by Andrea Thome
“Are you sure, India?” he said, his voice tortured. His features were stone, but the raw desire in his eyes was unmistakable.
“I’m sure,” she said, straining up toward him to get close enough to rub her nose against his. Fire erupted in him.
He kicked off his boots and shrugged out of his button-down, all the while maintaining her gaze. He recognized the craving in her eyes, and it fueled him as he picked up the pace, lifting his T-shirt up and over his head.
India was mesmerized. He was incredible-looking. His torso had a light smattering of dark hair that disappeared into a V at his waistband. She was shaking under the water, but she couldn’t let him know it. She’d realized that she would have to make the first move with him if they were ever going to quit wasting their short time together. She shuddered with anticipation as he stepped out of his jeans and, wearing only his boxer briefs, walked around to the back of the tub, removing those too, before climbing in and sliding down behind her.
The sensation of him was electrifying, but he teased her with his leisurely pace. Instead of touching her, he reached over and brought the glass of bourbon to her lips. She sipped the drink, letting it burn a trail through her insides. He took a drink himself, then returned the glass to the table.
She worked up the courage to run her hands up and down his legs, which were wrapped around her, and they tightened in response to her touch. He swept a few loose tendrils of her hair to the side and placed a tender kiss where her neck and shoulder met, causing her to shudder.
She leaned her head back and lost herself in the feel of him. His hands reached down to hold hers under the water, and they lay together, their hearts beating in tandem for a while.
Time passed, although they weren’t sure how much. Coldplay’s “Fix You” came on, and Wyatt began a leisurely exploration, starting with his splayed palms against her belly. She quivered as he journeyed upward, cupping her breasts gently before allowing his fingers to graze her nipples. She arched back at the contact, rotating her body just enough to look at him, and then began a tour of his chest with her own hands.
Wyatt had done his best up to that point to let her take the lead, but her slippery touch in the water pushed him into sensory overload. In one swift move, he pivoted her across his lap, so that they were now facing each other in the mound of suds, their legs intertwined, but the rest of them once again independent of each other. He gazed at her in awe, and a thousand things were said between them without words. She raised her hand to his cheek, wiping off the bubbles that had landed there. He grabbed her hand, kissing each of her fingertips, before laying that hand back against his chest. He finally found the words.
“India, my heart is pounding out of my chest, and I promise you it’s nothing that bourbon can fix. God help me, but I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. Please let me take you to bed.”
He waited for her, watching for the answer. She didn’t speak but rose from the tub and offered him her hand. He stepped out onto the slate floor and waited for her to do the same before wrapping her up in a fluffy white towel. Swathing his own hips in a second towel, he followed her out into the bedroom. She turned to face him, letting her towel drop to the floor.
“I want to look at you, Wyatt, and I want you to see me. All of me. I don’t know what’s happened, but I feel like I’m under your spell.”
He inhaled deeply, letting his towel fall to meet hers, showing her just how captivated he was by her.
She let her gaze travel over him. He was magnificent. Wyatt couldn’t wait a moment longer. He stepped toward her and scooped her up, and with two confident strides, he set her tenderly on the bed before him.
She reached her arms above her head, stretching like a cat as he started the trail of kisses at her ankles and worked his way up. When he reached her center, he rose up to look at her, waiting once again for her permission. She looked down at him with a smoky glance and nodded the smallest of affirmations. He didn’t hesitate.
She’d never known it was possible to experience pure bliss this way; the lovers that had come before him weren’t in his league. When he was certain she’d peaked, he rose up again to look at her, surprised to see her eyes closed, a single tear running down her cheek.
Wyatt panicked, sliding himself up next to her. He brought her face to his in a kiss before nuzzling her into his chest protectively. “I’m sorry, India. I couldn’t help myself.”
She lifted her face to him and stopped his words with a kiss, deepening the contact of their bodies. She reached down to stroke him, and he groaned as their mouths parted. Rolling him over onto his back, she dusted him with kisses, maintaining the rhythm she’d started. When it was clear he was at the edge, she lowered herself onto him, her hands on his chest and their eyes on each other the entire time.
They began to move together, their tempo in sync from the start. A million thoughts ran through India’s head, but she wasn’t able to grasp any of them. Her body was in complete control now. Or, at least, she thought so. Wyatt had other ideas.
He pulled her face down toward his, flipping her over onto her back while he was still inside her, and nudged his head into her neck, placing almost-painless biting kisses there. Their pace quickened again, and after a time, India cried out his name. That was enough. He never wanted to hear his name cross another woman’s lips again.
The climax was shattering, and like everything else, they were perfectly in sync. Wyatt’s mind was racing too, but one thought rang clear and true: he was falling in love with her.
The night was quiet except for the sounds of the outdoors floating in. India lay next to Wyatt, watching his chest rise and fall with each breath. He looked peaceful in his sleep, more boy than man, which made her smile. He was a rare find, and she felt a rising panic when she thought of leaving him. Of leaving this place. She instinctively snuggled in closer to him, breathing in his scent. She’d bottle it to have forever if she could.
