Page 15 of No Place Like Home (Orlinda Valley #3)

I swallowed as my eyes wandered up and down his body, taking in how well he wore his boots, jeans, and flannel shirt.

He looked like the small-town farm boy from long ago—except now the boy had become a man.

A hot, sexy man who caused tingles to spread throughout my body with one look.

I chewed on my bottom lip as he slowly closed the space between us with his hands shoved in his back pocket.

“I went to Trevor’s last night. I couldn’t stay here,” he said as his gaze blazed trails over every part of my body it touched, and the tingling ignited into flames.

I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly feeling very vulnerable—and very desired. His serious expression remained focused on me and was hot as fucking hell.

I couldn’t stand his stare any longer. I couldn’t focus, yet I couldn’t look away. “Rowan, stop looking at me like that,” I whispered, my voice tense.

“Like what?” he asked, now within arm’s reach.

My pulse raced in my throat. I swallowed, then said, “Like you want to throw me down and fuck the shit out of me.”

He took a step closer and dragged his finger down my chest, from my collarbone into my cleavage, where he paused a second before continuing down to the knot in the belt of my thin silk robe .

His eyes never left me as he replied in a husky growl, “What if that’s exactly what I want to do?”

Every nerve in my body could feel the heat of his skin through the thin fabric of my robe as he slipped a finger under that knot.

“Then what are you waiting for?” I asked, my voice a sultry whisper.

His eyes jumped to mine and froze. He backed away slightly, eyes wide.

I said the words. I crossed the line.

I had lost my fucking mind.

There was no going back now. I wasn’t about to let him slip away and stop whatever the hell this was.

I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and yanked him toward me, crashing my mouth to his. The kiss was deep, raw, and unrestrained as if I were finally claiming something that had always been meant for me—because I was.

I broke our connection after a moment, and, before I could stop myself, grabbed his hand and led him into the bedroom. As soon as the door was closed, I untied my robe and dropped it at my feet, daring him with my eyes to look away.

My chest rose and fell as my breathing quickened with desperation. Why was he just standing there, shellshocked? Did I make the right decision, or did I misread his actions?

Just when dread filled my gut and I thought about covering myself back up, he struck.

His lips locked onto mine, one hand sliding up my body to cup my jaw, and the other to the back of my neck. Cradling my head, he kissed me with a fierce, unrelenting passion, his tongue claiming mine .

I could do nothing but whimper with surprise. It took me only a nanosecond to recover, then I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him in even closer till I couldn’t tell where his body ended and mine began.

His hands on my bare skin were rough, but oh, so perfect. One cupped my breast and pinched my nipple. I pulled in a breath.

He stopped the kiss and pulled away just barely. “Summertime,” he whispered. The way he looked at me and the tone in his voice when he said my name sent a shock straight down to my most sensitive area.

My hands tugged at his shirt and struggled to get it off, to no avail. I stepped away, and he looked at me like I was about to run away again. “No,” I said. “This,” I gestured to his body, “is not going to work. Take it off—all of it.”

He chuckled and stripped. First his shirt—Lord in heaven what a masterpiece—then his pants. He stood in his boxers.

“Nope. I saw all this yesterday. I need it all. Now.”

His lips ticked up in a sexy-as-hell smile that I could now admit turned me the fuck on. Just like the rest of him—every last delicious inch. And as my gaze traveled down his body, I could tell I did the same for him.

“Summertime, you are more amazing than I imagined.” He stepped toward me and brushed his hands against my hips and up my sides.

Chills ran through me from head to toe. When he got to my breasts, he kneaded them, ran his thumbs over my nipples, then sucked one at a time until my legs felt like they might not hold me up anymore .

I needed to hold onto something. My hands found his ass and squeezed, pulling him toward me until his erection pressed against my stomach. Then I reached between us and took him in my hand.

He let out a hiss and his gaze met mine.

I couldn’t make out the look in his eyes, but if he felt anything equal to what I was feeling, his body was on fire, and his heart was about to explode in his chest.

“I want you,” he said as he lowered me onto the bed, kissing and licking a trail from throat to cleavage. “So, fucking, bad.”

