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“I guess you’d know.” My breath is half a laugh and half a cry.
Shane drags his thumb over the apple of my cheek, wiping away a tear. “You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for, cowgirl.”
“So strong I left town.” I frown. “I couldn’t be here after that. Everything about this place reminded me of how I’d failed her. I left and never wanted to come back.”
“You’re here now.”
“My family needed me. I was being selfish, running from my problems.”
He shakes his head. “It’s not selfish to look after yourself when you really need it. That’s the only way you can be there for everyone else.”
“God, you’re full of wisdom.” A sad laugh bursts out of me. “Are these things you learn being a biker?”
He grins. “Nope, learned all that crap from the ’ology of life, as some girl calls it.”
“Some girl?” I hitch an eyebrow.
Shane leans in, our lips brushing. “A fucking amazing girl.”
His lips press to mine, and I moan because he feels so good. Physically, emotionally. Being around Shane calms me in a way nothing else does. My mind runs a mile a minute with worry, frustration, regret. But when Shane’s hands are on me, everything quiets.
Around us, the desert stirs, but it’s only the two of us beneath a blanket of stars.
He pulls me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me close. I cup his face, our kiss deepening. Neither of us moves for more right away. My tongue dances with his. His teeth graze my lip. Our bodies press tight as the heat of the night wraps around us.
A new season is starting, and it doesn’t terrify me like it usually does. The passing of time is something to enjoy instead of something to mourn.
I dig my fingers into his thick hair, and he groans. “Make me feel good, Shane. I just need to feel good right now.”
I lean back as he grabs the hem of my shirt, peeling it off and tossing it to the side. He unhooks my bra next, and I strip off his T-shirt.
“You’re beautiful.” He kisses my throat, my chest. I arch so he can claim one of my breasts. “So fucking strong and brave and brilliant. Too damn good for me.”
My toes curl. “I need you, Shane.”
He pulls back, and I stand, stripping off my pants as he removes his, and then I’m straddling him again, nothing but flesh, heat, and need at the center of this empty desert. His cock grinds against my slick core, and when he notches inside me, I lose my breath.
He stretches me. Fills me completely.
Shane leans in, claiming my lips as I ride him. His hands roam my back, grabbing my ass and grinding me against his pelvis. There’s nothing hurried in the way he fucks me tonight. It’s slow—raw.
I slide up and down his shaft, my breasts pressing against his bare chest, exposed in more ways than physical.
My soul is open.
Our pasts revealed.
We’re a spiderweb of guilt and regrets, but it all feels possible when he touches me. We don’t just comfort each other with our bodies; we find common ground in our pain.
Shane pulls back, looking into my eyes, and I swear he sees the broken parts I don’t show anyone else. He holds them close without judgment and accepts them. He accepts me, and it’s a breath of fresh air. He’s healing something I thought was irreversibly broken.
Or maybe I’m healing myself because he gives me the courage to face what I’ve been running from. Shane doesn’t see weakness in my failures. He sees strength.
Shane rocks my hips, grinding me against him, holding me so close his body rubs my clit with every deep thrust.
“Come for me.” He slides a hand up my chest between my breasts, gripping my throat and positioning his thumb under my chin to force me to look him in the eyes. “Let me make you feel good.”
“You do,” I admit as my body tightens around him. “You make me feel so good.”
