Keeping You Away (Ex-Con Duet 1)

As we continue, our kiss grows hotter, and my dick gets harder. Gemma arches her back and rocks her hips against me, which drives me even more crazy.

“You need to stop that. People can see us out here.”

“Then take me somewhere so they can’t.”

Fuck yes. I open the car door for her, then jog around to the other side.

“Alright, tell me where you wanna go.” I crank the engine.

“I’ve been fixing up my mom’s old cottage. We can hang out there.”

It takes us less than ten minutes to get to her house. As soon as we’re out of the car, she grabs my hand, and we quietly sneak to the backyard. The quaint cottage needs a lot of work, but it’s cute. There’s a bed and a small studio area where she explains her mother used to paint. I know her mom passed years ago because she talked about missing her a few times in her letters.

“Now that school’s done, I can actually spend more time remodeling. It needs a new paint job and a good cleaning. Then I can decorate it and make it cozy.”

“It’s nice, actually. You’re close to your dad’s house but far enough away to have some privacy.” I walk around, looking at everything.

“I plan to keep her art hung, at least my favorite ones.”

“You never got into painting?” I ask, closing the gap between us.

“I tried. I think I liked it as a child, but then I think I associated it with pain because I was sad she wasn’t here.”

“That’s understandable.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to talk about that right now. I’d much rather you kiss me again instead.” She grins, grabbing my shirt and yanking me toward her.

I smirk and lower my eyes to meet hers. “I think I can accommodate that.”

Our mouths fuse again in a white-hot kiss. The way she makes me feel burns through my entire body. I crave her, and I need to feel more of her. The way our relationship grew over the years led us to a deep connection. The emotional drives the physical, and being with her like this feels even more intense than I could’ve anticipated.

Peppering kisses down her jawline, I attach my lips to her neck. She shivers against me as I flatten my tongue against her soft, smooth skin and lick up to her ear.

“Fuck, Gemma. You’ve consumed me for so long that I can hardly control myself around you.”

“I don’t want you to…I’m yours. Take all of me.”

Gripping the bottom of her ass, I lift her as her legs wrap around me. I walk us toward the bed, then lay her down on the mattress and crawl over her body. Our mouths collide as I slide a hand up her stomach, then palm one of her perky breasts.

“That feels so good,” she murmurs.

“Better than the tool bag who thought he was fingering you?” I smirk against her lips, and she bursts out laughing.

“Oh my God, how do you remember that? I told you about Benny like two years ago.”

“I kept thinking about how fucking hilarious it was, and how much I wanted to be the one who touched you there.”

“Trust me, I want that too.”

“Should I show you how it’s really supposed to feel?” I lie next to her on my side and slip my fingers inside her skirt.

“Yes,” she whimpers. “Show me.”

I slide under her panties and immediately feel her wetness. Every inch of her begs for my touch. The pad of my finger glides up and down her slit before rubbing circles against her clit.

“Oh my God. That feels way too good.” She closes her eyes and hums. “Please, don’t stop.”

“It might hurt when I push my finger inside you, Gemma,” I warn.

“I’ve fingered myself before,” she tells me.

I chuckle at her honesty. “I’ll still be gentle.”

“I trust you, Tyler.” She wraps her hand around my neck, pulling me down until our mouths touch. “I know you’d never hurt me.”

The confident way she says those words has my heart bursting. That’s the last thing I want to do to her, ever. Gemma Reid is everything I’ve ever wanted but don’t deserve.

She gave me all of herself that night. I told her we could wait and didn’t have to rush, but she was firm with her decision. I was her first, and she was the first woman I ever loved.

But three months later, after spending the entire summer together, I broke both of our hearts when I left with no plans to return to Lawton Ridge. I asked her to come with me—together we could travel and be spontaneous—but she didn’t want to leave her dad and the only home she’s ever known.

As much as it hurt, she couldn’t leave, and I couldn’t stay.

Gemma will always be the one I let go, the woman I walked away from—my biggest regret.