Chapter 8 #2
“I know.” I thrust up, slow and deep, watching her eyes flutter closed. “That’s what made me bid.”
She starts to move, finding her rhythm, rising and falling, taking what she needs. I let her set the pace, watching her face, memorizing every gasp and whimper. She’s beautiful like this. Powerful. A goddess taking her pleasure.
“Harder,” she breathes.
I oblige. Gripping her hips tighter, thrusting up to meet her, driving deeper with each stroke. The truck rocks with our movement, the suspension creaking, but I don’t care if we shake the whole damn forest.
“Right there.” She’s panting now, her nails raking down my chest. “God, right there. Don’t stop—”
I don’t stop. I angle my hips, hitting the spot that makes her cry out, and slide one hand between us to circle her clit.
“I’ve got you,” I murmur against her throat, tasting sweat and her perfume. “Let go, Smudge. Let me feel you come on my cock.”
“Sawyer!”
“That’s it. Say my name.” I thrust harder, faster, feeling her flutter around me. “You’re mine, Jessie. Say it.”
“Yours.” It comes out broken, desperate. “I’m yours, Sawyer, I’m—”
She shatters.
Her whole body convulses, her inner walls clamping down on me so tightly I see stars. Her head falls back, throat exposed, and she screams my name—Sawyer—like it’s the only word she knows.
The sensation of her pulsing around me, the mine mine mine reverberating through my veins, is intoxicating. I bury my face in her neck and surrender, releasing into her with a primal groan that echoes through the cab.
For a long moment, we remain still, caught in the rhythm of harsh breaths and racing hearts, the scent of sex enveloping us.
Afterward, we stay tangled together, too spent to move.
The windows are completely fogged. We wouldn’t notice anyone approaching, not that anyone ever drives this way.
My knee presses against the gear shift, a seatbelt buckle digs into my thigh, and I think I may have strained my back.
Working in the lumberyard tomorrow is going to suck.
But it was worth it. Absolutely, one hundred percent worth it.
I spot my flannel crumpled on the floor and use the soft fabric to gently clean her up between her thighs and across her stomach, where my grip left red marks.
“You don’t have to do that,” she murmurs.
I press a kiss to the mark on her hip, possessive satisfaction swelling in my chest at the sight of it. “I want to.”
Once I’m done, I pull her back against my chest, arranging her limp limbs until she’s draped across me like a warm blanket. Her head tucks perfectly under my chin.
She shifts to get comfortable and winces. “Something’s digging into my—wait a second.”
She reaches behind her, fumbling between our bodies and the seat, and emerges with—
“Is this gum?” She stares at the sticky wad on her fingers with horrified fascination. “Please tell me this isn’t ancient gum from your truck seat.”
I squint at it. “That’s... probably from Tex. He was in here last month. I told him not to—”
“Oh, my god.” She’s laughing again, a full-body shake that makes her clench around me in ways I’m too exhausted to fully appreciate. “Oh, my god, I have Tex’s gum on my shoulder blade. This is the least romantic—”
“I’ll buy you new shoulders.”
“That's not how anatomy works!”
“I’ll figure it out.” I grab the flannel from the footwell and use it to wipe her fingers clean. “Better?”
“My hero.” She’s still giggling, pressing her forehead to mine. “You know, when I imagined our first time, it didn't include mystery gum.”
“You imagined our first time?”
Her cheeks flush. “Maybe.”
“When?”
“Wouldn't you like to know?” She smirks. “So, is this what you meant by the perks of knowing the locals?”
Her voice is sleepy and satisfied, tinged with a roughness that makes my cock twitch with renewed interest.
“Best views in the county.” I gesture at the steamed-up windshield. “Usually.”
She snorts, and I feel it resonate through her entire body. “The couch situation is officially resolved. Just so we’re clear.”
“Thank God. That thing was killing my back.”
“And now you have a gear shift destroying your kidney instead.” She pokes the offending object. “Real upgrade.”
“Smartass.”
“You love it.”
I do. God help me, I do.
She shifts, resting her chin on my chest to meet my gaze. In the soft light filtering through the fogged windows, her eyes appear tender and vulnerable, a side of her she rarely reveals.
“Tank? What happens in fifteen days?”
Her question lands heavily, like a stone dropped in still water. Fifteen days until her gallery deadline. Twenty-five until the annulment can proceed.
“What do you want to happen?” I ask.
“I don’t know. The gallery commission... It’s everything I’ve worked for.”
“I know.” I gently brush a strand of hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear. “I’m not asking you to give it up. Go. Do your commission. Be brilliant.” I hold her gaze, hoping she understands everything I’m not saying. “But come back. To me. To this.”
“You want a long-distance marriage with a woman you barely know?”
“I want you.” Simple. True. “However I can get you. I know it’s fast. I know it doesn’t make sense. But I stopped making sense the moment you walked into my life, so I think we might as well embrace the chaos.”
She laughs, tears glistening in her eyes. “You’re insane.”
“About you? Absolutely.”
“I can’t decide something like this in one night.”
“I’m not asking you to decide tonight.” I cradle her face in my hands—this face I want to wake up to for the rest of my life. “I’m asking you to consider it. To pause long enough to see what we could create together.”
Silence stretches between us. Her heartbeat races against my chest.
“Okay,” she finally says.
“Okay, you’ll consider it?”
“I’ll consider it.” She presses a soft, sweet kiss to my jaw. “That’s all I can promise right now.”
It’s enough. More than enough.
I pull her closer, and we sit in the fogged-up cab of my truck, wrapped around each other, watching the last of the daylight fade through the steamed windows. Her breath steadies against my neck, and her body grows heavy and warm against mine.
Fifteen days. I have fifteen days to convince her that what we have is worth holding on to.
Challenge accepted.