Page 86 of The Locksmith's Promise

Nuzzling the tender skin of her throat and the curve of her collarbone.

She wrapped her arms around me, hands splaying across my scarred back to hold even that part of me closer.

Bracing my elbow beside her face, I hitched her leg over my hip, lined up, and pressed forward until my pelvis ground against the tight bud of her clitoris.

That stubborn chin tipped up as her lips parted with a sharp inhale.

I pulled back and did it again.

And again.

The swiftly building pleasure threatened to rip the control from my hands.

I watched her face as I moved inside her, my cock filling further, my body shaking.

Saw the moment she lost the battle as her neck arched back, bliss softening her face as she tipped over the edge.

And brought me with her.

My first love.

And my last.

“Maggie,” I pleaded. “My Maggie.”

Her eyelids fluttered shut with a breathed, “Yes.”

Unable to leave her, I tucked the condom into a tissue and tossed it aside. Pulling her back to my chest, I aligned her heart with mine and slept better than I had in years.

Morning came all too quickly.

Mistlevale had offered us a reprieve, a pocket stitched out of time and space where nothing could touch us.

In Moose Lake, bad memories clung to every corner.

People I didn’t want to see.

A past I couldn’t erase.

And a shame I couldn’t outrun.

But Maggie was there. And so was Corwin. I would build a life with them, and reconnect with Miller, Eric, and John.

The ones whoknew.

And knew me.

Maggie slipped into the bathroom one last time before we headed for home, and I gathered my courage along with our bags and put them beside the door.

One day, hopefully soon, we’d unpack in the same house. In our bedroom. With our son sleeping down the hall.

My cell phone buzzed. Flipping it over, I opened a message from a phone number I didn’t recognize.

Unknown Number: Can we talk?

Unknown Number: It’s Jenny.

My heart plummeted to my stomach.

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