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I walked over to the couch, grabbed the blanket along with a few large throw pillows, then set them up on the floor in front of the fireplace. I had just gotten everything set up when she finally emerged.
I turned and looked at her, unable to resist appraising every inch of her body. While she was on the shorter end as far as height was concerned, her legs were quite long. They were also almost completely revealed to my roaming eyes. I dropped my gaze to her ankles, then slowly slid it upwards, stopping to focus a few added seconds on her breasts, before raising to her face.
“Take a picture. It will last...” she started to say, then evidently remembered what she had sent me before and quickly stopped midsentence.
“Come sit down,” I told her, patting a spot beside me. As she took a seat, I kicked off my socks and shoes, and stripped out of everything but my sweats. When I glanced over at her, she was staring at me strangely. “What?”
She smiled wryly. “This shirt reminds me of bet... a different time. Then, I come out to this, and it’s almost like the Christmases our families spent together in Lake Tahoe.”
“Our parents were in the hot tub on the porch, and we were inside roasting marshmallows over the flames in the fireplace,” I remarked. It was crazy to think about how I was already picturing nights like this with her when we were about thirteen.
“We always had the best time,” she said ruefully, and I nodded.
“We did.” I decided to recreate that moment so I sat up and motioned for her to come closer.
Harper hesitated at first, but finally crawled in front of me. She sat between my legs, leaning all the way back against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin on the top of her head. Her hair was still cold and wet, but I hoped the fire would warm her up soon.
I was certainly warmed up, and having her warm, pliant body so close to mine had my cock hardening. If she felt it, she didn’t let on.
“Do you remember what we were talking about that night?”
“No, I don’t think so,” she answered.
I hid my disappointment and replied, “We were talking about what dumbasses our parents were for being outside in the snow. We swore we would never be that foolish.”
“I know you think I’m a dumbass, but I had my reasons for coming all the way here. I need to tell you—”
“Shhh,” I interrupted. “Let’s just sit here and warm up before we get into all of that.”
She heaved a sigh, but leaned back further. I tightened my grip on her and closed my eyes. If someone would’ve told me just a day earlier that I’d have Harper Grimes in my arms, I would’ve called them a liar. If someone would’ve said she’d be half naked while doing so, I definitely would’ve doubled down on them lying. Now, despite my strong feelings of anger and hatred, I was actually somewhat enjoying this.
Who would’ve thought?
I certainly wouldn’t have, and when she turned in my arms, I reopened my eyes to find her staring up at me. Her lips were so full... so inviting... and unable to resist, I lowered my head to hers. She hesitated for a moment as if trying to decide whether to lean in or pull away, but luckily for me, she decided to go with the former.
Our lips touched softly at first, until I reached around and grabbed the back of her neck. I didn’t squeeze or touch her roughly in any way. I only wanted to hold her in place.
My lips brushed back and forth over hers, and when I traced the seam of them with my tongue, her lips parted for me. I took that as in invitation, and when I thrust it into her mouth, she opened up more.
The kiss went from gentle to insistent, but she stayed with me the whole time. There were points when I didn’t know who was leading who, and it was fine by me. She let out a whimper or two, but I swallowed the sounds of them as I deepened the kiss.
HARPER
I was overwhelmed completely, but in a good way. Gabriel Blake was actually kissing me, and considering how things started with our reunion, this was not how I saw things going.
I knew it didn’t mean anything. He was a man, and obviously I was here and available. That made me feel as if I was just a toy to be played with, but the way he was weakening me with his kiss, I had no fight in me left to resist.
As he continued to kiss me, I managed to maneuver my body enough so I could turn. Once I did, he flipped me over, and covered my body with his. The years had been very good to Gabriel. He was still in incredible shape, his body nothing but hard muscle no matter where I touched, and I couldn’t stop running my hands up and down his bare chest. On occasion, I would feel his muscle bunch and ripple, but I persisted. His own hands weren’t idle as one slid up my thigh.
This was so reminiscent of the make out sessions we’d had as teens. In fact, it was exactly what we’d been doing before his parents returned home to tell me that mine had died in a tragic accident.
It was the last time I had touched Gabriel, and I knew tonight was another ending of sorts for us. I came to Chicago simply to warn him about possible danger, then I planned to return to Portland. I needed to focus on finding my inheritance, then I could leave that godforsaken place and start my new life in Los Angeles.
Somehow, that plan didn’t seem as great as it did just twenty-four hours earlier, and the man kissing along the side of my neck was responsible for it.
A few tears fell from my eyes at the exact moment Gabriel began kissing his way back up to my face. He froze the moment he encountered them on my cheeks. He yanked his hand out from under the shirt I was wearing, then rocked back on his heels.
“What’s the matter, Harper? Did I hurt you?”
