Page 93 of Snowed Inn

“I’ve dreamed of this,” he says, dragging his lips along my jaw. “You. Here. Like this.”

“On the kitchen counter?”

“On every counter,” he groans against my ear.

“Oh.”

He tugs my robe all the way off and lets it fall to the floor. I’m fully exposed, and he’s fully hard, pressing against me through his briefs. I run my hands down his chest, nails grazing just enough to make him hiss. When I reach his waistband, he grabs my wrist.

“Not yet,” he says, voice ragged. “This time, I need to be inside you before I lose my mind.”

He yanks open the drawer behind me and grins when he finds a condom. “See? This kitchen really does have everything.”

“You put that there?” I laugh breathlessly, but it dies the second he tears the foil and rolls it on with a speed that speaks to desperation.

“Wrap your legs around me,” he commands.

I do. And now I don’t care where that condom came from. I’m just glad we have it.

Then he thrusts into me in one smooth, deep stroke that steals the air from my lungs.

“Jesse—” I gasp, clutching his shoulders.

“You feel so good,” he growls, grinding against me with slow, punishing strokes. “Tight. Wet. Fuck, Maria, I’m never gonna get enough of you.”

The kitchen counter rocks beneath us as he pounds into me, his mouth everywhere—my neck, my breasts, my lips. One of his hands slides between us again, stroking me, circling my clit with practiced skill that makes my thighs shake.

“I love the sounds you make,” he pants. “Don’t hold back. Let me hear you.”

And I do. I cry out his name, over and over, the pleasure building so fast it feels like a fever.

When the orgasm crashes through me, it’s with a sharp cry and a full-body tremble that makes him groan into my mouth.

“I’m close,” he says, voice tight. “Come again for me. One more time, baby.”

He doesn’t stop. He keeps thrusting, keeps rubbing, keeps whispering filth into my ear until I’m coming again, so hard my vision whites out.

He follows with a guttural moan, his whole body going rigid as he buries himself deep inside me.

We stay like that for a moment, forehead to forehead, catching our breath in the cool kitchen.

“Best cereal break ever,” I finally say.

He laughs, chest still heaving. “Next time, I’m skipping the cereal and going straight for you.”

Chapter 35

It’s four thirty in the morning and Jesse and I are still wired from the New Year’s chaos. Instead of collapsing, we sneak out into the food barn. Once I told him the only thing that would make the night better was one of Maria’s peppermint brownies, he was on a mission. The faint scent of the cinnamon pine tea lights lingers in the air, cozy and familiar.

Jesse rummages behind Sera’s counter, his hair mussed, jacket slung over a chair like we’ve already stripped away the night’s formality. “One or two?”

“One for now.”

He pulls out a brownie and hands it to me, then grabs my hand and pulls me with him across the wide space to his bar.

I hop up onto a stool, tugging my coat tighter around me. “Want a bite?” I offer, holding up the brownie.

“Of you? Yes.”