Sometimes It Lasts

by Abbi Glines

  She dropped her hand from her hair and stopped biting her lip. Then she sighed and pointed to the house. “There’s plenty of beds in the house. The barn is cold this time of year, and I won’t get any sleep if I’m worrying about you freezing out there.”

  I would not smile. Damn, that was hard. “Okay. If you’re sure. ’Cause I can get extra blankets and stay warm out there.”

  She shook her head. “No. That’s silly and pointless. Just come on inside. I didn’t make dinner, but I was thinking of making some chili.”

  I wanted to ask her about how Jeremy would feel about this, but I wanted her to tell me on her own. I didn’t want to force her to admit that she was no longer engaged. If she wanted to keep that to herself right now, then I would let her. I took the steps two at a time and stopped at the top. I opened the door then motioned for her to go inside. “After you,” I told her.

  She smiled, and the relief in her eyes made me feel warm inside. I’d make sure my girl got some sleep tonight. She walked in and I followed behind her, feeling the first real hope since I’d started this a week ago. Eva wasn’t ready to forgive me and take me back, but she was willing to admit she needed me. That was good enough for now.

  “Just take the room you used to sleep in,” she said, knowing it was rare that I actually slept in that room. We normally ended up in the barn together on those nights.

  “I need a shower too. I’ll come help you with the chili after I get cleaned up.”

  She nodded. “Take your time,” she said, and I left her there without touching her. Without a kiss. I missed that. I missed the ability to touch her and hold her whenever I wanted to. I wondered if she missed it too.

  * * *

  After I got cleaned up and changed into my sweats, I headed downstairs to hear Eva humming while she chopped peppers. I couldn’t help but smile. She used to sing that song while doing some clapping thing with a cup. She’d seen it in a movie and thought it was fun. So many little things I missed.

  “Where’s your cup?” I asked.

  She stopped humming and glanced back at me. The grin on her face was playful. I had to take it slow that night. Because right then I wanted to take it very, very fast. “You managed to take just enough time to let me finish up. Now all I need to do is add these and let the chili simmer,” she said as she picked up the peppers.

  I walked over and lifted the lid while she dropped the peppers into the pot.

  “See, I showed up for the heavy lifting,” I said.

  She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. But I’m going to go shower now. You watch the pot. Stir it every five minutes or so.”

  I could do that.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  EVA

  Eating dinner with Cage while he was being charming and going out of his way to make me smile was nice. . . and hard. I shouldn’t have asked him to stay. I should have let him go to the barn. I should’ve been a big girl and dealt with it. But I was so tired that night. I hadn’t slept the night before, and although the doctor said the sleeping pills he gave me were safe for the baby, I didn’t trust them.

  So I’d caved and asked Cage to stay. I knew I would feel safe with him there. As stupid as it was, I wanted to know that he was in the room down the hall that night, asleep. Even after he’d hurt me so badly. He was still Cage. He was the father of my baby, and he had given up everything to come home. For our baby.

  We were dancing around this thing between us. At some point I was going to have to force myself to talk to him about those photos. And that—I took a deep breath—video. Pain always sliced through me when I thought of them. Cage was a player. He liked women. I had known that the first time I let him kiss me. His sexy smirk and beautiful body had caused me to throw all common sense out the window and fall in love with him.

  I had paid for that. I put a hand over my stomach and realized it had been worth it. Cage might have brought me to my knees and crushed me, but he’d also given me this. He’d helped me find life again after Josh. And now that I needed someone in my life again to lean on, there he was. Could we be friends? Was that even possible?

  I watched as he put the last pot into the dishwasher and his shirt pulled up from his waist to flash me the two perfect dimples on his lower back right above his amazing bottom. I’d licked those dimples more than once before taking a bite of his ass. Smiling at the memory, I didn’t realize Cage had glanced back at me.

  When I felt his eyes on me, I quickly jerked my gaze off his exposed skin and turned to walk into the living room. “Thank you for cleaning up. You didn’t have to do that,” I said as casually as I could manage.

