Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
The rumble of my Harley beneath us and Joy's arms wrapped tight around my waist should have been enough to chase away every worry in my head.
Should have been. Instead, my mind kept circling back to that meeting.
Joy's brothers were going to be a problem.
But finally, after a couple of miles on the road, my mind began to ease.
Joy's grip tightened around my waist as I leaned into a curve, her body moving with mine like she'd been riding with me for years instead of weeks.
The trust in that simple gesture hit me square in the chest. This woman had been through hell, had every reason to be afraid, and yet she held onto me without hesitation.
I knew a place about fifteen miles out of town where we could watch the sunset. A little overlook that most tourists never found, tucked away on a winding road that led to nowhere important. Right now, that sounded perfect. Joy needed peace, and God knew I could use some, too.
The sun was already starting its descent when I pulled off the main road onto the gravel path that led to the grassy overlook, which was secluded by a grove of maple trees. Joy lifted her head from my shoulder, looking around as I killed the engine.
“Where are we?”
“Somewhere quiet.” I swung my leg over the bike and helped her down. “Thought you might want to see the sunset without worrying about stalkers or overprotective brothers for a few minutes.”
The overlook was nothing fancy, but the view stretched for miles across the Tennessee hills, all rolling green and dotted with farmhouses and winding creeks that caught the late afternoon light.
Joy walked close to the edge as I watched her every step, her long blonde hair catching the breeze. When she turned back to me, her expression was heavy with guilt.
“Graham, I'm so sorry about Seth and Randy. They were awful to you.”
I crossed the space between us in three strides and caught her hands in mine. “Stop right there.”
“But they were so rude, and after everything you've done for me…”
“Joy.” I waited until her blue eyes met mine.
“If someone who left the Navy and roamed the country on his bike for two years before settling down showed up claiming to be in love with my imaginary younger sister, I'd probably shoot first and ask questions later.
Your brothers love you. They're scared for you.
In their shoes, I'd be doing the exact same thing.”
She bit her bottom lip, a habit I'd learned meant she was thinking hard about something. “You really don't hate them?”
“Baby, I respect the hell out of them. Any man who'd drop everything and do everything he could to protect his sister is good people in my book.”
The tension in her shoulders eased, and she leaned into me. “How did I get so lucky to get such a wise and understanding man?”
“I'm the lucky one.” I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You could have any man you wanted, and you picked the broken-down ex-SEAL with emotional baggage and no furniture.”
She laughed, the sound washing over me like warm honey. “You're not broken down. You're just… weathered. Like good leather.”
“Did you just compare me to a leather jacket?”
Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “No, I compared you to a really comfortable recliner.”
I was about to respond when her expression shifted, becoming soft and vulnerable in a way that made my chest tight.
“Graham.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I need to tell you something.”
The sudden seriousness in her tone made every muscle in my body tense. “What is it?”
She took a shaky breath, her hands trembling in mine. “I love you, too.”
The words hit me like a lightning strike. I'd known how I felt about her for weeks now. Hell, the guys were right; it’d hit me the instant I saw her. She was my magic, my woman, my everything. But knowing she felt the same way? It knocked the air clean out of my lungs.
“Joy.”
“I love you, Graham Wallace. I love your terrible morning hair and your empty house and the way you take care of everyone around you. I love that you make me feel safe, cherished, and feel like I'm the most important thing in your world.”
Before she could say another word, I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her. It started tender, reverent, like she was something precious I was afraid of breaking. But when she melted against me, when her lips parted on a soft sigh, something inside me ignited.
The kiss deepened, became hungry and desperate and full of every emotion I'd been carrying around in my chest. I poured everything into it. My love, my need, my promise to protect her, my gratitude that she'd chosen me despite everything.
When we finally broke apart, gasping, I saw tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Don't cry, baby.”
“Happy tears.” She laughed through them, her hands fisting in my shirt. “I just never thought I'd feel this way about anyone. After London, I thought I was broken.”
“You're not broken.” I kissed away her tears, tasting salt and joy and hope. “You're perfect. You're mine. And I love you too, more than I thought it was possible to love another person.”
The words seemed to shatter something inside her. She kissed me again, fierce and claiming, and I felt my control snap.
My hands found the hem of her shirt, desperate to touch skin, and she arched into me with a soft moan that went straight to my cock. The sunset painted everything gold around us, but all I could see was my Joy. All I could think about was showing her exactly how much she meant to me.
“Graham.” My name on her lips was half prayer, half demand. “Please.”
I glanced around the overlook. We were completely alone, surrounded by nothing but trees and sky and the fading light of day.
Without breaking eye contact, I shrugged out of my lightweight jacket and laid it down on the soft grass.
Then I opened up one of my saddlebags and pulled out an old sweatshirt and T-shirt. I shook them out and covered the coat.
“You sure about this?”
