Sable Peak (The Edens)

My fingertips kneaded my temples in slow, measured circles. Maybe if I pressed hard enough, I could force the information to stay locked in my brain for my upcoming exams.

Since Mateo and I had started this relationship, I’d neglected my online classes. I just couldn’t muster the motivation to spend hours with my nose in a textbook when I’d rather spend my time with him. But too many nights learning sexual positions rather than psychology and I was far, far behind.

Yesterday, after Mateo had found me on Sable Peak and we’d brought Allie home, I should have knocked out a few hours with my textbooks. But I’d been too raw after that confession about Dad, so I’d opted to relax with Mateo and play with Allie. After we’d put her to bed, instead of studying for even thirty minutes, I’d let him carry me to bed, where we’d fucked for hours.

Those orgasms might cost me my final grades.

I had two tests next week I was ill prepared to take, and as much as I would have loved to relax at the cabin after working at the coffee shop this morning, I’d come to the loft and forced myself to study.

I’d never understood the concept of cramming until now. My head was so full of facts and information that even the idea of what to eat for dinner made my skull ache.

A thud echoed. Was someone coming up the stairs? Or was it just my brain throbbing?

“Vera.” Mateo knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

“Hi—” His eyebrows came together when he saw me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing but impending failure.” I swung a hand out at the sea of papers and books spread across the coffee table. “Ask me how studying is going.”

He crossed the room and sank down beside me on the couch. “Have you been studying all day?”

“Since I got home from work.” I sagged into his side. “My head hurts. And it’s Friday. We’re supposed to study ground school stuff. But, Mateo, I can’t. I might die if I have to read another word. And I don’t even really want to be a pilot. The flying part is fun and cool, but I don’t care about weather systems or magnetic variation or runway diagrams.”

The words came out in a rush. I hadn’t even realized how I was feeling until this moment.

“Don’t be mad.”

Mateo shifted, taking my face in his hands. “I don’t care if you want to be a pilot or not. You can just come fly with me.”

“Okay.” I exhaled. “You’re sure you’re not disappointed?”

“Not a bit. People change their minds all the time once they get into it. Becoming a pilot is hard.”

“After that first flight, I just thought maybe it would make finding Dad easier. That’s why I asked you to teach me. And if you had to teach me, it would give you a reason to fly.”

“Peach.” His eyes softened.

“You love it, Mateo. I saw it when we were up there. If you could do anything in the world, from Quincy, what would you do?”

“Fly. But I don’t know how to turn it into a career. Not here.”

My heart sank. “You were born to fly. Promise me you’ll go more often. Please?”

He studied me for a long moment, then nodded. “Promise.”

“Good.”

Mateo tugged on the end of my ponytail. “And what about you? What do you love?”

You. “Naps.”

The corner of his mouth turned up. “No naps. I came over to get you for an impromptu family dinner. Everyone is at Mom and Dad’s.”

“Oh.”

“That’s your tired oh.”

I blinked. “Huh?”

“You have different ohs. That’s the tired one. You have another when you’re surprised. One when you’re entertaining Allie, pretending to be enamored with whatever she’s showing you. And the oh you make when I go like this.” He bent, his lips finding my pulse.

The moment his tongue skated across my skin, I shivered. “Oh.”

His chuckle was deep and sexy. “Are you hungry?”

My fingers threaded through his hair as I hummed.

“I’m taking that as a no.” He laid me down, pressing me into the couch as his weight settled on mine. His mouth worked lower, tracing the line of my collarbone to the hollow beneath my throat.

I smiled for the first time in hours, letting him erase the stress and exhaustion from the day as he trailed kisses across my jaw and up to my ear.

He broke away to lift me up, rip the tee off my body and unclasp my bra. Light streamed through the windows, highlighting the flex of his jaw as he worked my jeans off my hips and legs.

The blue of his eyes darkened as he stripped my panties away next. When every article of clothing I’d donned this morning was puddled on the floor, he stood from the couch and stared at my naked body.

The perusal was slow and deliberate, moving from head to toe. With every passing moment, my heart beat faster. Heat bloomed across my skin as my core throbbed.

