by J. L. Berg
I did as she’d asked. “Now, close your eyes.”
I swallowed the lump of panic working its way upward and forced my eyelids closed.
“Breathe,” she said.
“Right,” I replied, a poor attempt at a joke.
Cool air hit the upper part of my limb as she pulled the heavy fabric the rest of the way off and disconnected the heavy prosthesis. Her warm touch was the next thing I felt along with another trail of kisses moving up to the residual limb that remained. I let out a ragged breath, savoring the feel of her lips on my broken body. Slowly, as her mouth traveled up my shoulder, across my collarbone, and toward my mouth, the nervousness I felt dissipated, replaced by raw, relentless hunger.
“Water,” I growled. “Now.”
Knowing she had a certain proclivity for a few of my one-handed abilities, I bent down and made quick work of tossing her over my shoulder, and then I charged toward the shoreline.
All I could think of was having this woman wrapped around me, naked, wet, and willing. Cora was my ultimate fantasy, a pipe dream I’d thought was long gone until she stormed back into my life, like a gift from above.
I’d never stop being grateful. I’d never stop trying to be the man she deserved.
Before we got too deep, the water lapping at my waist, I tugged her back down toward my chest, her sexy little body sliding down around mine.
“Still hot?” I asked in regard to the one-armed maneuver.
She tightened her hold, pressing against me. “Very.”
Having her so close and my body so ready, I realized we’d forgotten one crucial ingredient to modern-day lovemaking.
“Cora,” I said, feeling like the biggest idiot on the planet, “I don’t have any condoms. I wasn’t exactly planning on sleeping with you for the first time at your parents’ house.”
She let out a small chuckle. “And you don’t carry one in your wallet?”
I grinned, sliding my hand around to her ass. “Only when I was seventeen and thought it might bring me good luck.”
“Oh, yeah? How long did you keep that lucky condom?”
I squeezed her ass, causing her to squeal. “Cora, focus. Your body is so fucking hot and I am currently experiencing the biggest hard-on of my life, so if we don’t figure this out soon, I might pass out right here, in this watering hole. And I really don’t think you want to explain that to your parents.”
Her lips pressed together, a sign that she was obviously trying to keep from laughing.
“I haven’t been with anyone for a long time,” she said. “Blake and I were separated for over a year, and before that…” She hesitated before continuing, “It’s been a while. I’m on the pill.”
I nodded, reaching down to touch her hair. “I haven’t been with anyone since Molly.”
She seemed to be somewhat surprised. “That was over three years ago.”
“I’m seriously messed up, remember?” I smiled, recalling her words from not too long ago. “I was tested though. Before Molly, I mean. I wasn’t exactly the relationship type back then.” I let out a breath as I scrubbed my face, the cool water dripping down my cheeks. “This is awkward.”
Her arms held me tighter. “No,” she said, “it’s honest. And, if you were any other man, you would have just taken what was offered without a single thought. But you’re not. And that’s why I love you, Dean.”
I looked at her under the glow of moonlight, her wide eyes full of promise and truth.
She loves me.
I couldn’t say it enough times.
Dear God, she loved me.
Our mouths met in a frenzy. She moaned, deep and loud, under the starry sky. There were so many things I wanted to do to her, so many places I wanted to explore.
But, right now, I wanted to be inside her.
So goddamn bad.
She must have felt the same raging need because her moan turned to a whimper as she moved against me, almost panicked with desperation.
With my hand on her hip, I briefly lifted her as I thrust up, never breaking eye contact as our bodies became one.
And our souls entwined.
Her arms wrapped around my neck as I let out a staggering breath, the rightness of this moment hitting me like a freight train.
“So fucking good, Cora,” I mumbled, curling my hand under her ass for leverage. “You feel so damn good.”
Every thrust felt like magic. Every moan and cry of passion from her lips? Poetry. Making love to her under the warm Texas night sky was what dreams were made of.
“I love you, Cora,” I vowed, her arms tight around my neck as she rode my body hard and fast.
“I love you, Dean,” she said, breathless in my ear as I rotated her hips against mine, pulling every ounce of pleasure I could.
Her sexy little body gripped mine like a vise.
Like we had been made for each other.
I could feel her growing close as she began to move, hot and quick, making my balls tighten and my cock weep. She cried out my name to the heavens, water splashing around us in a thunderous wave.
“Dean!” she screamed, her orgasm taking over as her head fell back and she let go.
“Fuck!” I cursed, coming hard and long inside her.
I never wanted to leave.
I’d found my home.
Right here, in the middle of nowhere, under the moonlit sky, I’d found what I’d been searching for.
A purpose.
A family.
A future.
And I was never letting go.
Although Cora had assured me we’d done a good job of sneaking back into the house the night before, I couldn’t help but notice the sideways glances her father kept giving me at breakfast or the way her mother seemed to blush every time I walked by.
“It’s your imagination,” Cora said as we lounged on a blanket at The Hole, watching Lizzie splash around with her pappy.
“Is it? Because your mom hasn’t been able to look at me without giggling or turning bright red, and believe me, I know what the Carpenter blush looks like.”
