Epilogue
Seattle, three weeks later
Jessica stared out her office window at the sparkling
sapphire
waters of Puget Sound. A few boats skimmed the
calm
surface,
the shrill cry of
gulls
echoing
as they circled overhead. Just another
late spring
day in the beautiful Pacific Northwest
.
It s
ucked that
she was too depressed
to care
.
One of her coworkers popped her head in
the door
.
“
You
’
re not coming for lunch?
”
“
No thanks. I
’
ve got work to do.
”
Her friend frowned.
“
You should come out. The break would be good for you.
”
“
Maybe some other time.
”
When she left, Jessica sighed and turned back to her computer.
God, and to think she had to be at Bridgette
’
s wedding tomorrow. The last thing she felt like doing was watching another woman m
arry the love of her life
when it felt like her heart was bleeding
.
If she
’
d been introverted before her trip to Texas, now she was
pretty much
a recluse. She went straight home from work and
waited
for the phone to ring just to hear Deacon
’
s voice. They talked every night, but
it didn
’
t
help the
unrelenting
pain gnawing at the center of her chest
. H
er feelings for him hadn
’
t diminished at all.
If anything, they
’
d grown.
He was kind, dependable
,
and sexy enough to make her toes curl just thinking about him. Remembering the hot bouts of phone sex they
’
d had made her body tingle
.
She was learning to love being a bad girl for him.
He
’
d told her in vivid detail all the things he wanted to do to her, then given her explicit instructions on how and where to touch herself. His deep voice leading her through the sensual explorations and the images he
’
d planted in her mind had driven her
to dizzying orgasms. A
nd yet, a
s amazing as
those sessions
had been, it
wasn
’
t nearly
as satisfying
as having his hands on her.
Jessie let out a frustrated sigh and opened her next file.
Her body ached for his touch, and the thought of
dating
or
letting
another man
’
s
hands
touch her made her skin crawl
. He
’
d ruined her for an
yone else
, yet t
here was no future for them. T
hey couldn
’
t be together
, and they came from different worlds
. His life was on the ranch, and hers was here
in the city
.
If you could call what she had a
real
“
life
.
”
What the hell was she going to do?
When all her work was done, she packed up her files and laptop and drove home to her condo overlooking the water.
She took the st
airs to her third floor unit,
opened the
stairwell door
…
a
nd stopped dead.
Leaning against the wall,
Deacon
straightened
from his position next to her door and
gave her that
sexy smile she dreamed about
.
“
Hey, sugar.
”
The laptop bag fell from her fingers.
A funny sound escaped from her throat.
She
dropped her
purse
and ran, throwing herself into his waiting arms.
His wonderful, strong arms.
He laughed and lifted her off the ground as he hugged her, and
sudden
tears burned her eyes.
“
Miss me?
”
“
Yes.
”
H
ardly able to believe he was there
,
she
held his face between her hands
and
devoured him with frantic kisses
.
Deke groaned and took over, sliding his tongue into her mouth, sending ripples of pleasure throughout her starving body.
He felt so good, even better
than she remembered
. She couldn
’
t get enough
of him
.
Wanted to climb his body right here in the hallway
and rip
off
his shirt
so she could feel his
naked
skin
again
.
Her neighbors might not appreciate that, though.
After a
minute
,
she pulled away and grinned up at him
, blinking back the tears
.
“
What are you doing here?
”
His hands cupped her face as he leaned in for a
nother
kiss.
“
I
figured you might need
a date for the wedding.
”
“
Oh.
”
Some of her excitement dimmed.
“
You fly out Monday then?
”
Something
flickered
in his eyes.
“
That depends.
”
Not wanting to have this conversation out in
the
hallway, s
he opened her door and let him in.
“
On?
”
He glanced around her
cozy
place for a moment
and out the sliding glass doors to the shining waters of the Sound
, then met her gaze.
“
On what we decide to do about us.
”
Whe
n she gave him a quizzical look
,
he smiled and brushed his thumb across her cheek
.
She grabbed his wrist
so he couldn
’
t distract her further
with his touch
.
“
What does that mean?
”
“
It means I want to know what you want.
”
“
I want to be with you.
”
She said it without hesitation.
His smile widened, and his eyes filled with relief.
“
I want that
,
too. So
I
did
a phone interview last week with an old buddy of mine. There
’
s a paramedic job
opening
with the
local
fire department if I want it.
”
Hope inflated her chest until she thought it might burst.
“
You want to
move
here?
Full ti
me?
”
“
If you
’
ll have me
.
”
If?
He had to be kidding.
She
’
d already bared her soul to him. What harm would it do to tell him what was in her heart
now
?
“
I want you to, but before you make up your mind
,
you should know
something
.
”
Gathering her courage, she held his gaze.
“
I
’
m well on my way to falling in love with you.
”
His eyes darkened, and a wide smile spread across his face as he drew her into his arms.
“
Then I guess I
’
m staying, sugar, because I
’
ve never felt this way in my life.
”
Blinking
back
tears
, she let out a watery laugh
.
“
Okay.
But don
’
t think
this means
you
’
re going to keep me away from my laptop when I
’
ve got work to do.
”
“
Wouldn
’
t dream of it.
”
He
rested
his forehead against hers and dropped his voice to a
seductive
whisper.
“
But
I
’
m warning you now,
if
I start to feel jealous
of that thing
…
I
’
ll
tie you to the bed and make
damn
sure I
’
ve got
your full attention
while
I have my wicked way with you
.
”
The erotic
promise
sent a
surge
of warmth through her
body
.
B
ursting
with
happiness
, she grinned up at him.
“
Then I guess I
’
ll be bringing a lot more
work home
from now on
.
”