She turned her head, capturing his mouth with hers, thrusting her tongue in and out in time with their movements. A desperate sound came from the back of his throat as his grip tightened and he began to thrust faster and harder.
Frankie wrenched her mouth away and screamed as she hit the pinnacle, and he roared with one last thrust, pulsing inside her. They held that position for several moments, his fingers clamped on her hips as they gasped for breath.
She drifted as if in a current, sublimely content and at peace, sprawled across his chest. She didn't know how long they hadstayed like that, but when his soft groan brought her back, the water had lost most of its heat.
John's arms tightened, and his lips touched her ear. "I know you don't want to hear this and I know you have to go back, but I don't know what I'll do when you leave.” The breath caught in her chest. He placed a soft kiss on her neck. “Once we get out of this tub, we'll both pretend I didn't say that, okay?"
Frankie nodded, tears flooding her eyes. She didn’t know what to say and knew she couldn’t have gotten anything past the lump in her throat anyway. Her conversation with Sharon played in her head, the implications were overwhelming. It was some consolation that John was also struggling with these feelings. But he was right—she did have to go back.
But what would happen if she didn’t?
Chapter 11
The days melded together as John and Frankie consumed themselves with developing reforestation strategies, hiking to different sections of John's land, and making love. They were inseparable. But before Frankie knew it, she was packing her suitcase to fly home the next morning.
She worried her bottom lip, her teeth gouging deep, as she paced back and forth in the bedroom, her phone in her hand. Finally on the fifth ring, Sharon answered, her face popping up on the screen. Frankie froze, wondering for a moment if she was hallucinating. Sharon's face was slathered with an olive-green clay mask and her normally arrow-straight hair was pinned in curlers.
Frankie choked on a giggle. "What in the world are you doing?"
"Umh pfamglin unh mah boomi ruteem," Sharon garbled out between a whitening mouthpiece.
"Take that ridiculous thing out. I can't understand a word you're saying," Frankie snapped, her anxiety spiking.
Sharon rolled her eyes and pulled the whitening tray out. "I said, I'm working on my beauty routine. My cousin is taking me to a new pub tonight. Rumor is, it’s a hotspot for sexy SAS veterans." She waggled her eyebrows.
"God help them," Frankie muttered.
Sharon scowled. "I heard that. Now, to what do I owe the pleasure? You should be packing right now, because if I'm not mistaken…" She glanced at her watch. "You're hopping on a plane in less than twenty hours."
"Yes. I know." Frankie's heart sank. She and John went to great pains to avoid speaking about her upcoming departure. But it was nearly upon them with her scheduled to leave his cabin at seven the next morning. "About that."
Sharon's brows shot up, and she sat down, her expression sobering. "Frankie, are you seriously considering not coming home?"
Tears pricked the back of Frankie’s eyes and she squeezed them shut. "It's insanity, I know. There's no way I can stay. I mean…" She flapped a hand in the air as if she was about to take flight. "What would I even do for a living?" She started pacing again. "I'd have to get a job and a work visa. I have no idea in what order I would do that. And then I'd need a place to stay. I mean, I couldn't just assume I would stay in this place, as amazing as it is," she rambled, feeling like she might vomit.
"Wow," Sharon breathed. "It's worse than I thought. You really have fallen for this guy, haven't you?"
Frankie watched out the window as John chopped firewood. His muscles bunched with each swing. It was a sexy, masculine mating dance, she was sure. "Iamcrazy."
"No, you most certainly are not. You've just found your person, that's all." Sharon plopped down on her bed, her eyes serious. "Not everyone gets the shot that you have to find the one person who completes you. It just turns out yours was halfway acrossthe globe. But you found him. It pains me to say this, but I think you're crazy not to stay."
"Stop it." Frankie swiped at a tear that had wandered down her cheek. "It's impossible. I mean, what would I do without my favorite tea shops? They don't have those here."
"You order tea online and make it yourself," Sharon answered matter-of-factly. "Then you sip it while you stare at that magnificent stud you're shagging."
Frankie sputtered. "Oh my god, Sharon. You're impossible."
"I know, love. But I'm also right." She was silent for a moment. "If you are not one hundred percent sure, get on the plane tomorrow morning and come home. You'll know very soon if you've made a mistake."
"Yeah, okay." Frankie bobbed her head, her eyes on John again. "That's a plan, at least." She paused for a moment, then looked at Sharon. "I never expected this."
"That's usually when the best stuff happens," Sharon commented softly. "Okay, now." Her voice grew forceful. "You are going to enjoy your last evening in Wisconsin fornicating with that sexy lumberjack. And I'm going to wash all this shit off, then head out and shag a man of my own. Ta, darling." The screen went blank.
Frankie stared at the phone, too overwhelmed with emotion to even laugh at her friend's antics. Sharon was right. Once she got home, in her own surroundings, she'd feel normal again and realize that this was all just a crazy hormone-fueled delusion.
***
John stood on his porch, hands buried in his pockets, sick to his stomach as he watched the driver load Frankie's bags in the trunk. His heart was heavy, clenching in his chest like it was in a vise. He'd never felt this ache before and had no idea how toreact. But the urge to drop to his knees and beg her to stay was about to overthrow his willpower.
