Chapter 7
Chapter seven
“I can’t tell you all my secrets,” I crack.
“Where’s the fun in that?” The challenge in her eyes is pure fire, and I refuse to resist. I glide my fingers up her smooth thigh, feeling her warm, velvet skin yield under my touch.
Her muscles tense just enough to let me know she’s as keyed up as I am.
When she shifts her hips toward me, she accidently-on-purpose causes my hand to slip between her thighs.
“My naughty one,” I whisper against her ear, finding the lacy edge of her panties. “Mine.”
She gives me a sly smile. “You’re naughty number one, remember?
” Winter wraps her hand around my neck and surprises me with a fierce, unapologetic kiss, tasting of whiskey and wildness.
In seconds we’re a collision of tongues, and moaning in desperation.
It takes all the willpower I have not to flip her over and take her right this very second.
But I draw back and murmur against her lips, “Saved my life once, that pager of yours. We were out on a ridge in a lightning storm, the signal cut through the thunder, and my brothers and I made it down because of you. Feels like you’re doing it again tonight.
” My lips crash against hers with a feral hunger I didn’t realize I possessed.
I feel her teeth drag against my bottom lip, followed by the velvet slide of her tongue.
For a minute I almost lose track of where I end and she begins.
I glide my hand to the nape of her neck, and tilt her head, deepening the kiss.
She responds by grinding her hips against me, as my fingers finally reach the silky, forbidden skin under her panties.
The dress is only a formality now, hiked up over her lacy red underwear, giving me a full view of her incredible curves.
My cock is ready to burst out of my pants.
I know if we keep going, if we don’t put on the brakes, we’ll be past the point of no return.
But I don’t want to brake, and she doesn’t either.
She’s already soaked for me, and getting wetter as I stroke her tight little heaven.
She gasps, bites down on her lip and reaches for my belt, making her intention perfectly clear.
“Naughty, naughty, naughty,” I whisper into her shoulder, and she breathlessly laughs.
“If you’re going to say it, you’d better follow through,” she teases in a husky voice behind my ear.
“Challenge accepted.” I cup her ass in both hands, lifting her gently, and she wraps her legs around my waist without hesitation and rocks against me, grinding with a rhythm custom made for us.
I kiss her again, slower this time, letting her set the pace.
She groans, breaking away to look me in the eye, and I think I’m falling for her hard and fast. Her pupils are blown wide, her cheeks are flushed and her lips are swollen.
She’s a fucking masterpiece, and all mine.
Slowly and deliberately, I stroke her slick seam, warming her thoroughly, barely touching her clit. Her head drops to my shoulder as she exhales with a trembling sigh. She’s wet, and so ready for me I could come in my pants. “Fuck, you feel good.”
She gives me a wicked smile. “You’re not too bad yourself,” she teases, grabs my shirt and then full-on kisses me again until we’re grinding against each other, and I’m aching and desperate for her.
She feels it too, because she finds my zipper and starts tugging on it.
That’s my cue and I quickly slip out of my jeans along with my underwear.
Her panties are the next to go as she squirms out of them and I help slip them off her ankles.
Her dress is up over her hips so I can see every inch of her.
She watches me watch her, biting her lip, eyes locked on mine, and then moves her gaze to my throbbing cock.
I don’t know if she even realizes what she’s doing, but she licks her lips, and it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.
I wrap her into my arms for another kiss, while the head of my cock presses against her, insistent and demanding.
I want to make this last, stretch it out until we’re both shaking, but the way she’s grinding, the guttural noises she’s making, with the heat and pressure is too much for me to last much longer.
She breaks the kiss, panting. “Condom?” she manages between gasps. “I need you now. Hard and fast.”
Fuck. I almost chuckle. How did I get so lucky to find a woman who knows what she wants, how she wants it and isn’t afraid to tell me? “Hang on, sweetheart,” I say, reaching for my jeans on the floor, fishing through the pockets.
I rip the wrapper and roll it on while she watches with hungry, impatient eyes.
Then she props herself on her elbows, leans back and lifts her hips, looking dangerously sexy.
Luscious. Perfect. And I’m ready to worship all of her.
I line myself against her slick opening. She moans, jerking her pelvis forward.
“God, I’m ready to come. Please,” she begs, “fuck me. I’m so ready for you.”
“So bossy,” I say, pushing in slowly. My smile disappears when I feel the incredible sensation of her tight, hot, wet grip around me, and I start to move.
“You feel like heaven.” I moan as Winter throws her head back, and cries out.
Her sounds reverberate through my body, and I drink in her every reaction, every shiver and gasp.
But she’s also watching me, and as we find our rhythm and move together, we stare into each other’s eyes.
An overwhelming awareness sneaks over me.
Something unexplainable, almost spiritual.
Winter and I aren’t just fucking; this is different from anything I’ve experienced.
We don’t take our eyes off each other. It’s as if we’re fused together, closer than I’ve ever let anyone.
Is this just … bonding? Something more? Hell if I know.
I’ve never felt like this before, made damn sure I never would, and kept everyone at arm’s length so nothing could hurt me if I ever lost anyone again.
But as I fuck her, there’s a terrifying tenderness sweeping through me. I’ve always been the one to save people, but this accomplished, stunning woman saved me. I didn’t know her then, but I needed her, and she had my six. She’s my equal.
I pump faster, reach between us and circle her clit with my thumb, and she comes undone almost immediately, with her body clenching, milking my cock. There’s no chance of my holding back. The world goes white for a second, as I explode into a haze of heat and bliss.
