At Last (Lucky Harbor)

by Jill Shalvis

  “Yeah?”

  He set a pan on the stovetop and turned on a burner. He began to butter the bread slices, but she took the knife from him and took over the task.

  “I promised to cook for you,” she said. “You talk.”

  He met her gaze. “I didn’t think talking was one of your favorite things to do.”

  He was throwing the ball back at her. She recognized the technique well. And he was right, she wasn’t much of a talker. She’d never been all that curious about a man either. There were a whole bunch of firsts going on here tonight. “I want to know,” she said simply. “I want to know more about you.”

  Chapter 14

  There are two food groups: chocolate and fruit. And if it is fruit, it should be dipped in chocolate.

  Matt turned to Amy, surprised. “You want to know more about me? Why?”

  Looking both embarrassed and resigned, she bit her lower lip. “I know, I made a whole big deal about not getting involved…”

  He laughed softly at the both of them. Because he knew that neither of them wanted to get involved—or attached—but it was happening anyway. “What do you want to know?”

  “I suppose you learned to handle bad guys like that in SWAT and probably the military, too. Army?”

  “Navy,” he said. “Ty and I went through basic together and then spent some quality time in the Gulf.”

  “Ty… Mallory’s boyfriend?”

  He nodded.

  “That’s where your readiness comes from. The cool calm. The ability to take down four huge potheads single-handedly.”

  “It wasn’t single-handedly tonight,” he reminded her. “I had Sawyer.”

  “Still pretty impressive.” She paused. “You’ve seen and done a lot in your life.”

  He held her gaze. “I have.” More than she knew.

  “So what made you come here and be a forest ranger?”

  Turning in his partner for being on the take. Having his marriage fall apart after failing to keep Shelly safe from his job. Basically, his entire life had detonated in the span of a few months, and he’d needed out. But he wasn’t about to spell out his failures to a woman he hoped to have naked and under him by the end of the evening. “I like the uncomplicated life here.”

  “So you wanted peace and quiet?”

  He hadn’t yet found the peace, but he had found the quiet, and he’d settled for that. “Yeah.”

  Studying him, she tilted her head to the side a little. “Do you ever miss it? The big city, the people? Your family?”

  “I see my family. And no, I don’t miss it.”

  “And your wife?” she asked softly. “Do you miss her?”

  “Ex-wife,” he reminded her. “And no.”

  “But…”

  He really didn’t want to have this conversation. He wasn’t about to spill his guts and have her look at him differently. So instead of letting her lead him back to a past he didn’t like to remember, he leaned in and kissed her. Lightly at first. Warm. Then not so lightly. He kissed her until she let out a low hum of arousal and slid her hands up his chest and into his hair to hold him to her.

  Not that he was going to let go. Hell, no. And just like that, what had started out as a distraction technique quickly escalated into something else entirely, into that same unquenchable hunger he always felt for her, the one he’d had since she’d first shown up in Lucky Harbor.

  It might have taken him six months to get here with her, but he was done wasting time. Luckily, she appeared to feel the same way because she turned off the stovetop burner, took his hand, and led him to his big sofa in the living room.

  The last time they’d been here, right here, she’d commandeered the reins. He had no idea if he’d earned her trust enough yet for it to be his turn, but he hoped so. Either way, he was perfectly willing to give her whatever she needed, just as long as she was with him all the way.

  Amy looked into his face, her expression one of reluctant affection and enough heat to steal his breath. He cupped her face for a kiss and she let him do it, even making a soft hum of pleasure before suddenly pushing him down to the couch.

  Okay, so she still didn’t trust him enough to let him lead. He allowed himself to fall but he made sure to take her with him, tugging so that she landed on his lap. Her short skirt slid up her gorgeous thighs to dangerous heights.

  He’d been dying to get a peek beneath all night, but before he could, she nipped his bottom lip, hard, and then soothed the sting with one very sexy, slow swipe of her tongue. He went instantly hard even as he got the answer to the big question.

