“Good,” she said. “Me, too. But here’s the thing, James David Kingston.”
He laughed. This must be serious if she was using his real name.
“You’re it for me, too. So no matter how scary this gets, you’ll always have me to help you through it.”
He took her glasses off then, figuring she could do the rest by touch. She made no objection. Jamie kissed her neck and her collarbone, inching his way toward her breast. Her nipples rose in tight peaks, and he’d almost taken her in his mouth when she pushed his head up.
“Wait,” she said. She raked her fingers through his hair, and he closed his eyes as he reveled in her touch, realizing he didn’t care anymore how long it took her to get here, only that she was. “You had my name on the reservation.” He loved the sound of joy in her voice. “I found out this morning. You wanted the week to end up like this.”
He opened his eyes and nodded. “Am I in trouble again for not telling you?” he asked, and she shook her head. “I wanted you to be happy, and if that meant…if I stayed here alone…I would have done it for you. But yeah, I kinda hoped I’d be the reason for your happiness.”
She pulled him down to her, into her, and he gasped out her name. She was so ready for him, and he sunk deep inside, enveloped in her warmth. What happened in Amarillo was beyond anything he could have hoped for, but he was too caught up in the fact that what was happening was actually happening—and maybe a little inebriated—that he’d missed out on the realization that they were as close as two people could get, no barriers between them.
He rocked against her, a tiny cry escaping her lips.
“Is this okay?” he asked, and she nodded.
“It’s just…”
“It’s different, now,” he said. And Brynn nodded again.
Slowly they moved, taking their time. His hand splayed against the small of her back while she anchored her legs around him. He remembered what he’d meant to do when he first had her sprawled on the bed, and his head dipped down, his lips leaving hers so they could find the breast he’d so rudely neglected.
Brynn gasped, arching her back, and he smiled against her. It still stunned him that he could make her feel this way, that she wanted him the way he’d always wanted her. And yes, it also still terrified him to love someone this much, with every ounce of himself, and know there was always a chance he could lose her. Nothing was certain. He understood that now. But he also understood that loving his best friend was worth all the risk, because trying not to love her? Well, that wasn’t an option anymore.
He could have tasted her like this for hours, but he decided not to leave the other nipple out. He was a gentleman, after all, one who enjoyed the nice and not-so-nice things he would do to this woman today.
“To think we could have been doing this for the past ten years,” Brynn said, her breath coming in pants.
“It’s pretty tragic if you think about it.” His voice was low and hoarse, and he wasn’t sure how much longer this was going to last, but they had at least another thirty minutes before they needed to head back to the tent. And then tonight. Plus all day tomorrow. Shit. He was going to need a nap at some point.
“Can we make a vow?” she asked, then paused to gasp out his name as he buried himself deep inside her and used his thumb to take care of her outside as well. “Jamie…oh my God.”
He kissed her, long and slow and deep. He savored the taste of her, the feel of her, the knowledge that her heart was his just as his heart had always belonged to her.
“This vow?” he reminded her.
She grabbed his wrist, and he eased the pressure off her clit so she could speak.
“To make up for lost time,” she said. “I think we might need to do this a lot more in the years to come.”
He laughed, let his hand go back to work, and then nearly fell apart at the seams as she bucked against him.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But all I heard was something about coming.”
With that he felt her start to throb against him, and he rocked harder, faster, and kissed her like it was the first and last time he’d get to do it, yet he knew that was far from the truth.
“Uh-huh.” She strained to get the sound out, and he knew they were almost there.
“Love you,” he said, their momentum building.
“Love you.”
And when they climaxed together, her warmth pulsing around him, Jamie fought to keep his arms braced so he wouldn’t collapse against her. It wasn’t just a physical release, but an emotional one, as well, one he’d bottled up for far too long. Only now, in the safety of his best friend’s love, could he finally let go. He shuddered, kissed her lips, her jaw, and the hollow of her neck where a bead of sweat trickled toward her breasts. Only then did he let his arms give out as he fell beside her, their legs still tangled and bodies connected in the most perfect fit.