Falling Fast (Falling Fast #1) (13 page)

Her words swamped him, rushing through his veins. He wrestled with them, with his control, as her mouth moved sweetly across his. How much would he regret falling? How much would he regret holding back for their own good?

The answer crashed in on him, and he pulled her out of the pantry and dived into the kiss. She made a soft sound, her fingers threading into his hair, her body smashing into his. All the hunger he’d tried to stave off crashed in like the waves outside.

“You said you’d give me anything I wanted,” she whispered between kisses. “But what about what you want?”

He backed her up against the wall, cradling her face in his hands. “I want this. Want you. From the moment I saw you in the garage last week, it brought back everything I missed about you. Everything I loved.” He ran his thumb across her lower lip. “Your smile. Your laugh. The way it feels just being with you.”

“That crazy, drowning-in-you feeling?”

“Yeah, that’s it. We’re not those kids anymore, but this thing between us hasn’t changed.”

Her eyes were full, bright, as she nodded in agreement. “Do you still hear the warning lights? The sirens?”

“All I see and hear is you. But I don’t want you to be hurt. Even you said you didn’t want to feel the pain when you had to leave again.”

“I know. And it will hurt, but I would hurt a lot more if I didn’t feel you, kiss you, touch you.” She grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up. “Here. Now.”

He knew exactly what she meant. He thought he might shrivel up and die if he didn’t do all those things. Once the shirt was over his head, he tugged it the rest of the way and threw it behind them. Her shirt was next, the loose material landing next to his on the floor. Her bra was pink lace, cupping two beautiful mounds of creamy flesh. In the bright kitchen lights, he could see the network of scars running down her shoulder, over her collarbone on her right side. He kissed the raised skin as he unclipped her bra in the back.

When the bra fell, too, he ran his hands over her breasts, fingers tracing her stiff peaks. “You’re beautiful. Just as you always were.”

“I feel beautiful when I’m with you.”

“You are beautiful, Mia.” He kissed her. “And when I’m with you I feel like I’m good inside.”

“You are.” She braced his face with her hands. “You are good.”

That was what bound him to her so tightly, that she made him feel as though he were a good man. That he deserved love and success and happiness. And her. He kissed her again, feeling all of that now.

“
Can
we go back, Mia? Can we have this for a few days, then return to our separate lives with more fond memories?”

She opened her mouth, but a rapid knock at the door stole away whatever she’d been about to say.

“Raleigh! Miss Mia!”

Cody’s voice. They both barely pulled on their shirts before Cody burst in, Rose behind him. “We brought dinner! Hamburgers and crinkly fries.”

Rose came to a halt as she took them in.
“Oh, crap.
We interrupted something, didn’t we?”
she mouthed.

Damn, was it that obvious? Then again, a guy’s body tended to give away certain things, and Raleigh was way aroused. “It’s all right.” It wasn’t, but what could he say? The kid was happily unwrapping a package of ground beef.

“I figured we’d supply dinner, since you’ve been buying meals lately,” Rose said, still looking apologetic. “Cody wanted to eat here, and I was too tired to fight him on it.”

Raleigh wasn’t sure if Rose had saved them from making a painful mistake or spoiled something incredible. Maybe both at once. But no words encouraging them to stay longer came out of his mouth.

Mia looked flushed and not the least bit annoyed at suddenly having company. Maybe she saw the interruption as a saving grace, then. “We have boxes of food and staples we figured you might be able to use. I hate to see them go to waste.” She indicated the three boxes.

“That would be great. Thanks.” Rose glanced over at her son. “Cody, wash your hands.”

“Already did, Mom.” He was carefully fashioning the meat into patties.

Raleigh and Mia traded a shrug. There was still heat in her eyes, hunger. He wondered if he looked the same, knew he felt the same. He tore his gaze away and turned to Rose. “I’m going to grab a quick shower while the burgers are cooking, clean up for dinner.”

Mia blinked. “Yeah, me, too.” She tugged her shirt away from herself. “I’m all hot and sticky.”

“Hmm, I bet,” Rose murmured, no doubt taking in Raleigh hungrily watching Mia. “You go ahead. I’m handling dinner tonight. Long as you don’t want anything gourmet.”

Raleigh chuckled. “You know what I fix for dinner.”

