Page 29 of Roaring Fork Rooker (Roaring Fork Ranch #4)

JW

T he drive back to Crested Butte from Denver stretched through the early morning hours, both of us emotionally drained from Carley’s death, but somehow lighter too. Echo dozed while I navigated the mountain highways, her hand resting in mine on the console—a simple touch that felt like everything.

We’d crossed a threshold in that hospital chapel. After thirty years of separation and weeks of careful dancing around each other, we’d finally admitted what we both knew. We still loved each other, and we weren’t going to waste any more time pretending otherwise.

“Come inside,” Echo said as we pulled into her driveway. “I need coffee, and we should talk.”

Her house was exactly what I’d imagined—cozy and welcoming, with books stacked on tables and photographs covering the mantle. It felt like her, warm and thoughtful. She moved around the kitchen, making coffee while I took in the space that had been her sanctuary all these years.

“So we’re really doing this,” she said, setting mugs between us. Not a question.

“We are.” I reached across the table for her hand. “The arrangements we’ve discussed—me here most of the time, trips to Sangre Vista when needed—will that work for you?”

“It will. You’ll be busy at Roaring Fork when we’re here. Either working or with your grandchildren.” She smiled and winked, then her expression turned serious. “My work will have its emergencies, like yesterday.”

“And I’ll drive you wherever you need to go,” I said. “You won’t face any of it alone again, Echo.”

The look of relief that spread across her face was worth every mile, every tank of gas, every sleepless night.

“You should get some rest,” I said, standing to leave.

“Oh, um, right.” She stood too and walked me to the door.

“Before I go, there’s something I need.” I cupped her cheek and wound my other arm around her waist.

Echo’s eyes met mine, and in them, I saw the same desire I felt. The same heated look I remembered from years ago. I wanted this woman with every breath I took, but our reunion was still fragile. She’d given in and agreed to try again, but if I pushed too hard, I risked her changing her mind.

I kissed her long, slow, and deep, loving the feeling of her breasts crushed against my chest when I pulled her closer so she could feel how hard I was for her.

“Do you have to leave?” she asked.

“Not if you want me to stay.”

“I do.” She led me toward the back of the house, to her bedroom.

When we reached the threshold, I stopped. “Echo…”

She stopped too. “If I misunderstood?—”

I silenced her with another kiss that was full of passion, and heat, and promise. “You didn’t. I just want to make sure you really want this.”

She half smiled. “Isn’t it obvious?”

I smiled too. “Perhaps not as obvious as my desire for you.”

“JW, I want this. More than anything. Now that the door has opened, I can’t close it. I burn for you, JW.”

The air was thick with anticipation, a silent symphony of heartbeats echoing through the room when we walked in. Her bedroom was bathed in afternoon sunlight. The scent of lavender filled the air, a soft, lingering whisper of tranquility amidst the storm of emotions that threatened to overwhelm me.

“Come here,” I said, standing at the end of the bed, waiting to see if she’d respond to me the way she used to.

Echo stood in front of me, arms at her sides.

I unfastened the buttons of her shirt and spread it open.

Her bra, pink and lacy, was too much of a temptation.

I leaned forward, snaked my arm around her waist again, then ran my tongue along the seam that covered her breasts.

When her knees buckled, I pulled her closer, holding her weight with mine, then covered one nipple with my mouth, sucking through the sheer fabric.

“JW, please,” she mewled.

Still holding her with one arm, I unfastened the clasp of her bra, then moved each strap from her shoulders. She shimmied it from her body, then reached for the button of her jeans.

“Let me,” I pleaded, falling to my knees.

With each one I unfastened, my tongue followed as, little by little, her naked flesh was exposed.

I pulled them down her legs, then took in the sight of her.

Echo was a vision of desire and nostalgia.

Her expression that I’d drowned in so many times before held a mix of trepidation and longing, and I could see the pulse at the base of her throat, a steady rhythm that matched the beat of my own heart.

I stood and traced the outline of her jaw, her neck, down her sternum. My weathered hand was rough against her soft skin that was hot with her desire.

“You are so beautiful, Echo,” I murmured, my voice a low growl. “You take my breath away.”

She smiled, soft but sad. “You always did know what to say to make me want you more,” she whispered.

“Lie on the bed for me.”

Her breath hitched as my hand moved lower, and I could see the goosebumps rise in the wake of my touch.

