What The Heart Knows (33 page)

James
chuckled. “Hey look, Elliott really only expects the bare
minimum from me as it is. If I go and start refusing to do that just
to spend time with my girlfriend, I might find myself out of a job.”

Emily
rubbed her face across his chest. “That's okay. You can get a
job here.”

“Official
panty dropper?” he suggested, tugging at a strand of her hair
playfully.

Emily
twisted her head up to look at his face. “You're retired. And
so is Sam. And Eric. And even Aiden. Who is left?” she asked,
scrunching up her brows. “What good is a small town without
gorgeous bachelors?”

“Well
there's Dane,” James suggested and laughed when Emily rolled
her eyes. “And... what's Eric's brother's name?”

“Liam,”
Emily supplied. “But he never looks up from his books long
enough to notice women.”

James
laughed, pushing her back down on his chest and stroking her back.

“Oh,
and what about that new doctor? I think I heard some of the women in
the market talking about him.”

Emily
smiled. He even talked like one of them now. Not “food”
or “grocery” store, but market. “I haven't seen him
yet...”

The
front door opened suddenly, Meggie storming in, her cheeks bright
red, her long blonde hair free around her shoulders for once. She
turned back toward the door, grabbing the handle and slamming it
against the jamb over and over, making a loud growling sound.

“Hey,
Megs,” Emily called. “have a good check-up?” she
asked innocently.

“That
man!” she yelled, slamming the door one last time for good
measure.

“Yeah,”
James said, as deadpan as Emily. “we heard he was really good
looking.”

“Augghhh,”
Meggie yelled, jumping slightly up and down, making Emily have to
fight to keep from laughing. All the years she had known Meggie, she
had never seen her so worked up over something. She once had to have
what she called “firm words” with the farmer she got her
peaches from and then spent the next six months apologizing to him
any time she saw him. She was always sweet and good, never an unkind
word to say to anyone. To see her worked up like that was nothing
short of amazing.

“That...
man...” she said, ripping off her jacket and starting to tie
her hair back.

Emily
and James shared a knowing look. The way Meggie was reacting was the
way they both felt, albeit inside, when they first encountered each
other.

“The
doctor?” Emily asked.

“Yes,
the
doctor,”
she
spat the word like venom.

“What'd
he do?” James asked, moving to put his feet on the floor and
look at Meggie.

“He
told me I'm fat,” she exploded, sounding close to tears as her
anger drained.

“What?”
Emily yelled.

“You're
not fat,” James insisted at the same time.

Meggie
threw her arms up in the air before turning and rushing down the
hall.

“What
an asshole,” Emily grumbled.

“This
is gonna be all over town tomorrow,” James said, sounding far
too much like someone who had been there all his life.

“So,”
Emily said, moving to straddle his lap. “you know what we
should be doing right now?”

James
reached forward, running a finger over her lips.”Getting a good
night's sleep so we can both be rested for tomorrow?” he asked,
smirking.

“Oh,”
Emily said. “I did have something else in mind. But now that
you mention it,” she said, forcing a big yawn. “that does
sound like a good idea.”

“Like
hell,” he said, grabbing her ass and pulling her close against
him. Her arms went up around his neck, holding on and he stood up,
carrying her down the hall.

He
opened the hallway that led to their room, slamming her hard up
against the wall.

Emily's
head hit backward with a loud crack, her hands slipping between them
to unzip his pants. She reached in, grabbing his cock, already hard
and straining.

“Here?”
he asked, his head falling backward as he stroked his length.

“Here,”
she said, unwrapping her legs from his waist and placing them on the
floor. James' hands went immediately to her pants, grabbing the waist
and pulling them down. Emily stepped out of the legs, looking up at
James in anticipation. Then she slowly lowered herself down to her
knees in front of him, tilting her head up and opening her mouth.
Waiting.

With
a groan, James took a hold of his cock and led it into her waiting
mouth. She closed her lips around the head, looking up at him. Again
waiting. James closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. He
grabbed the back of her neck and with a smirk, slammed her head
forward.

When
she gave him head, she was greedy. Greedy for his moans, his uneven
breath, his complete absorption in her. On her knees, she was
powerful. She was in control of his pleasure. She owned him.

“Christ,
Em,” he groaned, grabbing her hair and pulling her off of him.
She got slowly up on her feet. “Okay,” he said, sounding
winded. “your turn,” he said, going down on his knees in
front of her. He grabbed her calf and moved her leg over his
shoulder, quickly burying his face in her heat, working his tongue
over her clit until her fingers fisted in his hair, her hips moving
restlessly.

“Now,”
she panted, pushing his face away. “I need you inside me now,”
she begged.

“Yes
ma'am,” he smiled, getting up on his feet. He pulled her leg up
to wrap around his waist, leaned forward and took her lip between his
teeth, as he thrust once, burying deep inside her. He released her
lip, burying his face in her neck as he pulled out and, paused, and
slammed forward again. He kept that pace. Fast in, pause, slow out,
pause, fast in... until she was panting, her hands clawing into the
flesh of his shoulders, her hips wiggling forward and back as he
thrust, trying to relieve the aching need for release faster than he
would let her. “I...” he said, thrusting forward.
“fucking,” her body jerked with the power of his hips
ramming against hers. “love,” she felt herself tightening
around him. She clung to him, knowing she was close, so close.
Suspended in that nothingness right before a powerful climax. “you,”
he growled, burying deep inside her, his body jerking as he came.

Emily
felt her orgasm crash over her. Wave after wave, making her cry out
his name through strangled breaths. “IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou,”
she gasped as he orgasm eased, just a slight aftershock of
contractions.

They
stood there like that for a long time, James still buried deep inside
her, her arms tight around his neck.

The
feeling never went away. That one she had felt that time at the
lodge. The feeling of him filling the empty places inside. The
feeling that he was what had been missing all along. Which was why
nothing else had ever worked to complete her before.

It
was foreign to her to realize she was happy. Not just content. Or
happy with work, but unhappy in love. Not playing a game of give and
take with joy. She was happy. Happy with work. Happy with her
friends.

But,
most of all, happy with James.

James
pulled out of her slowly, kissing her lips in a long, lingering way,
like trying to memorize how they felt... how she tasted. He supposed
that was exactly what he was doing. Because this would be the first
time they had been apart since they officially got together.

He
didn't want to go. Or, maybe more accurately, he didn't want to go
without her. He wanted her with him on those white beaches, he wanted
to playfully try to drown each other in the water, he wanted to take
her out as the sun was setting and make slow, passionate love to her
on the soft sand.

But
she had responsibilities keeping her there, and he had
responsibilities pulling him away. It was a reality of their
relationship that had discussed in length before. He would need to
travel for work. And she couldn't always go.

In
the end, they had both agreed that it could do nothing but strengthen
their bond. Make the heart, and hormones, grow stronger. That they
were both independent souls who would do fine alone for a few weeks
here and there.

James
watched as she stooped to pick up her pants and walk back toward her
room naked from the waist down, her perfect ass bouncing with each
step. God, he was going to miss her.

“You
coming to bed?” she asked, looking back at him with a furrowed
brow. “Or am I going to have to have my second round with Mr.
Good Vibrations?”

James
gave her one of his huge, boyish smiles. What a woman. “I'm
coming,” he said, winking at her.

Maybe
he would stop and pick up a ring while he was away.

-
The End -