Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Luke
Magnolia had been through a lot tonight.
I was so damn proud of her for giving Felix James a piece of her mind. Her words had hit him like well-aimed bullets. That piece of shit deserved every bad thing that came to him.
I was still reeling at the discovery that he’d known Magnolia and I were involved back then. We’d always been careful, staying in the shadows on their property, away from the line of sight of any windows, which made me wonder if he had secret cameras.
None of it mattered much now. His attempt to keep us apart was in the past. I didn’t know where we’d end up, but that son of a bitch would not be what came between us again.
The drive from the Marks to her apartment wasn’t long, and she let me hold her hand the whole way. I was counting that as a victory.
In the alley behind the shops on Main, I pulled up to the back of The Lily Pad. Magnolia’s car was in the single parking spot, but I angled in as close to her vehicle as I could get.
“I’m walking you up,” I said, intent on that kiss.
She sent me a nervous smile. I hopped out and jogged around to her side before she could slide out, my heart pounding with anticipation. I couldn’t wait to put my lips on those rebellious ones of hers again.
I extended my hand to help her down, then didn’t let go once we were walking toward the stairs. The staircase was old and wooden and not wide enough for us to climb side by side, so I slipped behind her, keeping hold of her hand as we ascended in silence.
At the door, Magnolia faced me, pulling me into her until our lips met. She kissed me hungrily, pressing her body into mine, her hands sliding down to my ass, drawing me against her softness. All my blood pounded into my erection as I kissed her back.
“I feel like celebrating,” she said breathlessly when she came up for air.
“Yeah? Got any champagne?”
She shook her head. “Not that kind of celebrating.”
Thoughts weren’t connecting in my brain.
I was too busy kissing her some more, not ready to head back to my lonely truck.
I barely registered that her hands had disappeared from my backside until she broke off the kiss again, turning her attention to the little wallet thing she wore across her body.
I forced my attention to what she was doing, mourning the loss of contact with her luscious mouth. She took out her keys and turned to unlock the door.
Once it was open, she looked back at me, wove our fingers together, and tugged me inside.
I didn’t argue.
Magnolia relocked the outer door, then led me through the hall, past the storage rooms, and to her private door, which she also unlocked.
Her apartment was dark, so I held on and followed her blindly, not caring where she led me as long as she didn’t drop my hand. I heard rather than saw her scoot a kitchen chair out of the way. If I wasn’t mistaken, she was heading straight for her bed.
She stopped and let my hand go, then took her phone out, setting it on her nightstand and illuminating the area.
She picked something up from the nightstand, and I realized she was turning on a trio of LED candles and setting them back down.
Then she got rid of the phone light, leaving us in the warm glow of candlelight.
I raised my brows in question, afraid to believe, but before she could see my face, she took both my hands, stood on her toes, and stretched up to kiss me again.
Her kiss started sweet, not quite tentative, unhurried.
Thorough. Before long, she deepened it as she ducked her hands beneath my T-shirt and ran them slowly up my abs, over my chest, as if memorizing the shape of me with her magical fingers.
I shrugged off my flannel shirt and tossed it to the side, then burrowed my hands beneath her thick sweater, resting them at her waist, thrilling at the feel of her warm, soft skin.
In high school, I’d dreamed of touching her flawless, milky flesh from head to toe, but I’d never had the balls to do more than kiss her. I’d been taking it slow, biding my time, working up the courage, and then we’d been over.
Magnolia lifted my tee over my head. I took over the task and rid myself of it in a heartbeat, throwing it in the general direction of my flannel shirt, not caring where it landed.
I pulled her closer, poised to remove her sweater, but before I could, her hands were at my belt, undoing the buckle, then unsnapping my jeans.
Not going to lie. Her aggressiveness was doing it for me.
My boots were loose enough I could kick them off without my hands, and I did that as Mags unzipped my pants, kissing me at the same time.
I ran my palms up her sides to the edge of her bra.
I was on the verge of sliding my hand beneath the thin, silky fabric when she derailed every thought in my head by dipping her fingers inside my boxer briefs and skimming them over my dick.
I gasped at the sensation and focused for a few seconds on gathering my self-control. I’d waited nearly twenty years for this. I was not going to ruin it by losing it in my pants at the first intimate touch. A growl rumbled from my throat with the effort.