Instead of answering, she pulled her shirt over her head and dropped it beside my clothes. The sight of her in that lacy pink bra, her skin glowing in the golden light, made my mouth water.
I guided her down onto the soft material, following her until I was braced above her on my forearms. Joy looked up at me like I was her whole world.
“I want to taste you,” I murmured against her throat. “I want to make you fall apart with my mouth.”
Her breath caught. “Yes.”
I took my time with her jeans, kissing each inch of skin as I revealed it. Her belly, the curve of her hip, the sensitive spot just below her navel that made her gasp and arch beneath me. By the time I had her completely bare, she was trembling with need.
“So beautiful.” I settled between her thighs, inhaling the sweet scent of her arousal. “Look at you, baby. So wet for me already.”
The first stroke of my tongue had her crying out, her hands fisting in my hair. I'd gone down on her before, but this felt different. Sacred. This time I was worshipping at the altar of the woman I loved.
I took my time, exploring every fold and hollow, using every bit of knowledge I’d already accumulated to make her moan and beg. When I found her clit and circled it with my tongue, her whole body went taut as a bowstring.
“Graham, oh God, there, right there.”
I sealed my lips around that sensitive bundle of nerves and sucked gently, feeling her thighs shake on either side of my head. She was close, so fucking close, and I wanted to push her right over the edge.
Two fingers slid inside her tight heat, and I curved them to find that spot that made her see stars. Her back arched off the ground, a broken sob escaping her lips.
“Come for me, baby. Let me hear you.”
She shattered with my name on her lips, her inner walls clenching around my fingers as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her. I worked her through it, gentling my touches as she came down from the high, pressing soft kisses to her inner thighs.
When she finally went limp beneath me, her chest rising and falling in rapid pants, I crawled up her body to capture her lips in a deep kiss. She could taste herself on my tongue, and the knowledge seemed to inflame her all over again.
“I need you inside me.” Her voice was rough with desire, her hands already working at my belt. “Please, Graham. I need to feel you.”
I'd never moved so fast in my life. My wallet hit the ground beside us as I fumbled for the condom I kept there, my hands shaking with the intensity of my need for her. Joy watched me roll it on, her blue eyes dark with want.
“I love you,” she whispered as I settled between her thighs.
“I love you, too.” I lined myself up at her entrance, feeling the wet heat kiss the tip of my cock. “Forever.”
I entered her slowly, savoring every inch as her body welcomed me home.
When I was fully seated inside her, I stilled, overwhelmed by the perfection of the moment. The woman I loved was beneath me, around me, her body joined with mine as the last rays of sunlight painted the sky in shades of pink and gold.
“Move,” she breathed against my ear. “Please.”
I began to rock into her, each thrust deliberate and deep. There was no rush, no urgency beyond the need to show her with my body what my words couldn't fully express. This was love in its purest form.
Joy met me stroke for stroke, her legs wrapping around my waist to pull me deeper. The sounds she made were music to my ears, soft moans and whispered endearments that drove me higher than I'd ever been.
“I'm close,” she gasped, her nails digging into my back.
“Let go, baby. I've got you.”
She came with a cry that echoed across the hills, her body clenching around me like a velvet fist. The sensation pushed me over the edge, and I buried my face in her neck as my own climax tore through me with devastating force.
For long moments afterward, we lay entwined in the gathering dusk, neither of us willing to break the spell. Joy's fingers traced lazy patterns on my chest, and I pressed kisses to her temple, breathing in the scent of her hair.
“That was,” she began, then trailed off with a contented sigh.
“Yeah.” I rolled to my side and pulled her against me, not caring that we were naked on a hillside. “It was.”
She looked up at me, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “I never knew it could be like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like coming home.”
My chest swelled with an emotion too big for words. I kissed her forehead, her nose, her lips.
“And you’re my home.”
The stars were beginning to appear overhead, and a cool breeze raised goosebumps on our skin.
I removed and tied off the condom, then wrapped it up in a protein bar wrapper I’d found in my saddlebag.
I reluctantly helped Joy get dressed, stealing kisses as we pulled on clothes and tried to make ourselves presentable.
By the time we were ready to ride, full darkness had settled over the hills. Joy climbed on behind me, her arms wrapping around my waist with that same trust that never failed to humble me.
I'd come up here worried about her brothers, stressed about the stalker, uncertain about the future. I was heading home with the knowledge that the woman I loved felt the same way about me, and for the first time in years, everything felt exactly as it should be.
Seth and Randy could bring all the attitude they wanted. Let them try to intimidate me. I was a Navy SEAL in love with their sister, and there wasn't a force on earth that could make me walk away from what Joy and I had found together.
As I fired up the Harley and pulled back onto the main road, I felt Joy's chin rest against my shoulder. The simple gesture filled me with a contentment I'd never known before.
Whatever came next, we'd face it together.