Into the Tide (Cottonwood Cove #1)(98)

“Damn. Your news just trumped mine.” He waggled his brows. “But you don’t have to decide anything today. How about we go back to your place and skinny dip in the tub? Or we can just get naked and get in bed.”

“Now you’re speaking my language,” I said, as I bumped my shoulder against his side and tugged him over to the elevators and pressed the button to go down.

When the doors opened and we stepped onto the elevator, he rushed me, my back pressing into the corner, his chest pressed against mine. “I fucking missed you.”

“I missed you, too. I’m so glad you’re here.”

The doors opened, and he led me outside. “Where do you live?”

“About a block down that way.” I pointed to the right, and he moved so fast he caught me off guard. He scooped me up, and once again, my legs wrapped around his waist, and my head fell back in laughter as he started to jog in that direction.

“I need to get you there now,” he said, as he continued to run down the street with people staring at us as we moved by them. And I didn’t care one bit.

That was the thing about Hugh. He taught me how to have fun and how to do the things that make you happy.

And he made me happy.

“You do know that I’m a fairly fast runner, right?” I said over my laughter as we approached my building. “We’re here.”

“Are you really going to pull out the national title when I just sprinted all the way here with you in my arms?” he teased, as he set me down on the ground.

“I think you could give me a run for my money.”

Another elevator ride up to my apartment before we finally pushed inside the door.

We were alone for the first time.

Hugh whistled. “Fancy. You sure you want to leave all this behind?”

“The only appealing thing to me in this apartment is the man standing in front of me with his cap on backward and that bathtub in the bathroom.”

“Ahhhh… I can work with that,” he said, as he stalked toward me and then threw me over his shoulder and smacked my ass. “Let me see the place.”

“I could give you a tour if you’d put me down,” I said, over a fit of laughter.

“I like looking around and having your sweet little ass right next to my face.” His words were all tease, but I squeezed my thighs together because I knew that we would be naked within seconds.

He tossed me onto the bed, and I bounced, unable to stop smiling. “Did you miss my sweet little ass?”

“Damn straight, Snow. I missed everything about you. Your lips.” He hovered over me, and his mouth covered mine. My lips parted, and his tongue slipped inside before he pulled away as I squirmed beneath him. “I missed your face. And your beautiful fucking body. And don’t even get me started about your tits.”

His hand slipped beneath my blouse and moved up my side until he cupped my breast, tweaking my nipple and making me gasp.

“Not my cooking, huh?” My breaths were coming hard and fast as he moved to my other breast.

“Oh, yeah. The pancakes and the bacon. I definitely missed those, too. But you know what else I missed?”

“What?” I whispered.

“The sound of you coming on my lips when I bury my face between your legs and lick you until you can’t take any more.”

“I missed that, too,” I said, smiling up at him as he tugged my pencil skirt up, letting the fabric gather around my waist.

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?”

And just like that, he tugged me down to the edge of the bed, dropped to his knees, and showed me exactly what I’d been missing.





twenty-nine





Hugh





We’d spent a few days in Chicago figuring out what we wanted to do, and Lila felt strongly about heading back to Cottonwood Cove. She’d already started talking about us expanding the restaurant together, and it was the most excited that I’d been since I’d started this venture. Because doing it with her was a lot more fun than doing it on my own. And Wolf had been pleased that he wouldn’t need to be in the restaurant business just yet, but he had reminded me of his offer to partner up if we did decide to open in the city.

We’d been home for two weeks, and Lila had officially moved in with me. She’d also started helping coach the cross-country team over at the high school a few days a week, and I could tell that it was something she felt really good about.

No one seemed surprised at all that we were together, and Travis had completely embraced the fact that I was dating his sister now. We’d even double-dated twice since we’d been back home.

Lila had spent some time with her brother and her father when we returned, making it known that she wasn’t happy in Chicago, because if she were, we would both still be there.

No question about it.

She wanted to come back to Cottonwood Cove because she felt like it was home. She wanted to be near her father and her brother and Shay and to see the new baby often once he or she was born. Her friends, my family, all the people that loved her here were all the things that made this home.

But it was important they knew that she didn’t need to come home or to give up her career for me. Because I would follow this girl anywhere she wanted to go.