by London James
His rhythm is steady and powerful. He pumps his hips, driving his long, thick cock deep into me. He’s quickly bringing me to the brink again, and I hold onto him tighter, arching my back and try to urge him on. He growls as he buries himself within me and I know he’s getting close.
I pull myself up and kiss him hard; our tongues swirl together, and I feel myself being drawn inexorably to that precipice of ecstasy.
“Come for me, Baker,” I whisper in his ear. “Fill me up with your hot come.”
A sound more animal than human escapes him as he starts to thrust himself into me with wild abandon. He pounds his cock into me over and over again, his breathing becoming more labored with each thrust of his hips.
“Come for me, baby,” I say. “I want to feel you explode in my pussy.”
Baker throws his head back and cries out at the same moment I feel his cock pulsing inside of me. He groans and calls out my name as he pulses, and I know he’s filling the condom with his hot seed. Feeling him throbbing inside of me, I look into his eyes and feel my own body let go. I moan as I’m gripped by another powerful orgasm that leaves me trembling and sputtering.
Together, we ride out the waves of pleasure that have enveloped us, both of us seemingly content to sink down into the warm afterglow.
We lay together, our bodies intertwined. I lay my head on his chest and listen to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. The thunder crashes, and the lightning flares outside. It truly does sound like the world is ending, but I don’t care. I’m right where I want to be, and I’m happy. As scary as it is, I am happy.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Baker
I wake before she does and slip out of bed, careful to not wake her. I pull on my jeans and a t-shirt, then head down the hallway. Stabler greets me at the kitchen, wagging his tail and gives me the look.
“Okay, buddy, I got ya.”
I go into the mudroom and pull on a pair of boots, then open up the back door. Stabler bounds out, barking at the birds outside. The small flock takes wing with a flutter of feathers and squawks, clearly put out by the furry interloper.
The storm broke at some point during the night, and as I step outside, I see that the rain finally gave way to some snow. The backyard is covered in a thin layer of fresh powder. The world is silent and still, and frankly, absolutely beautiful covered in that thin sheen of white.
Stabler seems to approve as he’s dashing back and forth in it, burying his face in the snow, happy as a clam in it. I give him a little time to do his business, and eventually, he gets cold enough to run back to the house, shaking the snow from his coat before he goes inside.
I follow him in and shut the door, then strip off my boots. I step into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. With the coffee brewing, I rummage around in the refrigerator, looking for something to put on for breakfast. I settle on pancakes and set about frying up some bacon and getting the batter ready. I’m going to have to head into town to stock up on some essentials soon. With another storm bearing down on us – this one supposedly far bigger than the one that hit us last night – I don’t want us getting caught without some of the basics.
As I cook, I’m mentally putting together my shopping list. Isla walks in, hugging her arms to her chest, looking incredibly sleepy. Even wearing her yoga pants from last night, and an oversized t-shirt and her hair sticking out in a million different directions, she’s drop-dead gorgeous. She’s an absolute beauty, and I have to physically restrain myself from dropping what I’m doing and taking her right there on the kitchen floor. She’s like a drug, and I can’t get enough of her.
“Good morning,” I manage to say.
“Morning.”
I pour a cup of coffee and set it on the counter for her. She gives me a grateful smile and fixes her coffee up, barely waiting for it to cool before she takes a long swallow. I sip from my mug as I flip the bacon and start up the pancake griddle.
“Hope you like pancakes,” I say.
“I think I do,” she replies. “I mean, who doesn’t. Right?”
“Right.”
Cradling her cup of coffee, she wanders over to the window and stares out at the wintery landscape beyond the windows.
“It snowed,” she exclaims.
“A little bit, yeah,” I say. “It’s not going to last too long though.”
She turns to me with a mischievous glint in her eye. “We have to go out and play in it,” she grins. “Can we?”
I laugh. “Of course,” I say. “After breakfast.”