My thumb brushed over the pebble-hard nipple I’d had in my mouth, pinching it gently, just enough to make her gasp and her back arch off the bed. “I never meant to hurt you, Echo,” I said, spreading her legs to rest between them.

“I know,” she whispered, her hands reaching up to pull my head down to hers. Our lips met in a clash of teeth and tongue, a desperate, hungry kiss that left us both panting.

Reaching one hand between us, my fingers brushed through the soft curls at the apex of her thighs.

I could feel her heat and the dampness that betrayed her arousal. I slipped a finger inside and pressed my thumb against her clit. She moaned into my mouth, and her eyes fluttered shut.

“God, you’re so wet. So ready for me.”

I added another finger, stretching her, preparing her. Her muscles clenched around me, and her hips moved in time with my thrusts. I added a third finger, and she cried out, her body tensing as I pressed against her flesh.

“That’s it, baby,” I whispered.

I could feel her body relaxing, opening up to me, thrusting back with increasing urgency. When I curled my fingers, pressing against her flesh, she let out a low moan and her head rocked from side to side.

“JW!” Her eyes met mine. “I need you. Please. ”

The words sent a jolt of electricity coursing through me.

I withdrew my fingers, making her whimper at the loss. But her protest turned into a moan of pleasure as I stood, pulled my shirt over my head, unbuckled my belt, pushed down my pants, then stood before her.

“Echo, I haven’t been with anyone for a very long time?—”

“Neither have I.” She reached for my cock and wrapped her fingers around it, positioning it at her opening.

My heart pounded in my chest. “Echo,” I whispered, my voice so raw with emotion I couldn’t say what I desperately wanted to.

She reached up with her free hand and cupped my face. “Make love to me, JW,” she whispered. “Make me yours again.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. She released me, and I surged forward, my hips slamming against hers, burying myself deep inside her. We both let out a gasp, our bodies tensing at the sudden intrusion.

“You feel so good,” I groaned, my hips already moving, my cock sliding in and out of her with slow, deliberate thrusts. “So hot and tight. Just like I remember, baby,” I grunted. My hands gripped her hips so I could go deeper.

“Harder, JW. I want to feel you. All of you.”

I obliged, my thrusts becoming more urgent, more demanding. The sound of our flesh meeting filled the room.

I leaned down, capturing one of her nipples in my mouth and swirling it with my tongue.

A low moan escaped Echo’s lips as I suckled her, and her fingers tangled in the silver strands of my hair, pulling me closer. “Don’t stop,” she pleaded.

My hands dropped from her hips to grip her thighs, spreading her wider for my invasion. I thrust into her harder and faster. The bed creaked beneath us, and the headboard knocked against the wall.

Echo’s eyes were closed, her head thrown back, and her mouth open in a silent cry of pleasure.

Her breasts bounced with each thrust, her nipples hard and aching for more.

I took the other into my mouth again, my teeth grazing the sensitive peak, then sucked hard as my hips moved in a relentless rhythm that matched the urgent need coursing through my veins.

I could feel her body tensing, her muscles clenching around me, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps.

“JW,” she cried out, her hips meeting my thrusts with wild abandon. “God, don’t stop.”

I couldn’t have, even if she’d wanted me to. I was a man possessed, driven by the need to claim her, to mark her, to make her mine again. I could taste her sweat, feel her heat, hear her cries of pleasure.

Each push brought me closer to the edge, to the point of no return. I wanted to hold on, to drag out the moment, but Echo’s body was tightening around me, and her moans were becoming louder, more demanding.

“Harder. I need…I need…”

I obliged without her saying the words. My hips moved like a piston, my cock slamming into her with bruising force. Her body trembled, making me want to send her over, to watch those beautiful eyes roll back in her head as she came undone beneath me.

I reached between us, my fingers finding her sensitive nub swollen. I rubbed it in time with my thrusts.

Echo let out a cry, and her body convulsed as a powerful orgasm tore through her. “JW,” she shouted, her nails raking down my back again.

“Again,” I demanded.

She quivered, and I wanted to savor every second of this, but her mewls of pleasure were like a burning match to my self-control.

“You feel so damn good, Echo.” I shifted my hips, angling my cock to hit that spot deep inside her, the one that made her gasp and writhe. “Is this what you want, baby?” I thrust into her harder, deeper, my cock slamming against her cervix. “Tell me you want more.”

“Yes,” she moaned through clenched teeth. “God, yes. More.”