Rearing up, she got to her knees and shoved his shirt up and over his head. And though she’d seen him shirtless many times, her mouth still went dry as she watched each beautifully defined muscle ripple as he pulled off the shirt.
She splayed her hands over his heart, feeling the comforting steady pound of it beneath her palms. Smiling, she slid her hands down to his ripped abs and leaned in to stroke her tongue over one of his nipples. His stomach. And southward bound—
The breath rushed out of his lungs as he toppled her to the mattress.
“Back to being in a hurry?” Sophie asked.
“You make me lose control,” he said and made her laugh breathlessly.
But then he slid inside her, filling her as only he could, making it impossible to do anything but cry out his name and wrap her arms and legs around him, desperate, hungry. Unlike him, she had no control, none at all and as he moved inside her, hungry sounds ripped from her throat, needy and desperate, and she didn’t care. “Jacob.”
His muscles bunched and released under her hands as he took the both of them right to the very edge, leaving her so close that her lungs burned for air. “Jacob.”
He pushed up on his arms, his hands braced on either side of her head to hold his weight, and she moaned at the sight of the carved muscles of his chest, shoulders and arms straining as he took her even deeper, harder, and then sent her skittering into a hard climax before following her over.
When she could breathe again, when she could open her eyes and focus, she found him propped up on an elbow at her side, watching her with an intensity that took her breath.
“I need this with you, Soph,” he said. “But more that, I need you. You make me laugh. You keep me in the moment and yet you also make me believe in a future. I want you to know all this before I go because life’s short. Way too short to let go of something you know you want to keep forever.”
Her heart caught. “Forever?”
“Say you’ll think about it,” he said. “Think about moving in here, at least until you can replace your things, until you figure out where your home is.”
“And if I figure out that my home is you?” she asked in a low whisper.
“Then that’s the first thing I want you to tell me when I get back.”
She smiled. He had a way of making clear what he wanted, what he hoped for, without pressuring her for more than she could handle. “Kiss me good-bye,” she demanded. “Kiss me so I won’t forget.”
He hauled her to him and held her tight before burying his hands in her hair and kissing her until they were both shaky and more than a little desperate.
She clutched at him and managed to ask, “How much longer do we have?”
He looked at the bedside clock. “An hour at most.”
“Then let’s make the most of it,” she said, and using his weight against him, pulled him down to her.
Chapter 33
Three months later
It was two in the morning when Hud pulled up to the cabin on the lake. Next to him, Jacob took a deep breath of the Rocky Mountain air and for the first time in three months felt alive.
And hopeful. “Have you seen Sophie?” he asked. “Is she staying here?”
Hud didn’t answer that. No one had and Jacob hadn’t pressed, not sure if he was ready to know.
“Feels good to have you back,” was all Hud said.
Two arms came around Jacob tight from behind. Kenna in the backseat. “So GOOD!” she whispered fiercely, hugging him for what must’ve been the hundredth time since they’d picked him up at the airport in Denver two hours ago.
He twisted and did his best to hug her back. She tightened her grip and…didn’t let go.
“I thought maybe we’d had enough hugs,” he managed to croak out past the arm around his neck.
She still didn’t let go.
Jacob loved her. Ridiculously. But he needed to get inside, needed to know if Sophie was in there. Seeking help, he looked at Hud.
“He’s turning blue,” Hud told Kenna.
She sniffed.
Hud winced and backed up against the door, hands up.
Shit. Jacob wrapped Kenna up as tight as he could. “Hey,” he said. “I’m done. I’m out. I’m not leaving again.”
“You swear it?”
“I swear it.”
“And you’ll buy me breakfast?” she asked soggily. “At least twice a week?”
Ah, there she was. “You’re wearing a ring. You have Mitch for that now.”
“It’s just a promise ring and he’s a boy, which means he could muck it all up at any moment. You’re my brother. Say it, Jacob. Promise me.”
“I promise to buy you breakfast two times a week.”
“In perpetuity.”
“In perpetuity,” he said.
“And you’ll take over as events manager?” she asked. “And be codirector with me of the ski school, seeing as the resort has been saved and so have our asses?”
Jacob pulled back. “What?”
“Oh yeah,” she said. “Forgot to tell you. Lucas went on a whole fix-his-bad-karma thing and was able to work out a deal with the bank so we’d have more time and lower payments. All will be paid off in two years, with the resort still making a comfortable profit if we’re careful. We’re rebuilding and we need you. Plus, we already had the plaque made for your office door.”