Leah

The rest of the hospital was a blur. In the beginning it felt like so much sit and wait, but by the end it was all hurrying from one spot to another until the doctors confirmed she didn't have a concussion and sent her on her way. That didn't mean she was totally off the hook, of course. She had to agree not to be by herself for the next twelve hours and she needed to be woken up every few hours tonight to make sure her condition hadn't changed. After that there was some more dick measuring between Isaac and Drew until she told them both to go take a flying leap but that she was going to where her bags were and that meant Drew's house. That was her story anyway. The truth, she only admitted to herself when Drew pulled into his garage, hustled around to the passenger side, and helped her out before leading her into the kitchen.

One touch from him and she was home, safe with the man she loved. After everything that had happened tonight she wasn't going to ask why, she was just going with what she knew in her gut was right—and that was being with him. He went into the house first, tension clear in the unforgiving lines of his shoulders and the hard edge to his jaw. He was just as tuned up as she was, heat and a dangerous volatility emanated from him in waves.

"I gotta warn you," he said, positioning his body so it blocked her line of sight. "The living room's still a mess."

She flinched and her hand flew to her swollen cheek, not meaning to but unable to help it. Drew's arms were around her before her brain registered her reaction to the mention of the room where she'd fought and lost to Curtis.

"I'm sorry," he said, his words brushing against her hair. "We can go somewhere else."

That was the last thing she wanted. The need to touch and be touched, to confirm everything was alright, that normally came after a serious adrenaline rush was compounded by the fact that she was with Drew.

She shook her head and tilted her face up. "I'm not planning on spending time in the living room tonight anyway."

He looked down at her, his gaze zeroing in on her mouth. His pupils dilated and his nostrils flared with a lust that her body recognized at once. Her nipples puckered and her body hummed with need so strong she had to clench her thighs together.

But just as fast as it appeared, he blinked the desire away and a neutral mask slid onto his face. "Yeah, you should rest up."

Oh no, he wasn't going to shut them down tonight. "Don't wanna do that either."

He glanced over at the fridge as the vein in his temple worked at a frantic pace. "Snack?"

"What's wrong, Drew?" She stepped closer and ran her hands across the soft cotton of his T-shirt, relishing all the hard muscle laying underneath. "Nervous all the sudden?"

He grimaced and looked toward the ceiling as if he'd find answers there or was praying for strength. "You just got out of the hospital."

"Where they said I was perfectly okay." She dropped her hands to the buttons of his black tactical pants.

He captured both of her wrists in one hand, stopping her before she could make more progress. "You have to be woken up every two to three hours."

"Then it's a good thing I know the perfect way to stay awake."

Not bothering to try to break his hold, she raised herself up on her tiptoes, relishing the heat of his body against hers, the musky male scent of his skin, and the solid reassurance of his strong body. Then she gave in to temptation and brushed her lips up the line of his throat to the stubble along his jawline.

He let out a tortured groan that only encouraged her.

"I don't know that we should. You've had a rough night."

"It was doctor's orders." She nipped at his bottom lip. "And I know how much you love to follow the rules."

"Really? When I'm around you, it seems like all I do is break them."

He lowered his head and she knew she had him. She leaned in and kissed him, her tongue sweeping across his juicy bottom lip before sweeping inside. He groaned his appreciation, a low, bass sound that reverberated through him, and released her wrists. His hands went straight to her ass and he lifted her so she fit snug and tight against his hard cock that was straining against his pants. Desire made her chest tight and her muscles loose.

"Take me to your bed and fuck me senseless, Drew Jackson."

"You need this cock, Sweets?"

She ground against his hard length, desperate for him--not just his body but the man himself. She loved him, had always loved him, and he was the only one who could give her what she needed. "So fucking bad that it hurts."

"Don't worry, I'll give it to you." He carried her out of the kitchen. "I'll always give you what you want."

* * *

Drew

Drew laid her gently on his bed. This was the last thing they should be doing, but he had to touch her to confirm to himself that she was here and okay. And with her looking at him with those big eyes and a green and purple bruise trying to take over one side of her face there was no way he could tell her no when she needed the same thing as much as he did.

As much as it killed him, he would go slow, tender, and only as much as she needed. "Tell me what you need."

She sat up, her hands going to his pants again. "You." With deft fingers and a hungry look in her eyes, she popped the button and slid down the zipper. "Hard and fast."

The wet tip of his aching cock poked through the opening in his boxers and she dipped her head down, lapping at the pre-come on the swollen head. A white bolt of pleasure shot through him that made his lungs seize. He clenched his hands into fists as he fought to maintain some kind of control over his body's reaction.