  No, she wasn’t ready to make love. This was still going to be sex. Sex was good, but he forced himself to slow down, to slow them both down. Stroking back her hair, he murmured her name as he kissed his way to her ear, because if nothing else, he was going to make damn sure that there’d at least be some tenderness to go with it.

  Amy loved having Matt beneath her, warm, strong, and hard. She couldn’t get enough of him. It was quite shocking.

  He’d called one thing right—she wanted him. Bad.

  She turned in his lap, straddling him now. His hands immediately slid beneath her skirt and palmed her butt. Gripping his biceps, she kissed him. Letting out a low growl of pleasure, he kissed her back, plundering her mouth without trying to break free of her hold or rush her. He didn’t tear off her clothes or roll her beneath him either. He just took what she gave, all relaxed and at ease, willing to let her do as she wanted with him.

  And there was something she desperately wanted. She ground herself against his erection and heard his breath hitch, making her realize that he needed her as badly as she needed him. Releasing his arms, she slid hers around his neck.

  He broke the kiss and gave her a searching look before kissing her again, his hands shifting on the move. Clever fingers unhooked her bra so that he could cup her breasts, his thumbs brushing over her nipples.

  Then it was her breath that hitched.

  God, she really needed him inside her. She needed the big bang, the relief, and only he could give it to her. “Condom,” she gasped against his mouth.

  “Back pants pocket.” They broke apart to undress in a frenzy, and then she was sliding onto him.

  “Oh, fuck,” he said reverently as he filled her.

  It gave her such a rush, reducing this smart, sharp man to nothing more than single syllables. And she knew exactly how he felt because she could hardly think; he felt so good inside her. She moved on him, slowly at first. When she was ready for more, she tried to pick up their pace but he wrapped a hand in her hair, his other hand going to her hip to hold her still.

  “No.” His voice was serrated, thick, his grip preventing her from racing them both to the finish line. “Don’t move. Not a single muscle—Oh, Christ,” he grated out when she clenched on him. “Christ, you feel good.” His fingers tightened, and she knew she’d have bruises.

  She didn’t care. His tongue was back in her mouth, moving in tune to the way his body moved within hers, and it was more than she could take. She broke loose and undulated her hips as she climbed higher, then higher still when he reached a hand between them to stroke his thumb over the current center of her entire universe.

  Crying out, she clutched at him, out of control and unable to care. When she came, it was hard and fast. She heard Matt swear reverently as he rocked her through it, and then he was flying with her.

  Finally, they stilled against each other. Sated, she laid her head against his shoulder as he pulled her in tight. When her breathing calmed, she sighed. “You make me lose myself.”

  “Good.”

  She met his gaze. “Yeah?”

  “Everyone should lose themselves just like that, as often as possible.” And then he flashed her a smile before dumping her off his lap. He smacked her lightly on the ass, rose to his feet, and then strode naked into the kitchen. “Starving,” he said over his shoulder.

  She gaped after him. “You going to eat like that?
”

  “Yeah. And so are you.”

  She hated being told what to do. Always. It made her run away.

  But she didn’t run. Instead, she followed him like a lovelorn puppy into the kitchen, where they consumed grilled cheese sandwiches while leaning against the counter. Naked.

  He told her about his day, making her laugh at how he’d been followed around by a group of camping biologists who’d wanted him to discuss the bodily functions of the otters in the cold water streams that fed into the water supply. He spoke fondly about his family, about his warm but nosy mom, his take-no-shit dad, his brother who had three little girls of his own now—karma’s idea of a joke since his brother had been crazy wild. He told her how he and Ty had beaten the shit out of each other just that morning in the gym, with Josh standing over them on the sidelines like a worried den mother…

  And all she could do the whole time was soak up every word and marvel that he trusted her, that he enjoyed her company, and that he wanted to be with her. It softened her in a way she hadn’t expected, and she found herself just staring at him.

