by A. K. Evans
But it felt good.
God, did it feel good.
Marley released me from her mouth, dropped her tongue to the base, and licked up my entire length. When she made it to the top, she opened her mouth again. But this time, she didn’t just cover the head.
She went deeper.
Her mouth.
Fuck, her mouth was so warm.
Warm and wet.
There was no longer any doubt in my mind. I was the luckiest man on the planet. It didn’t matter that I’d waited years for this. I’d have waited a lifetime for her. For this.
Marley worked up a steady rhythm, taking me as deep as she could and stroking me at the same time. And for a girl who claimed to lack stamina, there was no shortage of it now.
She licked and sucked with endless enthusiasm. And it was that level of dedication to what she was doing that had me edging closer to that point of no return.
And when she shifted her gaze up my body until her eyes locked with mine, I knew there was no stopping it.
“Baby, I’m going to come,” I warned her in case she didn’t want me to come in her mouth.
That warning did not stop Marley. In fact, it only served to motivate her. Marley worked me harder, moaning louder as she took me higher. All I could do was reach down, grip her hair in my hand, and hold on as she pushed me over the edge.
It wasn’t until she’d taken every last drop that Marley finally freed me from the confines of her mouth. She looked up at me and smiled.
Neither one of us said any words for several long moments. But eventually, I was the one to break the silence.
“You won this game,” I told her.
Marley’s face lit up seconds before she burst out laughing. I gave myself a few minutes to watch that before I flipped her to her back, yanked her bottoms down, and took her there with my mouth.
And by the time that happened, I was ready to go again.
So, I grabbed a condom, put it on, and Marley climbed on top.
In the end, it was safe to assume we’d both come out as winners.
Eighteen
Marley
“This is much better than the last time.”
Mack’s declaration left me confused.
The last time?
This was the first time I’d ever been to Hidden Lake, so I wasn’t entirely sure what he was referring to. I tipped my chin up to look at him and saw nothing but peace, love, and utter contentment in his expression.
It was late morning, and we were sitting out on the deck together by the fire. Earlier this morning, Mack had shared that instead of the two of us getting ourselves out on the mountain right away to go riding, he simply wanted to spend the morning out on the deck with me so that the two of us could enjoy this last little bit of time we had alone together before our friends arrived.
Finally.
The rest of our crew was finally going to be joining us today.
While I was excited to see them all—and especially excited to share the news of our relationship with them—I couldn’t deny the fact that I was feeling a bit like Mack had been. I wanted to gobble up just as much time alone with him as I could. The last few days had been absolutely wonderful, and even though I knew we’d still have a great time with our friends, I was definitely going to miss it just being the two of us.
Before we made our way out here, we’d spent some time cleaning up the house. We hadn’t trashed it or anything, but we’d certainly left articles of clothing that had gotten discarded in the throes of passion wherever they landed. Mack and I also moved the remainder of my personal things to the room he’d been in from the first night, the same room we’d both been in every night since I walked down the hall to his room and we first made love.
Mack and I figured that we’d remain in that room with the king-size bed, Dakota and Ben would take the other room with the king-size bed, and the rest of our friends would split themselves up between the remaining two rooms with the bunks.
After cleaning everything up and making it presentable again, we snatched up a blanket and brought ourselves out onto the deck. We’d been out here for a good twenty minutes or so at this point, simply taking it all in and cuddling with one another, so I really didn’t have a clue what Mack was referring to when he said it was much better than last time.
“What are you talking about?” I asked him.
Mack’s arms tightened around me. “The first night we came out and sat down by the fire, I was struggling so hard with what to do,” he shared, telling me something he’d mentioned once before. “This time, I’ve got you cuddling up in my arms with this blanket around the both of us instead of you sitting in the chair across from me, trying to keep yourself warm in a blanket all by yourself. I would have given anything that night to have you precisely where you are right now.”
I smiled at him and cuddled closer, pressing my face into his chest again. “It’s kind of crazy to me to think about where we were only a few days ago,” I replied. “So much has changed.”
“Yeah, but at least it’s all been for the better,” he noted.
“Of course,” I agreed. “I didn’t mean it in a negative way. I’m actually very happy about where things are between the two of us. In fact, I think this trip has been the best thing for us. I know I’ll never forget it.”
“That makes two of us,” Mack said.
I was glad he felt the same. Truthfully, I hadn’t had much doubt about that to begin with. Knowing where the two of us had been, knowing all that we’d gone through, it was no surprise he felt just as much appreciation for how much this trip had done to heal our friendship and help us forge a new connection with one another.
As grateful and appreciative as I was about it all, I’d have been lying if I didn’t confess that I was a little nervous about what was ahead for us. And considering this was probably going to be the last chance I’d have to really sit and talk with him about it, I decided it was best to take advantage of it.
