Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

E mma

The snow glitters like diamonds, the morning light turning the world into a blinding, untouched expanse of white and silver outside the cabin window. My chest is tight, my mind racing with a thousand thoughts, a thousand doubts, as I stare out at the familiar silhouette of Devil’s Peak in the distance. Everything here feels like it’s holding its breath—waiting, just like me. Waiting to see which way I’ll turn.

The blankets shift, sliding down his torso and revealing the chiseled abs that make my breath hitch. He’s one very hard man.

I let my fingers trail down his warm skin, pushing the sheet lower until his thick cock is exposed. The memory of last night flashes through my mind—how completely he filled me, how raw and primal his touch had been. My hand wraps around his thickness, loving the way his silky skin feels beneath my palm. I don’t know what came over me last night, but the need to be wrapped in his arms, naked and sweating, hasn’t faded. It’s like a craving that’s taken root deep inside me—like forever wouldn’t be long enough with him.

“Emma, baby,” Slate murmurs, voice thick with desire, his lids heavy as he raises himself on his elbows. “What are you doing?”

I smirk up at him, squeezing his length playfully. “Just admiring a work of art,” I purr, sliding my hand slowly up and down his cock. A low moan slips from his lips, making my own need pulse hotter.

“Baby…” There’s a rough edge to his voice that tells me he’s already losing the battle.

I lean closer, whispering against his skin. “You’re already so ready... and he’s so greedy.”

His lips twitch into a crooked grin. “I’m always greedy for that pretty pink pussy.” His head drops back, surrendering to the sensation. A thrill of power rushes through me, my hand working him, my desire to taste him taking over.

I bend down, licking along the length of his hardness from base to tip, savoring the salty taste of his skin before I wrap my lips around the tip, swirling my tongue. His cock twitches in my hand, and the way his breath shudders tells me just how much he’s enjoying this.

“Baby, I really want to cum in that pretty little mouth,” he rasps, struggling for control, his voice a strained growl.

He tries to move, but I push him back against the pillows. He doesn’t put up much of a fight, sinking back with a groan.

I take him deeper, my mouth gliding over his length, my saliva making him slick and warm, taking him right to the back of my throat. His hands tangle in my hair, tugging gently to guide my movements. I savor the sharp bite of pain, knowing it means he’s unraveling under my touch. That I’m the reason he’s losing control.

“Oh god, baby,” he moans, his voice rough and desperate. “You need to stop unless you want my hot load in your mouth.”

His words only spur me on. I keep up my pace, feeling the tension coil through his body until, with a final shudder, he spills into my mouth, hot and thick. I swallow him down, letting him feel the way I take every drop, and when I release him, it’s with a wicked smile on my lips.

“That was the best protein shake I’ve ever had,” I say, a playful gleam in my eye. He lets out a deep laugh, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me onto the bed with him, both of us bouncing on the mattress.

“Baby, you know payback’s a bitch.” His fingers find their way between my legs, slipping over my wetness before pressing one thick finger inside me. “I want my own sweet serving of this juicy pussy.”

He drags that same finger to my lips, smearing my arousal over them before licking it clean with a wicked smile. “So fucking delicious.”

The raw hunger in his eyes, the way he’s so dirty and demanding, has my pulse racing. He could ask anything of me right now, and I’d give it without a second thought—just to keep this wild, addictive feeling burning between us for as long as possible. We settle against each other then, the sexual tension easing into comfortable silence. I sigh, cozying deeper into the blankets as a sudden sadness grips me, my eyes trailing back out the window, hovering on the mountain in the distance. It breaks me wide open that I hurt this man, I never imagined he’d wait for me. But then, I waited for him too. Maybe that should have been my sign that we were different, something special, something worth fighting for.

I can see the tension in his jaw return, the way his eyes flicker with something hard and unyielding, and my stomach twists.

He finally speaks, the roughness in his voice cutting through the quiet. “You’re thinking about leaving again, aren’t you?”

The words hit like a slap, and I flinch before I can stop myself. I turn to face him fully, squaring my shoulders against the weight of his stare. “I don’t know, Slate. I have a life back in the city, a career I’ve worked for?—”

He doesn’t let me finish. His expression sharpens, the pain flashing in his eyes like a wound reopened. “And I’m supposed to just let you go again? Pretend like this... like we don’t matter?” His voice drops, rough and strained, like he’s pulling the words out through gritted teeth. “It’s not that simple for me, Emma. It never was.”

Something inside me cracks at the rawness in his voice, the way it trembles with the hurt I put there. I take a step closer, the snow crunching beneath my boots, the weight of his words settling deep in my chest. “I never said it was simple. God, Slate, do you think I want to walk away? Do you think I don’t know what I’d be giving up?”

