“Again,” Austin shouted. “Say my name again.”

“Austin,” she panted, her body bowing as she came one more time on his cock.

His hands came to her breasts, rolling her nipples between his fingers. “You’re mine, Sierra. Your pussy is like a fucking vise on my dick, and I’m going to come. You ready for that?”

“Please, please come inside me.”

He pushed up once more, and she gasped as he filled her. This time without a condom. Their first time without a condom.

They’d stayed up for hours after their time in the basement, making love and talking. They’d both discussed protection, and since she was on birth control and they were both clean, they were ready for him to go bare with her. Now Austin had woken her by making her sit on his cock.

She fell on top of him, and his arms went around her. One hand tangled in her hair, the other grasped her hip.

“I love being in you without a condom, Legs. Best. Feeling. Ever.”

She smiled against him. “I love it too.”

It was the first time they’d used that word in any way when it came to one another, and she wasn’t about to take it for granted.

“Let me stay here for a bit then I’ll pull out and clean you up.”

“I can just jump in the shower.”

He smacked her ass, the sting forcing a gasp out of you. “Let me take care of my woman.”

“Yes, Austin.”

“Good girl.”

Their exchange had almost become a joke between them, the way he always praised her for serving him. The joke had turned into something warmer inside her, and she knew she’d have to focus on that soon. Not right then. For now, she wanted to be lazy and enjoy their day off.

In fact, she had a plan for that, but she needed to build up the courage to ask Austin about it. It wasn’t bad, just something monumental in her life. As if anything monumental could be “just”.

Finally, Austin got up, pulling out of her. She clamped her legs closed, trying to keep him within her. It made no sense, but some primal part of her wanted him inside her. So weird.

He came back into the room with a warm washcloth and cleaned her up, his gaze never leaving hers. “Feel good?”

She smiled. “Yes. You take good care of me. Let me make you breakfast after I help you shower.”

He leaned down and kissed the side of her mouth. “You take good care of me too, Legs.”

She warmed at his words then took his hand as he led her to the bathroom. They took a very thorough shower, then she let him go make his calls for work as she went to the kitchen to make breakfast. She wasn’t the best cook in the world, but she could take care of her man’s needs.

All of his needs.

She blushed as she thought about what she and Austin had done the night before. She hadn’t let go like that, trusted another person, since Jason ten years ago. Even then, though, she wasn’t sure she’d fully let go.

If she was honest with herself, she would say that she’d never fully given in to Jason. There had always been that residual resentment between the two of them. He’d never held a job but had one promised to him since birth. She had to scrape every penny together just to go to school so she could have a future that didn’t include waiting tables for the rest of her life.

No matter how much distance Jason had tried to put between them and his parents, they had caused rifts throughout the relationship. He never did cut ties because it simply never occurred to him to do so. She didn’t trust him enough to make it an ultimatum. Now that Sierra truly thought about it, she knew it would have strained their relationship to the point they might not have made it. The idea that they would have brought a child into the middle of that worried her, but she would have shouldered that pain to have her baby back. She must have known something was off between her and Jason all along because she’d never trusted or given in to him as she had with Austin in just one night.

That might scare her, but she would just take it in stride.

She’d had it.

She was finished with running.

She’d been a child with Jason, but she wasn’t with Austin.

Strong arms wrapped around her waist, and she leaned against her man. “Good morning,” she murmured as he kissed up her neck, his beard scraping her delicately.

“Good morning,” he growled into her ear. “Breakfast smells amazing. Omelets?”

She nodded then pulled away so she wouldn’t burn either of them when she finished plating everything. She couldn’t quite think straight when Austin’s arms were around her.

“You have the single coffee maker, so I didn’t start your cup. I did put the little cup in there so all you have to do is press a button.”

He smiled at her and did just that. “Always thinking. So, what’s the plan for today? I know you have to do the books and I have some things I need to do paperwork-wise, but I honestly don’t want to spend the whole day cramped indoors.”

She brought their plates to the breakfast bar then sat down as Austin pulled out her seat. “I was thinking about that. What do you say we work for a couple hours since it’s only six? We woke up early so that will give us until eight or eight thirty to work until we go out.”

Austin took a bite of his omelet and groaned. “This is good, Legs. I’m going to have to keep you around just for these.”

“I live to serve,” she said dryly, then almost choked on her coffee at the heated look he gave her.

“Good to know,” he whispered.

She cleared her throat. “Anyway, at nine or so, I thought, if you were ready, we could go on a ride to Estes Park.”

She looked down at her plate instead of at him so she couldn’t gauge his reaction. The memory of how she’d freaked out at the shop when he’d asked her the first time was not lost on her.

Austin’s big hand went to the back of her neck, and she sucked in a breath before facing him.

“You sure you’re up for that, Legs?”

