Breaking Free: A Colorado High Country Crossover Novel, Pamela Clare [i can read book club .TXT] 📗

Jason would be leaving soon, too.

At least she understood why now. He was the last of his line on the O’odham reservation, the last member of his family to still live in their ancestral land. More than that, he’d made his grandmother a promise on her deathbed.

Winona knew that her non-Native friends in Scarlet probably wouldn’t understand why Jason couldn’t just forget all of that and move to Scarlet. But Winona respected his reasons. She couldn’t ask him to break his word or leave his homeland.

She took off her lab coat, washed her hands, then grabbed her keys. But instead of locking up and walking home, she sank into a chair in the lobby, fighting tears.

I care about you, Win.

She cared about him, too. She cared too much.

She couldn’t do this to herself or to Jason. She couldn’t cry and ruin the evening for both of them. She couldn’t let the anticipation of the loss she’d feel when he left steal what time they had remaining. But, oh, it was hard.

She drew in one slow breath after another until she felt in control of her emotions once more. Jason was here now, and she needed to keep her mind and heart in the moment. If all they had was another week or two, she would make every day—and every night—count.

Then an idea came to her.

She hurried into her private bathroom at the clinic, brushed the pizza taste out of her mouth, then brushed her hair. Remembering what Jason had said about her looking sexy in scrubs, she stripped naked and put on a clean pair. She could tell just by glancing at her reflection that she was braless, but she wasn’t sure he would notice.

If he didn’t, she would help him out.

She locked up and walked home to find Jason waiting for her, every candle in her house sitting on the coffee table and lit, the lights down low. She took off her parka, dropped it on the chair by the door. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

It touched her that, while she’d been plotting to surprise him, he’d been busy putting together a surprise for her. “This is nice.”

“Our time on the dance floor was cut short last night. I thought we could make up for that now.” He picked up her remote and started her sound system, that same slow song by the Timberline Mudbugs spilling out of her speakers.

“Oh! You tracked down the music.”

“It wasn’t hard. Will you dance with me, Winona?”

She walked into his arms, his spicy scent filling her head, the two of them moving together in time to the music.

He kissed her temple, pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m sorry, Winona. I know this is hard. It’s hard for me, too. But I would rather spend time with you and pay for it later than behave myself and go home, never having known you.”

“Same.” Winona closed her eyes, rested her head against his chest, neither of them speaking again until the song ended. “I’ve got something for you, too.”

“Yeah?”

She stepped back, turned around, and pulled down her scrub bottoms to show him exactly what she wasn’t wearing. She looked back over her shoulder, saw that his gaze was locked right where she wanted it—on her bare ass.

He moaned. “Oh, Win.”

In a blink, he moved up behind her, catching her around her waist with one arm, his free hand caressing her buttocks. Slowly, he marched her toward the wall, his thighs pressing against her. She braced herself, palms splayed against the wall as if she were being frisked, while he tore down her scrub bottoms. Then one big hand got busy between her thighs, the other sliding beneath her top to fondle her bare breasts, his caresses making her ache.

“I love your body.” He moaned again, his hands leaving her body just long enough to yank down his zipper and free his erection. “Arch your lower back. Stick your sweet ass out. Spread your legs wider. Just like that.”

Anticipation turned her body to liquid, the heat between her thighs almost unbearable. “I want you inside me—now!”

He slid his fingers inside her, stroked her. “Like this?”

“I want your cock.”

“Ah.” Without putting on a condom, he slowly nudged himself into her, their moans mingling as he buried himself to the hilt, nothing between them, their bodies truly joined for the first time. “Like this?”

“Yes.”

“You feel so good.” His voice sounded tight, strained.

He began to move, slowly at first, then faster, his cock stroking her inside just where she needed it, the fingers of his left hand digging into her hip, the right doing incredible things to her clit.

“Jaaa-son.” Her thighs trembled, her body spiraling toward climax.

Then he stopped, withdrew.

She moaned in protest. “Nooo.”

He chuckled. “Patience.”

He turned her to face him and pulled something out of his pocket—a condom. He rolled it down his length, his cock glistening with her wetness. Then he lifted her off her feet, pressed her back against the wall, and buried himself inside her once again.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and wrapped her arms around his neck. There was no holding him back this time. He drove himself into her, hard and fast, carrying her headlong over the edge before joining her in bliss.

Chapter 19

While Winona did her morning rounds and brought Dr. Keene up to speed on the bear cub, Jason put his time to good use making breakfast. When Winona returned, he had scrambled eggs and salsa on the table and tortillas warming in the oven.

Winona rewarded him with one of those sweet smiles. “Oh, that smells good. Thanks for doing all this.”

After breakfast, they got their gear together, Winona giving him advice.

“Make sure to pack plenty of snacks and water. Bring every warm thing you have. On our way out, I’ll grab some frozen beef from the clinic. If we spot the wolf, I want to be able to lure him in with food. I hope we find him today.”

They arrived at the Forest Service parking area just before ten and