She closed her eyes again, and for the first time in a long time, her sleep was dreamless.
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Sunlight was streaming through the windows when Wyatt awoke. It took him a moment to figure out where he was, but once he did, his body responded instantly to the memory of the night before. He stretched, reaching for her, but found the bed empty. He propped himself up on one elbow, vaguely aware of the smell of coffee. Feeling a cool breeze, he looked over and saw that it was coming from the open door leading out onto the screened-in porch.
He climbed out of bed and headed into the bathroom to find his jeans on the floor where he’d left them. After slipping them on, he reached over and pulled the drain to empty the water from the tub. He splashed some water on his face and used the complimentary toothbrush and paste before padding barefoot out onto the enclosed porch.
India was standing at the screen in a white robe, looking out at the garden, her hands clasped around a steaming mug of coffee. He couldn’t get over how lovely she was; her spirit was both strong and gentle, and he once again felt the gravitational pull. She must have felt it too, because she glanced over her shoulder, as if she knew he’d been there watching her, and treated him again to that beautiful blush. He hoped she never found a way to control it.
“It’s about time,” India said with a shy smile as Wyatt took her coffee mug and set it on the ledge, before wrapping his arms around her from behind. “I was just about to come back in there and check for a pulse.” She shivered as she felt him inhaling her scent as he nuzzled her hair. “Did you sleep well?”
He took her by the shoulders, turning her toward him before wrapping her in his arms and pulling her in against his chest.
He was still warm from the bed. India couldn’t believe how sexy he looked in those unbuttoned jeans and bare feet. His hair was damp from his cursory stop at the sink, and his face was darkened by two days’ worth of stubble. He was dreamy. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was trying to get her to skip class. She waited for him to
answer her, enjoying the intimacy of her cheek against his bare chest.
“I haven’t slept like that in years. Morning sure got here quick, though.” She felt him laugh, and raised her head to look at him.
He smiled at her then before his face grew serious. The fire between them was still there; last night had done nothing to extinguish it. In fact, it was even more powerful now, if that was possible. But there was also a sense of desperation. It felt as if someone had turned an hourglass upside down, and the sands were running through at an alarming pace. They were aware that they had only a few days left together, and neither of them intended to waste a second.
Wyatt took a ragged breath and started to speak, but before he could, she took his face in her hands and kissed him. This time, it was slow, leisurely, and filled with all that was still unspoken between them. She tasted of coffee and all that was good about mornings. He released his hold on her and slipped his hands inside her robe, wrapping them around her, feeling her soft bare skin tingle with goose bumps.
She nudged him backward, and they stepped over the threshold and into the bedroom, never breaking contact. She unbuttoned his jeans and slid them down his legs, and he hurriedly stepped out of them. India shrugged out of her robe, letting it drop to the floor behind her, as their hands urgently roamed the landscapes of each other, the heat between them reaching a feverish pitch now.
India had seen his expression on the porch, and it frightened her. She felt this thing between them too, but it was easier to speak like this, to let their bodies do the talking. She was completely enraptured by him but had no idea where this would lead.
For once in her life, she was choosing to travel without a map, and it was terrifying and thrilling at the same time.
Summoning up her last bit of confidence, she pulled away from him and, grabbing his hand, led him into the bathroom, where she reached in and started the shower. She’d planned to wait for the water to heat up, but it was evidently plumbed to instantly run hot, the steam forming in the chilly room almost immediately.
Wyatt followed her in, closing the door behind them as he bowed his head to bite the back of her neck again, just as he’d done the night before in the tub. He knew how she would respond.
The effect was sensational, and she gasped and reached out, splaying her palms against the fogged-up shower glass.
Seeing her like that in front of him, it took everything he had not to take her from behind. The sway of her body as she arched her head back toward him made her look irresistible. He summoned a shred of composure, pulling her around to face him before meeting her lips with his. He didn’t know what was making it so hard to breathe—the steam, the kiss, or the woman. He couldn’t wait another minute to have her again. He reached down, sliding himself inside of her, and they clung to each other, moving together in this world they had created until they finally shattered back down to earth, suddenly feeling like two halves of a whole.
Finn was laying out the day ahead in his journal as he always did, when he saw Wyatt and India kissing good-bye outside her door. He’d seen the truck parked there when he’d arrived at his garden shed that morning and had smiled to himself. The boy was finally ready to start living again, and Finn couldn’t be happier. It killed him to think that Wyatt could end up old and alone like he’d been for most of his life now. Wyatt had so much to share with someone, if he could just allow himself the chance to be happy again.
He watched as Wyatt bounded down the path to his truck, chuckling to himself at the noticeable spring in the boy’s step. Must’ve been one hell of a date, but then Finn had figured it would be when he’d heard Wyatt’s plans to take her up to the ridge. Finn knew what that land meant to Wyatt, and he understood how important it was that the boy had chosen to share it with India. It was a good sign.
