“How?”
“From stuff Diana’s said. From the way you take care of your dog, tend to your vines. You care, Dale.”
She’s not wrong. Even the casual fucks I’ve had, I’ve made sure to keep the woman safe, even if I didn’t truly care for her.
If I can help it, I’ll never see another living thing suffer.
Not after what I had to endure.
Have I ruined the moment?
My hard dick and her slick pussy convince me I haven’t.
I still yearn for her. Still need her. Still ache for her to silence the demons within me.
The awakening. The chaos.
It’s like being trapped in a funhouse with no escape.
And I don’t want to escape.
No. I only want to fuck her until dawn.
I thrust my cock back into her beautiful pussy.
Yes, I wanted to taste her again. Eat her cream until she screams for me to stop. But I couldn’t wait. Had to have her once more.
“We have all night,” I say, more to myself than to her.
“Yes.” She sighs softly. “All night. You feel so good inside me, Dale.”
“Fuck.” I let out a long groan. “I’m going to fuck your sweet body all night, Doctor. All fucking night.”
I slide in and out of her again and again, and then I withdraw, flip her over, and pound into her from behind. That gorgeous rosy ass beckons, and I grip her tightly, still thrusting quicker and quicker.
This is far from a walk through hell. No, that will come later. This is heaven. Pure heaven. Paradise itself can’t be any better than Ashley’s sweet body welcoming me. Letting me in.
Loving me.
Love.
That all-encompassing fucked-up word.
I love this woman. This woman I’ve known less than a week. Will I tell her? Hell, no. Because this is a one-night engagement, and I’m a one-trick pony.
I don’t do love.
I don’t do relationships.
I don’t even know how to hold her fucking hand.
But God, I know how to fuck her. To pound into her and sate my deepest desires. She’s milking me, and I’m ready to come again.
“Fuck, Ashley,” I say through clenched teeth. “Come. Come for me.”
“Almost. There,” she says, her voice muffled because her face is crushed into the comforter. “You feel so good inside me. Like a flame. A flame of wildfire.”
“I can’t…” I pant. “I’m going to come, Ashley. I’m going to—”
“Dale!” She clamps around me, her climax contracting her walls and milking me with just the right squeeze.
I release into her body.
Into her.
I love you.
The words play in my mind like a broken record.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
The climax flows from my balls and cock throughout my body, zinging through me at laser speed.
Damn the peace.
Damn the chaos.
Damn the awakening.
And I’m not even close to done.
I grab a handful of Ashley’s blond locks and pull, trying to get even deeper inside her as my release begins to fade.
To fade.
And I don’t want it to fade.
I want it to go on and on and on. Forever.
I never want to be outside this woman’s body.
And it’s frightening.
I haven’t been this scared in a long time.
Not since that fateful day twenty-five years ago.
God help me.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Ashley
Dreams of old-vine Syrah—the taste, the aroma, the sound of Dale’s deep and delicious voice.
I’m sated, so sated, enrobed in warmth and contentment, my body and heart full, so full.
Something warm touches my forehead, and though I’m still awash in alpha waves and that dreamlike state right before awakening, I open my eyes.
It’s a bright ray from the sun streaming through the smallest opening between the drapes.
Where am I?
Right. The Carlton Hotel. With Dale.
I smile and close my eyes once more, letting one hand wander to the other side of the bed. I want to touch his skin again, pull him toward me and make love.
God. Last night.
After the second time, we rolled over to rest a little before beginning again.
Except again never came.
We fell asleep, our toes touching.
When my hand finds nothing, I stretch my leg, searching for his feet.
Then I sit up abruptly.
He’s gone. Dale is gone.
He’s probably just in the bathroom. After all, he swore he’d use me until I couldn’t move. So we fell asleep. We fucked hard twice. He was no doubt exhausted. We’ll finish this morning.
I rise from the bed and pad toward the bathroom. The door is closed, so I knock. “Dale?”
No answer. I turn the knob slowly and open the door.
“Dale?” I say again.
Okay. He went down to the lobby to get coffee.
Except a coffee machine sits in the room, blaring at me like an ambulance siren.
I scan the room.
His clothes. Gone.
His key fob. Gone.
Dale.
Gone.
Only then do I see the hundred-dollar bills on the night table. Two of them, along with a note scribbled on the hotel notepad.
This will get you back to the ranch. Take today off.
* * *
Dale
Money left on the nightstand.
So fucking cliché.
I should be angry.