Page 98 of Lime Tree Hill

“Yes.”

“Say it again,” he hissed as he increased his hold on her hips, moving her now in expert rhythm.

“Yes! A hundred times, yes.”

“No thinking now.” He pumped harder. “Just feel.”

Leaning forward, Mitch took her breast in his mouth and nipped. She arched her back and closed her eyes. Cried out. He groaned deep within his throat, his legs trembling beneath her as she let go—his release, loud and audacious, hers quieter but just as intense.

Tayla rested her head on his shoulder, panting for rhythmic breath while Mitch did the same. Stroking her hair as he softened inside her, he whispered, “I love you, Tayla. Always trust me on that.”

Emotion rose in her throat, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. “I love you too.”

The sob freed, uncontrolled and raw. Holding her with care, Mitch moved to the bed and lowered her onto her side. He coveredher with the duvet and climbed in behind her. “Hey. Don’t be upset. Everything will be fine, I promise.” They clung together, finding their fit in that moment in time and staying that way until she stilled into sleep.

When she woke a few hours later, he’d eaten breakfast and was packed and ready to go.

42

MISSING YOU

Across the drive,Luka and two other guys waited in Luka’s pickup as Mitch packed his gear onto the tray. He shut the lid and turned to look at her. “Gotta go. I still think you’d be better off at your folks. I know Ned’s close by, but…”

Lost for words, Tayla nodded. What could she say at this late stage in the game? If she’d wanted to confront him, she should have done so last night. Instead, she’d let him make love to her until his deception and the blood-red G-string lost their significance.

Then again, in her book, confrontation was overrated. Just like judgment and accusation and trying to win an argument. All pointless exercises.

Mitch cupped her face in his hands, his thumb brushing away the single tear trickling down her cheek. “Hey, it’s okay. You’ll be fine.”

She sniffed. Bowed her head. Scuffed her feet in the gravel.

He drew her in for a hug and held her for several seconds.

“Hurry up, Mitch,” Luka yelled out the driver’s side window. “Just kiss the life out of her. We won’t look.”

“Right.” He laughed, then kissed her softly on the lips, hisfingers twisting in her hair. When he pulled away, his expression was full of warmth. “Don’t miss me too much.”

As Tayla watched them drive away, she held on tight to the notion that this didn’t have to be hard. With Mitch away, she’d have time to reflect, to take that pause. She stood at the edge of the driveway, tears threatening to spill as Luka took a right onto the highway, her husband riding shotgun. In another blink, they were gone.

She stood for a while longer. When Ned approached from the packing shed, Tayla wiped her eyes with the back of a hand before greeting him with a forced smile.

“Is that hay fever affecting you again?” he asked.

Tayla laughed despite herself.

He put his arm around her shoulders. “Hey, come on. He’ll be back before you know it.”

How could she tell Ned what was really troubling her? Mitch might only be away for a week and a half, but missing him wasn’t the issue. He wanted her out.

“I’ve just been down at the farm gate store.” Ned handed her a large brown envelope. “The girls asked me to deliver this. It arrived for you a couple of days ago, but someone filed it beside the coffee machine, and they forgot all about it. I hope it’s nothing important.”

Tayla stared at the envelope in her hand:Tayla Harrington, Lime Tree Hill, scrawled in black lettering across the front. She never received mail, especially at the orchard, and if someone she knew had sent it, they would’ve addressed it to Tayla Whitman. “Thanks.”

“Right. I better get this milk to Maggie. Don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t.”

Back upstairs, she made herself an espresso, then sat at the kitchen island while the envelope lay in wait. She ran her fingers under the flap and pulled out several photographs.

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