“Yes, you were. You’re always there.” He kissed my nose. “I even see you in my dreams.”
Framing his face, I puckered my lips. Our kiss was soft and understanding. Loosening his embrace, Jacob reached for the back of my neck and pulled me closer. As the fervency of our connection grew, our kiss and need deepened. When his tongue teased my lips, I willingly parted them, releasing a moan as our tongues danced.
When Jacob’s hand sought the hem of my shirt, I remembered the boundary I’d placed, but instead of reminding him, I pulled my blouse from the confines of my skirt. His touch was warm as he unfastened the clasp of my bra and released my breasts. Sighing, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensations as the scarred tips of his fingers heightened my desire, caressing and taunting my beaded nipples. I pushed my chest toward him, wanting more of what he could do to my sensitive skin. Bowing his head, he delivered, sucking and nipping and sending pulsations elsewhere.
“Oh, Jacob,” I purred, weaving my fingers through his dark wavy hair.
The ground where we sat was hard and dry, hardly the place to make love. It was also private and isolated. Moving from his lap, I lifted my shirt over my head and laid it on the ground. Discarding my bra, I reached for Jacob’s hand and tugged him over me as I lay back with my head on my shirt.
“You said . . . ,” he reminded me.
“Please, I want you.”
Jacob’s eyes never left mine as he bunched my skirt to my waist and removed my panties and shoes. “I,” he said between kisses, “will always want you.”
Reaching for his belt, I smiled as I rubbed the erection straining against his jeans. His groan rumbled through the trees. Ever since the first time—that I now knew had been our first time—when I’d asked to be the one to unbuckle his belt, he’d always left it for me. As I pulled it from its loops, I realized it was one of the ways he’d never forced me. I’d always wanted to make love with him. It’d always felt right.
Leather and musk replaced the scent of dry leaves, and my back arched upon the solid ground as he slid inside me. Humming, I adjusted to the delicious fullness as we moved in sync. Leaving a trail of fire, Jacob peppered my skin with kisses as he teased my neck and breasts and everything in between.
Unbuttoning his shirt, I ran my fingers along his chest and reveled in the way his muscles hardened and flexed beneath my palms. When I opened my eyes, the brown I sought was staring down at me.
“I love you,” I said, choking on the emotion in my own voice. It was true. It wasn’t Sara or Stella who loved Jacob; it was me, the new combination of each individual I’d once been.
Jacob reached behind my head and removed the tie securing my ponytail. Fanning my hair over the shirt, he grinned. “I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you, and now, the more I learn about you, the more I love.”
He continued his slow sweet torture as he moved in and out, building the tempo, without rushing. During this brief reprieve, it was as if we didn’t have the fate of nearly a thousand people in our hands. It was just us, husband and wife, making love on a warm summer day. I lifted my hips, wanting to be closer, needing him deeper.
“God, Sara, you feel so damn good.”
I smiled. “I do.” It wasn’t a question. I felt good—stretched, filled, and good. Pressure began to build as my back again arched and my toes curled. Jacob knew exactly what I wanted, exactly what I needed. He didn’t back away, but pushed me higher until the trees and the beams of sunlight disappeared, and my body convulsed around his. Whimpers replaced the rustling of the leaves as I clung to his shoulders while wave after wave of pleasure momentarily washed reality away. I opened my eyes in time to see the expression that I loved, strain morphing to bliss and a contented smile.
When our breaths began to even, Jacob collapsed, his chest flattening my breasts, and he brushed my hair away from my face. I was home in the arms of a man whom, if life hadn’t been so cruel, I’d never have met. Despite it all, I’d found the place I wanted to be. In that moment I knew we’d make it. I did love Jacob.
CHAPTER 22
Sara
It was more than a little disconcerting to sleep in a room that we knew had cameras, but we didn’t have any choice. Father Gabriel had messaged both Brother Micah and Jacob in the evening to inform them that we wouldn’t leave for the Northern Light until the next afternoon. Apparently it was because he had plans. Last night the music and voices could be heard as the celebration ensued up at the mansion. I really didn’t care what Father Gabriel did in his free time. I was just happy to know he wouldn’t be doing it much longer. Today he had three Assembly and Commission meetings to attend before we could leave.