by Marie Force
“I like to look at you, too.”
“Especially when I look so fantastic.” Smiling, she said, “Thanks for being so great with Simone. She’s crazy about you.”
“She’s adorable, and oh my God, she looks just like you!”
“I know. Em says she huffed and puffed and gave birth to her sister.”
Laughing at her description, he said, “You ever think about having kids of your own?”
Damn that creep of heat that overtook her face. Why did she have to light up like a stinking firecracker every time he flustered her, which was all the time? “Not really. It’s not something I see happening for me, with the business and everything. That’s somewhat all consuming. Plus I have Simone, and she’s like my kid, too.” She glanced at him. “What about you?”
“Not something I’ve given much thought to. Maybe in the far-off future. After meeting Simone though, I can’t help but wonder what a little Lucy would look like.” This was said with that charmingly adorable smile that made her insides flutter every time he directed it at her.
Lucy was suddenly overwhelmed with yearning for things that might never be possible for them. She tugged her hand free. “Why are we even talking about this?”
He tightened his grip on her hand, refusing to let her escape. “Because it’s what people talk about when they’re building something together.”
As quickly as the yearning came, it drained away when the realities of the situation reminded her she had no business pining for anything permanent where he was concerned.
“Why are you frowning?”
“Am I?”
“Uh-huh.”
“The usual reasons.” She forced a smile, determined not to spoil the time they had together with worries about a future neither of them could predict. “It’s so nice to have you here.”
“It’s nice to be here.”
“I’m sorry for what happened yesterday. I feel terrible about leaving you stranded at the airport.”
“It worked out fine. I’m just glad you’re all right and feeling better.”
She diverted her gaze to the invitation on the coffee table.
“I have an idea,” he said.
“About?”
“About how you can come to Vermont for Hannah’s shower and stay there until the wedding.”
“This I’ve got to hear.”
“What if you spent this next week doing all your meetings and getting everything together you needed to work in a quiet, peaceful setting with only a horny mountain man to disturb you every couple of hours. Imagine all the work you could get done in this peaceful, bucolic setting I’ve described for you.”
In addition to his many attractive qualities, he was also endlessly entertaining. “You seem to have given this some considerable thought.”
“Only since you got the invitation from Cam, which I knew nothing about in case you wondered.” He rubbed at the whiskers on his jaw. “When I got my cell phone, the guy at the store tried to talk me into one of those mobile wireless thingies. What do you call them?”
“Broadband?”
“Yeah that. Do you have one of those?”
“I do.”
“Excellent. I have a generator that you can use to charge your computer and phone and broadband thingie. The connectivity on the mountain is some of the best in the area because of the unrestricted access to the towers in St. J. You could get a ton of work done. And you could be with me for two whole weeks in a row.” He bent his head to leave a line of kisses on the back of her hand before turning it to deliver one very persuasive kiss to her palm. “Two whole weeks together, Luce. Wouldn’t that be awesome?”
She caressed his cheek. “It would be very awesome.”
“So you’ll do it? You’ll come home with me next Saturday and stay through Hannah’s wedding?”
“Will you hate me if I ask for a little time to think about it and to figure out if I can make it happen with work?”
“No, Lucy, I won’t hate you. How could I hate you when you know I love you?”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath that she released slowly. “So I didn’t dream that you said that in the middle of the night?”
“Look at me.”
Forcing her eyes open, she met his intense gaze. “I love you. I want to be with you as much as I can. I’ll take whatever I can get. A day, a weekend, a week, two weeks, a month. I’ll take it.”
“But at what point will that stop being enough for you? For both of us?”
Colton curled his hand around her neck and drew her in for a soft, tender kiss that brought tears to her eyes. He made her feel safe and cherished and protected from everything other than the heartache she knew had to be coming right around the next corner.
CHAPTER 26
And now for some stats . . . First boil: March 9. Last boil: April 23. This date broke the record by three days.
—Colton Abbott’s sugaring journal, after the boil
“Kiss me back,” he whispered as he stretched out next to her on the sofa, their legs intertwined, arms wrapped around each other.
Lucy pushed aside all her worries and fears to give into the sweetness of his kisses. Nothing had ever been better than the way she felt when she was surrounded by him, consumed by a kind of pleasure she’d never experienced before. At times like this, when she felt closer to him than she’d ever been to anyone, it seemed hard to believe anything could keep them from having it all.
But then reality intruded, as she thought of her company and the people who relied on her, the clients she’d worked so hard to cultivate, the family that counted on her, and it all seemed quite impossible to reconcile with her growing love for a man who lived and worked six hours from her.
She turned her face away from the kiss.
Breathing hard, Colton held her close and burrowed into the curve of her neck, leaving a trail of fiery kisses on her sensitive skin that made her shiver in response to him.
“God, Lucy, what you do to me. I promised myself I wouldn’t touch you today when you’ve been so sick, and the minute we’re alone I’m kissing you like I’m drowning and you’re my only source of air.”
