by Kris Bryant
“I’m pretty sure Henry will be the one entertaining her tonight.”
Natalie made a cute trade with Harley. Harley could have an evening with Henry, if Harley gave her an evening with her mom. Naturally, Harley had jumped at the opportunity. Henry would be dropped off at seven for movie night with Harley and Bob. And if things went her way, Natalie would pick him up early in the morning. “He’s wonderful. Thank you for letting him stay here.”
“That dog is a hero and can sleep in our bed if he wants,” Aunt Judy said.
“I know what you mean. Nat and I joked about splitting our time with him, but I think it’s probably going to happen that way. I didn’t think Harley was responsible enough with a pet, but oh my gosh, she’s so good with him,” Sarah said.
“Go relax for a bit. I’ll get lunch started for Harley.”
Sarah thanked her aunt. She couldn’t decide if she needed a nap or to run a marathon. She went downstairs to check on Harley. She was impressed because Harley had taken off her gymnastics uniform and was putting on warmer clothes.
“Mom, can Henry stay the night?”
Sarah sprawled out on Harley’s bed. She didn’t want to tell her that was the plan all along. “Maybe. We’ll have to check with Aunt Judy and Natalie. You know, soon we’re going to get our own place, and he can come stay the night whenever we want.”
“What’s wrong with living here?”
“It’s not ours. When we find a house, we can paint and decorate your room however you want.”
Harley hopped on the bed next to her. “Will Henry get his own room, too?”
Sarah cupped Harley’s chin. “You don’t want him to sleep in your bed?”
“Well, yeah, but he needs his own room, too.”
Sarah laughed. “No. When we have Henry, he can stay in your room with you. Remember, he’s not ours.”
“But Sheriff Natalie stopped looking, remember? So that means he’s ours.”
“Technically, hers. We will just have him on the weekends or whenever we want.”
“I want him every day.”
Sarah pushed Harley’s hair out of her face. “I know, baby. Let’s just see how it goes, okay?”
* * *
“I’m here for the trade.”
Natalie’s voice boomed in the house. Harley squealed and raced up the stairs. She crashed into Henry, who greeted her with just as much enthusiasm.
“Hey, hey. Let the poor dog breathe. You’re choking him,” Sarah said.
Harley released her grip on him and, much to the surprise of everyone in the room, hugged Natalie. “You’re early.”
Natalie knelt. “Henry couldn’t wait to see you, and I couldn’t wait to see both of you.”
Sarah felt her heart tumble in her chest and drop to her stomach. “Hi.”
“Hi. You look great.”
Sarah had chosen wool pants this time, a cream-colored cashmere sweater, and boots. She felt great and looked even better. Her hair fell in just the right way, her makeup was perfect, and her outfit made her feel sexy. The look Natalie gave her made her feel invincible. “Thanks. I see Henry has his own overnight bag.”
Natalie held up a little duffel bag that read Spruce Mountain Sheriff’s Department on the side. “It has his favorite toy, food, and some snacks. And his own water dish. First overnight. I’m a little nervous.”
Sarah smiled. “You did good. I don’t think Henry will be homesick. I understand they will be watching Moana and eating popcorn most of the evening.”
“No butter on your popcorn,” Natalie said. She pointed at Henry, who only wagged his tail slowly and looked completely unthreatened. “The snacks should tide him over until breakfast.”
“He’s staying! Woohoo! Come on, Henry. Let’s go into the living room.”
Sarah gave Harley a quick kiss. “Have fun. Be sure to let him out to go to the bathroom. Remember, he can’t tell you when he has to go.” She turned to Natalie and whispered, “Or maybe he can. Who knows?”
Natalie threw her hands up. “I’m not questioning anything anymore when it comes to this magical dog. Are you ready to go?”
Sarah blushed and cleared her throat. “I am.”
“Have a good night, ladies. We have everything under control here. Don’t worry about a thing.”
Natalie held the door open for Sarah and followed her out into the cold evening.
“So, Nat, what do you have planned for us? You told me to dress warmly. Keep in mind that this girl has lived in Texas for the last seventeen years. You’re going to have to make it worth my while if you’re going to keep me out in the elements.”
“Let me show you.”
