Her tits bounced in front of his face, and she made these strangled cries and guttural grunts, and it was all just so perfect. She was perfect.
“Grind on me. Use me.”
It took her a few tries to catch her rhythm, but with every slam, she ground her clit on him. Her cries turned frantic.
“Yeah.” He lost his ability to control the situation. “Fuck.” He was too far gone, beyond reason, far past self-control, and he just kept working her on his cock.
She went rigid, her back arched, her tits on display to the forest, and then she writhed and twisted all over him. “Declan.” She shouted it, one hand shoving the hair out of her eyes.
His orgasm stole his breath, his thoughts, and his vision. It catapulted him into euphoria. Moments later, breathless, sated, he reentered the world and found her slumped against his chest, sighing contentedly.
And for the first time in his life, he knew true and total happiness.
The shuttle dropped them off at the fairgrounds. As she took it all in, Declan came up behind her, setting a hand on her hip. A shiver ran through her.
Is this real life? Declan Cadell’s acting like my boyfriend.
She covered his hand with hers. God, she just liked him so much.
“What should we start with?” He said it quietly, and when she leaned back against him, his arm encircled her waist.
As long as she could be with him, she didn’t care what they did. But he wanted an answer, so she had to make a decision. On one side, hundreds of vendors sold jewelry, art, soaps, and all kinds of crafts in a sea of white tents, and on the other, curls of smoke wafted from grills and the scent of cotton candy and hot dogs filled the air. She wanted to be everywhere at once.
“I wish I’d listened to you.” He’d told her not to eat breakfast, but she’d gotten a whiff of Tina’s homemade bread and she’d had to have a slice. Which had led to a second slice. And since she’d been listening to the woman’s stories about her life on the ranch, she’d wound up eating a pile of scrambled eggs with salsa and cheddar cheese. “I’ve never had anything as good as Tina’s food.”
“That’s because everything is grown on the property. But we can come back. Let’s walk around first.”
“Okay.” Right then, someone passed by with a churro, and the smell of fried, sugary dough made her mouth water.
He cracked a grin. “How about we grab some sustenance for our walk? We can share one of those.”
“Yes.” She towed him over to the kiosk. “God, it smells good.” She reached into her purse for her wallet, but he stepped in front of her and handed over a ten-dollar bill.
She still couldn’t believe they were together. What in the world did this incredibly competent, successful, elite athlete see in her, a woman who’d lived a life of such privilege she had a total of about five basic life skills?
There was just something about him. Everywhere they went, people stared. And it wasn’t just his hard, round ass in those worn jeans or his muscular physique accentuated so beautifully in a white T-shirt. It was his confidence. The vibe he gave off that he didn’t need anybody or anything. He was impenetrable.
Except to me.
He lets me in.
It was crazy to think when she’d first arrived, she couldn’t wait to get out of here. Three weeks ago, she’d been working in a diner and living in Kentish Town. Lonely, broke, and scared out of her mind. She hadn’t seen a path forward.
And now? She had one week left in Calamity, and she never wanted to leave.
Not that she could stay. Other than a massive crush on a gorgeous hockey player, she had nothing here. While she’d like to preserve her dad’s legacy, she was in no position to run a cattle ranch.
“Here you go.” Declan handed her the churro.
She bit into the crunchy pastry, the sugar and fried flour invading all her senses. “It’s delicious. Absolutely smashing.” She lifted it to him, but he shook his head. She rubbed his belly. “No, you’re right. You must absolutely hold off on that dad bod until you’ve got six kids.” She laughed at his horrified expression. “What? Let me guess, you’re never getting married and you’re not having kids?”
“No, I never said that.”
“You should’ve seen your expression.”
“I’m not against having a family.” He took her hand as they headed down a long aisle of vendor tables. “I never dated anyone I wanted to see more than once or twice. It just wasn’t something I ever thought about.”
“I know exactly what you mean. When Cameron proposed, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. But the idea of being married, having babies…it was just so…” She let her imagination go there, to a kitchen table surrounded by her ex and their two well-groomed children. She shuddered. “I told him I wasn’t ready, that I hadn’t accomplished anything yet.” But now that she was with Declan, she knew it was a lie. “But I just didn’t want to marry him. The truth is, I don’t have a burning need to be wildly successful. I never have.” And for some reason she didn’t understand, she could only see that here, away from home.
“What’s your burning need?”
She gazed up at him, the answer so clear it popped out. “To believe in myself.”
“And what needs to happen for you to get there?”
“Ha. You’re not going to like my answer.”
“Try me.” He picked off the top of her churro and popped it into his mouth.
“Fine.” The idea was only just forming, but it was so real and true, it flooded her with affection for him. “Just being with you. That’s it right there. You make me feel good about myself.” The moment the words came out, she could see they were misshapen. “No, that’s not right. You make me see myself in a new light. It’s not like my parents tell me I’m dumb or useless. It’s more that they don’t expect anything of me. And you…you seem to like me just for who I am. It’s almost like I…I don’t know…delight you.” She stuttered out a laugh as if it would give her cover from exposing herself to him like that. But he didn’t get weird about it. Which made her feel like she had it right. She really did delight him. “And I guess it gives me room to…well, believe in myself.”
“I like that.” His voice got tight. “A lot.”
“Yeah, well, it’s true.” Each booth they passed had impressive art, jewelry, textiles…even large metal sculptures. “Are all these local artists?”
“No. They come from all over the world.”
“Really? But Calamity’s such a small town.”
“Right, but a lot of celebrities and billionaires live here. Not just because of the world-class skiing and the Tetons, but because they’re left alone.”
“Oh, look. Homemade perfumes and lotions.” She made a beeline for the stunning antique atomizers. “What do you have here?” she asked the artisan.
The woman turned around, her cheeks flushed from the heat. “Hello.” With her sleek mahogany hair and regal bearing, she was gorgeous and sophisticated. She pulled a sample from a basket. “This is Belle Starr. It’s created from the lyantha flower.” Her accent seemed a mix of French and English. “Would you like to try it?”