Free In Too Deep by Delilah Devlin Page A

orgasm swept through her, tightening her core then rushing outward like a sonic wave.
    She worried he wasn’t there with her, but then he dug his fingers into her flesh, squeezing her globes so hard she knew she’d have bruises, and his hips jerked off the seat as he fucked into her, his stiff, straight cock hammering inside her.
    When they both slowed their motions, she rested her forehead against his.
    “That help with your nerves?” he asked.
    “What nerves?” she gasped.
    “Exactly.”
    She smiled and kissed him, opening her mouth to touch her tongue against his. When she pulled back, his half-closed eyes simmered. His mouth curved.
    “You look very satisfied with yourself.”
    “That’s because I am.” He cradled the back of her head. “I love you, Lena.”
    He waited. And she knew he wanted her to give him back those same words, but the part of her that was still scared they were moving too fast kept her mute.
    “Better get dressed,” he muttered.
    Feeling as though she’d flunked a test, she eased off his cock and sat on the seat beside him while she pulled on her underwear and shorts. “I want this to work.”
    “Then don’t think too hard. Don’t doubt my intentions.”
    “It’s hard. Good Lord, you just came back into my life yesterday.”
    “I’ve been in love with you for years. Never loved anyone else.”
    She shot him a shocked glance. “But you never came back.”
    “I was a boy. And as I became a man I figured out you hadn’t been near as serious about me.”
    She shook her head. “That wasn’t true. But I was ashamed. Of getting knocked up by a boy not out of high school.”
    Gabe’s steady glare held her. “There were only two years separating us. You were in college but you were a kid too, Lena. I was still old enough to know how I felt.” He grabbed her left hand. “Why did you keep that ring?”
    Her fingers curled. She shook her head. Tears leaked from her eyes. “It made me feel…connected to you. Like it hadn’t been just a dream or some tawdry episode. Every time I looked at it, I was reminded of your face when you told me goodbye.”
    “I said I loved you. That I’d wait.” His voice was even, his words filled with conviction.
    Lena uncurled her fingers and stared at the ring. Just a little silver band with a speck of a diamond in the center. “And you did,” she whispered.
    Gabe tucked a finger under her chin, he studied her face and a smile began to stretch.
    Lena leaped forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, giving in to the tears from a rush of happiness that swept through her. “I loved you too. But I couldn’t admit it. And seeing you again, some part of me knew it was you, because I’ve never ever been that way with another man. I swear it. I wanted you in an instant, and when you were inside me, I suddenly felt whole. It scared the heck out of me.”
    They held each other, Gabe dropping kisses on her cheek and squeezing her so tight she could barely breathe. When he let her go, she drew in a deep breath and laughed.
    The ride to the ranch house took five minutes. All the way home, he held her hand, gliding his finger on the promise ring.

Epilogue
    Gabe sat on his horse, holding the reins of Jake’s pinto as his son boarded the school bus.
    At the top step, Jake turned and gave him a cheeky grin. “See you tonight, Dad.”
    Gabe smiled back, waving as the doors closed and his boy made his way to his seat. Rather than have his dad drive him in his pickup each morning, Jake preferred practicing his riding. The daily ritual was one they both enjoyed. Jake had taken to riding and life on the ranch like he’d been born to it. When he wasn’t in school, he was in the barn, learning to muck stalls or riding with Gabe and his brothers when they moved the cattle from pasture to pasture.
    Gabe remembered their first meeting. His son had taken a step toward him, looked into eyes that were the same gray as his own, and asked, “Are you my