Mia grabbed a couple of towels from the hall closet and handed him one. “There’s soap and shampoo in the guest bathroom. I wish we could…” She nodded toward her room.

So no, she didn’t see it as a saving grace.

“I know.” But with Rose and Cody in the house, now was definitely not the time.

She drew her finger down his chest, leaving a trail of tingles. “We will pick up where we left off.” She let her finger rest on the waistband of his pants, then slid it just under the edge. “Tonight.”

“Definitely.” He reluctantly headed into the bathroom alone. A cold shower was in order. Unfortunately, all he could think about was Mia on the other side of the wall. Wet. Naked. That was another thing they’d never done—taken a shower together. Maybe they would remedy that soon.

During dinner, Cody chattered about his workday, all the tree branches he’d hauled to the burning pile and how many yards of fence he’d helped Mr. Scott build. How one of the laborers hid when the sheriff’s car drove by. Then he offered Cody a beer in thanks for not telling the sheriff, who paused and talked to him. Of course, he declined. Raleigh didn’t drink, so neither would Cody. At least, that’s what the kid said now.

Raleigh nodded in approval and spouted off his usual rhetoric about the dangers of alcohol. But his cells were tuned in to Mia. She ran her bare foot along his calf, even as she talked to Rose. He traced his hand over her bare thigh, rubbing his thumb on the soft skin inside. A promise. A tease. He sensed the charged atmosphere between them, the anticipation made sweeter by having to wait.

Rose pushed her seat back and stood. “Cody, we’d better get going.”

“But it’s early. Couldn’t I stay and help here?” he asked, giving Raleigh a puppy-dog face. “Don’t you got more stuff to do tonight?”

“No,” both Raleigh and Mia said. “We’re packing up some boxes and calling it a day,” Raleigh went on, trying not to meet her eyes and give away anything.

“Can we throw the Frisbee for a bit?”

Rose said, “How about you and Mia throw while Raleigh and I clean up. But just for a few minutes.”

Mia gave Raleigh an inquisitive look but let Cody tug her from her seat and out the door.

“You’re still in love with her.” Rose pulled him from watching the two jump off the steps, arms and legs splayed.

Rose hadn’t posed it as a question, and he knew there was no point in deflecting or denying it. “I’ve always been in love with that girl.”

“We did interrupt something, didn’t we?”

He lifted one shoulder as he took the rinsed plate she handed him and set it in the dishwasher. “Maybe a little.”

“Got some condoms in the truck if you need them.” When he gave her a surprised look, she added, “Hey, a gal’s gotta have fun sometime. Well, once in a long, long while, really.”

“I’m not judging. Thanks, but I bought some.” He’d felt odd about it, presumptuous, even. Telling himself they weren’t going there and yet having them on hand just in case.

Rose paused, leaving the plate under the stream of running water as she studied him. “What are you going to do when she leaves?”

It seemed strange, Rose watching over him for a change. Worrying. “Carry on, like always. I’d regret it a lot more if she left without us…” No need to be specific. His gaze found her out on the beach, laughing at a failed throw, her rich, chocolate-brown hair washing across her shoulder. “Thing is, I can’t stop myself from loving her. Wanting her.” He pulled his gaze back to Rose. “You ever loved someone beyond reason?”

“No. I liked your father well enough. Thought I could change him.” Bitterness coated her laugh. “A man can only change if he wants to. And, as you know, your father couldn’t change his stripes.”

No, they both knew that well enough. He hoped she didn’t want to talk about just how crooked the man’s stripes were.

“Raleigh, about George clearing his property…”

“He promised me it wouldn’t affect where the trailer is. I’ll be all right.”

She looked as though she were going to say more but nodded instead. “I know you will.” She wrapped her hand around his upper arm. “I can see Mia’s as crazy for you as you are for her. I have to admit that I’m jealous. Never had someone look at me like you do her. I like her. She’s good people. If you love her, don’t let us stand in your way. Y’hear?”

He didn’t know what to say to all that. “You deserve to have someone look at you like that, Rose. Someday you’ll find him. But you have to believe in yourself.” Maybe she’d be lucky enough to meet a man who could help, the way Mia had helped him believe in his worth.

Rose handed him the last plate, turned off the water, and dried her hands. “We’ll get out of your hair. Cody’ll be working on the fencing again tomorrow.”

