When her body finally eases, when her clenching slows and her breaths come steadier, I don’t let her go. I hold her, rocking us gently in the water, pressing soft kisses to her damp face.
“You okay?” I ask quietly, voice raw.
She nods, though her lips quiver. “Too okay.” A watery laugh escapes her. “That doesn’t make sense, but…”
“It makes sense to me.” I brush my thumb over her cheek, catching another tear before it disappears. “You’re perfect.”
She shakes her head, burying her face in my neck, but I don’t let her hide. I tilt her chin up, kiss her slow again, because I want her to know I mean it.
The waterfall roars behind us, the spray cool against my shoulders, but none of it matters. All I feel is her. All I want is her.
And as I move inside her again, slow and steady, her body answering mine with every roll of her hips, I realize there’s no turning back. Not from her.
Not ever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Wren
The grass iscool beneath my thighs, damp with the spray that drifts from the waterfall. My skin is still flushed from what we just did in the water, but Beau’s hand moves over my back in slow, calming circles.
It feels grounding in a way I didn’t know I needed. Every time his palm drags across my shoulder blade, I sink a little more into this odd sense of safety that I don’t quite know how to accept yet.
We’ve pulled the blanket closer to us, spread across the bank where the sun is beginning to dip through the trees, throwing everything into a golden haze.
He nudges a sandwich toward me, the one he’d packed in the basket. My fingers brush his when I take it, and the corner of his mouth lifts like he can’t help it. I bite into the bread and hum quietly because it tastes simple and good, the kind of food you only enjoy outdoors. He’s eating his too, his long legs stretched out, bare feet drying in the breeze.
“This feels unreal,” I admit softly, watching the way the light catches on the water.
Beau glances over, chewing. “In a good way?”
“In a… dangerous way.” I smile faintly. “Like I might actually get used to this.”
His laugh rumbles out of him, low and warm. He reaches over and wipes a crumb from the corner of my mouth, casual and intimate. “Good. Then I’m doing something right.”
I roll my eyes, but my chest tightens, because he is doing something right. Too right.
After a moment, I tilt my head toward him. “Tell me about your family.”
He leans back on his palms, looking out at the water like he’s deciding where to begin. “You mean the loud, nosy, Idaho circus?”
I smile, waiting.
“My parents still live on the same property I grew up on. Big house, lots of land. Dad’s retired now, Mom keeps him from driving her crazy by making him garden.” His mouth quirks at that. “I’ve got two older brothers. Both married, both with kids. So, whenever I go back, I’m the fun uncle who gets swarmed the second I step through the door.”
I picture him there, all broad shoulders and easy smiles, kids climbing all over him. “You like that?”
He shrugs, but the fondness in his voice gives him away. “Yeah. I do. I like being that guy for them.” His eyes cut to mine. “Sometimes I think about what it would’ve been like if I’d stayed and settled down there. But I needed something different. So, firehouse. New town. New life.”
I nod, tracing patterns into the blanket with my fingertip. “You sound close with them.”
“Yeah. Loud, annoying, but close.” He tilts his head. “What about you?”
The air in my lungs thickens. My instinct is to deflect, to make a joke, but Beau’s gaze is patient. And maybe it’s this place, the sound of rushing water, the warmth of his touch on my back—it makes me braver than usual.
“My mom is wonderful,” I begin carefully. “She’s soft, kind. Always tried to keep the peace.” My throat feels tight. “My dad is… not. He isn’t kind. He controls everything—what she wears, where she goes. What I could do. And when he didn’t like something…” I swallow hard. “He made sure we knew.”
Beau’s entire body goes still, like every muscle has locked in response. His jaw flexes, his eyes darken, and I know he’s picturing the kind of man my father is.