She nodded. “I think so. I mean we’ll know before we even leave the driveway, right?”

“You don’t have to prove anything to me.”

She smiled at that. No, she didn’t. Not with Austin. He took her as she was, and she wouldn’t trade that for anything. “I know. I have something to prove to myself. Plus, I miss riding, Austin. I used to do it weekly, and now I haven’t been on a bike in a decade. I’m ready.”

He searched her face, for what she didn’t know, but he must have found it. “Okay then. I don’t have that much paperwork to do, so I can get the bike ready for us when you’re finishing up. A ride to Estes Park isn’t that far, but it’s not around the block either.”

“I know. I want to go in big.”

He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. “We will, baby. I have an extra helmet that my sisters use when they ride with me, so you’ll be good there. We’ll have to stop off at Maya’s and get you a leather jacket because it might get cold up there on the mountain in some spots.”

Sierra thought of Austin’s sister and the fact that the other woman didn’t seem to like her. “Why Maya?”

Austin winked. “Because she lives the closest, and since I know she’s not home because she’s working at the shop today, we can just go in and take it.”

Sierra held up her hands. “Oh no. I am not going to steal from your sister. A sister who doesn’t like me.”

His eyes widened. “Why would you think that?”

“Uh, because she’s always a little snarky to me.”

“She’s Maya. She lives on snark. It’s like oxygen to her. She likes you. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have let you in the back with me.” He grinned at her. “Not that I think that would have stopped you. You’ve got nerves of steel.”

“If that’s what you think, sure. But why are we stealing her jacket?”

Austin shrugged then started on the dishes. “Because she won’t care. I’ll text her just in case, but she’ll be fine. She’s not wearing it today because Jake is out of town, so she’s not riding.”

“I thought Maya would want her own bike.” She seemed the type of woman who wanted that kind of power between her legs. In fact, in the past, the idea of owning her own bike had crossed Sierra’s mind a time or two. She wasn’t sure she was quite ready for that right then.

“She’d rather daydream without having to deal with steering and all that. I see that look on your face. You want a bike of your own?”

She lowered her eyes then sighed. “I used to. I didn’t know if Jason would have liked it though.”

Austin put a wet hand under her chin. “If you feel like you can handle a bike, then get one. Let’s get through actually seeing if you can ride on the back of mine first. I think you owning your own bike would be fucking sexy, honestly. I’m not that much of a caveman.”

“Sure you aren’t.”

“Me Austin. Me want you.”

Sierra threw her head back and laughed. “Oh my God. Never do that again. Please. I beg of you.”

He rolled his eyes then smacked her on the ass. “Go get some work done while I finish the dishes. I’ll text Maya and see if I can get her jacket. If not, I have two more sisters and a mom who would have one to fit you. The only one of us without a jacket is Alexander’s wife, but seeing how she’s never even been on the back of a bike, there isn’t a problem there.”

Sierra caught his tone and raised a brow as she pulled out her work. “You don’t like her?”

He shook his head. “Can’t stand her. She’s a bitch, and since I try not to call women that name, that should tell you how much she bothers me. She treats Alex like shit and thinks our family is a bunch of inbred losers. Between her and Meghan’s husband, Richard, we Montgomerys haven’t had much luck with spouses.”

He left it at that, and she was glad. If he had made a joke about changing that, she might have freaked out. They hadn’t been dating long enough for marriage, but the idea that she could spend forever with Austin didn’t scare her as much now.

They worked side by side for an hour, and surprisingly, Austin’s presence didn’t hurt her concentration. She’d taken her bag with her when they went to his place, so she had her things with her to work on. Since they were both focused, she didn’t have time to worry about being nervous or anything like that. It was just…comfortable.

And nice.

Austin left her alone for a bit to get things ready for their ride. She finished up one set of numbers and felt good enough to call it a day. She packed everything up and then looked down at her clothes. Thankfully, she had on jeans and a tank and had brought boots, so she’d be properly clothed on the bike. Once she had a helmet and jacket, she was all set.

Yet her stomach threatened to revolt.

She could do this.

She wasn’t going to crash.

There wasn’t going to be fire and pain and screams.

She’d ride with Austin and be safe.

Austin would be safe.

He walked in, his boots squeaking on the kitchen tile. “We can back out, Sierra. We don’t have to do this.”

She shook her head. “No. I’m ready. Just having a little pep talk. Do we need to bring anything?”

He gave her a look then held out his hand. She went to him without question, sinking into him. “I have food and water and extra supplies in the saddle bags. It’s not that far of a ride up there, and it’s a tourist area so we can grab lunch and just hang out. We had a tough winter so the river and streams are going to be swollen. It should be a nice view. I have my camera in the bag, too, in case you want to take photos.”

