Page 87 of Under an Endless Moon

I blew out some of the strain and murmured, “Good,” hoping that by the time I saw her tonight, I’d have gotten myself together.

That I’d truly forget it like I’d promised.

Because standing there right then? I was afraid nothing was ever going to be the same.

“It’s almost ready,” I told her when she came down from the bedroom.

Raven inhaled, easiness on her face when she sighed and murmured, “Smells good.”

“We should eat outside tonight. It’s really gorgeous out.”

Easiness rippled between us, thank God. Maybe the incident hadn’t been forgotten, but at least it’d been reined, and the elephant was no longer loose and tearing through the room.

“Sounds great,” she said.

I opened a bottle of wine and poured two glasses, and she was all grins as she came padding barefoot to my side and picked one up. “Ugh, you know exactly what I need, don’t you, Otto Hudson?”

My stomach tightened as I thought of what she really needed, but I ignored it as I clinked my glass to hers and said, “Just taking care of my favorite girl.”

I piled food onto our plates, and she grabbed the silverware and our drinks before we headed out the door.

Raven let go of a tiny moan as we stepped out into the late afternoon light. I tried not to equate it to the same sounds she’d been emitting last night.

Hard as fuck, but somehow I kept it tamped and instead focused on the streams of sunlight that blazed through the spiked tops of the trees, painting the sky in blazing pinks and oranges. In the break of the woods, the lake was visible low in the distance.

There was a little round table set up in the perfect spot to take it all in, and we each took a seat.

Raven sighed as she looked out over the view. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over this place, Otto. It has to be the most gorgeous land in all of Moonlit Ridge.”

“That’s what you said then, too.”

A soft smile edged that delicious mouth as she took a sip of her wine. “You remember?”

My brow pulled into a disbelieving frown. “How could I forget? You standing basically in that very spot with your arms hugging your chest as you gazed out on the lake. You looked at me and said,This is it.”

If it wasitfor her, then it wasitfor me.

Redness flushed her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to sway your decision.”

It was times like these when Raven would get modest. Like she didn’t know the effect she had on me. The influence. Like she didn’t get that she could ask anything of me, and it was done.

Still, I let playfulness ride into my expression. “You didn’t mean to sway my decision? Don’t act like you wouldn’t have pouted and stamped those cute little feet if you didn’t get your way.”

Amusement danced across that stunning face, and it twisted my stomach in a knot of greed. “What can I say? I just have really good taste, and I wouldn’t have wanted you to make any mistakes by purchasing different land. It would have been a tragedy.”

A light chuckle rolled out of me. “Definitely a tragedy.”

“Which is why you should always listen to me. My advice is impeccable.”

“That so, huh?”

“Oh yeah,” she said right before she took a bite of her chicken marsala. She groaned. The sound went straight to my dick.

My mouth watered and it didn’t have a thing to do with the food.

I leaned over and took a bite like it might cover the reaction. Like it would actually suffice. Like it could stand the chance of sating the desire that thundered through my veins.

That damn vision still right there, bubbling right under the surface, ready to erupt and take over.

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