“That’s it, baby. Come for me.”
In one swift move he came down upon her and thrust into her throbbing sex. He gripped her shoulders, and her whole being flooded with desire as her senses spun out of control. Her hips bucked and her back arched, meeting his hard, muscular chest, as they both succumbed to the power of their passion. She felt every pulse of his release, every beat of his heart. As they hurtled past the point of no return, the only thought Laney could hold on to was the one she’d never been able to escape—Jackson, Jackson, Jackson.
***
JACKSON CAME OUT from under the fog of lust slowly. Despite the heat coursing through every inch of his body, the sheen of sweat he’d earned chilled his skin. He became aware of Laney trembling beneath him. He knew from the way she’d tucked her legs beneath his and folded her arms across her chest that she was seeking warmth. It was always like this with Laney after they’d made love. He was transported, and any other thoughts ceased to exist. The sound of water snapped his mind into action.
Clothes. Laney needed them. Now.
He kissed her quickly. “I think our clothes went downstream.” He helped her sit up and wrapped the blanket securely around her, then grabbed her socks and boots from the edge of the water. At least she still had those.
He crouched in front of her, ignoring the chilly air against his bare skin, and put her socks on her feet, then went to work situating her feet in her boots and lacing up them up.
“Aren’t you cold?” she asked sweetly. Her hair was tousled, her cheeks still flushed. He loved how she looked after they’d fucked.
Hell, he loved the way she looked any time of day or night. The longer he stewed over the proposal, the more he was coming to understand just how much he loved the things he’d taken for granted for all these years. And how much he’d miss them if she married Bryce.
He pushed thoughts of the proposal away and shrugged. “I’m fine. Are you okay with the blanket? I want to walk downstream and see if I can find our clothes.”
“I’m fine. Sorry about the fishing rod.”
He leaned forward, one hand beside each of her hips, and kissed her again. “Totally worth it,” he assured her. He stayed there for a moment, looking into the eyes of the best friend he’d ever known, and tried to envision a life without her bursting through his door and demanding sex, or a quart of ice cream, or a night out together. A life where she wasn’t a given, but a gift. A life where she kissed another man as her own and their intimacy no longer existed.
“Jackson. You’re shaking.” She touched his cheek, bringing him back to the present.
“I’m fine.” He was totally not fine, but he wasn’t about to lay that on Laney. She had a good, honest man offering her what every woman wanted—a future with one man and probably one day a family.
He pushed to his feet, unable to comprehend the idea of Laney having children with some other guy. What was wrong with him? Hadn’t he always known their arrangement couldn’t last forever? That one day she’d be swept off her feet and would move on?
And what was wrong with him that he wasn’t out looking for the same? He’d watched his older brothers, Logan and Heath, fall madly in love with their fiancées, Stormy and Ally, and they were happier than he’d ever imagined anyone could be. Shouldn’t that have flicked some sort of switch in his brain and made him want the same? He glanced over his shoulder at Laney, and in that moment he knew that even his brothers didn’t have as strong of an impact on him as Laney did.
No one ever had.
He shoved his feet into his socks and then pushed them into his boots.
Laney giggled. He turned at the sound that never failed to make him smile.
“What?”
“You look like one of those hot-guy pics on Pinterest.”
He looked down at his naked body and the leather boots on his feet. Every muscle—and his junk—on display. When he lifted his eyes, he saw Laney had grabbed his camera and was holding it up to her eye.
“Laney,” he warned, and leaned for the camera.
She giggled more as her finger went tap, tap, tap, catching every shot as he took the camera from her hands and pulled her in close.
“Blackmail,” she said with a wicked grin.
“Except it’s my camera.” He slipped the strap over his neck, wanting desperately to kiss her again, but he knew he needed to start getting used to the idea of Laney being unavailable to him in that way. Might as well start now.