Rescued by Love(44)

He kissed her softly, a feathery tease of a kiss, rousing more than passion, more than pure lust. He roused her very soul.

“Do you love me, Addison?” he whispered. “Really, truly love me? Because I’m pretty sure all this hollering is us, and I’m not sure that’s ever going to change.”

“I don’t want it to.” A laugh bubbled up with more tears. “You’re the key to my Pandora’s box. You unchained my heart.” Their connection sparked hotter, burned deeper. A forever burn. “You’re my stormy night, and I am truly, deeply, and definitely madly in love with you.”

“Then shut up and kiss me, stubborn girl, before I read you the riot act for scaring the shit out of me.”

When his lips met hers, warm and soft but gloriously firm and demanding, she surrendered to the love that had been building for months. Heat scorched through her, exploding like fireworks in her chest and setting free a world of deeper emotions, greedier desires. She tore at his shirt, covered his chest with kisses, touching every bit of flesh she was able. The next few minutes were a blur of clothing flying through the air and desperate kisses as they stumbled to the sleeping bag in a tangle of limbs, laughing and kissing and touching like they’d never get enough of each other. Jake came down over her, his thick thighs parting hers, his strong arms gathering her as close as he possibly could. He gazed into her eyes and she knew. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was her destiny.

“I need you, Jake,” she confessed. “I need you. Not a conquest, not a good fuck, but the heart and soul of my stubborn, gruff caveman who knows exactly how to love me. I love you, and I don’t want to explore without you anymore.”

“You have me, baby, every minute of every day.”

“Even when I get scared and ornery?” She clung to his arms, a little fearful of the answer.

“When you’re scared, ornery, flirty, and even when you need a smack on that incredible ass of yours. I get you, Addy, and I always will.”





Chapter Twenty-Three





JAKE STOOD IN the center of the stream, water swirling around his hips, sunlight reflecting off the gentle ripples as he soaped up his chest. The muscles in his back flexed and bunched even with the slightest of efforts. Addy licked her lips, hungry for him even though it had been three days since he’d arrived on the mountain and they’d made love so many times she’d lost count. He got her. Really, truly understood her. All those months of flirtation and friendship came tumbling forward on Pirate’s Peak. They loved like they needed each other to breathe, and after three incredible, sexy, loving, truth-telling days, she was even more in love with him.

He glanced over his shoulder, flashing his cockiest grin yet, and like metal to magnet, her core flamed.

“Are you going to bring that hot little body over here, or just stare at my ass?”

“I’d rather stare at your front, but you’re selfishly keeping that to yourself.” She motioned for him to turn around, which he did, blessing her with an even more glorious view. Water slid like a river down his impossibly broad chest, over beautifully sculpted abs to that tempting vee that disappeared beneath the surface.

He stalked toward her with a predatory look in his eyes, reminding her of the way he’d approached her the night of Gabriella’s wedding. Her pulse spiked, and she glided backward through the water, teasing her man and taking great pleasure in the growing hunger in his gaze.

“Afraid?” he asked.

“Never,” she said, and this time, unlike at Gabriella’s wedding, she was being honest. She was no longer afraid of the emotions he stirred in her. She craved them, reveled in them, and she let him know every second she could.

“Then why are you running from me?” He moved swiftly through the water, and she continued walking backward.

“Running? I like to think of it as whetting your appetite.”

He lunged, catching her and lifting her into his arms. She shrieked with delight, winding her legs around his waist.

“You can’t escape us, sexy girl.” He nuzzled against her neck and nipped at her earlobe, sending shivers down her spine. “You’re mine.”

“Prove it,” she challenged.

He lifted her up and drove her down on his eager shaft, filling her so completely, she could barely breathe. The forgiving water slid over her heated flesh, bringing rise to goose bumps.

Staring into her eyes with a look of pure possession as he masterfully lifted and lowered her onto his cock to a slow, torturous rhythm, he said, “We’re playing by my rules now, sweet thing, and I see our future in your eyes.”

She pushed her fingers into his hair and took hold of his thick locks. “Are you telling me what to do, Mr. Ryder?”

