Never Say Goodbye

by Lori Ryan

  Elle rolled her lips between her teeth, embarrassed she’d been caught gawking.

  He crawled back on top of her, nestling his knees between her legs as he braced his large hands on her thighs and pushed them apart.

  She wrapped her legs around his body as his lips grazed along the skin of her neck.

  Elle drew in a ragged breath, her eyes fluttering closed.

  His mouth moved lower down her body and she had to release her legs to let him go. He teased her belly button, circling it several times with his tongue before working lower, trailing down, down. Oh, God, down. Then suddenly he was gone.

  She opened her eyes, her chest heaving with anticipation.

  Emmett ran a hand down her leg, grasping her ankle and raising her leg into the air. She was limber and her leg moved easily.

  “God, a dancer’s body is just…” Emmett didn’t go on, but his half statement had been enough to make her laugh, lightening the tension and unease she felt.

  “Have you been with a lot of dancers?” Elle teased. Suddenly images of Emmett with another woman burst into her mind and self-doubt wrapped her in a vice again.

  “Only one,” he said, kissing her leg. “And she’s the only one I ever want to be with.”

  His words washed over her, bathing her in the confidence she needed. Her leg relaxed in his hand.

  Emmett kissed her ankle, moving his lips up along her calf, hovering at her knee, his tongue grazing lightly.

  Elle’s entire body shivered and she moaned. Good God, who would have ever thought the back of a knee could be an erogenous zone. Apparently, Emmett Sumner thought it and was busy proving it to her.

  She watched with fascination as his lips moved higher, grazing along the delicate skin of her inner thigh, moving closer to her center. Her heart thrummed in her ears and she felt herself growing wet. She clutched the sheets at her side, preparing for his mouth to press against her where she needed it the most, but before he gave her what she needed, he was gone.

  Emmett slowly lowered her leg to the bed.

  “What,” Elle stuttered, looking down at him, “but, why?”

  “Patience, Elle.”

  “Patience?” she snarled.

  “You made me wait.” He teased, grasping her other ankle and bringing it to his lap as he ran his fingers teasingly over her skin.

  She had. If this was her punishment for running, it was torture of the best kind.

  Emmett caressed and kissed her leg just as he’d done the other, his lips skimming her skin, stopping behind her knee to swirl his tongue along the crease.

  “Oh, God,” she moaned. “I think I could come just from that.”

  “Do you want me to stop here?” Emmett asked.

  “No,” she shouted.

  He chuckled as his lips moved higher, skimming her inner thigh. She felt the vibration of his laughter in the deepest parts of her body. Elle shivered as his tongue left a trail, nearly touching her center. Suddenly, his mouth was gone.

  “Please don’t stop.” She arched her hips toward him, the move almost involuntary.

  He chuckled, his eyes lighting with pure joy. “Oh, I don’t plan on stopping any time soon, Ms. Noble. Not until you beg me.”

  She would beg all right. But it wouldn’t be for him to stop.

  He pressed soft kisses on her abdomen and heat trailed across her flesh as he slowly worked his way down her body. She gasped when his mouth found her most sensitive spot, every inch of her skin buzzing with need. She slid her hands into his hair. “Yes,” she said, begging, but she didn’t care.

  He laughed and she would have hit his head but the vibration of his chuckle as he pressed his tongue against her robbed her of speech.

  He laved and sucked and teased.

  “Oh, God, Emmett,” she cried out, gripping his hair tight, holding him against her.

  Elle panted and squirmed as Emmett slid his hands further under her hips, caressing her body, driving her closer to the edge. Her heart beat wildly as tremors of pleasure began, spreading through her body like a wildfire.

  “Emmett,” she cried out. Still he pressed on, literally. “Emmett,” she called again, tugging on his hair.

  He raised up, staring at her in confusion.

  “I need you. Inside me.”

  His eyes caressed her body. “Now?”

  “Yes,” she nodded.

  “Let me get a condom.”