  I took the quilt from the back of the sofa and curled up in it, covering myself up even though my body was heated enough from memories of Cage’s bare butt. I could see Cage step into the room out of the corners of my eyes, but I reached for the television remote and started surfing the channels. I couldn’t look at him. He needed to go to bed.

  “Are you brushing me off now or can I watch some television with you?” There was no humor in his voice, so I chanced a peek at him. He wasn’t amused. Good. Maybe he hadn’t seen me studying his ass like I wanted a bite. Because we both knew I was a fan of his backside.

  “Sure. Anything in particular you wanna watch?” I asked, forcing a smile before looking back at the television.

  Cage moved across the room, and I held my breath, waiting to see where he was going to sit. When he lowered himself to sit inches away from me on the sofa, I continued to hold my breath.

  “Give me your feet,” he said, reaching for the quilt covering me from toe to neck. Before I could protest, he had one of my feet pulled onto his lap and he was pulling off my sock.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, although I already knew.

  “Exactly what it looks like,” he replied. This time his amused grin was on those full lips of his.

  “Why?”

  Cage began massaging my feet in just the right spot. He knew I loved having my feet rubbed, and he knew exactly where to rub them and how. He’d done this hundreds of times before. My body instantly relaxed under his touch. I couldn’t control it.

  “’Cause you’ve been on your feet all day. ’Cause I like touching you. And because you make the most amazing noises while I do it.”

  I didn’t lift my gaze from my foot in his hand to look at his face. His eyes were on me. Watching me. I knew that. I could feel him. But I wasn’t going to look at him. This was too much.

  “Give me both feet,” he said, reaching for my other leg and pulling me around until both of my feet were in his lap. “Why aren’t you wearing my boxers tonight?”

  I gulped. I started to push the quilt down to cover my bare legs and he stopped me. He took it and carefully covered me up. “I like seeing you in my boxers.”

  I should go to my room. Cage moved a hand up my calf, which was now under the covers, and began massaging my leg while keeping his eyes on me. Finally I gave in and met his gaze. “I only have one pair. They need to be washed.”

  Cage smirked. “I’ll get you some more.”

  “That’s not necessary.”

  “Yeah, I think it is.”

  This wasn’t good. “Cage,” I said in a stern voice.

  “Eva,” he replied, grinning now.

  He was really hard to get mad at when he was all adorable and making my legs feel heavenly. “What are you doing? Why are you doing it?” I asked.

  “I think I already answered that question, sweetheart,” he drawled.

  I let out a frustrated sigh and tried to convince myself to go to bed. To take my legs off his lap and go to bed. But my body was enjoying his ministrations too much. Damn body was a traitor.

  “Just relax, baby. I’m not trying to do anything but help you rest easier tonight. I swear, all I’m gonna touch is your feet and calves.”

  I studied him a moment, and his hand moved back down to my feet. He was being sincere. And this felt really good. So I gave in and lay back on the sofa a
nd pulled the cover under my chin. Cage’s hands kept doing exactly what he said they were going to do, and my eyes got heavier with each second that passed.

  CAGE

  She was asleep. She had been for at least thirty minutes, but I still continued to rub her feet. I wasn’t ready to stop touching her yet. She also made those sexy little pleased sounds in her sleep. I fucking loved those.

  Tonight had been a success. My chest felt lighter. She’d let me stay. She’d wanted me to stay. She had needed me, and that was the most amazing feeling in the world. Watching her laugh while she ate dinner had almost made it possible for me to pretend she was mine again. Almost.

  I reached for her discarded socks and slipped them back on her feet. As much as I’d rather it be me keeping her warm tonight, I knew she didn’t want that. Without my legs for her to tuck her feet under to keep them warm, she’d have to wear socks. The ache was back. I wanted to be the one warming her cold feet.