She laughed, playfully hitting me on the arm. “Okay, so maybe my mom asked me if I had any laundry to wash this morning, and when I said no, she might have gotten the clue that we didn’t exactly take bathing suits here last night.”
“I told you!”
She just shrugged. “I’m nearly thirty years old, Dean! It’s not like I’m a mischievous teenager sneaking out here with my high school boyfriend.”
“Did you ever sneak any of your high school boyfriends down here?” I asked, suddenly rising up on my elbow.
Her eyebrows rose in amusement as I watched her remove the floral cover-up she’d put on to hike out here. A small smile spread across her face as she noticed my eyes lingering around the curve of her breasts and the deep valley in between.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She jumped up and ran toward the water.
“I would kind of!” I hollered, damn near knocked back by how perfect her ass looked in that black bikini of hers.
I thought back to the night before. Her naked body wrapped around mine. That tight, wet heat. The moans. The cries of passion.
Yeah, never mind. Definitely did not want to know.
“She seems happy.”
I turned to see Abe taking a seat next to me. I involuntarily coughed, realizing I had just been fantasizing about his daughter coming all over my cock, and did a quick check of myself, thanking Cora for packing extra towels.
“She is,” I said, wondering if this guy had some of the superpowers he was so obsessed with because he was just in that water, like, two seconds ago.
The old man had stealth; that was for sure.
He paused for a long time, just staring out at her, watching her splash around with Lizzie and his wife. I could see a small smile forming in the corner of his mouth, full of contentment and satisfaction.
“I know much of what she told us yesterday regarding her and Blake’s marriage problem
s was full of holes,” he said. “That can only mean she left things out for a reason.”
My jaw twitched as I looked ahead.
“Don’t worry, son; I’m not asking you to break her trust.”
“Good, because I won’t. I’ve worked hard to earn it.”
He patted my knee, a fatherly gesture—or at least, that was what I assumed fathers did. “The thing about Cora you’ve got to learn is, she’s really quite trusting when it comes down to it. That might have been shaken in the last few years, but ultimately, the one and only person Cora has a hard time trusting is herself.”
I thought about his words as we sat together in silence, watching the three of them play out in the water. Cora carried Lizzie on her shoulders before falling over, causing both of them to get soaked. Lizzie came up, sputtering water and laughing hysterically.
“Do you think she does? Trust herself, that is.”
His eyes narrowed as he looked at her until he finally shook his head with uncertainty. “I don’t know, Dean. I simply don’t know. But I think you’d better find out before it’s too late.”
“Before what’s too late?” I asked, turning toward him at his dire warning.
“This,” he said, motioning to the happy scene I’d been staring at since he sat down. “Them.”
They both chose that moment to look back at me and wave.
I held my hand up and did the same.
“Don’t let them slip away like I did,” he said. “Don’t let her slip away like I did. Fight for her, Dean. Fight for each other. Because, eventually, she’s going to lose trust in herself, and you’re going to need enough for the both of you.”
“Fight,” I murmured, looking down at my broken body. I’d felt useless for far too long, like a tumbleweed blowing in the wind with no purpose.
But they were my purpose.
Cora and Lizzie.
And, if push came to shove, I’d fight for them and everything we had to lose.
Dear Friends and Family,
Hello from Cabo!
Okay, not really. But that’s what I’ll be saying next week! That’s right! Blake just surprised Lizzie and me with a week in paradise.
And I know; it’s during Thanksgiving break, and we won’t be able to visit anyone, but who can say no to a beach vacation? And you know how much Lizzie loves the beach.
We’ll figure something out for Christmas. Promise.
The contractors have guaranteed the renovations I approved will be done by then. So, Christmas in Virginia sound okay, Mom and Dad? But don’t buy any tickets yet. The whole thing will be on me…and I don’t want you to be out of money if the contractors don’t finish on time.
But they will. Promise.
Just in case though…
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go do some shopping.
I have a trip to pack for.
XOXO,
Cora and family
“Am I a bad mother for allowing my kindergartner to go on a sleepover?” I asked the moment Dean opened his door.
He looked slightly surprised but pleasantly so. Especially when I held up the overnight bag I’d packed.
“If I say no, will that mean a sleepover of our own?”
Dropping the bag in the entryway, I jumped, knowing he’d catch me with that sexy one-handed thing he did.
Seriously, it was hot.
My mouth met his as he banged into the doorframe, my hair falling down around us like a curtain. With a possessive hand on my ass, he kicked my bag inside, and we started tearing into each other’s clothes.
“Shit, the door,” he said. “Don’t want to give the neighbors fodder for gossip fire.”
“So, does that mean I need to be quiet?” I asked as he slammed the door shut and flipped around to press me against it.
“Hell no.” He grinned.
“Good,” I nearly purred, so hot and ready that I was nearly panting.
It’d been a long week since our return from Texas.
Being a single mom definitely had its drawbacks.
Being a single mom who lived in an inn with an extremely curious and observant genius as a daughter?
Torturous.
