Dire

“It won’t be.” The room was too dark to look directly into her eyes, but she needed to know that this wasn’t a passing fling for me. “We’re going to make it through this, and then we can be together anytime we want.”

“Anytime?”

“Anytime. You better get used to having me around, because you’re going to be seeing a lot of me at home and school.”

“Good. That almost makes all this hell worth it.”

“Only almost?” I moved my lips to her neck.

“It got a little scary there for a second.”

“Just a second?”

She laughed. “Let’s stop talking about that. I just want to think about us.”

“Me too.”

She sighed as I positioned myself over her. I didn’t say anything, I just looked down at her, wishing there was more light. I wanted to see her—I wanted to memorize every inch of her body. There’d be time for that later, but at the moment the only thing that mattered was having her, connecting with her in a physical way again.

“Gage.” She moaned my name as soon as I thrust into her. She opened her legs, welcoming me back to what I knew was becoming my favorite place. She reached up and wrapped her arms around my neck. The action drove me wild. She’d told me she wanted things hard, but I wanted to take her gentle this time, I wanted to show her that there was more to me than animalistic sex. After being with the wolves I wanted to remind both of us that we were human.

My resolve lasted all of a minute. She dug her nails into my back, and the primal side of me took over. I needed her, and she needed me. She moaned her agreement, encouraging me to continue with harder and deeper thrusts until neither of us could hold on any longer.

I stayed on top of her, not willing to pull out and leave the comfort that only she could provide. When I did move, it was only to shift next to her and hold her in my arms. I wasn’t letting go.

***

I could get used to waking up with Mary Anne in my arms. Very used to it. Her body fit so perfectly in my arms, and her soft breathing made it seem like everything was okay, even if just for a moment.

Sunlight streamed in through a crack in the boards covering the windows. She stirred. “Gage.”

I grinned. Goofy grinned. She was dreaming about me. At least I knew I was making an impression.

“Morning, beautiful,” I murmured into her neck, brushing my lips gently over her skin.

She mumbled again. “Gage?”

“It’s me.” I resisted the urge to add ‘who else would it be’? It was too soon to mess with those wounds.

“It’s morning?” She rubbed her eyes in an adorable way.

“It is. We survived the night.” I trailed my fingers down her side.

“Is it still snowing?”

“I can’t tell yet.” I reluctantly slipped out of the sleeping bag and peered out, not bothering to get dressed yet.

“It should be illegal to have an ass like that.”

I turned and laughed. She blushed slightly. “What? Not going to say the same thing about my front?”

She blushed even more. “Is it snowing?”

“No.”

“Good.” She sat up. “Can you hand me my clothes?”

“Hey, don’t I get to ogle you too?”

“It’s too cold.”

“Oh, you’re cold?” I got back into the sleeping bag.

“We need to go.”

“If I’ve learned anything the past few days it’s that you never know when you’ll get another chance.” I cupped both of her breasts with my hands.

“Gage.”

“Mary Anne. Is this when you tell me no?”

“No. This is when I tell you yes.” She moved on top of me, “All that control talk with Falcon made me want to try this.”

“Wait. You’ve never been on top before?”

“How much sex do you think I’ve had?”

“You said you weren’t a virgin.”

“I wasn’t, but let me put it this way. You’ve officially doubled the amount of times.”

“Nice.” I pulled her head down to mine. I didn’t want to corrupt an innocent girl, but I liked knowing she’d been with me way more than any other guy.

She fumbled under the blankets, trying to line us up. I waited as patiently as possible. There was something so cute about her inexperience, and I was afraid offering to help would kill her confidence.

A few moments later I got the pleasure I was waiting for.

She moved slowly on top of me until she got frustrated by the sleeping bag and unzipped it. Freed from the confines of the bag, she moved faster, navigating me inside her with precision. I closed my eyes and let her do whatever she wanted. Being inside of her was a pleasure that nothing else could compare with.

All too soon I felt myself nearing release. Her breathing picked up, and I hoped she was feeling half as good as I was.

She yelled out right before I shuddered, and she fell down on top of me.

“Still cold?” I asked once my breathing returned to normal.

“Nope.” She smiled. “Was that ok?”

“Okay?” I ran my hands up and down her back. “No.”

Her face fell.

“Babe, it was great. How could you not know that?”

She buried her face in my shoulder.

I ran a hand through her hair. “You’re incredible and I can’t wait to keep exploring with you.”

“So you’re serious? You want to see where things go?”

“No. I don’t just want to wait and see. I want to be with you. I don’t plan on letting you out of my sight for a while.”

She shivered. “We should go.”

“I know.”

We got dressed quickly and packed up our stuff. It was only after we stepped out into the cold that my fear returned. We needed to find the road before the wolves found us first.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Mary Anne

Sex with Gage set me on fire. The last two times there was something else there too. An emotional connection that was impossible to ignore. I followed him along the snow covered railroad tracks with a mix of anxiety and elation. I knew we weren’t out of danger yet, but the thought of a future with Gage made everything else feel okay.

A few miles down, a road came into view. “We made it.” If my feet weren’t already freezing I probably would have jumped up and down.

He exhaled loudly. “Finally.”

“Did you doubt it?” I wrapped my hand around his arm, loving the feel of his muscles. Genevieve would be rolling her eyes, but I couldn’t help it. I loved how strong he was.