Storm Front (Reunited Hearts) (20 page)

Ingrate
was ahead of them on the beach, barking ferociously at the waves. He ran
forward every time the water retreated and then scampered back as it advanced,
barking in outrage that the waves would dare to launch such an unprovoked
assault on him. The dog had never gotten used to the waves—no matter how often
they’d brought him to the beach.

Allison
laughed as she watched Ingrate take an excited nip at the retreating water and
then shake himself off when all he got was wet.

Michael
felt an odd mingling of pride and connection—at the knowledge that Allison
loved their dog as much as he did. He’d never experienced that kind of
connection with another person before, although he recognized now he’d been
pursuing it all his life.

Acting
on impulse, he reached out one arm and slipped it around her waist, pulling her
small body against his. He leaned down to kiss her long and deep.

Allison
was flushed and breathless when she finally pulled away. “Wow. What was that
for?”

“I’ve
told you before that I love your laugh.” Michael slid one hand down the line of
her spine until he was grazing her bottom.

“Well,
I love your laugh too. So, if you want to laugh, maybe I’ll reward you with a
kiss too.”

Despite
himself, Michael chuckled at the sparkling irony in her eyes and voice.

Allison
was as good as her word. She put her hands on the sides of his head and pulled
him down into another kiss. This one was so deep and sensuous that Michael’s
body began to respond. He felt himself hardening against her, heat washing over
him and his muscles starting to tighten as Allison’s soft curves shifted
against him.

“Let’s
go inside,” he said hoarsely, when he finally made himself tear his lips away
from hers.

“Good
idea.”

They
walked slowly back to the house, pausing often to kiss. When they reached the
deck, Michael quickly rinsed the sand off his feet and then took his time in
rinsing off Allison’s with the outdoor spray. He was leaning over to tend to
her, and he almost lost it when she purred in pleasure and leaned over to give
the back of his neck a wet kiss.

Ingrate
had been loping behind them, turning back often to stare in victorious
satisfaction at the defeated waves. When they finally made it into the bedroom,
the dog stretched out in front of fireplace, sniffing in disappointment at the
lack of blaze.

It
was too warm this evening for a fire, however. Michael’s skin was already hot,
and perspiration ran down his forehead and the back of his neck.

Allison
grabbed him and kissed him again as he tried to work on her clothes. He managed
to push her skirt and panties down her legs but was prevented from pulling off
her tank top until she consented to release him from the kiss. She helped him
get rid of his clothes then, until they fell into the bed together naked.

Michael’s
vision blurred as a swell of feeling overwhelmed him. He kissed her again,
pressing down against her soft, warm, clinging body. She arched and writhed
beneath him, clawing at his shoulders and back in her growing eagerness. Michael
caressed her with almost clumsy urgency, kissing his way down her body as he
tasted her heat and her passion.

He
wanted to please her as much as he could, but his body was shaking with need.
He knew he wouldn’t be able to wait much longer to feel her in the deepest way.
So he repositioned his body between her legs, lining himself up at her
entrance.

He
met her eyes, saying nothing, not needing to say a word, as he pitched his
pelvis forward and slid into her wet heat.

Allison
gasped in pleasure, her neck arching at the penetration. She bucked up against
him in a shameless demand for more.

Michael
wanted to give her more. Wanted to give her everything.

Despite
the months they’d been together, their lovemaking was just as deep and intense
as it had been at the beginning. They moved together urgently, their hot skin
sliding and sticking as they worked up a sweat in their carnal motion.

Allison’s
gasps turned to moans of pleasure and then to helpless whimpers as the
sensations built up to climax. Michael thrust with naked ardor, grunting almost
primitively as lost himself in her feel, her scent, and her love.

She
cried out as she came in a frantic shudder of release. Michael had to bite back
a roar of relief as he could finally let himself go.

As
the waves of sensation washed over him, as he let go of the reins of his
passion and need, he heard himself repeating her name and that he loved her in
hoarse murmurs, over and over again.

Afterwards,
he buried his face in her neck, stayed buried in her body despite being sated.
Her arms and legs clung to him—with trust more than anything else. He wanted to
bury himself in her completely.

And
never let her go.

*
* *

Early the next morning Allison
woke with a heavy feeling in her gut. It was a familiar feeling now. The one
that signaled her time with Michael was over.

She
hated leaving him. Every time. And it was getting harder rather than easier as
the months went by. She was seriously considering looking for a job in New York,
but she didn’t want Michael to think she was pressuring him.

She
was really ready to be done with the long-distance relationship, though. She
wanted to be with Michael all the time.

Whatever
reservations she’d had six months ago had entirely disappeared. Michael wasn’t
an easy man, and a relationship with him would never be simple. But he was
committed to her, and she’d never had reason to doubt it.

It
seemed like a miracle, but she was certain that Michael had found something
he’d always wanted in her. And she was so pleased and proud she was able to
give it to him as well as receive it from him.

Both
passion and unconditional love.

She
rolled over, feeling the knot in her stomach intensify when she saw that Michael
had already gotten up. His side of the bed was filled with nothing but rumpled
covers.

Before
she could indulge in a bout of self-pity, the bedroom door opened and Michael
came in with a tray, followed by an ever-devoted Ingrate.

“Oh,
bless you!” she exclaimed, as she saw the coffee and croissants he’d brought.
“I knew there was some reason I kept you around.”