“Winter, Winter, Winter,” I whisper, as we collapse together.
She buries her face in my neck, still trembling, and I tighten my hold, not close to being ready to let go. “Damn,” she says eventually, “you’re amazing.”
“Told you rough terrain was my specialty.”
***
She shifts beside me with a frantic rustle of the blankets. I crack open my eyes to the gray half-light leaking around the edges of the curtains. My room smells like pine, smoke, sex, and Winter, whose scent is all over me. I grin and roll over.
“Tanner.” Her voice cracks. “What time is it?”
I twist, craning my neck for a peek at the old wind-up alarm on the nightstand. “Seven thirty.”
“Shit.” She springs upright. “Shit, shit, shit. I have to get home, change and be in Boise by nine for my presentation. My car’s at City Hall. Damn it, I overslept.”
I sit up slowly, scrubbing a hand over my face.
Winter’s a blur of motion. She snatches her bra off the floor and grabs her dress.
I watch how the light plays on her curves and feel something possessive tighten in my chest. “Easy, darlin’,” I say in a ragged voice that hasn’t woken up yet. “I’ll get you there.”
She doesn’t answer and just yanks her dress over her head. I swing my legs over the side of the bed, pull on my jeans, and shrug into a flannel that still holds the scent of her vanilla perfume.
By the time I stomp into my boots, she’s at the front door. Thankfully, it looks like Zephyr was up early and plowed our road. As I dig into my coat pocket for my keys, she tries to dart past me, but I grasp her wrist, feeling her pulse hammer against my thumb.
There’s a selfish part of me that’s straight-up lying.
The last thing I want is for her to leave.
I didn’t have enough time with her yesterday, and wanted to take it slow and kiss every inch of her this morning.
“Hey.” I tip her chin up to look at me. Her chocolate-colored stare is wide with panic.
“You’ll make your presentation if I have to fly you there. ”
She nods, quick and jerky, but doesn’t pull away. I steal one second to brush my thumb across her lower lip. Then we rush outside.
The engine coughs, and I back out. The road down the mountain hasn’t been plowed yet; the truck fishtails once, and Winter’s hand flies to the dash. “Sorry,” I mutter, easing off the gas.
“Just hurry, please.”
The town is still asleep, with smoke drifting from a few chimneys, and the single stoplight blinking yellow over empty streets.
City Hall is at the far end of Main, and her Subaru sits alone in the lot, buried to the hubs.
“Oh God.” She moans. “Looks like I’m going to have to shovel my way out. ” I kill the engine and turn to her.
“Shovel your way out? Do you think I’m the kind of man who would let you do that?”
“Actually no. I guess I’m just not used to having anyone help me with anything.”
“Well get used to it. I keep a winter-rescue kit in my truck at all times.”
“You do?” She appears stunned and then smiles as she realizes who she’s talking to. “Of course you do. If there’s anyone who can find their way out of a jam in bad weather, it’s you and your brothers.”
“Exactly. And I won’t even have to use my Summit Sentinel Pager.”
It doesn’t take long for me to dig her out and slap the traction mats under the rear wheels.
Ten seconds of rocking and the Subaru lurches backward onto cleared pavement like nothing happened.
I brush the snow off her roof so it doesn’t dump on her later, open her door, and step back. “You’re good.”
“Thank you, thank you,” she mutters, flying past me and starts to get in.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” I slide my hands around her waist, spin her to face me and press her back against the cold metal. She gasps, but it turns into a breathless, startled laugh. “Tanner …”
“You’re not going anywhere until you kiss me.”
Her hands come up between us, and she clutches the collar of my coat.
I bend and run my tongue along her lower lip.
She lets out a soft, hungry sound and opens for me.
The kiss is wildfire. I angle her head with my hand, threading my fingers through her beautiful thick brown hair as she arches, pressing her breasts against me, making me groan into her mouth.
My other hand slips under her coat, and I pull her flush against me.
She feels how hard I am already and teasingly rolls her pelvis in a way that makes the world blur around me.
Snowflakes melt on my cheeks, the cold bites at my ears, but I don’t stop kissing her.
She shivers, digging her fingers into my shoulders.
“Tanner,” she pants, “I’m gonna be late.”
“Worth it,” I growl against her throat and nip the spot just below her ear that made her scream last night.
She makes a sound halfway between a laugh and a moan, then fists my coat and hauls me back to her lips.
I’m barely able to control myself. I wasn’t finished with her.
Wasn’t ready to say goodbye. When she sucks my bottom lip and tugs, I feel it in my balls, and nudge my knee between her thighs.
She rides the friction for a heartbeat before she tears herself away from me with her chest heaving. “Car. Boise. Job.”
I rest my forehead against hers, keeping my hands on her waist. We’re both breathing like we’ve sprinted uphill. “One more,” I bargain, and she gives it, softer this time, tender, with an affectionate slide of her luscious lips that says more than words.
“Go. And drive carefully,” I say, stepping away before I drag her into my truck again to finish what we started.
Winter scrambles behind the wheel, slams the door, and starts the car. “I’ll call you,” she yells as she pulls out.
I stop and turn to her. “That’s my line.” I laugh. “I think I’m in love, by the way. Have dinner with me tonight.”
She giggles, and the sound echoes off the surrounding buildings. I have a feeling I surprised her. Good. She has no idea what’s coming. “I’ll call you later,” she promises again and rolls her window up. I watch her taillights disappear around the corner in a swirl of exhaust and snow.
I stand there a second longer, tasting her on my lips, still feeling her body against mine.
Yeah, I’m in deep.