Sliding inside of Bellamy Haile had to be damn near the best thing Eli had ever felt. Especially since he hadn’t been able to get her and her sweet body off his mind for the last month. And all those memories of that first time paled in comparison to the real thing, of having the chance to make newer, hotter memories. Tight, warm, wet…and so perfect his eyes nearly rolled back in his head. He fought to keep them open and trained on her face as he pushed deep, then deeper still.
Her eyelids fluttered down with every slow thrust of his hips, but she resisted the urge to close them too, keeping her gaze trained on his face, his throat, back to his mouth.
Fuck, when she stared at his mouth it drove him crazy with the need to smother hers with a kiss. He could of course, yet he didn’t want to stop looking at her like this. The soft sex-flush on her throat and cheeks, lips parted, that coal-black hair spilling across the pillow. Without a doubt, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. Except it wasn’t just her physical features that drew him. It was her huge, sexy brain, her compassion, her patience. Even her secrets. He still wanted to know what put that troubled look in her green eyes. What made her want to stay in this big empty house, with only ghosts to keep her company. What made her seem like a wild bird to him, likely to disappear on a breeze if spooked.
The sharp demand of her nails in his back jerked him out of his mushy thoughts. He rolled them over then reached for the lamp next to the bed, switching it off. Moonlight bathed her body in pale blue as she braced her hands on his waist and pushed upright.
Goddamn, what a view, he thought, then said the words out loud just to watch her gaze lift to his, the edges of her mouth try to curl into a smile. It didn’t quite work, too lost was she in her own pleasure. And he realized right then it was one of the things he found so sexy about her in bed—she went after what she wanted, took what she needed, threw herself headlong into the deed. There was no acting or playing coy. Their coupling was raw and open and honest, and he was just grateful to be along for the ride, lucky to be the one giving her what she desired.
He slid his hands up her sides to cup her breasts, pinching and stroking her nipples as she began to ride him in earnest. She did close her eyes then, teeth digging into that full bottom lip, breathy gasps and moans slipping from her throat as she took him deep on every down stroke.
Eli was close—balls tight, muscles tense, pleasure crawling down his spine in a heated, insistent warning. He clenched his jaw against the need to come, grabbed her hips and thrust into her. “You gonna come for me again, Bell?”
“Mmm,” was all he got.
“That better be a yes.”
She dropped her chin, opened her eyes. “Touch me.”
“Show me,” he countered.
Guiding his hand to her pussy, her fingers framed his on both sides of her clit, showing him how hard she needed his touch, the tempo of the strokes, the best spots to get her there. She was slick and hot against his fingertips as she worked her hips in a slow, grinding circle. Her motions sped up, body arching, head tipping back to expose the long line of her throat. Then she was pulsing around his cock, her soft cries falling over him like mist, before Eli surged deep one last time and followed her over.
After a full minute of brain recovery time, he reached for her face, pulling her close for a kiss, sharing each other’s panting breaths as their bodies came down from the sex high. She slid off him to collapse on the mattress with a satisfied sigh.
Her face pressed to his shoulder, she pointed toward the hallway. “Bathroom’s down the hall there. First door on the left.”
Eli made a quick trip in the dark, cussing a blue streak when he stubbed a toe on the corner of a door. Laughter floated after him as he took care of business and washed his hands.
“It might be helpful if you turned on a light,” she said, still giggling when he returned to the bed. He flopped down on his stomach, brushing his stubbled chin back and forth across her ribs to see if she was ticklish. She flinched and squealed, hands flying to his face to push him away, giving him his answer. He pinned her down and kept tormenting her until she lost her breath laughing and begged for mercy. “Stop!”
“Teach you to make fun of me and my poor injured toe.”
She finally caught her breath and sat up, shoving hair out of her eyes. “You staying the night?”
“Unless you’re kicking me out.”
“Nope,” she said, heading for the bathroom herself. Sadly, she grabbed his discarded shirt when she came back and pulled it on. “I put a new toothbrush out for you on the vanity.”
“Thanks.”
“Now I’ve got the munchies. Wanna snack?”
“Sure.”
He stepped into his jeans, watching as she began snapping his shirt up from the bottom. When she popped the snap between her breasts, he grabbed a fistful of fabric and hauled her to him for a long, slow kiss that ended with a shorter one, then a gentle bite to her jaw. A soft sigh warmed his ear and his dick stirred with renewed interest against her belly. Which reminded him, he needed to visit his truck for more condoms.
She gave him a quick grope. “The beast is going to have to wait until I’ve had fortification.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere.”
Chuckling, Bellamy pushed him away and headed for the kitchen, hips swaying beneath the tails of his shirt. He liked her in his stuff, wanted her in his bed too. Tied to his bed, naked and impatient. In his shower, his truck seat or wherever else he could get her. Mostly, he just wanted to spend more time in her company, get to know her better.
She stood in the open door of the fridge, surveying its contents. “What’re you in the mood for, besides more sex?”
Peering over her shoulder, the smell of her hair filling his head, Eli couldn’t deny the sex part. “Whatcha got?”
“I picked up a few new things from Homegrown today. I was thinking about toast with apple butter.”
He kissed her neck. “Sounds great. I’m going to run out to my truck while you toast the bread.”
“You might want to put on shoes to protect your delicate toes.”
“Smartass.”
Still, Eli slid his feet into her flip-flops, even though his heels hung off the back, and made the trip to his truck, making sure the doors were locked and he had his phone before returning to the house.
Slices of toasted bread sat stacked on a plate, jars of apple butter and honey beside them at one end of the giant farm table. “Water?” she asked.
“Please and thank you.”
