Page 15

The dark around us feels thick. Nighttime in Silver Spoon Falls isn’t empty. It’s weighted, still. You can almost hear the grass outside sweating under dew. Inside, the air has cooled off, but her body is a goddamn furnace against me. My skin is sticky where her hair clings to it.

After a minute, the heat in my chest gets too big. I lean in, brush my mouth over her hair, and nuzzle the wild waves, breathing her in. My lips find the side of her forehead, soft as anything, then her temple, then down to where her jaw meets that slender neck.

I kiss her slowly, tasting sleep and vanilla and something I can’t fucking name except to call it home.

She stirs, mumbling, lashes fluttering. I do it again, more deliberate. My hand comes up, rough palm cupping her jaw, thumb brushing at her cheek. I tilt her face up so I can see her, really see her.

“Wake up, sweetheart,” I rasp, voice gone greedy. “We need a shower before we fall asleep for the night.”

She’s coming around now, beautiful and totally unaware. Her eyes blink open, confusion written all over her face. She tries to talk, but all that comes out is a broken little sound that makes my gut tighten.

I don’t let her get her bearings. I sweep the covers off her, exposing all that soft, flushed skin. Inez is gorgeous even when she’s half-asleep; she’s mine, and I want her moving with me, waking up to nothing but my hands on her.

She shivers, not from cold, but from the loss of the blanket and the way I stare at her.

“Come on.” I haul her in, arms bracing her beneath her thighs and shoulders, cradling her tightly to my chest. She’s soft, warm, and as compliant as a kitten. Her head sinks into the crook of my neck, hair spilling wild. She grabs at my biceps, half for balance, half for the pleasure of digging into my muscles.

I like the feeling. Fuck, I live for it.

She smells like last night and sleep and the hint of shampoo still lingering from this morning.

I nudge the bathroom door open with my shoulder. Then I set her gently on her feet, but I don’t let her go. Not really. I just pivot her so she’s in front of me, blinking up, hair stuck to her cheeks, looking so fucking beautiful.

She’s still mostly asleep. She hums something I can’t quite make out. Doesn’t matter. All that matters is the way our bodies fit together, skin to skin, muscle to curve, nothing between us but the stubborn fact that I’m not letting her leave. Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not ever, if I get my way.

And I always get my way.

I reach for the shower controls, one arm banded around her waist, the other twisting the tap until water hisses out hot enough to fog up the mirror. Steam curls around us, filling the bathroom.

I nuzzle the side of her head again and press a kiss to her temple, lips lingering. “You awake yet, baby?” I let the words feather in low, soft. She nods into my skin, then tilts her face up, sleepy eyes searching for mine.

“Nope.” Her mouth finds mine, slow and tentative. She tastes sleepy, needy. I answer that with a kiss that tells her, plain and simple, how much I want her. Our breaths mingle, steam already rising, heat layering off both of us.

My hands move along her sweet body. I grip her by the hips, haul her snug to my front, then slide my palms over her slick curves. The water makes her even softer, skin slick and hot. My cock is already hard, bumping against her thigh, desperate for friction.

Inez doesn’t hesitate. She moves with me, palms skating up my chest, nails scratching tracks through the water. She latches her hands at the nape of my neck and drags my mouth down to hers.

The first kiss is a slow burn. Wet lips, water and salt, the pure goddamn taste of her tongue sliding against mine. Her hips roll up, grinding against my cock, and the second my dick makes contact with the heat between her thighs, I lose patience for gentle.

Her arms lock around my shoulders, and she climbs me like a fucking tree, ankles crossing at my lower back. Her tits mash up against my chest, nipples gone diamond-hard in the blast of the water. I eat at her mouth, biting her lower lip, tonguing deep until she moans into me.

My hands go lower, squeezing her ass, rough and greedy. I palm her full ass, then slip two fingers down between us, spreading her open under the onslaught of the spray.

She’s soaked, and not from the shower. I find her clit, rub it in tight circles, and she bucks in my hold, breath catching on a ragged gasp.

My mouth finds her neck. I bite, then suck a bruising mark just under her ear, wanting everyone on the goddamn ranch to know she belongs to me. “Silas,” she whimpers, voice thin from need.

“I got you, sweet girl,” I rumble back, burying my hand deeper between her legs. She spreads for me, lets me finger her right there under the water, wet and wild, desperate for every inch.

I slide two fingers up inside her, hard and fast, curling until I feel her clamp down around me. She strangles my hand, muscles tightening as I thumb her clit. Her whole body locks up. She breaks the kiss to pant against my chin, leaving teeth marks in my shoulder.

“Fuck, that’s it. Come for me.” I twist my wrist, igniting every nerve ending she has. She falls apart, legs jerking, nails raking down my sides as the orgasm rips through her. She sobs my name, voice shredded.

I hold her through it, steady and sure, never letting her fall.

But I’m not done. Not by a goddamn mile.

Once her tremors slow, I set her down and turn her to face the glass. Her hands splay on the steamed-up pane, leaving desperate streaks and fingerprints. Her ass is round and perfect, water streaming down the cleft, begging to be taken.