Page 105 of Major Love

He groans and hauls me into him, shoulders hunching as he lowers himself to my height, and his mouth caresses faster as his fingers finally slip beneath the hem of my top.

And the second that his skin meets mine he’s grunting roughly and massaging my waist, the heat from his hands making me lightheaded as I push myself against him, needing more.

He coaxes my lips open and slides his tongue against mine, the stroke long and warm as he lifts me against the wall. He positions his quads between my thighs, taking my weight on his rigid muscles.

“Can’t believe that you didn’t know I was the Major,” he murmurs, before kissing me deeper, and growling as I squeeze his swollen pecs.

And I’m just about to rip the whole zipper off of his work shirt when heavy footfalls sound from the corridor outside of the small room.

“…Just arrived in the lot if you want us to grab the load off the back?”

Beckett’s rough voice enters my consciousness at the same second that Jason drops me to the ground, his expression stoic and unreadable as he glances over his heaving shoulder toward the doorway.

Beckett’s brow hits the ceiling as his gaze bounces back and forth between us.

“Uh…” Beckett starts slowly, taking one step back, then another, before jerking his thumb over his shoulder and saying, “I’ll just be… over there.”

Jason watches him leave with such brutal authority that I almost feel a little intimidated when he drops his attention back to me.

And from the molten flame in his irises, he can sense exactly what I’m thinking.

“I have to go take care of this,” he says, that rough voice trying to be gentle for me. Then he caresses my waist, squeezing lightly. “We can keep fighting tonight.”

Warmth spills in my stomach, my thighs clenching at what he’s offering.

But I shake my head as I whisper, “I shouldn’t… we can’t…”

He leans down and I turn breathless, making him chuckle before kissing my cheek.

I clutch his uniform in my fists and his large hands cover mine as he watches me.

“I’m gonna prove to you that we can work. If you trust me,” he says quietly.

Don’t let your past rule your future, I repeat to myself as I search his eyes.

And then I pull his mouth to mine for one last kiss and I whisper, “I trust you.”

Chapter 25

Jason

“You got it?”

“Like this?”

I glance down the ladder to where Sunday’s standing at the bottom rung in the snow, her gloved hands wrapped tight around the sides and her gaze holding steady to where the metal meets the wall.

I breathe in a steady inhale, pride skittering through my chest at her concentration.

“Just like that. I’m coming down.”

For all her fight and fear about what I do for a living, she’s got sniper-level focus and dedication as I descend the rungs.

The second that we pulled up to the ranch this morning and she realised that I was going to let her get a little hands-on with some construction work, she was instantly biting her lip and telling me that she wasn’t so sure. But when I showed her around the annex that Madden and I have spent the winter building from scratch, it’s like everything fell into place and she instantly understood why I’d brought her here. To show her that this job is based on trust, whether it’s sharing the load, or giving directions… or keeping the ladder steady as I mount it in the snow.

Because if my work is what’s keeping Sunday from giving us a chance, I’m going to rip that Band-Aid clean off and prove exactly how safe it can be.

I clear the bottom step and my boots thud quietly in the snow, wiping my gloves on the sides of my pants before tugging them off and dismantling the ladder.

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