His forehead rests between my shoulder blades, skin damp with sweat. Then he wraps his arms around me, chest flush to my back, holding me like he isn’t ready to let go.
“You okay?” he asks.
I nod, still catching my breath. “Yeah. I’m…good.”
He kisses my shoulder, softer this time, his mouth lingering against my skin. “You did so good.”
He stays inside me, not even trying to pull back. He lets my body relax around him naturally. Lets the tension bleed out of my limbs until all that is left is the warmth of him surrounding me, inside and out.
My muscles still tremble.
His lips brush the top of my shoulder again. “Now I’ve been in every part of you.”
I let out a breathy laugh, turning my head just enough to catch his eyes. “Yeah…you’re the only one who has.”
He smiles down at me, lazy, proud, completely undone, and I see it in his face. The satisfaction. The hunger.
I never let anyone in like this.
Not even close.
Not until him.
Chapter 41
Brooke
Krueger moves ahead of me without making a sound.
He doesn't trot the way most dogs do. His body moves through the woods with a low, predatory rhythm, shoulders rolling beneath thick fur while his head stays low and his ears turn toward every small shift in the trees around us.
The forest behind the safe house is still damp from the night before. Pine needles cling to the ground in dark patches, and the cold morning air fills my lungs with the scent of wet soil and pine resin.
Seth and Beau are back at the clearing near the bunker fueling the cars before we move out. Beau had already completed a full perimeter sweep this morning, and nothing has tripped the wires and nothing has moved on the cameras.
Still, I bring my gun.
And the knife.
Some habits never go away just because someone tells you it is safe.
Krueger drifts ahead of me along the narrow trail, occasionally glancing back over his shoulder to make sure I am still following. The leash hangs loose in my hand, mostly unnecessary.
I need the air.
Training has been brutal the last few days and my body feels every bit of it. My shoulders ache from hours of drills and my thighs burn from running hills and sparring sessions that push me harder than the last.
My ass is still sore from yesterday.
But it was absolutely worth it.
I stretch my hips a little while I walk, trying to loosen the stiffness in my lower back and legs. The soreness is not enough to slow me down, but it is enough to remind me exactly how much Seth pushed my body the night before.
Krueger pauses a few yards ahead and looks back at me.
“Yeah, yeah,” I murmur. “I’m coming.”
When he circles back toward me, I crouch and brush my hand along the thick fur at his neck. His tail sweeps slowly through the leaves and pine needles.
