Page 144 of Last Light

“You definitely need one. Haven’t smelled you this strong in a really long time.”

He gives me a narrow-eyed glare that isn’t particularly convincing. I can tell he’s trying not to laugh.

“I know I stink too, so you don’t have to say it.”

He shakes his head. “You don’t stink.”

“That lie is not very convincing.”

“Not a lie. I like how you smell.” He doesn’t appear to be trying to flatter me. Just saying what he believes to be true.

“How do I smell?” I ask, genuinely curious.

He clears his throat and glances away. His cheeks are slightly flushed, and I can tell he’s self-conscious. This is the same man who got embarrassed from getting a look under my shirt and holding a box of tampons and talking about his underwear. He hasn’t changed that much. He’s still adorably shy. But he tells me the truth right now. “You smell like mine.”

When I don’t answer immediately, he shoots me a quick look. “What?”

“Nothing. Just that you’re going to get some really good loving when we finally get home.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Before or after the showers?”

“I don’t know yet. We’ll have to see how it goes.”

***

WE DON’T TAKE OUR SHOWERSfirst.

Duke is so thrilled when we drive into the clearing on top of the mountain that he jumps out of the vehicle before it’s fully parked. He runs around the yard, barking exuberantly, and both Travis and I are laughing as we unlock the front door and check to make sure everything’s in order.

For the past several months, we’ve been working on renovating the workshop, turning the structure into a small one-room cabin so we can offer temporary shelter to people who need it. In truth, Travis has been doing most of the work and giving me the easy tasks where I can’t do much damage. The project should be done in another month.

Everything is exactly as we left it two weeks ago. No one has stumbled across our home yet.

I hope it stays that way for a really long time.

I’m smiling around the living room contentedly when Travis scoops me up without warning and carries me into the bedroom.

“What if I wanted to take a shower?” I demand, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“Showers can wait. You promised me some good lovin’.”

“Did I? I’m not sure I remember.”

He gives me an exaggerated snarl. “You better start rememberin’ soon, woman.” Despite his pose of fierceness, he lays me down very gently on the bed, kissing me as he climbs on top of me. “You remember now?”

I reach up to take his face in both my hands. “It’s starting to come back to me. Maybe you could help remind me.”

He kisses me and kisses me and kisses me some more. Then he takes off my clothes and caresses me until I’m arching and whimpering. I’ve been working on his clothes as much as I can, but he finally gets impatient, stands up, and strips down to nothing in about three seconds.

Then he turns me over on my hands and knees and fucks me until I come. I’ve barely caught my breath before he’s rolling over onto his back and pulling me on top of him. I straddle his hips and ride him eagerly until both of us reach hard releases.

By then I’m exhausted, so I collapse on top of him, naked and sweating and content.

He wraps his arms around me and holds me close. “I love you, darlin’.”

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