Chapter 14
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
He held her body to his. He tried to absorb her strength and essence into his body.
He had never had feelings like the ones he was feeling these days.
He tried explaining to Hank what was happening, and Hank told him he was falling in love.
But that didn't seem right. They barely knew each other.
Quiet days and simple conversations didn't make a person fall in love.
Yet, her strength and resilience were so unique.
She was smart, but didn't need to constantly chatter on about it.
She had the confidence to know who she was, and she didn't need everyone else to know it too.
He enjoyed spending time with her doing nothing.
Her arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him tighter to her, and his heart felt full.
Her hands smoothed over his back, gently massaging and making him feel like he mattered.
It was overwhelming to feel so important to someone.
How could he be in his forties and never felt like he mattered to anyone?
He kissed her lips, and she eagerly kissed him back.
His hands roamed her body, so small under the large flannel shirt she wore.
Finding her breasts, he molded them to his hands, and she moaned softly into his mouth.
Her hands slid over his ass, the soft material of his sweatpants allowed him to feel her fingers, firm yet softly squeezing him.
When her hands moved toward the front of his body and softly cupped his cock, his body roared to life. Between kisses, he whispered. "If you can't finish, don't start."
She kissed his cheek, his jaw, and his ear, where her tongue swirled softly around the shell of his ear, then her lips whispered. "I can finish."
He bent his knees and picked her up. Her soft belly now pushing against his cock as he carried her to his room. He locked the door behind them with the flick of his fingers and gently laid her on top of his bed. Looking into her eyes, he smiled. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
He pulled a drawer open on the nightstand and pulled out a condom.
She took it in her fingers and tore the package open.
He pushed his sweatpants down and kicked them off, then pulled her pajama bottoms off and tossed them on the pile of his clothing.
He pushed her pajama top up, exposing her breasts, and quickly leaned down and suckled each one into his mouth, excited when her hand reached down and stroked his cock.
He kissed up her chest, then kissed her lips before sitting back and allowing her to roll the condom on his cock. Her fingers were smooth and sure. She was a surgeon who knew how to use her hands, and he liked this about her right now.
She sexily spread her legs open for him, a soft smile on her lips as he positioned himself at her opening and slid slowly inside of her.
His eyes closed as the ecstasy washed over him. When he pulled out, he looked down at her and saw her eyes watching him. Her hands grabbed his hips and urged him inside her again. She lifted her knees, which allowed him to slide farther inside her, and he groaned.
"You feel amazing."
"I was going to say the same to you."
He moved back and forth, enjoying each time he entered her more than the last time.
Her body fit his perfectly, her eyes watched him as he entered her, and her skin began to glow as they both worked toward release.
He moved faster, watching the shift in her passion.
She was close, and he moved with more deliberation, pushing tighter into her each time.
Her fingers dug into his arms as her breathing stuttered, and when he pushed into her again, she cried out his name as she stiffened under him.
He waited a beat for her to come back to earth, then he finished with his own orgasm flowing from him in fiery hot spurts, each one offering that painful pleasure he loved.
By midmorning, Main Street smelled like fresh bread and salt air.
Brian walked it slowly, nodding to the shop owners he knew, stopping just long enough in each place to keep the conversations casual.
He wasn’t asking about the man directly — not yet.
First, he was laying out the net. He kept Tessa's hand in his as they walked.
At the hardware store, the owner mentioned seeing a stranger hanging near the pier last week. “Didn’t buy a thing. Just stood there. Gave me the creeps.”
Brian filed it away. “Tall, dark hair?”
The owner nodded. “You know him?”
“Not yet.”
At Mae’s, Ruth handed him a coffee on the house and told him the same man had been in twice — didn’t eat, didn’t drink, just sat at the corner table by the window and left after twenty minutes. Always alone.
The pattern was starting to take shape.
By the time he reached the end of Main, he’d heard the man described three times by three different people. Nobody knew his name. Everyone agreed he didn’t seem like a tourist.
Heading back toward the truck, Brian kept to the opposite side of the street, scanning the crosswalks and alley mouths. It was habit by now. Which was why the figure half a block down caught his eye immediately.
The man was leaning against the brick wall of the closed ice cream shop, same as before, watching the street with that still, quiet patience.
He'd left Tessa in the bookstore; she promised to wait for him on the sidewalk in plain sight of everyone. He crossed to the near corner, stepped into the shadow of the awning, and watched.
The man’s gaze drifted over a couple of teenagers on skateboards, a pair of women with shopping bags… and then fixed on something behind Brian.
Brian didn’t have to turn to know.
Tessa.
She’d walked out of the bookstore two doors down, bag in hand, eyes on the sidewalk like she was lost in thought. She hadn’t seen him yet — either of them.
Brian moved, cutting across the sidewalk in a straight line until he was between her and the man.
She blinked up at him, startled. “Brian—”
“Come on,” he said quietly, steering her toward the truck.
Her steps faltered. “It’s him, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Stay close.”
But as they reached the curb, the man pushed off the wall and started toward them. Not fast. Not slow. Just closing the distance with the easy stride of someone who wasn’t afraid to be noticed.
Brian shifted Tessa behind him and squared his shoulders. “You’ve been hanging around,” he said as the man stopped three feet away. “Why?”
The man’s mouth curved slightly, like this was a game he’d already won. “Just making sure she’s okay.”
Tessa’s breath caught behind him. “Do I know you?”
“You should,” the man said, his gaze flicking to her before settling back on Brian. “We had a patient in common once. In Chicago.”
Brian’s stomach went cold. “You a doctor?”
The smile didn’t change. “Not exactly.”
He didn’t like the answer — or the way the man’s stance shifted, weight on the balls of his feet. “Whatever you think you’re doing, it ends now. You leave town.”
The man’s voice was almost gentle. “She walked away from something important. People get hurt when they walk away.”
“Not your problem,” Brian said, stepping in closer. “And it’s sure as hell not your call.”
The man’s eyes chilled. “Maybe I make it my call.”
Brian’s right hand curled into a fist, but he kept his voice level. “If you try to come near her again, you’re going to regret it. You’ve got until sunset to get out of Copper Moon.”
For the first time, the man’s expression flickered. He gave a short, humorless laugh. “We’ll see.” Then he stepped back, turned, and disappeared into the narrow alley between two buildings.
Brian didn’t follow — not here, not with Tessa standing close enough to touch. Instead, he steered her to the truck, scanning the street the whole way.
She slid into the passenger seat without a word. Her hands were tight in her lap.
Back at the cottage, he locked the door and faced her. “Pack an overnight bag. We’re not staying here tonight.”
Her eyes widened. “Brian—”
“It’s not a suggestion.” He held her gaze until she nodded. “I’m not giving him another chance to find you alone.”