He sounded so angry with himself and maybe frustrated, too. She regretted being the cause of either emotion when he’d done so much for her while she was sick. “There’s no reason you can’t touch me, Colton. I’m much better, and I love when you touch me.”
“I shouldn’t touch you. Not now.” Though his words sounded pained, he made no move to release her.
“Why not?”
“Because one touch is never enough with you. I always want more, and you need to rest and relax and recover, not be pawed by your boyfriend.”
“I love being pawed by my boyfriend.”
“Lucy.” His low growl made her laugh.
She took his hand and guided it down the front of her until it was pressed against the heat between her legs. “Does that feel sick to you?”
“God, no. It feels hotter than hell.”
“Touch me, Colton. Make love to me. I promise I won’t break.”
“You need to rest, Lucy.”
“I will. After . . .”
He moved quickly off the sofa and slid his arms under her, lifting her into his embrace effortlessly.
Lucy put her arms around his neck and peppered his face with kisses as he walked them into the bedroom, where he deposited her gently on the bed.
Leaning over her, he gazed at her reverently as he moved slowly and carefully to untie and open her robe. Underneath she wore only a T-shirt and a tiny pair of panties she’d bought with him in mind. At some point during the night, she’d kicked off the sweats that had made her feel overheated.
His hands trembled ever so slightly as he moved them over her body, setting her on fire with his gentle strokes, and he hadn’t even touched her skin yet. “Sit up.” He helped her up, pushed the robe off her shoulders and reached for the hem of her shirt, lifting it up and over her head before helping
her to lie down again. Standing by the side of the bed, he gazed down at her as he pulled off his shirt and unzipped his pants. Then he was propped above her on one elbow, looking down at her with love in his eyes. “You are so beautiful. So incredibly beautiful.”
Her first inclination was to object. She wasn’t beautiful. At best she was attractive. But he made her feel beautiful with the way he looked at her, the way he touched and kissed her.
She curved her hands over his shoulders and down his back, which rippled from the effort to hold himself above her. “It’s okay,” she said. “I want to feel you next to me.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You couldn’t.”
Rather than put his weight on her though, he turned them over so she was on top of him. “Is this okay?” he asked, running his hands up her arms to her shoulders and then down to cup her breasts.
“It’s more than okay.”
“I wish you could see what I see when I look at you.”
“Back atcha. You’ve got my sister and my niece dazzled.”
“As long as you’re dazzled, that’s all I care about.”
“I am well and truly dazzled by you, Colton Abbott.”
“Excellent,” he said with a smugly adorable smile.
She was looking down at him when the room seemed to spin around her. She flattened her hands on his chest and closed her eyes before the spinning could make her nauseated.
“What?”
“Just a little dizzy.”
“We shouldn’t be doing this.” He turned her again so she was on her back and pulled the covers up and over them. After kissing her softly and sweetly, he said, “We have all week for this kind of fun. We need to get you better.”
“I know you’re worried about me, and I do love you for that, but you’ve got me all hot and bothered over here. If you leave me in this condition, I’m just going to feel worse—and I’m going to be cranky, too.” As she spoke, she cupped her breasts and ran her thumbs over her nipples, watching his eyes go hot with lust. It was the most overtly sexual thing she’d ever done in the presence of a man, and his reaction made her feel powerful and desired.
“Christ have mercy, Lucy. You know how to drive a guy wild.”
“I only know how to drive you wild.”
“That’s all that matters.” He leaned over her and drew one of the nipples she had teased to life into his mouth, sucking and tugging lightly but firmly enough to make her squirm.
She held his head to her chest and arched into him, needing to get closer.
He moved above her, giving her other breast the same treatment as he caressed her body with his work-roughened hands.
Lucy raised her arms over her head, surrendering to him completely.
“Yes, honey, yes. Let me love you.” His words, whispered against her belly, were nearly her undoing. He touched her profoundly with the way he spoke to her as he showed her how much he loved her. By the time he leaned back and pulled her panties off, Lucy was more than ready for him. But he tested her readiness just the same. It took only one touch of his fingers to her core to make her come.
“Colton,” she said, gasping as she reached for him. “Need you.”
“I’m here. I’m right here.”
At some point, he’d gotten rid of his jeans and boxers and was now poised over her, guiding himself with a hand wrapped around the base of his cock. On his knees, he pushed forward, stretching her as he went.
“Mmm,” he said against her ear, making her shiver and tremble. “So tight. God, it’s all I can do not to come right now. You make me crazy, Lucy. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you.”
Swept away by his words and the tender way he moved above her, she wrapped her arms and legs around him, wanting him as close as she could get him. His powerful muscles flexed under her hands as he devastated her with his gentleness. He held her tight, but not too tight while he gave himself to her completely, holding nothing back. All the while, he kept a close watch for any sign of distress from her. But all she felt was bliss—pure, amazing bliss.
