What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 7)

by Lexi Buchanan

  The door opens and he yanks me inside with a burst of energy. He shoves the door shut with his other hand the moment I’m through. He lets out his sexy growl, and it sends a primal signal to my brain.

  “Oh goodness, I love it when you do that,” I say. I reach for his waistband as he whips off his shirt. We strip him naked first. After a night of watching other women trying to take what they need from Kaleb, I’m inspired to do the same. Only I know he’s more than willing to give it to me.

  He tugs on my sweater, but I step back and shake my head slowly. “I want to look at you. I want to see what’s for my eyes only.”

  I start at his feet and move my gaze slowly up his body. He trembles a little at my stare, and when I linger on his arousal he lets out shaky sigh. “This is so hot.”

  I step close and trace the words he wrote on his chest. “This is what I find hot.” He grabs the hem of my sweater, and I lift my arms to let him pull it off. A low rumble comes from the back of his throat. I step back from his reach and unbutton my jeans. Slowly I pull the zipper down so it reveals my panties and teases him. I wiggle my hips and let them drop to the floor in a whoosh of denim. I turn around and lift my hair. “A little help here?”

  Kaleb’s fingers practically sear me as he unhooks my bra and then slides his hands around to cup my breasts. I lean back into him and moan. He gets down on his knees and flutters kisses on my lower back and pulls down my panties. I have no doubt they’re moist with my juices.

  His kisses move over my bottom and down my thighs. When he gets to the back of my knee I come undone. His hot breath and soft lips send an electric current to my core, and I let out a little cry.

  He moves to my other knee and slides a hand between my legs to glide a finger over my sensitive slit. I shudder. He grabs my hips and twists me to face him. My skin tingles where his hair brushes as he kisses his way up my inner thigh. I widen my stance, and he suckles my sex.

  The sensation makes me throw my head back and moan. “Kaleb.” My core twitches uncontrollably, and my legs tremble. “I can’t stand.”

  He chortles. “I’ve got a perfectly good bed, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

  With that comment he’s on his feet to scoop me up. He drops me on his bed, and the headboard hits the wall with a bang. For a fleeting second, I think about what people can hear. Then the thought is completely lost as his tongue darts into my tender folds.

  But tonight I don’t want to come without him. I want the weight of Kaleb on me, and the pressure of him inside me, as I explode around him. I reach down and gently push him away. “I want you inside me when I come.”

  He climbs over me. The drawer of his nightstand rattles when he opens it. His thick length is practically in my face, and I don’t resist the urge to taste him. The heady scent of him tantalizes me. The position is a bit awkward, but I pull him into my mouth.

  He drops the condom and grabs on to the headboard. “God, that feels good.” His hips pump slightly and he tenses. Kaleb pulls out of my mouth. “Whoa, I’m so close.”

  “Me too. Hurry.” The hair on his legs is rough under my fingers as I rub his thighs, moving my hands up toward his hips. I watch as he rolls the condom on with practiced ease.

  He doesn’t waste any time when my legs open to him, and he thrusts into me as far as he can go. We move frantically, and I reach the edge within seconds. I arch my back and squeeze tightly around him.

  He pants. “Hold on, babe. I’m almost there.” Two more thrusts and his hands clench the sheets by my head. “Now.” He cries out, and I let myself fall with him, into him, and into us.

  I stare at the ceiling as Kaleb sleeps. His arm is across my belly as if shielding me from the night. The party has died down, and I hear occasional metal clangs from car doors as they shut and the crackle of tires that drive over frozen ridges of muddy road.

  The music stopped a while ago, and I wonder just how many bodies still dance in intimate ways on the couches and in hidden corners. Years of training to listen in my slumber won’t allow me to sleep. But I have no desire to leave the warmth of Kaleb and the scent of our lovemaking.

  I recall the words he uttered when I told him a tattoo with my name might bother his future wife. Maybe she won’t mind. He thinks about a future for us. And now that Lucas is out of my life, I dare to as well.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  “Warm enough?” Kaleb asks. His hands are bare right now, and I’m sure they’re too hot for gloves. He swings his skis a bit, and I refrain from asking him to stop. I won’t fall out of the chairlift because of it.

