Page 40 of Until You Found Me

“This was a good day,” she says wistfully.

“Mhmm.”

“Everything feels like the first time again. The first time I’ve seen snow, drank Swiss Miss with marshmallows, or seen this movie. It’s all new, and it’s all good because of you.”

“Think you’re giving me too much credit there.”

She lifts her head to meet his eyes, her tone serious. “I’m really not.”

Her palm finds the space over his heart like it’s a familiar spot. Against all reason or hesitation, he covers it with his own, wanting to keep her there or risk her vanishing the next time he blinks.

“I thought I lost you this morning,” she whispers. “I was so scared, and now I’m afraid to let you go again.”

Her gaze flickers down to his mouth, so openly wanting him that he’d have to be willfully blind to deny it.

He presses his lips to her forehead in a test run, letting his kiss linger a beat, waiting for the rejection that never comes. When he finally moves lower, time slows to a crawl, theexcited butterflies in the breaths between them fluttering in molasses, while their noses nudge. He could ruin everything with his next move. Anxiety crushes his confidence and those shakes he was plagued with earlier threaten to make a reappearance.

They could still pretend this never happened. They’re two people taking comfort in each other in the most platonic of ways. It’s not over yet, they can back away and start again.

“You can kiss me if you want to,” she offers, harnessing all the bravery he wishes he had himself. “If you don’t, it’s okay. I won’t ask again, I promise.”

He rushes forward at the first hint of permission before he can succumb to doubt. So eager and quick that the brief brush of their lips is over before he can feel much of anything except his heart slamming against his ribs. His eyes go wide with the shock of what he’s done as he searches her face for any warning that this flimsy house of cards might crumble.

“A little longer next time?” she says gently, the sweetest smile on those soft lips.

“You might wake up tomorrow and regret this,” he blurts out, always one for self-sabotage.

“You mean if I remember?”

He nods.

“I’ll never regret you, Logan. Doesn’t matter what came before, all that matters is now.”

There’s the slightest pressure at the back of his neck that asks a question he’s more than willing to answer. He isn’t good at this, it’s one more thing he’s avoided because the urge was never there, no matter how often he wished he could force it. There’s no forcing anything tonight. A spark coils in his belly and a shiver runs up his spine at the same time herbody arches into him, her arms weaving around his shoulders and her gasp of approval spurring him on to capture her lower lip with a needy suck.

Her breasts pillow against his chest and he wonders what they might taste like in his mouth, if the weight of them would fit perfectly in his palm, and if she might ever let him find out. Nerves have him lightheaded, but the taste of her, sweet like the chocolate she drank, is a drug, and he chases the high. If it all ends now, he should savor every moment.

One of her legs unfurls to hitch up over his hip, her body at an odd angle, but she doesn’t seem to care. She inhales sharply the moment she connects with the hard length of him and he welcomes the deep push of her lips that comes next, marveling at how hungry she is for him and how badly he wants to give her everything. He thrusts because he can’t help it. It’s a reflex more than anything else. His body seeks out the warmth of her through their clothes while his heart picks up a cadence akin to cardiac arrest.

She’s half in his lap, bent back a few inches where he holds her weight in his arms and somehow he gathers the smallest thread of self-control and pulls away, letting her breath ghost his lips.

“One hell of a first kiss.” She grins.

So many firsts and he’s been lucky enough to be a part of them all.

Her attention flickers then to the window over his shoulder and all at once she’s off him like ice water dousing their sparks. She scrambles over the bed to plaster up against the closet door. “Did you see that?”

“See what?” He gets up to break open the blinds and peer between them, spotting a figure lurking around her domeacross the field. “Stay here.”

Grabbing a coat and a pistol from the kitchen drawer, he races down the front steps, almost tripping. He eats up the ground at a dead run, the crunch of snow giving him away before he’s close enough to tackle the intruder.

“Hey! Stop!” he yells, giving chase when the other man darts off toward the woods to disappear into the abyss.

He points the gun toward the black hole but stops short of venturing further. Not smart when his target could be waiting behind the first tree to tackle him and he’d never know the difference.

“If you come back I’ll put a bullet in your ass!” he hollers, backing away slowly before turning to jog toward the trailer.

“Did you see anyone? Who was it? Was it him?” Tessa asks, in a series of questions all strung together as he urges her back inside.

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