She walked to the French doors and called Cody’s name. The kid trudged back to the deck, dragging his feet and making trails in the sand. Raleigh helped carry a couple of boxes to her truck, bid them farewell, and headed back inside.

Mia was still out on the beach, bent over to study something in the sand. The sunset was an orange-and-pink backdrop, and he pulled out his phone and snapped a couple of pictures. This time he would capture her and keep her close in the only ways he could. In his phone. In his memories. And in his heart.

Heat stirred in his belly. They had all night. No parents, no regrets. Just the two of them and a lot of time to make up for.

Mia had gotten the hint. Rose wanted to talk to Raleigh alone. Given the woman’s earlier warning, Mia suspected that she was trying to talk him out of doing anything rash. Reckless. And she had a point, of course. Crossing that line would be reckless.

But as she looked up to see Raleigh stepping off the deck she knew she was willing to pay the price. The warm hues of the setting sun washed over the planes of his cheeks and the red shades in his hair as he crossed the beach toward her. His jeans were tight, feet bare, faded black T-shirt stretched across the contours of his chest. She had to take a deep breath to ease the tightness in her belly.

Mia tilted her head. “Did she warn you off on us going…there?”

He scooped up the Frisbee and sent it sailing toward the deck, his blue eyes on her the whole time. “How did you know?”

“She did the same to me a few days ago. She doesn’t want you hurt.” She brushed her hair from her eyes. “I don’t want you hurt, either.”

He came to a stop in front of her. “I’ve been hurting ever since the crash. Nothing’s going to change that.”

“Hurting because of guilt?”

“From losing you.” He stepped even closer, his hands sliding down her sides to anchor at her hips. “I remember every moment we were together. Every smile. Every kiss. Every touch. I’ve run it all through my mind a million times, like one of those guys in the movies who sit in an empty theater and watch the eight-millimeter film over and over.”

Her eyes welled up. “I do that, too. I thought I was crazy.”

“Then we’re both crazy. I could ask if you’re sure you want to go down this path. I could ask you to think about it—really think about it—and consider the consequences. But I know it doesn’t matter. The car’s in drive. Our foot’s on the gas pedal. And we’re about to go full throttle.”

She came up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her mouth to his. “Zero to sixty.”

He picked her up so that she was now looking down at him. “It might well be that. I’ve had hot going through my veins for well over a week now. Not to mention that it’s been a while since…well, anything.”

Was it evil to relish the thought that he hadn’t made love to anyone recently? Probably, but Mia owned it. “I know the feeling. I haven’t been with anyone since the angry military guy, as you call him.”

He let her slide down his body, and she could feel that it was still in peak condition…all over.

When they were face-to-face, he said, “I haven’t actually made
love
with anyone. Except you.” Then he swept her up in his arms and carried her back to the house.

Her heart thundered, and her hands grew damp where they clasped around his neck. Like the first time, as they were about to cross the line then. Her first time.

Safe. Good. Right.

Even as a virgin, she’d felt all of those. Along with scared, crazy excited, and breathless with wonder.

He kept her in his arms as he opened the door and stepped into the cottage, closing it behind him.

She tightened her hold as he carried her down the hall. “I’m staying in the guest room. I felt funny taking Grandma’s room. I’d feel even funnier…well, you know.”

Raleigh stepped into the room with the luggage still open and clothing draped all over. He laid her on the rumpled sheets, coming down with her. His mouth captured hers, the kiss quickly heating. When he finally pulled away, he kissed her chin, her nose, then along the arch of her eyebrows. Even when he was nineteen, he’d taken his time loving her. Cherishing her. His eyes took her in as though she were a precious gem, in awe and disbelief, the same way she felt.

I’m making love with Raleigh again. Like I’ve dreamed of for so long.

He straddled her waist, keeping his weight off her, and peeled up her shirt. She helped him, eager to return to where they’d left off in the pantry. With his eyes hungrily drinking her in, seeing so much more than what was there.

Within seconds, he’d released her bra, baring her to him. If he saw the scars in the soft light coming in through the sheer curtains, he gave no indication. He traced his fingertips along her curves, circling her burning peaks. “You are so beautiful.” His gaze had moved to her face, to include all of her.

