Page 120 of Now and Then

“Watch it,” I say. “Or that mouth’ll get you in trouble before the sun’s even up.”

I can practically see the wheels turning in her mind, but instead of flinching or retreating, she stays exactly where she is, and I’m not sure if I want her to listen or fight me a little.

I know Sutton is a strong-willed, fiercely independent woman and is used to taking on the world. And for years, I let her lead, if only to keep some kind of peace between us. I didn’t want to push her any farther away than she already was.

But now that we’re here? Together? My only wish is for her to let go sometimes and let me lead too. Not because I don’t think she can, but because when she’s with me, I want her to feel safe enough, protected enough, to stop thinking. To stop worrying.

“What kind of trouble?” she whispers.

“The kind that we’ll both like.”

Her eyes flicker, her throat bobs in a swallow, and her fingers curl against my sides. And then she softens. Just enough to let me see the truth: she wants this. Wants me. Wants the space to collapse into something that isn’t responsibility. I feel it like a damn earthquake.

She leans up, lips centimeters from mine, her voice barely there. “Maybe I want that.”

I ease down and kiss her shoulder, her collarbone, the place beneath her jaw that makes her wrap her thighs around my waist. It would be so easy to spend the day wrapped up in one another, but I can’t miss the meeting I have with Logan.

“Let me grab us breakfast for the road while you shower,” I say. “Then, we’ll get going. No work for you. No more worrying.”

“But I thought we were going to . . .” Her voice fades off.

I press into her warmth. “We can do that later.”

Her body relaxes under me, and for a second, I think I mean it. That I can walk away, grab breakfast, and be responsible.

But then she shifts against me, her fingers brushing up my sides, and it’s enough to undo every good intention I had.

My forehead drops to hers, breath uneven now for an entirely different reason.

“Or maybe,” I murmur against her lips, “we don’t wait.” I grab her hips. “And I join you in the shower and we pick up food on the way.”

“I like that idea.”

Her hands are moving already, tugging at my shirt, as I kiss her again. I help her, pulling the fabric over my head before reaching for the hem of hers, my fingers skimming warm skin as it lifts and exposes her body to me.

We stumble toward the bathroom in a quiet rush, half-laughing, half-breathless, like we’ve done this a hundred times and still can’t get enough.

The shower turns on, steam rising behind her as I push her under the spray. Water hits our skin as I lift her in my arms. Her legs wrap around my waist, holding me there.

“Oh god.” Her head drops back as I drag myself through her center, and for a second, I lose track of everything but her. I’m not sure I’ve seen anything more beautiful than her right now—letting go and letting me lead.

I glance down between us, wanting nothing separating us. “Sutton, can I—”

“Yes, please, baby.” She buries her face against my neck, hips moving in my hands. “Please . . . I want you. I want to feel you.”

A rough breath leaves me as I move with her again, slower this time, dragging out just enough to make her gasp.

“I don’t have time to be slow and gentle.”

Sutton’s head falls back, eyes locking onto mine as she lowers herself onto me, taking me fully. I groan, fingers tightening at her hips and thighs, at the heat of her, the way she pulls me in.

“I don’t need gentle.” She rolls her hips. “I just need you.”

The words hit me like a match to gasoline.

I steady her against the shower wall, driving into her in a rhythm that’s anything but controlled. Her breath against my shoulder, her grip tightening, matching every movement.

My name falls from her lips, no longer whispered but shouted into the space between us, and it’s enough to push me further, to make me lose control completely.