That One Summer: A Collection of Steamy Contemporary Romance

Chapter 12

Gage stopped the motorcyclein front of The Ren. Once he dismounted and helped Lily off, he grabbed her arm because she wobbled.

She laughed and unsnapped the helmet. “I’d forgotten.”

He took the helmet from her and locked it in the saddlebag. “Forgotten what?”

She used her fingers to brush out her hair and it hung in waves around her shoulders. “How much fun riding behind you could be.”

His heart swelled until it felt too small for his chest, and he gently touched her cheek. “I never forgot.”

Her eyelids fluttered, and she looked everywhere but at him.

“Lils?” His whisper sounded strained, like he was in pain, because every part of his body ached. Not because he was sick, or had worked out for hours, but because riding with Lily had created a perfect storm of need and desire.

“Yes?” She gently touched his chest which was heaving in and out, like bellows stoking a fire.

He shook his head to break the spell. He had no right to ask her to sleep with him, not with all the lies and almost-lies he’d been dumping on her. “I’m not staying at Jacob’s anymore.”

She bit her bottom lip, and he wanted to kiss it. “Why not?”

He grimaced. “Jacob’s a bachelor.”

She laughed and moved into his arms. When she rested her head against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Where are you staying?”

Her voice hiccupped on the last word, and he rested his chin on the top of her head. “There are a few rooms over The Ren. Lotto stays with his mother because she’s sick, and with The Ren closed, the rooms are free.”

“Wouldn’t they stink like bachelors as well?”

“This morning, Lotto cleared out a room for me. The bathroom is clean, and there are new sheets on the bed.” He hated the hope that threaded through his voice. He was a grown man, not a teenage boy. Yet he wanted—no, needed—Lily to say yes on her own.

If he swept her up in his arms now, and brought her upstairs, she might be just as excited. But he craved more than that. Her yes had to be said within the light of day, not the passion of night.

“Gage?” He felt her breath against his chest. “Will you show me your room?”

He pulled back to meet her gaze. Instead of anger or annoyance, he found desire and, possibly, love. “I’d be happy too.”

He exhaled and released her. “Let’s move my bike to the back. We can go in that way.”

She nodded, and he saw the relief in her eyes. She wanted to keep this moment private, between them. But in a town like Kingsmill, extra precautions were necessary to maintain the illusion of privacy. Even though no one would question his bike outside The Ren, by now everyone probably knew he’d taken her for a ride and would be wondering what happened afterwards.

She headed down the narrow alley next to The Ren that led to the back walkway. But she paused to look back at him because he hadn’t moved.

“Gage?” She fingered the top button of her dress and smiled. Her long hair, which had been in a ponytail, now hung loose around her shoulders. “Are you coming?”

He grabbed the bike’s handlebars and began rolling it after her. “Yes, sweetheart. I’m coming.”

* * *

The moment Gage openedthe door to his room and hit the light switch, Lily pushed him in. He turned just as she flung herself into his arms. Their lips met in a frenzied whirl, promising a give-and-take that would last all night.

He paused only to strip off his T-shirt and unbutton his jeans. Meanwhile, Lily unbuttoned her dress and let it fall from her shoulders. Once she kicked off her sandals, she stood in front of him, in a black lace bra and panties, and used one finger to beckon him closer—until she noticed something on the bedside table.

A box of condoms.

“I swear,” he said in a voice filled with wonder and gratitude, “they’re from Lotto.”

He’d not asked Lotto for the condoms, but brothers always looked out for one another.

She shook her head, and the movement made her hair swirl around her shoulders. “Why am I not surprised.”

Her long curls and red lips lit a fire in his gut he wasn’t sure he’d ever be put out. Her breasts strained over the top of her bra, and her hips swayed as she walked backwards, toward the bed.

“Lily.” His voice didn’t sound like his own. It was too heavy, too low, so loaded with desire he was sure it would terrify her.

“Gage.” She smiled, proving she wasn’t scared, and reached around her back to unhook her bra. “It’s been twenty years. Please don’t make me wait any longer.”

He kicked off his boots and yanked off his socks. That was all he needed to hear. “Come here.”

She dropped her bra onto the floor and came closer. Her round breasts and pink nipples were the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. ”Take off your panties.”

She hooked her fingers on the lace edges and pulled her panties down. Then she kicked them away.

He swallowed hard and scrubbed his eyes with his fists. It was almost too much beauty to bear. His cock pressed against the zipper, and the pressure building in his stomach and his balls made it hard to breathe.

“Hey.” She took his wrists and pulled down his hands.

He kept his eyes closed and felt her tug on his zipper. Cool air caressed his thighs, and his cock, as she drew down his jeans.

Yes, he went commando.

When he opened his eyes, she smiled up at him. “Let me love you, Gage.”

He felt dizzy, probably because he wasn’t breathing, and his heavy erection jumped. He reached down to hold himself until she took his cock between her palms. When her breath traced the top of his erection, he swelled even more. “Lily.”

She took him in her mouth, and he gasped at the sensation of her tongue swirling around his tip. His balls tightened, and he gripped her hair to help her find the perfect up-and-down rhythm.

His toes curled against the wood floor, and he threw back his head and growled. He pumped her head, up and down, making sure she took his entire length.

Fire swept through his veins, and he lost his grip on her hair. Instead, he slammed his palm against the wall to keep himself upright. A driving heat burned through him at lightning speed. “Lily.” The word sounded like it’d been torn to shreds by a lion. “Stop.”

