Page 27 of A Love Like Pumpkin Spice (Wayward Hollow #1)

Henry

“It looks like Jay finally left,” Nic tells me, sounding as if a weight got lifted off her shoulders. “Nobody has seen him around town, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be back at some point.”

We’re taking a walk along the lake, hand in hand, talking about nothing and everything at the same time.

There is a lot I still want to know about her, and so many questions she has for me.

The sky is hidden behind heavy clouds, darkness coming from the mountains.

I’m not sure whether it comes from the heavy rain clouds or the fact that it’s already late afternoon.

Jensen darts along the shoreline at full speed, bouncing between the beach and the grass, always circling back, never straying too far.

“Why, though?” I lift my eyebrow at her, confused. I was hoping he’d run off with his tail tucked between his legs.

“Because he’s a narcissist who doesn’t understand the word ‘no,’” she explains, lifting one of her shoulders in a half-shrug. “You were there at Caleb’s. He loathes not getting to have the last word.”

“Right,” I say, furrowing my eyebrows. “Just let me know if Jensen should have a bite of his calves,” I joke, trying to lift the mood and pull her closer by her hand until I can snake my arm around her waist.

“ I can handle him,” she promises and snakes her arm around me too, giving my hip a reassuring little pat. “And you have nothing to worry about.”

“Who said I was worried?” I try to joke, but yes, the truth is, I am worried. She was so distraught when she appeared at my vet clinic with Chaos. Thinking that she loved him so much, that his betrayal hurt her that deeply?

It’s hard to remember that and not feel concerned.

Whether she wants to admit it or not, he has an effect on her.

And I admire her for her loyalty, how she loves with her whole heart.

I can see it in the way she loves Pumpkin and Cinnamon, in her friendship with Lauren.

When she loves, she loves hard. It gnaws at my thoughts that her asshole ex once had that, an ever-present reminder that once upon a time, she picked him.

That she trusted him in a way she doesn’t trust me yet.

“You keep asking about him.” She lets out a deep sigh. “And you try to pretend he doesn’t infuriate you. You don’t need to say it out loud. And you better leave the acting to me,” she quips, and I notice my shoulders relax.

“I promise you, he’s not even a topic anymore. I left my past, and him, behind. I have no intention whatsoever of going back.” She comes to a stop, making me halt as well. “You’re my future.”

She shifts in my arms, sliding her hands up to cradle my cheeks, gently guiding my face down until we’re eye to eye.

“You’re the person I want to be with. The only one I want to kiss.

” She softly presses her lips against mine, and I feel hers stretching into a small smile.

“And the one I’d love to wake up next to.

” When I open my eyes again, she shoots me a wink.

“Don’t give him any power. I might be a bit bummed, but I’m not letting him ruin us, and neither should you. ”

“Okay,” I whisper, burying my hand in her hair while pulling her flush against me with the other one against the small of her back. “I believe you. I trust you, Nic.”

She nudges her cheek into my hand like a cat as her hands wander down my arms until they come to a stop at my hips. They dig into my jacket as she’s holding on for dear life as I lean in and kiss her.

It’s the kind of kiss that makes me forget everything around us. It consumes me to the point I don’t even realize it has started pouring until she draws back, and we gaze at each other with heavy breaths and disbelieving smiles.

“Do that again,” she whispers, biting her lip really fucking seductively.

I pause, smirking. “Careful. I’m, like, one kiss away from carving our names into one of these trees.”

She giggles, eyes twinkling. “Wow. Full teenage love energy. Should I expect matching couple’s hoodies next?”

“Only if you promise to wear mine to make it smell of you.”

She tilts her head, tapping her lip as she considers it. “Hmm. Do I get a say in the font you use for the tree carving?”

“No. It’s cursive or nothing. I have standards.”

“Oh, well, as long as it’s classy vandalism and doesn’t hurt the tree.”

“The classiest,” I whisper and lean in, tugging her lip from its cage between her teeth. My heart thunders against my chest as the wind whips her hair around us, the scent of her vanilla shampoo ever-present, and that sweet taste that is so unmistakably hers on my tongue.

She is all my senses, all I can see, all I can hear. Every single cell of my body is tuned in to her, yearning for her.

“We should get inside,” I whisper against her lips, and she answers me with a vehement nod.

