Juniper Hill (The Edens #2)(72)

“Climb up on the bed. Get that shirt off. Then hands and knees.”

She nodded, obeying my every word. Off came her top, followed by her bra. Then she shot me a wicked grin as she planted a knee in the mattress and aimed that beautiful ass my way. Her pussy, pretty and pink, was wet and ready.

I freed my shaft from my jeans and hurried to pull on the condom I’d been keeping in my pocket. Then when I was sheathed, I dragged my cock through her folds as I stood behind her, earning a moan. “This is going to be hard and rough.”

“Yes,” she hissed, pressing back.

With one hand, I guided myself into her slick channel.

With the other, I grabbed her ponytail, wrapping it around my fist. And then I thrust home.

“Oh, Knox.” She arched into me, her bottom lip sawed between her teeth.

“Fuck, you feel good. So fucking good.” Every time, it got better and better.

Maybe that was because I loved her, more every day.

Her inner walls fluttered around my cock as I pulled out and slammed inside. She moaned, a heady, sultry sound from her throat. It was the same moan she’d given me just last night when she’d dropped to her knees and let me fuck her mouth.

“Say it, Memphis. Say it again.” I thrust forward once more, her breasts bouncing and swaying as my hips smacked her ass.

Memphis purred, “I love you.”

I fucked her hard, thrust after thrust. I filled the room with the sound of skin slapping skin. Of her hitched breaths and whimpered moans. I worked her into a frenzy, her hands gripping the mattress, her toes curling over the side. I gripped her ass, squeezing hard, until she flew over the edge.

Memphis pulsed around me, squeezing and clenching through her orgasm. Being inside her was an addiction. I was at her mercy. There was only one box of condoms left at home, and when they were gone, I’d start going bare.

I’d claim her in every way. I’d send her to sleep every night dripping with my come.

Her climax retreated and she collapsed onto the mattress, leaning into her forearms. But I kept on pounding, working my hips faster and faster as I palmed her ass. The build intensified, the pressure at the base of my spine blinding, until finally I let go. When the white spots faded from my eyes, I fell onto her, holding her tight as the world came back into focus.

Memphis giggled as I pulled free. “I can’t believe we just did that.”

“Round two, tonight.” I chuckled, heading to the trash can to dispose of the condom and tuck myself away.

She pulled on her shirt and bra, then stepped into her panties. Her eyelids were heavy and she yawned as she sat on the mattress to tug on her jeans. “Now I want a nap.”

My woman slept hard after sex. “I’ll pop over to Lyla’s and get you a latte.”

“Double peppermint mocha, please.”

“You got it.” I kissed her forehead. “How much longer you got here?”

“Thirty minutes. I cleaned the bathroom already. I just need to dust, make the bed and vacuum.”

“I’ll call Mom and make sure she’s good to babysit. If she can’t, I’m sure Talia will. I’ll meet you in the lobby in thirty with your coffee. Then we can go home and pack a bag.” I headed for the door but before I could touch the handle, she called my name.

“Knox?”

“Yeah.”

“I love you.”

I pressed a hand to my heart. “I love you.”

With a wink, I left her to finish working while I headed for the kitchen to check in and grab a coat. Snow covered Quincy, but the sidewalks were clear and the roads plowed. The sun was dipping toward the horizon, inching toward the mountain peaks. Streetlamps illuminated the faint light as I made my way to Lyla’s.

A couple came out of the jewelry shop next door, both of them laughing. I froze as they passed by.

Memphis was mine. Drake was mine.

A Christmas proposal was cliché as hell, and I didn’t give two fucks.

When I walked through the door, the man behind the counter did a double take. His bald head was shiny beneath the store’s florescent lights, every one designed to catch the jewels and make them sparkle. “Oh . . . hi, Knox.”

“Hi.” I lifted a hand and went straight for the center case.

“Can I help you find something?”

My heart thumped but my voice was steady. “An engagement ring. Please.”

He blinked, then flew into action, laying out a navy velvet cloth. Then he placed ring after ring on the counter for me to inspect, rambling on about cut and clarity, while I lifted each and tried to imagine them on Memphis’s finger.

It was the eleventh ring that was the winner. A square diamond surrounded by a halo of smaller stones.

“This one.” I set it aside and dug my wallet from a pocket.

Ten minutes later, I walked out of the jewelry store with the ring in my pocket and went to Lyla’s for coffee.

I had two paper cups in hand when I pushed through the hotel’s lobby doors.

Memphis was standing close to the couch beside the fireplace, her arms wrapped around her waist. The way she was biting her bottom lip and the worry line between her eyebrows made me walk faster.

“What’s wrong?”

She nodded toward the office door just as it burst open and Eloise came storming out, attempting to shrug on her coat as she marched. The moment my sister spotted me, she snarled.