  She didn’t question why he had a condom, nor did she tell him it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t—couldn’t—tell him the particulars of what chemo had likely done to her body, not now. She just wanted Emmett buried inside her, so deep she wouldn’t be able to feel anything but him.

  He dug in his wallet and held up a condom as if in victory. Turning around he gifted her a dazzling smile.

  “I need you, Emmett” she moaned. “Please.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Please?

  Did Elle really think she had to beg him to make love to her?

  True, as soon as he’d tasted her he’d nearly exploded in a shameless display of male inadequacy. It was he who should be begging her.

  Emmett lifted slightly, gazing into the bluest eyes he’d ever seen. Despite the darkness in the room, her eyes shone with love and adoration, and need…for him. He would never deny this woman anything.

  He was suddenly thankful the hotel stocked condoms in every room. Not to mention the box Max had in his bedroom.

  He slowly sheathed himself and slid up her body, his hips nestling between her thighs. Good God, he was going to have to think about baseball stats or grammar rules just to keep from exploding at the touch of her.

  Emmett slid inside easily, her slickness easing the way. “This okay?” he asked, unsure if he could stop if she said no.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  Thank fuck for that.

  Her eyes fluttered closed and her neck extended and arched as she moaned. Holy fuck, she had the sexiest neck. He slid in further, leaning over her tall but petite frame. He had to taste her. Touch her lips, her face…that neck.

  Pushing in all the way, Emmett stilled, closing his eyes and counting backward from one hundred, breathing in deeply through his nose to keep from coming.

  “Emmett?”

  He opened his eyes and glanced down.

  She stared up at him, her entire body tense, her face marred with concern. “Are you all right?”

  Shit. She’d misunderstood his actions. Emmett leaned down, pressing his entire body against hers. “I’m fine, sweetheart” he smiled, brushing a piece of hair off her forehead. “More than fine.”

  “What is it? Is it…” She glanced down at her chest.

  “God, no. It’s me.”

  She cocked her head, raising a perfectly sculpted brow. Elle always had the sexiest brows.

  Where the hell had that come from? Who has sexy brows?

  “What’s wrong with you?” she asked quietly.

  He drew in a breath, the scent of her arousal invading his senses. Fuck. Leaning down, he burrowed his face into her neck, his breath washing over her skin. “I don’t know how long I can last now that I’m inside you. It’s rather embarrassing.”

  “Really?” Elle giggled.

  Emmett felt the vibration against his dick. “Not helping,” he mumbled.

  “Sorry,” she sighed, kissing Emmett’s shoulder. She raised her legs and wrapped them around his waist, her heels digging in to his ass. “Please move, Emmett. I need you to move.”

  He pushed up on his hand, raising his body above hers, anxiety and lust coursing through his body, making him vibrate with need. “Do you know how much I want you, Elle?”

  Slowly, he slid one arm around her waist, dragging her body flush to his.

  She gasped and he pulsed inside her.

  He pulled out then pushed in slowly. I love you, he said with his body, though he wouldn’t let himself say the words out loud.

  “Yes,” she sighed. “Move. Please. I’m going
to die if you don’t.”

  Die. His heart stopped and he froze.

  Elle grabbed his face, turning it toward her. “Don’t.” she said sternly. “Don’t do that to me, or to you. This isn’t the time. Move.” She squeezed her legs and pushed up into him. “Now.”

  He smiled at her authoritative words. “Yes, ma’am.” Needing no more prompting, Emmett slid into the woman whose soul had always been intertwined with his, just as their bodies were now.

  “Yes,” she moaned.

  “It’s going to be fast, Elle. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. You’re here,” she panted, “you’re with me, on top of me. That’s all that matters.”

  It wasn’t all that mattered. He’d wanted to bring her to climax earlier, knowing he’d never last long enough to give her the orgasm she needed. In true male fashion, his body took over and he had no choice but to move.

  Her hands roamed up his shoulders and dug into his hair, bringing him down for a searing kiss. Good, God, this was going to be quick.