  “Yeah, just nervous.” I look down at my new red spring jacket. It has a spider web embroidered on it, and it makes me feel dangerous. I bought it as a personal celebration of today. The fact I look amazing in this shade of red helped with my decision.

  I watch cotton ball clouds float lazily in the blue sky. Spring skiing in Colorado is a reward to all instructors after a busy winter of work. I lean my face back and let the sun kiss me with its warm rays.

  Kaleb places an arm on the back of the chair behind me, and I snuggle in. His hand squeezes my shoulder. “Are you excited, too?” he asks.

  The sun is so warm I don’t want to to open my eyes to look at him, and I answer without moving. “I am.” I wiggle my toes in my boots, and my body tenses a bit. “I seriously never thought I would be doing this so soon.”

  My hand grips the bar of the chairlift by my side, and cold seeps through my light spring glove. I don’t allow myself to look down because there’s no safety bar on this lift. We are headed to ski the bumps under E chair. Specifically, a trail named Devil’s Crotch. Yeah, the name is appropriate if you ask me. But I’ve faced worse evils and come out alive. I can do this.

  The lower half of the mountain will be slush by noon today, but the upper trails have plenty of great snow. As they soften in the sun, the huge bumps I’m about to ski will forgive small mistakes and allow me to pick my way down the trail at a comfortable speed.

  Amazingly, I’m not scared. That familiar sensation of clammy skin, a pounding heart, and shallow breathing is nonexistent. While I wouldn’t say I’m relaxed, my body is comfortable.

  I gaze over the mountain range. Wind whips at higher elevations, and snow blows up from the mountaintops like smoke curls. I snug my zipper up a little closer to my chin, and the soft fleece inside my jacket strokes my skin. It’s windy at the top of this chairlift, but I doubt I’ll get cold in the short time it takes to get to the trail.

  It occurs to me that Kaleb is quiet this morning. He usually keeps me talking to distract me from my anxiety in new situations. “You’re awfully quiet. Are you nervous too?” I joke.

  “No. I was just thinking about us. I was remembering the first time I saw you.” He rubs his forehead and smirks.

  I turn to look at him. I recall the way his eyes hypnotized me that morning. He lifts his goggles, and they still do.

  He touches my cheek with his finger. “I thought you were the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. And you are. His finger travels along the embroidery of my jacket. I’m caught in your web, and there isn’t any place I’d rather be.”

  I lift my goggles so he can see my eyes too. “Before I knew your name, I called you Adonis.” I giggle at my admission. “Go ahead; you can puff out your chest. I thought you were hot the first time I saw you. It’s true.”

  He answers with a kiss that makes my senses buzz. Before it can go further, I realize we’re near the top and it’s time to unload. I pull my poles out from under my leg and prepare to get off. Time to focus on my major milestone. We push off the chair and glide down the ramp.

  The snow is grainy and loud as we pass over it on our way to the trail. Kaleb leads the way, and we stop at the top of a steep section littered with huge moguls.

  He stops to give me a pep talk. “Tell me your plan.”

  I look at him with a smile. I’m not afraid. “I’ll use the bumps as my safety. I’ll try to make turns on the section b
etween the top and the crevice of a mogul and maintain a line. If I get moving too fast, I’ll either absorb a bump before turning again or slide into one to stop.

  A slow smile forms on his face while I speak. He asks, “You’re not afraid, are you?”

  I can’t contain my grin. “Nope. I’ve got this.” I pull down my goggles, turn my skis so they are almost downhill, and choose my line.

  He taps my pole with his. “Yes, you do. Want to go first?”

  I don’t answer and take off.

  The first turn is easy but then things get a little hairy. There’s no way I can follow a line as I bounce between two bumps, and I quickly change to make it wider. I realize I need to absorb a bump between each turn, likely more than one.

