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Bending over, Colton kissed me and replaced his fingers with his cock, pushing inside of me to the base. The vibration stopped, a thud sounding somewhere across the room.
I wrapped my legs around his waist as he thrust inside me, over and over, as we both grunted and groaned with each other.
His skin against mine. His body so damn close. His mouth moving with mine, stealing my breath, making me dizzy.
The words slipped out, fueled by the heat of the moment, by the emotions clawing their way to the surface.
“I love you.”
Colton stilled for just a second, his rhythm faltering. Then, with one more thrust, he broke away from the kiss, his breath ragged as he caught my gaze.
“I. Love. You.” Emphasizing each word as he slammed into me.
The intensity in his gaze, those blue eyes like icicles as they saw right through me. The eye contact didn’t break as Colton fucked me hard, watching every tick of my expression as it shifted in pleasure.
“Come for me, baby.”
On the brink of emotion, I fell into the arousal and let go as I released.
I was swollen and sensitive as Colton slowly pulled out of me, his arms collapsing around me as he caught his breath. My own heart pounded in my ears, a deafening rhythm that matched the chaos inside me.
Neither of us moved. Neither of us spoke.
I didn’t know what to say and didn’t have the mental strength for a wise-ass comment or witty response.
Instead, we crawled under the sheets, bodies tangled, skin still damp, neither of us caring about the mess we’d made. The silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable—it was heavy, weighted with everything we weren’t saying.
That tonight was over, that this was our final goodbye.
That’s how we ended the night. Wrapped in each other. Avoiding the inevitable.
Sleep was elusive, but we didn’t fight it. Instead, we lay there, letting the minutes stretch, letting time slip through our fingers like sand. Holding on, even when we knew we couldn’t.
Colton’s thumb rubbed soft circles on my forearm as he held me close to his body. Trying and failing, I attempted to hold back the tears that formed in my eyes. Each one fell, landing on Colton’s chest. Instead of answering, he kissed me on the head, letting his lips linger for a moment in a way that told me he felt it too.
And in the morning, before the sun had fully risen, I slipped out of bed while Colton still slept.
No whispered goodbye.
No final glance.
Just the quiet sound of the door closing behind me.
Chapter 43
Eleanor
3 weeks later
SLAMMING MY LAPTOP shut, I was done. Done for the night. Hell, done for the entire month.
Since returning from Stone Ranch, I’d been emotionally wrecked. Every moment was a battle against regret—regret for leaving before Colton woke up, for slipping out like a coward. Regret for letting my emotions, once again drive reaction to run. But I had to.
I’d almost caved and thrown away everything to be with him. But I couldn’t. It would never work. I had to keep telling myself that.
My mind was a mess. I wasn’t myself, and I knew it. But with time, things would level out. I’d spent my whole life not knowing Colton existed, so logically, I should be able to go back to being normal Eleanor.
Yet every time I closed my eyes, I saw him.
