Page 91 of The Autumn We Fell in Love

Not that it matters.

All that matters is that Isla Ingersole is staying in Edgewood.

And that one of the reasons why is me.

She pulls away, but wraps her legs around my torso. “That’s what I was researching.” She gestures to the laptop. “I can take my work anywhere, but my house is a little more difficult. Turns out, though, the housing market is pretty sparse in that area. It looks like it’ll be pretty easy to get it rented or sold.”

“Wow,” I breathe, taking in the marvel that is the woman in my arms.

She cocks her head to one side. “What?”

“You. You’re incredible. Once you decide to do something, youdoit — all in.”

“Like leaving Edgewood?” Isla wrinkles her nose.

“Yes.” I step to the table that sits behind the counter, ringed with chairs. Shoving the scatter of car magazines and errant vehicle parts out of the way, I grab Isla and set her down on its surface. Placing my face in the crook of her neck, I graze her skin with my teeth and am rewarded by her shudder. “But this time things are working out much more in my favor.”

“And mine.” Her whispered words end in a yelp when I reach beneath the shirt she’s wearing and insert a finger into her wetness. I move to kneel like a supplicant before her slick riches, but she stops me.

“No. I want you in me. Now.”

She doesn’t have to ask twice. I know we’re shielded from prying eyes by the front counter, so I bend her backwards over the table and open my jeans.

I haven’t even stepped out of them when Isla wraps her legs around my ass and pulls me into her. I groan at suddenly finding myself plunged into her, her back arching so she can take me deeper.

“You feel so damn right, Ash,” she breathes as I thrust into her, slow and steady. She meets me with every buck, urging me faster.

“Yes,” I breathe, folding myself over her, cradling the back of her skull with one hand while I reach for her clit with the other. “I feel it too.”

She responds to my touch instantly. Her whole body contracts, except for her eyes, which fly open to bore into mine. I can’t look away — it’s too exquisite, the way she watches me while she orgasms around my shaft.

And all of a sudden I’m right there with her, her sleek tightness sending me convulsing into a loud climax of my own, our cries echoing through the garage.

Epilogue

Isla

Isit with Tristan in the lounge chairs on my parents’ sun-drenched back patio. On the wide yard beyond, lush and green from the springtime rains, Ash plays catch with Guin, helping her with her softball skills.

“Nice one, Guin!” Ash says after Guin catches the ball in her mitt with a sharp and satisfying smack.

“Oh yeah,” she celebrates, hands over her head, “I’m gonna dominate the field next game!”

“Dominate the field,” I repeat to my brother. “Where does she get this stuff?”

He laughs. “Kids at school? But probably mostly from us.”

The ball falls out of the mitt Guin still holds aloft, knocking her in the head.

I snort. “She definitely got that move from me.”

“Agreed.” Tristan tucks both hands behind his head in a smooth motion. “I’m too cool to do anything like that.”

I poke him in the ribs. “Yeah right.”

He responds with wiggling fingers held out to me — a threat of retaliation via tickles, just like he used to do when we were kids.

I hold my hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. Truce.” Leaning over, I rest my head on his shoulder. The sun feels so good on my skin after the autumn and subsequent long winter.

---