“So are you. And I want to see more.”

He pulled off his T-shirt, muscles flexing with his movements. Then he dipped low, leaving a trail of kisses across her stomach, over both smooth and mottled skin, until his mouth closed over one peak. She tunneled her fingers into his soft, thick hair, arching into the feel of his tongue circling, flicking, driving heat right to her core. He moved to her other breast, teasing and sucking gently, making her throb with wanting.

She thought she breathed out his name but wasn’t sure it came out at all intelligible. He answered with a soft murmur, moving down her stomach, over one of the old surgery scars she’d once worried he would notice, and started unfastening her shorts. He peeled the seam apart and nibbled at the top edge of her panties. He’d always been a tease by taking his ever-loving time. This time when she uttered his name it was clear and pleading.

He wrapped his fingers over the waistband at her hips and jerked both shorts and panties down. She wriggled out of them as he slid them down her legs, and she heard them land with a
whump
on the floor. She cracked her eyes open to see him taking her in as he ran his fingers back up the insides of her legs. His thumb brushed her clit as he moved his hands up to the sensitive skin of her pelvis. She sucked in a breath, heat tingling right up to her stomach.

He leaned low and kissed her stomach as his thumb stroked her slick opening. His lips moving lower, lower, until it covered her completely throbbing clit. The heat from his mouth, the touch of his tongue, threatened to send her over. She’d been wanting this, hungry for it, all through dinner. Her body was so ready for him. So ready to explode.

But either Raleigh didn’t hear her panting breaths or he was ignoring them, because he moved away from her center and kissed all around it. His thumb pressed into her opening, gently stretching, preparing her for him. Just as he’d done that first time, making love to her orally, getting her wet and oh-so-ready.

She vibrated, alive, breathless. “Raleigh, please…”

“Mmm, I’m enjoying this too much. Aren’t you?”

“Y-yes. Too m-much.”

“You’re not going in sixty seconds, baby.”

She let out a groan even as a wave of pleasure washed over her, her fingers curling into the sheets. He extended the agony and the ecstasy, now sliding his finger into her and stroking deep and long. All the while, his tongue licked and circled and brought her closer, closer, until finally her climax crashed in on her like those waves she could hear through the closed window. She let out a sound, half groan, half desperate inhalation from not having breathed for so long.

He didn’t let her writhe away from him, just continued to suck and lick her ravaged body until she couldn’t take any more bombardment of sensations. That’s when she came again, gasping like someone who had been underwater for twenty minutes.

“Am I still here?” she asked once she’d caught her breath. “I think I might have imploded.”

“Oh, you did, but you’re still here. See.” He swiped his tongue over her again, and she twisted to the side.

“No more. I can’t take it.” She managed to get to her knees, placing her hands on his shoulders. “Your turn.” She pushed him down until he was lying where she’d just been. He looked like sin ten different ways, in his jeans with his erection straining against the fabric. Even with the scar down his side, he was the most perfect man she’d ever seen. And for this moment, this night, he was hers.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I like it,” he murmured.

“You would like it, but I’ll never tell.” She straddled him the way he’d done her, tightening her thighs against his hips. His hard ridge pressed up against her still sensitive apex, and the pressure obviously aroused him, too. He let out a low moan and brought his hands up to her waist.

“Can you give me a hint?” He drew his hands up her sides, thumbs brushing the curves of her breasts.

“Since you asked so nicely…I was thinking how much I love that you’re mine. Right now,” she forced out. But her mind was screaming,
Just mine, now, always.

He traced those curves now, moving inward. “Mmm, I am totally yours.”

He hadn’t added the
right now
. Oh, God, she was so in love with this man. Before she started babbling again and pouring out her heart, she leaned down and kissed him. Then she made her way over the contours of his chest, teasing his nipples into stiff buds and relishing the way his breathing grew deeper, heavier. His fingers kneaded her shoulders until she moved away to kiss the faint freckles across his chest. She dragged her fingers down his waist and hooked them over his waistband, drawing them along the inside seam. The back of her fingers brushed the velvety head of his cock, and he shuddered.

Just as she had before, she marveled at being able to do whatever she wanted with this gorgeous specimen. She could make him respond, harden, groan and shudder. He’d always been comfortable with his body, his sexuality. He’d taught her to be the same, but it was only with him that she could revel in it.

