“Does he now?”
I take a step back into his space and wrap my arms around his neck. His hands slip down to my ass where he grabs me. I hold in a moan when I feel his erection trapped between us.
He’s certainly feeling better than he did when he walked through the door, which makes my heart feel lighter. I’m not sure how I was expecting him to feel when he returned home, but I’m glad I’ve been able to help his mood change.
Feeling him hard and long against my stomach gives me wicked ideas. My fingers start trailing down the front of his tee shirt as I lean in and kiss along his neck to the pulsing hollow of his throat.
Grabbing the bottom of his shirt, I slide my hands underneath and slowly raise it up his torso until I can throw it off.
“What—”
I seal his lips with mine while capturing his wrists and holding them above his head. Our tongues search for each other, our teeth clash and nothing has ever felt as good.
He groans and arches his hips into me when I rub against him. “You’re killing me, babe.”
“I’ve not even started yet.”
I reach between us and squeeze his erection through his jeans, feeling it pulse against my hand.
Moving down, I tease his nipples with my tongue and fingers while unfastening his jeans. Dipping my hand inside his underwear, my fingers wrap around his pulsing cock. I rub my thumb back and forth over the flared head. He drops his head back against the wall, and I moan against his chest with my arousal moving up a notch.
Relaxing into my touch the way he does, is hot, and the trust he has in me is a real turn on.
Wherever I touch, his body is toned muscle. His chest is sculptured with only a sprinkling of hair leading to the base of the pulsing organ I’m stroking.
It’s exhilarating having him at my mercy for a change and it’s doing naughty things to my body. I nip at his neck . . . there is no way I’ll let him stop me.
His hands slide into my hair as he holds me against his chest. I’m licking and caressing him with my lips, causing his lust to ramp up higher and higher, if his groans are any indication.
Before I can move further south with my mouth, his hips start thrusting into my hand. It isn’t enough though. I need to see him. I need to watch him come.
Slowly moving down his chest, he realizes my intention and lets my hair go.
Dropping to my knees leaves me eye level with his dick.
“You’re gorgeous,” I whisper under my breath, as I dip my head and taste his passion.
“Fuck. Babe . . . Oh God,” he loudly moans.
Sucking the head into my mouth, I swirl my tongue around the sensitive nerves and using my hands, I stroke over his hips to caress his ass.
I didn’t think it was possible, but he enlarges even more in my mouth.
Keeping one hand on his ass, I move my other to his balls and rub against his sac, and taste his mounting arousal on my tongue.
My breasts feel swollen and the ache between my legs is growing. He’s so damn sexy and knowing I can make him react to me like he does drives me insane.
Wanting him to come in my mouth, I thread my fingers in the hair surrounding the root of his cock. I wrap my hand around the base and slowly start to move back and forth.
He growls and plunges his hands in my hair, wrapping them into the thick waves. His thighs quiver as I take him deeper into my mouth, while pressing with my tongue along the underside.
“Babe, I’m going to come,” he warns.
I suck him and when I hum in pleasure, he curses before releasing in my mouth. He throbs and quivers before collapsing against the wall.
“Enough.” He pushes me off him.
I kneel back and grin when I see the wiped out look on his face.
“Fuck me. That was . . . um, unexpected.” He laughs as he yanks his jeans up and slides down the wall, hitting the floor hard with his ass. “Come here, babe. I need to see to you, but let me catch my breath”
He reaches out and drags me into his lap. I straddle him and cup his face with my hands. “That was for you. I can wait until later.”
He smiles, so I lean forward to kiss him.
“That was so hot. I loved taking you by surprise like that,” I admit.
“You’ll never get any complaints from me,” he chuckles. “That blew my mind.”
“Good.” I smile, happy that I can do that to him.
Chapter Twelve
Ryder
We’ve only been here at the cabin in Stowe about thirty minutes, after our flight into Burlington via D.C. and now that the rental truck is unpacked, I’m considering joining my girl for some playtime in the snow.
