I gripped her hip with one hand, braced myself with the other, and gave her what she needed. The sound of our bodies coming together filled the night, mixing with her moans and my ragged breathing.
She groaned like she was trying damn hard to hold back.
Her inner walls clenched around me, and I knew I wouldn't last much longer.
"Come for me," I growled against her ear. "I want to feel you."
She cried out, her whole body going rigid as she came apart beneath me. The sensation of her pulsing around me shoved me over the edge. I buried myself deep with a groan as my release tore through me in waves.
I collapsed beside her, pulling her against my chest, both of us trembling and breathing hard.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The fire crackled. A night bird cried somewhere in the darkness. Wind whispered through the grass. Water tumbled over rocks in the billabong. The Outback settled around us, and I couldn't remember ever feeling this right on Koolaroo soil.
But it wasn’t the land. It was Charlie. And I was in serious trouble.
"Wow." She traced lazy patterns on my chest. "That was?—"
"Yeah." I pressed a kiss to her hair. "It was."
She tilted her head up to look at me, a smile playing at her lips. "What are we going to do, Mitch?"
"Let's figure that out tomorrow." I tightened my arms around her. "Let's just have tonight."
"Okay." She kissed me, just a gentle touch, yet it shot straight to my heart. "Sounds perfect." She settled back against me, and as I gathered the edges of the saddle blanket around us, she released a contented sigh.
I held her while the fire burned low, neither of us willing to break the spell.
I just wanted to hold her. To pretend that sunrise wouldn't come. To pretend this could last.
But I was a realist. I knew better.
I just didn't want to think about it yet.
Tonight, she was mine.
Chapter 28
Frank
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Title: Love’s a four-letter fuckin lie
* * *
They say love makes a man soft. Bullshit.
Love makes a man dangerous.
You think war or whiskey will undo ya. Try fallin for a woman who can look you dead in the eye and lie through her damn teeth.
My first wife was Joy. Yep. Joy. There’s a name to choke on. She was joy at the start. She was hell at the end. Thought she could polish me up like a boot for church. Didn’t take her long to realize this hide aint never gonna shine. Two years she lasted before she caught me balls deep in the kitchen hand. That was Edith. Joy left cryin and righteous. But she wasn't in love with me. She was in love with the version of me that she built in that pretty head of hers.
Can't love somethin you’re always tryin to change.
Edith, though. Christ. She was different. Had a spark under all that quiet. Could cook for fifty men, swear like one of ’em too. She didn't put up with my temper at first. Figured she could match me. Sometimes, she did. Sometimes, I liked it. Nothin sexier than a woman who stands her ground. Until she screws with you.
We built somethin together. Workin the land. Raisin kids. Livin in the same rut day after day. But that kind of love is a job, not a feelin. You keep showin up. Keep feedin the beast even when you want to shoot it.