"Sweets." It came out half prayer and half plea. "We should take it slow."

"Fuck that." She reached up and shoved his pants and boxers down. "I need you." She wrapped her fingers around his concrete dick and stroked it with the kind of tight pressure that made his eyes roll back in his head. "I need you filling me up until I can't take anymore."

When his sight returned a second later, Leah was staring up at him with his dick in her hand and his resistance blew away like tumbleweeds in a windstorm. There was no going back. He loved her. Loved every maddening thing about her. Tonight he'd almost lost her.

He cupped her face and tilted it up toward him. "So good you won't ever be able to forget."

"I never can with you." She turned her head and kissed the inside of his palm and then, because it was Leah, she sucked one of his fingers into his mouth.

All of the blood in his brain went south in a rush. Later he'd tell her how he felt, but now he needed to show her.

"Get your clothes off."

"Is that how we're doing this?" She dropped her hands to the hem of her shirt and whipped it off over her head revealing another hot pink bra. "With you ordering me around?"

"You get off on it." And God knew so did he.

She grinned and undid her jeans. "I do."

Quick as lightning, he bent down and grabbed her ankles, sending her backwards so she was flat on her back on his bed. He yanked her jeans off in one fluid motion, releasing her long legs and a pair of hot pink panties so small they barely qualified as underwear. The sight was enough to make his mouth go dry. Then he spotted the damp center of her panties and his balls tightened.

Slow and gentle? Yeah. That wasn't going to happen.

"Take them off before I rip them off," he ordered.

Without asking any questions, she hooked her fingers into the elastic waistband and slid them down her hips before lifting her legs so her toes were pointed at the ceiling. "Help a girl out?"

He didn't need to be asked twice. He whipped them up her legs and tossed them to the floor.

"Spread them. Let me see what's mine."

Keeping her legs skyward she did just that until her legs formed the perfect V with her juicy pussy at its apex. It was pink and wet and the only place in the world he wanted to be. He kicked off his shoes and got rid of the rest of his clothes in record time.

"Damn, you're so wet for me." He skimmed the pad of his thumb down her slick folds, rewarded by the way her thighs shook the moment he touched her. "I was going to make you wait and beg to feel this big cock in you." He slid his thumb inside, rubbing against the sensitive skin on the bottom of her opening as he did so. She moaned, dropped her legs so her feet were planted on the bed, and lifted her hips to take in more of him. "You have a hungry little pussy though, don't you, Sweets?" One, two, three pumps of his thumb inside her as she rocked her body against him. "It would be cruel to deny you." He withdrew his thumb and then circled it around her hard clit before leaning forward over her. "I want to taste you so bad, but I know you need cock."

"Now," she said, leaning up enough to reach behind her, unhook her bra, and toss it away.

That was his Leah. Beautiful. Demanding. Ballsy enough to go after what she wanted, no matter what. "Then open your mouth and don't suck."

Anticipation sparkled in her eyes as she complied.

He slid his thumb, wet with her desire, over her ruby red mouth. "Don't you dare lick that off." Faster than he'd ever moved before, he reached over and grabbed a condom from the drawer of his bedside table and rolled it on. His balls were already tight against his body and his dick was hot and ready to blow and he hadn't even sunk inside her tight walls yet. Tormenting them both wasn't smart, but he couldn't seem to help it. He glided the tip of his cock over her clit, loving the way she moaned and writhed beneath him, and then lined up with her opening. Resisting the primal urge to surge forward, he leaned over her, her slick mouth only inches from his.

"Now I can taste you and fuck you at the same time." He crashed his mouth down onto hers at the same time as he pushed his hips forward and buried himself balls deep in her welcoming heat.

There was nothing slow or gentle about this. It wasn't like making love on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It was a desperate, almost crazy fuck—hard, demanding, and right on the edge of rough.

Leah's hands cupped his ass, her nails biting into his flesh as she pulled him forward and lifted her hips so he sank deeper inside her.

"God, yes," she cried out.

High on the taste and feel of her, he lifted his chest enough that he could look down at where their bodies joined.

"That's it, Sweets." Fuck. The image of his glistening wet cock plunging in and out of her was one he never wanted to forget. "God, I love watching your pussy swallow up my dick."

"Feels so good." She wrapped her legs tight around his waist, tipping her hips to deepen the angle. "So right."

"That's because it is. This is how it should be with us." He didn't mean the sex—although it was phenomenal—and he was pretty damn sure she didn't either. Whatever else happened, this wasn't over when she left Catfish Creek.