Suddenly, fear gripped my heart. Once we crossed that line, we would never be “just friends” again. There would be no turning back.

I grabbed his head and forced him to meet my eyes. “Rowan, are you sure about this? What if we mess up our friendship? What if we don’t work? We will never be able to go back to how things were. This is going to change everything.”

His brown eyes darkened as he gave me that smile and brushed my still-damp hair from my face. “Yes, Summer, it’s going to change everything—and it’s about damn time.”

His mouth closed again on mine, and his kiss threw all my doubts to the wind.

I forgot my fears and questions. All I could remember was this—right here, right now. This was all that mattered, and it was amazing.

Rowan was talented in ways I never imagined.

He kissed me everywhere. His tongue and mouth made their way down my body and worshipped every inch of skin they touched .

Finally, his fingers slid down to my core and pushed their way into me, his thumb circling the most sensitive area and sending me straight to heaven.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. He had taken me to a world I had never visited and knew I didn’t want to leave. Then a different warmth replaced his fingers, and I gasped and lifted my head. Rowan’s tongue now demonstrated secret talents I hadn’t known he possessed.

“Rowan,” I gasped, struggling to sit up.

He pressed my chest down gently with one hand, his eyes peeking up at me.

I could tell he was smiling. When he raised his brow as if to ask how he was doing, I laughed and laid my head back.

After that, I could focus on nothing else but the heat and exploration of his tongue—until the pressure that built up from deep within me finally shattered.

I gasped and yelled his name, riding waves of sensation to their delicious end.

He finally kissed his way back up my spent, satiated body, my skin still so sensitive to his touch. I’d shut my eyes tight as the warmth of that amazing orgasm filled my soul.

His mouth met mine in a kiss that was softer, gentler, than the lust-filled ones we’d shared earlier.

I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight, then tried to roll him over.

He understood and locked his arms around my waist, turning to his back and taking me with him.

He was a rock under me—and I didn’t just mean his chest and abs.

I sat up and straddled him. He’d closed his eyes, his perfect face and body the picture of relaxation.

I brushed his cheeks with my hands and leaned in to kiss him.

I didn’t know if a man should be considered beautiful, but I didn’t really care in that moment.

In my opinion, he was the most beautiful person I’d ever set eyes on.

I kissed his chin then licked his nipple. It was hard, like the rest of him.

“Summer,” he shook his head as I continued my descent, and pulled me back up to face him. “I’ve been waiting so long for this. I need you now.”

He’d been waiting for this? For me?

I spoke his name once, as a question, but he covered my mouth gently with his fingers. There was nothing more that needed to be said.

I leaned over to the nightstand and pulled out a box of condoms.

When he quirked his brow, I said, “They’ve been there for a long while. A present left behind by Kora. Promise.” I pulled one from the box and shifted so I could see him—all of him. I reached out and ran my finger from base to tip.

Damn, I really needed to taste him. “Just a little,” I said out loud. I leaned down and, before he could stop me, kissed the tip of his erection, then wrapped my mouth completely around him.

I didn’t think it would be possible to be turned on any more than I was, but— damn —was I wrong.

He groaned and his cock pulsed. I could have stayed there forever, giving him pleasure the same way he’d given it to me, but he pulled me up.

I sat up all the way and took my time rolling the condom to encase all of him, watching his face. Then I lifted my hips and sunk down onto him—slowly—enjoying the sensation as he filled me.

Groans escaped both of us.

Fuck, if I died right now, I’d be the happiest woman on earth .

I closed my eyes and dropped my head back as his hands cupped my ass. I started to move, and we soon found a rhythm. His hands moved from my ass to my breasts and squeezed as I rocked on top of him.

I opened my eyes, and his gaze caught mine. My heart slowed its frantic rhythm, and a calmness enveloped me.

I was fucking Rowan. Rowan McKendry, my best friend.

“Hey.” He raised his hands to caress my face. “It’s okay. Come here.” He rolled and I was suddenly under him, his arms on either side of my face. “This is perfect,” he whispered breathlessly, picking up his own rhythm. “Don’t overthink it.”

I nodded.

He smiled and our lips met.

As we both fell apart, my world fell into place.