Gatlinburg Getaway (Destination: Desire) (24 page)

She pressed forward, opening herself to him. The head of his dick bumped her clit, slid over her slick folds, and she moaned against his lips.

Abruptly, he broke away, sucking in a deep breath. “We need a condom. Now.”

“Yes.”

He returned to her in moments, pulling her back into his embrace. She hooked her good leg over his waist, and he eased into her. The perfection of being one with him after weeks without him made a sob rip from her throat. It was so amazing, so right. She’d missed him, missed this, missed how good they were together, in and out of bed.

He pulled back and sank in again. The stretch was exquisite, and her inner muscles squeezed around him, wrenching a harsh groan from him. One of his hands gripped her ass, pulling her tighter to him. She ground her clit into his groin, increasing her pleasure. They flowed together like an ocean tide, surging forward, rolling back. It was as easy and natural as breathing, but soon
easy
wasn’t enough to satisfy them.

Their pace picked up until the sound of their skin slapping together echoed in the room. She could feel orgasm gathering deep within her, and every movement pushed her desire higher and higher. Her pulse raced and her breathing sped to gasps, sweat beading on her forehead and sliding down her temples. Each layer of sensation just added to her need, until all she could do was feel. No thinking, no logic, just pure ecstasy.

His eyes locked with hers and she could see every emotion stamped across face. His love and adoration, his lust, the tenuous grip he had on his control. It was beautiful to be able to read him so easily, to know he held nothing back from her. She gave him everything in return, the smile she knew he loved curving her mouth, showing her pure joy at having him back in her arms.

“I’m close.” She arched into him, the first shivers of climax passing through her.

He rotated his pelvis, stimulating her clitoris. “I love you.”

She never, ever got tired of hearing him say that. Even now, a little thrill buzzed through her at those sweet words. “I love you, too.”

Then she catapulted into orgasm. Her sex fisted around him, clenching in waves. She cried out at the intensity of her ecstasy, and stars burst behind her eyes. He continued to ride her hard, dragging out her climax as long as possible. Her pussy spasmed again every time he filled her, and goosebumps broke out along her limbs.

“Camille!” His grip on her ass tightened painfully, and he slammed hilt-deep inside her, shuddering as he came. All the tension leached out of his muscles and his fingers loosened their hold. He stroked the punished flesh, and she shivered.

She relaxed by degrees, her heartbeat slowing, her breathing becoming less ragged. Little sparks of pleasure still zinged within her, and she sighed with the perfection of it.

He stroked her hair away from her face to plant a kiss on her forehead. “We are really good at that.”

“And getting better every time.” Which was mind-boggling, but not something she had any reason to complain about.

He dragged in a breath. “So, there’s something I wanted to chat about.”

“Mmm?” She drew patterns across his chest, contentment oozing through her now that she had him near.

“I’m going to open my own optometry office.” The words came out in a rush, practically tripping over each other, but she definitely understood them. They just confused her.

“Oh?” She glanced up to meet his gaze, which seemed more guarded than it should be. “Can Gatlinburg’s population support another one?”

“And compete against my uncle and cousins for patients?” He shook his head. “No, no, no. I’m moving.”

The sexual haze cleared and the implications of what he was saying finally hit. Her heart leapt and her fingers curled into his chest hair. “Really? To where?”

The corner of his mouth kicked up in a grin. “There’s this little seaside town in California that could definitely use another optometrist.”

She swallowed, and all kinds of emotions stampeded through her. Joy, fear, excitement, wariness. “Dalton, we talked about this. We’re taking it slow.”

“We can still take it slow.” He shrugged. “The commute will just be shorter now.”

Closing her eyes, she tried to get a grip on her riotous feelings. “Relocating your life isn’t taking it slow. That’s the opposite of slow.”

He crooked a finger under her chin and waited until she met his gaze to speak. “Tell me you don’t want me here full-time.”

“I can’t. You know I can’t,” she whispered. “I want you here so bad it hurts.”

“Then I’m coming.” His gaze was so full of love that it made her heart clench.

“This is crazy.” She said it because someone needed to.

But he shook his head. “This is the sanest thing I’ve ever done.”

God, she hoped he meant it. There was nothing in the world she wanted more than to have him with her always. She knew it wasn’t logical or reasonable. She knew it was the kind of thing her codependent mother would dive into, but that didn’t change a thing. She just wanted to make sure that this was what he really wanted.

Had she communicated how unhappy she was when they were apart to the extent that he felt pressured to leave his life behind? That would suck.

She sat up and clutched the sheet to her breast. “Are you sure? I mean, be really sure before you uproot your entire life and leave your family behind.”

He pushed himself upright and leaned against the headboard. “Tennessee is only a plane ride away from California, as you well know by now. I love my family, but they don’t need me there. We can visit each other and keep in touch in other ways.” He grinned. “Plus, soon only Savannah will be left in Gatlinburg.”

“What?” That was a surprise.