I reached for him but he didn’t move. So I spread my legs wider, cupping my breasts with my hands. Every time we were together, I found myself growing more confident. My cheeks flushed, both with desire and a rush of nerves. Without the cover of darkness, this was as bold as I’d ever been.

I liked it. Did he?

His gaze locked on my pussy, and when that Adam’s apple bobbed, I held back a smile. He liked it. “You’re fucking perfect, Peach.”

With one hand, Mateo yanked off his plain black T-shirt, dropping it to the floor. My mouth watered at the sight of his broad chest and those washboard abs. Though I did love dragging my tongue over his throat, that V at his hips was my favorite place to lick.

The oval medallion of his belt buckle clinked as he worked it loose, the noise carrying through the loft. He let it hang loose as he flipped the button on his jeans open. His fingers were poised, about to drag down the zipper, when I threw a leg over the back of the couch.

“Hell, woman.” He rocked back on his heels. “You’re drenched.”

I was blushing. But it felt like a reward these days, not something to hide. So I let my gaze wander over his body. The roped arms. The chest so solid it was like carved stone, yet the perfect pillow to sleep on each night. The thick, bulky thighs that strained the denim of his jeans.

Mateo toed off his boots and shed the jeans. His cock sprang free the moment they were gone.

No underwear. My core clenched. God, that was hot. Why was that hot?

He fisted his shaft, stroking it a few times as we stared at each other. Then he dropped a knee to the couch and covered me with that muscled body, his skin hot against mine.

His hands dove into my hair, his eyes locked on mine.

I leaned up, ready for a kiss, but he backed away. “What?”

“I—” He shook his head. “You’re beautiful.”

Before I could respond, his mouth crushed mine, his tongue sweeping inside. He rocked against me, his arousal pressed against my slit and the root of his cock rubbing against my clit.

“More,” I panted into his mouth. “I need you inside.”

He growled, nipping at my jaw. Then he fitted himself at my entrance and thrust home, filling me completely.

I cried out as I stretched around him, my body fluttering around his length. Every night I tried to draw it out, to hold back that first orgasm, but no matter how hard I fought, it was pointless. My body was at Mateo’s mercy, and as he kissed me deeper, his hands fisting my hair with a tug, my inner walls clenched.

He eased out and slammed inside again. The sound of our bodies colliding mingled with ragged breaths. “You feel so damn good.”

“Yes.” My fingers clawed into his shoulders as he pounded us together.

“I’m going to fuck you hard and fast, darlin’. Then tonight, we’ll go slow and play.” He slid a hand to my ass, squeezing the cheek. A promise of the play to come later.

My pussy clenched. “Yes.”

His hips never slowed, his thrusts hitting a spot inside that made my limbs tremble. He delivered on his promise, fucking me hard and fast until I writhed beneath him.

“Come, Vera. Come with me.” He reached between us and flicked my clit.

“Oh, God.” I detonated, my back arching off the couch as I cried his name. That coarse dusting of hair on his chest tickled my nipples as I came apart. The world blurred to nothing but the clenching of my body, rocking me top to bottom.

Mateo let out a string of curses as I squeezed around him. His nostrils flared, his jaw clenching, then he tilted his head to the loft’s ceiling and let out a roar as his own release took over.

His come leaked hot between us. A sheen of sweat glistened on my skin. My chest heaved as I tried to regain my breath. When I finally managed to crack my eyes open, Mateo was locked above me, arms braced on the couch as the final waves of his own orgasm faded.

Last night had been the first time we’d had sex without a condom. I was on birth control and neither of us had been with anyone in a while.

Now there was nothing between us. That made it even better.

“Fuck, Peach. It’s always so good.” He kissed my chest, right over my heart, then eased away. But he didn’t leave the couch. He reached between us, finding my sensitive flesh. Then with a smirk, he pushed his come inside me with a finger.

I gasped, my mouth parting. “Oh.”

“That’s a new oh. I like it.” He licked his lower lip. Then he licked mine.

He kept me pinned to the couch as he played with me for a few moments, his fingers slick and warm. But he didn’t make me come, not again. Tease.

Another preview of what would come later when we were in bed.