She hummed her satisfaction as she took the first bite. Eli had to agree. The apple butter was fantastic, but then, he had yet to find anything Kai carried that he didn’t like.
They ate in silence for a few minutes before he asked something he’d wanted to know since they first met. “What sent you after the bottle of tequila that night in Perry?” A brief frown creased her forehead before she made it disappear. “Or is it something you’d rather not discuss?”
Her fingers plucked at the crust on her bread. “No, it’s okay.” After another bite, she placed what was left of her toast on a napkin, brushed the crumbs from her fingertips and stood. “Be right back.”
Eli stared at the tiny mountains and whirls of golden-brown on his bread, wondering if he’d pushed a button he shouldn’t have when she slid back onto her chair and dropped a folded sheet of paper next to his elbow. He glanced up at her, figuring she meant for him to read it, but still feeling like he needed permission.
When she said, “Go ahead,” he picked it up.
Each typed word dropped like hot stones in his gut as he read the rejection letter, her disappointment becoming his, even though it would’ve changed everything between them. They probably wouldn’t have met in Perry, and if by some small chance they had, the outcome would have been much different. Right now she’d be in—he scanned the letterhead for an address—Alpharetta instead of Serenity, working for Claybrook Farms. Their one-night fling becoming nothing more than a sweet memory. That’s if he had still managed to track her down after the rodeo and they wound up in bed together.
But this wasn’t about him.
“I’m sorry you didn’t get the job.” He meant every word, despite the alternate outcome that favored him.
She nodded. “I was feeling pretty sorry for myself when we bumped into each other in the liquor store.”
“I can understand why. Tell me about Claybrook Farms. What made you want to work for them?”
“They’re one of the premier horse breeders in the southeast. Their facilities are state of the art, and the position would’ve come with ridiculous benefits and a generous salary. I’d still get to live in Georgia. My dream job, really. Too good to be true almost, and incredibly hard to come by.” She shrugged, gave him a weak smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “But it wasn’t in the cards, so here I am.”
“Horses are where you want to be?”
“If I had my choice, yeah. As you go through vet school, you find yourself drawn more strongly to certain animals. Horses were it for me. Weirdly enough, since I’ve been in Serenity, I haven’t received my first equine call.”
“But I thought you liked all animals, like the Millers’ goats?”
“I do, it’s just…”
“Not your ideal.”
“Right. And I realize that sounds petty, complaining about a lost job opportunity when so many folks are out of work. I’m genuinely grateful I get to do something I enjoy for a living.”
“You’re being honest, Bell, that’s all. Nothing wrong with that. It’s okay to be disappointed.”
“I suppose.”
“There are horses around here. Just maybe not sick yet.”
She nodded half-heartedly.
Once again, Eli was struck with the need to try to fix this for her. A fruitless urge. This wasn’t as easy as repairing a gate or a swing. He couldn’t scour every field in Serenity for a sick horse. It left little else but to hope that she’d find a balance, something that would make her want to stay.
Keep pouring the fertilizer. Sooner or later, a bud will sprout.
“For what it’s worth, you blew me away the night you worked with us at the barn. I was in total awe of your knowledge and patience, the way you explained everything. You made me want to learn for the next time, not dread it.”
“Thanks, Eli.” She refolded the letter and tucked it beneath the Mason jar of fresh-picked wild Black-eyed Susans in the center of the table.
There was more to be said, but Eli couldn’t find the right words without fear of saying something he shouldn’t. Not this early in their relationship. Losing the job she wanted so badly was the source of her seeming unsettled, he felt certain. It was almost as if she was having a hard time coming to grips with the reality of the situation. Her whole heart wasn’t in Serenity, despite inheriting her beloved grandparents’ house, and that didn’t sit well inside him. He wanted her to be happy, content. He wanted her to stay. That much he did know. Selfish, yes, but the truth nonetheless.
“Did you like the apple butter?” she asked as she started cleaning up their mess.
He watched her silently for a moment, enjoying the easy way she moved, the gracefulness of her hands. The way she made him feel so welcome in her home, grateful to simply share her company.
One of these days, she would more than likely leave him and Serenity behind. He knew it as surely as he knew his own name. But as inevitable as that appeared, it didn’t dim his desire to get closer to her one iota. He supposed that if he got his heart broken in the end, he deserved it. At least he was going in to this with eyes wide open, knowing what the outcome could be.
“Eli?”
He blinked and refocused on her. She’d asked him a question. Apple butter. “It was great,” he said, his voice as flat as that letter he’d just read.
“Oh look!” Her face lit up and she hurried to the door leading out onto the back porch. Eli followed, both of them peeking through a gap the curtains at the fox slinking through her backyard. He wrapped his arms around her waist, tucking her head beneath his chin. “There’s something in her mouth.”
“Looks like a rat,” he said.
“I’m grateful for her stalking skills, but blech.”
“When did you determine it was a she?”
She shrugged against him. “Well, to be honest, I’m not sure. It’s not easy to tell male and female foxes apart. Since she has a narrow face, I’m going with girl. I want it to be a girl because I’m hoping for kits someday.”
“You’ll have to leave her a reward tomorrow.”
“Did you know a female fox is called a vixen?” She tilted her head to peer up at him and grinned, eyes full of mischief. And just like that, she was back to the Bellamy he knew, the one he was already crazy about, brought back around by her love of anything furry and four-legged.
He kissed her, nice and slow, letting the heat gradually build between them, until she turned in his arms, barely breaking the connection of their mouths while her fingers slid through his hair.
Eli eased one hand between their bodies. At the first sound of a snap popping, she broke the kiss to watch the front of his shirt slowly open, revealing her naked body beneath. When he had every button undone, he pushed the cloth apart and hit his knees.
“The two of you have something in common, then.”