Third Time's a Charm (Holland Springs #3)(35)

“I’ll dress to match,” he drawled in that sexy voice of his, and she laughed.

“Don’t worry about a babysitter. I’ll get Skye to do it. She doesn’t have to work tomorrow night,” she said, drawing her hands away. She placed them in her lap, twisting and untwisting the cloth napkin she’d placed there.

He slid back his chair and began clearing the table. “I’ll start washing up the dishes.”

It took no time at all to clean and put everything back in its place. Rose wrung out the dishcloth and straddled it along the sink, then turned to face him. “Thank you.”

Sasha shoved his hands in his pockets. “Guess I’ll turn in.”

“No!” Rose blurted, and his brows shot to his hairline. “Sorry.”

He inclined his head. “Was there something you wanted?”

She bit the side of her lip. “Can I show you something? It’s kind of a secret…well, my secret, but anyway, want to come exploring with me?”

His eyes shuttered, and for a moment she was sure he was going to say no, but a smile crept back on his face. “Sounds fantastic.”

She snagged the baby monitor off of the counter and motioned him over with a wave of her hand. “Let’s go.”

“Sure you want to do this, Rosebud?” he asked, his voice strained.

She turned and almost smacked into him. His large, lean frame overshadowed hers as his golden head bent forward. His body radiated heat and she had the urge to rub up against it. Him. But even more, she wanted to trust him. She wanted her instincts to be right when it came to Sasha. She knew he’d never tell. Why would he? The hidden spring that fed the tourist spot wasn’t a gold mine. All it did was make people think their dreams came true. Maybe it was time for another one of hers to do the same.

“Yes.” Grabbing his hand, she tugged him toward the stairs.





This was it.

Rose was going to show him the hidden springs. Later, while she was sleeping or at work, he would skulk around, and fill up several vials with water before sending them off to his uncle’s lab. And as soon as they arrived, he’d be gone. Instead of feeling relieved or euphoric, all Sasha felt was a heavy dose of remorse. Guilt. Every damn feeling in the world that he thought had been ruthlessly culled from his heart.

Hell, before now, his heart had only served as a highly efficient muscle.

As they grew closer, he started to dig his feet in and pull away. She turned left and there in the corner was a set of stairs. He hadn’t been in this section of the house before, mostly because Rose and Ivy stayed in the kitchen and family room when they were home. Wherever they were, he found himself gravitating towards them.

She halted just before the first step and turned to face him. Her pretty eyes dark in the dimly lit hall. Her pink tongue licked at her cherry red lips and he wanted to capture it with his own. To draw her sweet little tongue inside of his mouth and mate with it. With her.

“Ready?” Her voice was a breathless whisper.

Jesus, was he ever ready. He grew hard, and before he rationalized his next move, he had her pinned against the wall, his mouth on hers. She gripped his shoulders. But not to push him away. Instead, she deepened the kiss and pulled him closer. Her perfect body wantonly rubbed against him while his own roared for him take her. To claim her.

He slowly slid his hands down her slender back to cup her sweet bum, the delicious weight making him thrust his pelvis against her, his cock seeking relief.

An erotic moan left her mouth and he breathed it in. He wanted everything that was Rose inside of him, humming in his veins. She nipped at his chin, her hands no longer on his shoulders, but working the buttons of his shirt and spreading it open. The touch of her fingers like before, teasing and clever.

To his relief, she had worn a skirt to work today instead of her usual jeans. He made one of his hands leave her ass to find the hem. Edging it up, his fingers brushed at her heated skin. Higher and higher he pulled it until he felt the supple skin of her thigh, then the raised edges of her birthmark. He traced the outline of it as she trembled against him. Dear God, he wanted his mouth there.

But first…First he had more important areas of her body to attend.

Delving two fingers under her panties, he found her wet, hot, and mostly bare. His knees went weak. Locking them, he pushed a soft thigh wider with one of his own and slid his fingers inside of her. Her tight inner muscles clasped him immediately and he groaned.

“Oh my God,” she moaned into the hollow of his throat.

He began a playful rhythm—one that soon had them both panting. He brushed her clitoris with his thumb, and she let out a sound between a moan and a wail.

Over and over he teased, kept her on the edge until she was pounding at his chest and biting his shoulder though his shirt. “Do you want to come, love?” He brushed her clitoris with a whisper soft caress.

“I-I want you inside me,” she groaned and tilted her hips.

“I am inside of you.”

“Not the part I want.”

He laughed, but he was hard pressed to do it for long. As he teased her, he was torturing himself with the waiting. The longing. She licked at his pierced nipple and bit down. He let go of her ass and cupped her head, pressing it against him. “Harder,” he ordered, his voice harsh.

He cursed when she obeyed him. “Again.”