  “Oh,” she panted into his mouth. She pulsed inside him. Maybe she was just as close.

  He lifted her hips, angling her body to press against the spot he knew could send them both over the edge.

  She pulled her lips away, arching her neck. “Emmett,” she moaned again, her eyes closed. “Oh, oh, God.” Her hands gripped his arms hard, her nails digging into his skin as her body tightened underneath him. Her legs cinched his waist.

  “You’re so fucking sexy, Elle.”

  “Only with you,” she sighed.

  His response was guttural, almost raw. “Goddamn right.” He pumped into her harder, leaning his head down. He drew in a puckered nipple into his mouth, sucking hard.

  Her fingers burned into his skin as her body clenched around his dick. “Oh, God!” she screamed, nearly deafening him. “Oh, yes, Emmett!”

  This was his Elle, the sweet, sexy adorable woman he’d once made love to. Gone was her fear and the self-doubt, replaced with desire and need. Or so he prayed.

  His hips moved faster, the length of him throbbing as his body coiled tight, begging for release. He pounded into her again and again, unable to stop the drive to fill her, praying he wasn’t hurting her.

  “Yes!” she screamed, the final tremors of her orgasm drawing him in deeper.

  Emmett pushed one last time, all thought and reason gone as blinding light exploded behind his lids. His hips convulsed as he released inside her, every synapse in his body exploding. His body fell limp atop her as he lay utterly still, his ragged breathing matching her own.

  “Holy fuck,” he breathed into her neck.

  Elle’s hand wound around his neck, her fingers slipping into his hair. “Ditto,” she sighed, breathing heavy. “Thank you.”

  Emmett lifted his head with much effort. “For what?” he asked.

  “For making love to me.”

  “Um, I hate to tell you,” he said with a grin to hide the ache her words had caused in him at the mention of the one thing he couldn’t give her, “but that was not making love.”

  She raised a brow. “It wasn’t?”

  “No. As soon as I saw you, tasted you…you’re just too fucking perfect, too sexy, too…” How could he explain what she meant to him, how she affected him in such an animalistic way?

  “You’re serious?” He could hear her unspoken question. She was thinking about her scars again.

  “Are you serious?” Emmett glanced down between them where they were still joined and pushed against her hips. He was still more than half hard inside her. “I think the answer to your doubts is right here, Elle.”

  She laughed, the sparkle in her eye returning. His Elle.

  She gripped the back of his neck and she dragged him down, her lips skimming across his.

  “I can do better next time,” he said, speaking the words against her lips.

  She dragged her fingers down his back, skimming across his skin. “Is that a threat or a promise?”

  He smiled, pulling out. He stood and threw away the condom, grabbing another from his pocket. He walked, no stalked back to the bed, lifting Elle with ease and settling her on top of him.

  “It’s a threat and a promise, sweetheart,” he finally answered. “But this time, you’re in charge.” He handed her the foil packet.

  She laughed, dragging her fingernail down the middle of his chest, circling one of his nipples. “I’ve always been in charge.”

  Of my heart, yes, he said silently.

  She studied him, as if hearing his words.

  Emmett rested both hands behind his head with a smirk. “Show me what you got, beautiful?”

  She leaned over his body, her soft breast sliding across his chest as she wriggled against him. She smiled and he knew she could feel him growing harder again.

  Elle raised a wicked brow. “Feels like someone’s ready.”

  Emmett brought his hands from under his head and wrapped them around her neck, pulling her lips to his. “With you, Elle, I can’t help myself. I’ve always wanted you. Nothing could ever change that.”

  Her eyes shimmered with tears.

  He pulled her down, covering her mouth with his, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. He wanted her to feel how much he wanted her, needed her, desired her.

  She pulled away, staring at him with love in her eyes. “You’ve always had my heart, too.”

  He nodded once, swallowing the lump in his throat, unable to speak. He knew he should be backing away from her. Putting in the distance he so needed if he was going to keep from being hurt this time.

