. “Ginger secretly likes you.”

“Lucky me,” I chirp.

“Mama Jo is at Sandra’s party, and I don’t think Wade would think anything of me being out.” She takes in the view beside her and sighs. “I love it here. It’s so secluded. Is that why you like it?” she asks, dipping her bread into her marsala and taking the daintiest little bites.

She almost seems nervous and that makes me want to bury myself in her even more, I love bringing out the wild side she has under that sweet façade. She’s fucking adorable. Bringing her here was the best idea I’ve ever had.

I nod. “I need the peace of this place, as soon as I looked at it, I knew. After… they died, I couldn’t find any. The only thing that gave me any sense of calm was hockey. It was like I had to prove they didn’t die for nothing. If I made it somehow, they’d know. Seems crazy I know.”

She smiles at me but says nothing.

“I’ve never said that out loud before,” I offer.

“I think they know,” she whispers and reaches for my hand across the table. “I think they’d be proud of you.”

I clear my throat and pull my hand away. Emotions like this have always been a no for me, and having her care so much, seeing it in her eyes reminds me that by inviting her here, I’m letting her in. Panic momentarily cripples me.

Her face falls flat when I pull my hand away quickly.

“You know you can talk to me. I just think it’s good to say how you feel.”

I stand and take our plates to the sink.

“Yeah we can talk… I just—I don’t do emotions very well.” I have my back to her while I say the words and internally kick myself for shutting her out.

Why can’t I just function as a normal human being? I want this woman so fucking badly but any time I think of her and anything real, I’m back in that car losing everything I have.

I’m still lost in my thoughts, drying the dishes when I feel CeCe’s hands on me. She’s sliding them down my sides and then wrapping them around me as she leans her head on my back.

“It’s terrible what happened. Unthinkable. Remember that just because it happened doesn’t mean it will happen again,” she whispers and my chest twitches.

I turn around and stare down at her, just taking in her perfect face. I’m struggling. I strive to say something, anything. I should say something.

Before I can figure out what that something is, CeCe smiles and gives me the most incredible gift. She doesn’t make me speak. She just lets it go.

“I believe you owe me an orgasm, Mr. Carter, and I’d rather not wait any longer,” she says in her sexy voice, one eyebrow raised as she reaches up on her tiptoes and I bend to meet her lips.

Without even trying, CeCe gives me exactly what I need, just like inviting me to bed with her last night and wrapping her arms around me without a word. Just being there. Humming softly until the time on the clock didn’t matter anymore. No matter what I try to tell myself, or how much I try to talk myself out of this, all of it is making her something I’m having trouble living without.

Dishes long forgotten, I move my hands to her face and kiss her. I let my hands roam her body, memorizing every curve, every line. I knead the thick cascades of her hair as I plunder her mouth with mine. I want to claim her, own her, be everything for her. I want to have no clue what the future holds and be okay with it. A rush of emotions runs through my being as I kiss her like I’ve never kissed a woman before, with feelings that go way beyond sex.

CeCe’s hands move to my waist, under my shirt, as she fists and tugs, desperately. I use one hand to peel it off and toss it to the floor then pick her up, sliding my hands down her perfect plump ass, gripping her thighs.

She eases up around me like she just belongs, wrapping her legs around my waist and losing her fingers to my hair as I move us toward my bedroom. I pull her down on top of me in the center of my bed, my hands roaming every part of her. I try to get my fill of her. I could wear CeCe like a second skin and still not feel close enough to her. I sit up and tear her shirt over her head, I’m fervent, desperate for her skin on mine.

She moans when my mouth finds each of her nipples through the lace of her bra, I stay here and torture the fuck out of her just because I can. My tongue flicks her pebbled little buds as she whimpers and moans.

“Fire… I’m on fire,” she breathes out, and I smile into her lips.

“What do you need, little firefly?” I ask her

“Touch me… everywhere,” she begs.

I lift her off me and lay her on her back, shimmying her out of her shorts as she whines for me, skimming her fingers over her clit before I can even get those black lace panties off.

“You want to touch yourself, baby? You can.”

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