Love At First Sight (Southern Bride 1)

Once we came to the river, she stripped out of her T-shirt and jeans and stood before me in a bikini. For once in my life, I took in every inch of that body and let her see me doing it.

“You’re looking at me like you’re hungry for something,” Chloe purred.

“Chloe, you have no fucking idea. Eighteen years of pent-up energy here, darlin’.”

She smiled and walked into the water, glancing over her shoulder and using her finger to motion for me to join her. I had never pulled a shirt over my head so fast.

With a laugh that sent shivers across my body, Chloe dropped into the water.

“It’s cold!” she cried out as I joined her in the very chilly water.

Pulling her to me, she wrapped her legs around me and pressed her mouth to mine. It was heaven. Pure fucking heaven having my mouth on hers. Even with the countless times I had dreamed of kissing her, nothing could compare to the real thing. I knew I would never tire of it. It would be something I longed to do every single day for the rest of our lives.

“Rip,” she whispered against my mouth when we stopped to catch our breath. Every part of me wanted her. Right there in that river. She pressed her center into me, and I moaned in pleasure.

Ripping my mouth free again, I looked into those sky-blue eyes of hers. “I want you so much, baby, but not here.”

Her legs wrapped tighter. When she dug her fingers into my hair and pulled, I felt my resolve slipping. There was no way our first time was going to be in the damn river.

I’ll save that for tomorrow.

Just as soon as she embraced me, though, she quickly pushed away and attempted to dunk me under the water. I let her, making her think she got the best of me. When I pulled her under with me, she came up coughing and laughing.

“Not fair! You’re stronger, and I got water up my nose!”

“You pushed me under the water! Did you really think I wouldn’t take you down with me?”

She laughed, and I felt my heartbeat pick up faster. The way this woman made me feel was unlike anything I had ever experienced before in my life. She was my everything. Always had been. Always would be.

We swam to a rock, and I climbed on first and then helped her up. Chloe tucked her body between my legs and ran her fingers up and down my skin. We sat in silence, taking in the beauty of the place. This felt so right. Not just that I was with Chloe, but the location itself. It felt so…calming. I should be nervous as hell. Soon I was going to be making love to the woman of my dreams, and I felt like it was my first time. I had to laugh inside at that one. It wasn’t like I had been a manwhore. Hardly. I hadn’t lied to Chloe. I had only ever been with a few girls. The girl I lost my virginity to, Heather, actually knew how I felt about Chloe. We both knew our time together was for fun, that it would never lead to anything serious. But she had taught me so much about not only my body, but a woman’s body. What to do to make a girl feel good. To always put the woman first. I was so awkward the first time, and she knew from the get go I was a virgin. I hadn’t actually told her, but she knew.

After Heather, I slept with two other women. Nothing serious. Mostly friends with benefits. Something to take my mind off of Chloe. It never worked, and I was an asshole to think that sleeping with another woman would ever make me forget about Chloe.

I had already learned from Mike—who told me everything Alyssa told him—that Chloe had only had two sexual partners. I felt bad for knowing, but like Chloe had said, the past was in the past. It was time to move forward.

“It’s so quiet here.”

Laughing, I replied, “What is your idea of quiet? I hear water, birds, and I’m pretty sure that is a cow in the distance.”

She dropped her head against my chest and looked up at me. “That’s what I mean. It’s not College Station…or Houston. It’s like home. The only things you can hear are nature. I love that so much.”

I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You’re getting goosebumps. Want to head back up?”

Spinning around, Chloe faced me. Her eyes burned with desire, causing my body to heat in an instant. I no longer noticed the cold water.

“I want you, Rip. I honestly don’t think I can wait another minute.”

“Me either. Let’s go.”

We swam back to the shore and slowly walked out of the water. I wrapped a towel around Chloe, then quickly dried myself off and slipped my T-shirt back on. Chloe put on her sneakers, sans socks, and started up the pathway that led to the tent. As we walked up each step, my heart pounded harder and harder.