Her fingers moved to my back, dipping down to my ass as she shoved both layers of clothing down, freeing my throbbing dick. She followed my pants down to the floor, removing them one leg at a time, then my socks, my hands on her fully clothed shoulders as she got me naked as the day I was born.
I was about to comment on her overdressed state when she rose slowly, pausing as her lips were even with my crotch. I stopped breathing altogether as I waited to see what she’d do. She kissed my tip, just a gentle flutter of a touch that made me grunt, aching for more contact.
I was getting ahead of myself though. I was buck naked, and she was still fully dressed. That wasn’t how I normally operated, but she had me all off-center and bothered as fuck.
“Mags.” I helped her stand, groaning as I pulled her sweet, soft body against my hard-as-steel one. “You’re killing me.”
An adorable giggle escaped her as she pulled me to her mouth for another kiss. She’d made her intentions clear, and a switch flipped in me. She’d had her fun stripping me down. It was my turn.
I took control of the kiss, intensifying it as I tracked down the clasp on her bra and undid it beneath her sweater.
The lingerie loosened, and I wasted no time seeking out her nipple with my thumb, then palming her perfect breast. Both of her perfect breasts.
After all these years, it was surreal as hell to have my hands on Magnolia.
I reveled at the feel of her pebbled tips, her soft skin, her purr of pleasure, the way she arched into my hand.
I needed my mouth on her, so I hurriedly lifted her sweater over her head, and she slid her bra off.
I bent to tease her nipple with the tip of my tongue, determined to drive her higher, but the joke was on me because I couldn’t resist closing my mouth over her, sucking, feasting as I teased the other side with my fingers.
As eager as I was to devour her other nipple too, I couldn’t wait to have her completely bared. I lowered a hand to the waistband of her skirt, pushing it down over one hip, then reluctantly releasing her breast from my mouth so I could focus on getting every stitch of clothing off her.
She stepped out of her skirt, leaving her in string bikini panties and ankle boots.
I dropped to the floor and removed her boots and socks, then took in the sight of her in the dim, flickering light, her pale skin irresistible, her little panties teasing me by barely covering the part my body throbbed for.
I drew those panties down her thighs and groaned once she was completely undressed, letting the sight of her burn itself into my brain.
“Look at you,” I whispered. “You’re beautiful, Mags.” I kissed her lips. “Worth the twenty-year wait just to see you.”
She laughed quietly as her arms came around me. “I hope you want to do more than just see me, because I’m about to die from needing you.”
I trailed my palms to the globes of her ass and steered her to the edge of the bed, then lowered her to sit on the mattress.
Dropping to my knees, I spread her legs, took in the sight of her folds, and finally tasted her.
She fell back onto her elbows with a moan as I licked her core and teased her with my tongue.
She lifted her feet to the edge of the mattress, opening up to me even more.
I explored every forbidden inch of her with my mouth and fingers until she was bucking into my face, clinging to my head, moaning, whimpering, calling out to God and me in the same sexy gasp until she arched into me and shattered.
Her orgasm went on, and I adjusted my touch to draw out as much pleasure from her as possible, my eyes on her gorgeous face that showed exactly what I was doing to her.
When she gasped like she couldn’t take it anymore, I peppered her inner thighs with kisses as she came down from orbit.
As her breathing evened out, I trailed those kisses slowly down her leg to her ankle, savoring every inch of her smooth skin.
Grabbing my jeans, I stood, pulled out my wallet for a condom, and rolled it on.
Watching her come apart had tested my limits. I wanted to bury myself deep inside her so badly I ached.
I gently scooped her up from the mattress edge and set her the right way in the bed, then crawled over her, bearing my weight on my forearms. I gazed down at her, her cheeks pink, lids heavy, a satisfied grin stretching lazily across her irresistible lips.
“You look like the cat who ate the canary,” I said.
She giggled. “More like the cat who got eaten by the canary.”
I laughed at the innuendo, not expecting something like that to come out of her mouth but loving this updated version of Magnolia. She was less proper. More casual. More…real.
Back in the day, I was crazy about her. I liked this grown-up, sexy version even more.