The drive to Natalie’s house took five minutes. Everything in Spruce Mountain was five minutes away. The grocery store, the market, the school. It was nice. Natalie parked the car, took Sarah’s hand, and walked with her to the back of the house, not inside it.
“Oh, my gosh. This is so perfect.” Sarah watched as Natalie lit the kindling and logs in the fire pit. She spread one blanket on the bench and motioned for Sarah to sit before covering her with another blanket.
“In about three minutes, you will be toasty warm.” She slowly kissed Sarah, teasing her with the gentle promise for later. “And I’ll be back in two.” Natalie disappeared into the house.
Sarah looked at the stars. Even with the fire blazing in front of her, she could still see the stars clearly. It always amazed her how different the night looked here than in Texas.
“Cider, because what’s more fall than that?” Natalie carefully handed her a mug of steaming apple cider.
Sarah inhaled cinnamon, nutmeg, and the tartness of the apples and sighed. “This is perfect.”
After poking the logs into a more uniform arrangement, Natalie slipped under the blanket with her. “So now that life has settled somewhat from earlier in the week, tell me how you’re doing.”
“Surprisingly, I’m at peace. My life is calm here. And a lot of things became very clear to me this week.”
“Really? Like what?”
“I like Spruce Mountain. I like the people, I like how everyone came together to help find Harley. I like the slow pace of this town. I thought I would hate it, but it’s teaching me to appreciate all things. I even like grumpy old Phil Murphy at the post office.”
“Ah, yes. Phil. He’s a gentle giant.”
“A softie inside.”
Natalie laughed. “Oh, let’s not get carried away with Phil. What else?”
Sarah gave Natalie her mug to hold and dug around in her coat until she found her business card. “This happened.” She took her mug back and handed her card to Natalie.
“You made business cards.”
“Yes. I decided to stay and give Spruce Mountain a shot. You and Aunt Judy are right. There is plenty of business in this small town for another CPA. I’ll still stay on at the library because it works well with Harley’s schedule, but this will give me the extra money I’ll need to find a place that Harley and I can call home. We can’t live with Aunt Judy and Uncle Bob forever.”
Natalie kissed her hard. “That’s great. You’ll definitely get my business.” She put Sarah’s fingers up to her neck. “Can you feel how fast my heart is beating at this news?”
It wasn’t just the rapid thumping under her fingertips that excited her. It was the smooth, pale skin, the closeness of Natalie’s face to hers, and the energy brimming between them. Sarah leaned forward and kissed Natalie. She moaned when she felt Natalie’s hand on the back of her neck, holding her close. Sarah ran her tongue over Natalie’s bottom lip and sucked it inside her mouth. Their tongues touched gently at first, then with more fervor as their passion ignited. Sarah broke the kiss to put their mugs on the ground and moved closer to Natalie. She kissed her again and straddled Natalie’s lap to get closer. “Is this okay?”
Natalie moaned. “This is the best thing ever.”
Sarah pulled the blanket over her shoulders to keep them warm, even though s
he was burning up. Natalie slid her hands up Sarah’s thighs and pulled her closer to her core. They both moaned at the intimacy of their embrace. Sarah moved her hips back and forth to get friction while she deepened the kiss. She was so brazen with Natalie. They were alone, under the stars, and Sarah couldn’t think of anything else. When Natalie cupped her ass and held her against her lap, Sarah unbuttoned her pants. As much as she wanted to go inside and sprawl on the bed, there was something so decadent about taking charge and being outside with a fire raging behind them. Sarah pulled away to kick off her boots and peel off her pants, then returned to Natalie’s lap.
“You are so beautiful,” Natalie said.
Sarah pulled the blanket back up over her shoulders. The chill nipped at her bare skin, but it was Natalie’s touch that gave her chill bumps that raced over her entire body.
“Oh, you’re cold. We can go inside.”
“I’m not. Your touch is what’s driving me crazy.” Sarah’s confession gave her confidence. She placed a tiny kiss on Natalie’s neck and ran her tongue over her jaw on a path to Natalie’s lips. She heard Natalie moan when she skipped over her mouth and made a path of tiny kisses on her other cheek and down to the other side of her neck. When she scraped her teeth across the soft skin and bit softly, she felt Natalie enter her. She hadn’t realized that she was up on her knees waiting to be fucked. She didn’t even feel Natalie’s fingers slip under her panties. “Oh, God, yes.”
