A Little Too Late (Madigan Mountain #1)(42)

She’s beautiful in the moonlight, her breasts peaked, her body sleek. I drop my head and kiss her hip bone slowly, and her fingers tangle in my hair. And as I kiss my way across her mons, her thighs soften and part for me.

My mouth waters. I lean in and run my tongue up her inner thigh.

“God, Reed.”

I chuckle. “You can call me by both those names.”

She lets out a moan of exasperation, but it’s hard to say whether that’s due to my stupid joke or the torture I’m currently imparting as I run my fingertips across her thighs and between her legs. The touch is too light to be satisfying, and she sighs and tightens her muscles in anticipation.

“Relax,” I whisper. And then I stop playing around and give her what she needs. I press my lips against her heated body and take my first taste of her pleasure.

“Reed!” She shivers as I deepen my kiss.

And now I really am twenty-two again, parting her thighs, losing all track of time and space as her fingers tighten in my hair.

I work her over slowly, as if I’m here to worship her. Kneeling at the altar of our former love. Remembering how intense it was…

“Reed,” she gasps. “Come here.”

For a moment I don’t listen. I’m reluctant to stop, since I know I’m so close to hearing her cry out my name.

“Please. I need you inside me.”

Fuuuuuck. Now she’s got my attention. I press up to look into her heated eyes. “You have condoms?” I probably have some in my travel kit, but that’s a whole room away.

“Think so.” She flails an arm out to her nightstand and yanks the drawer open. She fumbles inside for a second before grasping a little unopened box and tearing into the cardboard.

Grabbing it out of her hands, I do the rest, quickly suiting up before leaning over her again for one of the most soul-deep kisses of my life.

When you go ten years without any real passion in your life, it’s a shock to stare suddenly into the bright light of exhilaration. My body is buzzing with energy I haven’t felt in a decade. My heart is thumping, and my face is flushed with heat.

I’ve missed this.

I’ve missed her.

Our gazes lock, and Ava makes a soft sound as I break our kiss and position myself against her body. Staring into her eyes, I push forward into her tight heat. And I feel like I’m going over a waterfall in a kayak—thrilled and a little out of control. She gasps as we come together. But I can’t slow down. All my senses are dialed up to eleven as I begin to move.

Ava arches against me, and together we tumble back down onto the mattress, our limbs entwined, our bodies reaching for a rhythm we know too well to forget. Tangled tongues and the slide of heated skin.

My mind is static, but my body remembers the dance. I stoke the flames, her hands gripping me, her lips chanting against my own. Yes. Please. More. Until neither of us can hold out any longer.

The moment she calls out my name, I’m done for. I surge forward, pleasure swamping me. I roll us to our sides, finishing with a slow pump of my hips. And then another, for luck. I’m unwilling to let go of the moment.

Ava tucks her face against my shoulder and lets out a satisfied breath. Her hand finds the back of my neck and strokes my skin.

I close my eyes and try to memorize this perfect feeling. “It’s always been you,” I whisper.

“Shh,” is her reply.





CHAPTER 21




TOO MUCH OF AN INTOXICATING MAN





AVA When my alarm goes off at eight, I’m naked and pancaked against Reed’s muscular back.

My eyes fly open. I roll over at top speed and shut off the phone’s angry squall. Then I slide out of the bed and look down at my ex, who’s still sleeping.

Jesus lord. I had an all-nighter with Reed Madigan just like the old days.

Except it’s not the old days anymore. I have a resort to run, and the Sharpes are still here. There’s snow in the forecast, and it’s opening weekend.

I slip out of the room to shower. I catch a look at myself in the bathroom mirror and see a rat’s nest for hair and circles under my eyes.

Good grief. What was I thinking?





“Are you okay, Ava?” Callie asks as I unpack the first box of LED candles an hour later. We’ve gathered in her living room to assemble the lanterns we need for opening night. “You look hungover,” she presses.

“I’m just tired,” I mutter.

My friends exchange glances.

“Drink this,” Raven says, pouring me a cup of coffee from Callie’s carafe. “And have a muffin. Then we’re going to talk.”

Oh boy. I’ve only been here for five minutes, and my friends are already sniffing for a story. They want to know what happened last night after they left Reed and me alone.

A disaster, that’s what. I’ve made a horrible mistake.

“I thought you’d be in meetings all day,” Raven says as she deposits a bakery bag from our favorite shop in town—Black Diamond Coffee—onto Callie’s coffee table. “Aren’t your business guys still here?”

“They are,” I admit. “And while I need the face time with them, today is legal review day. They’re going to spend hours talking about transferring the ninety-nine-year lease for the skiable terrain. I’m not a lawyer, so it would be hard to sit there all day and pretend to be relevant.”