Free The McCullagh Inn in Maine by Jen McLaughlin Page B

would take me away to my new life in protective custody, where I’d keep lowballing myself.
    I would lose Jeremy all over again.
    And this time, I had no one but myself to blame.

Chapter 20
    Jeremy had waited for this moment way too damn long, and now that he had Chelsea in his arms, clinging to him, limbs trembling from the pleasure he’d given her, he wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. Ever since she’d left him, sex had been just that— sex . Meaningless. Empty. A way to fulfill a basic need, but nothing more.
    With Chelsea, it was everything.
    This wasn’t about lust or desire.
    It was a promise from him to her, a way to show her she could trust him to stick around no matter what happened, even though she seemed so damn certain he was going to somehow mess her life up again. Apparently she thought men like him couldn’t handle the type of trouble she was in. Or maybe she thought he was only looking out for himself—just like her father.
    So when she found out the secrets he held, she’d be pissed as hell.
    Her first instinct would be to push him away. But his first instinct would be to hold her close. Through the worst of her anger, he’d be there at her side. Eventually she’d forgive him. Years had changed nothing on his end. He’d just been waiting for her to come home when she was ready. She’d done that, and she’d brought a shitload of trouble with her.
    It was his job to clean it up.
    Closing his mouth over hers, he slid between her legs, groaning at the feelings of her skin on his—something he’d craved over the past ten years more than anything else in the world. She wrapped her legs around him, still trembling from the orgasms he’d already given her.
    If he had it his way, he’d spend the rest of his life making her scream his name. Making her happy, because, damn it, Chelsea deserved some happiness in her life. It’d only been recently that he’d finally discovered she had disappeared to Miami. Before he could go down there for her, all hell broke loose.
    Her replacement hero had turned out to be a villain.
    His tongue found hers as he thrust inside her warm heat and they both moaned at the same time. An animalistic hunger took over, and he tightened his grip on her ass as he thrust into her harder, deeper, claiming her in a way he should have done lifetimes ago. With every stroke, every kiss, every caress, he dug deeper into her, until he was sure he’d disappear altogether and cease to exist.
    And that was fine with him. He was man enough to admit he needed Chelsea by his side. She made him whole, and that had never been clearer than it was right now.
    He moved his hips faster, harder, not even pausing when she came again, her tight walls closing around him. The faster he moved, the more she clung to him. As her nails scraped down his back, leaving scratches in their wake, she cried out as she orgasmed again, and this time, he was right there with her, soaring into the sky before gently drifting down, like snow. Dropping his forehead to hers, he breathed in deep, her scent filling his senses. “Chelsea…”
    “You’re wrong,” she whispered, her hands tightening on his shoulders. “I do trust you.”
    He closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath. “Then tell me—”
    “Shh,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Not now. Don’t ruin it.”
    He felt way too damned good to care that, technically, she was still keeping her walls up. This was Chelsea, and she was the love of his life, and no matter what happened, he wasn’t letting go of her again.
    Not even when all his lies were revealed.

Chapter 21
    I finished drying my fake blond hair, staring at myself in the fogged-up mirror. My cheeks were flushed, and I swore I could still feel Jeremy touching me, making my body come alive with his soft, tender embrace. Everything about today had been perfect, which made me want to grin and uncharacteristically dance around in circles, but there was one thing holding me back