  “What?” he asked, with a small smile.

  She shook her head, unable to explain how she felt when she was with him. Like she was on a tightrope without a net. An overdose of adrenaline, terror-filled, excited, and overwhelmed all at once.

  “Tell me,” he said.

  It was that voice of his, the low, calm, utterly commanding voice that made her do just that. “This has been a really great first first date.”

  “First first date? As in your first date ever?”

  She grimaced. “Yeah, sort of.”

  He looked at her for a long moment. “Explain.”

  She opened her mouth and then closed it again. She shrugged, embarrassed, and spent a moment getting a glass of water. It was hard to believe talking about herself made her feel more naked than actually being naked, but there it was.

  “Were you a nun until recently?” he asked.

  She laughed. “No.”

  “Sheltered?”

  She laughed again, this time a little bitterly. “No. It’s no big thing. I’ve obviously been with men. I’ve just never done this, the dressing up and going out thing.”

  “Which we never got to,” he said with deep regret.

  “It’s okay. It was still really great.”

  He took the drink from her hand and drew her out of the kitchen. They dressed, and he drove them to Seattle after all, to a small intimate bar downtown that had a really great band. They danced, talked, and laughed, and then danced some more.

  Amy had never once had a guy set an entire evening around her and her needs. It made her feel things, and for once she didn’t mind. She felt special. Cherished. And hours later, when they pulled back up to his cabin, she turned to him and smiled. “Heck of a first date, Ranger Hot Buns.” Leaning in, she kissed him softly. “Thank you,” she whispered against his mouth, which curved gently.

  “You’re welcome.” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “But it’s not over yet.”

  “No?”

  He led her inside and to his kitchen, where they shared a three a.m. plate of cookies and mugs of milk, dressed this time. She sat on his counter, and he stood at her side, smiling at her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “You have a crumb…” He licked the corner of her mouth, then used the excuse to kiss the daylights out of her.

  “That was a ploy,” she said when they broke apart for air.

  “Uh huh.” He started removing her clothes, until she sat bare assed on his counter, trying not to squeal at the feel of the cold tile beneath her cheeks. “Okay, this can’t be sanitary.”

  He smiled and stripped, making her heart stutter in her chest because he was so beautiful. “Nice,” she said.

  He pushed her legs open and stepped between them, and she forgot all about being cold or sanitary.

  Wrapping his hand in her hair, he gently tugged her head to the side and kissed her neck.

  “Again?” she breathed, melting when he opened his mouth and sucked a little patch of skin.

  “Oh, yeah, again,” he said. “And then again.”

  “We won’t be able to walk.”

  He nipped her collarbone and headed south toward her breast. “I’m going to be so good to you, you won’t care.”

  Chapter 15

  Researchers have discovered that chocolate produces some of the same reactions in the brain as marijuana. The researchers also discovered other similarities between the two but can’t remember what they are.

  That next morning, Matt’s alarm went off. He was alone. Nothing unusual about that, he told himself, and rose.

  Half an hour later, he and Josh were hanging off a cliff together. It was barely dawn, and Josh was tense and bitchy because he’d only gotten three hours of sleep thanks to a long ER shift.

  Matt hadn’t gotten even three hours of sleep but he wasn’t tense and bitchy. Maybe a little freaked out. He had no idea what he was doing with Amy. At least not other than making her cry out his name whenever she was naked. That, he’d discovered, he was very good at.

  “Shut up,” Josh said.

  “I didn’t say anything.”

  “You didn’t have to. Your just-got-laid smile is saying it all for you. Loudly. Have some sympathy on those of us not getting any.”

  Matt slid his longtime friend a look. “You could be getting some. What happened to what’s-her-name? That hot red-headed nurse you were talking about?”

  “She told me how she’d been dreaming about marrying a doctor since she was eight.”

  Matt winced. “That’ll do it. What about that cute brunette you met when you operated on her brother’s mysterious head injury?”