She cradled me between her thighs, opening herself to me. The picture she made, lying there, willing and waiting and fucking gorgeous, undid me. All my finesse was gone, my ability to bide my time in the negative numbers. Twenty years I’d waited…
I pushed inside of her impatiently, moaning at the ecstasy of her tight channel.
I tried to go slow. Wanted to stretch this bliss out for hours.
It only took a few thrusts for me to feel as if my body wasn’t in my control, as if I was compelled to pump harder, faster, deeper into this enthralling woman who must have cast a spell over me.
When she banded her legs around me as if to trap me in this heaven, I gave myself over to the need driving me higher, my every thought dissipating before I could catch it.
I stopped trying to think, succumbed completely to the sensations, fighting to maintain enough awareness of her response so I could ensure she went over before me.
Working my hand between our bodies, I found her nub and ran my finger over it, receiving an immediate gasp as Mags arched up into me. Her head fell back as I continued to thrust into her and circled her clit with my finger until she cried out and contracted around me.
That was it for me. I careened over the edge after her, lost in a haze of euphoria.
Eventually my senses came back online as I caught my breath. My eyes still closed, I inhaled the sweet scent of Magnolia mixed with the earthy smell of sex. She let out a quiet, sensual moan of contentment as she trailed her fingers in a feather-light path over my back.
I opened my eyes to her mesmerizing blue-gray gaze and felt an instant ping of connection in my chest.
“That…” she said, still breathing hard, “was kind of incredible.”
I growled, a grin curling my lips. “Kind of?”
“More than,” she admitted, grinning back. “My brain can’t come up with better adjectives, but it was those.”
I rolled to the side of her so I wouldn’t crush her, struggling to form full thoughts, then deciding full thoughts were overrated. “Stupendous,” I muttered.
Magnolia laughed. “That’s one.” Her chest rose under my arm with her inhalation. “Spectacular.”
“Mmm, yeah,” I managed.
“Wow,” she said, rolling onto her side, into me. “Was that, like, makeup sex?”
A laugh rolled out of me. “Seeing how we were mad for eighteen years, it’s going to take more than one time to work it out.
” As soon as I said it, I realized I was assuming a lot with that statement.
Maybe she was only in this for closure, or maybe it really was just her way of celebrating.
For me, it was instantly clear I wanted more.
“I could get behind that cause,” she whispered, running her fingers over my chest.
“Yeah? So this wasn’t just you using my body to burn off the exhilaration of the evening?”
“That’s just a side benefit.” She grinned lazily, then went serious. “It’s almost as if eighteen years of hating each other never happened. It’s like we picked up right where we left off.”
“Not exactly,” I argued. “I didn’t have the guts to get you naked back then.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. It set you apart, made you different. Special.”
“Being a coward made me special?”
She shook her head. “Wanting more than sex made you special. At least that’s what I thought until he who shall not be named ruined it.”
At the reminder of all the bullshit that man must’ve put her through, I pulled her to me, kissed her forehead. “It’s ironic,” I said, holding her. “He tore us apart before. Tonight, in a way, he brought us back together.”
“I’d like to think this would’ve happened even without his hateful existence.”
I nodded. “Let’s not give him credit for anything.”
We went quiet, thoughtful, until she broke the silence with a question.
“Is this just for tonight?” she asked hesitantly.
“I hope not,” I said, determined to communicate with her this time around even when it made me feel vulnerable. “I want…more.”
“Me too.”
“Good.” I breathed out my relief. Those two words gave me hope.
I didn’t know exactly what I wanted from this, from her, but I knew I’d be crushed if this was the last time we were together.
“It’s tricky though,” I continued. “My time is already spread thin, between tree season, working on the barn, and Addie.”
She nodded. “I know. We’ll just…steal time when we can.”
“You’re good with that?”
“It’s perfect. I’m trying to build my business up and rebuild my life. We don’t need to jump in too fast, right?”
“Mm-hmm,” I said as I ran my hand over her curves, noticing at once the chill in the air and the stirrings of my body. “Would it be considered jumping in fast if we went for another round tonight?”
“I’d consider that…efficient. Smart. Making the most of what time we do have.”
“I need to take care of the condom. Suit up again.”
“You came prepared.”
“Believe me when I say I had no idea where our evening was going before it started, but I’m liking it so far.”
She kissed my lips, then looked into my eyes. “Me too, Luke. Hurry back.”