We’d managed to sneak into one of the exam rooms during the one and only lunch break we were lucky enough to get this week, but beyond that…
This was the first time we had been alone. And damn if I didn’t want to rip his clothes off and let him fuck my brains out until the sun came up the next day.
We’d managed to do a halfway decent job in the clothes department, his shirt and mine already on the floor by the door. Reaching around, I made quick work of my bra while he stared. I could feel my nipples growing hard from his watchful gaze.
“I like the skirt,” he said as his eyes made their way downward.
A small smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth as he gently set me down, one leg at a time, a single finger roaming up the length of my bare thigh.
“Come on,” he said, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the stairs.
“What?” I laughed.
“I’ve had you in the water, on an exam table, almost in a car—”
Oh, yeah. I forgot about that one. Stupid nosy tourists.
“But there’s one place we haven’t tried yet,” he said as we began climbing the small staircase toward his room. “A bed.”
I’d never actually been in his house before. But, honestly, I wasn’t much for checking out the furnishings right now.
And neither was he.
Kicking my sandals off, I slowly climbed onto the bed with a bit of flair, letting my skirt ride high on my thighs. Turning, I lay back, leaning on my elbows as I gazed up at him.
“Goddamn, you’re beautiful,” he said. “Seeing you like that in my bed…”
My eyes meandered over his half-naked body, the rugged definition earned from a lifetime at sea. His haunting green eyes had managed to steal my heart and my soul. I saw everything in them. Power, strength, passion.
Unwavering devotion.
“So are you.” I smiled.
His hand went to his jeans. A simple flick of the wrist and a tug, and they were on the floor.
“Did that take practice?”
A mischievous grin spread across his face. “Getting undressed, one-handed, is pretty easy,” he said. “Getting dressed is the hard part.”
“So, are you saying, we should just stay naked for the rest of the night?”
“Definitely.” He stepped out of his jeans, and he crawled onto the bed, his large body hovering above mine. “There are so many things I’ve been wanting to do to you for so long,” he said, his lips kissing a seductive path down my rib cage and to the edge of my skirt. “So many fantasies.”
I sucked in my bottom lip, feeling the tips of his fingers work their way up my inner thigh until they reached the black lace I’d worn especially for this moment.
His eyes jolted up to mine, causing me to blush.
“Now, what do we have here?”
Profusely thanking the inventor of elastic, I watched as he pulled my skirt down my legs, dropping it to the floor as he stared at the sexy little surprise I’d bought.
It’d taken an act of supreme stealth. You couldn’t buy anything last minute when you lived in a place like Ocracoke, and it wasn’t like they had a friendly neighborhood naughty store. So, I’d relied on good ole Austin. Just before we had been airport-bound, I’d stepped out, saying I was going to grab snacks for the plane, and—yep, you guessed it—I went to the lingerie store.
And, based on the blazing stare Dean was giving me, damn if it wasn’t worth it. He looked like he was about to bend down and tear them off me with his teeth.
And, even though they had cost me a small fortune, I’d let him.
I didn’t have a chance to tell him about the goldmine wrapped around my hips because that smolder turned into pure determination as he bent forward and spread me wide. I nearly yelped from the shock and surprise as he did just what I’d be
en dreaming about, placing his mouth right on the thin black lace.
And then he sucked hard.
“Fuck!” I cried out.
Who knew my guy-next-door type would turn out to be a kink in disguise?
And who knew I’d love it so much?
My hands fell to my sides, grasping the sheets between my fingers, as he reached for the G-string, wrapped it around his wrist, and snapped it.
Holy shit.
When he moved the lace to one side, I felt the full onslaught of his mouth on my tight, wet core. My head fell back, and I gave in to the sensations of it all.
The delirious, wonderfully exhausting sensations of being worshipped by Dean Sutherland.
I writhed under his touch as he worked my body with expert precision, knowing exactly how to squeeze out every last drop of pleasure until I was hovering on the edge, begging for an orgasm.
He kept me there, aching and wanting, rubbing my clit, and then he quickly sat up in the bed.
“Please, Dean,” I whimpered, needing that release more than I needed anything in that moment.
The whole town could have paraded into his bedroom right then, and I would have simply held up a finger and asked them to politely wait until he finished me off.
I needed relief. I needed—
“Oh my God!”
My orgasm hit as he slammed into me, joining us in the most intimate way. One thrust became two, and my climax grew, over and over, with never-ending waves of pleasure as he fucked me hard.
His mouth—that sweet, merciful mouth of his—closed over my nipple, sucking and gently biting the tip as his hand gripped my hip, demanding more.
I thought I’d given everything.
Surely, I had nothing left.
I was spent.
But, as he rocked my hips back and forth, I felt it. That flutter deep in my belly. A spark that soon grew into a flame.
A flame that roared into an inferno.
“Oh God, I’m going to come again!”
A satisfied grin spread across his handsome face as his movements became rushed and almost frenzied.
I rose up, kissing that cocky grin right off his face, as the room filled with the sounds of our lovemaking. Heavy sighs, soft groans, skin against skin.
