Page 117 of That One Night
Hendrix didn’t miss a beat as he put the box on top of the first. “Hey,youasked if I had friends. I didn’t say they were human.”
Maisie narrowed her eyes. “You’re lucky you’re pretty.”
As Hendrix disappeared down the stairs again, Maisie gave her one last squeeze. “Seriously, Em. I know you’ll be leaving again, but it’s different this time. You’ve got your forever waiting back home.”
Emery nodded, her chest swelling with something that felt like peace. “Yeah,” she said softly. “I really do.”
Maisie sniffed and wiped her eyes with dramatic flair. “Ugh, stop making me cry. I’m trying to look cute for when Biceps McFarmerson walks back in.”
They both started giggling as Hendrix’s boots echoed up the stairwell again.
And just like that, everything felt exactly right.
The next year…
“What time is it?” Emery murmured, rolling over in their bed. She could hear the sounds of the animals outside, like they were just waking up. But she wanted to keep sleeping. It was the country air. It was better than any sleeping pill she’d ever tried.
“Almost six. Time to get up, sleepyhead.” Hendrix kissed her cheek. She looked up to see him fully awake, golden rays of sun spilling through the curtains, illuminating his smooth skin. He was wearing a pair of boxers and nothing else – his usual nighttime clothes, if he wore any at all – and she took a moment to enjoy the view.
“Eyes off the body, Reed,” he told her. “You don’t want to be late for work.”
“I have an hour and a half before I need to be there,” she protested. “Now come here and wake me up properly.”
He smiled at her. “When did you get so insatiable?” Not that he seemed to care. He was the insatiable one of the two of them. Grabbing her for kisses whenever he walked past her, pulling her into the shower with him when he got home after a hard day on the farm, carrying her to bed at night then loving her until she was screaming out his name.
“You unleashed the beast,” she whispered, as he crawled over her, leaning down to kiss her. “It’s your fault.”
“Maybe I like the beast.” He ran his hand down her silky nightgown, dipping his finger beneath the hem. He groaned when he felt her bare beneath it. “Christ, you’re wet.”
“I was having a good dream,” she murmured, letting out a gasp as he slid his finger along her. “A dream you interrupted.”
“Was it about me?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes as he slid a finger inside of her. “Of course.”
“What was I doing to you?” He kissed the corner of her lip, her jaw, then trailed his mouth down her neck to the swell of her breasts. He started to circle her with his thumb, repeatingthe rhythm with his mouth as he kissed his way down her chest, using his nose to nudge the neckline of her nightgown down, exposing her breast.
He captured her nipple between his lips and she gasped.
“Nothing.”
“Uhuh.” She could feel him smile against her. “Was I doing this?” He curled his fingers inside of her. Finding the right spot that made her thighs start to tremble.
“No,” she managed to stutter. “But it feels good.”
“So what was I doing?” he whispered against her breast.
“Unloading the dishwasher,” she said, deadpan. “It’s so sexy.”
He started to laugh, looking up until her eyes met his.
“Okay, you were inside of me,” she said softly. “You had my legs on your shoulders. You were rough.”
“And you liked that?” He lifted a brow.
“So much.” Truth was, she liked him any way. Hard, soft, anywhere in between.
“Well, baby,” he told her. “We don’t have time for me to take you rough right now. But you be a good girl at work…” He pressed his thumb harder against her, enough to make her cry out. “ And I’ll show you just how rough I can be.”
