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chuckle at her disappointment.

Her eyebrow rose and her eyes sparkled with amusement as she

quoted Sera’s famous lines. “You never know how long you’ll be

stranded. It’s important to be prepared.”

Laughing together over the shared memory felt good, and Vin

liked seeing Lauren’s smile. He’d missed it. He’d missed a lot of

things over the years. Once they’d both collected themselves again,

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Lauren reached for the small blanket and lifted it to determine its

size.

“What is this, a baby blanket?”

Vin snorted and shook his head. “It’s an emergency blanket.

Like you put in the car glove box. Marilyn ordered them from some

online site and made us put one in each set of saddlebags a few years

ago. This is the first time I’ve seen one opened.”

“Well she should ask for a refund. There’s not enough material

here to cover me from nipples to knees!”

The words spilled from her mouth and created naughty images in

Vin’s head. His body responded as she blushed with embarrassment

and dropped the blanket to the floor. Rushing to cover her fumble,

she flipped the other flashlight on, and pointed it up to the ceiling so

that the light reflected over them. It wasn’t ideal, but at least they

could make out their surroundings more clearly now.

“Man, I haven’t been up here in almost two years.”

“I don’t think anyone has. Don’t you guys hunt anymore?” She

was frowning sadly as she looked around the dilapidated structure.

“Not really. We haven’t had much time…” He paused, and then

corrected himself. “No, that’s not true. We’ve had time, but none of

us could stomach coming here without Abe.”

Sadness washed over them both, and she sniffled. “I promised

him I’d come back to visit after Sera died, but I just…couldn’t. I feel

so guilty that I didn’t keep that promise.”

As Vin watched, her tears shimmered and then spilled down her

cheeks. Moving on instinct, he reached out and tugged her onto his

lap, wrapping her in his arms and shushing her like a child. She clung

to him and cried into his wet coat. The strength of her sobs made him

wonder how heavy her guilt actually was.

“Abe knew how much Sera’s death hurt us all. Hell, I don’t think

he ever recovered from his own grief. He wasn’t holding a grudge

over some promise you made at her funeral.”

Lauren nodded, still crying softly. “I can’t believe I stayed away

for so long. I missed so much.”

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Guilt rode his shoulders now, and he tipped her face up to look

into her red eyes. “You had your reasons. Don’t second-guess your

decisions now because it won’t do anything but make you feel worse.

Everything happens the way it’s supposed to. Even death.”

After a moment, she seemed to catch her breath, and the sorrow

in her gorgeous eyes dissipated. “I thought about you guys every day.

Before he died, and after. I wondered how you were all holding up. I

never felt like I was part of the inner core at Crawley Creek. I’ve

always been a tag-along because the state never actually took me

away from mom permanently. I didn’t even bother making the trip

back for her funeral.”

“You were never a tag-along. You’ve always been an important

piece of the family.”

She snorted her doubt, and said, “Hawke kept in touch, but he

wasn’t very good at sharing details.”

“That’s not his fault. We’ve all been dealing with it in our own

ways, and I think we felt like it wasn’t manly to share with each

other. Roman damn near killed himself with alcohol, while Drannon

tried to work himself to death. If it wasn’t for Franki and Lacy…” He

paused and just shook his head.

“They’re lucky ladies. They’ve got two of the best men I know,”

Lauren said softly.

Vin studied her for a moment, growing more aware of her slight

weight on his lap and her intoxicating fragrance. “I thought about

you, too, Lauren. Every single damn day for eighteen years I’ve

thought of you.”

She started to pull away shaking her head. “Vin don’t.”

“Don’t what? Don’t tell you the truth?” He held her firmly in

place and pressed his nose into her hair. “I can’t do that, baby. I lied

to you all those years ago when I told you I wanted you to leave. I

said terrible things that I didn’t mean, and it’s the only thing in my

life I truly regret.”

“We were kids. It was puppy love, that’s all.”

His temper flaring, he gripped her chin firmly and turned her to

face him. “Don’t do that. Don’t brush it off like it wasn’t important.

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That moment changed the course of both of our lives. If I hadn’t been

such a dumbass, maybe we’d have—”

“What, Vinnie? Grown old together? Had a pack of kids?

Bought our own place? Face it, we were two very different people

who were thrown together in a no-win situation. We clung to each

other because there was no one else.”

“That’s not true,” he protested. “There were others willing to be

there, but in my eyes, there was never anyone but you. From the first

time you came to Crawley Creek sporting a black eye and bruises up

and down your skinny legs, I loved you.”

Her lips parted slightly just before he kissed her, and he took full

advantage of the surprise factor. A part of him was afraid she’d push

him away, but when she didn’t, he deepened the embrace. It only

took a momentary separation of their mouths for him to reseat her on

his lap, straddling him this time, and they both groaned with pleasure

at the new position. Even through all of their layers, the heat they put

off was intense.

Teasing her tongue until she was kissing him back just as

fiercely, he massaged her plump ass with his hands, grinding her

against his rigid cock. The friction made his mind foggy and his balls

ache. Her fingernails scraped over his scalp as she gripped his head

and kissed him back. The feeling of rightness swamped him, and

when he broke away from her lips to see her dark eyes peering back

from under heavy lids, he grinned.

“I know how we can fill the time while we wait for the storm to

end.”

She smiled seductively and rocked her hips. “This is a bad idea.”

