Page 44 of About Yesterday (Foothills #5)

“Not really…” Trace hooked her thumbs in the high-rise shorties and shoved them down, wiggling to get them off.

“Losing steam here,” he teased, standing back a step while she stood on one foot and freed herself from the excessive stretch. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, these are hot—“

“Shush.” She laughed as she finally freed herself and chucked them across the room.

A laugh in his throat, he didn’t hesitate. Sliding up the skirt, he cupped her bare ass, her bare breast pressing against his shirt. He nipped a kiss and murmured, “Much better.”

“Almost,” she whispered as she tugged at his shirt.

He tried to tug the button-up over his head, but it had zero stretch. Finally, he stepped back and ripped the buttons open, waggling his eyebrows at her, and Trace tipped back against the wall, unable to contain the laugh.

He grinned and came back to her, covering her breast with his palm as he kissed her again, harder, longer, and her laugh faded as arousal took over.

Mouth never leaving hers, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a condom.

She tugged him closer, hooked her hands in his waistband and worked on the top button, lowering the zipper as quickly as she could manage.

His jeans fell to his ankles. She wrapped her hands around his hips and he pressed tight against her, the hard ridge of him pressing into her. Definitely better, skin against skin, the wall cool against her backside.

Distracted, breathless as he kissed her, licked her, she slipped the condom from his hand and reached between them. Fumbling as she tried to move quicker than physics would allow, she finally opened it and was lucky it didn’t go flying out of the package and onto the floor.

He hissed as her hands worked over him, grasping as she sheathed him.

He braced her against the wall. Wrapping her legs around him, she held on, desperate urgency clearing her mind of everything but him.

Grinding against him, her voice was coarse, breathless as she pleaded, “Now.”

He adjusted her against the wall and laughed. “Hang on, this is a little more athletic than I had figured. My first time.”

“What?” she hissed, shock dropping her mouth open.

He laughed against and kissed her hard. “Against the wall, I mean. Takes some leverage I hadn’t anticipated. Glad I left my shoes on.”

He wasn’t wrong. Muscles she didn’t realize she had were on fire as she held the position. “We can move to the bed,” she said as he adjusted his grip.

“No, I got it,” he growled and slid over her, testing, and thrust into her.

Breath rushed from her lungs. Heat jolted through her, melting into her veins as she took him inside her until he was buried completely.

Lips parted, shock and thrill in his expression, his gaze moved from her mouth to her eyes. Connected, he moved in her. Faster, desperate, they clung to each other. Sensation rose fast, her breath coming too fast to control.

Record time, or so it seemed, and he cussed and growled and she gripped and panted, both sweaty and breathless as he lowered her slowly to the floor.

He tipped his head against her neck, smiling and kissing her so damn sweetly, she tipped her head against the wall and couldn’t have shaken her grin if she tried. And she absolutely did not.

“That was fast. Sorry. I was afraid my shoulder was going to go out, which, apparently, is a good motivator to finish quickly,” he said as he eased to stand taller. “Aside from other, uh, physiologic responses resulting in a very expedient conclusion.”

“There are no complaints on my end,” she said, leaning in and kissing him playfully, loving the humor in his eyes. “If we’re going to add that into regular rotation, positionally speaking, I’m going to need to tweak my workouts a bit.”

He backed up and hiked his jeans up, then turned toward the bathroom. “We’ll have to keep practicing until we get it right. I mean, I got a little too excited, missed my target, and went for the nearest wall instead of the door.”

“You should message your physical therapist and ask if they have any tips on preventing shoulder injury for this particular part of your routine.”

Cole’s grin did her in. Mouth still open from the broad smile, he chewed the edge of his tongue and shook his head at her before retreating to the bathroom.

Trace adjusted her boobs back into her bra and slid the dress strap back up. Satin was problematic. Wrinkled and rumpled at best, she looked like she’d just done it against the wall.

Cole came out of the bathroom and saw her laughing at her reflection. “Shit. Sorry,” he winced, fastening his jeans as he stood in the doorway. Shirtless.

“I hope you brought a spare shirt,” she said, glancing back to the wrinkled article on the floor.

Trace ditched the dress and dug into her suitcase, pulling out the stretchy cotton skirt and t-shirt.

After quickly re-dressing, she came out and found Cole had done the same, now in a quarter-zip sweater over a t-shirt. “Okay with walking?” he asked. “It’s only a block, and I could use the air.”

“Sounds good,” she agreed, moving close and tucking her fingertips in his waistband, tugging him tight against her.

With a growl in his throat and a heated smile, he drew her into his arms.

