Page 85 of Broken on the Mountain
It's not a question. Not a maybe.
It's an absolute certainty, terrifying and exhilarating and completely, utterly inevitable.
I've known since that first weekend when she climbed into my truck wearing my flannel and looking at me like I was someone worth choosing. Known since she studied wildflowers just to impress me. Known since she showed up at that chili cook-off and dove into the chaos without hesitation.
I love her.
And she's leaving.
They always leave.
"Chase?" Piper tilts her head back to look at me. "What are you thinking about?"
I brush my thumb across her cheekbone. "Just thinking."
"Tell me."
About how I want to keep you. About how terrified I am that I can't.
"About how lucky I am," I say instead. "That you're here. With me. Enjoying this."
Her eyes go soft, and she shifts in my lap to face me properly, straddling my thighs. The blanket falls away, but she doesn't seem to notice the cold.
"Chase Morrison." She frames my face with her hands. "You're not lucky. You're just... you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you're kind, and funny, and you make me feel like I can justbe." Her voice drops to a whisper. "Like I'm home."
Don't say it. Don't fucking say it.
I kiss her instead, pouring everything I can't say into the press of my mouth against hers. She makes a soft sound and opens for me, her tongue sliding against mine while her fingers thread through my hair.
The kiss deepens, then because my heart is racing, it quickly turns urgent.
Her hips rock against me, and I'm already hard, already aching for her.
"Piper." I break away, breathing hard. "Baby, we should—"
"Don't." She bites my lower lip, just hard enough to sting. "Don't think, Chase. Not tonight. Just feel."
Her hand slides between us, finding the bulge in my jeans and squeezing. I groan, my head falling back as she strokes me through the denim.
"You're killing me."
"Good." She works my zipper down, and then her fingers are wrapping around my cock, skin on skin, and I nearly lose it right there.
I grab her wrist, stilling her movements. "Wait."
"Why?"
I don't answer. Just slide my free hand down the front of her jeans, past the waistband of her silky underwear, until I'm cupping her pussy.
"Oh God." Her eyes flutter closed.
"Look at me." I circle her clit with two fingers, rubbing slowly, watching her face the entire time. "Eyes on me, Piper."
She forces them open, and the blue is almost black with desire. I slide two fingers inside her entrance, only just. She's so wet, so ready, that it takes every ounce of control not to just throw her down and bury myself in her.