“Sometimes it’s good to be bad.” He reached for the zipper on

her coat, drawing it down to expose her Louisiana State University

hoodie underneath. “I never thought of the LSU Tigers as sexy until

now.”

“Stop talking and kiss me again.” Her voice sounded breathy.

Obliging her, his hands continued to strip her layers away until he

was forced to pull back so that he could get her undershirt off. Her

bra had a front closure, and he reached for it with shaking hands. Her

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eyes lowered to watch as he bared her breasts to his view for the first

time in almost two decades. Gone were the perky mounds that

seemed to reach for him, and in their place, were two much larger,

more womanly rounds of flesh. The nipples had grown to resemble

plump raspberries that made his mouth water for a taste, and he let

his gaze run down her figure.

“Damn, you were beautiful before, but you’re mesmerizing

now,” he said, trying to keep his composure and not come in his

jeans like a teenager.

“I don’t need pretty words—”

Glaring up at her, he cut her off. “You might not need them, but

you deserve them, Lauren. You’re absolutely perfect in my eyes.”

She sighed with pleasure when he drew the first erect nipple into

his mouth and sucked hard. The sound was followed by a distinct

grinding motion on his already overly sensitive erection. Air hissed

out of his lungs around her nipple, and the damn thing drew up even

tighter. Just the feeling of her silky smooth skin against his lips and

tongue was shattering his control.

As he’d hoped, Lauren wasn’t passively sitting by while he

played with her; instead, she was rocking on his hips, using his

erection to rub her sweet little pussy and drive her desire even higher.

Her hands gripped, scratched, and clung to his head and shoulders,

massaging the muscles, and holding him close so that she could get

the most contact possible. He wanted to stop her and strip her naked,

but she was so lost in the pleasure of the moment that he just held

still and let her have her way. The sounds she made were driving him

mad, but he couldn’t seem to get enough of them.

She reacted strongly to his nips on her sweet breasts, so he went

further, pinching them harder, and pulling them sharply. The squeal

of pleasure that exploded from her throat nearly made his balls burst,

and he pulled away abruptly to regain control.

~ ~ ~ ~

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Lauren stared at Vin in confusion when he stopped kissing her,

only to giggle when she realized why. “How long has it been,

Vinnie?”

“Too long,” he growled, nudging the zipper of her jeans down to

reveal the cotton panties underneath.

She refused to feel guilty for not wearing something sexier

because this was what spontaneity was all about. Hell, it wasn’t like

she ever would have imagined having sex with Vin again in the first

place, but here she was. Pushing to her feet, she moved a few steps

away to toe off her shoes, and finish removing her jeans. The whole

time, she kept her gaze locked on Vin who was removing his own

clothing.

His broad chest was toned to a hard edge that made her mouth

water, but it was the ink on each of his shoulders that made her cunt

clench. Letting her desire run free, she reached out and turned him to

one side to study the Marine Corps emblem on his left bicep.

“I’m surprised you didn’t have that removed after they

discharged you,” she murmured.

“Once a Marine, always a Marine. I don’t hold it against them

that they had to kick me out. I hold it against them that they kept an

abuser on the payroll in spite of everything.” He bent and removed

his boots before she was able to check out the second tattoo.

This one was an elegant looking cross, with graceful curling

lines, and in the very center in small letters was a date.

She felt her lips curve up, and her eyes met his. “You got a

memorial tattoo for Sera?”

“I got a tattoo to memorialize the woman who was a mother to

me, yes.” He said it in such a straightforward manner that she

couldn’t tease him. Instead, her heart actually melted a little bit more

for the tough man with a heart of gold.

“It’s sexy as hell,” she purred, leaning forward to kiss the black

ink, before nipping at the muscle of his shoulder. “In fact, I’m all wet

just thinking about your tattoos.”

“So you want me for my tats, huh?” His voice took on a much

huskier tone, as he wrapped one arm around her waist and brought

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her naked body in line with his. His jeans felt rough against the skin

of her thighs and belly, but that didn’t stop her from pressing close.

Grabbing her hand, he drew her palm to cover the thick ridge behind

his zipper, and murmured, “Any chance you’re interested in seeing

the rest of me?”

“Oh, I’m interested all right.” She heard her own voice drop an

octave as desire built inside of her. “In fact, I’d like to refamiliarize

myself with him if you don’t mind.”

Sinking to her knees, she stared up at Vin, barely resisting the

urge to laugh at his shock.

“Oh, sweet Jesus. I never imagined I’d be so lucky again.”

Releasing his hard cock was like unfolding a road map. There

was no explanation for how it fit into the space it did considering its

length and girth, and there was also no way it would ever go back

without some careful attention. Focusing on the thick stalk, she

gripped it in both hands, and licked the drop of clear fluid from the

tip.

The flavor burst on her tongue, musky, tangy, and perfectly Vin.

Her desire to make him moan pushed her forward, and she engulfed

the head of his cock in her mouth, slowly sucking and licking until he

was rocking his hips against her.

“Fuck you have the mouth of the devil himself.” His voice was

tight, and she reached to tease his balls, only to realize that he was

closer to the edge than she thought. With his cock in her mouth and

his balls in her hand, she increased her motions, determined to taste

him completely. “If you don’t want a mouthful, Lauren, you’d better

stop now.”

The warning was easy to ignore. In fact, she found herself