Like a couple of schoolkids anxious to get outside and play, Isla and I hurry through breakfast, shoveling in mouthfuls of food. Stabler sits beside the table, the beneficiary of our rush, as he got more bacon than he probably should have. But we indulge him anyway.
Food done, we put the dishes in the sink.
“I wash, you dry?” she asks.
“We’ll get those later,” I tell her.
She looks at me like I’ve grown a second head. Apparently, she’s noticed my type-A tendencies. A rueful laugh escapes me, and I shake my head.
“The snow probably isn’t going to hang around long,” I explain. “We should go play in it while we can.”
A wide smile splits her face, and she squeals with excitement. Isla turns and runs off for the bedroom. While she’s dressing, I do the dishes quickly anyway. Stabler is sitting by the door with a big goofy grin on his face, his tail swishing back and forth on the floor behind him. Cleary, he’s excited to get out into the snow as well. He gives me a gentle chuff to hurry me along.
“Just hang on a minute, buddy,” I say. “We have to wait for Isla.”
“Your wait is over.”
I turn around and drink her in. She’s in a different pair of yoga pants, a big, baggy sweatshirt, and tennis shoes. Not exactly snow gear, but it’s not exactly a proper snow out there. It’ll do. She puts her hands on her hips and gives me a tsk tsk tsk.
“Couldn’t help yourself, huh?” she asks.
I shrug. “I had a few minutes to kill.”
“I didn’t take that long.”
“Long enough for me to do all the dishes,” I say and chuckle.
Stepping into the mudroom, I throw on my boots. Stabler is chuffing with excitement, his whole body wiggling. I look up and see that Isla practically is too.
“You act like you’ve never seen snow,” I tell her.
“And how would I know one way or the other?” she chides me.
I laugh out loud. “Good point.”
“Aren’t you going to put on a coat or at least a sweatshirt?” she asks, pointing to the t-shirt I’m wearing.
I shrug. “It’s not too bad outside, actually. I’ll be fine.”
“Do you think suffering like that is going to impress me?” she asks, arching an eyebrow at me.
“Depends, is it working?”
She laughs and playfully slaps me in the chest.
My boots laced up, I open the back door. Stabler explodes out of the house, chasing what might be the same flock of birds from earlier away again. Isla follows him out and exclaims in wonder as she wanders around the backyard, taking in the natural beauty of the season’s first snow.
I have no doubt that being a resident of Grizzly Ridge, that she’s seen her fair share of snow. We get at least one nasty blizzard a year here, so she’s probably endured that too. But, seeing her wander around, touching the fresh powder, a look of absolute glee upon her face is priceless. She looks like a child experiencing something magical for the first time. Her face is so full of innocence and wonder, and I could watch her immersing herself in the wintery landscape all day long.
But then, a wicked streak overtakes me, and I know what I have to do. Reaching down as unobtrusively as I can, I gather up a big handful of snow. I pack it firmly – though not too firmly – and when Isla has her back to me, exclaiming over this or that, I reach back and fire my icy projectile at her. The snowball catches her square in the back, and she lurches fo
rward like she’d just been hit by a truck.
Isla turns around and looks at me with wide eyes and a mischievous smile upon her lips. “Did you really just hit me with a snowball?”
I shrug. “Trying to give you the full winter experience since it’s your first time again and all. I’d hate for you to feel cheated.”
“Oh, that’s so kind of you.”
“I do what I can.”
Isla giggles and quickly scoops up a handful of snow, then hurls it at me. It’s wildly off the mark, but mine isn’t. We laugh and squeal, hurling snowball after snowball at each other as we run around the yard. Stabler is running between us, bouncing and barking up a storm and joining in the fun of the moment. Not wanting him to feel left out, I dump a handful of snow over his head. He chuffs loudly and runs in a circle, shaking the powder out of his fur.
