Page 77 of Stormswept Colorado

I rested my hands on her hips. “No. My ex doesn’t live in Colorado.”

Ayla shrugged one shoulder, like she didn’t care either way, but that hint of jealousy in her tone had given me a secret thrill. “What happened?” She reached for another pump of body wash.

“I’d been a soldier for a couple years when I met her. We clicked. A year later, I asked her to marry me.”

“You were pretty young, then?”

“Early twenties.” Only a few years younger than Ayla was now. I chose not to dwell on that. “I wanted to get married right away, before my next deployment, but she kept saying we should wait. Maybe that was a warning sign.”

“What did she do?” Ayla asked angrily, which was unbelievably cute.

“We’d been together almost six years when she told me she didn’t want to be a military wife. Also, she’d met someone else. That was a bigger problem.”

“Shewhat? Are you kidding me?” Ayla balled her fists like she was ready to throw down on my behalf.

I caressed her face. “Relax, Troublemaker. It was a long time ago.”

She pushed me under the spray to rinse off. Her arms went around me, her forehead resting between my shoulder blades. “I’m sorry. Your ex was an idiot who didn’t deserve you. But if it was so long ago, why aren’t you with anyone now?”

I rubbed the suds from my skin, remembering how hard the break-up had hit me. Ancient history now, but I’d sworn I would never make the mistake of falling in love again.

Several years later, a fiery explosion nearly killed me and made romance an even lower priority.

“After I was wounded, it took a while before I was interested in sex again. Things were…rough. Physically and mentally both. The flashbacks were pretty frequent the first couple of years afterward. They’ve faded now, mostly. Talking to a therapist helped.”

“I’m sorry you went through all of that.” Ayla hugged me again. It felt nice. How could I have known she’d be this sweet?

“These days, my options for dating are limited as chief of police,” I said when she pulled back. “If I so much as think about going on a date, half the town hears about it and wants to know the details.” I scrubbed my face under the water. “I’ve got my plate full with work and with Piper and Ollie.”

Ayla pressed a kiss to my shoulder blade. “I guess it’s good you’re single. Worked out great for me this weekend. The women of Hart County have no idea what they’re missing.”

This weekend.

Because that was all we had together. She was leaving tomorrow, and whateverthiswas, it would have to be over. Ridiculous to even imagine another scenario.

Superstar musical artists didn’t date small-town cops. I didn’t dateperiod.

But it still made me nauseous to acknowledge that she might fall for some rich actor next month. Or even next week. As much as she felt like mine right now, she wasn’t. She would never be.

So I had to leave her with plenty to remember me by.

I turned around and cupped her face, dipping to drag my tongue across her lips.

“Wait, I haven’t washed your hair yet,” she said.

“Later,” I grunted before I claimed her mouth, kissing her deeply until she went soft and pliant under my hands.

I backed her up against the tile, caging her in with my arms while we made out. My mouth lowered, kissing my way down, teeth grazing her nipple as I bent to one knee. She gasped. My tongue darted out to her breast to soothe the sting. My other knee dropped, and I pushed my face into her stomach, my tongue licking into her belly button. Her fingers raked through my damp hair.

Drawing one of her legs up and draping it over my shoulder, I kissed along her inner thigh. Anticipating my final destination.

Then I had to sit back and get an eyeful of the mouthwatering cleft between her legs. Every inch of her was so stunning. So precious.

I brought my thumb to her clit. Dragged it lower to her opening.

“Teller.” Her head fell back against the shower wall.

“How does that feel?” I asked, fingers stroking.

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