“Do you have any thoughts?” I asked.
“I have lots of thoughts,” he replied. “Is there something specific you want me to have thoughts about?”
“Either what you want or think will happen once we leave here and head back to Lily Canyon,” I clarified. “Have you considered how things will be for us after playtime is over and we’re back in the real world?”
Mack started to stroke his fingers through my hair. It felt amazing when he did that. I never knew if it was something he did for himself or if he did it for me, but I loved it either way.
“I don’t think playtime has to end,” he began. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of any good reason why you and I have to stop having fun with one another just because we have to throw our work and normal lives back into the mix.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely,” he confirmed. “Look, Marley, you’re finally back in my life after all these years. It’s just going to be a priority for me to have you around. I’ll do whatever I’ve got to do to make it work for your schedule. I guess that’s the nice thing about what I do. Generally, I get my stuff done in the morning, so I’ve got all day to do what I want. I don’t know how your days go with your work, but I’m sure we can figure it all out.”
Details.
These were the little things that Mack and I never knew about each other. Sure, we both knew what the other did for a living, but the little details were something we never had the chance to learn.
I was getting that chance now. Mack was getting that chance now.
Maybe it shouldn’t have been a big deal, but to me, it was huge. We were finally going to have the opportunity to discover so much more about one another. And in coming to that realization, I decided that it wouldn’t matter that we were no longer on vacation and having play time. What we had to look forward to once we left here was arguably better. Because in the end, assuming it all worked out between us, the details that made up Mack’s life would become part of mine.
Loving the warm feeling that gave me, I shared, “I generally have stuff planned a few weeks ahead of time for my blog, and when I work, I tend to do it late morning. It sounds like our schedules might work out well.”
Mack pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “I’m glad to hear that, baby. I want to make up for lost years and spend as much time with you as possible. I honestly love being around you. I always have.”
I took in a deep breath and let it out with a smile on my face. This just felt so good. But there was one small part of me that wasn’t feeling so happy. “It’s going to be hard not seeing you every single day,” I told him. “I’ve kind of gotten used to waking up in your arms and having breakfast together every morning. And let’s not forget all the fun we have at night before we go to sleep.”
“So, let’s move in together,” he suggested.
My body tensed, and I immediately sat up straighter to look at him. Did he just say that? There hadn’t been an ounce of hesitation. Mack hadn’t taken a moment to think about it before those words just spilled out of his mouth. Clearly, I had heard him wrong. “What?”
“Let’s move in together,” he repeated.
“Move in together?” I asked. “Are you… don’t you think… isn’t it too soon?”
Mack cocked an eyebrow. “Is that a serious question?”
My eyes shifted back and forth. It had been a serious question. Why did he think I was joking? “Yes, Mack, I’m being completely serious,” I finally replied.
“Marley, we grew up together,” he started. “You were my best friend. Maybe we had a rough patch in there, but that doesn’t change what we know about each other. This is not too soon. This feels like a lifetime in the making.”
I stared at him, and my lips parted.
Mack wanted to move in together. We’d only officially been together for a matter of a few days, and he was already prepared to make that kind of commitment. But in taking a moment to consider the possibility of doing it, I realized I was fully prepared to do the same.
He was Mack.
He was the guy I’d loved for so many years, even when I didn’t want it to be the case. Being here now, having this chance again, it almost felt foolish to put any unnecessary space between us.
I loved him, I wanted to be with him, and being separated from each other when it wasn’t necessary just didn’t make any sense.
Apparently, I’d taken entirely too long thinking about all of this, and Mack started to get worried. Or, at least, he wanted to offer me some kind of reassurance about all of it.
“Baby, I don’t know what’s going through your head about all of this, so you’ve got to tell me what you’re thinking. That said, I want you to know that if you’re not ready or you think it’s too soon, we can hold off for a bit,” he offered.
“I don’t want to hold off,” I immediately replied.
His brows shot up in surprise. “Really?”
I couldn’t miss the excitement in his tone. He wanted this. He really wanted this. And I had every intention of making sure he got it.
“It’s like you said,” I started. “This has felt like a lifetime in the making. Sure, there’s bound to be an adjustment period in the beginning, but I don’t care. I love you too much. I want to spend every free moment I can with you. And the last thing I want is more space between us. I want us to be where we should have been all this time.”
Mack’s features softened. “Did we just decide to move in with each other after less than a week of being on speaking terms?”
I grinned. “We absolutely did.”
He reached out for me and urged, “Come back here.”
The second my torso hit his, and I leaned my weight back into his body, Mack’s mouth descended on mine. At first, his lips were gentle, lightly brushing back and forth across mine. But then it turned into something else. He framed my face in his hands and took over. It took almost no time for both of us to get completely caught up in the warm, wet, and demanding kiss.
I was moaning as I pressed my chest tighter to his.