Michael
laughed. When he’d set down the tray, he went to open the curtains so they
could watch the sun rise over the ocean.

No
one objected when Ingrate jumped onto the bed and settled himself comfortably
in a nest of covers at the bottom.

Ingrate
wasn't supposed to sleep on the bed, but that had never stopped him before.

Allison
cuddled up next to Michael when he got under the covers beside her, holding her
coffee in one hand and holding onto him with the other. She pressed her cheek
against his skin, feeling another poignant stir at the knowledge that it would
be almost two weeks before she could see him again. He had meetings scheduled for
next weekend, so they wouldn’t be able to get together until the following one.

“What’s
the matter?” Michael asked, looking down at her. “Coffee not up to your
standards?”

“The
coffee is great. I just wish we didn’t have to go home.”

“You
wouldn’t want to stay here year round, would you?” Michael asked, sounding
genuinely curious.

“No,”
she admitted, frowning up at him. “It’s not leaving the beach house, you big
idiot. It’s leaving you.”

Michael
smiled again, this time so tender it took her breath away. “Thanks for that,”
he murmured.

She
grunted around the rim of her mug and waited for him to return the sentiment.
When he didn’t, her frown turned into a glare.

He
appeared distracted now, however. He’d set his own coffee down and was rooting
around in the drawer of the nightstand.

“I
suppose you’ll be glad to get home,” she said pointedly. She’d thought he’d
been in a sweet mood just a moment ago, but now he was acting like he’d
mentally moved on to other things.

“What?”
he asked absently, shutting the nightstand drawer. “Yeah.”

Allison
huffed. “If you were looking for something naughty in that drawer, you can just
forget it. I'm not in the mood.”

Michael
blinked in surprise. “Did I do something wrong?”

“You
just told me you’d be glad to get rid of me.” She narrowed her eyes and gave
him her fiercest glare.

To
her surprise, Michael’s lips tilted up in amusement. “You know I wasn’t paying
attention, and I would never have said something so inane.”

“You
just—!” Allison began indignantly, until Michael silenced her with a finger on
her lips.

“Don’t
get mad. I wanted to give you something. It was distracting me.”

Recognizing
the softness in his eyes behind the laughter, Allison decided that maybe he
wasn’t being as insensitive as she'd thought. So she relaxed, although she
still looked at him suspiciously. “I wouldn’t say no to a present. Although if
you think that’s going to make up for—”

She
broke off with a gasp when she saw the small velvet pouch in his hand. Her
heart started to pound frantically as realization pushed its way into the edges
of her mind.

Michael
cleared his throat. “Uh, you said you didn’t want us to keep leaving each
other.”

Allison’s
voice was shaky as she said, “Yeah.”

“So
why don’t we do something about that?” Michael looked both pleased and
self-conscious as he opened the pouch and dropped a gorgeous, sparkling, very
expensive diamond ring on his palm.

Allison
made a grab for the ring in a rush of ludicrous excitement. “For me?” she
squeaked.

Michael
gave a grunt of amusement. “Well, yes. As long as you realize that I come with
the ring.”

“For
real?” she breathed, staring at him and wondering if it was possible that the
impossible was actually happening.

He
met her eyes and the corner of his mouth quirked up. “Will you marry me?”

Allison
tackled him, keeping the ring safe in her fist as she squeezed Michael as hard
as she could.

They
were both laughing as he tried to come up for air. “Is that a yes?”

Ingrate,
annoyed at this disturbance of his slumbers, jumped off the bed, his paws
clicking on the wood floors. Barely conscious of this, Allison squealed, “Yes!”

Michael
put the ring on her finger, and something about the expression in his eyes
reminded Allison of what Nora had told her six months ago. Underneath all of
the layers and intricate complexity that defined his persona, Michael was
really kind of old-fashioned.

Just
another thing Allison loved about him.

They’d
started to kiss when she heard a familiar scratching sound.

Pulling
her lips away, she said, “I think Ingrate wants to go out.”

“Nora
can take him out,” Michael murmured, grazing kisses along her jaw and up toward
her ear. He was already hard, and Allison’s body was responding quickly as
well.

“But
he can’t get out the door,” Allison objected, taking another intoxicating peek
at her gorgeous ring. “The poor fella. He probably has to go.”

With
a groan, Michael heaved himself out of the bed and opened the door to let
Ingrate outside.

Allison
grinned at him from the bed, torn between amusement and an overwhelming
tenderness. Michael was wearing only a pair of pajama pants and was visibly
aroused. And he looked a little annoyed at the interruption to their romantic
moment.

But
Allison had never seen anything—anyone—that she’d wanted more than she wanted
him.

And
the truth hit her with absolute certainty.

He
was hers.

When
he noticed her expression, he gave her a quizzical look. “What is it?”

“I
just love you, Michael,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.

He
smiled. “I just love you too.”

They
never left the beach house that day, deciding they had better things to do than
work.

In
the afternoon, a fierce thunderstorm blew in from the east. The wind rattled
the windows, and the thunder echoed through the walls.

But
Michael and Allison were otherwise occupied and didn't even notice.

***

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed
this book, please consider leaving a review. Sanctuary, the next book in the
Reunited Hearts series, about Daniel Lawson, Michael’s friend from Whitesville,
is coming soon. If you would like to contact me, please feel free to email me
at
[email protected]
.