Elizabeth stands beside me in the glow of our headlights, staring at the trails in the sandy earth. “I had a feeling this would happen.”
“We could go after them. They can’t have gotten far, especially not the wagon. Even towing it with one of the trucks, they’ll have to go slow, stick to the smaller roads. We could—”
“No.” She rests a hand on my shoulder, her gaze searching the darkness beyond the headlights. “It’s over.”
“Is it? How can we know for sure?”
“We can’t.” She glances up at me. “But that’s what faith is for. I haven’t given it much of a chance before, but…I’m ready to try. Now. With you. If you’d like to come along for the ride.”
I take her hand, squeezing tight. “Come home with me.”
“Come back to the cabin with me first?” she asks. “And then home for a visit? I need to take care of a few things. Pack up my studio. Make sure my mother hasn’t done anything crazy while I’ve been out of pocket.” Her brow furrows. “And I should talk to Zan before I make a big move. She worries about me.”
“She shouldn’t. You’re one of the strongest people I know.”
She grimaces. “Speaking of strong, this means I’ll have to start exercising, doesn’t it? Now that I need to worry about keeping my body healthy and in good condition for the long haul?”
I draw her close. “Exercise isn’t all bad.”
“Nope, not a fan.”
“Sure, you are.” I kiss a path down her neck until I reach the place where her heart races at the base of her throat. I circle it with my tongue as I slide a hand up the front of her T-shirt, cupping her breast through her thin cotton bra. “Working up a sweat can be fun. Remember?”
“Oh…yes. I do.” She loops her arms around my neck as her head tips back. “But can you stay in good shape from sex alone?”
“I don’t know, but we’re sure as hell going to try.”
Scooping a giggling Lizzy into my arms, I carry her back to the car, kissing her against the passenger’s side before jogging around to get behind the wheel and circle back to our side of the campground. I kiss her from the car to our tent and as we roll out our sleeping bags.
The kissing makes everything take longer, but I’m in no rush. I don’t need sleep. I just need this woman—her taste, her sighs and moans and the sexy catch in her voice as she calls my name just as I slide inside her.
“Yes, oh yes,” she says, wrapping her arms and legs around me while my cock pulses in her tight heat, the happiest he’s been since the last time we were this close. “Why is it so good?”
“I don’t know,” I say as I pull back and glide inside her again, my heart stuttering in my chest. “Maybe magic is real.”
She moans, her hands stroking down my back as her hips rock forward to meet me. “Yes. And maybe your penis is enchanted.”
I smile against her lips as I kiss her. “Or your pussy is sprinkled with fairy dust.”
She giggles. “Can it fly, you think?”
“Very possibly,” I say. “If it thinks happy thoughts.”
“Oh, it’s thinking happy thoughts.” Her breath hitches as I reach between us, circling her clit with my fingers as we continue to move. “And getting happier with every passing second.”
“God, I love you,” I say, jaw clenching as I feel her body tighten.
“And I love you,” she says, clinging to my shoulders. “Let’s never put on clothes again.”
“Never,” I promise, groaning as her body locks down around me and she makes the sweet, sexy, coming sounds that are my favorite in the world.
Well, maybe my second favorite.
“Tell me again,” I say as we’re lying together afterward, catching our breath. “Tell me you love me.”
She tilts her head back to whisper in my ear. “I love you, Jeffrey Von Bergen, but I meant what I said. No clothes. You have to stay naked and willing from now on.”
“Might make leaving the tent difficult.”
“We don’t need to leave the tent,” she says, snuggling against me with a sniff. “Hmm…you were right.”
“About what?”
“Your armpits don’t always smell nice.”
“What a brat you are,” I say mildly. “Someone ought to teach you some manners.”
“Yes, they should.” I feel her grinning against my chest as she adds, “Preferably from behind.”
She’s giggling as I roll on top of her, swatting her bottom, but soon neither of us is laughing. We’re moaning and sighing, kissing and coming, falling even deeper into the kind of love that makes its own magic.
My favorite kind, I decide, as the sex fiend in my sleeping bag finally allows me to drift off with her in my arms and dreams of our bright—long—and happy future filling my head.