Melt For Him(69)

…

Her hands were on his waist, pulling up his navy-blue T-shirt as he shut the door behind them. She couldn’t keep her hands off him. She was dying to share her plan, but she wanted him now. Talking would need to be tabled. Contact came first. “Let’s do it on the stairs,” she said. “I can’t wait.”

“Trust me, I plan on fucking you on my stairs, and in my shower, and on the couch, and bent over the counter, but right now I am taking you back to my bedroom, and I am making love to you, and you’re not going to want to leave again.”

He picked her up, sensitive to her tender tattooed flesh, and slung her over his shoulder. He took the stairs two at a time. It was a possessive move, and a protective one, and it said everything she’d ever need to know about him. He was fierce, and he was gentle, and he was all she wanted. He carried her back to his bed and laid her down.

“And now, where did we leave off?” He tapped his index finger against his chin as if he were deep in thought, then smiled wickedly. She loved that he smiled so much with her. That he’d gone from brooding to a little less brooding.

She knew she hadn’t turned him into a new man. He was still Becker. He still had that loner side and probably always would. But at least he’d started to move beyond what had chased him here in the first place. “Ah, I seem to remember. I’d turned you into a rag doll, but you were starting to get ready for another round.”

“I’m ready.” She skimmed off her jeans and reached for his belt buckle, pulling him close. She angled her hips into him, her body a magnet needing its opposite. He dipped his hand into her panties, groaning when he felt her dampness.

“You’re so wet for me,” he said, his voice low and husky, his tone revealing how much he savored everything they had together. The connection, the desire, the love.

“I love the way you touch me. I love everything about it,” she said, her breathing already turning shallow as he stroked her.

“The feeling is so completely mutual.” He took her hand, showing her how aroused he was, pressing her palm against his erection, straining the denim of his jeans. He was so thick and hard, and she desperately needed to feel him. She unzipped his pants, slid them down his hips, and took his hard length in her hand. “Seems we’re a good fit,” she murmured. “Now, think you’ve got a condom you could put on right about now? Because I can’t wait anymore for you.”

He stepped out of his jeans all the way, removed his shirt, and rolled on a condom. He settled between her legs and sank into her. He stilled for a moment, took a deep breath, as if being inside her was sending him to another realm too.

Then he made love to her, soft and tender, stroking inside her, whispering to her all the things he loved about her, as she whimpered and gasped and thanked the world that they’d both come to their senses, because there was nothing better than this, than him, than them.

“Come with me now, Becker,” she whispered.

She wrapped her legs as tightly around him as she could, gripping his hips in her thighs, holding him deep as he groaned and she cried out, and they came together.

Then, as he held her close in his arms, she turned down his offer to move with her.

…

He tensed all over. “You don’t want me to go with you?”

Hell, he’d been crazy to suggest packing up everything and leaving town. That was kind of presumptuous, wasn’t it?

“No,” she said with a wild grin, like she had a fantastic secret.

“Then what?”

“I’m staying in town.”

His eyes widened in shock. “You are? But what about Portland? What about the tattoo shop and the job?”

“I’ll visit Portland. Besides, the reason I dreamed of going was that I didn’t have a place I wanted to stay. I was trying on new towns. Now I do have a place where I want to be. I want to stay here. Hidden Oaks is my home. My mom is here, Travis is here, the bookstore is here, Jamie’s here, my favorite coffee shop is here, and the river is here…” she said, letting her voice trail off in a tease.

“And? Anything else here that belongs on that list of your favorite things?”

“And you’re here,” she added, snuggling closer to him. “So I’m staying.”

“I’m officially the happiest man in the world now,” he said, and all the tension left his body. “But what are you going to do? I want you to be happy.”

“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”





Epilogue

Fall

She’d used many canvasses in the last few months, but Becker’s shoulder was by far her favorite. As she finished the final letter of his ink, she smiled to herself, pleased with her work. He’d been rock-solid in the chair, not flinching and barely tensing as she marked his skin. She hadn’t minded either that he’d been shirtless, though of course she’d seen him clothes-free countless times. Still, the look and feel of his beautiful body had not grown old. In fact, the more she had him, the more of him she wanted.