When he took his hand away, I whimpered.

He bent to suck a nipple into his mouth, releasing it with a pop, then he stood and hauled me off the couch. “Get dressed.”

“Do I have time for a shower?”

“Nope.” He smacked my ass. “I want you to be sticky with me all night.”

“Mateo.” I rolled my eyes. “That is so …” My brain was too fried from the studying and sex to think of the right word.

“Sexy.” He bent to hand me my tee from where it had landed on my psychology textbook. “It’s fucking sexy knowing that I’m all over your skin. And tonight, after we get dirty again, I’ll wash it all off in the shower together. Now get dressed.”

I pulled my lips in to hide a smile, then reached for my discarded clothes. After smoothing out my hair and attempting to cool my too-pink cheeks by fanning my face—I didn’t need to go to family dinner looking freshly fucked—I took Mateo’s hand and let him lead me to Anne and Harrison’s house.

The noise enveloped us as we walked through the door. Like always, we found everyone crowded in the kitchen.

“There she is,” Harrison announced with a smile. That grin spread as his gaze shifted to where Mateo still had my fingers firmly threaded in his.

Everyone stared.

Uncle Vance stared.

So much for meeting him for lunch to explain.

The bubble that had been surrounding Mateo and me burst so loudly my ears popped.

I tried to wiggle my hand free, heat spreading across my cheeks, but Mateo’s grip only tightened. I was so focused on my hand, I didn’t notice until it was too late that he took hold of my chin, pinching it between his index finger and thumb, to tilt my face up to his.

He kissed me, hard and firm, then let me go with a smug grin.

My eyes bugged out, darting past him to an entire kitchen of Edens. Still staring.

This time when I wiggled my fingers, he let them go. But only so he could use that arm to haul me into his side.

“Peach, it’s not like they all don’t know why it took me thirty minutes to collect you for dinner.”

“Oh my God.” I turned crimson from head to toe. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

Griffin barked a laugh, attempting to hide it in his tumbler of whiskey.

“I think I need another beer for this dinner.” Vance stood from his stool and went straight for the fridge.

Mateo chuckled, holding me closer.

My hand shot out like a whip, smacking him in the gut. “It’s not funny.”

“Hey, don’t get mad at me for kissing you in front of everyone. You started it.”

“I did no—” Shit. Yes, I’d been the one to kiss him first. That night at Willie’s. God, it seemed like eons ago.

That smirk of his stretched to a dazzling, dreamy smile.

I couldn’t help it. When he smiled like that, it was automatic for me to smile back.

Vance came over, fresh beer in hand. He took a long gulp, staring at me as he swallowed. The worry line was creased deep between his eyebrows. “Hey, kiddo.”

“Hi, Uncle Vance.”

He motioned between the two of us. “It’s official. You’re together?”

“Yeah,” Mateo answered before I could reply.

I looked up at Mateo, finding his blue eyes waiting. “We’re together.”

He winked, then kissed my forehead.

Vance clapped Mateo on the shoulder. It looked friendly enough, but Mateo winced so hard that I felt it too.

The first warning. It probably wouldn’t be Vance’s last. They might be brothers-in-law, but he was on my side first and foremost.

“I’m getting a beer. What do you want?” Mateo asked me.

“Water.”

He’d just left my side to get our drinks when the kids streamed out of the playroom and into the kitchen.

Allie came rushing over, arms raised in the air. Her cheeks were rosy, like she’d been running full-out to keep up with her older cousins. “Ve-wa. Up.”

“There’s my Jellybean.” I settled her on my hip, then brushed an errant strand of hair off her forehead.

“Fiss.” Fish. She smooshed my cheeks together.

It was our newest game. I made a fish face and kissed her with my fish lips, earning a giggle.

“Gen.” Again.

I did it again and again, until Anne announced dinner was almost ready and everyone shuffled to the dining room table to find a seat.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

The table wasn’t made for this many people. There was hardly an inch between chairs but somehow, we made it all work. And for the first time in the two years I’d been eating dinners with the Eden family, I sat beside Mateo.

When he dished his garden salad, he moved the tomatoes from his plate to mine.