She clutched Natalie’s shoulders and stared into her eyes. She tried to keep eye contact, tried to have that extra connection, but it felt so good that her eyes fluttered shut. She rolled her head back and moved her hips against Natalie’s hand slowly at first. When she picked up speed and the blanket fell to her waist, she didn’t care. She slashed her mouth against Natalie’s in a hard, deep kiss. She whimpered when Natalie varied the speed of her fingers from slow to fast and deep. She lost her breath when Natalie slid a third finger in and put her other hand at the back of her neck, holding her in place.
“I want to watch you come,” Natalie said.
What she said wasn’t romantic, but in that moment, it was the sexiest thing Sarah had ever heard. She stared into Natalie’s eyes and moved her hips slowly, stretching with pleasure. She watched as Natalie opened her mouth and moaned whenever she did. It was as if Natalie was sharing the pleasure she felt.
“This feels so good, Nat,” Sarah whispered against Natalie’s mouth.
“You feel so good. So wet and tight.”
Sarah didn’t normally like to talk during sex, but Natalie’s words excited her. Listening to her voice, the huskiness of it, built pressure inside her. She tilted her head back as Natalie increased speed, and just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, when her body shook from being tense with want and need, she came hard. The orgasm rumbled out of her like thunder as intense pleasure washed over every part of her. She bit her lip to keep from crying out, but it was futile. She grabbed Natalie’s shoulders and rode the orgasm until she was panting. When her hips stopped moving and her breath returned to normal, she put her forehead against Natalie’s.
“That was truly amazing.” She heard the shakiness of her voice and placed a small kiss on Natalie’s mouth. She moaned again when Natalie gently slipped out of her. “I’m sorry if I hurt your hand.”
“Are you kidding me? You and the way you came were the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. My hand is fine.”
Natalie’s arms trembled as Sarah pulled the blanket back up over them. She ducked her head and rested it on Natalie’s shoulder with a mixture of embarrassment and intensity. What had Natalie done to her? She had gone from reserved mother to wanton woman in the span of a week. Her legs were weak and her panties soaked, but she didn’t want to leave the comfort and safety of Natalie’s arms. This was not her. When was the last time she had an orgasm with that much intensity? The sting of tears pinched her eyes, and she begged herself not to cry. Not now.
“You have to be cold. Why don’t we go inside?”
Sarah wanted to wait until she tamped down her emotions. Crying now would probably send the wrong message, or maybe the right one, and that scared her. “Two minutes.” She hoped her voice was calm. Natalie rubbed her back softly until she stirred. “Okay. I’m ready.” To her complete surprise, Natalie picked her up as though she weighed nothing and carried her up the stairs. Sarah put her hand on Natalie’s chest. “What are you doing?”
“You don’t have any shoes on, and the ground is cold.” Without stopping to lock the door or even put out the fire, Natalie marched them straight back to her bedroom.
Chapter Seventeen
Natalie’s dream had come true. Half of her life she’d wanted Sarah, and now she was here, in her arms, in her bed. She wanted to do everything at once and also take her time. It was a tough spot to be in, but one she wouldn’t trade for the world. She pulled back the covers and yanked off her own sweater and jeans before crawling in after Sarah.
“How are you so warm?” Sarah asked.
Natalie heard Sarah’s teeth chatter as she adjusted to the coolness of the sheets. “Come here. I’m always warm, but my blood is boiling after what just happened.” She pulled Sarah close and held her until she felt her relax. It was so hard to not tear off the rest of her clothes and taste her everywhere. Instead, Natalie started off slowly by kissing Sarah’s neck. It was the right thing to do because Sarah’s moans filled her ears and her hands roamed over Natalie, pulling her closer. She rolled Sarah onto her back and slipped between her legs. No, this wasn’t going to work. She sat up and quickly peeled off Sarah’s warm, wet panties before sinking back into her. “That’s so much better.”
“Not really.” Sarah’s whisper was low and quiet.