“Uncle Landry and Aunt Opal are planning to retire to Florida in the not-too-distant future.” He waited a beat, then said too-casually, “Also, Leigh finally came out of the closet and is joining her girlfriend’s practice in Atlanta.”

“About time.” She shrugged. “I figured out she had someone special she was covertly seeing within my first few visits there.”

“Oh, and Warrick popped the question.” He drew a knee up and draped his arm over it. “Not a moment too soon because Savannah is knocked up. I’m going to pretend it was immaculate conception.”

“Sorry, hon. I don’t think that was an act of God, unless you want to claim your best friend—”

He kissed her to shut her up, and she laughed against his lips. But he pulled away after a moment. “So…what do you think?”

The most unselfish part of her pointed out, “You’ll miss them. They’ll miss you.”

“You miss me.”

There was no way she could refute that. “Yes, I do.”

“Well, people I love missing me and vice versa is just going to be a part of life.” He reached over to cup her cheek. “I need you, sugar. I hate not being with you every day.”

“Me too.” She tried to wrestle down her fears, but they escaped anyway. “I don’t want you to come out here for me and then regret it and resent me and—”

“Stop,” he interjected. “Just stop. I’m doing what I want to do, not what you pushed me into. If anything, you’ve been overly cautious about how our relationship could continue to grow. But the bottom line is, I want us to live together, and I’m in a better position to relocate than you are. I’d like to open my own practice and I’m not willing to compete with family for patients, which means I was always going to have to leave Gatlinburg to take this step forward in my career. Meeting you just helped me narrow down my options of where to move. So this is partly about you—us—but partly it’s just about me and what I need. I’m doing what feels right for me.”

Somehow, he always knew what to say to allay her fears, and he always did it without trivializing how she felt. She loved that about him. She could only hope she offered him the same level of support.

She let out an unsteady breath. “Okay.”

“Okay?” His eyebrows arched. “No more arguing?”

“I’ve missed you so much.” Tears glutted her eyes. “I thought the long-distance thing would get easier with time because I’d get used to it, but it gets harder and harder to watch you walk away every time I have to drop you off at the airport. I cry the whole way home.”

“Ah, sugar.” He drew her into his arms. “That just breaks my heart.”

“It’s still worth it. You’re worth it. Nobody else has ever—” She cut herself off and squeezed him tight.

“I know exactly how you feel,” he whispered against her hair. “I’m right there with you. It’s going to take a few more months to get everything into place, but I want to know that there’s a time coming soon where I won’t ever have to leave you again.”

“I want that too.” She breathed in the familiar scent of him, all of her worries about the future settling within her. This was right. This was what they both needed, so why should she shoot herself in the foot with logic by trying to stop it? Nothing about their path to love and commitment had been logical so far, but it was still a perfect fit.

“Good. It would have killed me if you’d tried to talk me out of it.” He ran a palm down her back and kissed the top of her head. “I was wrong about something though.”

“What’s that?”

“I predicted we’d make it six months before we did this. I didn’t anticipate how much I was going to need you on a daily basis. You’re addicting.”

Snorting, she tipped her head back to meet his gaze. “I love you.”

“I know you do.” His gaze searched her face, though she had no idea what he was looking for. His embrace tightened around her. “So how about we say to hell with the glacier pace and you agree to marry me?”

The question should have been shocking, but somehow, deep down, she’d known this was coming. Him announcing his move made this inevitable, another piece of their puzzle falling into place. “You’ve already got our two-point-five kids named already, don’t you?”

Not a hint of chagrin crossed his face. “I have ideas. You can weigh in.”

“That’s so kind of you.” She poked his side.

“Is that a yes? Or are you going to tell me we should live together for a while before we decide to get married?”

“You don’t think that’s a good idea?” Because that would probably be the best thing to do, to make sure they could be together full-time without all the inevitable, hidden little quirks they both had driving each other nuts. Her heart didn’t like that option though, clenching tight at the thought of turning him down.

His gaze was direct, but understanding molded his features. “I think I’m willing to wait, if that’s what you need, but I don’t need more time to know what I want.”

Neither did she, if she was honest. It was insane. It was crazy. It defied all reason and logic. But she couldn’t deny that being with Dalton had been good for her. She worked less and played more. She’d given herself permission to have a life. Maybe she would have done that anyway—it wasn’t as if she’d been unaware that she was a workaholic—but knowing him had given her motivation to make immediate changes that had shaped her world for the better. Deepening that connection was the logical thing to do.

So, for once her mind and her heart were on the same page. Spend the rest of her life with a man who seemed to know her better than she knew herself, and who was willing to go the extra two thousand miles to give her what she needed? There was only one right answer.

“Yes.”

About the Author

Crystal Jordan began writing romance after she finished graduate school and needed something to fill the hours that used to be eaten away by homework. Currently, she serves as a librarian at a university in California, but has lived and worked all over the United States. She writes contemporary, paranormal, futuristic and erotic romance.

To learn more about Crystal please visit
www.crystaljordan.com
. Send an email to Crystal at
[email protected]
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