  She wasn’t there yet. I had to believe she would be one day. Until then I had this. She was allowing me to get close again. That would help me. My only weakness was when she looked at me with desire in her eyes. When I’d caught her staring at my ass with that hungry gaze, I’d been real close to doing something she would have been upset about. I was glad she bolted from the kitchen. I’d needed a second to catch my breath. Eva’s sweet mouth on my ass was a memory that made my knees go weak and my dick go hard.

  I shifted slowly so that I didn’t wake her, then I bent down to scoop her up in my arms. She cuddled the blanket and murmured something before tucking her head against my chest. I didn’t let myself think about how much I wanted to crawl into bed with her and keep holding her like this all night.

  I climbed the stairs and took her to her room. As I tucked her in, she mumbled a thank-you I knew she wouldn’t remember. Because she was sleeping and I could get away with it, I pressed a kiss to her forehead, her soft cheek, and then her lips. Forcing myself to stop, I stepped back and left the room, closing her door softly behind me.

  She would sleep good tonight. I just wasn’t sure I would.

  * * *

  The sun wasn’t up yet. . . but I was. At some point during the night, I’d managed to sleep, but it hadn’t been much. I had checked on Eva several times and even gone down to the kitchen for a glass of milk. Yet, it was the best night I’d had in a really long time.

  I gave up trying to sleep and decided to get dressed and go make Eva breakfast for a change. She’d slept hard all night and she would be rested. I wanted to be the one to take care of her that morning. I didn’t want to put my jeans on yet. They were still dirty from yesterday. So I just jerked on my sweats and left off the shirt. If Eva kept getting excited over seeing brief glimpses of my skin, then I’d make it easy for her. Grinning, I headed out the door and down the hall.

  The soft groan coming from Eva’s room stopped me in my tracks. I froze and stood there, straining my ears to hear if I’d imagined it or if she’d just made one of her sexy moans she did when we were making love. I knew that sound, and I wasn’t in there with her. She did it again.

  Fuck.

  She was alone. Was she asleep? Holy hell.

  I took a step toward the door and listened as she made another noise. Three sexy moans and I was hard as rock. What was she doing? Was she dreaming? I shouldn’t be listening but, hell. . . how was I supposed to walk away from that?

  Then she said my name. Yeah, I was going in. To hell with leaving her alone and walking off. That shit wasn’t happening now. I opened the door and stepped into her dark room. She immediately stilled.

  She was awake. This wasn’t a dream.

  “Cage!” she said in a raspy voice, and jerked the covers up over her. But not before I saw her hand down her panties.

  My heart was slamming against my chest, and I was pretty damn sure I wasn’t breathing. “Eva,” I replied, taking a step toward her.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, her eyes locked on mine.

  “The question is, sweetheart, what are you doing?”

  Even in the dark, I could see her flushed cheeks. I wasn’t sure if she was embarrassed or if that had been from the orgasm she was working on when I walked in.

  She didn’t answer me.

  “You said my name.” My voice sounded like a growl. I couldn’t help it. I was about to lose control. Struggling was not even close to explaining what I was dealing with at that moment.

  “I didn’t know you were awake,” she whispered.

  “Well, I am,” I said as I reached her bed. I didn’t say anything more. I grabbed the covers and pulled them back. Her hand was still tucked inside the small lacy panties. I hadn’t really seen her stomach like that yet. But knowing that was my baby inside there made my blood heat up and my desire rage harder. She started to slip her hand out and I grabbed her wrist.

  “No. Don’t,” I said, tearing my eyes off the sight of her touching herself to look in her eyes.

  She was breathing fast and her tits were barely covered up by the T-shirt she had on. They rose and fell, pressing against the thin fabric, only proving to make me more crazed.

  “I wanna watch you touch yourself,” I told her.

  The small hitch in her breathing let me know the idea turned her on. Eva always had been naughty. My sweet innocent girl and her naughty side drove me wild. “I’m gonna take these panties off, and you keep doing exactly what you were when I walked in here. But this time, when you say my name, I’m not gonna be in your imagination. I’m gonna be right fucking here.”