“Why not?” Natalie pulled up to look into Sarah’s eyes.
“You’re still dressed.”
Natalie sat up, pulled her bra off, and moaned the second Sarah touched her breasts.
“You have the most beautiful breasts I’ve ever seen. So full and perfect.”
Natalie hated them most days because her uniforms always had to be altered. But tonight, she was thankful. She allowed the pleasure for several seconds before pulling away to remove her panties as well. “Is this better?”
Natalie sank back down between Sarah’s legs. She hooked the back of Sarah’s knees over her elbows and pushed forward. They both moaned when their cores touched. Natalie had to be careful not to push too hard, or else she would come on the spot. She was so swollen and wet, and feeling the soft skin of Sarah’s waxed pussy against her own almost set her over the edge.
“That feels so good,” Sarah whispered.
Natalie kissed her hard and rocked against Sarah. It wasn’t enough though. She needed to be inside her, feel her warmth and taste her essence. She didn’t want to break apart their kiss, but loving every part of her was the most important thing right now. She sucked Sarah’s neck and nibbled and bit at her skin all the way down to her breasts, pulling one nipple into her mouth, lavishing it with her tongue before doing the same for the other one. Sarah writhed under her touch, raising her hips whenever a part of Natalie’s body came into contact with her pussy. It was fantastic to be with somebody who wasn’t afraid of her own body or to experience pleasure.
She wrapped an arm around each thigh and kissed the soft skin on either side of Sarah’s slit. She held Sarah’s hips in place. She ran her tongue quickly across her swollen clit and made a path up and down, back and forth, tasting her, moaning with Sarah. When she locked her mouth on Sarah’s clit and sucked, she slipped one, then two fingers inside her. She fucked her and tasted her at the same time. Sarah was so wet that Natalie was able to find the perfect rhythm and depth. Her thrusts matched Sarah’s hips. Within minutes Sarah came hard. She was even louder in the bedroom than she’d been outside. Natalie felt her passionate cries with every ounce of her body. She almost came at just how sexy and satisfied Sarah sounded.
“Fuck,” Natalie whispere
d. She placed a tiny kiss on Sarah’s clit before slipping out of her and crawling back up to kiss her. Sarah was still experiencing aftershocks, so Natalie thrust her hips against Sarah’s. They were both surprised when she came again. “Fuck,” Natalie said again. She wasn’t much on cussing, but this whole experience brought out an animalistic side she didn’t recognize. Sarah was perfect. Natalie rolled over and pulled Sarah into her arms. “I have no words.”
“I have a ton of words, but none that I can form into coherent sentences,” Sarah said.
Natalie knew she would never be the same. Tonight was life-changing. She had experienced several of those moments during her lifetime, and tonight was one of the most positive ones. Her heart throbbed. The pounding actually hurt, and she took a deep breath to steady herself.
“Are you okay?” Sarah cupped Natalie’s face and pulled her down for a kiss.
Natalie nodded. She didn’t want to spew out her emotions. She was still trying to weed through them herself. Before, Sarah was just a crush. She was a girl who kissed her at a party like it wasn’t a big deal. But it was a huge deal to Natalie. For seventeen years Sarah would pop up in her mind. Maybe over time she’d romanticized her and made her perfect, but right here, in her arms, she was perfect. There wasn’t anything she didn’t like about Sarah. The pressure in her chest was building. The deep breath didn’t help. She rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. Don’t cry. Don’t you dare cry, she thought. She felt Sarah climb on her body and kiss her earlobe and run her tongue down her neck.
“Why are you so perfect?” Sarah asked.
She felt Sarah’s fingertips flutter down her throat, outline her collarbone, and curve around her breast. A soft noise escaped her mouth that, thankfully, wasn’t a sob. She kept her eyes closed and got lost in the feeling of Sarah’s hands on her body. Nothing else mattered right now. Not the future, not the past. Just this moment with the woman she loved. That’s why she’d been so emotional lately. Love had slipped inside her carefully guarded heart, not once, not twice, but three times and squeezed hard. All in the span of a few weeks. She hadn’t realized how heavy it had weighed on her until this very moment. She put her hand on top of Sarah’s and squeezed.
