in my life, I feel truly content. My girl is in bed in my arms where she should be, and things are starting to look up. I had a feeling Whiskey River was going to be a special place, but I had no idea how much.
Jana looks so relaxed in bed. After our time on the couch last night, I took her to bed and worshiped her body all over again before she passed out from sheer exhaustion. She didn’t have a nightmare, and if that’s what I have to do every night until she gets through this, I gladly will. Anything to help her sleep and move on from what she went through.
Watching her sleep naked in my bed has me as hard as a rock. I’ve never had this connected to another person or been as protective of anyone in my life. I’ve never been this addicted to touching and tasting someone.
I slide the covers down the bed and situate my head between her thighs. I spread her wide and go in for a taste. She tastes as sweet and perfect as I remember. I take my time, enjoying teasing her as she starts to wake up.
Her sexy little moans vibrate all the way to my cock, and I want more. I increase the pressure on her clit and thrust two fingers inside her.
‘Cole!’ she moans as she grabs onto my hair.
‘Good morning, firecracker.’ I smile up at her before continuing my feast.
‘Stop teasing me and fuck me properly,’ she demands, trying to pull me up the bed.
‘I like the dirty talk. But you didn’t say please.’ I flip her over onto her stomach, spread her legs wide, and give her a light swat on her perfectly round ass.
Her sweet giggles quickly turn into moans when I thrust into her, fucking her into the mattress. She grips the sheets for dear life and tries to angle her hips as I press her further into the mattress.
‘Do you have any idea how damn good you feel? Fuck, I’m not going to last long inside you.’
How she does this to me, I will never know. My self-control is gone, and my only thought is to claim her over and over again.
I can’t wait to do this every morning. She won’t walk around without my seed inside her, without me reminding her she’s mine and how much I love her.
Because I realized last night, long after she was asleep, that I love this girl with my whole heart. But instead of telling her, I reach down and stroke her clit. Making her come is my priority, and she doesn’t disappoint.
‘Cole!’ she gasps my name like a prayer and clamps down on my dick. She comes beautifully, and I want to remember every detail.
Jana squeezes me so hard that she pulls the cum from me, and I’m powerless to stop my orgasm. I moan into her neck as my soul leaves my body to twine with hers.
We roll over in a sweaty mess, clinging to each other. Her skin is flushed, and her hair is a mess, but she’s never looked more beautiful.
We lie there for a bit, clinging to each other and exchanging soft touches.
I kiss her head. ‘I’ll make breakfast. Come out when you’re ready.’
She joins me as the food is ready, and we sit down to eat.
‘Have you ever done any hunting?’ I ask her over breakfast.
‘Not really. My parents split when I was little, and they’re both in the bigger cities. I moved out here to get away from them.’
‘ I can teach you. It’s pretty easy to learn and a useful skill to have out here. What about fishing?’
‘Only for fun, but I was never any good at catching anything.’
‘We fish differently around here, with nets and everything.’
Something’s off with Jana, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. She’s not her usual perky self, and she’s barely making eye contact with me.
‘What’s on your mind, firecracker?’
She takes a deep breath and sets her fork down before looking up at me. ‘I have to go back into town. I have to work, and I can’t lose my job because my apartment is attached to it. It’s part of my paycheck, room and board. I can’t let the community garden go. Too many people use it, and I love helping them every week.’
My heart sinks. After last night I thought we’d moved past this. I don’t take sex lightly. I’ve never been one to sleep around. Sex means something. It means commitment, and I thought she understood that.
‘Even after last night?’ I ask, trying to keep my emotions out of it.
‘Especially after last night. I watched my mom give up her career and the person she was before she met my dad. When he left, it nearly killed her. It broke her in ways she still hasn’t recovered from. It took my mom a long time to get back on her feet, and I can’t put myself in that position and be that vulnerable.’
‘So that’s it then?’ I sit back in my chair and cross my arms over my chest.
‘It doesn’t have to be it.’
‘You think I can move into town and we’ll live happily ever after? I’ve told you that’s not going to happen. This is my home, my life. This is where I feel safe and comfortable.’
Jana’s eyes mist over, and she turns around to look out the window. ‘I don’t want this to be over, but I don’t see any other way at this point. Do you?’ Her voice is wobbly.
I don’t answer. I hoped to have a few more days to convince her, but nothing I say will change her mind. Without finishing breakfast, I get up and head to the radio to call Cash. I’m not going to force her to stay here if this isn’t where she wants to be.
Jana heads back to my room without saying a word. She gets dressed and packs the few things she has here. She emerges as Cash pulls up to the front of the cabin.
‘You know where I live, and you’re welcome anytime,’ she says before picking up Muffin and her bag and heading out the door.
She’s limping and shouldn’t be on her foot yet, but I get the impression if I try to pick her up, she won’t let me. Not now.
I stand on the front porch and watch until I can no longer see them or hear the four-wheeler.
Just like that, my world is filled with silence again, as if she was never here and the last few days never happened. But they did, and now everything has changed.
I’m no longer content to be out here alone, but I can’t go back into the house where I can still catch her scent in our bed.
Instead, I head to the laundry room, grab a pair of my work jeans and a T-shirt, and head out to the garden. I pull weeds and check on the plants. It’s mindless work and perfect since my head is not in the game.
I go over any possible scenario of making things work with her. I’m so lost in my head that I don’t even notice someone standing behind me.
‘Jesus fucking Christ! Don’t sneak up on me like that.’ I growl at Cash’s friend, Axel.
‘I wasn’t sneaking. You were so far in your head, you didn’t hear me.’
‘What do you want?’ I ask, not overly thrilled to have company.
‘Hope told my wife what was going on. Those two gossip like old biddies. After my wife heard what happened, she insisted I come to talk to you.’
‘Why?’ I ask, wiping my hands on my jeans.
‘Because we have similar reasons for moving out here.’
‘You got damn lucky your woman wanted to live out here too.’ I make my way to the porch so I can sit down for this conversation.
‘When I walked down the street, people would cross the street so they wouldn’t have to walk by me. If they couldn’t cross the street, women gripped their purses and practically ran past me. In the grocery store, people avoided the aisle I was in. I dated a few women, but it didn’t turn out well. I was too big for them, in more than one way.’ He shoots me with a knowing look.
‘So, you moved out here to the mountains. We all have a sob story of why we’re here, but if you think I’m going to tell you mine, you’re sadly mistaken.’
‘You don’t make it easy for people to make friends with you, do you?’ Axel asks, shaking his head. ‘Emily literally stumbled into my life. She was lost in the woods, and I was bathing naked in the river. I’d given up hope of finding anyone, and I knew instantly I wouldn’t be the same after her. But I also knew that if she’d wanted to walk out the door and leave me, I would have let her. I wouldn’t have tried to stop her. And that would’ve been the biggest mistake of my life.’
He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and traces his thumb over his wedding band.
‘Emelie was the first girl who made me feel like my size didn’t matter. She was proud to walk beside me in public. She didn’t care how other people looked at me and walking with her on my arm, I found I didn’t either. She loves my size. She loves me. I learned a long time ago no one else matters as long as I have her.’
I know that feeling well. It’s something I’ve felt over the last few days.
‘That’s how Jana makes me feel. Like nothing else matters. But it isn’t just the scar. My past isn’t pretty, and I can’t live in a town as she does. She reminded me today that she has to be there because it’s where her job and house are, and she enjoys being around people.’
‘Axel stands and nods. “I’m not going to pry into your past. That’s yours alone, and I learned a long time ago that men moved up here because they don’t want to talk about it. There has to be some sort of middle ground. She can’t be the one giving up everything.’
He turns and leaves without another word.