“Yes.”

The single word hit her in the center of her chest. His face was a mask of anticipation and worry, but no longer did her past own her. It was no match for her incredibly full heart.

“Then you better make it worth my while, or my Neanderthal boyfriend will kick your ass.”

With a groan and a toe-curling kiss, he carried her to the muddy banks, laid her on her back, and amid the mud and muck, he pushed into her.

“I love you so damn much, Addy.”

“Not nearly as much as I love you.”

“I know. I told you, I see our future in your eyes.”

She drew him to her, kissing him deeply. Their lovemaking was raw and rough, sensual and sweet. And when he rolled onto his back, squishing into the mud as she straddled his hips, muddy handprints on his chest, covering her thighs, her breasts, their entire bodies, she’d never experienced anything as beautiful. How was it possible that every time they made love was more intense than the last? Emotions she once feared grew deeper, stronger, more consuming with every breath she took.

She gazed down at the sexual beast beneath her and froze. Still as a tree.

“Move, baby,” he pleaded. “I need to feel you move.”

A slow grin spread across her lips. “What do you see in my eyes now, Mr. Ryder?”



TORTURE DIDN’T BEGIN to describe the way it felt when Addy held Jake at bay. Her tight heat enveloped him. Her delicate hands played over his pecs. She knew her touch drove him crazy. She owned every ounce of him, and he knew by the look in her eyes that she didn’t doubt it anymore. Her tangled, muddy hair clung to her shoulders and breasts, making her look even sexier than moments earlier. His muddy handprints were all over her, and like a beacon of their love, her tattoo remained clear of dirt. She was his fierce, passionate, smart, no-boundaries girl. His friend, his lover.

My soul mate.

He gazed into her eyes, loving the challenge she posed, but he wasn’t giving in. He did see their future in her eyes. The night on Pirate’s Peak had changed everything. All her walls had crumbled down, and she’d finally let him in.

“What do you see in my eyes now, Mr. Ryder?” she repeated.

He wasn’t about to lie and say he didn’t see their future, but he knew better than to push his girl. “The need to come,” he finally answered in the low voice that he knew made her sex twitch. And man, did he like that tight little squeeze.

She pressed her lips together, obviously annoyed that he’d sparked a reaction she couldn’t control. He clutched her hips, lifting her easily along the length of his cock. She dug her nails into his forearms, trying to put all her strength into remaining still, but he knew just how to torture the woman he loved, and love her he did. They’d spent the last three days hiking, talking, and making love. She told him about her parents’ and her grandmother’s stifling, loveless marriages, and how all she wanted was to be loved for who she was. I don’t want to wake up one day and find you looking at me differently. She was so tough, but so vulnerable, with insecurities that were well founded, but not with him. He’d told her just that. When you’re old and gray, with wrinkles and boobs that hang to your waist, you’ll still be my sexy girl with a sassy mouth that’s spent fifty years giving me shit. And I’ll love you fifty zillion times as much as I do now.

Pushing aside the talks that strengthened their bond, he focused on pleasuring his gorgeous, stubborn girl. He brought one hand between them, teasing over her most sensitive nerves.

“You can do that all you want,” she said. Her eyelids fluttered, belying her challenging tone.

He continued slow, rhythmic thrusts, moving in time to every stroke of his thumb. “Come for me, baby.”

“I’m not going…Oh, God…” She bit her lower lip, and he thrust harder. “Not going to…come until I’m good and ready.”

“Fuck me, baby,” he said as sweetly as he could manage. “You know you want to.” Their lovemaking, like the rest of their relationship, was a wild storm. A beautiful, powerful typhoon.

She moaned through gritted teeth, her slick heat tightening around his cock.

Forcing her eyes open, she glared at him. “What do you see now?”

He swept her beneath him again and drove into her hard. The air whooshed from her lungs, and he claimed her in a punishingly intense kiss. She returned the kiss with fervor, taking him higher with every stroke of her tongue, every sweet, needy moan.

He tore away long enough to say, “I love you so fucking much. Come for me, beautiful,” before taking her in another electric kiss.