As I stand there laughing at him, one of Isla’s snowballs finally hits its mark. It catches me square in the face, sending a spray of ice down my shirt, not to mention into my mouth. I sputter and gasp, unable to control the laughter.
Isla joins me in my laughter and is then there by my side, helping wipe the snow from my hair. Still holding a fistful of snow that just hasn’t been packed into a proper projectile yet, I do the next best thing with it. I grab the waistband of her yoga pants, pull them out, and throw the snow inside. She squeals with shock and starts dancing around, trying to shake the snow out of her pants. Of course, being skin-tight yoga pants, she’s not having a whole lot of luck. Her eyes are wide, and although she’s feigning outrage, she can’t quite stop herself from laughing.
“Cheater,” she says. “You suck!”
I shrug. “All’s fair in love and snowballs.”
“Oh my God,” she howls as she struggles to scoop the rapidly melting snow out of her pants.
I double over with laughter, our combined voices echoing around the forest just beyond the walls of my house. The morning has been absolutely perfect. More than perfect. I don’t think the English language has a word for just how wonderful the morning has been. I honestly can’t remember the last time I had this much fun. It’s been ages. Longer than that, probably.
It’s been years since I’ve laughed or felt as genuinely happy as I have the last few days. It’s been years since I’ve felt so emotionally complete or fulfilled. Not since Jenny died. Isla has brought feelings within me I thought were long dead back to life. She’s like Doctor Frankenstein or something, and it almost makes me want to shout, ‘It’s alive!’
I have no idea what this thing between us is. I have no idea what to call it. Maybe though, Isla was put into my life for – among other reasons – to teach me patience and to loosen up a bit. Maybe, her job is to teach me that not everything can be classified, labeled, or have a name put to it – nor should it. And that it’s okay to just go with something and let it play out without obsessing over every last detail, over making sure it’s properly categorized. Maybe she’s here to teach me that it’s okay to just enjoy something and allow myself to grow with it slowly.
The more I think about it, I think that might be right. There is no need to rush to categorize what this thing is between Isla and me. She and I clearly both feel something for each other. And when I look into her eyes, I want to believe I see that it’s something as deep and profound for her as it is for me.
In a way – and even though she’s the one with amnesia – we’re both getting a fresh start. Just like I told her recently, we’re both free to construct our worlds the way we see fit. At the time, it was something of a platitude meant to encourage her, but I see now, that it’s a statement that applies to me and my life as well. I remember every last excruciating detail of my past. I’m still haunted by decisions I’ve made, as well as the fallout from those decisions. But, by and large, it’s well within my power to control how the future plays out and what sort of life I’m going to lead.
And I want to construct a future that includes Isla.
I pull her to me and look down into those dazzling green eyes. She looks up at me with a look of sheer rapture on her face, red ruddy cheeks, and a smile wider and fuller than the forest beyond those walls. In that moment, my heart swells to the point it feels like it’s about to burst with all the emotion I feel for her.
Leaning down, I press my lips to hers and kiss her deeply, passionately, and with every ounce of emotion behind it. And as we stand there in the rapidly melting snow, I swear I feel the same sort of emotion I feel for her, radiating from her lips and back into mine.
I pull her close and just hold her, reveling in the sensation of her body so close to mine. It feels so perfect; I never want that moment to end. Ever.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Baker
“Can you think of anything you need while I’m out?” I ask her.
She’s sitting at the breakfast table, Stabler content to lie at her feet. The world beyond the windows behind her is rapidly becoming less white. Even though it’s still cold outside, it’s not sustain-the-ice-and-snow cold. Low forties will melt a covering of snow as thin as we’d gotten pretty efficiently.
Somehow though, with the melting snow washing the world down, everything looks cleaner. Purer. Which somehow makes it look even more beautiful and majestic. I really love living out in this place, as small and limited as a town like Grizzly Ridge is.
“Nothing I can really think of,” she says. “Something sweet, maybe?”
“What, I’m not enough for you?” I chuckle and flash her a little grin.
