Page 34 of Summer Redemption

I nod, knowing it was coming.

I step closer to her while she’s watching the colt. With a grip on her hips, I lift her and throw her over my shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Her question is a whispered hiss, as to not be too loud and keep the environment peaceful.

Ignoring her, I stride out of the barn and toward the house. It’s not until I’m in my room, a room I hope to one day soon share with her, that I slide her down my body, and stand her up. Her hair falls around her and her eyes are narrowed slits as she glares at me.

“Gorgeous,” I mutter, more to myself than her. I wasn’t aware her eyes could narrow further, but I’m proven wrong by the look she gives me. I softly chuckle, my voice like gravel from exhaustion and having my woman so close again, “You being feisty just turns me on, Little Ray.”

“Why did you throw me over your shoulder like a fucking sack of potatoes?” There’s a challenge in her voice, but I ignore it for now.

My body is grateful as hell when I sit on the edge of the bed, and I hook a finger into the waistband of her leggings to pull her closer until she’s standing between my thighs. I study her closely, seeing how tired she is, but there’s something else in her expression, something I don’t like.

Fear.

“Talk to me, Sunshine,” I demand, keeping my voice soft because I’m not about to spook her.

She throws her hands up, her voice full of exasperation, “I’m scared, okay?”

I tilt my head to the side as I look at her, her cheeks pinking deliciously as she huffs out a breath, her annoyance clear. “What are you scared of?”

“This,” she motions between us and my heart sinks. “It’s so big between us. We’ve moved really fast and sometimes I just get scared about the whole thing.”

As much as I wish I could erase her fears, it’s not possible. Sure, we’ve been doing really well, but forgiveness and conquering something as big as fear isn’t linear. I don’t expect it to be, not when we had so much to overcome to even get to this point.

“It’s okay to be afraid,” I whisper. I press my forehead against her chest, needing to be closer to her, needing to ground myself. “I’m afraid too,” I admit while not lifting my head. “I’m afraid you’ll realize, sooner rather than later, you’re far too good for me.”

I can feel the tension draining from her body, her muscles no longer rigid. It gives me hope that this is only a hurdle on the path toward forever. Her fingers move through my hair and my eyes close as I soak up her touch and the way it anchors me to the moment.

“You’ve been so patient and good to me,” she says it almost like she’s trying to convince me to be pissed at her for being afraid.

“It’s easy to be patient when I understand why you’re afraid. It’s easy to be good to you when you deserve all the happiness in the world.” I tilt my head back and look up into her green eyes. “I love you, Sunshine and loving you means I’ll put you first and work every day to be a man deserving of your love in return.”

Her eyes go big and round as her fingers tighten in my hair without realizing she’s doing it. “What?”

I can’t help but smile, loving the way she breathes out the question. “I love you,” I repeat simply, refusing to complicate something so simple and pure.

She launches herself at me, the action causing me to fall back onto the bed. She’s right there, hovering above me with a look of awe on her face. Did she not know? I thought it was obvious by now.

“You really mean that, don’t you?” Her eyes race between mine as if she can see the truth in the depths of my soul.

“With everything I am,” I assure her.

“I love you, too,” she whispers. The words are so soft that I’m glad I was looking at her mouth or else I might have missed them. She clears her throat, her words stronger when she repeats, “I love you, too.”

And then I’m rolling us, no longer tired. Hell, the very last thing I am is tired.

Our clothes fly in a display of urgency and need which doesn’t lessen even when I slide inside of her tight, wet heat. The walls of her pussy flutter around my length almost immediately.

I have to clench my jaw to stop myself from coming too soon. “I won’t give you a reason to regret loving me,” my words are a vow, one I’ll keep until my last breath.

Sunshine’s hands come up and cup my jaw as she wraps her legs around my hips. “I know you won’t, Hux. There might be times when I’m afraid, but you have already shown me I can trust you. You’re not the boy you once were. You’re a man I’m proud to call mine.”

With her words, something inside of me shatters. My regret? My own fears? Everything that used to hold me back from commitment?

Whatever it is, the only thing I can do in response is start to move. We moan together, our bodies moving in synch to find a pleasure we’ve never experienced before. It’s primal, intimate, and without walls between us.

It feels sacred.

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