Page 13 of Dirty Rumors

He kisses me so hard I become lightheaded. It's almost impossible to concentrate but I try to focus, quickly shifting my position so I can grasp him with both hands.

"Fuck yeah, just like that," he grunts. "Feels amazing."

The harder and faster I move my hands along his length, squeezing tightly, the louder the guttural, rasping groan emanates from his throat.

After a few minutes, his energy shifts. His hips tighten with a jerk and his shoulders clench. His right hand squeezes my breast, as the other grips the back of my shoulder, holding us together, as if he never wants to escape from this endless, breathless, lust-fueled kiss.

He comes with an uneven roar, giving me a strange sense of pride as his hot release splashes forcefully all over my forearm.

His entire body remains tense, twitching for another few seconds before he appears to become boneless. Our kiss becomes gentle, dreamy, then he pulls away with a wide smile. "Kitten," he pants, "you are the sexiest woman in the entire world. Did you know that?"

"Don't be ridiculous," I say, grinning from ear to ear.

I jump out of bed to go to the bathroom and wash up. When I return, he's sitting with his pants hitched up. He pulls me to stand between his knees. "I didn't splash anywhere near…?" His eyes dip to my naked pussy.

"No. But, um… I'm on the pill. You know. Just in case."

Pulling me against him, he breathes into my ear. "Good. Because I know there are a lot of rumors about mountain boys sowing their wild oats everywhere and all that bullshit, but I have a very strict rule about marriage before babies."

He pulls away to examine my eyes. "When, if, I mean, whenever that may be…eventually…somewherewaydown the road. You know?"

I appreciate that he's trying to put me at ease and the fact that he is so flustered while he’s doing it is freaking adorable. "I understand."

Carson pats the spot beside him. "Wanna spend the night?"

Oh my. As intimate as that just was, I feel like I still need to maintain a bit of space. Falling asleep in his arms just feels like too much. Which is to say… I know I would fall for him completely if I did that.

"I should get home. We have to go over our notes in the morning before work tomorrow."

Carson rubs his nose against mine until I giggle. "I can feel it. Tomorrow is the day you're going to tell me what you girls are up to."

"Oh, you think so, huh?"

He taps my nose. "I know so."

The thing is, all my walls have already come crashing down.

So… He's probably right.

8

CARSON

Morning coffee in hand, I stare out the kitchen window into the forest. Someday, if all goes well, I'll be clearing another half-acre to extend the back yard so our kids have even more space to run and play.

Part of me was extremely disappointed that Nikki didn't want to spend the night, but I think I get it. She wants to make sure things are right before taking too many steps forward.

That's fine. I'll wait as long as she needs. As long as we're still stepping forward, no matter how slowly, I’m happy. I'll have to find a way to tell her soon, when the time is right, but I already know that we belong together. That I'd do anything for her. That my number one priority in life from this moment on is winning her heart over and over, every minute of every day, for the rest of our lives.

My phone is still in silent mode, but I notice a text pop up.

Nikki: Hey, I'm sorry to bother you, but do you know a good furnace repairman? I don't know if it's an emergency.

What's wrong with it?

Nikki: It's suddenly making this terrible clunking sound. Are we supposed to call Riggs, or call a repair person ourselves? I've never looked after a house before and I don't want it to get worse.

Relax. Everything's going to be fine.

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