“I was thinking more of something to eat,” she teases back.
“Well gee, I seem to recall –”
“Stop right there,” she giggles, her cheeks flushing. “You are incorrigible.”
I pull Isla to her feet and wrap her in a tight embrace. I look down, staring into her eyes and smile.
“You bring it out in me,” I say.
“Clearly.”
I give her a soft, chaste kiss and relish the feel of her body melting into mine. She feels so right in my arms. And yet, it reminds me of just how fleeting and fragile life can be. It reminds me that she can be taken away from me in a heartbeat. We’re living in this safe, protected bubble out here on my land, removed from the world and all the troubles and dangers it poses.
But, with Hernan’s men running around the town, it’s only a matter of time before those troubles and dangers are going to show up on my doorstep.
“You okay?”
I look down at her again and see a look of mild concern flash through her eyes.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I tell her.
“Where’d you go?”
I shrug. “Nowhere worth mentioning.
I let go of her and step back, doing my best to keep the mood light. She can see that something’s troubling me though and takes my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“You know, for as screwed up as this situation is, the time we’ve spent together is the happiest I think I’ve ever been.”
A rueful chuckle passes my lips. “That you remember,” I say. “And your memory only extends back a few days now.”
She gives me a sweet smile. “This is one of those things that I just feel to be true deep in my bones, Baker,” she replies. “Sometimes, I think my old memories creep out from behind that wall in my head. Kind of like how I knew books have always been important to me. I can honestly say this time I’ve spent with you is the happiest I’ve ever been and know it’s a true statement.”
I pull her to me again and kiss her deeply. So much emotion is passed between us with that kiss that it makes my heart lurch and fills me once again, with the absolute ironclad certainty that I will do whatever it takes to protect Isla and her baby.
She represents a second chance for me. A second chance to live the life I’ve always dreamed of. Maybe I shouldn’t be putting that kind of pressure on myself – or her – but I never thought I’d get another opportunity to be with such an amazing woman or to start a family with her. No, the baby
isn’t mine, but I’m as committed to protecting it every bit as fiercely as I’m committed to protecting Isla.
Maybe it’s crazy – hell, it probably is – but in a way, I feel like I’m fighting for my family. And there is nothing more dangerous than a man fighting for his family.
“Okay, I should go,” I say. “We’ve got another storm bearing down on us, and I want to beat it back.”
“Are you sure I can’t come with you?”
I shake my head. “One, I’ll move quicker on my own,” I tell her. “Two, with Hernan’s men in town, there is no way in hell I’m going to run the risk of putting you out on the street.”
She pouts but nods. I know it’s more about being with me, rather than just getting out of the house, and I feel bad for closing the door on that. But I’m going to keep her and the baby safe at all costs. Which means not giving in to what my heart wants and not doing something stupid.
In the blink of an eye though, her demeanor changes. She bites her bottom lip and looks up at me, a flirty little expression on her face. She reaches down and strokes me through my jeans. I close my eyes and let the sensations of her hands on my rapidly thickening cock wash over me.
“Hurry back,” she purrs. “I may need to put something sweet in my mouth soon.”
She takes her hand away and is giving me a lopsided little grin. My body is humming with a carnal electricity, and my cock is begging for release. It’s all I can do to keep my hands off her. Right now, I need to focus and take care of business. Work before play.
Damn, I hate being a grown-up sometimes.
“I’ll be back before you know it,” I say.
“I certainly hope so.”
“And you say I’m incorrigible.”
She shrugs. “I never said I wasn’t.”
I laugh as I turn and head for the door, feeling for all the world like I’m walking on sunshine.
My first stop is at Ed’s Sporting Supply Store. I’ve been there a number of times and have an easy rapport with Ed. He’s a fellow veteran, though he never actually saw combat. There are days I wish I hadn’t either. He’s a good man though and always manages to get me what I need, even if he doesn’t have it on the shelf.