Mack groaned as one of his hands drifted down from my face toward my ass.
The kiss consumed us, much like our feelings for one another. And just as Mack started to shift us so he could undoubtedly take things to the next level, we heard, “Do you guys need a few minutes? We can leave and come back later?”
Mack and I froze at the sound of the familiar voice. Neither one of us looked up. We stared at one another and smiled, our lips still touching.
“I’d need more than a few minutes, Easton,” Mack shot back.
And that’s when I heard Faye’s excited voice declared, “Oh, this is the best thing I’ve seen in months.”
Mack and I finally pulled our faces back from one another and turned to look at our friends. All of them were there. And every single one of them was wearing either a look of shock or a look of approval.
“Hey, guys,” I greeted them with a smile on my face.
“I knew it,” Dakota announced. “Marley, you told me there was no us like this when it came to you and Mack. But this whole visual painted a very different picture.”
I bit my lip and shrugged. “Technically, there wasn’t an us like this when we talked,” I told her.
“What is going on here?” Ben asked, his arm draped over Dakota’s shoulders as he held her close.
“We’ve been waiting for you all to arrive,” Mack returned.
“Yeah, it sure looks like you’ve been upset that we haven’t been here,” Ryder scoffed.
I let out a laugh and felt Mack’s body vibrate with his laughter, too. When he looked at me, I said softly, “We should get up and say hello to our friends.”
He nodded. “Yeah, we should probably do that.”
With that, Mack and I got up and made our way over to where our friends were. After we all shuffled back inside to escape the cold air, we exchanged hugs and greetings.
Ten minutes later, they were all looking at us expectantly. I couldn’t bring myself to share all the details of everything that had happened between us with the whole group, but I thought they deserved something.
“Mack and I worked things out,” I finally declared, hoping that explained everything and gave them all the answers they were seeking.
“And so, after all these years of you two hating each other, you’re saying all you needed was a few days alone to get to a place where you’re about to strip down on a deck in freezing temperatures?” Beth asked.
I rolled my eyes at her. “It’s not freezing out,” I corrected her.
Mack chuckled and said, “I don’t think that’s the point of her question, baby.”
Hearing Mack call me baby caused a few not-so-subtle gasps to come from the girls.
And of course, I knew that the temperature outside wasn’t really the point of it all. I just wasn’t sure how to share all that had happened. In an effort to avoid sharing again, I returned my attention to Beth and insisted, “I wouldn’t say we hated each other for years.”
“You did not like each other very much,” she pointed out.
I knew that was the truth. At least, it had been on my end. I wasn’t entirely sure that Mack ever really hated or disliked me at all. His actions after we started speaking again indicated the very opposite to be the case.
Everyone was looking at me expectantly, and I guess I deserved that. It was no secret that Mack had tried for years to figure out what he’d done, so I should have anticipated that our friends would be looking to me for an explanation. If it had just been the girls and me, it might have been different. But the truth was that I was trying to avoid sharing all the specifics in front of everyone because I wasn’t quite sure how they’d all take it.
What happened between Mack and me was really all my fault. I knew he saw it differently, insisting he could have done things differently after the fact, but I was the one who made it so that we even got to that point.
Mack must have taken one look at me and realized wh
ere my head was, so he quickly stepped up and took charge of the situation.
“Our first full day here was a tough one for Marley out on the mountain,” he began. “Long story short, that was a bad night for her, and allowing her to go through it alone wasn’t an option for me. We built on that.”
God, I loved him.
I loved that he just took charge and put it out there in a way that was truthful without getting into the details. I had no intention of hiding them—our friends deserved to know that Mack hadn’t done anything wrong—but I just didn’t want to do it with so many eyes on me.
“Well, if you two are happy, then I’m happy for the both of you,” Easton said.
“Yeah, me too,” Dakota chimed in. “I’m so glad you guys worked it out. I already knew that you would.”
“Thank you,” I replied.
“So, how was the drive up? Anything crazy happen on the way here?” Mack asked them.
“Thankfully, nothing at all,” Ben answered.
And just like that, Mack redirected the conversation into new territory, and we spent the next couple of hours catching up with our friends.
In the midst of it all, I could only feel happiness for the fact that I was finally able to do that while sitting beside the man I loved instead of having to do with it so much resentment and bitterness in my heart.
Nineteen
Marley
“What started it?”
That came from Beth.
The girls and I were in the kitchen, catching up with each other while the guys had gone down to the main lodge to do the same. Before the guys left, I told Mack that I didn’t mind if he shared what happened between us with the guys.
It was only natural that they’d have questions, considering there had been so many years lost between Mack and me. I didn’t quite know exactly how he’d go about sharing the news, but I figured he’d handle it in a way that probably made it seem like I wasn’t nearly as responsible for everything that had happened as I was.
