I came with a long flex and burst, holding us both still for a protracted moment before slamming into her to the rhythm of my heartbeat as it raced, then as it slowed, and when it was the sated beat of release, I drifted back to myself and kissed her so long and slow, it felt like forever.
She leaned back, a lazy smile on her flushed face. “Are we ever gonna do that in a bed?”
“Sure are, as soon as you put that dress on and get your ass inside so I can take it again.”
When she tipped her head back in a laugh, I took the opportunity to nuzzle in her ear, my eyes closed and my heart open just enough to let her in.
17
BRAND NEW DAY
DAISY
It was late enough that morning that the sun slanted into Keaton’s bedroom and the kitchen downstairs bustled with distant noise. But that wasn’t what woke me.
It was Keaton’s arm around my waist, his lips on my neck, and the promise of a grand fucking pressing against my ass. Before we spoke, we kissed. Before we greeted the day, we greeted each other, skin to skin, body to body, thoroughly and completely in a soft echo of our long night.
At the moment, I was splayed across his chest, listening to the solid thump of his heart beneath my ear, my face rising and falling with every heavy breath. His skin under my cheek was damp from exertion, dusted with dark hair, our legs still twined together and one arm wound around me. The other was next to him, slack as if in sleep.
I’d never woken up with a man before, not like this.
A few times, Drew and I had snuck off for a night, sleeping in a tent or in the bed of his truck, but that didn’t hold a candle to sleeping in a real bed like adults. Instead, I’d spent a whole night with a man who’d given me more in those dark hours than anyone had given me in years. A night filled with adoration and devotion. Of discovery and desire.
Now that I had him, I didn’t know if I’d be letting him go anytime soon.
He sighed and rolled over so we were on our sides, facing each other. Squared fingers brushed my cheeks, swept my hair from my face, and his lips, framed by his dark beard, smiled.
“Mornin’,” he said, his voice low and rough from disuse.
“Mornin’,” I answered with a smile of my own. “How long you think until the house is empty?”
A chuckle. “If I know them? They’ll wait us out all day.”
I groaned through a laugh. “Sophie’s down there too, huh?”
“Oh, she’s down there. Cole’s probably keeping her in the room just for grins.”
“Won’t she have questions?”
“She knows more than she lets on. Trust me, you’ll scar her less than the lot of us running our mouths off when we think she’s not listening. She’s always listening.”
“Good thing I had the foresight to pack a bag.”
“Awful presumptuous of you, that.”
“Listen, Jo might not mind if Marjorie sees her walking down Main Street in last night’s clothes, but I do.”
Laughing, he kissed me, and we climbed out of bed to get our day started. I was late for my chores, but there was plenty of time before the car wash this afternoon. The upside was that my family would likely be busy doing their chores, which would mean less badgering. For a minute, at least.
I’d thrown on a pair of shorts, a tee, and white canvas sneakers, twisting my hair up in a messy bun. When I came out of Keaton’s bathroom, it was to find him standing with his back to me, jeans slung low on his hips and hugging that sweet ass of his. He was pulling on his shirt, arms over his head, the muscles that made up his expansive back bunching and easing until they were all swathed in jersey and sadly out of view.
When he turned and caught me gawping, he laughed. I flushed and rolled my eyes. And before I could pop off something funny, he was kissing me. After that, I didn’t have much to say at all.
As we walked down the stairs, I braced myself for the publicity, putting on a smile and sharpening my wits. The only way out was charm. Or, at least, was the least embarrassing option.
The three Meyer brothers cheered at our entrance, Carson splitting a whistle through his fingers. Sophie’s face quirked, though her eyes were sharp with humor.
“We had a sleepover,” Keaton clarified in her direction.
Her expression brightened. “A slumber party? Did you have a pillow fight?”
My brothers turned to give me looks that inspired violence in me.
“Yeah,” Cade said. “Did you have a pillow fight?”
“No, they were too busy—oof,” Carson grunted when Cole elbowed him in the solar plexus.
“What people do at slumber parties is none of our business, Sophie Marie,” Cole said with an authoritative tone I’d never heard from him. He pinned his brothers with a warning look they heeded as best they could with Carson still rubbing his torso and Keaton red in the face, from anger or embarrassment, I couldn’t tell. The thought of him blushing made me giggle, and he swiveled his head to face me, brow arched.
I shrugged, too amused for my own good. “Well,” I started, changing the subject before Keaton withered from so many eyes on him, “I’ve gotta get back to the farm. Sophie, will you come tend the bees with me one day? Or if that’s too scary, we can just pick flowers.”
Sophie lit up. “Can I wear a bee suit and everything?”
I nodded. “We’ll even eat a comb fresh out of the hive, if you want.”
“Can we go today?” she was already half off her chair.
Cole answered. “We’ve got the car wash today, so how about we wait for Daisy to tell us when she’s free?”
Disappointed, she flopped back into her seat.
“Don’t worry,” I promised her. “Maybe tomorrow?”
She grinned, nodded, and tucked back into her breakfast.
“Bye, guys,” I sang, Keaton in my wake as I headed for the door. “See y’all in a few hours.”
They called their goodbyes behind me.
“Sure you don’t want to stay for coffee? Breakfast?” Keaton asked, holding the door open for me and following me out.
“It’s so late, I’ve gotta get back. We wasted coffee time with a different sort of pick me up.” I smiled at him over my shoulder.
When he laughed, my heart nearly shot out of my ribs like a dove from a box. That sound was maybe my favorite sound in the whole world.
“I should say I’m sorry for that, but I’m not,” he noted.
“I’ll take that over coffee any day of the week.”
I turned when we reached my truck, but he was so close, there was nothing to do but lean back on the door, his hand planted on the metal next to me as he descended for a kiss. And for a moment, we just enjoyed that kiss for exactly what it was, without promise or preamble. Just an honest appreciation for one another to enjoy as desired.
He packed me into my truck and stood there while I backed out, hands in his pockets, waving when I turned onto the road with a smile still on his face. I didn’t think I’d seen him smile so much in all the time I’d known him. The sight left me light and happy, my windows down and the music loud as I drove home. And I sang all the way, my joy fed by flickers of the night before and the imaginings of what would come.