Tears stung her eyes, but she'd be damned if she was gonna let them fall. She also wasn't going to respond in words. She didn't need to. Didn't want to. She was falling hard for this man, and right now, words would just muck it up. She’d trip over what she wanted to say.
Instead, she straddled him, cupped his face, and kissed him, hard. It wasn't romantic, and it certainly wasn't pretty. It was wet, sloppy, and wild. It carried every emotion she had for Sterling that she'd been bottling up for months.
And the perfect man that he was, he didn't try to stop her, slow her down, or control her. He let her take charge and do what she wanted. What she needed.
Reaching between them, he guided himself to her, thrusting inside her, matching her desperation.
She broke the kiss, pressed her hands against his chest, and ground against him. His fingers tightened around her hips, and he locked gazes with her, holding her captive. Or maybe she held him.
It didn't matter.
They were together. Riding out the last wave of this moment. The connection between them was so intense. So real. So deep.
Her climax rippled through her body. It shook her muscles. Twisted her insides. She tensed as he thrust his hips, freezing for a long moment as his orgasm collided with hers.
She collapsed on top of him, nuzzling her face into his neck.
His fingers danced up and down his spine as his lips brushed against her shoulder. For a long moment, they held each other like that until their breathing settled into something normal again. Rolling her to the side, he pulled the covers over their bodies. He wrapped his arms around her as she snuggled in close, resting her head on his chest.
"I wouldn't be opposed to doing that again in the morning."
"That can be arranged." He kissed her temple.
She closed her eyes and let herself fade. For the first time since coming to Calusa Cove, the weight she carried had lessened. It was still there. And new pieces had been added.
But she wasn't carrying it alone.
Chapter Fifteen
The sun rose slowly over the inlet with the shade of pink that never lasted but managed to make its mark on the morning and on every postcard that came out of Calusa Cove. Sunrises like these were why Sterling loved living on the water. It allowed him to make peace with his past and it calmed his overactive brain.
He stood at the slider with his coffee and watched the color of the sky slowly bleed to blue. It was one of the most beautiful sights he'd ever seen—next to Juniper sprawled out beside him when he woke. Now, that was something he could get used to.
She moved behind him in the kitchen, her bare feet scuffing against the wood floor. The sound of a cabinet hinge opening and closing. Her mug settling on the counter. They weren't new noises, but they weren't ones he was used to hearing when he was standing at the door listening to the water lap against the shore. He'd spent enough nights in enough empty houses to know the difference between a place that was vacant and a place that was quiet. This was the latter and he liked it.
It was the kind of stillness that a man could get used to after years of being alone.
"You're doing it again." She came to stand beside him, shoulder to his arm, her own mug at her lips.
"Doing what?"
" Staring at the water with an expression like you've asked it a question and you're honestly expecting an answer."
"You mean my serious face you're always teasing me about."
"This one's different."
He raised his brow, and she took a sip of her coffee, hiding the grin curving her lips.
"Trust me, I’ve been surveilling you for months. This is the one where you're solving something while pretending to enjoy the view."
"I feel so violated." He glanced down at her and all he felt was happiness. Contentment stood next to him, dressed in one of his button-downs that hit her mid-thigh with a messy bun piled on top of her head.
"You absolutely do not." She raised her mug. "Besides, I was studying you because it's my literal job."
"Lucky you to have something so sexy to look at all these months." He put his free arm around her shoulders, and she leaned in.
"There are a lot of good-looking men in this town."
