Page 33 of Hot Times in Heart Falls, Vignettes Vol 3

She woke to soft fingers tracing down her spine and Tucker’s lips brushing her temple.

“Hey,” he whispered. “It’s just past four. You should sneak back into the house before the ranch starts moving.”

She blinked then stretched languidly, skin sliding over his, muscles humming. She’d go for a ride this morning. Pretend she was in the barn all night or something. “I also said I wanted to turn off my brain and just feel.” She pushed up onto an elbow. “And I’m not quite done with that yet.”

He grinned as she rolled back over him, this time more confident, more fluid. No elbow collisions or cramped limbs—just want, and warmth, and the easy rediscovery of shared pleasure.

It was quick, but full of feeling. Familiar, sweet, with little gasps of pleasure and whispered encouragement. Ginny came first, her face buried in his neck, and Tucker followed a breath later with a low moan and his fist clenched in the blanket.

They lay tangled, catching their breath. The trailer was still dim, winter dawn hours away from lighting the edges of the sky.

“We need a proper getaway,” Ginny offered when she finally got off the bed and reached for her underwear. “An actual trip. Tent, cabin, motel—hell, even a yurt.”

Tucker blinked at her, dragging on his shirt. “Yurt?”

“I’m saying I’m flexible. I can rough it. As long as there’s a shower nearby, I’m in.”

He sat up, dragging his fingers through his hair. “Chances are I’m going to be in Manitoba for the foreseeable future.”

“Then we meet somewhere in the middle,” she said easily. “Once a year for sure. Just us. No promises. Just…this.”

His heart tightened, a strange mix of ache and awe. “And if one of us is with someone?”

“Then we don’t,” she said, voice steady. “No drama. No regrets. But if we’re both free…”

“We’re on,” he finished.

They nodded and sealed the deal with a quiet understanding.

“And whenever you’re at Silver Stone,” she added as she tugged her boots on, “we’re friends first. First and always, got it?”

He stood, took her hand, and pulled her in for one last kiss. “You’re one in a million, goddess.”

Her grin curled, slow and pleased. “I like that nickname.”

“I like you.”

She kissed him again, soft and certain. “I’m glad you’re mine.”

Not forever. Not in every sense. But for now. For this night, this morning, the foreseeable future.

A sliver of stolen time—it was more than enough to be a start.