  I reached for the sides of her pink lacy panties and pulled them down her long legs. She slipped her feet out. She was helping me. Fuck yeah, she was getting into this. I took her panties and held them up to my nose and took a deep breath. I loved her smell. I’d missed it.

  “Cage,” she said breathlessly.

  I held her panties in my hand and nudged her legs until they were spread completely open on the bed. Eva’s hand wasn’t on her clit any longer. She pulled it up to her stomach.

  I leaned over her and pressed a kiss to her hand then picked it up and moved it down to put it back where she’d had it before. “Finish.”

  Eva shivered, but she didn’t move.

  “What were you thinking about when I heard you? Hmm? Tell me, baby. What was going through that pretty little head of yours when you were making those noises? When you were calling out my name?” I asked, and she bit down on her bottom lip.

  Sometimes my naughty girl needed help. This was one of those times. I stood up and moved to bend down over her. Leaning down to her, I pressed a kiss to her earlobe then bit it gently. “Now, what was it you were thinking about? Did I have my head between those long legs of yours? Was I licking your sweet little pussy? ’Cause right fucking now I’d love to be licking your pussy. Slipping my tongue up through your hot wet lips. Mmm, they always taste so good. I wonder if they would taste better now? Your lips are swollen now. I saw them. They’re different. Are they more tender? If I slipped my hand down there and moved my fingers over them, would it feel good?”

  Her hand started to move. I looked at her as her eyes fluttered closed and she arched her head back. “I wanna watch you. Are you remembering how good it feels when I slid up inside you? Fuck, baby, it’s all I can think about.” I leaned back as she started moving her hand faster. I had meant to make her hotter so she’d give in and finish, but now I wasn’t so sure I could handle this.

  Her fingers slid up and down, and I wanted to reach out and touch her too, but she hadn’t given me permission to do that. I didn’t deserve to get to touch her like that. She had to forgive me.. . . She had to trust me again. But I was so close to losing my load in my damn sweats, it wasn’t funny.

  “Cage,” she cried out, and I had to grab the sheets and hold myself back.

  Her back arched and her legs fell completely open. “Oh God, yes, Cage,” she moaned, and I jumped up from the bed like it was on fire. Fuck. . . I had to get out of here.
I was gonna touch her. I was also real damn close to getting off. This was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen, and Eva had done some sexy shit before. This took it all.

  “Yes. Oh, yes,” she cried, and I stormed out of the room.

  I didn’t look back. I went directly to the restroom. It only took two swift jerks, and I cried out her name as I came.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  EVA

  I lay in bed as Cage called out my name. He was coming. I knew that sound. I knew what he sounded like. He’d ran out of here like a man possessed. My body trembled from the aftershocks of my orgasm. Normally the orgasms I gave myself weren’t that strong. But with Cage talking dirty in my ear and watching me, I’d completely lost it. That hadn’t been as good as when Cage gave them to me, but it was the closest thing I’d had in a long time.

  I squeezed my legs together and rolled over to look at the door he had left open. He hadn’t touched me. He hadn’t even gotten off in here so I could see. I had heard him, and hearing him shout my name had been wonderful. I loved it.

  What was I doing? Last night I’d wondered if we could be friends. Could we be friends when we wanted each other like this? Was that idea even possible? Cage was in my life. We would have a child together. He’d hurt me then deserted me when I needed him most. But my body still wanted him. He was here. He wasn’t leaving me. Could I forgive him? Was that possible? Or. . . had I already forgiven him?

  I heard the shower turn on, and I sat up. I wouldn’t think about this right then. We didn’t have to make any decisions yet. He might change his mind and leave again. This farm life was not what he’d always dreamed of. Staying here with me would be asking him to give up his life.

  That wasn’t going to happen. Ever.

  * * *

  By the time Cage got out of the shower I was dressed and the biscuits were in the oven. Facing him after what we’d done wasn’t going to be easy, but knowing he’d gotten off too eased my embarrassment. I always woke up horny. I had been doing that for months. I just hadn’t had to worry about Cage walking by my door and hearing me.