Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove #1)(78)

“He looks a lot better, doesn’t he?” she asked.

“He does.” It was the truth. There was color back in his cheeks, and he’d put on some much-needed weight.

“I think no matter what happens to my dad, this was a good decision. I’m not clueless like Travis thinks I am. I know the percentage of success in these programs isn’t off the charts. But not doing anything means you have zero chance of getting better. I think it’s worth a try, and it’s the first time he’s ever opened up, so that feels like progress.”

“It does,” I said as I turned my hands over and intertwined my fingers with hers. “You have such a fucking good heart, Snow.”

“Says the man who drove me there and sat through that painful session holding my hand. The man who secretly bought my car to pay the deposit for my father’s program. The man who treats his employees like gold and gives up his own dreams to take care of his family.”

“You don’t want me to get a big head now, do you?” I teased, but her words did something to me. I liked that she knew me better than most. I wasn’t a man who shared a lot. I was a good time, and I liked to have fun, but I’d always held my feelings close to my chest.

“I think your head is already big, so there’s no risk.” She chuckled, and I nipped at her ear.

“That’s true. So, we’ve got the fair all day tomorrow. Are you up for it?”

“Of course. I’m looking forward to it. God, I used to barely sleep the night before the Cottonwood Cove fair. Plus, it’ll be fun to meet all the kids on the cross-country team and talk to them, too. And, I’m on the schedule, though I’ve heard my boss is a bit of a softy for some of his employees.”

I leaned down, and my tongue snaked out and trailed down her neck, and she shivered. “Oh, yeah? Do you know which employees in particular he’s soft for? Because I can think of one that he’s really hard for.”

She laughed, and her head tipped back, giving me better access to her mouth as she wiggled her ass against my erection. “Have you ever done it in a bathtub?”

“Well, seeing as you’re the first woman I’ve taken a bath with, that’s a no. It’s kind of challenging to move in here.” My hands traveled up her stomach and covered her two perfect breasts. “And we don’t have a condom.”

“I told you I got on the pill last month. I’ve obviously never been with anyone before, and you said you’ve never been with a woman without a condom. How about you let me be your first?”

The thought of being inside Lila without something between us was not one I hadn’t thought about a million times over the last few weeks.

“You sure about this?” I asked, my voice gruff.

“As sure as I am about you, Bear,” she said, her voice all breathy and sexy as hell. She pushed up and positioned herself right over the tip of my dick and slowly moved down, taking me in one inch at a time. She felt fucking amazing. “And I can do all the moving for both of us.”

I didn’t know when it happened—when I’d fallen completely in love with this woman, but it had happened. I’d finally experienced what my father had always talked about. What my brothers and I had teased him about for years. It wasn’t that the hair on my arms stood on edge like what had happened to my father, or that I knew I would marry Lila James.

It was a repeated clarity that I experienced day after day with this woman. My heart no longer belonged to me. It was hers. No one else would ever have it—that I was certain of.

But I didn’t know what the fuck that even meant.

I was not a relationship guy. I knew it. She knew it. Her brother knew it.

This felt like the most intense relationship I’d ever had, and it had only been a few weeks. Longer if you counted the time that we weren’t having sex, but still, what did that say about me? Chances that I’d fuck it up were strong.

We were good friends who were attracted to one another. She’d said it herself.

Of course, I loved her. Hell, I probably always had. I’d just never gotten to spend so much time with her.

She had an amazing opportunity waiting for her in Chicago, and I would die before I’d ever hold her back. So, I’d enjoy this time with her. It was more than I deserved, and I was grateful for it.

She gripped the sides of the tub and moved her body, controlling the pace as she rode me slowly at first, sliding up and down my cock over and over and bringing me just to the edge before she’d start it all again.

I gripped her hip with one hand, and the other settled on her clit. I took control, and she chuckled.

Faster.

Harder.

The water splashed out of the tub and spilled onto the floor.

Little gasps escaped her sweet mouth, and she turned her head, waiting for me to kiss her as her nails dug into my arms. She never fell apart now until my mouth was on hers. Like she needed that connection before she let herself go, and I fucking loved it.

I kissed her hard, and she cried out my name against my lips.

And I thrust into her one more time before following her right over the edge.

Because I’d follow this girl anywhere she wanted to take me.





Cottonwood Cove fair was clearly Lila’s favorite thing in the world, but it sure as fuck wasn’t mine. Everyone in town was here. Kids were all sugared up and shouting, and I’d witnessed one epic meltdown from Donny Welby’s five-year-old son when he didn’t give him the buck to go let him try to win a goldfish. I was glad the kid made a scene because Donny had stiffed one of my servers last week, and it wasn’t the first time. The cheap bastard could stand to eat a little humble fucking pie.