Page 76 of See It Through
“Dammit,” he breathed. “Then I’m sorry for falling asleep and not being with you while you were struggling.”
My mouth twitched. “You’re apologizing for falling asleep now, Remington? Come on. We don’t need to be so formal with each other, do we?”
“Not formal, no. But I need you to know I care about you, and if I fall down on the job, I’m going to make up for it.” He pulled me down to his chest, tucking me snug against him. His fingers trailed up and down my spine in a slow, rhythmic motion. “What were you thinking about, sweetheart?”
“A lot.”
“Give it to me. I want it.”
He didn’t know what he was asking for, but I took a deep breath anyway and laid out the wild roller coaster that was my mind. “The mare, Graham, my clients I’m seeing tomorrow—well, today…the cowboys who drool over Phoebe, my grandparents getting older, worry about Jesse having enough resources for his big brain in this small town, trying to remember when I changed my sheets, the tag in my shirt, the blueberry muffin I’m going to have for breakfast, how long you’re going to be in town, why Cleve hates me so much, what snack I’m going to pack to eat while I’m on the road, the contents of my pantry, if this winter will be as bitter as the last, and…well, I think you get the picture.”
He heaved a sigh. “You’re right. That is a lot.”
“Once I get going, it’s difficult to stop.” I shoved my face into the side of his throat, feeling the stress of the day slowly dissipating. “What were you dreaming about?”
“I think…I think it was about my dad. Me chasing him and him walking away. I kept getting close, trying to reach out, but every time I did, he’d slip away.” He cleared his throat. “Sometimes my brain’s a little on the nose. I don’t need Freud to analyze the meaning of that dream.”
“You said you work things out in your dreams. Did you? Work something out, I mean?”
“I don’t know.” His arms tightened around me. “Seems like it’s too late to work out what I needed to with my old man. He’s gone now, and the way we left it is the way it’ll always be. Maybe that’s what I need to be working to accept.”
He rolled me onto my back, his hands bracketing either side of my head as he loomed over me. “I want to help you fall asleep. Can I make you come—ease some of those thoughts out of your head?”
I reached for his face, dragging my fingers along his rough scruff. “Please, Rem. And let me ease some of those thoughts out of yours.”
Remi undressed me slowly, gently, then himself. His mouth trailed down my body, stopping at my breast to taste then roaming lower, leaving wet, warm kisses as he went. He settled between my legs, stroking my inner thighs and belly as he lowered his mouth to my flesh.
I slid my fingers through his hair, sinking into his touch. My eyes fluttered shut. In the dark, the silence, my senses were pared down to the basics, andhewas what filled them. Remi’s sunshine scent on my sheets. The wet sounds his tongue made against my sex. My light, feathery breaths. His palms on the backs of my legs. His rough stubble rubbing my inner thighs. The silk of his thick hair running between my fingers.
I sighed out my pleasure, my exhale expelling the harsh awareness of everything outside these walls. With Remi, I did not have to think about any of that. He made it impossible to. There was only us, Remi giving me pleasure, me allowing my tendrils to curl around him just a little.
He rose over me, sliding his length into my body. For once, he took his time sinking all the way inside. Inch by inch until we were deeply connected. Our hands intertwined above my head. Our eyes locked in a span of time that was so stretched, it was like gossamer. I could have stayed like this with Remi forever. There was no grief, no troubles, and the impossibility of us didn’t exist. It was just us, ebbing and flowing in time with each other.
Remi watched me with soft intensity. I freed one hand to trace his expression with my fingertips. His starbursts were mere echoes, only faintly visible, but I knew them. In one summer, I’d grown to know the planes and lines of this man’s face like no one’s before him. I dragged my knuckle along his cheekbone and the pad of his chin. Lifting my head, I kissed along his jaw and the tip of his nose.
“Hannah,” he murmured. “You feel so good. My beautiful girl.”
This thing between us was special and quiet and carnal. I was so drawn to him, I wondered how it was possible we’d known one another most of our lives yet had only just discoveredus. We’d filled in the cavity left by a great loss with tender knowing and tentative, delicate feeling.
I reached for Remi. Reached and reached and reached. He answered with deeper slides and open hands. Focused eyes and soft lips on my skin. We lapped and receded, again and again, until there was nothing but pleasure spilling like lava over and around us.
When it was all over, our legs tangled, with me tucked snugly against Remi’s broad, smooth chest; I closed my eyes and inhaled his scent mingled with mine.
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
“For what?” I whispered.
“Mmm.” His chest vibrated my cheek. “For being mine tonight.”
Tonight. Tonight, tonight, tonight.
I didn’t have to think about the limits of that one word. Not now. Not when it was three in the morning and sleep was so close I could taste it.
I snuggled closer, winding my arm around his middle. “Good night, Remington.”
He kissed my forehead, lingering there for several moments. “Night, Hannah.”
There was more to say. So much more. But not now.