She nibbled at the taut skin of his stomach, sending a puff of warm breath beneath his jeans. She slid the metal button through the hole, then unzipped him. Did he breathe out in relief? Probably. She stirred at the sight of the hard length of him stretching the fabric of his black briefs. He had filled her in every way, and she ached to feel him inside her again. She kissed down the length of him through the fabric, grinning at the sight of his hands now tensing on the sheets.

Paybacks…

Except she was as impatient as he was. She tugged his jeans over his hips, nearly falling off the foot of the bed as she pulled them over his feet. Next she tackled the briefs, loving the way his muscles contracted as he lifted his ass again to assist her efforts.

Good Lord, she had to catch her breath at the sight of him. Completely naked.
Completely mine.

She kissed her way up his legs, then all around his cock. He tangled his fingers in her hair, his patience clearly running out.

“You can dish it out but you can’t take it, huh?” she murmured.

“I’m just reveling in the sweet anticipation, baby,” he said in a strained voice.

She bet. Still, she couldn’t help grinning. He had showed her the pleasures of receiving oral gratification, and taught her how to give it as well. As she recalled those lessons with her mouth, taking him in, licking and stroking, she cringed at how naïve she’d been. But Raleigh had been extremely patient, leading her gently, never pressuring her.

He shuddered again, rocking the bed. “God, I forgot how good that feels. How good you feel.”

“I had a really good teacher.”

“You were
a…really…good…student.”
His whole body tensed. “Mia, remember what I said about me going in sixty seconds?”

She ran her mouth down the length of him, flicking at the sensitive ridge of skin beneath his head. “So go. Or come.” She giggled. “We have all night.” Then she took him fully in.

He groaned, even before she finished him off, then whispered her name over and over as his orgasm claimed him. His fingers kept sliding across her scalp, tangling in her hair. A different kind of heaven.

They remained there for a while, content in the aftermath of pleasure. She was sated but still hungry. For him inside her. Still, the anticipation was sweet.

After a quick jaunt to the kitchen for munchies, they returned to bed. He pulled her into his arms, and she rested her cheek on his chest, her leg slung over his thigh. They settled into a comfortable silence together. She could feel his fingers tighten on her side from time to time, perhaps in response to whatever thoughts rambled through his mind. She wanted to know what he was thinking but was afraid to ask.

Safe. Good. Right
. The words floating through her mind tightened her insides. But she had a job in Minneapolis, and he had a family of sorts here. The only family he had. Her mind tried to find a way to make it work, but she came up with broken strands every time. She needed to work with burn victims, and there was only a small hospital here.

But you need Raleigh, too.

She felt her hand involuntarily clench on his stomach. She didn’t want to let him go. Not yet.

Not ever.

His breathing grew steady and deep, and she drifted into sleep as well. Dreams of kissing Raleigh, walking on the beach hand in hand. But he released her and walked into the surf. She tried to follow, but the waves kept pushing her back to shore. Raleigh grew fainter as he moved farther away, the ocean swallowing him by degrees.

When she woke two hours later, he wasn’t in bed. Panic twined through her chest. She threw on a shirt and wandered out, afraid he’d come to the conclusion that getting close was too painful. He stood naked in the kitchen, a glass of water in hand. Only the moonlight pouring through the window cast any amount of light into the space. But it was enough to give him a mystical glow as he set his glass down on the counter and faced her. “Did I wake you?”

“I don’t think so. I just woke up…and you were gone.”

He held out his hand, and she drifted toward him without thought, sliding into his embrace. “I’m here.”

Their bare thighs pressed together, and she could feel his arousal against her stomach. He ran his hand from her forehead to her chin, gazing down at her. She could barely see his eyes, only dark, unfathomable pools.

“Let’s go out to the deck,” he whispered. “Sleep under the moonlight.”

But she knew he didn’t mean sleep at all. She nodded, maybe a little too eagerly. “I’d like that. I won’t be able to do that much once I’m back in Minneapolis.” Those words hung like storm clouds in the air for several seconds.

“You won’t have the waves to lull you to sleep. Or the salty breeze.”

Or him. But neither said that.

“I’ll get the sheet from the bed.” He walked down the hall and returned a minute later with the white mass.