Rough Terrain (Vista Falls #1) (17 page)

“Hmm, now I like the sound of that.”

“Wait,” she said before he could leave the room. “Let me.” She quickly dried his hair. “We don’t want wet sheets, do we?”

He chuckled. “Speak for yourself.”

***

Sage stared at her reflection in the mirror as she replaced the dryer. She couldn’t believe how much her life had changed in the past month. Before Wes had walked back into her life, she’d been so focused on supporting her family that she’d left little to no time for herself. She hadn’t thought about her future or finding a life partner. She’d never considered the possibility of being a mother because she didn’t feel she deserved another chance after failing so miserably the first time.

But Wes made her see things differently. He made her feel that she deserved to be happy, and that could only come with forgiveness. He’d brought Nick back into her life and helped her find an inner peace she hadn’t known in years. Thanks to him, she’d stood up to her parents, set some boundaries, and even started writing a bit in the evenings again, dreaming of the day when she could do it full-time.

“What’s taking so long?” Wes shouted. “I’m getting lonely out here.”

“One sec.”

She reached out to grab her purse, which she’d left on the floor by the door when they’d walked into the suite. As she withdrew the little plastic disc from her purse and tapped a pill into her hand, she realized this would be the first time she and Wes had made love since he’d learned she was pregnant all those years ago. That announcement had been the beginning of the end of their relationship.

As she dry swallowed the tiny pill, she wondered if there would ever be a time when they would celebrate the news that she was pregnant. Loving him as much as she did, she realized she wanted a second chance to have Wes’s baby, to watch him be the amazing father she knew he would be.

She walked into the room to find Wes propped against a stack of pillows, one hand behind his head as he looked out the window. The white curtains on either side of the wide window hadn’t been drawn, but with the lights out and no neighbors, privacy wasn’t an issue.

“What were you thinking?” she asked, crawling into bed next to him.

He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head, which surprised her. She’d expected him to be anxious to pick up where they’d left off in the shower. Though her fears were probably unfounded, she hoped he wasn’t having second thoughts about making love to her.

“I was looking at the stars,” he confessed. “Wondering… if I had one wish, what would it be?”

“And? What would it be?” She held her breath while she waited for him to respond.

“I couldn’t decide. I want both you and Nick in my life. No way could I choose between you.”

For her, that was the perfect response because she couldn’t have chosen between the man she loved and the child they’d created together either.

“I still can’t believe we got to meet him,” she said, settling her hand on his flat stomach. “This morning when I woke up, I thought I’d dreamed the whole thing.”

“Yeah, me too.” He chuckled. “But then I got a text from him, and it reminded me that it was real.”

“He texted you?” Sage asked, sitting up. “What did he say? Why didn’t you tell me?”

He pulled her back down beside him, cradling her in his arms. “I was going to tell you. He said he talked to his mom and she’s fine with him coming to Vista Falls next week, assuming we still want him to.”

“Oh my God, of course we do! You told him that, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I told him.” Wes smiled as he brushed her hair off her forehead, silently soothing her. “He has a game on Friday night. It’s an away game between here and Brock, actually. So I told him I’d come to the game and we could leave from there.”

“Oh, okay.” Sage was glad that Nick had reached out to one of them and seemed so receptive to seeing where and how they lived, but she couldn’t deny she felt a little left out.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Wes said, rolling onto his side to face her. “And he asked if I thought you’d be able to make his game too.”

“Really?” Sage asked, grinning. “He asked about me? He wants me there too?”

“Of course he does, baby.” He shifted her hair so it was over her shoulder and draped down her back. “I really think he wants us in his life.” He closed his eyes. “And honestly, I don’t know what the hell we did to deserve this, because in his position, I don’t think I’d be so understanding. I’m just glad that he is.”

“Me too.” She wrapped her arms around him, tilting her face up to meet his. “I’m so grateful for this, Wes. You and me. Nick. It seems almost too good to be true. I’m afraid to think it could possibly get better.”