Fastening my jacket as I walk onto the porch, I smile and watch the pure delight on Dahlia’s face as she stomps about in the fresh snow.
She still hasn’t seen me so I take the opportunity to really watch her. The wool hat she’s wearing covers her glorious hair and the matching mittens are keeping her warm, and dry from the snow that’s still falling. Her jeans mold to her delectable butt as she bends over to grab some snow in her hands. I’ve had plenty of fantasies about fucking her from behind while I watch my dick slide in and out of her. I’d be able to touch her everywhere while taking her from behind. I’d be able to play with her large breasts and distended, plump nipples.
“Fuck.” I yank a glove off with my teeth and rearrange my throbbing dick. I’ll save those thoughts for later when we lock ourselves into the master suite.
“Come and play,” she shouts, having spotted me. “It’s so fresh here, and the snow is amazing.” She twirls around on the spot with her head thrown back and her mouth open to catch the snow as it falls around her.
Grabbing my cell, I zoom in and snap some pictures while she’s distracted. She catches me though and strikes a pose with a secret smile on her lips. Of course, I don’t miss that one.
Before zipping my cell back into my pocket, I make the last image of Dahlia the wallpaper on my cell until I can get one of us together.
Moving down the steps, I grin as I walk toward her but before I can take another step, she throws herself into my arms. Her legs go around my waist and her arms around my neck.
“I love it here. Can we make a snowman?” she asks, giddy with excitement.
I can’t remember the last time I made a snowman.
Holding her close, I quickly kiss her lips before pulling away and grinning. “I’d love to.”
She jumps out of my arms, and I watch as she gathers up a large snowball, before placing it on the ground. She grins at me as she rolls it around to gather more snow. Eventually it gets to the point where she’s struggling and, as much as I’m enjoying watching her tight body, I go over and help her until we have the body of the snowman in place.
“It’s your turn now.” She grins, which I return. “Ryder snap out of it. Our snowman needs a head.”
“Oh, right. You’re too distracting.”
I shake my head and, gathering snow between my gloved hands, I roll out a head before carrying it over to Dahlia and placing it on top of the body.
“We need a carrot and something for the rest of him,” she gushes, waving her arms around. “I’ll be right back.”
She dashes inside the cabin.
Chuckling to myself, I look out to the trees and down the valley toward the village of Stowe. It certainly makes a change from Alabama.
Hearing the crunch of snow, I turn and start laughing when I see Dahlia laden down with loot for the snowman.
Joining her, I bend and root around. Holding the carrot up, I comment, “That’s not big enough.”
Her eyes widen and fill with mirth. “That’s because it’s for the nose.” She rolls her eyes.
I chuckle.
Decorating the snowman, we use Oreo cookies for the eyes and the three buttons down the front. A bright pink scarf Dahlia brought with her goes around the neck followed by a matching hat, which gets perched on top. Using her hand, she carves out a mouth and uses pink marshmallow
s to finish it. Placing the carrot as the nose, she looks down at my junk and smirks.
I pull her into my arms as we stand and admire Dahlia’s handiwork.
“We need a selfie with our snowman.”
She takes my hand and drags me over to the frozen guy and tries to get us in position to snap some shots. Her arms aren’t quite long enough to get the three of us in the shot.
“My arms are longer.” I take the cell from her hands and realize I’m not going to get anything done with my gloves still on.
With one glove removed, I hold her cell out and snap a few memories before taking the few steps that separate us and pulling Dahlia into my arms. We stay glued together, and smiling at the cell, I take what turns out to be an amazing photograph of us both.
Passing her cell back to her, I suggest, “Let’s go inside and warm up with some hot chocolate and marshmallows if there’s any left.”
“Sounds good, and there are plenty left.” She pinches my ass.
“You’ll pay for that later.”
“Oh, I can’t wait.” She smirks.