Her cheeks are flushed with heat, her eyes are glossy, and I can’t help but press my lips against hers once more in a quick kiss.

Then I take her hand and pull her after me, with an urgency I don’t recognize from myself, back to her house.

One shrill whistle and Jensen follows suit.

“ He’s all wet. Let me—” I say as we step inside, but Nic shakes her head and tugs me with her.

“I don’t give a damn if you don’t,” she whispers hoarsely and shoots me a seductive grin over her shoulder, and I mean, who am I to object? I still can’t completely help myself, and one handedly throw a blanket over him as I follow her.

I let her tug me up her stairs and down the hallway, giving zero fucks about the wet trail of rain we’re leaving behind us. Her grip is firm and certain, as if letting go isn’t even a possibility. I kind of love it.

She’s trouble. But the good kind. Beautiful, smart-mouthed trouble with a smile that makes me feel like I’ve been handed a prize from the universe. That makes me see nothing but her.

Once we’re in her bedroom, she kicks the door closed behind us, then crowds me against the cool wood, wet hair plastered to her face and a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“You keep looking at me that seductively,” I murmur, my pulse quickening as her hands wander up my body to lock around my neck, “and I can’t guarantee anything.”

She doesn’t respond with words. Instead, she lifts herself on her tiptoes, and her lips crash into mine, hungry and determined, our tongues fighting to take the lead of this little dance.

She kisses like she’s been left waiting for too long. Our kiss outside was deep, all-consuming, but this one? This one is messy, urgent, a promise of what’s to come. She tastes of rain and trouble, clouding my senses, making everything but her disappear from my mind.

I grip her waist, pulling her flush against me, and she moans into the kiss, sending a jolt of electricity through my whole body and right to my cock.

“You want me to stop?” I ask, my voice rough, my eyes drawn to her plump lips, silently praying for her to not deny me. My brain is about to short-circuit, and I want to give in badly. Let instinct take over and have her.

“ Are you insane?” Her voice is barely above a breathless whisper. “Don’t you fucking dare stop.”

I grin at her, a low chuckle escaping me as I slide my hands down her back, giving her ass a squeeze that makes her giggle as I pull her in closer.

A happy sigh falls from my lips when her body melts against mine like we were made for each other. She kisses me with a hunger I can feel in my bones, her hands wandering under my soaking wet shirt, her hot hands drawing patterns over my freezing skin.

“Fuck. You don’t know what you do to me, sweetheart,” I growl into the kiss, my hands sliding down her sides, tracing the curve of her waist as my knee slides between her legs. She shivers when I squeeze her ass, her hands wandering to my front to hurriedly push my jacket off my shoulders.

“Then show me,” she murmurs, her voice laced with need, and it shoots blood straight to my cock.

I groan, my heart thundering in my ribcage as I pull her into another kiss, rougher, more desperate. I need to have her. I can’t get her close quick enough. Not breaking the kiss, I pull off her jacket and mindlessly throw it into a corner, my hands immediately finding the hem of her shirt.

We break the kiss, blinking at each other breathlessly, with flushed faces and desire so intense that for a moment, we both freeze.

But then her face breaks into a grin. I catch her lips in another heated kiss as I walk her backward to the bed, unclasping her bra as the back of her knees nudge against the bedframe.

She lets out a small gasp when I break the kiss, my fingertips dancing over her skin. I’m trying to remember every curve, every dip, trying to memorize every sound falling from her lips.

I d rag my mouth along her neck, her soft, breathy moans sending shivers down my spine, urging me on and making me crave more of those sounds.

“You’re fucking beautiful,” I murmur, kissing the soft skin along her collarbone. I continue down, drawing a wet line between her breasts with my tongue, while my hands find her panties, fingers trembling as I pull them off, shaking with restraint.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” she whispers breathlessly, her fingers running through my hair.

I pull away for a second and sit up, breathless, taking a moment to look at her.

Her hair is a mess, spread over her pillow in a tangled halo.

Her chest heaves with every breath as she stares back at me through hooded eyes, that lip between her teeth not doing a good job at hiding her seductive grin.

“What are you thinking about?” she asks in a whisper, and I tear my eyes away from that tortured lip and back to her eyes.

