“Kels?” he responded, climbing back onto his feet, his legs wobbly.
When she finally came into clear view, his heart lurched in his chest. She stopped and he picked up his pace once again, rushing toward her. In that moment, he was so afraid he wouldn’t make it to her in time before something like lightning struck one of them down. He would not allow anything to separate them again. Not stupid disagreements, or pride, and certainly not the weather.
CHAPTERTWENTY-NINE
KELSEY
The rain came downin sheets, making her vision obscured. But she could recognize Davis’s silhouette easily. Even more so, she could identify the sound of his voice.
With her heart beating fast, the pulse ticking in her neck repeatedly, she picked up her pace, hurrying across the soggy terrain. The closer she got to him, the more desperate she felt to reach him.
Until at last, she did. Stopping in front of him, she pushed back her drenched hair while she frantically scanned his body, checking for what, she wasn’t sure. That he was in one piece? That he was safe and not injured?
His clothes were soaked, rain dripped from his hair, and he’d never looked more enticing than he did at that moment. The outline of his sculpted chest as it rose and fell was amplified in the wet flannel. His blaring and rapid heartbeat made her feel alive, and not only her hormones.
“What are you doing out here?” Davis shouted above the booming rainfall.
“Me?” she replied. “I was looking for you. What are you doing out here?”
“You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe.”
She licked the rain from her lips. “It’s not safe for you either,” she insisted.
Cooper barked.
She glanced at him momentarily. He was soaked, but besides that and clearly being worried, he looked okay too.
“You need to hurry and go. You’re drenched.” He took her hand and tugged her with him.
She wrenched her hand from his. “It’s too late. I can’t get any wetter.”
He tilted his head at her in consideration. “Well, what do you plan on doing? Standing out here in the rainstorm all night?”
“If that’s what it takes,” she stated.
“What it takes?”
Cooper circled them, releasing a string of barks.
“I’m sorry,” she finally shouted.
“Sorry? What are you sorry for?”
She took a tentative step toward him. “Oh, c’mon, are you gonna make me say it?”
“Yeah, I guess I am.”
“Fine, stubborn ass,” she muttered, wiping a hand across her wet mouth.
“Me stubborn ass? Who hasn’t even been able to talk to me?”
“I’m sorry for pushing you away, okay? For not welcoming your help…and…for letting you go.” She tucked her hair behind her ears.
He smiled and shook his head. “There. Was that so hard?”
She smirked. “You better say you’re sorry for letting me go too, or I’m turning right around and leaving you out here. I don’t even care if you get struck by lightning.”
He reached for her then, snatching her hand and yanking her into his arms in one swift move. She sucked in a breath, her chest pressed against his, the unforgiving downpour not letting up and giving them any reprieve. But all wet, and in the dimness of the afternoon, Davis looked at her seductively. She could see the craving he held there, feel it deep in her bones. The ache for him grew between her thighs despite the trembling that racked her body from the iciness of the rain.
