Page 54 of Acadia Falls

I’d hoped for an invitation but didn’t think it would happen. So when Maran started talking about the steam shower, my heart leaped.

It literally leaped. I didn’t even know a heart could do that. Trouble. This was nothing but trouble.

But I stripped out of my clothes anyway. Because fuck it.

It didn’t take long for me to tug my hoodie and the rest of my clothes off and leave them in a big pile on the floor. Then I headed inside the shower, hungrily grabbing for Maran without letting myself think about it.

She exhaled deeply as I pulled her warm, soapy body against mine. I couldn’t see too well because of all the steam, but she’d scrubbed the mascara from her face, and the color had returned to her cheeks. Her previously blue lips had returned to their typical hue, a pretty, deep pink.

I pulled her against me. Maran was tall; her frame fit perfectly against mine. I felt myself relax in her embrace. She put her head against my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her. We stood like that for a long while, letting the warm water run over us.

“Let me wash your back.” I grabbed the shower gel and slowly, lovingly, massaged her shoulders. My hands roamed to her lower back and then her firm, round behind. Even though Maran was sexy, and I was already hard for her, washing her wasn’t just foreplay. I cared for her. I wanted to take care of her.

She followed my lead and soaped my back. Her touch was gentle. Again, I felt myself relax. I bent over and brushed my lips against hers, and then I was lost. Maran responded hungrily, her tongue seeking mine. When they connected, electricity shot straight to my core.

I wanted to take her right there but needed to slow down. I was getting carried away, and I wanted to enjoy every second of every touch. “Can we go to the bed?” My voice sounded hungry to my own ears.

By way of an answer, Maran turned the water off and grabbed us some fluffy towels before I could even say please.

We didn’t stop kissing. Our limbs were entangled, her wet hair clinging between us. I refused to release her, so I toweled her off while she was still in my embrace. She managed to dry me off, too. I swept her into my arms and carried her to the guest room.

When I laid Maran down on the king-sized bed, she smiled up at me. Her eyes were wide. “I missed you,” she said.

My heart twisted. “I missed you, too,” I admitted.

Gone was the bravado, the cocky mask I’d so calculatedly worn earlier. I was being honest; I had missed Maran. It had only been a day or so, but it had been a long, lonely one. Being naked with her only emphasized what I’d been missing, and it wasn’t just her beautiful body. It was her. I felt complete with her next to me.

I sank my hands into her hair and parted her thighs with mine. She’d been so cold, but now her skin was hot. We rocked against each other, both of us lost in the embrace. Lost in each other. Before I knew it, our bodies became one. It was the most natural thing in the world. I belonged there. I belonged with her—it was like Maran had been made for me.

I lost track of time, of myself, of everything but the feeling of being with her. I was lost in her embrace. I gave myself to her—not savagely, like when we’d been together before—but with a tenderness I’d never experienced.

My stroked became insistent, and Maran cried out beneath me. Hot pride bloomed in my chest. That’s my girl.

Emphasis on the ‘my.’

She cried out as I fucked her through her orgasm. “Jack!”

The sound of my name on her lips pushed me over the edge. I started to unravel, lost and found at the same time. The depth of my orgasm shook me. I clung to her, holding on for dear life, as the shudders rumbled through me. I came back to earth slowly, relishing the feel of Maran in my arms.

But even though my limbs were loose, my mind was blown, and I was holding Blondie tight, another feeling crept up on me: unease.

That had been the greatest sex of my life.

It didn’t make any sense. We’d been in the missionary position. I hadn’t even lasted that long, dammit. So why had I come so hard, I’d seen stars? Why did I feel so complete because I was holding her? I didn’t even want to move for fear that she’d roll off my chest and away from my embrace.

No, I thought. It can’t be.

But I had a sinking feeling I knew exactly what was behind the unease.

And I wasn’t having any of it.

I waited until she was asleep, then—with a level of cowardice I didn’t know I possessed—I crept out of bed, grabbed my clothes, and headed for the truck. Pouring rain be damned. I couldn’t let myself spend the night with her.

Not ever again.

Chapter Twenty-Two

MARAN