that again. But that was just another gift love had given him. That Daralyn had given him.
“Come for me, baby.”
Daralyn shattered, calling out her pleasure to the fields behind the house, taking flight with the birds. He watched it sweep over her body, that sensual helplessness that was nothing but God’s gift, a way to lose oneself, let go of everything that didn’t matter. Even if it was just for that moment.
But sometimes, when it was this good, that moment spun out, paved the path to a life of the same. The climax grabbed him then, too, and the way it made his body jerk, his arms tensing to hold himself, apparently spurred on her aftershocks. Her hands were on his arms again, digging in, and he relished watching her nails leave crescents there. Her legs locked high over his back to hold him tight. He didn’t even care that it called for one more additional burst of strength from him, to hold them both.
Right now, he could carry the world.
After they rested some, they got dressed and headed back to her cottage. She was going to make dinner and Rory assumed they’d relax, do some of the usual things they did on a weeknight. They had work tomorrow and she’d have school in the afternoon.
Marcus and Thomas hailed them as they pulled in, though, and invited them to share the dinner they were making. Since he could tell she was amenable to that, they did. Afterward, instead of heading back to the cottage or his place, they found themselves on his brother’s back porch. Though Daralyn was diligent about her studies, the day had taken its toll. When Rory moved himself onto the porch swing to share it with her, Daralyn eventually slipped from leaning against his shoulder to lying with her head in his lap, dozing while Rory shared a beer with Thomas and Marcus.
He’d lifted his legs into his nearby chair to provide a more even pillow for her. As he stroked her hair, he felt a deep contentment.
To confirm it was justified, he gave Thomas and Marcus an expectant look. They were sitting in the pair of rocking chairs facing him, Marcus’s long legs stretched out so the toe of one bare foot brushed Thomas’s, stretched out in his direction.
“Is she asleep?” Thomas asked, low.
Rory nodded. “She’s exhausted. But in a good way, I think. Burton gone?”
“Absolutely.” Thomas’s eyes glittered. “Brick followed him sixty miles, then had his cousin in Monroe pick up the trail and follow him another hundred. Looks like he’s headed to Asheville and the mountains. The mountain communities are a lot more close-knit than people realize, and Brick’s cousin knows people. He’ll spread the word. As a sex offender, Burton’ll have to register wherever he settles. We’ll make sure he does, so he’ll be on law enforcement’s radar. His cancer prognosis is about nine months, so hopefully we won’t have to worry about it much longer.”
“If we couldn’t send him to hell, we at least sent him on his way,” Marcus added. “Owen has his face pasted up on the wall at the office, and every one of his deputies has memorized it. The neighbors go without saying. Anyone sees him come back, we’ll know.”
“Good.” Rory glanced down at the woman asleep in the curve of his arm. “But you know what? I think she did as much as any of us to convince him there’s nothing for him here.”
“Yeah. She’s not going to be anyone’s victim. Not ever again.” Marcus tapped his beer to Thomas’s and sent Rory a teeth-baring grin. “Don’t discount your own contribution,” he added. “You’ve got a hell of an arm. Next time I’m in a fight, I want you at my back.”
“I think you should put him in front,” Thomas said. “He hits harder than you do.”
“Let’s not get carried away stroking Cripdick’s ego.”
“No stroking involved. Just stating facts.”
“I’m very uncomfortable with the topic of stroking around you two,” Rory said, deepening Marcus’s grin and earning a chuckle from Thomas. They were quiet for a while, drinking their beers while Rory played with Daralyn’s hair, caressed the round shape of her shoulder, the slope of her arm, crooked over his thighs. The sun had set a while back, turning the sky all the usual brilliant colors, and now the stars were coming out over the open fields and the forest beyond. Lights from distant farmhouses, their neighbors, dotted the landscape.