Page 27 of Winter's Kiss

In such a short time, the cabin now had the appearance of being abandoned. It sat closed, surrounded by untouched snow. There was no smoke from the chimney, which had always been a constant. His truck didn’t sit just outside the covered porch. There were no tracks down the pathway, that itself hadn’t been cleared even the slightest from the last snow that fell over the farm. I looked at Theo as he pulled around the main house and started down another road.

“When you left, things changed around here overnight.” Theo started to talk; not once did he bring his eyes from the snow-covered road.

“I know, you told me,” I added, Theo with a brief chuckle.

“No, I didn’t.” His tone was stern. “I never thought I would see Rowland hold any motivation to move forward in his life, not after Paige. He seemed numb, just simply going through the motions of his life. It saddened me for him. My son had more to offer than simply random interactions.” I sat in silence and listened; my brows furrowed at the familiarity of the landscape we passed.

“After you left, he did something I never thought he would do.” He paused; my attention was brought to him while he continued to drive. “He said goodbye to her.” My mouth parted with a gasp.

“He what?” Theo remained silent for minutes as he pulled to a stop. My head turned, and I knew instantly where we were. It was the land Rowland had brought me, where we made love for the first time in his truck.

There to the right of the frozen lake sat a two-story cabin, still under construction but far along. Rowland’s truck sat in the distance, in front of a blue and white camper. What did this mean? Tears filled in my eyes when I saw the door of the camper fling open and Rowland walked out. He stood in a flannel shirt, a pair of black jeans, and a black beanie. He looked more handsome at that moment than he had ever before.

“He made us promise to not say anything to you if we spoke. Because, as hard as it was for him to say goodbye to Paige, I think watching you leave was harder.” I returned my attention to Theo as tears fell down my cheeks. “You brought him back to life.” I leaned over and hugged Theo, smiled at him as he brushed the tears from under my eyes.

Without another word, Theo motioned for me to get out of the truck, and I gladly did. Rowland walked toward us, his head lowered and raised with every other step he made. Had he not seen me? That question was answered when I closed the door and stepped around the truck.

His head lifted as our gazes connected once more. His steps stopped. Confusion and shock plastered across his features.

I wanted to say something to him, but I couldn’t find the right words. Instead, I remained at the front of his dad’s truck for a minute longer before I took off in a run. He moved in my direction with a steady stride as I sprinted faster. Without a second of delay, I wrapped my arms around him the instant our bodies collided.

Our lips connected in a passionate kiss; his hands pressed to the sides of my neck. In his arms, at that moment, I knew I had made the right choice. I was where I belonged and who I belonged with. This man had cared more for me than I imagined, yet not nearly as much as I loved him. It didn’t matter how long we had known one another, or how we met. He was home.

As we broke our kiss and locked one another gazes, I smiled up at him and those perfect blue-grey eyes. I felt his hands move down to my ass and with a quick lift, my feet left the snow-covered ground. He held me in his arms, my arm wrapped around his shoulder as I kissed him on the forehead softly. There was no more without him. I knew from that moment there would never be another minute without him.

Sixteen

Night had fallen over Muddy Waters as I laid in the center of his bed, our bed. The realization of that fact made my heart swoon. Being there in his arms, secured between him and the mattress, I had never felt more loved, safe. The way he looked at me, touched me. It was what every girl dreamed about when they created that prince charming in their mind. Which Rowland was undoubtedly.

My legs lifted to a bend, his frame snug between them, heavy as it laid fully on top of me. His forearms pressed onto the bed beside my head, while he kissed me with such tenderness. I ran my fingertips down his spine with a slow and gentle movement up and over his shoulders. Our naked bodies created a heat within the small room, big enough only for the small bed nestled along the wall.

His head lowered next to mine, his mouth parted with a kiss along the slope of my neck, down across my shoulder. His beard offered a tickle, and my lips curled into a momentary smile before the desires he had awoken began to stir louder. I had missed him, more than I could have imagined, or even thought to explain. The idea of being without him a minute more in my life wasn’t an option. I knew what I wanted and, based on what his father had told me, I thought I knew what he did.

“Rowland,” I spoke his name in a whisper, his head lifted, his gaze set with mine. “I… I….” I wanted to speak the words to him, let him know this wasn’t just a fling for me. That I had returned for him and nothing more. Yet, fear still resided deep within me that prevented my words from forming. What if I scared him away? I closed my eyes briefly. My hands rested on the sides of his frame when he spoke.

“I love you, too.” I gasped at his words, the fact he knew what I wanted to say and replied as though I had said them. He loved me. He said he loved me. The four words from his lips repeated through my mind as tears filled in the corners of my eyes.

He didn’t need me to say it to him; he knew. That alone made my heart full. Everything up until the moment I met him drifted into the back corners of my mind. It had taken me thirty years to realize I had a life to live and that brought me to him. What some search a lifetime for I found in a week in the small Kentucky town.

He lowered his lips back to mine. His fingers moved through my hair with the upward glide of his hips. Instantly I gasped from the pleasure of feeling him enter me, that sweet surrender he caused with a simple thrust. Our kiss deepened, and our bodies connected with a slow and gentle sync. I arched my hips upward with a steady roll as he curved his pelvic upward.

That night Rowland and I spent hours locked in throes of passion. Unable to keep our hands off one another, we christened every inch of the camper, no matter the small the space. The windows steamed from our hot breath; our bodies were covered in sweat. He stood between my thighs; my ass planted on the small counter in the kitchen. I ran my hands over his firm ass.

He thrusted forward with a more violent motion than we had started, my legs as though jelly with the throes of passion he gave. Over and over, he pounded into me without mercy, his hands pressed against my ass with a forceful pull into him. There was no worry for others hearing us, no fear of being interrupted as our sounds of pleasure erupted through the camper.

I never wanted the night to end, but I knew there was only so much our bodies could take. I dug my nails into his ass with the explosion of another climax, my mouth closed to a bite over his shoulder. He never slowed, pushing me through the wave of ecstasy he created.

“I love you!”

I had hoped that wouldn’t be the first time I spoke those words, or in my case screamed them, yet I could no longer hold them in. My breast bounced wildly from the quick, hard thrust he pounded against me. My arms wrapped around his shoulders. I pulled myself into him fully when he stopped.

I could feel him within me, the release he found one of many that night. I closed my eyes at the way he felt, the sweet harmony of his heavy breathing, and even the small groan he expelled at the base of my neck. A smile pulled at the corner of my lips; my head leaned back slowly to look at him. His face was covered in sweat, his hair soaked.

“I… I…” He closed his eyes, unable to form a complete sentence as he remained between my thighs.

“Never thought I’d get you at a loss for words.” I teased, with a soft smile. His eyes opened; his lips curled into a grin with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Guess I’m out of energy.” He replied. I leaned forward, kissed along his glistening chest, Rowland with a quick laugh. “Baby, there is no chance. I’m empty.” He teased.

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