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He moved closer and cupped her cheek. “Joe will call if Ritchie needs you, and then we’ll go get him, okay?”
Her eyes widened at his use ofwe, but she nodded.
That settled, he tugged the end of the tie at her waist. The robe fell open, and his eyes devoured her lovely body. He lowered her onto the bed and took his time reacquainting himself with every inch of her. When she cried out her release, he kept kissing and touching her until she pulled his hair, hard.
“Now please.” The words came out in a low hiss.
Ford sheathed himself with a condom and tugged her to the edge of the bed. Rolling her over, he lifted Autumn to her knees and slid inside her from behind.
He kept his thrusts slow and steady until he felt the beginning tremors of her orgasm. She clenched around him hard, moaning out his name, and he lost what control he had and climaxed with her.
Breathless, they lay there entwined, and Ford wondered when he’d ever experienced sex like they’d just shared.Never, was his instant reply.
He eased out of her arms, used the bathroom, and then climbed in beside her. Turning off the light, Ford pulled her close, her head resting on his shoulder.
“You go to sleep now, Ford. I’ll watch over you, okay?”
“Okay,” he whispered into the dark. He felt humbled and off-balance that she’d say those words. He tightened his grip on her, enjoying the feel of her pressed to his side.
Ford shut down his thoughts and lay in the dark with Autumn. Her fingers traced a circle over his chest. Soft touches, whisper soft. In minutes, he felt sleep dragging him under.
Chapter22
Autumn had woken alone in her bed. Ford had told her he had to leave early and head back to the ranch, last night, but she missed him. How she could miss him after a single night she didn’t know, but she did.
Today was volleyball practice, so not giving herself too much time to think about the best orgasms of her life and what she and Ford had talked about last night, she’d washed, dressed, and driven to the rec center. Now she was standing in the gym, surrounded by Trainers/Howards and other Ryker Falls locals.
Ritchie had hugged her when he arrived, telling her he’d had the best night and wanted to have a sleepover at their place next. She’d assured him they could, and he’d run off to play on the bleachers, monitored by Aunt Jess, Mandy, and Rory, who was supposed to be playing but was suffering with morning sickness.
“Bailey says your son has better manners than our kids and we need to work harder on that,” Joe said from beside her.
“If it helps, your kids are really polite at school.”
“It does, thanks.” He shot her a grin. “So did you enjoy your first night alone in Ryker Falls?”
Autumn kept her eyes on the kids playing.
She should feel awkward or shocked at what she’d done. Autumn was neither of those things. What she was inside was happy, and as a serial overthinker, that scared her. She’d been happy with Nick, or so she thought.
Ford hasn’t offered you anything.
But she’d felt close to him in more than a physical way last night. They’d talked, really talked, about Nick and what happened to Ford. It had felt easy to open up to him.
“Autumn?”
“Yes,” she said quickly. “It was lovely. Thanks, Joe.”
“Jack told me Ford turned up at knitting club. Nice guy, Ford Winter. A bit deep, holds stuff close, but a good guy.”
Did he know?
“He seems nice.”
“Nash says he always takes responsibility for everyone. I’m like that.” Joe’s smile was slightly crooked. “It’s an eldest-sibling thing.”
He was a good-looking man, but he just didn’t make her heart thud like Ford did.
“It’s built into our DNA. We have these siblings who annoy the crap out of us, but we still have to watch over them. Bleed for them if need be. Sometimes we’re stubborn with it, but the intent is always the same. Protect.” Joe’s eyes went to the people messing around by the volleyball net. She knew he found his people—Jack, Luke, Nixon, Pip, and Bailey, plus the others. Children, friends, family.