  “Turns out she’s the one who gave him that injury.”

  “Ah. Okay, how about that new chick… Grace? The one who’s friends with Amy and Mallory?”

  “Hell, no.”

  “Why not? She’s pretty.”

  “Yeah, but she’s Mallory’s and Amy’s friend,” Josh said.

  “So?”

  “So,” Josh said in the tone that suggested Matt was a complete moron. “Ty fell for Mallory. It might be contagious.”

  Matt laughed. “You’re a doctor. Whatever you catch, just give yourself a shot and get over it.”

  “Is that what you’re going to do? After you finish falling for Amy, you’re just going to get over it?”

  This shut Matt up because he had no clue.

  Josh shook his head. “I’ve given up dating for now. It’s just too damn hard anyway, with Toby and Anna.”

  “Your son and sister wouldn’t want you to give up your life for them.”

  Josh lifted a shoulder. “I’m working seventy-five hours a week. I don’t have time to date.”

  “Man, that’s just sad.”

  “Says the guy who works the same crazy hours I do. How are you fitting your relationship with Amy into that schedule? You prepared for the pissy girlfriend act when she finds out how you’re always on the job?”

  “She’s not my girlfriend.”

  Josh snorted. “You haven’t seen Facebook yet today, I take it.”

  “You don’t have time for women, but you have time for Facebook?”

  “My office manager has it as my homepage,” Josh said. “Thinks she’s amusing. But it was very amusing today. You went out with Amy, a date that ended with you being a fucking action hero.”

  Matt stared at him. “How the hell did that get out?”

  “Lucille was at the station when Sawyer brought the guys in. She’d just bailed out Mrs. Burland for running over her neighbor’s foot—twice.” Josh raised a brow. “Nice start to a date, playing Superman. How did that work out for you?”

  Pretty good. He could still remember every breathy pant, every soft moan, every hungry “oh, please, Matt” that Amy had whispered in his ear. Not wanting to go there with Josh, Matt ignored the question and kept moving.

 
; “Wow, evading,” Josh said. “Subtle.”

  “Why don’t I climb with Ty?” Matt wondered out loud. “He doesn’t ask stupid questions.”

  “Because he’s too pussy to climb.”

  Matt laughed. Ty wasn’t “pussy” about much. Except heights.

  They were halfway down when something caught Matt’s attention across the long, broad chasm at Widow’s Peak, the cliff three hundred feet across the way. Climbers. They were at the midpoint plateau of Widow Peak’s face, which he knew they’d had to have gotten to by way of a closed-off trail. He knew this because he’d closed off the trail himself.

  The climbers were whooping and hollering it up, and Matt shook his head. “Shit.”

  “Kids?” Josh asked.

  “Can’t tell.”

  “Isn’t that entire area closed off?”

  “Yeah,” Matt said grimly, scrambling down. “I closed it because of rock slide problems. It’s not safe.”

  Josh hit the ground only three beats behind him, squinting through the sun, shading his eyes with a hand. “Looks like a total of four idiots. Nope, five.”

  Matt pulled binoculars from his pack and took in the sight of the climbers passing something between them. Tension gathered in a ball at the base of his spine. “They’re getting high first,” he said, shoving the binoculars at Josh, then gathering his gear.

  “We going to go scare them off?”

  “Hell, yeah.”

  They moved to Matt’s truck, where he replaced his climbing gear with a utility belt, including weapons.

  “Do I get one of those?” Josh asked.

  “No.”

  “But I get to look all scary and intimidating, right?”

  Matt looked Josh over. Out of his scrubs, Josh didn’t look much like a doctor. He looked like a six-foot-four NFL linebacker. “I don’t know,” Matt said, baiting him. “Can you do scary and intimidating?”

  Josh narrowed his eyes. “If I hadn’t taken an oath to save lives, not take them, I’d show you scary and intimidating right now.”