Page 49 of Christmas at Hart's Ridge

“I’m glad it’s you,” I whispered back. “Luke, I’m so glad it’s you.”

His throat worked as he swallowed hard.

And then he began to move. Slowly, and then more. Pleasure started to build again, slick and hot. But this time it was different. I could feel him inside me. Around me.Everywhere. There was nothing in the world but this, his body and mine, connected. The rhythm of it. The burn of newly discovered inner muscles. The fire that licked inside me with every thrust of his hips.

I gave myself over to it. And when I thought I couldn’t take another second of it, Luke reached between us, pressed down right where I needed, and sent me flying, sobbing, over the edge.

His thrusts turned wilder after that. Desperate and rough. Until he cried out, burying himself deep inside me. I wrapped him up in my legs and arms and held him as his body jerked against mine.

I was nearly asleep by the time Luke rolled off me. He returned a moment later with a damp washcloth. He wiped me clean, tossed it aside, and snuggled me into his arms, pulling the comforter up over us.

“Red,” he whispered. “I’m glad it was me, too.”

Chapter 18

Luke

Wakingupnexttoa woman wasn’t a new experience for me. I wasn’t one of those dumbasses who equated sleeping with intimacy, but somehow believed sticking part of your literal body into someone else was wholly impersonal. Please. Sex was sex, sleeping was sleeping, and both of those things were only as intimate as the feelings involved. My feelings had never been involved.

This morning, waking up with Bethany’s vanilla-scented hair on my cheek, her warm body snuggled against mine? It was different. Itfeltdifferent.

I wanted to count every apricot-hued eyelash that fanned her cheek. Kiss every freckle on her body. Stare at her for hours while she slept, but also wake her up because I missed the sound of her voice.

What was I supposed to do with all these feelings? They felt too big, too unwieldy, to wrestle into a tidy compartment. Did I have to just…livelike this now? Go to work, hang with friends, hike some mountains, all whilefeelingthis shit? Insanity. Absolute insanity.

“Hey.” She stirred, rubbing her face against me like a kitten, and then stretched her long legs against mine. “Have you been awake long?”

“No,” I said, even though I had no idea whether that was true or not. It could have been seconds that I had spent staring at her or hours. Who the fuck knew anything anymore. My arm was asleep. “How are you feeling?”

“Good.” She paused. “A little tender, maybe.”

That made two of us, although I suspected she meant physically and not like her heart had expanded, Grinch-like, three sizes too big for her chest. Unlike me.

I hated that she was sore from what we had done together. For the first time in my life, I wished for a smaller dick.

And then I came to my senses and remembered that the first time was only once. I would make it up to her with good dicking for the rest of her life.

Except she was leaving in two weeks.

Hell.

I wasn’t going to think of that now. I couldn’t. My chest already felt like it was being ripped apart, in a good but uncomfortable way. I couldn’t handle it also being ripped apart in a very bad way. Not this morning.

“I’ll run you a bath,” I said. “I don’t know if it will help being sore on the inside, but it should still feel good.”

She rolled, pushing me to my back. “I don’t want a bath. I want you.”

It was hard to think straight with her straddling me like that, her naked body gleaming like gold-dusted marble in the morning light. My morning wood became painfully hard. It got worse when she shifted so her hot little pussy was snuggled against my dick.

I groaned, seizing her hips, grinding her down on me. She winced. That snapped me right back to reality.

“You’re sore, Red. We do this now, and you won’t be able to walk.”

She pouted. “Walking is overrated. How about we just spend the day in bed instead?”

“We have to work tonight.” My gaze raked over her body and settled at the juncture of her thighs, where her body met mine. Copper curls hid her from me, but my mouth watered. “I have a better idea.”

She frowned. “Better than staying in bed all day?”“Well, no. There’s nothing better than staying in bed all day with you. But this won’t make you sore.” I grabbed her hips and dragged her up my torso, making her squeal. “Get on, Red.”

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