I wrap my arm around her neck and start walking toward the cabin.
This is the first time in years that I’ve felt so carefree. While I’m here I’m going to concentrate on Dahlia and everything else can wait until we get back home.
This week is for my girl and me, and I don’t want anything or anyone coming between us.
My heart has felt heavy ever since I visited Brittany, but arriving back home to Dahlia had made me realize what I have to look forward to. She’s amazing. How she looks at me makes me feel ten feet tall. No matter what she thinks, I haven’t been oblivious to her desire for me from the first.
I’d catch her staring with a wistful look on her face through the mirrors in the bar, and on the odd occasion when the sun was shining just right through the windows, I’d see her through the glasses on the shelves.
The longer I leave talking to Dahlia about Brittany, the more unsettled I feel. Everything I see reminds me of the whole situation and I’ve wondered—not for the first time—if I was a coward for not making that clean break. Dahlia has no idea that I think there’s something else going on with Brittany and I still haven’t called Ryan to start the ball rolling. I feel guilt toward Dahlia for holding off. I just couldn’t bring myself to call him. I need to, and hopefully, I’ll feel better knowing it’s in motion.
Stomping up the steps to the cabin, Dahlia offers me a wry smile before heading inside. I stay outside and turn to rest my arms on the balcony rail, looking out at the view but not really seeing anything except my thoughts.
Shaking the gloom that has suddenly hit me in the gut, I pull out my cell and call my lawyer. I can’t be here with Dahlia without making this right. I can’t make love to her for the first time when the divorce hasn’t even been started.
Dahlia
Making sure my outdoor things are out of the way and in a position to dry, I head for the kitchen to start making the hot chocolate.
I left Ryder outside when I felt a shift in his mood. He’d had fun watching me build the snowman, and I found him amusing with the whole carrot thing, but I’d looked up at him on our way back to the cabin and saw the worry in his eyes. Even though his arm was slung around my neck, he wasn’t really with me.
He’s been like this a couple of times since yesterday and it has me worried. I wish he’d talk to me about whatever is bothering him.
Hearing the door and then the bashing of his boots against the outside wall to dislodge the snow, I glance up and . . . sigh.
Ryder is one sexy guy, and when he reaches to hang his jacket up, his tee shirt and sweater ride up, causing me to drool, and then fidget when I remember having him in my mouth yesterday.
“What has that look on your face?”
I’m startled and just stop the chocolate powder on the spoon from going all over the place.
Feeling a blush working its way onto my face, I admit, “I was thinking about yesterday.”
His eyes go molten.
“About how hard and thick you were.”
“Oh babe, if you don’t stop, we’re going to be skipping the hot chocolate.”
Even though my panties are wet with thoughts of his touch, I turn my back and continue making the drinks.
He chuckles and comes up behind me, placing a kiss to the curve of my neck. Keeping his hands on my hips, he says, “I want to sit in the chair by the fire and have you cuddled up with me while we talk and watch the snow fall . . . which also means I need to sort the fire out.”
He groans, and with a smack on my butt, he walks off to the mudroom where the stock of wood is kept.
After I’ve poured out the drinks and mixed the milk with the powder, I add a few of the smaller marshmallows to the top.
Unable to resist, I take a sip and the chocolate flavor hits the taste buds. I sigh in delight.
There isn’t anything better to drink than hot chocolate, and I don’t give a damn what anyone else says. I’d even go as far as saying I’d prefer this to a chocolate bar, even though it’s a tossup as to which has the most sugar.
“Hey, babe. Can you move the shield over the fire?” Ryder asks as he comes into the room, his arms laden with wood blocks.
This is one thing I have no experience with. We had a fireplace at home but it was an old electrical thing, which I was terrified of. When it was turned on, sparks would fly. I seriously thought that one day the front room would set alight.
Moving the shield, I set it to one side and watch as Ryder stacks the wood.
