Chapter 8 of Pact with a Heartbreaker!
Let's have a lookie-loo at what's in this magical piece of literary goodness known as the newsletter:
  1. Greetings and salutations
  2. Pact with a Heartbreaker, chapter 8
  3. What even am I doing with my life? 
Hiya, friend!
 
This is gonna be a quick greeting, as I'm coming to you from the shoddy wifi of my hotel room in Denver. I'm here for the RWA (Romance Writers of America) convention. It's my most favorite convention, but it is sort of kicking my ass this year. I'm only halfway through! If you're in Denver, make sure to flag me down and say hi. I'd love to meet you!
 
As a reminder, from now until early September, I'm releasing a beach read novella via weekly installments right here for free! We're diving in to chapter 8, and you may not want to read this while at work. It's a little dirty... 
 
Pact with a Heartbreaker can be read either as your first foray into Havenbrook, my fictional southern small town, or after you've read Second Chance Charmer because I'm crafty like that. 😉

In case you've missed any previous chapters, you can get caught up here. If you're not a fan of reading books in a serialized manner, Pact with a Heartbreaker will be released on its own sometime in the fall.
 
Quick disclaimer: in order to get these chapters to you every week, they are raw and unedited, so thank you for excusing any mistakes! 

Chapter 8

Hudson had no fucking idea why he’d decided to finally kiss Kenna. Absolutely none. It was a gamble he’d been talking himself out of for years. It had always been tomorrow or next week or some other time. But he’d run out of tomorrows with her. He was leaving to do God knew what in God knew where, and the future wasn’t a guarantee. That sort of had a way of changing his perspective.

When it came right down to it, he simply hadn’t been able to hold back anymore. And from the way Kenna was returning his kiss, her hands tangled in his hair, she’d been doing some holding back of her own.

Before he could even contemplate what that meant, she clutched his shoulders for leverage, threw her leg across to straddle him, and planted herself right in his lap. Settled directly over the hard-as-steel bulge in his swim trunks that he could hide about as easily as one could hide the Statue of Liberty. 

“Hud,” she breathed, her head tipped to the side like an offering for him. One he readily accepted.

“Yeah.” He trailed kisses down the length of her neck, kissing every one of the freckles he knew by heart. God, he’d wanted this for so long. So fucking long. Ever since he could remember, it’d only been Kenna for him. And it’d been hard as hell to go about dating as if she weren’t the sole woman he craved. He loved.

And suffering through seeing her with other guys? 

He growled low in his throat at the thought, and she whimpered in response, pressing harder against him. He’d thought he knew her inside and out, but he realized now there was an entire part of her he was desperate to become acquainted with. He wanted to know each one of her sounds and what they meant. What made her arch against him. What made her grind down on him. What made her moan low in her throat. He wanted them all.

“Hud, what’re we doin’?” she asked, breathless. 

“If you’re wonderin’ that, I really need to step up my game.” His lips brushed along her neck with every word, and she shuddered in response. 

The tips of her breasts were tight and puckered, brushing against his bare chest through only the thin material of her bathing suit top. She breathed out a laugh that turned into a moan when he sucked the sensitive skin just below her ear. “You step it up any more, and I’ll combust right here on your lap.”

The thought of her coming because of him was nearly too much. He throbbed in his swim trunks, his dick begging to be closer to her. 

He kissed a path back to her mouth, then sucked her bottom lip between his. “That’s kind of the idea.”

As if she loved the thought as much as he did, she tightened her arms around him and kissed him deep, her tongue slipping between his lips. Their groans mingled between them, the only sound other than the soft lapping of the water against the boat. The fact that they were tucked away into their alcove with no witnesses didn’t help Hudson’s willpower. He wanted to peel her swimsuit from her skin. Wanted to see her out here in the sunlight, her eyes clenched tight and head tossed back as she rode him to orgasm. Even better if she was naked while doing it.

It’d been too damn long since he’d felt her around him. And it’d been too damn short when it had happened. It’d been only once—and as a first for them both, it’d been about as short as a commercial break—but it’d stuck in his mind for two years. Had rooted itself there as a reminder of what he could have, if only he tried. It’d been amazing then, and he’d known it. Knew, also, that it wasn’t just because it’d been his first time, but because it’d been with her.

How much different would it be now? Knowing there was no purpose to it, other than because they wanted to. Needed to. 

And, Christ, did he need.

He dropped his hands to her ass and pressed her forward, guiding the subtle rocking motion she was doing with her hips. As soon as he put that pressure against her, no doubt driving her clit straight against him, she moaned long and deep into his mouth.

“Feel good?” His voice was so gravelly, he barely recognized it as his own.

She answered with another moan, this time pressing her forehead against his, her arms holding him tighter to her. Her eyes were clenched tight, her lips parted, her cheeks bright and flushed. He ached to make her come just like this. Ached to watch her fall apart in his arms.

