“No,” she says flatly. “No, I didn’t know that at all. I didn’t catch her name earlier, so I had no idea.”
“Who did you think she was?” Have I missed an entire conversation? I feel like I’m trying to catch up on all the details of an intricate movie that’s already halfway over.
“Just Zoe’s cousin. Damn, I feel like such an idiot.” She shakes her head.
“I’m glad to hear that,” I admit. Her eyebrows furrow in confusion. “Because I feel like a completely lost idiot. Can we start this conversation all over? What are you talking about?”
“After everything I’ve heard about Margot from you and River, I thought she had died. River said her mom watched over her, like a guardian angel. You said she had a bad case of postpartum depression and was gone. I put two and two together and just assumed she committed suicide. It never occurred to me that she was still alive and would show up out of the blue one day.”
“When you put it like that, I can see how you would’ve thought that. If I’d known earlier you thought that, I would’ve corrected it. Does her coming back change anything between us?” Translation: will I lose you now that my ex-psycho-bitch-baby-momma is back in town?
“No, Ace, she can’t change my feelings for you, regardless of where she is,” she replies sincerely. “I have to admit, though, I’m glad I walked up when I did. I heard what you said to her, and I couldn’t help but feel good when you let her know I’d be here with you.”
“I know a million ways to make you feel good. Better than good,” I reply. “Putting her in her place doesn’t even make the list. I didn’t realize it until you walked up, but she pulled that shit because she knew you were watching. She thought she could cause trouble between us.”
I draw her into my arms, her body flush with mine, her breasts pressing against my chest. “I was so fucking turned on when you stepped up to fight for River and me. It took all my willpower not to throw you over my shoulder and carry you off to have my way with you.”
“It just so happens that you don’t have to expend your willpower reserves at the moment,” she purrs seductively.
“You make an excellent point, counselor,” I reply calmly. Then I pick her up, throw her over my shoulder, and carry her into my lair. Her shrieks of laughter echo off the mountains and I playfully smack her ass. “Shhh, you’re wasting your breath. You’ll need it for the screams I’m about to give you.”
“I love it when you talk dirty to me.”
The zipper of my jeans was already about to bust open before she admitted that. Now it’s painful to fucking walk. “That does it, woman. You’re about to meet my inner caveman.”
“Don’t tease me then fail to follow through,” she challenges with that saucy, sassy tone that she knows riles me up even more.
“My follow-through will leave you sore for a solid week,” I warn as I kick the door closed behind us.
After I pop her ass one more time, I put her down and my hands immediately slide under her shirt to find her warm skin. For a heartbeat, our eyes lock and the current between us is so strong I can almost hear the buzzing of electricity. Our mouths clash together in a rush of frenzied need, and just like that, I can’t wait another second. Between tastes of her luscious lips, I remove her clothes one article at a time, all too eager to taste the rest of her. Within seconds, she’s standing completely bare before me and my own clothes are flying haphazardly across the room as fast as I shed them.
“Come with me.”
My hands glide over her hips before my arms wrap underneath her ass and hoist her up on me. Her legs naturally curl around my waist and her arms wrap around my neck when I turn to walk toward the bedroom. Just as we reach the hall, the warmth of her mouth on my neck nearly brings me to my knees. She licks, nips, and lightly sucks my skin between her teeth, driving me mad with unspoken promises of what’s still to come. When her nails scrape across my skin, I decide I’ve waited long enough.
Abruptly turning, I pin her back against the wall and tighten my grip on her legs. “Hold on to me,” I command through gritted teeth. “I’m taking you. Right here. Right now.”
The scent of her arousal permeates the air around us as I position myself at her entrance. Thrusting my hips upward while pulling her down, I slide into her warm, wet center and immediately stop. I sink my teeth into her creamy skin to fight the overwhelming urge to end this before we even get started. She grinds her hips in an attempt to make me move, but the way her body tightly grips me pushes me closer to the edge.
“Be. Still.”
“I can’t,” she moans.
With a growl, I fortify my resolve to finish what I started. Every thrust is deeper and every sound she makes is increasingly louder. When my legs become shaky from exertion, I make sure to hear my name screamed one last time before I give in and finish off this round.
“You have enough time to pour a glass of wine and have a snack.”
“Enough time before what?”