“By the way,” she said, tilting back and sweeping her hair off her shoulders with the motion. “This skirt is more forgiving, so I changed into black lace.”

He growled playfully and swept his hand up her back under her shirt. On instinct, unable to resist, she leaned in and melted into a cozy kiss that melted her from the toes up.

“We are really, really late now,” she murmured.

“They’ll understand,” he said.

Grateful for the reprieve from the rain, she grabbed her fleece zip-up and denim jacket and they headed out.

T he wedding was short and sweet, as promised, and more of a relaxing evening with friends than a fussy event. But Trace had never been happier to leave. Over the course of the evening, the rain had started back up again. A trickle at first, now a downpour.

Those who had driven offered rides back to those who had walked, but with one look from Cole, the wickedly curious curve of his mouth, and she craved the raw rush of nature at its finest. Trace held her jacket tightly around her, stomping in puddles as they dashed across the street, her tall boots proving to be waterproof, as advertised.

As the evening evolved, so had Cole’s bruises. His knuckles had been raw, now they were swollen. His injuries had made such progress since he’d been back home, but his limp was flaring worse with each step toward the hotel.

“Cole?” she asked as they crossed the side street, nearly back to the hotel.

“Yeah?” he asked, stopping and turning back toward her. Rain washed over them both, his hair wild from it, and she knew hers was rapidly getting curlier.

Freezing in the wind, she lifted her hand and traced the mark that grew darker under his eye. “What if they come back with more than you can handle? That was just one guy. What if they send more?”

Tongue firmly trapped between his teeth, he clenched his jaw and shook his head subtly.

“You won’t stay out of sight until this is over?” She rubbed her thumb over his bottom lip, resting her palm on his jaw. “Will you really make yourself a target?”

He fluttered his gaze down, slowly lifting it back to her. “To get my life back? To keep you and Jeremy and Ellen safe? Fuck. Yes. I’ll do whatever I have to do.”

Her stomach rolled, realizing he wouldn’t blink, and that he would literally give his life for theirs. Because that’s who he was, who he had always been, and her father had known it all along. A softy, yes, but her dad read people well. “What does that mean?”

Heavier, denser, rainwater flooded the parking lot, as much splashing off the asphalt as fell to the ground. “If anything happened to you, to Jeremy or Ellen, because of me? I shouldn’t have come back. I guess I thought I could live in a fantasy, and it was stupid of me to try.”

She gripped his hand and drew him closer. “Nope. Don’t do that. This isn’t a fantasy. This is real life. Yours and mine.”

He huffed a mirthless laugh and shook his head, looking vaguely into the distance.

“Cole,” she said, framing his jaw in her hands.

He shifted his gaze back to her.

She rose to her toes and touched her lips to his. Drenched from the rain, the heat of him instantly warmed her to the core.

Tipping his forehead against hers, he murmured, “I’ve pissed off a lot of people. What if others find me?”

“Then we’ll deal with it.”

She kissed him again, and he kissed her longer this time.

“You should stay away from me,” he said before he kissed her again, harder. “You knew I’d run.”

She fiddled her tongue over the back of her teeth.

“Hear me out, okay? I’m sort of seeing this guy who’s really good at this stuff.

He’s, like, worked as a bodyguard, among other less advertisable jobs.

I trust him, more than anyone else, to protect my family.

I wish he’d let someone else do the dirty work, since he shouldn’t have to anymore, but he won’t, and I’ve got his back anyway. ”

Cole smiled in shock, looking at her with such curiosity.

She scrunched her nose and dared him to question her. “If anyone threatens you or hurts you, I’ll kick their ass. But maybe you should give me some pointers on what to do, in case they get past you.”

“That’s actually a really good idea.” His brow drew low, seriousness dragging him under, rain streaming down his face, his clothes sticking to him as if he’d jumped in the ocean and strolled back out.

“Tomorrow,” she said, tracing the tip of her tongue over the tips of her teeth, hoping she looked sultry.

He laughed and pushed water from his hair.

Okay, so sultry wasn’t her thing.

“There is so much we need to talk about, but let’s get out of the rain first.”

She slipped her hand into his and took off toward the hotel.

At the stairs, she dropped his hand and barreled up the steps. Feet moving fast, they raced for the room, his laugh a brilliant light against a dark night.

Key ready, remembering the quirk to getting the sensor to connect correctly, she quickly disengaged the lock and swung the door open.

On the move, she dashed in and started to run for the bed.

Cole grabbed her hand and dragged her back, mouth on hers in an instant. Deep, hard, he kissed her in the doorway.

He kicked the door closed behind him and shrugged out of his jacket, his mouth never leaving hers.