Page 13 of Finding Forever

“I trust you.”

She proves it by slipping under the covers.

I lie on my back, taking stock. My shoulder throbs, the walk through the inn left me chilled to the bone, and I feel like I could sleep the clock around. I figure I’m doing pretty good for being shot. But the woman on the other side of the bed is shivering.

“Come closer, Kit,” I say. “We need to share body heat.”

She turns over, her eyes dark in the low light from the lantern. She studies me carefully before finally saying, “Okay.”

I feel like the luckiest bastard alive. I lift my arm and she moves against me, her back fitting to my side like it’s always belonged there. Warmth spreads. The human connection, and the deep conviction that we belong together.

Something clicks into place and I feel like I’ve come home.

I want this.

I want her.

For the first time in a long while, the future doesn’t feel like something to endure, but something I want, fiercely, with her at the center of it.

CHAPTER SIX

Kit

“Kit, I need you awake.” Luke’s mouth is near my ear.

I open my eyes, blinking in the faint light cast by the lantern. I’m deliciously comfortable and warm.

Realization hits.

My head is nestled against his shoulder, my arm is stretched low across his belly, and my legs are tangled with his. Luke had assured me I was safe with him, but apparently he’s not safe from me.

I move my arm back, then freeze when he sucks in a sharp breath. I’d brushed against a full-blown erection. His jaw clenches, and he looks like he’s fighting a losing battle for control.

I can’t stop myself and wrap my fingers around his rigid length, beautifully hard and erect. His breath whistles through his teeth. I stroke firmly and he surges into my hand, a groan ripping from his throat.

Oh my, I’ve missed this. The erotic knowledge of a man’s body, the latent power of a beautiful erection, the awareness of how badly he wants me. Desire pulls at me with seductive heat.

“Kit, we can’t. Not now.”

My face floods with warmth. Luke is injured, there’s a fugitive outside, and here I am groping him.

I let go and jerk back. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” I hide my face in the pillow, speaking with a muffled voice. “I’m an awful person and obviously can’t be trusted not to molest you. You were there and I…never mind,” I mumble.

Luke sits up, lowering his face to mine. His eyes are hot and direct, burning with everything he’s holding back.

“There’s nothing I want more than to make love with you, Katarina,” he says quietly. “And I couldn’t have stopped my response to you if you’d held a gun to my head. But another time. We’ve got trouble.” His lips press to my forehead, then he pulls away and sits up.

A sound resonates outside the bedroom. A dull, hollow thud from the front of the inn, slicing through the warmth we’ve been wrapped in.

From her bed, Penny lets out a low, rumbling growl.

“That came from the front porch.” Shoving embarrassment aside, I swing my legs over the bed.

“That’s what woke me,” Luke says. “I’m going to check it out. You good to follow me with the shotgun?”

I nod. “Of course.”

He stands, and maybe I peek. The too-small sweatpants leave nothing to the imagination. He’s still aroused and the sight of the rigid length sends another jolt of desire straight through me.