  Elle slipped her hands down his chest and grabbed the condom. Ripping it open quickly, she placed it on him with care then slowly lifted up and onto him. She lowered her body, grinding her hips into him, arching her back as she moaned.

  Sexy. As. Fuck.

  “What?” she asked.

  Shit, he’d said it out loud. He grasped her hips, holding her still. “I said, Sexy. As. Fuck.”

  Her brows wrinkled. “Me?”

  “Touch yourself.”

  She blinked, as if he’d uttered a foreign language.

  Just as she’d done to him earlier, he grasped her hands in his and pressed her palms against her stomach. He slid his hands on top of hers as he intertwined their fingers and slowly moved them both higher up her chest.

  One joined hand moved over the scar as the other brushed the underside of her breast, their fingers circling her nipple. He gave a soft squeeze.

  Elle moaned. “Oh, Emmett.”

  Her words vibrated against his dick. “Thank you,” he whispered.

  Her eyes popped open and she stared down in confusion

  He regretted bringing her out of the lust-filled moment. “For what?”

  “Thank you, for this.” His hand moved across her scar. “For showing me, for allowing me to see you, all of you, scars and all.”

  Her chin trembled and her eyes sparkled with tears. She fell on top of him, their hands trapped between them, and buried her head in his neck.

  After several heart beats, he slid his hands from between them and slipped them around her waist. Gripping her solidly, he flipped them over with ease, pressing his hips into hers. “Times up. I’m in charge now. You okay with that?”

  She rolled her lips between her teeth and nodded. “This time,” she said.

  Emmett pulled out, his dick hard as a stone again, and slid into her.

  “But, Emmett,” she said.

  He stilled.

  “You know you’ll never really be in charge, right?” Her hands ran up his arms, wrapping around his shoulders, as her mouth curved in a playful smile.

  “Oh, I’m well aware of that, Ms. Noble.” He laughed.

  “And you’re okay with that?”

  Emmett thrust into her. “Completely okay.”

  “Okay,” she whispered, and then there was no more talking as he took them both back to the edge and over. Together.

  Chapter Seventee
n

  Elle snuggled deeper into Emmett’s arms, running her hand over his back as he lay half on top of her. She kept thinking she might wake from a dream and find he wasn’t really there. The contact of her hand on his skin was a reminder that she wasn’t sleeping. And she hadn’t conjured him up in her sleep. Emmett was really here. With her.

  “I still can’t believe it,” she whispered against his shoulder, where her mouth seemed to have wandered on its own.

  “Can’t believe what? The things I can do to your core?”

  Laughter burst from Elle.

  He raised up, grinning down at her.

  “My core?” She shook her head.

  Emmett’s smile widened as he nodded and pressed his hips to hers. “Face it, you like my core-skills.”

  “You’re insane. And where on earth did you learn a term like ‘core’?”

  He rolled to his side, one hand propped under his head as he studied her, his other hand grazing over her stomach.

  She still had to fight the urge to cover the spot where her breast should have been, but she kept her eyes on his and willed the urge away.

  “I’ve been reading old documents and journals from the 1800s when the town was formed,” he said.

  Her brows lifted in surprise as she looked at him. “And they’re discussing…um, core body parts?”

  Emmett’s grin was wicked as he answered. “No. I got curious so I began reading novels from that time period. A few of them were romance novels.

  She quirked a brow.

  “What? It’s research.”

  “Uh huh. Research into the historical terms for women’s body parts?”

  He pressed his growing erection into her leg. “And manhood.”

  “Manhood?” She could barely keep the laughter from bubbling over at that one.

  “It gets worse,” he said. “Sometimes, they call it the may pole or rod.” His laughter was genuine and contagious.

  The thought of Emmett reading books that referred a man’s may pole or rod going into a woman’s core had her close to tears as she laughed. He was laughing with her, but when they stopped, she pressed the real issue.

  “Tell me about this new project,” she said. “Are you considering writing romance? Historical romance? You’ve always written mystery and murder and intrigue.”