The cabin isn’t all that cold as we turned the heating on as soon as we arrived, so coming inside after playing in the snow, I could feel the warmth starting to seep throughout the place.
Grabbing the purple and lilac checkered blanket that I’d thrown over the back of one of the chairs when we arrived, I wrap it around my shoulders and head back to the kitchen for our drinks.
This really is a romantic getaway and as Ryder starts the fire, I place our drinks down on the coffee table. The chair is positioned in front of the stone fireplace and has tremendous views of the trees and snow falling in the bay windows on one side of the cabin.
Even though we’ve only been here a short time, I love it. I feel giddy as a child with the snow. We hardly get any in Alabama, which makes this cabin all the more attractive.
Ryder, having washed his hands, drops down into the chair and pats his lap for me.
I smile and without any hesitation crawl into his waiting arms and snuggle into him.
The fire has started to spread to the higher logs, creating a nice cozy feeling to the room.
Ryder rubs my back in a slow caress, which causes my eyes to droop.
“Hey, don’t go to sleep.” He kisses me on the head.
I lean back in his arms so I can see his face.
His eyes crinkle at the corner when he smiles down at me.
“Are you all right?” I ask, cupping his cheek with my hand. “Something was bothering you before.”
He kisses my palm. “I’m all right. I’m always all right when I have you in my arms.”
“I like that,” I murmur but then my expression turns serious, “Please tell me.”
He may be all right now, but he wasn’t and I don’t want him keeping things to himself and worrying when he has me to talk to. I know it will take time for us both to be comfortable about speaking freely, but we have to start somewhere.
“I called Ryan when you came inside, and asked him to send the papers to Brittany. I should have done it yesterday after I’d gotten home, but everything was just too weird. I also think there’s something going on with Brittany that both she and Evan kept to themselves.”
I rest my head back on his shoulder and wonder if that’s it or if there’s something else.
He was stressed yesterday so I can understand him not calling Ryan, but why would it play heavily on his mind? Unless he’s having second thoughts—about the divorce—after
seeing her yesterday. Maybe he doesn’t know how to tell me. That isn’t something that’s entered my head before now.
Instead of worrying about what he’s worrying about, I need to ask him.
I take a breath and suck it up. “Do you still want to go through with the divorce?”
The hand caressing me stops before he tightens his hold. “I want you, Dahlia. Make no mistake about that. I’m just having a hard time with guilt after seeing her yesterday. I never loved her. In fact, I’ve spent years hating her, but seeing her yesterday and hearing her talk, I felt damn guilty. It just shuck me up some.” He tilts my head so that I’m looking at him. “It’s you I want to be with. No one else.” He kisses me lightly on the lips.
My heart beats wildly for this man. Before I got to know him, he came across as a badass Marine. I’m convinced that’s the impression he wanted to project, but the fact is he’s a softy at heart and just wants a life . . . a family.
I snuggle back into his chest and with the fire now blazing in the hearth; I watch the snow falling heavier outside and eventually let myself be lulled into sleep.
Chapter Thirteen
Ryder
Sitting across from Dahlia with a steaming cup of coffee in my hands, my eyes slowly take in her features. She’s sitting with one leg up and her arms wrapped around the leg while she reads something on her iPad. A position she’s been in for the past ten minutes.
The silence is comfortable.
Dahlia must have been tired last night, because when she went out while lying in my arms in front of the fire, she didn’t wake up until this morning.
My disappointment at her not being beside me when I woke soon disappeared when I walked into the kitchen to find her making pancakes and sausage. She’d looked sexy in her sweats and tee shirt. I couldn’t resist sneaking up on her and slipping my hands beneath her shirt to touch the warm skin of her torso.
I grin as I remember her batting my hands away because the pancakes would get cold. Apparently, she has something planned for tonight, which has me half aroused with anticipation.
She kills me.
As she glances up, she catches my perusal of her and gives me a knowing smile.
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