Page 93 of Rocky Mountain Devil

Chapter Twenty

Rafe drifted between awake and dreaming, debating which he was experiencing. If he was dreaming, it was the best one he’d had in his entire damn life. His bed was full of soft, supple woman, and he had one hand draped over her, his hand cupping a breast as he kept her tight against him.

They were both warm from sleep, both naked. If it wouldn’t have scared the hell out of her, he considered letting loose a shout of joy. Not a dream.

Laurel Sitko, naked in his bed. Life didn’t get much better than this.

He lay as motionless as possible, waiting for her to wake, ignoring the fact his cock had come alert well before his brain. Pressed together tight as they were, it nestled against the crack of her ass, happy in its cozy nest. Or as happy as it was going to get until she rolled over and announced she was ready for more.

He’d worked her over pretty damn hard the night before. Still, he couldn’t resist tucking his nose against her hair, breathing deeply to fill his head with her. She was all spicy innocence and sated sex, and if he could bottle her scent and sell it, he wouldn’t have to work another day in his life.

A purr of contentment escaped her.

“What time is it?” she asked, twisting toward him.

He brushed the hair off her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Early.”

“Good.” She finished rolling, draping her arms over his shoulders. “There’s something I want to do.”

He went willingly enough as she pressed him to his back, leaning across him to grab one of the last condoms from his stash. “You’re going to be sore,” he warned.

“Worth it,” she rebutted. Suiting him up before she crawled on top, slowly sinking onto his length.

They both sighed happily.

Yeah, he had a hell of a lot to be thankful for. He slid his hands up her waist to cover her breasts, rubbing his palms over her nipples. “I could get used to waking up like this,” he warned. “You want to leave your shitty apartment and move in here?”

“We’re going slow, remember?” She gave him a sweet, seductive smile. “Don’t move too fast, baby. You’ll get whiplash from changing gears that quickly.”

He didn’t care. “There’s a room down the hall. That’s not moving in with me.”

“Concentrate,” she teased, rolling her hips and blowing his mind.

He pushed aside everything else so he could focus on her and how amazing this felt. She must have come to the same conclusion because conversation faded to noises of satisfaction as she rode him until they both collapsed, bodies pleasured to the max.

She hijacked the shower first, and Rafe decided to give her a break, because even after everything they’d done, if he joined her, she’d end up plastered against the wall with his cock deep inside.

He got breakfast started. She came into the kitchen with her hair wrapped in a towel to trade places with him, and fifteen minutes later they were grinning at each other across the table. Talking comfortably about not much in particular.

That’s when he remembered something. “Isn’t the library closed today?”

She nodded, refilling his cup from the coffee pot. “I figured I’d go in and do a little work while it’s quiet. Wendy will be taking time off soon to have the baby, and I’d like to get ahead of the game if possible.”

Kissing goodbye at the door before heading different directions seemed…weirdly right. Rafe stared after her car as she turned toward town, waving happily at him.

It had been a damn fine Thanksgiving after all.

Rafe wandered to his truck with a stupid grin on his face, refreshed and eager to get to work.

A couple days later the first snowfall arrived, thick and heavy enough it was clear winter intended to stay.

The change in seasons meant a refocus of what they worked on around the ranch as winter chores switched in. The time they spent in the barns was all about warmth, the sounds and scents of contented animals heavy in the air. In contrast, the constant chill and snap of the wind that accompanied working outdoors had a beauty of its own, yet sharper and more dangerous.

Rafe enjoyed both extremes as he prepared for the weather outdoors to get even colder.

A week later he was in town to grab something for Allison, and the temptation to track down Laurel was too much to resist. He slipped into the library, the scent of books and the rumble of voices making him smile. It really was the perfect job for her—so much like her character. A quiet setting that had the potential to burst open with life at any moment.

Ever since the night she’d stayed over, they’d continued to steal moments together, fooling around fairly innocently at times, sometimes doing more. Enough to keep him on the edge, wanting to rush forward yet satisfied with taking one step at a time.