Pleasure washed over her face, and then she grabbed him by the collar of his button-down and kissed him again.
They fell back on the mattress in a jumble of arms and legs, their mouths locked together. Jackson’s pulse raced when their tongues met. His brain went fuzzy when Mia sucked on his bottom lip. And his cock dang near exploded when she shoved her hand between their bodies and squeezed it.
Somehow their clothes disappeared and they wound up naked beneath the thick duvet, exploring each other’s bodies with their hands, mouths and tongues.
“You’re so beautiful,” he mumbled, propping himself up over her warm, slender body.
“So are you.” When her hand came up to stroke his cheek, he sagged into her touch, loving it, welcoming it.
Neither of them was interested in foreplay anymore—their hands collided down south as they both tugged on his cock to guide him inside her.
They laughed at their own eagerness, then released simultaneous moans when he slid into her wetness in one smooth glide.
Mia wrapped her arms around him and ran her fingers over his back. He shuddered, not just from the feel of her tight pussy clutching his cock, but from the overwhelming love flowing inside him.
“Mine,” he choked out. “You’re mine, Mia.”
“I’m yours,” she whispered, and the sweet confirmation sent his heart, mind and body soaring to a new plane of rapture.
He wasn’t rough tonight. Didn’t fuck her hard. Didn’t go fast. Rather, he made love to her. Slow and gentle, rocking into her with infinite tenderness while his mouth sought out hers in a never-ending kiss.
When he climaxed, it wasn’t so much an explosion as a drawn-out rush of bliss that washed over him. Mia’s orgasm was equally low-key, eliciting a quiet cry and a shiver that seemed to ripple through her body.
After their breathing had steadied, Jackson rolled them over so they were lying face-to-face, his cock still buried inside her. Their skin was sticky from his seed and her juices, but Jackson didn’t mind and Mia didn’t seem to either. She just moved closer and rested her head on his biceps.
“I’m so sleepy,” she murmured.
“Go to sleep then,” he murmured back.
“You sure? You don’t want to stay up late and talk?”
He smiled. “Not really. I’m feelin’ dang sleepy myself. It’s probably from all that turkey we ate.”
She snuggled against his chest, making no attempt to separate their joined bodies. “What’s the plan for tomorrow? Are we going to that Thanksgiving parade Evie mentioned?”
“Yeah, it’s a family tradition.” He didn’t want to spoil the mood by warning her that they’d probably be subjected to stares and whispers when they went into town tomorrow, so he kept the grim thought to himself. “It’s not until late afternoon, though. Oh, and tomorrow my dad and I are goin’ for an early-morning ride. He wants to show off the new stallion he picked up at auction last month.”
“What’s early?”
“Seven a.m. probably. Maybe eight.”
“Okay.” Her voice was growing drowsier by the second, and when he peered down, he saw that her eyes were firmly closed. “Told your mom I’d help her in the garden around eight. Don’t wanna accidentally sleep in, so wake me up before you go, ’kay?”
He smiled in the darkness. “Don’t worry, I’m really good at wake-up calls.” He paused meaningfully. “Of the sexy variety, of course.”
Her sleepy laughter was muffled against his chest. “God, I love you.”
Jackson froze, his heart coming to a grinding halt.
He waited a couple of beats, but Mia didn’t say another word. She was fast asleep, he realized. Probably wasn’t even conscious of what she’d just said.
I love you.
Goddamn.
He suspected she wouldn’t remember this moment when she woke up tomorrow, but he was never gonna forget it.
She loved him.
She fuckin’ loved him.
He carried that spirit-lifting thought with him as he drifted off. And fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Chapter Eighteen
The following day, Mia learned what it felt like to be the subject of unwanted attention. She’d spent a wonderful morning on the ranch working in the garden with Arlene and then taking a long walk on the Ramsey property with Evie, but the second she and Jackson had driven into Abbott Creek’s downtown core, the fun atmosphere evaporated into a cloud of friction.