  I’m okay with it, though. I’m doing this. I let my legs suck up the terrain and feel my abdominals stretch and flex. It’s quite a workout. Partway down the trail, I stop to catch my breath and Kaleb pulls up beside me.

  “Not bad. You don’t need me to tell you a thing,” says Kaleb.

  “Thanks.” Before I can let things overwhelm me, I start skiing again. It’s a long, exhausting trail for me, but with only two more stops I make it.

  “You did it. And I couldn’t be more proud of you.” Kaleb grins. Moisture has beaded on his forehead, and it makes me feel a little better that he had to work hard to ski those bumps.

  “I did.” I look back up the trail and relish in how ominous it looks.

  “Again?” Kaleb’s voice has a hint of laughter, and I know he’s not sure what my answer will be.

  “No. But next year, I’ll crush it.” That’s a lofty goal, and probably not going to happen, but I feel darn invincible right now. “Let’s go ski the bowl. I want to fly.”

  Kaleb takes me by my shoulders. “You’re amazing. I’ll fly anywhere with you.” His mouth meets mine, and our kiss makes my heart soar. And I know our love has set me free.

  Author Bio

  Violet Vaughn writes New Adult Romance in her home in New Hampshire. She lives with her husband, two teenagers and three Portuguese Water Dogs. An avid skier she taught skiing and snowboarding before she started her family and now skies every winter weekend for enjoyment. Summers are full of hiking and running with her dogs.

  More Books By Violet Vaughn

  Fire and Ice Series

  Crave

  Release

  Rush

  Fierce

  Exposed

  You can find me at:

  http://www.violetvaughn.com

  Join my mailing list to find out more about my latest books at:

  http://www.violetvaughnlinks.com/mailing-list-50

  Embrace

  Riverton Cove series, Book I Sweet romance novella

  Renee Field

  Dedication to all the women looking for a second chance at love. I say jump for it! All the mistakes in this novella are my own.

  Chapter One

  Ella thought for the second time that day she should have rented an SUV. The small, compact car had called to her in the rental parking lot but about thirty minutes outside of the Newport State Airport the snow had started to fall and she’d cursed going with her feminine instinct which had screamed ‘Pick the cute Mini’. She slowed down and cranked up the radio and tried hard to not think about why she had gone on impulse control to begin with, and failed.

  Her sister’s frantic call to her last night had rocked Ella’s world. For the first time in five years Ella had cancelled her heavy work schedule and booked a flight home ASAP. At five in the morning she’d hailed a taxi in the ever-constant New York traffic to take her to JFK to supposedly hop on a short flight to Barnstable Municipal Airport which the locals called the Hyannis Airport. Things hadn’t gone as planned. Her flight had been delayed because of technical difficulties which meant a five hour wait at JFK.

  By the time the plane landed in Hyannis and after she’d dealt with the rental agency she had texted her sister informing her she’d make her own way home. Plus she didn’t want her sister to leave their mother alone in the hospital.

  The radio had played a constant litany of love songs since the moment she’d turned it on. While she’d like to switch the channel, navigating getting off the ramp from the highway to the smaller road required her immediate attention. The snow had packed about five inches down already and what the weather man had called a few flurries was becoming what she knew in her bones to be an incoming blizzard. That was the thing about Newport. It had its own weather system that mystified the meteorologists in the Big Apple. Gripping the wheel, all Ella wanted to do was get to her family homestead in one piece. Seriously though, if she heard another heartache song she might totally fall apart.

  Ella forced the car to a crawl as the Mini’s tires sought traction and breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the highway sign for Route 6. A road she knew like the back of her hand. Passing through the familiar landscape brought another rush of memories Ella didn’t want to examine. She’d left and hadn’t looked back but that didn’t mean there weren’t times when living in New York, with its constant noise and people didn’t get to her. Turning left onto a secondary road, she bypassed the rich area of Newport known for its showy magazine-ready mansions and tourist haunts and settled in for another forty-five minutes of driving.

