Page 23 of Back in the Bay

I'm not going to last long—not with the way she feels, the way she looks beneath me with her hair spread across my pillow and her lips swollen from my kisses. I reach between us, circling her clit with my thumb.

"Come with me," I urge, feeling my control slipping. "One more time, sweetheart."

Her words cut off in a cry as she shatters beneath me, her orgasm triggering my own. I bury myself deep, her name torn from my throat as I empty myself inside her, thirteen years of longing pouring out in waves.

We collapse together, sweat-slicked and breathing hard. I roll us to our sides, keeping Mabel close, not ready to break the connection between us. Her fingers trace lazy patterns on my chest as our heartbeats slowly return to normal.

"So," she says eventually, a smile in her voice. "Was it worth the wait?"

I press a kiss to the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her hair. "Every damn minute."

“I agree,” she sighs with a giggle."

"Stay," I murmur against her temple, not just meaning tonight. "Stay with me."

Her answer is a soft kiss pressed to my chest, right over my thundering heart. "Wild horses couldn't drag me away."

mabel

. . .

I wakeup tangled in sheets that aren't mine, surrounded by a masculine scent that's becoming dangerously familiar again. For one peaceful moment, I exist in the limbo between dreams and reality—then panic hits me like a freight train when I realize where I am––in Cole Bennett's bed.

His strong arm is draped possessively across my waist, his breathing deep and even against my neck. The warmth of his body against mine feels too good, which is precisely why I need to leave. Now.

I try to slide out from under his arm, but he tightens his grip, pulling me closer against his chest. My treacherous body responds instantly, melting into his embrace despite my brain screaming at me to run.

"Where do you think you're going, Miss Maxwell?" His voice is husky with sleep, his lips brushing against my ear.

"My mother is probably wondering where I am." My voice sounds weak even to my own ears. "I can't just?—"

"Stay." He rolls me toward him, his hazel eyes now fully alert and focused entirely on me. "Just for a little while longer. Yourmother saw you leaving with me. I’m sure she has an idea where you are."

Before I can protest, his mouth is on mine, and damn it, the man knows how to kiss. His lips are firm but gentle, coaxing rather than demanding, and I find myself responding despite my better judgment.

When he finally pulls away, I'm breathless and confused. This wasn't supposed to happen. I jumped into his arms then his bed before thinking things through. How could I be so reckless?

"Mabel." The way he says my name should be illegal. "I know you're freaking out right now."

"I'm not freaking out," I lie, even as I mentally calculate how quickly I can gather my clothes scattered across his bedroom floor.

He chuckles, the sound rumbling through his chest against mine. "Your brain is practically smoking with all those thoughts racing through it."

"That's because I have responsibilities, Cole. Our lives are complicated and falling back in love with my high school sweetheart doesn’t exactly fit into the life I’ve created in Portland." I gesture vaguely between us.

His expression softens. "What if I told you I'd fit myself into this life of yours? If you need to stay in Portland, I'll follow you and make it work. Hell, I'll open a branch of Cedar Bay Construction there. And if you want to stay, I’ll build you the fanciest law office you’ve ever seen and help you snag clients in all four nearby counties."

I stare at him, speechless. "You can't just rearrange your entire life for me."

His thumb traces my lower lip. "That's where you're wrong, baby. I fucked up once and I ain’t doing it again. I’ll do whatever it takes to be your man again and there’s no way in hell I’ll let you get away.”

My heart hammers against my ribs. This isn't fair. He can't just say things like that, looking at me with those earnest eyes that still see the girl I was at eighteen. The girl who believed in forever before life taught her better.

"Cole..." I whisper, but I can't find the words to follow. My carefully constructed arguments dissolve under his gaze.

His fingers trace lazy patterns on my bare shoulder. "You don't have to decide anything right now. I just need you to know I'm all in this time."

I sit up, clutching the sheet against my chest, needing physical distance to think clearly. "You make it sound so simple."

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