Page 40 of Love at First Flight

“Mmm,” she said sleepily. “I like it when you have a little scruff. The scratchiness against my skin is the best.”

“What?”

“You shaved for the news interview, but now you have a little bit of facial hair again. I like this better.”

“Oh.” Dex had always been a meticulous shaver before. It was neater, cleaner, more presentable. It had fallen to the wayside after Ava broke up with him. Somewhere along the way, he stopped thinking about it as much. He didn’t want to shave every day and, since he wasn’t dating, there was no need. Except Selah liked him better this way. He found himself pleasantly surprised again.

He began kissing her shoulder, her back, her neck, wherever he could. She arched into him, stretching her neck to give him better access to the soft, sensitive spots of her anatomy. He gladly took advantage, sliding the hand he’d draped over her hip to the lower part of her body, taking note of what drew small gasps and shallowing breaths.

“I really shouldn’t stay very long,” she said. “Naomi is definitely going to notice my absence and she’ll probably tell my mother, and then there will be all kinds of assumptions that will most definitely be correct, because the Moreno women are hardly ever wrong.”

Dex didn’t stop what he was doing. It was too enjoyable, and he was working himself up as well as her, unable to stop pressing himself against her ass, his dick desperate in its attempts to be noticed. He smiled at her excuses as he continued kissing her skin. “Yeah, uh-huh. I’m sure you’re eager to get home, strike some notch on your bedpost, and brag about how this pilot just bagged herself a park ranger.”

She turned to face him, her hand going to his neck, humor lighting her beautifully dark eyes. “Why do you act like I’m some kind ofTop GunMaverick fighter pilot? I fly balloons. I think that makes me the lowest level of coolness in the piloting world.”

“I’ve seen you in those aviators. You’re cool. Definitely cooler than me.”

“Were you a nerd growing up?” The question was softened by the gentle kiss pressed to his lips.

“Not sure what gave you that impression. You don’t develop this kind of a body being really good at sports. No, you get it from spending countless hours playing video games at your friend’s house. We were knee-deep in a hoard of imaginary ladies.”

She giggled at this, pressing a kiss to his neck next. “Your efforts were clearly well spent, and have been noted and appreciated. I like it.”

“And I think it’s pretty obvious the feeling is mutual.” His body liked her more with each passing second. She was cute with her sleepy eyes, her slightly wild, wavy hair that would curl into her cheek and neck, and her warm, light-brown skin that was more than kissable this morning. Dex kissed her again, this time in earnest, letting go of his usual morning-after related anxieties when she responded to him in equal eagerness.

Selah suddenly broke it off, pushing him with a hand, a sly smile on her lips, until he was on his back. She climbed on top, straddling his hips between her thighs. “I just realized you probably don’t want to be kissing me before I had a chance to brush my teeth, and it’s even worse, because I don’t have a toothbrush here.”

Dex made a mental note to fill his whole medicine cabinet with extra toothbrushes. Except his brain didn’t dwell on his future shopping list for long, as he became preoccupied with this new and more alluring view before him. He slid his hands along her stomach to her breasts, cupping them. They fit perfectly within his grasp.

Before he could do more, she took hold of his hands, pressing them into the mattress beside his head. “Nope, nuh-uh. It’s my turn,” she said, her morning voice huskier and sultry. “Let’s make this park ranger happy he bagged himself a pilot.”

She stretched to his nightstand, taking one of the condom packets and making a big show of tearing it open, taking his dick in hand and rolling it on, as if it was a striptease in reverse.

Reaching to touch her again, she swatted his hand away with a light smack. “Sir, I’m going to need you to keep your hands stowed and secured. I’m in charge of piloting the cockpit this morning.” Leaning, she pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth before saying lightly, “Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.” He was so turned on at this moment, he was ready to explode then and there, and she wasn’t even wearing her aviators.

She lifted herself to take him inside her, her head dropping back and releasing the most breathless, sexiest moan. This, combined with the absolute feel and heat of her, had him clasping the sheets in a death grip.

As she started riding him, she whimpered, “Oh, Dex.” One of her hands were splayed on his chest to anchor herself while she drew a path with the other hand along her neck to her breasts, fondling herself. Dex gritted his jaw, his heart racing along with his breath, trying not to lose control too quickly. It was a miracle he was able to hold on as her pace increased, working him over.

She moaned again, an attractive flush spreading across her skin and her nails scraping along his chest. Dex swore as the thinnest string of self control broke. He gripped her thighs so he could press upward into her, meeting her as hard as she met him, unable to resist grunting through it, completely swept away. This kind of wild, mad turbulence had the potential to fling him right out into the atmosphere. He was pretty sure it did, right into the sun, as they shattered together in a thousand starbursts.

He hadn’t known something like this was possible or how he’d ever be able to accept anything less in the future. As their breathing slowed, she slumped forward onto his chest, releasing a sigh of satisfaction, and he wrapped her in his arms. Inhaling her lovely scent, he appreciated the weight of her. It was an anchor to his soul. He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, wanting to be like Harper and shower this funny, cute woman with a bunch of trinkets. Wanting to give her everything he had.

“Thank you,” was all he could manage to say.

He couldn’t see her face, but he felt her cheeks pull into a smile against his chest. “Oh, you liked that?” she replied as though it was nothing and not absolutely everything. “You’re welcome.”

She might have assumed he was thanking her for sex, which would be a weird thing to do. Maybe she thought he was drugged up in orgasm heaven and his brain had stopped functioning. This was half true. But when he said, “Thank you,” it was a fraction of the sentence and meant so much more. The rest of it, the implied part was,Thank you for showing me that there were still sunny days to wake up to.

Chapter Seventeen

“Did you seeChris?” Jon asked when Dex appeared at work the following day.

“No, was I supposed to?”

“She said that hikers are worried about some injured hawk at the top of Misery Ridge.”

Dex released a short laugh at this news. “What am I? The bird guy?”

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