  Her last text from her sister had said they’d released their mother from the hospital which had surprised Ella. Was that normal? According to her sister Tara, it had been a minor stroke and the hospital couldn’t do anything else for her, plus their demanding mother was insisting on going home. That had sounded like her mother and for once it made Ella smile. Demanding to a fault, she was also loving and it had been her mother’s determination that had enabled Ella to leave the small town of Riverton to pursue a law degree. Even after the sudden death of her father, Ella’s mother didn’t slow down or expect her daughters to do anything but pursue their dreams.

  That however didn’t explain why she had avoided coming home for close to five years. The truth of the matter was that the last time she’d been home she’d heard her high school sweetheart, Paul Carter, had gotten engaged. The thought of seeing him with someone else had been enough to fortify her heart that the best course of action would be staying away. While she might admit to herself she was being a chicken, that didn’t mean she’d openly let on how much she wished things had been different.

  When Love You Always, another Lionel Richie top 40 song started to play on the radio, Ella had enough. Flicking stations, she sought a Christmas song and sighed heavily when she couldn’t find one. Christmas songs it seemed were only in fashion on December 24th through to the 26th, and with it only being the 15th of the month she’d have to wait two more weeks for her favorite jingles. At least her mother would be playing them because Christmas, like most holidays in the O’Connor home, was to be celebrated with music, food and more food.

  A pang of longing hit Ella when she realized that while she’d stayed away for five years, she’d actually missed more than a dozen Christmas gatherings with her family and that damn feeling of guilt eased into her. While some of her excuses had been legitimate because law school was not for the faint of heart, the truth had been it was easier to stay away. Going home always made her want to stay and she’d promisedherself she’d never live in a small town, where everyone knew your name and your business when they shouldn’t. But was living in a big city any better? That had been the question haunting her lately. Everything about New York was starting to grate on her nerves. From the constant honking of the taxis, to the sour-ripe smell of the city that permeated the air all year but got constantly worse as the weather heated up for summer, she was beginning to question if living in the big city was worth it.

  To those from her small town, she’d made it. Over the last few years she’d tried telling herself that meant something, but knowing her mother was getting older and that she’d basically abandoned her sister, making it didn’t sound so good or make her feel great. Sure she’d
left the small rural town behind and now had a solid reputation as a good real estate lawyer with a medium-sized firm but if Ella looked at her life for any length of time she’d find it wanting. She worked long hours, and when not working she hit the fitness center. Her apartment cost more than her mother had made in a year and while she’d looked at a number of condos recently she couldn’t seem to purchase a place. Nothing called to her, or so she told herself.

  She passed Beckman’s old farm, slowing down more to take a good look at the place. The farm looked deserted and Ella didn’t like how that made her feel. Mary Beckman had been a good friend to the O’Connor family and growing up Ella had enjoyed helping out on the farm. She wondered what had happened. Mary had two sons and Ella thought for sure they’d follow in the family footsteps and stay close to home. Guess she had been wrong. Change happened to all families but the thought of her old family house, which had been passed down for a hundred years falling to decay filled her heart with angst.

  Turning the corner, she fought with the wheel a little too hard and cursed yet again she’d taken the Mini Cooper over the SUV. This time the tires couldn’t find traction and pumping the brake only made the car spin wildly out of control. Ella’s last thought as the car hit the embankment was that next time, she’d ignore her feminine impulses and think more like the lawyer she was known for—rational to a fault.

  Chapter Two

  Paul had been tailing the slow to a fault driver for a good thirty miles and he’d cursed enough time that had his father been alive and in the truck, he’d actually for once in his life be proud of him. After all his father’s regular vocabulary had been sailor-talk, where every second word consisted of an expletive. Thankful at least his father was long dead and buried, Paul forced his mind to the present. The snow was picking up and the satellite had shown a Nor ’easter coming, not that the stupid weather man from New York on the radio channels once shared that tidbit of information. If the car didn’t pick up speed soon he’d find himself in the full force of the damn storm and the last thing he needed was more time away from the office.