The man thought of everything, and he was doing his best to make the destination worth it, rather than focusing on the ride to get there.

“Let’s go.”

“My bike’s out front. All we need to do is get on and leave.”

She let out a breath. “Okay.”

He cupped her face. “I’ll be there the whole time, and I won’t take my eyes off the road. You get me?”

She smiled softly. “I get you.”

“Okay then. Let’s ride.”

She followed him out of the garage, and he hit the panel on the side to close it. He put on her helmet then his. When they both had their sunglasses on, he leaned down and kissed her quickly.

“We’ll head to Maya’s then up to Estes Park.” He got on first and started the bike so she would literally just have to get on. The sound of the pipes roaring didn’t send her into convulsions, so she took that as a good sign. And his bike was freaking sexy. All black and chrome with the Montgomery Ink logo etched on the side. So very Austin.

She took a deep breath then walked over, careful not to touch the hot pipes. She put one hand on Austin’s shoulder then took another breath.

She could do this.

This was Austin.

He would protect her.

And she would protect herself.

She put one foot on the footrest then slung her leg over quickly so she didn’t knock the bike over. She needn’t have worried though considering Austin had his feet firmly planted on the ground.

As soon as she sat down behind him, she felt the vibrations of the bike. Where she thought she might have been scared, instead she was invigorated.

God, she’d missed this.

Missed the feel of the bike and its power between her legs. She’d missed wrapping her body around a man as they rode. Missed the air on her face.

Though the last thing she remembered doing on a bike was wrapping her arms around a man, she did just that now and wrapped her arms around Austin’s waist.

The world didn’t end.

She didn’t pass out.

Thank God.

Austin patted her hand but didn’t look back.

She was falling in love with him and didn’t want to stop.

He took off slowly up the driveway and into the neighborhood. Her grip tightened as they moved. It had been a long time since she’d ridden; it was like riding a bike.

She grinned at her little joke then let her body remember the motions. She leaned into the turns, didn’t throw her weight around, and let Austin have the control, just like she needed.

The disappointment when they had to stop at Maya’s to pick up the jacket surprised her, but she didn’t have to wait long. Austin ran in to get it, and then they were on their way up to Estes Park.

The road underneath them and the mountains to their west soothed Sierra in ways she hadn’t thought possible. She leaned against Austin for some of their ride, his body warm, large, and comforting. He never turned toward her, never turned to look at the mountains or land around them. Usually people could take a quick look at their surroundings and immerse themselves, but Austin didn’t.

He kept his eyes solely on the road for them.

For her.

She smiled, holding back tears, this time the truly touched and happy kind. When she leaned back—her hands were still on Austin because, frankly, she couldn’t stop touching him—she let her head fall back, and the sunlight and shadows danced across her face.

She’d missed this so freaking much, yet she hadn’t realized how much until they started out. Yes, there was still the little ball of nerves in her stomach, and she didn’t think it would be going away any time soon. When they first started out and were on the highway to get through Boulder, she’d tensed. Not only because Boulder was where her past wouldn’t go away, but semis would pass them and she’d have minor flashbacks. Thankfully, Austin didn’t pull his hand from the handlebars to soothe, nor did he look behind him, even when they stopped at a stoplight in the middle of the city. He did lean back, pressing his body against hers, showing her he was there.

He really knew how to care for her, and the fact that she felt like she was fumbling to take care of him in the same fashion made her want to try harder. He was her Dom. There was really no other way to put that. She trusted him in and out of bed, and he took care of her. She needed to be fully into being his sub. It wasn’t that she wanted to do exactly what he said outside of the bedroom and kneel at his feet when they were causally sitting in the living room—that wasn’t their kind of kink—but she wanted to ensure she was his the best way she knew how.

She’d just have to work on that.

When they moved into the mountains, Sierra was grateful they’d stolen—or borrowed she supposed—Maya’s jacket. The sun still beat down on them, but the wind was cooler, the air thinner. There was still some snow on the highest peaks. When they pulled into Estes Park, Sierra sighed.

The place really was a dream.

There was a large body of water and streams everywhere. The town played to tourists and history alike, so all of the buildings had a quaint feel to them that made her want to come back again and again. Austin quickly parked in one of the lots, and she got off the back of the bike, her legs a bit achy.

Austin took off her helmet then leaned down to kiss her softly. “You did good, Legs.”

She smiled up at him. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

He shook his head as he put their helmets away and got out two bottles of water. “I don’t know about that. You’re strong on your own, but I like being here if you need me.”

Smiling, she put her hand on his chest and leaned in. He had to lower his head but brushed his lips over hers. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome. Now how about a walk and then lunch?”

“Sounds good to me.”

He took her hand then led her toward the taffy place first. He knew exactly what she wanted.

Of course he did. He was Austin.

Now she just needed to figure out what to do with that.