And she did. Before he could beg her to stop sucking him, she stood and ran her hands through the hair on his chest. “Take down your hair.”

He swallowed again and pulled on the rubber band that held his hair back. It hung down, not quite to his shoulders, but long enough to make the point. He’d once been a badass Army Ranger and outlaw biker. He’d once had men fear him and women with strollers run away when he walked down the street.

“You are so beautiful,” she whispered.

As Lily ran her fingers through his hair, he realized he didn’t want to be that kind of man anymore. He didn’t want to live in the shadowy edges, doing difficult—sometimes bad—things for good reasons. He wanted to live in the light, have a family, walk around town as a man he could be proud of.

The man Caleb had, at the end of his life, finally told Gage he could be. It’d been an act of regret. Of love. Of forgiveness. The only glitch was believing he was worth being the good guy, the hero, the one whom his family loved.

She kissed his chin and pressed her breasts against his chest. “No more mulling.”

He smiled. “Yes, ma’am.” Then he spun her around and pressed her up against the wall. He held her waist and brought her ass up against his cock. With a tenderness that belied his rapid heartbeat and heavy breaths, he slid one hand down her lower stomach until his fingers found paradise.

She arched against him, and his fingers invaded. Two at first, then three... finally four. Her slick entrance humbled him. He’d betrayed her all those years ago, yet she still wanted him. Still yearned for him.

“Please, Gage.” She moved her ass against his erection. “I can’t wait any longer.”

Obeying her command, he withdrew and found a condom. Once he was set, he lifted her hips and drove into her. As he pumped, driving himself as deep as he could go, she gasped and cried out his name.

Her unhurt hand hit the wall, and he raised her hips higher. This allowed him to increase his pace and speed, which in turn revved up his heartrate until he wondered if he’d stroke out.

Sweat covered his body, and his cock fired into her with purpose. His balls tightened until the pain buckled his knees. But the moment the storm hit, and the fire in his veins burst into a thousand fireworks, he cried out her name. “Lily.”

Her gasp told him to keep pumping, to caress her breasts, to press a hand against her lower stomach to keep her attached to him. A few moments later, she screamed, “Gage!”

After carefully pulling out of her and tossing the condom in the trash, he picked her up and carried her to the bed. They collapsed on top of each other, and it took some fumbling and some laughs before they were tucked beneath the blankets, together.

Her head was on his chest, and she ran her fingers lightly through the hairs that somehow had connected themselves to his cock. Because it was waking up again, as if hoping there’d be more action.

“I’ve been dreaming about that for twenty years.” Her breath moved his chest hairs which, again, made his erection even harder.

But he wouldn’t do that to her again—at least not for another twenty minutes, or so.

“So have I.” He smoothed her long hair. “How’s your hand?”

She yawned and held up the cast. “Unscathed. And,” she said with a bit of laughter in her voice, “wasn’t it convenient that Lotto left you a present?”

He laughed, and the ache in his chest that he’d carried around forever began to loosen. As they talked about little things, and laughed over nothing, he did something he hadn’t done in years.

He prayed this moment would last forever.

* * *

Lily curled up nextto Gage, buried herself deeper beneath the blanket, and checked the digital clock near the bed. It was after midnight and something had woken her up. As she considered what that might have been, she smiled.

Gage was behind her, with a hand on her breast, breathing heavily. But his erection didn’t seem to care. It felt hard and heavy between her thighs.

Every part of her body ached, but in a good way. The irony was that her hand in the cast didn’t hurt anymore. Maybe mind-blowing sex was a natural healer.

She smiled and reached around until her fingers found his erection. At her first touch, it bounced and filled her hand.

“What are you doing?” Gage’s breath tickled the back of her neck.

“Nothing.” She lightly tugged his cock, and it thickened and pulsed.

“That’s not nothing, Lily Dunmore.” He kissed her ear, and his hand fondled her breast until her nipples peaked in anticipation. “And you shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.”

She moved so quickly, she was able to mount him before he could react. With her unhurt hand, she guided him into her. But because she couldn’t hold onto the headboard with her broken hand, she wobbled.

Gage laughed and held her waist. “Need help?”

She squeezed his cock harder. “No.” Slowly, with his help though, she covered him, allowing him to fill her completely.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head back. It’d been a long time since she’d last been with a man, and she’d never been with one like Gage. A man who knew what he wanted yet still let her drive some of the action.

Slowly, while Gage fondled her breasts, she began to ride him. A hot, prickly sensation began in her toes and worked its way up her body, leaving her skin damp and tender. So tender, in fact, that when he sat up to suck her nipple, she yelped.

Before he could pull away, she used her good hand to hold his head to her breast. She rode him as he suckled and licked and nibbled her breast. When he moved to her other breast, the tension in her lower stomach built and built, until she wasn’t sure where the waves of pleasure and pain began and ended.

Finally, Gage took control by gripping her waist. He raised her up and down, each time increasing the speed and forcing her to take him deeper inside. Finally, when her heart beat so fast she couldn’t barely breathe, waves of pleasure flooded her body.

It was like rolling contractions of ecstasy. One part pain, two parts exquisite sensation. After innumerable ups-and-downs, he threw back his head and cried out. A moment later, she collapsed on top of him. She couldn’t move, and couldn’t comprehend what they’d done.

While they’d been careful the first time, the second time they’d... forgotten the condom.