In and out, forward and back, he pounded into her as she met every thrust. The friction, the force, the tempo being exactly what was needed take them both to the edge and push them right over. It started at the base of his spine--the tingling that built with each breath, each thrust, each time she undulated against him. He was close, so damn close but he couldn't come yet—not until he felt her squeeze him tight.

"Drew," she moaned, her head thrown back and her hips moving in tandem with his. "Faster. Please. So close."

"That's it, Sweets. Show me how bad that pussy wants this cock." He grabbed her hips and slid them both down the bed. Then, without ever leaving the heaven of her heat, he dropped his feet to the floor and stood up, lifting her hips as he did so their bodies lined up perfectly. "You're so tight. Squeeze that pussy for me. Milk that cock."

She reacted to his words just like he knew she would—grinding against him, pushing them both to go higher. Her jerked her against him, going so deep his balls were wet with her juice. The vibrations in his spine increased and his ass clenched. It was too good. He wasn't going to make it much longer. He tightened his grasp on her hips, lifting her higher and speeding his pace while at the same time moving his thumb so he caressed her swollen clit.

The touch was all it took and she came around him, her entire body bowing as she cried out. In the face of such beauty there was no way he could hold back any longer. He barely recognized the sound of his own strangled groan as he climaxed with one final thrust deep within her.

Coming back to earth took a minute and he was still breathing hard when he got rid of the condom and collapsed on the bed next to her in a haze of post-coital satisfaction.

"You okay?" he asked, drawing her close to him as he yanked the covers over them.

"Better than just okay." She settled her cheek against the pocket of his shoulder. "How about you?"

"My brain is mush."

Her giggle tickled his chest. "That means we did it right."

"True," he said, squeezing her closer.

"So while I have you in this weakened state, I have a question for you."

"What's that?"

She drew lazy circles with her fingertip over his chest and down lower over his abs. His dick started to perk up in hopes of a little extra attention. Greedy fucker. Not that his brain, if it had been functioning at full strength, would have disagreed.

"Will you go to the reunion dance with me tomorrow night?" she asked.

He looked down at her, surprised by the nervousness he saw on her face. "Like a date?"

"Yeah." She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. "Something new."

"I'd love to go." Okay, he had no interest in the reunion, especially when it wasn't even his graduating class, but if it meant getting to spend more time with Leah then he'd do just about anything. "So you never did tell me the real reason why you came back for the reunion."

"I came back," she said, her gaze steady even as her voice trembled a little, "for you."

Every dark fantasy he had about wringing the life out of Warren Law evaporated with those five words. Something in his chest clicked into place. "Coming back to burn me alive or rescue me?"

"Am I allowed to say both?" she asked with a laugh.

God knew he deserved one more than the other. "You know, I've always regretted what an ass I was to you at the end of that summer. It's no excuse but I was young and dumb. I had no idea just how rare it is to find someone like you."

"You mean trouble?"

"A little of that but that's not all." Not by a long shot. How in the world it had taken him this long to figure it out was a testament to his own stupidity. "You're brave and smart and stubborn enough to stick to your guns when just about everyone was against you. I'm sorry for what happened with Jess in school. If it helps at all, she's changed since then. I think she realized that she wasn't turning into the kind of person she wants to be."

She brushed a kiss above his heart. "This town does weird stuff to us."

"It does have a tinge of crazy sticking to it." And that was putting it mildly.

"Ever think of leaving?"

"Only every day." And he'd finally figured out a destination. It wasn't Fort Worth and he wasn't sure how she'd react, so he kept his mouth shut.

"You know, Colorado is nice. It has four seasons and me. You should come visit sometime. You might like it enough to stay."

The hell yes was on the tip of his tongue but he swallowed it. Saying she'd had a rough day was putting it mildly. The last thing he wanted was to put any kind of pressure on her about them and what this could turn into—especially if this was all just post-orgasm-happy talk on her part. "How can I turn down an offer like that from a naked woman in my bed?"

"You don't." More lazy circles traced on his chest, but she couldn't hide the way her eyelids were drooping and the soft yawn that escaped her lips. "So what are you going to do come Monday when you're no longer sheriff?"

He glided his hand up and down her back as her eyes fluttered shut, too entranced to look away even for a second. "I'll figure out something."

"You always do," she said and gave in to the need for sleep.

Drew waited, listening to her deep breaths and promising himself that he would find a way to make it all work out. When he was sure she was deep asleep, he unwound himself from her and made his way to his laptop in the kitchen, determined to find a way to make that pledge come true.