“Tell me what you need, Kenna.”

Her eyes snapped open, her gaze locked with his. “I
 I
” She bit her lip, her hips still rocking against him. She unwrapped her arms from his shoulders, reached back to grasp his wrists, and brought his hands around to her front. 

And then she pressed them right against her breasts.

“You want my hands on you?” He said it more to himself than to her, a note of disbelief in his voice. Jesus, was this really happening? After so long of only having her like this in his dreams and fantasies, he was getting her. He was finally getting her.

And then he was leaving.

Shit. He couldn’t have sex with her without first telling her what the future held for them. Hell, he shouldn’t have even let it get this far. And he was a little ashamed of himself that he had. 

Kenna rocked harder against him, her moans deepening anytime he exerted pressure on her breasts. 

No, he shouldn’t have let it get this far before telling her, but he wasn’t going to leave her panting. He’d make sure she was taken care of, and then he’d stop them before anything more could happen. He’d tell her first.

With the sole goal of getting her off, he put everything he had into kissing her, knowing this may be the last time she allowed it. He had no idea what would happen after he told her everything, but he wasn’t going to take this for granted. He memorized the taste of her, the feel of her against him, the fit of her breasts in his palms, the tight pucker of her nipples against his fingertips. 

He moved one hand back to her ass to guide her harder against him, letting her use the head of his dick to get her exactly where she needed to go. All the while maintaining as much control as he could. He was minutes away from coming in his trunks, but he wouldn’t allow himself that pleasure. This needed to be only for Kenna.

“Hud
” She panted against his mouth, their lips brushing as she rocked back and forth, back and forth. The rhythm picking up speed and pressure. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, her short nails no doubt leaving crescents in his skin. 

“You close?” He could tell she was. Her entire body had gone rigid, her muscles locked. Her grip tightened more with each second that passed, and he knew she was going to shatter any moment. 

Pressing his hand tighter on her ass, he moved her against him harder, faster. At the same time, he strummed his thumb across her nipple in a rapid movement.

She choked out his name on a sob, her body tightening around him, before she exhaled a moan as she came. 

For as long as he lived, he’d never forget her exactly as she was now. Breathless. Boneless. Sated. And completely fucking gorgeous.

Once her hips stilled, she dropped her forehead to his shoulder, her hands resting on his sides. Her fast breaths swept down his chest and didn’t do anything to assuage the rock hard problem in his trunks. 

And Kenna noticed. 

She lifted her head and stared at him, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Your turn.” She crept her fingers along his sides until they were low on his stomach, just above the waistband of his shorts. 

And then they dipped underneath.

He sucked in a breath, wanting nothing more than to let her keep going. He craved it. But he couldn’t. Not without giving her the truth first. He wouldn’t make that decision for her. If she still wanted him after it was all out—and, Christ, he hoped she still wanted him
in every way possible—he’d give her anything she asked for. 

With a groan, he grabbed her wrists and halted her questing fingers. “Kenna. Wait.”

“What? Why? You’re still hard.” To punctuate that, she rocked forward, tugging a choked moan from his throat. “Let me
”

It would be so easy to give in. So easy to let her coax his hands away with her hot-as-sin body rocking against him, her lips on his, her tongue in his mouth. 

But he’d hate himself for it. Kenna deserved better than that. She deserved the truth.

“Not now.” When he saw the pained look in her eyes, he quickly clarified, “Not yet.” He reached up and brushed back the few strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail. Trailed his fingers down the curve of her jaw, down her neck. He could spend days mapping her body with his fingers and it still wouldn’t be enough time. 

He could spend eternity with her and it wouldn’t be enough time. 

“What is it?” she asked, her eyes darting between his.

He met her gaze. Swallowed down his nerves. He ran his thumbs over the back of her hands, whether to soothe her or himself, he wasn’t sure.

Unable to stall anymore, he took a deep breath and said, “We need to talk.”

***

FINALLY! An orgasm has taken place. Now, the question is: will Kenna return the favor even after Hudson spills the beans. Wanna share your theories? Join my reader group, the Brigade! Gossip on all things Havenbrook is welcomed and encouraged.

As I said in my greeting, I'm currently living my best life in lovely Denver, doing ALL THE THINGS at the Romance Writer's of America National Convention. I haven't been to Denver in about 20 years, and unfortunately, I won't have any time to explore. But this area sure is cute! And I love spending time with my writer tribe. I'll give a rundown of my time here next week, pics included!

As I said earlier, if you're at RWA and see me, please say hi! I'm that unicorn extrovert writer, so I absolutely love meeting people, especially fellow readers!

xoxo,

As always, I love to hear from readers! Reply to this e-mail or swing by Twitter, Instagram, or the reader group on Facebook to keep up with me between releases! 
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