“I can’t walk, my legs are shaking, but I really do want a shower.” She looks up at me with those hazel eyes.
“Come on.” Reluctantly, I let her go and crawl buck-ass naked out of our fort, and help her stand before lifting her into my arms and carrying her upstairs. We take a shower, and although there’s a lot of touching and kissing, that’s as far as it goes. It’s the most intimate I’ve ever been with a woman. Sure, sex is intimate, but this…. We’re both naked, and it’s about the touch of my skin against hers and the sated look in her eyes. A look that’s also full of heat when her eyes find mine. It’s more than sex. It was us, and whatever this is between us burning bright. Touch by touch, we learned one another.
“I say we sleep in the fort tonight,” she says as we make our way back downstairs.
“We can do that.”
“Really?” She turns to look at me, her eyes bright.
“Sure. We worked hard on that fort. Besides, it holds some memories.”
“That it does,” she agrees.
We make our way back to the living room, and I turn off the TV before climbing back into our fort and pulling her into my arms. We spend the next hour making out like teenagers, my hands memorizing her, which leads to making love to her again before she drifts off to sleep.
I didn’t sleep a wink last night. I didn’t know what the light of day would bring, and I couldn’t bear to miss a second with her sleeping peacefully in my arms. Her naked body pressed close to mine.
I lost track of the number of times I’ve replayed last night over and over in my mind. I know part of what made it so incredible was the lack of barrier between us, but it was more than that. It was magical.
Magic.
Maybe the old man isn’t crazy after all.
Every time she would wake up and reach for me, it did something to me. Something I can’t explain. Hands down, last night was the most incredible night of my life.
Now I just need to figure out what to do about it. Things can’t go back to the way they were. I can’t see her and pretend she didn’t single-handedly change me as a man. I don’t know how she’s feeling or what she thinks, but I intend to find out. Today. Before our families arrive, I need her to know that last night wasn’t just a night of fun for me. It meant something. She means something. She means everything. In the span of a few days, she’s suddenly everything.
I need to get up and add some wood to the fire, and it’s starting to get chilly down here on the floor. It would help if we put clothes on, but trust me, you wouldn’t be dressed either if you were me. Not to mention, I need her again. She slept so peacefully I couldn’t bear to wake her up. I need her again before we have the talk about what this means and where we go from here.
My phone rings and I clamber to answer it. I manage to grab it from the end table and see Marshall’s name on the screen. “Hey, Marsh.” Aspen cuddles closer, and I can tell that she’s now awake.
“Con, you ready for the family to descend?”
I look down at the beauty in my arms. I’m not ready, but we will be by this evening. That gives us all day to talk. “Yeah.”
“Good. We’re about an hour out.”
“What?” I still. “What do you mean an hour out?”
“Grant got a call from Josh letting him know that they took care of the road to the cabin last night. Everyone decided to come earlier to make sure it’s all hands on deck.”
“Good deal. Listen, Marsh, I need to shower. I’ll see you when you get here.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that one before. I thought you might appreciate the heads-up. I’m leading the pack, so I’ll make a stop. Buy you some time.”
“Not necessary,” I tell him.
“Conrad, I can tell by the sound of your voice. Kick whatever random woman you have in your bed, wake up Aspen, and get your ass in gear. Ninety minutes, brother, that’s the best that I can do.” He ends the call without saying goodbye.
“What’s going on?” Aspen asks.
I lean in and kiss her slow and deep. Regardless of the fact that we need to get this place in order and ourselves, I need to kiss her good morning. Nothing would keep me from that. Not even our families. “The roads are clear. Josh called Grant. They left early. They’re about an hour and a half away.”
“Shit!” She scrambles out of the fort, bringing some of it down with her. “We have to clean this place up. Shit. Shit. Shit.”
“Hey.” I grab her arm, stopping her movements. “We need to talk about last night.”
“We will. I promise, but not right now. Get moving, Riggins!” She pulls my sweatshirt over her head and starts picking up blankets and pillows.
I stand frozen as I watch the nest we created be torn to pieces, and something in my chest tightens. “Conrad!” She stomps her foot.
“Sorry, I’m moving. Why don’t you go on up and shower, and I’ll get the living room back in order?”
“We need to wash the blankets.” Her face turns red.
“I’ll start a load.”
“They’re going to ask why.”
“We’ll tell them that I made love to you, and they needed washing.”
“No! Are you crazy? We can’t tell them that. No. Nope.” She shakes her head. “Okay. I’ll just tell them I was trying to freshen them up since no one has stayed here for a couple of months.”
“Fine,” I grumble. “Go, so we can talk.”
She gives me a look I can’t decipher before grabbing an arm full of pillows and rushing up the stairs. The thick blanket that we slept on and the one we covered up with should be sufficient as far as washing them. The one on top was thick, and well, I came inside her. My cock twitches at the memory.
Aspen takes the world’s fastest shower and is back downstairs in less than thirty minutes, just as I’m moving the first load to the dryer. I did a quick cycle to speed up the process. “Hey, go grab something to eat. I have everything down here handled.”
“You sure?” Her eyes scan the room, and when her shoulders relax, I know she sees that I do indeed have the downstairs back in order. No one will ever know about the night we shared in our fort by the fire. No one but us, and I promise it’s a night I will never forget.
“We have an hour,” she says, looking at her phone. “That’s good. Go shower, and I’ll make us some breakfast.”
“Thanks, babe.” I lean in for a kiss, and she flinches. “Aspen.”
“Sorry, I’m just… nervous, I guess. Last night and now they’re going to be here soon, and it’s just a lot to process. We’ll talk. Okay. Go, shower.” She waves her hand in the air. I lean in again for a kiss. This time she lets me, but she’s stiff and the first to pull away.
My heart sinks. No way am I letting her push me away after what we shared. Her touch is branded on my skin, and I can’t just forget something like that.
I rush through a shower, hoping to have some time with her to discuss us while we eat. In ten minutes flat, I’m back at the kitchen island just in time for her to plate up some eggs and toast.
“Quick and easy today.” She smiles, but the smile doesn’t reach her eyes.