24. Tucker
Chapter Twenty-Four
TUCKER
I kept my eyes on Skylar’s, watching as they widened as I felt her silky clench tighten around me until I was sheathed fully inside her. I let out a groan in my throat when I seated myself deeply and nudged once again as if in punctuation.
She whispered, “This,” again, and I knew precisely what she meant. This, all of this. Her, me, us. Twined together, a shimmering net of passion holding us close.
She stared at me, something like fear flickering in the depths of her wide eyes for a moment.
I didn’t sense she was afraid of me. There was an emotional quality to it, almost primal.
The same emotion I’d picked up on earlier.
The recklessness, the dashing, the shying away from any feeling.
It was almost as if she was afraid to feel.
At this moment, I didn’t have much control.
I clung to the thread of it, frayed but not yet snapped.
I held still for several beats before dropping my head and kissing her.
Her tongue darted out, gliding boldly against mine.
Drawing back, I filled her, again and again.
Her hips arched to meet every thrust. Her skin was dewy against mine.
My release was already spinning tight. I tried to hang on, to slow down, but she urged me on. One heel dug into the back of a thigh, the other against my hip. She was so wet and so tight, and the sounds she made, oh, my god. Fuck me. Raspy moans and throaty whimpers.
I saw her sassy, bossy side. “Hurry, please. Now,” she demanded.
I couldn’t do anything other than give her what she asked for because it was exactly what I wanted. I felt her release threatening again when she tightened, clamping around me. She shuddered roughly, crying out and shouting my name.
My own release finally snapped, lightning sizzling from the base of my spine as I surged to fill her once more. A guttural cry followed, and I trembled all over. I fell against her, gulping in air. For a moment, I couldn’t even move. Gathering myself, I braced on one elbow so I didn’t crush her.
I shifted, rolling over as soon as I could. I was still inside her as she fell against me, sated and soft. I could feel the beat of her heart against my chest as my own thundered along with it.
I had no idea how long we lay there. When my awareness flickered, my fingers were sifting through the ends of her hair. Her palm was flat against my chest. I wanted to stay right there, but that was crazy.
I wondered what she was thinking. Eventually, she lifted her head, and we stared at each other.
That fear I’d seen earlier flickered in her eyes but disappeared just as quickly.
I wanted to say something, but I knew that was treacherous.
This whole moment was treacherous for me, and I sensed it also was for her.
“You have to go home,” she announced.
“I do?”
She nodded. I wanted to ask why, but I knew she wouldn’t tell me, so I didn’t.
“Okay.”
A moment later, she was scrambling off my lap and handing me my clothes. I got dressed although not as fast as her. She had her clothes on inside of a minute, or so it seemed.
A weighted few moments later, she was standing by her kitchen counter, eyeing me warily. You’d have never known we’d just been tangled up skin to skin.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said politely.
“Of course. Where are we having dinner next?” I asked, knowing I was pushing it.
When she opened her mouth to speak, I was pretty sure she was going to argue the point. Then she closed it and took a breath before replying, “How about the ski lodge?”
I felt like I had won a major victory, but I didn’t dare gloat. “Next Friday?”
She nodded. I kissed her before I left, but it was brief. Driving home, I wondered if I had lost my mind. I didn’t want to see that look of fear and vulnerability in Skylar’s eyes. I wanted to make it go away forever.
But there was a catch. That meant facing my own fear. I thought I knew something she didn’t believe. People could be good. You could count on someone. But trying to show her that meant me counting on the universe not to play another cruel joke on me.
My faith was shaky on that point.