“Ah, but it can,” he said, shifting so she was on her back and his body partially covered hers. “Let me show you.”

Her eyes fluttered closed as his mouth settled on that secret spot where her collarbone and neck met, the spot he’d discovered years ago and been the only man to find. “I almost forgot how good you make me feel.”

“Mmm, I guess it’s a good thing I have all night to remind you then.”

His hands caressed her body, lingering on her breasts before dipping between her legs. She was already shamelessly aroused, and she was certain that was obvious to him by the wicked gleam in his eye when his fingers dipped inside her.

“You make me crazy,” she said breathlessly, gripping fistfuls of his hair. “In the best possible way.”

Instead of responding, he used his mouth to communicate in other ways. It closed over her nipples, licking leisurely until her skin felt stretched too tight.

“Wes, I’m…” She didn’t even have time to tell him, though she knew she didn’t have to. He’d always had the uncanny ability to read her body and mind. When she finally regained the ability to speak, she said, “You have to let me repay the favor. I feel like you’re doing all the giving and I’m doing all the taking tonight.”

“There will be plenty of time to even the score.” He reached into the nightstand and extracted a condom.

“When did you have time to stash that in there?”

“You took forever in the bathroom,” he grumbled. “I had plenty of time.”

But as he rolled it on, he didn’t look annoyed. He looked aroused and maybe a little wistful, as though he couldn’t believe this was happening either.

“Did you ever think we’d end up back here?” she asked, looping her arms around his neck as he was poised above her.

“Only in my fantasies,” he whispered before closing his mouth over hers.

He took his time inching inside her. Though she was more than ready, it had been a while since she’d been with a man, so she didn’t make it easy for him.

“Sorry,” she whispered, biting her lip when he drew back to make sure she was okay. “I just need a minute.”

“Take all the time you need.” He brushed his lips across her cheeks while his forearms framed her head, supporting his weight. “I’m in no hurry.”

“It’s just, uh, been a while for me.”

“Good.” He laughed when she smacked his back. “You’ll never hear me complain about that. I can’t remember a time when you treated sex casually. It’s nice to know that hasn’t changed.”

“It hasn’t.” She kissed him briefly while composing herself. As hard as she tried not to let it fall, a tear slipped down her cheek. “It still means something to me. And you… well, you mean everything to me, Wes.”

“I love you, baby. I’ll never give you reason to doubt that again, I promise.”

It sounded as though he was alluding to the future, but Sage was determined to savor the moment, one she’d waited so long for. Her eyes locked on his, the intensity in his hooded gaze growing with every powerful thrust.

The last time they’d made love, he’d been caught somewhere between a boy and a man. Now he fulfilled her in ways she couldn’t even have imagined then.

“I didn’t think it could get any better.” His rhythmic prodding made it difficult for her to think, much less speak, but she had to say it. “You were always the standard, you know. No other man has ever measured up to you.”

He rewarded her with a cocky smile, slowly his frenetic pace slightly. “Oh yeah?”

“I’d almost convinced myself you couldn’t possibly live up to the memory of what it was like.”

He leaned back, gripping her hips. “And now?”

“You’ve set the bar even higher.”

He narrowed his eyes while resuming his pace. “You’ll never have reason to judge me against another man again. At least I hope you won’t. I’m not playing around here. You, this, it’s all I want.”

Curling her hands around his biceps, she lifted her hips off the bed, taking all he could give, though she knew she’d pay for it in the morning. “You’re all I want too, all I’ll ever want.”

“Baby, please. I can’t…”

Just as he could decode her body, she could do the same. Letting go, she felt him do the same, and the experience was like nothing she’d ever felt. Not only were their bodies united, but this time their hearts were too. They weren’t kids anymore, with parents trying to keep them apart. They were adults who’d learned from and paid for their mistakes and had come back together better and stronger because of them.

“Jesus.” He half laughed before staggering to the bathroom. She must have been wearing a self-satisfied smile when he returned a few minutes later because when he climbed in next to her, he said, “Feeling pretty good about yourself, huh? Happy to have ruined me for all other women?”

