Page 25

I heard him calling after me—no doubt he was following me—but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. My entire world just crumbled around me, and I didn’t know what to do. How could I leave him in the fall? I couldn’t. There was no way I could survive four years apart from him.

I reached the big rock next to the creek and fell to my knees. The jar from hitting the hard surface shot through my body but I didn’t feel a thing. I’d pay for that later, especially since I was wearing a dress, and nothing was covering my legs.

A few seconds later, Matthew slid in behind me and wrapped his arms around me. “We’ll figure this out, baby. I promise.”

“But it's four years, Matt.” I spun around until I was straddling his lap. “I won’t survive four years away from you.”

“Sure, you will.” He brushed my hair behind my ear and gently kissed me. “It’s not ideal, but we’ll survive anything and everything this world throws at us. We’re soulmates, remember?”

I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him close. “I’ll never forget.”

“And I’ll never let you.” His mouth found mine in a hard, claiming kiss. I melted into him as his hands ran down my back and cupped my ass. He pressed me closer to him; his need for me rock hard between his legs. When he rolled his hips and ran his velvety tongue down my neck, the ache between my legs intensified.

I couldn’t imagine a time when I’d never want this man. He was my everything. As much as it was going to suck, he was right. We’d survive this separation. It wasonlyfour years. And when compared to the rest of our lives, that would be nothing.

“Make love to me, Matt. Remind me how much we belong together.”

He growled against the tender skin of my neck, sending every nerve ending in my body into overdrive. “Fuck, yeah. We belong together. You’re mine, always.”

“Always yours, always mine,” I whispered.

With one hand, he pulled the strap of my dress and bra down, exposing my breast. He sucked my nipple into his mouth hard and gave it a gentle bite just like I loved. His other hand slipped between my legs and under my panties. He slid two fingers down my slit and pushed inside me.

I threw my head back and moaned. “Please tell me you have a condom.”

“Yes.” He released me just long enough to pull his wallet from his back pocket. While he fumbled to dig it out, I undid his jeans and grabbed his cock. He was so hard and thick and ready to fuck me.

Desperate to have him inside me, I quickly stood and slipped my panties down my legs. I tossed them aside and waited until he had the condom on before I repositioned myself on top of him.

Normally, we took sex slow. Him gently caressing my clit or pumping his thick fingers inside me while I stroked him. After a lot of heavy petting, sometimes I’d take him in my mouth or he’d fuck me with his tongue, but right now I needed him inside me.

I slid down on top of him in one swift movement. We both groaned once he was fully seated inside me. He didn’t give me a chance to start riding him. Instead he grabbed my hips and held me in place while he thrust into me fast and hard.

It was the fastest he’d ever given me an orgasm. I came so hard around him everything else blurred and all that remained was him and me together forever.

Once we’d both come back down from our release and ourbreathing slowed, he cupped my cheeks and kissed me. “Make no doubt about it, Jess. One day I will marry you.”

The light crunchof feet walking across the grass pulls me out of my memory. I shake my head and groan. “Can younotfollow me for once?”

“Well, geez thanks. I thought you’d be excited to see me.”

My head pops up at the sound of my brother’s voice. “Oh, my God, Ryan.” I jump up to my feet and throw my arms around him. “Sorry. I thought you were Matt.”

“Nope, not Matt. He had to get to work.” Ryan squeezes his arms around me and picks me up off the ground. “It’s good to see you, Sis.”

“You, too.” I pat his back and smile. Ryan and I have always been close, but with our careers, getting together has been difficult. He’s always traveling with his team and I’m always busy with meetings and fundraisers. “How long’s it been? It feels like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“It has been forever.” Ryan puts me down, and we both sit under the tree. “It's been at least a year, I think.”

“Damn, that’s too long. We’re gonna have to do better than that.” If Ryan and I don’t change our priorities, even a little, our lives will be over, and we won’t know each other anymore. That’s unacceptable. “We’re the only family we have left. I don’t want to miss out on your life.”

“I know.” Ryan looks away from me. His eyes are full of sadness. “Losing Uncle Jimmy really puts everything into perspective, doesn’t it.”

“It does.” Not that I think acknowledging this fact will change anything. Ever since Ryan was drafted to the majors, he spends most of the year traveling with his team. It’s not like I can get away from Seattle often. I can’t exactly run my business on the road.

“I know what you're thinking, Jess.” He shifts his gaze to mine but looks away quickly. “That we don’t have the time. But I’m thinking we need to start making the time.”

“Yeah. You’re right. That would be a hell of a lot easier if we had acentral location to call home. Say something like this house.” He cringes at my tone. He knows what I’m about to say. “Why would you agree to sell, Ryan? This is our home. I can’t believe you knew about this and didn’t tell me.”