Page 16 of Mistlefoes

Jack rolled, bringing me over him. His hands skimmed up my body then back to unfasten my bra while I rode him. Harsh gasps poured from me while we fucked, loved, promised our futures to each other.

“You’re a goddess,” he muttered while he cupped my breasts then pinched the nipples. My back arched, my cry coloring the air around us. “That’s right. Tell me how much you like it.”

We were never quiet, and tonight was no different. The sounds got us off as much as the caresses and making love.

“Jack! Jack! I’m…”

“Come, Jill. Now.” Rolling, he brought my legs over his shoulders, my head hanging perilously over the side of the bed, my hand bracing onto the floor while he pistoned into me. I screamed, coming in wave after wave, just moments before I felt him jerking inside me, painting my insides with his heat, marking me as his once more. I’d always been his, though.

Carefully, he eased me sideways and fully onto the bed, to lie under him while we gasped, still touching each other everywhere we could.

“Round one,” he promised while lights seemed to flicker in my vision.

“Give me a minute and I’ll be ready. Maybe ten. I feel like I ran a marathon.”

He chuckled, cuddling me to him as he shifted us onto the pillows. “There’s a reason I run 10K every morning.”

“Yeah, you’re insane,” I mumbled into his damp chest. Lights still seemed to pulse behind my lids. Shaking my head, I opened my eyes and blinked a few times. It was worse, like a million candles dancing wildly. I shot upright, staring out his window.

“Jack! Call 9-1-1!” I yelled, leaping from bed to grab my pants.

“What?”

“Your yard is on fire!”

Almost in slow motion, he turned to look then swore, flying into action. He grabbed his phone from his pants, dialing before he started to dress.

“Go out the back door,” he told me. Tossing a T-shirt to me. He tugged on his pants while he talked into the phone, at the same time marshalling me toward the slider into the back.

“Shoes!” I said, not wanting to go barefoot into a foot of snow.

“Wait here.” He ran toward the front and came back with my shoes, purse and our coats. At the back door, he stepped into boots then half dragged me out, making a wide loop around the fire and out to the street, before hustling me to my house. We stood on my porch, watching flames consume every decoration in his yard. I was thankful we were safe but terrified the fire would reach his house.

The fire department was only a few streets away and arrived within moments of Jack’s call. Minutes later, his hopes for winning the prize for the shelter were a smoldering mess. Tears filled my eyes as I stared at the destruction.

“We’re safe,” he muttered, clutching me to him. “You’re safe. That’s all that matters.”

“We’re safe,” I echoed. We were together again, but now, I was heartbroken for a whole other reason. We didn’t let go of each other for a long time that night, only parting the next morning when we each had to go to work.

Nine

Jill

Christmas Means a Little More

“We’re not opening the shop today,” I told Beya who was back to work that morning, though still a little green. I’d been thinking about the fire all night. Even when Jack had drifted off, I’d lain there starting at the ceiling and watching the Lincoln Lighthouse beacon slash across the plaster every few minutes since I hadn’t closed the curtains.

Today, I was doing something for Jack. It would mean the end of my hope for winning the contest, but that seemed less important now. With Jack and I together, we’d figure out the shops and my survival here in Cherish Cove or…I could move back to the city or to Missouri. The latter weighed heavily on me, but the people at the shelter needed Jack to win more than I needed the prize.

“No? Why?” my friend asked.

“Field trip. Are you feeling up to some light outdoor work?”

“Outside sounds perfect,” she breathed. “It’s the only place I haven’t felt nauseated lately.”

I looked at her speculatively. “Can I ask you…”

“Am I pregnant? Yeah,” Beya laughed. “I haven’t told Zain yet, but I’m pretty sure he’s figured it out. He has off today and will probably be by at opening time to hang out in one of the reading chairs and watch over me.”

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