She smiled as she pressed a kiss to his chest. “Absolutely.”

Colt was sitting alone in the dining room the next morning, scowling into his coffee when Wes found him.

“Uh oh, I know that look,” Wes said, claiming the chair across from him.

“Yeah,” Colt said, frowning. “And I know that stupid look you’re sportin’ too. I guess I don’t have to ask what happened between you and Sage last night.”

“I’ll fill you in about that in a minute,” Wes said, helping himself to coffee from the stainless carafe in the middle of the table. It was a little late for breakfast, so the large room was empty save a few diners seated near the buffet table clear across the room. “I want to hear about what happened between you and Gabby. Y’all didn’t try to kill each other, did you?”

“I am such an idiot,” he said, rubbing his hands over his face.

“No arguments here.” Wes took one of the untouched blueberry muffins from Colt’s side plate and bit into it. “So what’d you do this time?”

Colt looked behind him to make sure no one was within earshot before he whispered, “I slept with her.”

Wes was stunned. He suspected they might have fooled around, but he’d never guessed either of them would have let it go that far. “You’re kidding?”

Colt grimaced. “Do I look like I’m kidding? But that’s not the worst of it. This morning she started talking about what would happen when we got back home. She said she could cook dinner for me tonight, started talking about some family wedding she had to go to next weekend, asked me if I wanted to come as her date—”

“I don’t think I like where this is going.” Colt had always been like a brother to Wes, but if he’d hurt Gabby, who was a big part of the reason he had Sage back in his life, he’d have to kill him.

“I panicked, okay?” Colt sighed. “I told her last night never should have happened, that she should just forget about it and me and—”

“What did she say?”

“Nothing. She just left, stormed out of the room.”

“You are one stupid son of a bitch. I’ve watched you screw around for years with women who didn’t have a brain cell or ounce of morals between them. You finally have another chance with a good girl, one you clearly haven’t gotten out of your system, and you manage to screw it up. How? Why?”

“Look, man, don’t judge me,” Colt said, pushing back his chair. “You don’t know the shit I’m dealing with right now.”

“I know you’re trying to do right by your family,” Wes said, leaning in. “But that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to have a life of your own.”

“It’s more than that.” He looked around. “Your family’s always had it all together. Mine are a bunch of screw-ups. I keep trying to run from it ‘cause honestly, I’m afraid to end up just like them. But being back here means I can’t go on pretending anymore. I have to face it, and I don’t want to face it.”

Wes knew he was the reason Colt had come back to Vista Falls at all. “Buddy, anything I can do to help, you know I will. But do you honestly think shutting Gabby down is going to make this situation any better?”

“My old man used to tell me all the time that she was too good for me.” He covered his mouth with his hand. “He used to say she’d leave me when something better came along.”

“What the hell does he know? You should know better than to listen to him. He was probably drunk when he said it.” Wes became incensed every time he thought about the way Colt’s father had tried to tear him down instead of building him up the way Wes’s father had.

“Maybe he was right. Think about it. What would someone like Gabby want with me? We both know I’m not what she needs.”

“I’m no expert on women, but one thing I know for sure—they don’t like to be told how they should feel. They like to make up their own minds about that. And my guess is if Gabby slept with you last night, it’s because she’s already made up her mind.”

Colt looked out the window as the cleaning lady hauled her trolley across the paved parking lot to clean the small guest cabins. “I was crazy to think this could work.”

“What do you mean? You’re not sorry you came back here, are you?”

“I think I may have to head back to Texas, Wes.”

“Wait, what?” Colt had been the one constant in Wes’s life since they’d decided to take on this crazy challenge together. He couldn’t bail now.

“This may be the right place for you, but it’s not the right place for me.” He sighed. “I’m more certain of that than ever. If I stay here, the past will continue to haunt me. I’ll keep hurting the people I care about ‘cause I just don’t know how not to.”

Wes hated to see his best friend in pain, but he couldn’t fix what was broken in Colt’s life. He could only be there to support him while he figured it out for himself.