“Come for me again, Lucy. I want to feel you.” He reached down to where they were joined to coax her, teasing and touching her until she exploded, clinging to him as he joined her. “Wow,” he said after a protracted period of silence during which the only thing she could hear was the roar of her own heart and his breathing. He raised his head to look down at her. “I used to think it was kind of funny when people talked about making love, as if sex isn’t sex, no matter how you do it. But now I get it. It’s different when you’re in love.”
Lucy reached up to push the sweaty hair off his forehead. “It certainly is. Nothing has ever felt that good. Ever.”
“For me either,” he said with a soft kiss before he withdrew from her and turned onto his back, reaching for her.
Lucy curled up to him, putting her arm and leg around him.
He cupped her bottom and pulled her in even tighter against him.
She wanted to stay right here, in this moment with him, forever. This kind of contentment had eluded her in the past. Sure, she had a great job and family and friends who loved her. But this . . . This was something else altogether, and now that she’d had it, now that she’d been loved by him, everything was different—she was different, and there was no going back to who she’d been before.
“What’re you thinking about?” he asked her.
“That I want to stay right here for as long as I possibly can.”
“Me, too.” He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. “Close your eyes and rest for a while. We’ve got nowhere to be and nothing to do but be together.”
Hearing that, Lucy was able to relax and enjoy the rare luxury of nowhere to be and a full day to spend cuddled up to her favorite person.
Colton had never been one to laze a day away in bed, but he was happy to make an exception to that rule today because it meant he got to spend hours cuddled up to naked Lucy. That was the closest thing to paradise he’d ever experienced, and he never wanted to let her go.
While she slept on her belly, he ran his hand up and down her back, reveling in the soft smoothness of her pale skin.
“Mmm,” she said. “That feels good.”
“You feel good.”
She yawned and stretched. “What time is it?”
“About two thirty.”
“In the afternoon?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Oh my God. I never do this.”
“Neither do I, but if you ask me, we’ve been missing out. Lying around in bed naked all day might be my new favorite way to spend a Saturday.”
“I’m trying to picture you on your mountain, lolling about naked in bed.”
Laughing, he kissed her shoulder. “The only way that’s happening is if you’re there with me.”
“I want to come home with you next weekend. I hope you know how much I want to do it. I just need to be sure I can pull it off at work.”
“I understand completely. We both have obligations that have to be seen to. You’ll never get any flak from me about seeing to yours. I promise.”
“I’m trying to figure out . . .”
“What, honey?”
“How our casual weekends turned into wanting to spend every minute of every day together.”
“It was never casual for me, Luce. I’ve felt something different for you since that first minute in the conference room. You looked at me, and pow. Different.”
“I felt it, too.”
He reached over to tuck her hair behind her ear and cup her cheek with his big hand. “We’re lucky, you know? Most people never experience that. Sure, there’re all sorts of challenges standing in the way, but they don’t seem insurmountable because I get to be with you this way even some of the time.”
“You make me believe it’s all going to be okay.”
“It will be. One way or another, we’ll figure it out.” His stomach let out a loud rumble that made her laugh. “Tim
e for lunch. Do you think you could eat something?”
“I’m actually hungry, too.”
“That’s a good sign.”
“I need a shower first though.”
He got out of bed. “Funny, so do I. Shall we?”
“You’re very obvious, you know?”
“How so?”
“You want me naked and soapy in the shower so you can have your way with me again.”
“That is so not true.”
Lucy glanced down to watch his cock harden before her eyes. “Uh-huh. Right.”
“You’re the one who said the words naked and soapy. How is that his fault?”
“It’s true,” she said gravely. “He can’t help that he’s attached to a fifteen-year-old boy.”
“I’m insulted on his behalf.” He hooked an arm around her waist and hugged her from behind, pressing his insulted erection against her bottom. “And only a couple of hours ago you were all like ‘Oh, Colton, yes, yes, yes, harder, Colton,’ and now you’re being totally rude to him. He’s not going to forget this.”
She elbowed him. “I never said any of that.”
“I heard it.”
Wrenching free of him, she went ahead of him into the bathroom and turned on the water. “You’re making things up.”
“I’ll remind you of this later when you’re all about him.”
“If you keep this up, there’ll be nothing happening later.”
Approaching her from behind again, he slid his hands up the front of her to cup her breasts, and sure enough her legs went weak. “Yes, there will. You can’t resist me.”
Since she could hardly argue that point and had no interest in resisting him, she decided to cede the point to him.
CHAPTER 27
Length of season: 46 days. The range in our records since 1980 is 15 to 49 days. Technology is pushing the boundaries of sugar season, since modern tubing systems prevent the tap holes from drying out as quickly.
—Colton Abbott’s sugaring journal, after the boil
With her wedding coming up soon, Hannah couldn’t seem to keep up with all the details swirling around her. In the midst of a hot and sultry summer day in Vermont, all she wanted to do was sleep, which was extremely unusual for her. No matter how much she slept at night lately, it wasn’t enough. She told herself that once they got past the wedding and settled into normal life that she’d feel better.