His eyes search mine, as if he’s trying to find the truth beneath my words. I can see the fire burning there, the same fire that always made him so impossible to ignore. He pulls me closer, the space between us shrinking, and I feel the pull of him, the way it tugs at me even when my mind is telling me to be careful. “Then why not stay? Why not give us a chance, instead of running back to a life that doesn’t have room for us?”

The plea in his voice wraps around my heart, squeezing tight. I swallow hard, trying to hold on to the walls I’ve built, but they’re crumbling under the weight of his words, under the force of everything we’ve left unsaid. “Because I’m afraid, Slate.” The confession slips out, raw and unsteady, and I see the way it hits him, the flicker of surprise and pain in his eyes. “Afraid that if I stay, I’ll regret the life I left behind. And I’m scared that if I leave, I’ll regret walking away from this—” I gesture between us, my voice breaking as I force the words out. “From you. Again.”

Slate’s face softens, the anger fading, replaced by something deeper, more exposed. He reaches out, his fingers brushing a stray strand of hair from my face, his touch achingly gentle. “You think you’re the only one scared, Emma? You think I haven’t thought about what happens if you leave again?”

His words hit like a blow, making my breath catch. I meet his gaze, feeling the weight of his pain and the hope he’s trying so hard to hold back. He leans in, his voice dropping to a rough whisper, his thumb tracing the line of my jaw, making me shiver despite the cold. “I’ve spent years convincing myself that I didn’t need anyone, that I was better off keeping people at a distance. But you... you broke through that, and I can’t go back to the way things were. Not now. Not after this.”

My throat tightens, the emotion thickening my voice, but I can’t look away from him, from the raw vulnerability in his eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you again, Slate. I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep.” But even as I say the words, I find myself leaning into his touch, drawn to the warmth of his hand, the way it chases away the chill that’s been lodged in my chest for so long.

Slate shakes his head, his grip on my face tightening, his expression turning fierce, desperate. “It’s not about promises, Emma. It’s about wanting something enough to fight for it, even when it scares the hell out of you.” He brushes his thumb over my bottom lip, the touch so gentle, so intimate, that it sends a sharp pang through my heart. “You want me to let you go? Tell me that. Tell me you don’t want this, and I’ll back off.”

I can see the strain in his face, the way he’s holding himself back, giving me the space to make my choice. It makes the tears burn hotter behind my eyes, and I bite my lip, trying to steady the tremor in my voice. “I don’t want you to let me go,” I admit, the words barely a whisper, but they feel like they’re cutting through the air between us, through the years of pain and longing. I reach up, my hands trembling as I wrap my arms around him, holding on like he’s the only solid thing in a world that’s spinning too fast. “I don’t want to walk away from this. From us.”

Slate’s breath shudders out, his shoulders sagging as if the weight of the world is finally lifting off them. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me against him, his chin resting on top of my head as he buries his face in my hair. “Then don’t leave,” he murmurs against my ear, his voice rough, vulnerable in a way that makes my chest ache. “Stay, Emma. Stay and let’s figure this out together. Even if it’s messy. Even if we don’t have all the answers.”

I cling to him, feeling the heat of his body seeping into mine, melting away some of the fear that’s kept me locked up for so long. The world around us is so quiet, so still, like it’s waiting for us to take that first step, to decide which path we’ll choose. And for the first time in years, I feel like maybe—just maybe—I’m not afraid to take that step with him.

I press my face against his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart, matching the frantic rhythm of my own. “Okay,” I breathe, the word coming out shaky, but it feels like a promise, one that I’m scared of but ready to try. “Okay, Slate. I’ll stay. For now.”

He pulls back just enough to cup my face, his hands rough but so gentle, like he’s afraid I’ll break if he holds on too tightly. His eyes search mine, tenderness softening the hard lines of his face. There’s something in his expression that I’ve never seen before—something vulnerable, something hopeful. “For now,” he repeats, a wry, almost bittersweet smile curving his lips. “Guess that’ll have to do.”

His smile cracks something open inside me, and for a second, the tension eases, the weight of all our past hurts slipping away in the face of this fragile, new beginning. I manage a shaky smile back, my heart stumbling over itself as he leans in, pressing a kiss to my forehead, the warmth of his lips searing into my skin.

The snow falls softly around us, blanketing the world in silence, but inside, everything feels loud—my heartbeat, his breath, the unspoken promise that hangs between us. We’re not fixed, not by a long shot. But maybe, just maybe, we’re starting to find our way.

And this time, I’m ready to see where it leads.