“Thinking about how you’re mine,” I whisper, my lips tugging into a smile as that knowledge settles in my gut.

She’s mine . My hands wander up the back of her thighs.

I pull her legs around my waist, grinning when it elicits a soft shriek as I pull her down the bed a bit.

“How I’m never going to let you go, ever. ”

Fuck, she’s so wet already. My fingers glide through her wet folds, my cock hardening more with every soft moan falling from her lips when I sink a finger inside her.

Before I can react, she suddenly frees her legs, sits up and turns us around, pushing my back onto the mattress and straddling me. Her hands slide down my chest, then free my cock from my briefs. I let out a sigh when she palms it, giving it a few wavering strokes.

Her lips press against mine, then kiss a trail along my chin as she twists her wrist and lets her thumb glide over my head, drawing a groan from my lips.

“ You want me?” she whispers against my ear, her voice thick and raspy with desire.

“Always,” I admit with a growl, gripping her hips tightly. “Need you, Nic.”

She shivers, a soft laugh making her body tremble before she presses her lips against mine for a deep kiss. Her hands draw patterns over my chest, while mine find her ass, pulling her core tightly against mine, and I swallow her moan.

“Fucking beautiful,” I whisper when I sink a finger into her, finding her clit with my thumb. She bucks her hips and throws back her head in pleasure. “Take what you need, sweetheart.”

“I need you ,” she whispers. Her admission makes my heart jump, my cock straining with the need to claim her finally. “Inside me, Henry. Now.”

I’m about to line myself up with her entrance when it hits me.

“Are we … good?” I ask her softly, and her eyes jump to mine, surprise written all over her face. “Are you on birth control?”

“Yes.” She nods vehemently. “And I got tested before I moved here.”

“Same. All good.” I whisper, adding a second finger. She throws her head back again, her wet hair cascading over her naked skin like a waterfall as she lets out a deep moan when I crook my fingers the tiniest bit, hitting just the right spot.

“Oh fuck, yes. Right there,” she says breathlessly, and I make a mental note as I remove my fingers and line myself up with her entrance. She sinks down on my cock, bit by bit, and I reach up to palm her breast.

“God, the way you take me—” I can’t take my eyes off where we’re now joined. “Like you were made for me.” She moans and takes another inch of me. “That’s it, sweetheart. Just like that.”

Onc e she’s taken all of me, she stills, getting used to my cock. “You feel so good, sweetheart.”

“I aim to please,” she says, her voice strained, and shoots me a wink. Fuck, this woman.

And when she starts moving, all I can see are fireworks behind my eyes. Every time she takes me again, I swear she’s bringing me closer to heaven.

“Fuck, sweetheart,” I curse, making her giggle. “You feel so fucking good I can’t think straight.”

“That’s kind of the point,” she murmurs and goes for it in earnest, the sound of skin slapping against skin obscenely loud in this otherwise silent room.

“If you keep this up, I’m proposing by breakfast.”

She laughs, her breath hitching. “Nice. I love my coffee with commitment.”

“Done,” I groan when she chuckles yet again, tightening around me. “Let me get a ring and pumpkin spice syrup to sweeten the deal.”

“Already pretty dang sweet if you ask me.”

I find her clit, circling it while she rides me, trying to bring her higher. Her moans turning desperate, breathier, and suddenly, I can’t take it anymore. I grip her hips, meeting her thrusts with vigor.

“God, you don’t know what you do to me,” I say through gritted teeth as I fuck her from below.

“Almost there,” she moans and before I know it, her walls tighten around my cock, her whole body trembling as her release washes over her.

“Henry!” Hell, my name has never sounded sweeter from her lips.

And that’s all it takes. Her moaning my name, her walls tightening around me, and the knowledge she’s mine.

They combine forces to form an orgasm more intense than I could have imagined.

And when she collapses on me, heavy breath feathe ring against my wet skin, I hold on to her as if I might wake up from a dream, and she might slip away.

“You’re stunning like this,” I tell her with a grin, once I catch my breath, swiping a strand of wet hair behind her ear. “So messy. So mine.”

“All yours,” she whispers and presses her lips against mine. “So fucking yours. Don’t you forget it.”

“Never,” I whisper and drop a kiss on her forehead. She’s never getting rid of me.