He’d been mortified when he’d interrupted them at the fishing shack the other day. It was clear they’d been having a deep conversation of some kind, because there was a spark in Wyatt’s eyes that Finn hadn’t noticed since Claire. He prayed that India understood how meaningful this was; Finn was hopeful that it was mutual, since he’d noticed the raw emotion on India’s face when he’d barged in on them. He figured Wyatt must have shared everything with her.
Finn supposed he’d better find time to have a chat with the girl himself before the week got away from them all. He knew better than most that love could be both precious and fragile, and you needed to seize it when it crossed your path. For however long you could. He’d gladly do his part to help these two kids along.
Violet had seen Wyatt’s truck outside of Woodshed too. She’d been enjoying her own cup of coffee, perusing the day’s newsletter that outlined the farm’s schedule of activities, when she heard a car door slam. She’d stepped out onto the back porch in time to see Wyatt’s truck pull away from the cottage, and she’d known instantly that he hadn’t been there to borrow a cup of sugar. She’d seen Olive parked there when she’d gone to bed the night before and had made a mental note to grill Wyatt about the date today. Now she couldn’t wait to get to class.
She rinsed her coffee cup and locked the back door before heading back upstairs. Sadie was still sleeping when she peeked in on her, so Violet knew she had a few more minutes before they had to start getting ready.
Tiptoeing into the master suite, she slipped off her robe and crawled back into bed. Wrapping her arms around Rex, she kissed his shoulder to rouse him from a deep sleep. She rubbed her feet against the warmth of his legs, grateful for these last few moments of quiet together.
It wasn’t long before Rex rolled over to face Violet, still amazed—as he was every day—that he got to wake up next to this gorgeous creature. It was especially wonderful when she was clearly trying to get his attention, which she definitely was now. He could see from her expression, though, that she had something to tell him, so he gave up, sighed, and folded his arms behind his head, knowing she wouldn’t even consider anything else until she’d unburdened herself.
“I don’t know for sure, but I think Wyatt spent the night with India,” she told him excitedly. “I just saw him leaving, and I know for a fact he was still there when we went to bed last night. What do you think we should do? Can we invite them to join us for dinner at that celebrity-chef thingy tonight at the barn? I’m dying to see them together.”
Rex knew how important it was to Violet that Wyatt find happiness again. Seeing his friend with India, it was the first time he’d believed his wife might get her wish. It sure would make Violet feel less guilty about stranding Wyatt here at the farm while they took off to travel the world.
Violet was still trying to figure out ways to fan the flames, and she would have kept right on scheming, but Rex laughed and pulled his wife over on top of him, pushing her hair back away from her face. He loved her more now than on the day they’d married, and her concern for others was one of his favorite things about her. That and her incredible body.
“Dinner sounds great; let’s start there. You can plan the wedding later.” He stroked her cheek tenderly. “But right now, enough about Wyatt and India, and forget about dinner. I’m fixing to have something even better for breakfast. It’s official. I’m hot for teacher,” he joked, knowing they’d have to hurry if they didn’t want to be late for class.
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
India was about to turn the blow-dryer on when she noticed her phone lighting up on the vanity. Julia was FaceTiming her. She grabbed the device and took a deep breath before answering. Her friend’s face popped up on the screen, and they both grinned, happy to see each other as always. India spoke first.
“I’m so sorry I’ve been out of touch, Jules! The service here is so spotty, and I’ve been out and about at classes and stuff. I should have checked in. How’s Pearl? Please tell me the worst is over,” India begged.
Jules stared at her friend on the screen for a moment before answering.
“Pearl is fine; we’ve turned the corner. No more flu, so
now we just have to wait out the chicken pox.” She paused, a funny look on her face as she continued. “What’s wrong with you? Why do you look so different?”
Julia saw the blush creek up India’s neck and gasped.
“You’d better start talking right now. That must have been some first date! Holy shit . . . tell me everything.”
India knew she couldn’t hide anything from Jules, and it would feel really good to talk about Wyatt with her. She filled her friend in on finding out about Claire and meeting Wyatt’s mother-in-law, and about their date out at the Airstream. She hesitated for a moment, not sure how to explain the rest. India wasn’t sure what was happening herself. But if she looked different, it was for good reason. She certainly felt different.
“He’s amazing, Jules. He’s smart and funny, and I mean . . . sexy doesn’t even begin to cover it.” India closed her eyes, the image of him making her a little weak. “I let myself get carried away.” India smiled sheepishly at Julia’s stunned expression and added, “Twice, actually. So far.”
She covered her mouth as Jules’s jaw dropped open.
“Oh my God, no wonder you’ve been MIA! So what’s the deal with this guy? Why do I get the feeling this is more than a fling for you? I haven’t seen you like this since . . . well . . . ever. What are you going to do when you have to go back to work?”
Julia was pacing now, and India could see her friend trying to rationalize the situation as she fired questions at her.
“I don’t even know what we’re doing, Jules, I can’t explain. It’s like this weird magnetism, and we can’t seem to stay away from each other. The sex is off the charts. I mean, it’s curlyour-toes amazing.” India let out a frustrated breath. “It’s more than that, though. He’s deep, Julia. When he looks at me, it’s like he really sees who I am, maybe even better than I see myself.”
