It was all I needed. I shucked my layers of pants, kicking them away. My hands went to the sweatpants Boden wore, and I tugged them down frantically.
He sprang free, and my hand wrapped around his shaft. Boden let out a groan. I moved on instinct, taking him into my mouth, wanting to feel every inch of him.
Boden let out a slew of curses as his hands tangled in my hair. “Laiken…”
I ran my tongue from base to tip, exploring as I went, paying attention to how each area elicited a response. The tightening of his fingers in my hair, the hitch of his breath. Every reaction drove me higher.
“You keep doing that, and this will be over before it begins.” Boden gently tugged me until I released him.
“I was having fun.”
“You’re gonna be the death of me. But I’ll die a happy man.” He tugged me closer. “Come here.”
I straddled Boden’s lap, his tip bumping against my entrance. I wanted him. To feel what it was to be completely consumed by him.
“Shit, condoms,” he muttered.
My eyes locked with his. “I’m on the pill, and I’ve had a checkup.”
The gold in Boden’s eyes flared. “I’ve been checked.” His fingers flexed on my hips. “I want to feel everything about you.”
It was all I needed. I slowly lowered myself onto him, never once letting my gaze stray from his. The stretch was just shy of painful, but God, it made me feel alive. Every nerve ending in my body sparked to life. There was nothing but Boden and me andfeeling.
I slowly began to rock. Boden took my mouth in a scorching kiss. Our tongues dueled, saying everything we couldn’t say with words. One hand came to my hip, and the other moved to my breast. Together, we found a rhythm that was the dance of flame between us. Hungry and tender at the same time. Painting an image that I knew spoke of love and the deepest understanding.
Boden’s hips arched against me, bringing him deeper. My walls shuddered around him, and I gasped into his mouth. “More,” I begged on a hoarse whisper.
He arched again. I met him thrust for thrust as every one of my muscles trembled. I was barely holding it together, and then suddenly realized that I didn’t need to. Not now, not with Boden. So, I let it all go in a cascade of spiraling colors. Sparks that danced across my skin.
I came apart with the man who saw every fractured piece of me and wanted me anyway.
27
Boden
The fire was dying.I knew I needed to get up and add more wood, but it was the last thing I wanted to do. Even though my arm throbbed, and my calf cramped, I didn’t want to move an inch. Laiken was draped on top of me, her breaths deep and even—so completely relaxed in sleep.
After the day we’d had, I couldn’t imagine anything she needed more. Except for maybe a police escort home. That thought had me shifting, easing Laiken onto the couch, and getting to my feet. I pulled on my discarded sweats and moved to the fire, adding a new stack of logs to the dying flames. It flared back up in seconds.
I checked the dogs, who seemed oblivious to the drama of the day and were snoring happily. Straightening, I studied my wound. It hurt like a bitch, but the glue was holding, and there was no redness like you’d see if an infection were taking hold. I pulled back the curtain, peeking outside.
Darkness greeted me, but I still scanned the surrounding wilderness, looking for any flicker of light or hint of movement. There was nothing. I repeated the action at each window—still nothing.
That didn’t put me at ease. Walking to the mudroom, I studied the gun safe. There was a keypad lock on it. My guess was a four-digit code, but I didn’t have the faintest idea of where to start with it.
I went into the kitchen, opening drawers and cabinets as quietly as possible. I had to hope that the owner of this cabin had as bad a memory as I did and had put the code somewhere. After a thorough perusal of the kitchen, I began to lose hope. But I pressed on, moving to the bookcase.
I scanned the shelves, looking for anything that might be a journal or notebook, something that would keep notes. My gaze caught on a binder on the bottom shelf. I pulled it out.House Biblewas scrawled across the front.
Opening it, I flipped through the pages. There were plastic sleeves housing manuals on appliances and the heating and cooling system. I made it all the way to the last page when I saw a scrap of paper folded and tucked into the pocket on the back cover. I tugged it out and read the four numbers. 0268.
I hurried into the mudroom. I punched in the numbers and then the lock key. Little green lights lit up, and the sound of a lock turning echoed in the silent room. I pulled open the door. There was a shotgun and two rifles lined up on a rack inside, along with ammunition stacked at the bottom.
I breathed out my first true sigh of relief as my fingers closed around one of the rifles. I took it and a box of its accompanying ammo out. At least now we had a means of defense.
I loaded the gun and laid it on the coffee table. I wanted it within easy reach, just in case.
“Boden?”