Page 49 of A Fighting Chance

I inhale a sharp breath at the sudden fullness.

He moves them back and forth slowly, bringing his thumb up to rub gentle circles over my clit.

I moan. I pant. I feel my body arching, my hips lurching toward his touch.

Each time I close my eyes, he tells me to open them. He wants to see me—to watch me.

His mouth hangs open slightly, lips apart. Before I can react, his head moves lower and he takes me all at once, sucking and licking me as if he’s starved for my taste. His hands grip my thighs as he rocks me back and forth, my body crashing against his mouth over and over again until I’m close.

Abruptly, he pulls away. His breathing is heavy when he begins petting me with his hands again, his fingers finishing what his mouth had started. His pace quickens, and my body begins to stiffen.

“Come for me,” he says. “Please.”

His words are all it takes to send me spiraling down a rabbit hole of pure ecstasy. I pulse and twist, coil and uncoil, relentlessly, until my body finally relaxes. For a moment, I’m pretty sure I even saw heaven.

Gentry brings my legs together, letting me enjoy the aftershocks while he gently caresses my outer thigh. He props his head on the seat and stares down at me.

“You’re so bad,” I say, a small laugh on my lips.

“You make me want to be bad,” he says. “And good. And better.”

I swallow hard at the entirety of his words and their meanings—at how beautiful and significant they are. “You are good,” I manage.

Gentry pulls my panties from my discarded leggings and begins slipping them back onto me. Then my pants.

The smile on his face is strange. There’s genuine happiness there, but it’s also tinged with sadness. Especially around his eyes. I don’t like it. I want to reach out and smooth the darkness from his features. He’ssogood. He’s more than good. So much more.

He leans over and caresses my cheek with his palm. I lean into his touch, placing my hand over his.

We sit there after that, just talking. About everything. All kinds of things. The conversation goes on for a little while, transitioning from topic to topic with ease. I know he’s just doing it to distract me, and I appreciate it.

After enough time has passed, we both know it’s time to go back. I don’t want to leave Harper and Nan to deal with this alone for too long.

We exit the truck and walk back to the building. There, we head for the elevator, taking it up to the familiar waiting area that’s become our haven.

When we enter, Nan’s not there, but Harper is. She’s sitting alone in the corner and I can’t read the look on her face.

When we approach, she stands.

“Paw’s okay,” she says. “Nan’s gone back to see him.” With that, her stoic face finally gives way to a small smile.

Gentry and I both let out a sigh of relief at her good news.

She continues with, “He gets to go home in a couple of days but will have to rest for a few weeks. And by ‘rest’…well, the doctor made it clear Paw’s not to work or even leave the house. He can go from bed to recliner and back to bed, but that’s about it.”

I nod along, absorbing the information and agreeing.

The man just had a heart attack,andsurgery; of course he needs to rest.

However, convincing Paw of that will be next to impossible.

The next few weeks will be rough on everyone.

It looks like I’ll be staying here a little longer.

Seventeen

Gentry

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