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Mara straddled his hips. His hands rested lightly on her thighs as their eyes met, and everything seemed to slow.

Either of them could still have stopped, but Mara had no desire to.

She lifted herself and guided him to her before sinking slowly down. Her eyes closed as he filled her, and for a moment she stayed still, letting her body adjust to him.

Gabe’s hands moved to her hips, but he didn’t urge her on. He waited until Mara opened her eyes and began to move.

At first, she took her time, finding a rhythm that felt right. Gabe moved with her, his hands stroking her as she rose and lowered herself onto him, and Mara leaned forward to kiss him.

She had wondered what it would be like. The reality was warmer, closer, and more intimate than anything she had imagined. She was aware of every place their bodies touched, his hands moving over her, his mouth beneath hers, and the fullness of him inside her.

Beneath it all was the strange certainty that had been growing since she came to Bear Creek.

She was exactly where she wanted to be.

Gabe rolled them, and Mara gave a small laugh as she landed beneath him, but the sound became a gasp when he drove into her. She wrapped her legs around him as his mouth found hers.

Mara ran her hands over his shoulders and down his back.

“You feel so good,” Gabe murmured against her mouth.

“So do you.”

His hand slipped between them, and the first stroke of his fingers made Mara arch against him. Pleasure climbed quickly this time, building on the sensitivity left from her first climax, and she pressed closer to him.

She didn’t want to think about how many days she had left in Bear Creek. She didn’t want to think about going home or what happened when this vacation ended.

Not now.

Gabe kissed her, his fingers moving over her again, and Mara lost the thought completely.

Her climax caught her hard and fast. She cried his name as her body tightened around him, her fingers digging into his shoulders while pleasure rolled through her.

Gabe groaned against her neck. His rhythm faltered, and a moment later he thrust deeply into her and went still as his own climax overtook him.

For a while, they didn’t move. The room was quiet except for their breathing, and Mara kept her arms around him until Gabe finally shifted onto his side and drew her with him.

She curled against him without thinking, resting her cheek on his chest with one leg tangled between his. His heart was still beating hard beneath her ear, and she smiled as her eyes drifted closed.

Worth the wait.

Definitely worth the wait.

CHAPTER 18

Gabe

Gabe woke at the same time he always did. Early. For a few seconds he stayed exactly where he was, warm beneath the covers with Mara asleep against him and the room still dark except for the faintest gray light beginning to show around the curtains.

Her head rested against his shoulder, one arm lay across his chest, and her bare leg was tangled with his beneath the quilt. Gabe could feel the slow rhythm of her breathing against his skin.

His bear gave a deep, satisfied rumble inside him. Stay.

Gabe smiled into the darkness. I have a bakery.

You have Matilda, his bear reminded him.

Matilda doesn’t come in until later this morning. And while I know she would always come if it’s a real emergency, calling her this early in the morning and expecting her to bake is unfair.