“What the hell were you doing out here?” His voice cuts through and I feel the warmth of his breath with each word against my cheek.
“Trying to sleep.” I know his question is more than the practicalities of what I was doing out in weather like this, sleeping on a porch in the middle of a forest, but it’s all I can come up with at the moment.
“Okay.” He breathes deep and I feel his chest fill under me as he lifts me higher and tighter against him. “Well, I’ve got better accommodations for you. What’s your name?”
“Teah.” My teeth chatter as I answer. “What’s yours?”
“Just call me Lock.”
My voice shakes with each word. “Thank you for coming for me, Lock.” My words are honest, like he came for me purposefully. Not that he just happened upon me.
He takes a long moment before answering.
“I know this may sound strange, but it was impossible for me not to come for you, Teah.”
He doesn’t say anything else and it feels like he carries me forever. Out of the corner of my eye I can see lights. A cabin larger than the ones where I’d taken shelter comes into view. Ice and rain are covering us both and I’m shaking uncontrollably as he takes me up the stairs and through the door.
The sofa where he places me is next to a fireplace where a low fire burns. He strips me of the rest of the silver blanket and throws his soaking army jacket on the hearth.
“These clothes have to come off.” He takes my backpack off his shoulders and leans it against the couch. “You are soaking.”
“So are you.” I manage through chattering teeth.
“So I am.” He leans down and opens the top of my pack. “You have dry clothes in here?”
I nod and reach over and tug out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
“I’ll let you change in here in front of the fire. I’ll be right through that door. When you’re done just let me know. And if you’re hungry, I’ve got a few things. Not much, I’m afraid, I’m a shitty cook.” He turns and walks backwards a few steps then stops, his eyes settling back on mine.
“I’m okay. Not that hungry.” Food isn’t what I want. There is something I want inside of me but it’s not food. And I’ve never felt this sort of craving.
“Okay. Take your time. I’m patient.” He flashes me a smile and my belly twists and flutters but he doesn’t move any farther toward the bedroom. He drops his head and I hear him let out a long exhale.
“Everything okay?” Nervousness ticks inside me.
“No.” His head is still bowed as he answers, and there’s an aching in my chest. “I’m not okay.”
He looks up and starts toward me. Long strides with eyes focused on me and his lips tight.
I shift on the sofa as he squares his body in front of me, heavy hands coming to my shoulders, his fingers digging in.
“What’s wrong?” I whisper, unsure what this manic energy is I’m feeling. But I know I feel like my heart is either about to be broken or mended.
“I don’t want to go in that room without you. I don’t know how to explain this, but I feel like I’ve known you my whole life. Like I’ve been waiting for you to come back to me. And now that you’re here, I don’t want you out of my sight.”
The visions I’ve been having since I saw him in the restaurant start again, and for a moment I panic, only this time, there’s another one and it makes all my fears subside.
It’s clear.
Real.
Us.
In bed.
And I know it’s the bed in that room where he was going, and he’s on top of me and a wash of heat and pleasure surges through my body.
In the vision I feel safe.
I feel at home.
“What do we do?” I ask in a hush, giving in to this feeling that he knows the way forward and I am here to follow. His hands come to my cheeks and his lips are on mine. Waves of desire flood every nerve ending in my body as he pulls me up and carries me down the hall and into the bedroom, whispering in my ear.
“God.” He pulls me harder against him. “We are going to do so many things.”
5
Lachlan
It’s difficult for me to believe she doesn’t recognize me. I mean, I don’t think she does. If she recognizes me, she’s hiding it pretty fucking well.
She’s looking at me with a mix of nervousness and trust in her emerald green eyes that has my dick practically punching through the front of my wet jeans.
Inside the small bedroom, I sit her on the edge of the bed and crouch down in front of her, my hands lightly skimming her shoulders before moving down her arms to clasp her freezing hands in mine.